First-Year Students\u27 Perspectives on Reasons for and Prevention of Their Own Alcohol Overdose

Two hundred twenty-six first-year students enrolled at a large, public Midwest university and deemed to require an emergency transport for a potential alcohol overdose completed a brief questionnaire on the student\u27s perceptions of why the event occurred, what might have happened to prevent the overdose situation, and personal assessment of experience with alcohol. The explanations for the event revolve around personal decision making (made decision to drink too much, absence of drinking control behaviors) as opposed to peer influence. Similarly, factors selected as preventing an alcohol overdose focused on knowing one\u27s own tolerance, plus having a buddy system to slow down consumption. Other external interventions, whether in a drinking establishment or emanating from the university, were generally not subscribed to. Regardless of self-assessment as an experienced or inexperienced drinker, students felt they knew how to intervene, would intervene, and knew the signs of an alcohol overdose and personal risk

A Five-Step Process for Interactive Parent–Adolescent Communication About HIV Prevention: Advice From Parents Living with HIV/AIDS

The authors investigated how parents living with HIV/AIDS communicate about HIV prevention with their 10- to 18-year-old children. Semistructured interviews with 76 mothers and fathers were analyzed for (a) their experiences discussing HIV prevention with adolescents and (b) advice for other parents about how to best broach HIV-related topics. Interactive conversations were regarded as particularly effective. A five-step process for interactive communication emerged as a result of these discussions. Parents emphasized that adolescents should have a “voice” and a “choice” in HIV-related talks. Health care professionals can facilitate adolescent sexual health by encouraging parents to actively involve their children in discussions about HIV prevention. Future HIV prevention programs could benefit by providing parents with appropriate tools to foster interactive discussions about sexual health with adolescents

Consumer Responses to Online Decision Aids for 3 Preference-Sensitive Health Problems

Two hundred and twenty-four adults evaluated three preference-sensitive online decision aids related to their personal self-reported health status. Respondents were recruited in 2009, and user review was conducted online outside of a research or clinical setting. The majority of respondents had some college education, were white, and were middle aged. The three decision aids tested (statins [n = 70], aspirin [n = 97], and MRI [n = 57]) have been developed through a rigorous, iterative, expert medical review process; are evidence based; and are written in plain language. The results of general linear model repeated measures analyses were statistically significant for pre-post changes in user knowledge and for between-subject differences according to health issue. Post hoc comparisons for the results of one-way analysis of variance for eight dimensions of usability show that users of the MRI decision aid, compared with the other two user groups, felt that they had learned more, that the tool had helped clear up their feelings about the issue, and that they were more inclined to talk with their physician about their health issue

Assessment of the Usability and Impact of the Idaho Health Data Exchange (IHDE)

Eighty four health care professionals participated in an online survey assessing the usability, and clinical and administrative impact of the Idaho Health Data Exchange’s (IHDE) Virtual Health Record (VHR). The IHDE VHR allows authorized users to use a secure web interface to view lab, radiology and transcribed reports from multiple facilities and view medical histories on patients in the data exchange. Results indicate the usability of the IHDE VHR was almost universally positively rated with the Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) utilized as the assessment method. Medical providers however had the lowest rating of the exchange, raising concerns about the need for additional training and support. The addition of other Idaho health care organizations to the health data exchange was most widely desired, with the most frequently cited benefit being more comprehensive access to patients’ records. In contrast to other published evaluations of health data exchanges in the U.S., few of the concerns emerged about cost of implementation of the data exchange or trust in the quality of information contained therein

Communicating in Complex Situations: A Normative Approach to HIV-Related Talk Among Parents Who Are HIV+

Parents with HIV/AIDS are confronted with unique challenges when discussing HIV-related information with their children. Strategies for navigating these challenges effectively have not been systematically examined. In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 76 parents with HIV/AIDS who had children ages 10–18 years. Guided by O\u27Keefe and Delia\u27s definition of a complex communication situation and Goldsmith\u27s normative approach to interpersonal communication, we examined parents’ goals for discussing HIV-related information, factors that made conversations challenging, and instances where these conversational purposes conflicted with one another. Our data reveal the following parent–adolescent communication predicaments: relaying safety information about HIV while minimizing child anxiety, modeling open family communication without damaging one\u27s parental identity, and balancing parent–child relational needs amid living with an unpredictable health condition. Parents also described a variety of strategies for mitigating challenges when discussing HIV-related topics. Strategies parents perceived as effective included reframing HIV as a chronic, manageable illness; keeping talk educational; and embedding HIV-related topics within more general conversations. The theoretical and practical applications of these findings are discussed with regard to their relevance to health communication scholars and HIV care professionals

St. Luke\u27s Virtual Concussion Clinic: A Unique Structure to Provide Comprehensive Care for Patients

