Housing expenditures and factors associated with housing selection and satisfaction as stated by a group of single Catholic adults

The purpose of this study was to explore the housing expenditures and factors in, housing selection and satisfaction of single adults. The population tested was guests and members of two single Catholic adult clubs in Portland, Oregon. Questionnaires designed for collecting the data for the study were mailed to the total population of 202 members and guests. A total of 105 questionnaires were returned and analyzed in the study. The following hypotheses were tested: 1. There will be no significant relationship between housing expenditures and income. This hypothesis was accepted. 2. There will be no significant relationship between housing expenditures and persons with whom they live. This hypothesis was rejected. 3, Overall housing satisfaction will not vary significantly with differences in (a) age, (b) sex, (c) education, (d) housing type, (e) persons with whom they live, (f) income, or (g) housing expenditures. This hypothesis was rejected for part (a) age, and accepted for the following parts: (b) sex, (c) education, (d) housing type, (e) persons with whom they live, (f) income, and (g) housing expenditures. Of the respondents, 44 were males with an average age of 29.8 and 61 were females with an average age of 26.6. All except 12 of the respondents were educated beyond high school. Fifty-nine had earned a bachelor's degree and of this number 27 had done post-bachelor's work. In 1968, 60 respondents had incomes less than $6000; however, 55 earned$6000 and over. Males tended to have higher incomes than females. Ninety-two respondents had private bedrooms; however, most of the other rooms were shared except by those respondents who lived alone. One hundred or more of the respondents had a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom in their present housing. At least 87 respondents indicated that they had adequate privacy, daylight, and ventilation. More than one-third of the respondents lived in their present housing less than one year, and more than one-third planned to move in the next few months. Chi-square tests showed that housing type, with whom the respondent lived, and housing cost were mutually dependent. The respondents who lived with their families tended to live in single family houses and had the lowest monthly housing expenditures. Many of the respondents who lived with their families had food included in the rent they paid, and many of them provided services in lieu of all or part of their housing costs. Respondents who lived alone or with friends tended to live in apartments. Those who lived alone tended to have the highest total monthly housing expenditures. Total monthly housing expenditures including utilities and rent or home ownership expenses averaged $95. Cost, privacy, and personal safety and protection were considered very important in selection of housing by at least half of the respondents. More than three-fourths of the respondents considered a swimming pool or fireplace not important in the selection of their present housing. Of the 105 respondents, 82 expressed some degree of satisfaction with their present housing. Based on a nine-point scale the overall housing satisifaction average was 7.17 indicating a general feeling of satisfaction with housing. The average satisfaction expressed for specific housing factors was the highest for personal safety and protection. The two housing factors with the lowest satisfaction averages were outdoor area (yard or patio) and space for entertaining friends. Satisfaction with 19 of the 23 housing factors rated was significantly correlated to overall housing satisfaction. Overall housing satisfaction varied significantly with age. The respondents in the lowest age group (22-25) were the most satisfied with their housing. Satisfaction did not vary significantly with differences in sex, education, housing type, persons with whom lived, income, or total monthly housing expenditures. The educational level of the respondents was independent of their housing expenditures and with whom they lived. There was no significant relationship between income level and housing expenditures of the respondents

The impact of abnormal glucose tolerance and obesity on fetal growth

Factors linked with insulin resistance were examined for their association with large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infant birth weight and gestational diabetes. Study Design. Data came from a longitudinal cohort study of 2,305 subjects without overt diabetes, analyzed using multinomial logistic and linear regression. Results. High maternal BMI (OR = 1.53 (1.11, 2.12)), height (1.98 (1.62, 2.42)), antidepressant use (1.71 (1.20, 2.44)), pregnancy weight-gain exceeding 40 pounds (1.79 (1.25, 2.57)), and high blood sugar (2.68, (1.53, 5.27)) were all positively associated with LGA birth. Strikingly, the difference in risk from diagnosed and treated gestational diabetes compared to women with a single abnormal glucose tolerance test (but no diagnosis of gestational diabetes) was significant (OR = 0.65, p = 0.12 versus OR = 2.84, p \u3c 0.01). When weight/length ratio was used instead, different factors were found to be significant. BMI and pregnancy weight-gain were found to influence the development of gestational diabetes, through an additive interaction. Conclusions. High prepregnancy BM, height, antidepressant use, pregnancy weight-gain exceeding 40 pounds, and high blood sugar were associated with LGA birth, but not necessarily infant weight/length ratio. An additive interaction between BMI and pregnancy weight-gain influenced gestational diabetes development

Assessment of differences in peat physico-chemical properties, surface subsidence and GHG emissions between the major land-uses of Selangor peatlands

Tropical peatlands are globally important ecosystems for carbon storage, biodiversity conservation, water storage and regulation, and several other valuable ecosystem services. Despite their importance, peatlands in Southeast Asia have been heavily degraded by anthropogenic disturbances such as drainage, agricultural conversion, and fire. In this spatially extensive study we characterised peat properties, nutrient concentrations, surface subsidence rates and greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia under different land-uses: Secondary Forest, Fire affected and replanted forest (Burnt), Pineapple Plantation, Mixed Agriculture, Smallholder Oil Palm Monoculture, and Industrial Oil Palm Monoculture. All the measured peat physico-chemical properties and nutrient concentrations were significantly different between land-uses. Principal component analyses indicated that peat under the Mixed Agriculture and Burnt land-uses showed the greatest degree of modification relative to peat under the Secondary Forest land-use. Burnt land-use also showed a significantly higher subsidence rate (4.4 ± 1.2 cm yr−1) than all the other land-uses (ranging between 1.8 ± 0.47 and 3.2 ± 0.5 cm yr−1). Water table was significantly higher at the Burnt land-use (-26 cm) than all other land-uses, likely reflecting fire-prevention drain blocking measures as well as lower land surface heights post fire. Smallholder oil palm land-use had the lowest water table (−68 cm), while water table level in all other land-uses did not significantly differ from that of Secondary Forest (−43 cm). Peat surface level changes were positively related to increase in drainage, showing the importance of maintaining a high water table level in reducing peat degradation and carbon loss from peatlands. Total CO2 (mean range 492 to 1019 mg m−2 hr-1) and CH4 emissions (mean range 637 to 1422 µg m−2 hr-1) did not significantly differ between land-uses or seasons. CH4 emissions were negligible under all land-uses and higher emissions were correlated with a higher water table level. Taken together, the results show that anthropogenic land-use change impacts the physico-chemical properties and nutrient content of peat, and that increased drainage alongside changes in other peat properties leads to increased peat subsidence and carbon loss

