Case 7 : Transitioning From Prison to Community

The Irish Red Cross (IRC) Community Based Health and First Aid (CBHFA) Prison Program was piloted at Wheatfield Prison in 2009 and, following several successful evaluations, was implemented across all of Ireland’s 14 prisons in 2014. The CBHFA Prison Program trains inmates as special status IRC volunteers through weekly CBHFA training sessions, which take place over six months. After completing the community assessment module within the CBHFA program, volunteers, with the support of prison staff, implement projects and engage in peer-topeer health education in an effort to promote the health of the prison community. In addition to having a positive impact on prison health, many volunteers have internalized a more constructive and positive identity and have developed greater self-esteem, self-respect, and confidence. Unfortunately, as a result of policies surrounding the IRC volunteering process, many inmates only keep their volunteer status whilst in prison and therefore their skills and knowledge are not harnessed upon their release. With high rates of recidivism and a reentry process filled with challenges, the CBHFA management team wanted to develop the program to allow for its continuation in the community. A continuation of the program could help released offenders maintain their association with the IRC and thus their associated positive identity, as well as help address various health challenges associated with transitioning from prison to community. The CBHFA team debated whether to use the “wounded healer” approach for the program design, which involves ex-offenders taking on helper roles in programming surrounding the rehabilitation and reintegration of other offenders. After determining the general design of the program, the CBHFA team would need to develop recommendations regarding the program’s content and its method of implementation and delivery

Wave-driven flow over shallow reefs

Long-term (1 month) observations of waves and currents over a natural reef are presented which show a strong correlation between offshore rms incident wave height and cross-reef currents at subtidal frequencies. The energy spectrum of the cross-reef currents shows a significant peak at twice the semidiurnal tidal frequency, while the spectrum of sea surface elevation over the reef flat shows no corresponding peak. Furthermore, experimental results reported by Gourlay (1993) show setup over the reef occurs in the absence of a beach, and the cross-reef transport decreases with an increase in the sea surface slope across the reef flat due to an increase in setup at the top of the reef face. Analytic solutions for flow forced by wave breaking over an idealized reef explain the above features of cross-reef flows in the absence of a beach. Through the surf zone on the reef face the cross-reef gradient in the radiation stress due to wave breaking is partitioned between balancing an offshore pressure gradient associated with setup over the reef and forcing a mean flow across the reef. Over the reef flat, where the depth is constant, there is no forcing due to wave breaking and the flow is driven by a pressure gradient which results from the setup through the surf zone. The magnitude of the setup through the surf zone is such that the transport across the reef flat matches the transport through the surf zone which is forced by the gradient in the radiation stress. Solutions are presented for general reef geometry, defined by the reef width and slope of the seaward reef face, and incident wave forcing, defined by the depth at the breakpoint and the depth of water over the reef. As the depth over the reef goes to zero, the solutions converge to the plane beach solutions described by Longuet-Higgins and Stewart (1964), wave setup is maximized, and the cross-reef transport is zero. In other cases the relative magnitudes of the setup and the cross-reef transport depend on the geometry of the reef and the incident wave forcing

Global Journalist: NATO in the leadup to the Iraq War

In this February 13, 2003 episode of Global Journalist, host Stuart Loory interviews four panelists about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in advance of an important Security Council meeting to determine if the United States should go to war with Iraq

Reasons for incomplete STI vaccination among men who have sex with men in an English sexual health service

BackgroundIn England, vaccination for human papillomavirus, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B is recommended for men who have sex with men (MSM). However, uptake is sub-optimal and some men do not complete all recommended vaccine doses. This service evaluation aimed to explore reasons for lack of uptake for each of these vaccines among MSM in one English sexual health service and to inform improvements in service delivery to increase full dose completion rates. MethodsMSM, ≥18 years, who had previously attended NHS Solent Sexual Health for at least one vaccination, and who had not completed the full dosing regimen for at least one of these vaccines, were invited to participate in an anonymous, online survey between 14/12/2020-11/04/2021. ResultsAmong 246 MSM (M = 42.1 years), the most common reason for non-vaccination was that participants thought it was unneeded and had not been recommended by a doctor or healthcare provider. None reported vaccine hesitancy. Likewise, the most common reasons for vaccination were doctor/healthcare provider recommendation (51.7–65.6%) and self-protection (60.9–68.1%). The most common reason for not having completed the full course of vaccination was being unaware that the next dose was due (30.0–37.8%). Many participants who had not completed vaccination indicated that a doctor/healthcare provider recommendation would be a motivating factor and that reminder messages and being able to book subsequent appointments in advance would facilitate vaccination. ConclusionsSexual health clinicians should be encouraged to discuss STI vaccination with MSM and services should explore possibilities to improve ease and access to vaccine appointments to increase uptake and completion rates

