Effects of Early Childhood Intervention on Fertility and Maternal Employment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

This paper presents the results of a randomized study of a home visiting program implemented in Germany for low-income, first-time mothers. A major goal of the program is to improve the participants' economic self-sufficiency and family planning. I use administrative data from the German social security system and detailed telephone surveys to examine the effects of the intervention on maternal employment, welfare benefits, and household composition. The study reveals that the intervention unintentionally decreased maternal employment and increased subsequent births. These results contradict those of previous studies from the United States, where home visiting programs successfully increased employment and decreased fertility. Analyzing the reason for the different results, suggests that the program interacts with low employment incentives and generous welfare state arrangements for disadvantaged mothers with young children in Germany

The Rachel Carson Letters and the Making of Silent Spring

Environment, conservation, green, and kindred movements look back to Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring as a milestone. The impact of the book, including on government, industry, and civil society, was immediate and substantial, and has been extensively described; however, the provenance of the book has been less thoroughly examined. Using Carson’s personal correspondence, this paper reveals that the primary source for Carson’s book was the extensive evidence and contacts compiled by two biodynamic farmers, Marjorie Spock and Mary T. Richards, of Long Island, New York. Their evidence was compiled for a suite of legal actions (1957-1960) against the U.S. Government and that contested the aerial spraying of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). During Rudolf Steiner’s lifetime, Spock and Richards both studied at Steiner’s Goetheanum, the headquarters of Anthroposophy, located in Dornach, Switzerland. Spock and Richards were prominent U.S. anthroposophists, and established a biodynamic farm under the tutelage of the leading biodynamics exponent of the time, Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. When their property was under threat from a government program of DDT spraying, they brought their case, eventually lost it, in the process spent US$100,000, and compiled the evidence that they then shared with Carson, who used it, and their extensive contacts and the trial transcripts, as the primary input for Silent Spring. Carson attributed to Spock, Richards, and Pfeiffer, no credit whatsoever in her book. As a consequence, the organics movement has not received the recognition, that is its due, as the primary impulse for Silent Spring, and it is, itself, unaware of this provenance

Information theory analysis of Australian humpback whale song

Songs produced by migrating whales were recorded off the coast of Queensland, Australia, over six consecutive weeks in 2003. Forty-eight independent song sessions were analyzed using information theory techniques. The average length of the songs estimated by correlation analysis was approximately 100 units, with song sessions lasting from 300 to over 3100 units. Song entropy, a measure of structural constraints, was estimated using three different methodologies: (1) the independently identically distributed model, (2) a first-order Markov model, and (3) the nonparametric sliding window match length (SWML) method, as described by Suzuki et al. [(2006). “Information entropy of humpback whale song,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 1849–1866]. The analysis finds that the song sequences of migrating Australian whales are consistent with the hierarchical structure proposed by Payne and McVay [(1971). “Songs of humpback whales,” Science 173, 587–597], and recently supported mathematically by Suzuki et al. (2006) for singers on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. Both the SWML entropy estimates and the song lengths for the Australian singers in 2003 were lower than that reported by Suzuki et al. (2006) for Hawaiian whales in 1976–1978; however, song redundancy did not differ between these two populations separated spatially and temporally. The average total information in the sequence of units in Australian song was approximately 35 bits/song. Aberrant songs (8%) yielded entropies similar to the typical songs

Six-year changes in body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness of English schoolchildren from an affluent area

We compared values of body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle-run test) of n=157 boys and n=150 girls aged 10-11 measured in 2014 with measures from 2008 and 1998. Boys' fitness was lower (d=0.68) in 2014 than 2008, despite a small (d=0.37) decline in BMI. Girl's BMI changed trivially (d=0.08) but cardiorespiratory fitness was lower (d=0.47) in 2014 than 2008. This study suggests fitness is declining at 0.95% per year, which exceeds the 0.8% rate of decline we reported between 1998 and 2008 and is double the global average of 0.43%. Declines in fitness were independent of changes in BMI suggesting continued reductions in English children's habitual physical activity levels

Parent and child interactions with two contrasting anti-obesity advertising campaigns: A qualitative analysis