Resource utilization and outcome at a university versus a community teaching hospital in tPA treated stroke patients: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Comparing patterns of resource utilization between hospitals is often complicated by biases in community and patient populations. Stroke patients treated with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) provide a particularly homogenous population for comparison because of strict eligibility criteria for treatment. We tested whether resource utilization would be similar in this homogenous population between two hospitals located in a single Midwestern US community by comparing use of diagnostic testing and associated outcomes following treatment with t-PA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical records from 206 consecutive intravenous t-PA-treated stroke patients from two teaching hospitals (one university, one community-based) were reviewed. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics and outcome were analyzed, as were the frequency of use of CT, MRI, MRA, echocardiography, angiography, and EEG.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-nine and 127 stroke patients received t-PA at the university and community hospitals, respectively. The two patient populations were demographically similar. There were no differences in stroke severity. All outcomes were similar at both hospitals. Utilization of CT scans, and non-invasive carotid and cardiac imaging studies were similar at both hospitals; however, brain MR, TEE, and catheter angiography were used more frequently at the university hospital. EEG was obtained more often at the community hospital.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Utilization of advanced brain imaging and invasive diagnostic testing was greater at the university hospital, but was not associated with improved clinical outcomes. This could not be explained on the basis of stroke severity or patient characteristics. This variation of practice suggests substantial opportunities exist to reduce costs and improve efficiency of diagnostic resource use as well as reduce patient exposure to risk from diagnostic procedures.</p

How well are DSM‑5 diagnostic criteria for ASD represented in standardized diagnostic instruments?

Five years after the publication of DSM-5 in 2013, three widely-used diagnostic instruments have published algorithms designed to represent its (sub)criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents. This study aimed to: (1) establish the content validity of these three DSM-5-adapted algorithms, and (2) identify problems with the operationalization of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria in measurable and observable behaviors. Algorithm items of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule - Second Edition (ADOS-2), Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview (3di) and Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders - 11th edition (DISCO-11) were mapped onto DSM-5 sub-criteria. The development and decision-making rules integrated in their algorithms were then compared with DSM-5. Results demonstrated significant variability in the number and nature of sub-criteria covered by the ADOS-2, 3di and DISCO-11. In addition to differences in the development of algorithms and cut-off scores, instruments also differed in the extent to which they follow DSM-5 decision-making rules for diagnostic classification. We conclude that such differences in interpretation of DSM-5 criteria provide a challenge for symptom operationalization which will be most effectively overcome by consensus, testing and reformulation

The Cascadia Initiative : a sea change In seismological studies of subduction zones

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 27, no. 2 (2014): 138-150, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2014.49.Increasing public awareness that the Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest is capable of great earthquakes (magnitude 9 and greater) motivates the Cascadia Initiative, an ambitious onshore/offshore seismic and geodetic experiment that takes advantage of an amphibious array to study questions ranging from megathrust earthquakes, to volcanic arc structure, to the formation, deformation and hydration of the Juan De Fuca and Gorda Plates. Here, we provide an overview of the Cascadia Initiative, including its primary science objectives, its experimental design and implementation, and a preview of how the resulting data are being used by a diverse and growing scientific community. The Cascadia Initiative also exemplifies how new technology and community-based experiments are opening up frontiers for marine science. The new technology—shielded ocean bottom seismometers—is allowing more routine investigation of the source zone of megathrust earthquakes, which almost exclusively lies offshore and in shallow water. The Cascadia Initiative offers opportunities and accompanying challenges to a rapidly expanding community of those who use ocean bottom seismic data.The Cascadia Initiative is supported by the National Science Foundation; the CIET is supported under grants OCE- 1139701, OCE-1238023, OCE‐1342503, OCE-1407821, and OCE-1427663 to the University of Oregon

Landscapes in transition: an analysis of sustainable policy initiatives and emerging corporate commitments in the palm oil industry

The recent Southeast Asian haze crisis has generated intense public scrutiny over the rate, methods and types of landscape change in the tropics. Debate has centred on the environmental impacts of large-scale agricultural expansion, particularly the associated loss of high carbon stock forest and forests of high conservation value. Focusing on palm oil—a versatile food crop and source of bioenergy—this paper analyses national, international and corporate policy initiatives in order to clarify the current and future direction of oil palm expansion in Malaysia and Indonesia. The policies of ‘zero burn’, ‘no deforestation’ and ‘no planting on peatlands’ are given particular emphasis in the paper. The landscape implications of corporate commitments are analysed to determine the amount of land, land types and geographies that could be affected in the future. The paper concludes by identifying key questions related to the further study of sustainable land use policy and practice

Re-conceptualising Territorial Cohesion Through the Prism of Spatial Justice : Critical Perspectives on Academic and Policy Discourses

Peer reviewe