How faith communities in the UK are responding to the refugee crisis

Faith-based groups don’t always get it right in their response to refugees. But, at their best, Susanna Snyder argues, faith communities work in partnership with other civic organisations to offer practical support to some of the most marginalised people in our communities and to shift public imagination, discourse and policy in a more generous and inclusive direction. As the refugee crisis continues to unfold such actions are crucial practices of hope

Public or private religiosity: which Is protective for adolescent substance use and by what pathways?

While it is well understood that adolescent religiosity is associated with the use and abuse of licit and illicit substances, few studies have revealed the pathways through which religiosity buffers youth against involvement in such behavior. The aim of this study is to examine the complexity of the relationships between religiosity, sensation seeking, injunctive norms, and adolescent substance use. Using a national sample of adolescents (N = 18,614), negative binomial regression and path analysis were used to examine the various components of the relationship between religiosity and the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Results indicate that private religiosity moderates the relationship between key risk factors and substance use. Public and private religiosity were associated with tolerant injunctive substance use norms which, in turn, were associated with substance use. Implications for research and theory related to religiosity and adolescent substance use are discussed

Unsettled integration: Pre- and post-migration factors in Congolese refugee women’s resettlement experiences in the United States

By 2019, the United States plans to resettle approximately 50,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the challenges, risks, and strengths of adult Congolese refugee women resettled in the United States to help policymakers, service providers, and other stakeholders prepare for the arrival of Congolese women and their families. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with Congolese refugee women (n = 28) and resettlement service providers (n = 29) in three US cities. The findings of this study reveal the complex and dynamic nature of Congolese refugee women’s resettlement experiences in the United States and highlight the importance of recognizing the intersection of pre- and post-migration factors during resettlement. This article offers concrete implications for the social work profession and practitioners.Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA

The Polyamine Inhibitor Alpha-Difluoromethylornithine Modulates Hippocampus-Dependent Function after Single and Combined Injuries

Exposure to uncontrolled irradiation in a radiologic terrorism scenario, a natural disaster or a nuclear battlefield, will likely be concomitantly superimposed on other types of injury, such as trauma. In the central nervous system, radiation combined injury (RCI) involving irradiation and traumatic brain injury may have a multifaceted character. This may entail cellular and molecular changes that are associated with cognitive performance, including changes in neurogenesis and the expression of the plasticity-related immediate early gene Arc. Because traumatic stimuli initiate a characteristic early increase in polyamine metabolism, we hypothesized that treatment with the polyamine inhibitor alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) would reduce the adverse effects of single or combined injury on hippocampus structure and function. Hippocampal dependent cognitive impairments were quantified with the Morris water maze and showed that DFMO effectively reversed cognitive impairments after all injuries, particularly traumatic brain injury. Similar results were seen with respect to the expression of Arc protein, but not neurogenesis. Given that polyamines have been found to modulate inflammatory responses in the brain we also assessed the numbers of total and newly born activated microglia, and found reduced numbers of newly born cells. While the mechanisms responsible for the improvement in cognition after DFMO treatment are not yet clear, the present study provides new and compelling data regarding the potential use of DFMO as a potential countermeasure against the adverse effects of single or combined injury

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

Encountering Asylum Seekers:An Ethic of Fear or Faith?

Asylum is a contentious public and political issue and people seeking asylum are often targets of fear and hostility. This article presents an ethical challenge to churches aiming to support asylum seekers in the UK. Through an exploration of two contrasting strands in the biblical tradition relating to the ‘stranger’—one rooted in an ‘ecology of fear’ and another rooted in an ‘ecology of faith’—it argues that as well as practising positive encounters with newcomers, Christians need to understand and engage with public hostility. </jats:p