Health Service Patterns Indicate Potential Benefit of Supported Self-Management for Depression in Primary Care

Objective: To examine health service delivery in a Canadian province (British Columbia) toconsider how Canadian health care services might be developed to best address the large numberof individuals with mildly to moderately severe depressive illnesses.Method: We used provincial administrative data to describe patterns of medical servicesprovided to individuals suffering from depression during 3 different time periods (1991–1992,1995–1996, and 2000–2001) and to determine the frequency with which depression patientsreceive treatment from primary care physicians and psychiatrists. We then used these findings toconsider the feasibility and potential applicability of the various approaches that have beendescribed to decrease the burden of disease related to depression.Results: In the fiscal year 1991–1992, the “treated prevalence” rate was 7.7%; in 1995–1996, itwas 8.7%; and in 2000–2001, it was 9.5%. In each cohort over the 10-year period, theproportion of individuals who received a diagnosis of depression and who were then treated byprimary care physicians alone (no psychiatric services were provided) remained constant at 92%.Conclusions: Supported self-management is identified as a promising intervention that could beintegrated into primary health care within the context of the Canadian health care system. Itconstitutes a feasible and practical approach to enhance the role of family physicians in thedelivery of services to individuals with milder forms of depression and promotes the activeengagement of individuals in their recovery and in prevention of future episodes

Poster Introductions III--Antipsychotic Utilization in British Columbia from 1997 to 2006

This study examined the prevalent use of antipsychotic medication in British Columbia from 1997 to 2006 among individuals aged 20 and above. Utilization data were obtained from BC’s PharmaNet system – a provincially maintained database that contains prescription dispensation records and demographic information for individuals residing in BC. Using the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Pharmacologic-Therapeutic Classification, claim records for Antipsychotics, Atypical Antipsychotics, Butyrophenones, Phenotiazines, Thioxanthenes, and Miscellaneous Antipsychotics were identified in the PharmaNet dataset. Individuals who filled at least 1 antipsychotic prescription in a given year were counted as prevalent users. Results were examined across gender and several age groupings. Preliminary analyses of the results provide evidence for increasing prevalent use from 1997 to 2006. Similarly, initial results suggest prevalent use increases with age, with older age groups (75 and above) exhibiting dramatic jumps in utilization. Results will be discussed in light of the various indications for the use of antipsychotic medications and the various health concerns associated with its prolonged use, particularly among the elderly. Joseph H. Puyat is an MSc student in the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia. He was a project manager and researcher at the Center for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addictions (CARMHA), Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University where he worked on various projects including the analysis of the BC provincial prescription database to examine the pharmacoepidemiology of psychotropic drugs, and, the development of supported self-management strategies for the treatment of mood disorders. Before joining CARMHA, he conducted studies on aggression and violence among students groups and wrote research reports examining social psychological processes shaping the Filipino youth\u27s self-concept

An X-Ray Study of the Supernova Remnant G290.1-0.8

G290.1-0.8 (MSH 11-61A) is a supernova remnant (SNR) whose X-ray morphology is centrally bright. However, unlike the class of X-ray composite SNRs whose centers are dominated by nonthermal emission, presumably driven by a central pulsar, we show that the X-ray emission from G290.1-0.8 is thermal in nature, placing the remnant in an emerging class which includes such remnants as W44, W28, 3C391, and others. The evolutionary sequence which leads to such X-ray properties is not well understood. Here we investigate two scenarios for such emission: evolution in a cloudy interstellar medium, and early-stage evolution of a remnant into the radiative phase, including the effects of thermal conduction. We construct models for these scenarios in an attempt to reproduce the observed center-filled X-ray properties of G290.1-0.8, and we derive the associated age, energy, and ambient density conditions implied by the models. We find that for reasonable values of the explosion energy, the remnant age is of order (1 - 2) x 10^{4} yr. This places a fairly strong constraint on any association between G290.1-0.8 and PSR J1105-610, which would require an anomalously large velocity for the pulsar.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, ApJ, accepte

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Across the Life Span of Women: A Wellness‐Based Integrative Intervention

Women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—an endocrine disorder that affects a woman\u27s physical and psychological functioning—face challenges that affect personal and social functioning. Information about PCOS is provided for counselors, including a description of a wellness‐based integrative intervention to enhance optimal wellness and quality of life

The development of metaphorical language comprehension in typical development and in Williams syndrome

The domain of figurative language comprehension was used to probe the developmental relation between language and cognition in typically developing individuals and individuals with Williams syndrome. Extending the work of Vosniadou and Ortony, the emergence of nonliteral similarity and category knowledge was investigated in 117 typically developing children between 4 and 12 years of age, 19 typically developing adults, 15 children with Williams syndrome between 5 and 12 years of age, and 8 adults with Williams syndrome. Participants were required to complete similarity and categorization statements by selecting one of two words (e.g., either “The sun is like ___” or “The sun is the same kind of thing as ___”) with word pairs formed from items that were literally, perceptually, or functionally similar to the target word or else anomalous (e.g., moon, orange, oven, or chair, respectively). Results indicated that individuals with Williams syndrome may access different, less abstract knowledge in figurative language comparisons despite the relatively strong verbal abilities found in this disorder

Concert recording 2013-04-18a

[Track 01]. Concerto for trombone, I. Moderato assai ma molto maestoso, II. Quasi una leggenda / Launy Grondahl -- [Track 02]. Conversation for tenor and bass trombone / Charlie Small -- [Track 03]. Elegie op. 3, no. 1 / Sergei Rachmaninoff -- [Track 04]. Marietta\u27s Lied from Die tote Stadt / Erich Wolfgang Korngold -- [Track 05]. Concerto for trombone, I. Adagio ; [Track 06]. II. Allegro assai / Georg Christoph Wagenseil

Studies in the Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Transantarctic Mountains

This is the third annual progress report submitted by Institute of Polar Studies researchers to the National Science Foundation (Grant No. GA-898X) on the geochronology and geochemistry of rocks from the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. The results reported in this report are preliminary in nature.National Science Foundation Grant GA-898