Acceptability of remote prescribing and postal delivery services for contraceptive pills and treatment of uncomplicated Chlamydia trachomatis

Objectives: The digitalisation of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services offer valuable opportunities to deliver contraceptive pills and Chlamydia treatment by post. We aimed to examine the acceptability of remote prescribing and “medication-by-post” in SRH. Study design: An online survey assessing attitudes towards remote management was distributed in three UK SRH clinics and via an integrated sexually transmitted infection (STI) postal self-sampling service. Logistic regressions were performed to identify potential correlates. Results: There were 1281 participants (74% female and 49% 45 years old OR:0.43(0.23-0.81), screened for STIs less than once annually OR:0.63(0.42-0.93), concerned about confidentiality OR:0.21(0.90-0.50), concerned about absence during delivery OR:0.09(0.02-0.32), unwilling to provide blood pressure readings OR:0.22(0.04-0.97). Higher acceptability was observed among participants who reported: previously receiving medication by post OR:4.63(1.44-14.8), preference for home delivery over clinic collection OR:24.1(11.1-51.9), preference for home STI testing OR:10.3(6.16-17.4), ability to communicate with health advisors OR:4.01(1.03-15.6), and willingness to: register their real name OR:3.09(1.43-10.6), complete online health questionnaires OR:3.09(1.43-10.6), and use generic contraceptive pills OR:2.88(1.21-6.83). Conclusion: Postal treatment and entering information online to allow remote prescribing were acceptable methods for SRH services and should be considered alongside medication collection in pharmacies. These methods could be particularly useful for patients facing barriers in accessing SRH. The cost-effectiveness and implementation of these novel methods of service delivery should be further investigated

Acceptability of remote prescribing and postal delivery services for contraceptive pills and treatment of uncomplicated Chlamydia trachomatis

OBJECTIVES: The digitalisation of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services offers valuable opportunities to deliver contraceptive pills and chlamydia treatment by post. We aimed to examine the acceptability of remote prescribing and 'medication-by-post' in SRH. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey assessing attitudes towards remote management was distributed in three UK SRH clinics and via an integrated sexually transmitted infection (STI) postal self-sampling service. Logistic regressions were performed to identify potential correlates. RESULTS: There were 1281 participants (74% female and 49% 45 years old (OR 0.43 (95% CI 0.23-0.81)), screened for STIs less than once annually (OR 0.63 (0.42-0.93)), concerned about confidentiality (OR 0.21 (0.90-0.50)), concerned about absence during delivery (OR 0.09 (0.02-0.32)) or unwilling to provide blood pressure readings (OR 0.22 (0.04-0.97)). Higher acceptability was observed among participants who reported: previously receiving medication by post (OR 4.63 (1.44-14.8)), preference for home delivery over clinic collection (OR 24.1 (11.1-51.9)), preference for home STI testing (OR 10.3 (6.16-17.4)), ability to communicate with health advisors (OR 4.01 (1.03-15.6)) and willingness to: register their real name (OR 3.09 (1.43-10.6)), complete online health questionnaires (OR 3.09 (1.43-10.6)) and use generic contraceptive pills (OR 2.88 (1.21-6.83)). CONCLUSIONS: Postal treatment and entering information online to allow remote prescribing were acceptable methods for SRH services and should be considered alongside medication collection in pharmacies. These methods could be particularly useful for patients facing barriers in accessing SRH. The cost-effectiveness and implementation of these novel methods of service delivery should be further investigated

