Balancing the Global Distribution of Phosphorus With a View Toward Sustainability and Equity

Limitations in the geological reserves of phosphate rock, the source of fertilizer phosphorus, are not currently considered in agricultural practices or global trade, a very short‐sighted approach considering that there is no “alternative fuel” for plant growth. Thus, it is important to understand the science of phosphorus‐crop growth dynamics as a function of grain type, plant uptake, climate, and past fertilizer phosphorus application history. Recent work on modeling these factors on the global scale (Kvakić et al., 2018) provides the first scientific backdrop for developing an understanding of fertilizer phosphorus balances, and for informing forward‐looking practices and policies that regulate toward long‐term sustainability rather than short‐term profit

Survey of college and university reading programs in six mid-western states

The purpose of this investigation was to collect information concerning the current status of reading improvement instruction in six mid-western states. Data gathered from the survey is to be used as a guide for the formation of a reading improvement program at a small mid-western liberal arts college. The locality of the survey was Wisconsin and the five states that surround it

First Elderly Client in Therapy: Factors that Influence Student Interest in Geropsychology

In the coming decades, the elderly population in United States (U.S) is expected to grow significantly (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). Consequently, the number of older individuals seeking mental health services will be greater than at any other time in the history of the U.S. The field of clinical psychology, however, is unable to meet the mental health needs of the current elderly population, and this gap is expected to widen in coming years. There is an ongoing discussion within the field of professional psychology as to how to train more clinicians to work with the elderly population (Gatz & Smyer, 2001; Hinrichsen & Zweig, 2005; Norman, Ishler, Ashcraft, & Patterson, 2000; Qualls, Segal, Benight, & Kenny, 2005), and the present study set out to understand factors that may influence clinical psychology graduate students’ interest in working with clients from this population. The direction of the research was informed by current aging theory, particularly life-span and successful aging theories, and was inspired by the ongoing multicultural competency movement. Currently enrolled PsyD students (N=7) in clinical psychology programs were interviewed regarding their experiences of working with their first elderly therapy client in a supervised setting (practicum or predoctoral internship). Semi-structured interviews paid particular attention to aspects of participants’ professional and personal experiences that they identified as influential on their interest to seek out (or not) future opportunities to work, or to learn more about working with, elderly individuals. Using the qualitative methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), interview transcriptions were analyzed to the point of saturation and distilled into common themes. These themes fell within six overarching domains: (a) Expectations vs. Reality, (b) Subjective Experience, (c) Resources Drawn upon During Treatment, (d) Interest in Geropsychology: Pre vs. Post, (e) Factors Associated with Future Interest in Geropsychology, and (f) What Would Have Made the Experience Better? These six domains comprised a total of 31 themes and subthemes (many themes stood on their own, while others contained two or more subthemes). While a majority of the themes confirmed what is already known in the literature, unique themes also emerged, as was expected from an IPA study, whose intent was to capture the subjective voices of individual clinician-trainees. One common theme already raised by previous researchers about clinical training in geropsychology was that having at least some experience with elderly individuals in a supervised training setting is a crucial avenue for nurturing trainees’ interest in working with the population (Cummings & Galambos, 2002; Hegeman, Horowitz, Tepper, Pillemer, & Schultz, 2002; Hinrichsen, 2000; Kropf, 2002). One theme unique to the present study about training, which was not found in the available literature and has clear implications for how academic programs approach training, was that some participants described experiencing a shift in their understanding of the elderly, from a population with very specialized needs to be treated by specialists, to a population that is a part of the larger, general population, which can be adequately treated by generalists. Themes are illustrated and discussed with quotations drawn directly from participant interviews, adding richness and voice to the study’s results and conclusions. On the basis of the study’s results and on the literature reviewed herein, implications of the current status of geropsychology training and recommendations that others have made to improve it are discussed. Additional recommendations, based on this study’s unique findings, are offered as well

First Elderly Client in Therapy: Factors that Influence Student Interest in Geropsychology

In the coming decades, the elderly population in United States (U.S) is expected to grow significantly (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). Consequently, the number of older individuals seeking mental health services will be greater than at any other time in the history of the U.S. The field of clinical psychology, however, is unable to meet the mental health needs of the current elderly population, and this gap is expected to widen in coming years. There is an ongoing discussion within the field of professional psychology as to how to train more clinicians to work with the elderly population (Gatz & Smyer, 2001; Hinrichsen & Zweig, 2005; Norman, Ishler, Ashcraft, & Patterson, 2000; Qualls, Segal, Benight, & Kenny, 2005), and the present study set out to understand factors that may influence clinical psychology graduate students’ interest in working with clients from this population. The direction of the research was informed by current aging theory, particularly life-span and successful aging theories, and was inspired by the ongoing multicultural competency movement. Currently enrolled PsyD students (N=7) in clinical psychology programs were interviewed regarding their experiences of working with their first elderly therapy client in a supervised setting (practicum or predoctoral internship). Semi-structured interviews paid particular attention to aspects of participants’ professional and personal experiences that they identified as influential on their interest to seek out (or not) future opportunities to work, or to learn more about working with, elderly individuals. Using the qualitative methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), interview transcriptions were analyzed to the point of saturation and distilled into common themes. These themes fell within six overarching domains: (a) Expectations vs. Reality, (b) Subjective Experience, (c) Resources Drawn upon During Treatment, (d) Interest in Geropsychology: Pre vs. Post, (e) Factors Associated with Future Interest in Geropsychology, and (f) What Would Have Made the Experience Better? These six domains comprised a total of 31 themes and subthemes (many themes stood on their own, while others contained two or more subthemes). While a majority of the themes confirmed what is already known in the literature, unique themes also emerged, as was expected from an IPA study, whose intent was to capture the subjective voices of individual clinician-trainees. One common theme already raised by previous researchers about clinical training in geropsychology was that having at least some experience with elderly individuals in a supervised training setting is a crucial avenue for nurturing trainees’ interest in working with the population (Cummings & Galambos, 2002; Hegeman, Horowitz, Tepper, Pillemer, & Schultz, 2002; Hinrichsen, 2000; Kropf, 2002). One theme unique to the present study about training, which was not found in the available literature and has clear implications for how academic programs approach training, was that some participants described experiencing a shift in their understanding of the elderly, from a population with very specialized needs to be treated by specialists, to a population that is a part of the larger, general population, which can be adequately treated by generalists. Themes are illustrated and discussed with quotations drawn directly from participant interviews, adding richness and voice to the study’s results and conclusions. On the basis of the study’s results and on the literature reviewed herein, implications of the current status of geropsychology training and recommendations that others have made to improve it are discussed. Additional recommendations, based on this study’s unique findings, are offered as well