Background: Social marketing has been proposed as a framework that may be effectively used to encourage behaviour change relating to obesity. Social advertising (or mass media campaigning) is the most commonly used social marketing strategy to address the issue of obesity. While social advertising has the potential to effectively communicate information about obesity, some argue that the current framing and delivery of these campaigns are ineffective, and may cause more harm than good. Methods: We used a qualitative advertising reception study. 150 family groups (comprised of 159 parents and 184 children) were shown two Australian government anti-obesity advertisements: Measure Up (focused on problems associated with obesity) and Swap It (focused on solutions for obesity). Families were engaged in a discussion about the visual appeals, verbal messages and their perceptions about the impact of the advertisements on behavioural change. Open coding techniques and a constant comparative method of analysis was used to interpret the data.Results: Many parents had strong personal resonance with the visual imagery within the campaigns. While Swap It had strong ‘likeability’ with children, many children believed that the messages about overweight and obesity were less personally relevant because they did not perceive themselves to be overweight. The content and delivery style of the verbal messages (the serious risk focused message in Measure Up compared to the upbeat, fun practical message in Swap It) influenced how different audiences (parents and children) interpreted the information that was presented. Parents assimilated practical and instructive messages, while children assimilated messages about weight loss and weight gain. Parents and children recognised that the campaigns were asking individuals to take personal responsibility for their weight status, and were at times critical that the campaigns did not tackle the broader issues associated with the causes and consequences of obesity. The lack of practical tools to encourage behavioural change was a key barrier for obese parents. Conclusions: Well-funded, targeted social marketing campaigns will play an important role in the prevention and management of obesity. It is important that these campaigns are comprehensively evaluated and are backed up with structural supports to enable and encourage population subgroups to act upon messages

Estimating the number of children exposed to parental psychiatric disorders through a national health survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Children whose parents have psychiatric disorders experience an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, and have higher rates of developmental problems and mortality. Assessing the size of this population is important for planning of preventive strategies which target these children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>National survey data (CCHS 1.2) was used to estimate the number of children exposed to parental psychiatric disorders. Disorders were diagnosed using the World Psychiatric Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) (12 month prevalence). Data on the number of children below 12 years of age in the home, and the relationship of the respondents with the children, was used to estimate exposure. Parent-child relations were identified, as was single parenthood. Using a design-based analysis, the number of children exposed to parental psychiatric disorders was calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Almost 570,000 children under 12 live in households where the survey respondent met criteria for one or more mood, anxiety or substance use disorders in the previous 12 months, corresponding to 12.1% of Canadian children under the age of 12. Almost 3/4 of these children have parents that report receiving no mental health care in the 12 months preceding the survey. For 17% of all Canadian children under age 12, the individual experiencing a psychiatric disorder is the only parent in the household.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The high number of children exposed causes major concern and has important implications. Although these children will not necessarily experience adversities, they possess an elevated risk of accidents, mortality, and of developing psychiatric disorders. We expect these estimates will promote further research and stimulate discussion at both health policy and planning tables.</p

Natural history of Arabidopsis thaliana and oomycete symbioses

Molecular ecology of plant–microbe interactions has immediate significance for filling a gap in knowledge between the laboratory discipline of molecular biology and the largely theoretical discipline of evolutionary ecology. Somewhere in between lies conservation biology, aimed at protection of habitats and the diversity of species housed within them. A seemingly insignificant wildflower called Arabidopsis thaliana has an important contribution to make in this endeavour. It has already transformed botanical research with deepening understanding of molecular processes within the species and across the Plant Kingdom; and has begun to revolutionize plant breeding by providing an invaluable catalogue of gene sequences that can be used to design the most precise molecular markers attainable for marker-assisted selection of valued traits. This review describes how A. thaliana and two of its natural biotrophic parasites could be seminal as a model for exploring the biogeography and molecular ecology of plant–microbe interactions, and specifically, for testing hypotheses proposed from the geographic mosaic theory of co-evolution