The intertidal hydraulics of tide-dominated reef platforms

A 2 week field experiment investigated the hydrodynamics of a strongly tidally forced tropical intertidal reef platform in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, where the spring tidal range exceeds 8 m. At this site, the flat and wide (∼1.4 km) reef platform is located slightly above mean sea level, such that during low tide the offshore water level can fall 4 m below the platform. While the reef always remained submerged over each tidal cycle, there were dramatic asymmetries in both the water levels and velocities on the reef, i.e., the flood duration lasted only ∼2 h versus ∼10 h for the ebb. These dynamics were investigated using a one-dimensional numerical model (SWASH) to solve the nonlinear shallow water equations with rapid (sub to supercritical) flow transitions. The numerical model revealed that as water drains off the reef, a critical flow point was established near the reef edge prior to the water discharging down the steep forereef. Despite this hydraulic control, bottom friction on the reef was still found to make a far greater contribution to elevating water levels on the reef platform and keeping it submerged over each tidal cycle. Finally, a simple analytical model more broadly shows how water levels on intertidal reef platforms functionally depend on properties of reef morphology, bottom roughness, and tidal conditions, revealing a set of parameters (a reef draining time-scale and friction parameter) that can be used to quantify how the water depth will fall on a reef during ebb tide.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by American Geophysical Union and published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. It can be found at: http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/agu/jgr/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292169-9291

Application de la méthode des transformateurs saturés à la mesure et régulation du champ magnétique d'un spectromètre β à double focalisation π √2 avec noyau de fer

On décrit un nouveau magnétomètre pour mesurer les champs magnétiques constants ou lentement variables dans l'intervalle de variation entre 10 -4 et 3 x 102 Oe. La précision relative est supérieure à 2,5 X 10-5 entre 7 et 300 Oe. Le champ magnétique d'un spectromètre β à double focalisation π √2 du type Siegbahn-Svartholm est stabilisé par un servomécanisme. On utilise comme signal d'erreur la différence entre une tension proportionnelle au champ d'induction magnétique et une tension de référence

Monitoring consumptive resource use in South African national parks

Monitoring is an essential component of measuring the performance of protected areas. This requirement led to the development of a biodiversity monitoring system for South African National Parks (SANParks). The system comprises of ten major programmes, each focusing on a core area of conservation biodiversity monitoring, with resource use being one of the focal areas. With the growing appreciation of the importance of natural resources for the socio-economic well-being of communities and other stakeholders, sustainable resource use is an important component of the management of natural areas and national parks. To gauge sustainability, a sound monitoring and research programme that fits within the context of the SANParks’ adaptive management approach towards social-ecological system management is required. The purpose of this article was to define the context and scope in which consumptive resource use takes place within SANParks and to outline the criteria necessary for developing a sound monitoring programme to assess the sustainability of such use. The monitoring programme is structured in view of the fact that sustainable resource use is achievable only where all dimensions of sustainability (social, economic and ecological) are considered simultaneously. In terms of the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, the programme provides for assessing stakeholder needs, trends in resource use and the social and economic impacts of resource use. Monitoring that relates to the ecological dimension of sustainability of biological resource use deals with the rate of turnover and population dynamics of target species, as well as harvest impact. In terms of abiotic (non-renewable) resources, monitoring deals with sound management practices to minimise impact on the environment, and to optimise benefits through responsible use. Conservation implications: The resource use monitoring programme is intended to ensure that monitoring relating to the harvesting of natural resources from national parks is scientifically sound and conducted in a structured way, towards meeting the objective of sustainable use and compliance with national legislation. The article illustrates how SANParks meets its obligation to monitor biodiversity conservation while at the same time meeting the needs for the consumptive use of resources

Axonal response of mitochondria to demyelination and complex IV activity within demyelinated axons in experimental models of multiple sclerosis

AIMS: Axonal injury in multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental models is most frequently detected in acutely demyelinating lesions. We recently reported a compensatory neuronal response, where mitochondria move to the acutely demyelinated axon and increase the mitochondrial content following lysolecithin-induced demyelination. We termed this homeostatic phenomenon, which is also evident in MS, the axonal response of mitochondria to demyelination (ARMD). The aim of this study is to determine whether ARMD is consistently evident in experimental demyelination and how its perturbation relates to axonal injury.METHODS: In the present study, we assessed axonal mitochondrial content as well as axonal mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV activity (cytochrome c oxidase or COX) of axons and related these to axonal injury in nine different experimental disease models. We used immunofluorescent histochemistry as well as sequential COX histochemistry followed by immunofluorescent labelling of mitochondria and axons.RESULTS: We found ARMD a consistent and robust phenomenon in all experimental disease models. The increase in mitochondrial content within demyelinated axons, however, was not always accompanied by a proportionate increase in complex IV activity, particularly in highly inflammatory models such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Axonal complex IV activity inversely correlated with the extent of axonal injury in experimental disease models.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that ARMD is a consistent and prominent feature and emphasise the importance of complex IV activity in the context of ARMD, especially in autoimmune inflammatory demyelination, paving the way for the development of novel neuroprotective therapies.</p