Ocular Refraction at Birth and Its Development During the First Year of Life in a Large Cohort of Babies in a Single Center in Northern Italy

The purpose of this study was to investigate refraction at birth and during the first year of life in a large cohort of babies born in a single center in Northern Italy. We also aimed to analyze refractive errors in relation to the gestational age at birth. An observational ophthalmological assessment was performed within 24 h of birth on 12,427 newborns. Refraction was examined using streak retinoscopy after the administration of tropicamide (1%). Values in the range of between +0.50 ≤ D ≤ +4.00 were defined as physiological refraction at birth. Newborns with refraction values outside of the physiological range were followed up during the first year of life. Comparative analyses were conducted in a subgroup of babies with known gestational ages. The following distribution of refraction at birth was recorded: 88.03% of the babies had physiological refraction, 5.03% had moderate hyperopia, 2.14% had severe hyperopia, 3.4%, had emmetropia, 0.45%, had myopia, 0.94% had astigmatism, and 0.01% had anisometropia. By the end of the first year of life, we observed reductions in hyperopia and astigmatism, and stabilization of myopia. Preterm babies had a four-fold higher risk of congenital myopia and a three-fold higher risk of congenital emmetropia as compared to term babies. Refraction profiles obtained at birth changed during the first year of life, leading to a normalization of the refraction values. Gestational age at birth affected the incidence of refractive errors and amblyopia

Hydropinotherapy with sulphurous mineral water as complementary treatment to improve glucose metabolism, oxidative status, and quality of life

Hydropinotherapy is a salus per aquam (Spa) treatment suitable as a complementary approach to treat several diseases, which strongly affect the quality of life (QoL). Hydropinotherapy with sulphurous mineral water exerts benefits thanks to components, such as hydrogen sulphide, which is considered mainly responsible for antioxidant and hypoglycaemic effects. Such properties, linked from each other, could favour an improvement in patients’ QoL. However, data on humans are scarce. This study aimed to investigate whether a cycle of sulphurous hydropinotherapy was able to modify plasma levels of glucose and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and improve QoL in patients suffering from several chronic disorders. A prospective, observational study involved patients with gastrointestinal diseases who received a prescription of a cycle of sulphurous hy-dropinotherapy (S-HT). Age-and sex-matched control group was enrolled (No S-HT). Glycaemia and plasma concentration of ROMs were measured in all subjects. The impact of spa treatment on the QoL was assessed using the Short Form 36 Health Status Survey questionnaire (SF-36). All parameters were measured at baseline and at the end of a 2-week treatment. Between the groups, no differences were found in glycaemia and ROMs at baseline. In the S-HT group, a reduction in glycaemia and ROMs, both in respect to baseline (p = 0.005 and p = 0.031, respectively) and to control group, as shown by the delta value calculated, as the difference between the values at 2 weeks and baseline (p = 0.0009 and p = 0.0001, respectively). In the S-HT, delta ROMs was the best predictor of delta glycaemia with a direct linear correlation (beta = 0.559, 95% CI 0.471 to 0.647, p < 0.0001). In the S-HT, the SF-36 total score was improved both when compared with baseline (p = 0.002) and with No S-HT (p = 0.001). Sulphurous hydropinotherapy induces a decrease in glycaemia and ROM levels, also ameliorating the patients’ QoL. Therefore, it could be considered a useful complementary therapeutic approach

Mapping the Urban Lead Exposome: A Detailed Analysis of Soil Metal Concentrations at the Household Scale Using Citizen Science

An ambitious citizen science effort in the city of Indianapolis (IN, USA) led to the collection and analysis of a large number of samples at the property scale, facilitating the analysis of differences in soil metal concentrations as a function of property location (i.e., dripline, yard, and street) and location within the city. This effort indicated that dripline soils had substantially higher values of lead and zinc than other soil locations on a given property, and this pattern was heightened in properties nearer the urban core. Soil lead values typically exceeded the levels deemed safe for children’s play areas in the United States (<400 ppm), and almost always exceeded safe gardening guidelines (<200 ppm). As a whole, this study identified locations within properties and cities that exhibited the highest exposure risk to children, and also exhibited the power of citizen science to produce data at a spatial scale (i.e., within a property boundary), which is usually impossible to feasibly collect in a typical research study