Purpose: Failure to provide timely assessment and management of patients with concussions creates prolonged challenges for patients and primary care providers by disrupting work and school, interpersonal and family relationships, and placing patients at risk of injury. Thus, it is essential to provide timely and appropriate care to minimize post-concussion symptoms. The development of a virtual concussion clinic with a central referral and care coordination system is described. Additionally, key identifiers of virtual clinic patients are presented. Methods: Intake and referral processes were implemented within 18 specialty clinics and 3 emergency departments. All patients (n= 623) completed a modified version of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Acute Concussion Evaluation (ACE) Form prior to their referred appointment with a clinician. Data was collected over a year and a half period. General linear models compared the ACE domains and overall ACE scores with fixed variables of gender and cause of concussion. Results: For our sample, most referrals came from emergency departments and primary care physicians. The sample was majority male (57%), with mean age 21.8 years. Females playing soccer, basketball, and cheerleading were most likely to have a concussion, whereas football represented 65% of concussions in male patients. Significant effects for gender (pConclusions: A virtual concussion clinic can successfully match the patient and his/her individual health care needs to an appropriate provider. Results demonstrate gender and cause of concussion impact evaluation, and warrants further research to discern optimal care for patients with concussion

Fraternity and Sorority New Members’ Self-Regulation of Alcohol Use

One hundred seventy three first year fraternity and sorority members completed an on-line survey on alcohol expectations, perceived capacity for regulating their alcohol intake (self-pacing), weekly consumption of alcohol, and perceived peer consumption. The 146 students who reported knowing how to self-pace planned to do so, were less susceptible to expectations to drink, drank less in a week and drank fewer days when compared to the 27 students reporting uncertainties in being able to self-pace. Opportunities for enhancing student’s capacity for selfregulation are discussed

Postharvest dehydration of Syrah grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) under controlled temperature conditions with real-time monitoring of mass loss

The partial dehydration of grapes after harvest aimed at winemaking has been shown to be a process that brings increased concentration of sugar and phenolic compounds in the must, which affects the quality of the wines produced. However, the works developed so far have studied the process for temperatures up to a maximum of 25°C and air velocity lower than 1 m.s-1. This study aimed to analyze the physical-chemical changes concentration of total soluble solids (TSS) and phenolic compounds (PC) after partial dehydration of 'Syrah' grapes subjected to two treatments combining two temperatures and one air velocity (T1= 22.9°C/1.79 m.s-1 and T2 = 37.1°C/1.79 m.s-1) and relative humidity of 40%. The water loss of the grapes was approximately 14% and the drying process lasted between 34 and 68 h for treatments T2 and T1, respectively. We experimentally and statistically verified that the treatments promoted significant increase in TSS and PC; however, for PC at the temperature of 37.1°C, the increase accounted for approximately 27%, whereas, for the temperature of 22.9°C, it was only 12%. For TSS, the increase was on average 12.47±0.9% between both treatments. The results demonstrate that it is possible to moderately dry grapes, which consequently results in improvements in their chemical composition and can improve the quality of wine.104229234COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informação2012/20236-6; 2010/15663-

Partial dehydration of 'Niagara Rosada' GRAPES (Vitis labrusca L.) targeting increased concentration of phenolic compounds and soluble solids

The partial dehydration of grapes after harvest and aimed wine-making, has been shown to be a process that brings increased concentration of sugar and phenolic compounds in the must, which results in the quality of the wines produced. However, the works developed so far studied the process for temperatures up to a maximum of 25°C and air velocity less than 1 m.s-1. This study aimed to analyze the physical and chemical changes (concentration of total soluble solids (TSS) and phenolic compounds (CPC)) after partial dehydration of 'Niagara Rosada' grapes at the temperature subjected to two treatments combining two temperatures and one air velocity (T1= 22.9°C/1.79 m.s-1 and T2 = 37.1°C/1.79 m.s-1), and relative humidity of approximately 40%. The loss of water in the grapes was approximately 14% and the drying process lasted between 20 to 50 h for the treatments T1 and T2, respectively. We experimentally and statistically verified that the treatments promoted significant increase in TSS and CPC; however, for CPC at the temperature of 37.1°C, the increase accounted for approximately 29%, whereas, for the temperature of 22.9°C, it was only 5%. For TSS, the increase was on average 14.4 ± 3.9% between both treatments.Key words: Chaptalization, temperature, air velocity, winemaking

Tomatoes maturation analysis with reflectance spectral images

The demands for high quality products are increasing in the market, so several tests are performed. These analyses are destructive, time consuming and sometimes expensive. The spectral imaging technique is an alternative that can reduce costs and time and increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these analyses. In this context, the aim of this study was to verify the spectral behavior of the tomato in function of the maturation and its potential use for non-destructive evaluation of food quality. Eighty tomatoes of the Italian group were selected in four stages of maturation (green, pink, light red and red). Images were collected in wavelengths 480 nm to 710 nm (every 10 nm). After the images were collected, the fruits were submitted to the physical-chemical analyses. The following parameters were analyzed: color, color index (CI), pH, soluble solids (SS), total titratable acidity (TTA) and ratio (SS/TTA). After characterization the mean spectrum was obtained by the extraction of the spectral characteristics. It was observed that the spectral behavior was the same for all stages of maturation. It was possible to differentiate the green tomatoes in the wavelengths from 520 nm to 560 nm and from 610 nm to 660 nm. These intervals represent the area of reflection of chlorophyll and lycopene, respectively. Near the wavelength 560 nm, the highest absorbance was recorded by ripe tomatoes due to the concentration of lycopene. It is concluded that the best wavelengths for analysis are those in which green has the highest reflectance and it is possible to apply this technique for non-destructive analysis of the maturation of tomatoes.742643