Noise level correlates with manatee use of foraging habitats

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 121 (2007): 3011-3020, doi:10.1121/1.2713555.The introduction of anthropogenic sound to coastal waters is a negative side effect of population growth. As noise from boats, marine construction, and coastal dredging increases, environmental and behavioral monitoring is needed to directly assess the effect these phenomena have on marine animals. Acoustic recordings, providing information on ambient noise levels and transient noise sources, were made in two manatee habitats: grassbeds and dredged habitats. Recordings were made over two 6-month periods from April to September in 2003 and 2004. Noise levels were calculated in one-third octave bands at nine center frequencies ranging from 250 Hz to 64 kHz. Manatee habitat usage, as a function of noise level, was examined during four time periods: morning, noon, afternoon, and night. Analysis of sightings data in a variety of grassbeds of equal species composition and density indicate that manatees select grassbeds with lower ambient noise for frequencies below 1 kHz. Additionally, grassbed usage was negatively correlated with concentrated boat presence in the morning hours; no correlation was observed during noon and afternoon hours. This suggests that morning boat presence and its associated noise may affect the use of foraging habitat on a daily time scale.This research was supported by a P.E.O. Scholar Award and National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship awarded to Jennifer Miksis

An exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial of knowledge translation strategies to support evidence-informed decision-making in local governments (The KT4LG study)

Background: Childhood overweight and obesity is the most prevalent and, arguably, politically complex child health problem internationally. Governments, communities and industry have important roles to play, and are increasingly expected to deliver an evidence-informed system-wide prevention program. However, efforts are impeded by a lack of organisational access to and use of research evidence. This study aims to identify feasible, acceptable and ideally, effective knowledge translation (KT) strategies to increase evidence-informed decision making in local governments, within the context of childhood obesity prevention as a national policy priority.Methods/Design: This paper describes the methods for KT4LG, a cluster randomised controlled trial which is exploratory in nature, given the limited evidence base and methodological advances. KT4LG aims to examine a program of KT strategies to increase the use of research evidence in informing public health decisions in local governments. KT4LG will also assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. The intervention program comprises a facilitated program of evidence awareness, access to tailored research evidence, critical appraisal skills development, networking and evidence summaries and will be compared to provision of evidence summaries alone in the control program. 28 local governments were randomised to intervention or control, using computer generated numbers, stratified by budget tertile (high, medium or low). Questionnaires will be used to measure impact, costs, and outcomes, and key informant interviews will be used to examine processes, feasibility, and experiences. Policy tracer studies will be included to examine impact of intervention on policies within relevant government policy documents.Discussion: Knowledge translation intervention studies with a focus on public health and prevention are very few in number. Thus, this study will provide essential data on the experience of program implementation and evaluation of a system-integrated intervention program employed within the local government public health context. Standardised programs of system, organisational and individual KT strategies have not been described or rigorously evaluated. As such, the findings will make a significant contribution to understanding whether a facilitated program of KT strategies hold promise for facilitating evidence-informed public health decision making within complex multisectoral government organisations.<br /

Effects of d -amphetamine, scopolamine, chlordiazepoxide and diphenylhydantoin on self-stimulation behavior and brain acetylcholine

The effects of d-amphetamine (0.25–8), scopolamine (0.25–8), chlordiazepoxide (2.5–40), and diphenylhydantoin (25–75), given i.p. or s.c. on a mg/kg basis, were studied on self-stimulation behavior in the male albino rat. The dose-effect relationships, the role of baseline rates of responding and their effects on brain acetylcholine (ACh) were determined in rats trained to self-stimulate for electrical reward in the lateral posterior hypothalamus. The effects of d -amphetamine were both dose and baseline-rate dependent. Low-moderate doses (0.5–2.0 mg/kg inclusive) facilitated self-stimulation and larger doses (2.0 to 8.0 mg/kg) depressed responding. Baseline rates before d -amphetamine administration were extremely important in the effect observed. Low rates of responding were facilitated and high rates were depressed by this agent. The effects of scopolamine in a wide range of dosage were less consistent. A small dose (0.5 mg/kg) facilitated only transiently self-stimulation and larger doses (1–8 mg/kg) tended to depress this behavior. Baseline rate effects were less important but high-rate responders were usually depressed by scopolamine.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46380/1/213_2004_Article_BF00414409.pd