Evaluating the Effectiveness of Peer Engagement and Knowledge (PEAK): A Community-Based Group Intervention for Youth in Hawai‘i

This study is a program evaluation with a mixed methods design that evaluated the effectiveness of Peer Engagement and Knowledge (PEAK), a six-week community-based group intervention that incorporates mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to address multiple health behaviors for multiracial youth in Hilo, Hawai‘i. A total of 51 youth, ages 12-23 years old, participated in this study which included pre-/posttest analyses of health risk factors such as substance use and depression and health promoting factors such as resilience, self-esteem, and mindfulness. Responses from two subsets of participants, who engaged in a focus group (n = 11) and composed gratitude letters (n = 12), were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. At baseline, 41.17% of youth endorsed moderate or severe levels of depressive symptomatology, 29.41% endorsed using at least one substance within the past 30 days, 94.12% endorsed high levels of resilience, 31.37% endorsed high levels of self-esteem, and 7.84% endorsed high utilization of mindfulness skills. Following their completion of PEAK, youth demonstrated statistically significant improvements on their levels of depression, resilience, self-esteem, and mindfulness scores, but not on substance use behaviors. Overall, youth’s health risk profiles improved such that the number of health risks decreased and the number of health promoting factors increased. Youth also found the MBIs to be acceptable and beneficial to their overall well-being, as it served as a positive coping strategy for stress and a mechanism to improve decision-making skills. PEAK demonstrates promise to be an effective community-based group intervention that enhances multiple health behaviors for multiracial youth in Hilo. Due to the small sample size, generalizability of results is limited. Limitations and implications for future research are also discussed

description and performance

We developed a coupled regional climate system model based on the CCLM regional climate model. Within this model system, using OASIS3-MCT as a coupler, CCLM can be coupled to two land surface models (the Community Land Model (CLM) and VEG3D), the NEMO-MED12 regional ocean model for the Mediterranean Sea, two ocean models for the North and Baltic seas (NEMO-NORDIC and TRIMNP+CICE) and the MPI-ESM Earth system model. We first present the different model components and the unified OASIS3-MCT interface which handles all couplings in a consistent way, minimising the model source code modifications and defining the physical and numerical aspects of the couplings. We also address specific coupling issues like the handling of different domains, multiple usage of the MCT library and exchange of 3-D fields. We analyse and compare the computational performance of the different couplings based on real-case simulations over Europe. The usage of the LUCIA tool implemented in OASIS3-MCT enables the quantification of the contributions of the coupled components to the overall coupling cost. These individual contributions are (1) cost of the model(s) coupled, (2) direct cost of coupling including horizontal interpolation and communication between the components, (3) load imbalance, (4) cost of different usage of processors by CCLM in coupled and stand-alone mode and (5) residual cost including i.a. CCLM additional computations. Finally a procedure for finding an optimum processor configuration for each of the couplings was developed considering the time to solution, computing cost and parallel efficiency of the simulation. The optimum configurations are presented for sequential, concurrent and mixed (sequential+concurrent) coupling layouts. The procedure applied can be regarded as independent of the specific coupling layout and coupling details. We found that the direct cost of coupling, i.e. communications and horizontal interpolation, in OASIS3-MCT remains below 7 % of the CCLM stand-alone cost for all couplings investigated. This is in particular true for the exchange of 450 2-D fields between CCLM and MPI-ESM. We identified remaining limitations in the coupling strategies and discuss possible future improvements of the computational efficiency

The COSMO-CLM 4.8 regional climate model coupled to regional ocean, land surface and global earth system models using OASIS3-MCT: description and performance

We developed a coupled regional climate system model based on the CCLM regional climate model. Within this model system, using OASIS3-MCT as a coupler, CCLM can be coupled to two land surface models (the Community Land Model (CLM) and VEG3D), the NEMO-MED12 regional ocean model for the Mediterranean Sea, two ocean models for the North and Baltic seas (NEMO-NORDIC and TRIMNP+CICE) and the MPI-ESM Earth system model. We first present the different model components and the unified OASIS3-MCT interface which handles all couplings in a consistent way, minimising the model source code modifications and defining the physical and numerical aspects of the couplings. We also address specific coupling issues like the handling of different domains, multiple usage of the MCT library and exchange of 3-D fields. We analyse and compare the computational performance of the different couplings based on real-case simulations over Europe. The usage of the LUCIA tool implemented in OASIS3-MCT enables the quantification of the contributions of the coupled components to the overall coupling cost. These individual contributions are (1) cost of the model(s) coupled, (2) direct cost of coupling including horizontal interpolation and communication between the components, (3) load imbalance, (4) cost of different usage of processors by CCLM in coupled and stand-alone mode and (5) residual cost including i.a. CCLM additional computations. Finally a procedure for finding an optimum processor configuration for each of the couplings was developed considering the time to solution, computing cost and parallel efficiency of the simulation. The optimum configurations are presented for sequential, concurrent and mixed (sequential+concurrent) coupling layouts. The procedure applied can be regarded as independent of the specific coupling layout and coupling details. We found that the direct cost of coupling, i.e. communications and horizontal interpolation, in OASIS3-MCT remains below 7 % of the CCLM stand-alone cost for all couplings investigated. This is in particular true for the exchange of 450 2-D fields between CCLM and MPI-ESM. We identified remaining limitations in the coupling strategies and discuss possible future improvements of the computational efficiency

Luminous Infrared Galaxies with the Submillimeter Array: I. Survey Overview and the Central Gas to Dust Ratio

We present new data obtained with the Submillimeter Array for a sample of fourteen nearby luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies. The galaxies were selected to have luminosity distances D < 200 Mpc and far-infrared luminosities log(L_FIR) > 11.4. The galaxies were observed with spatial resolutions of order 1 kpc in the CO J=3-2, CO J=2-1, 13CO J=2-1, and HCO+ J=4-3 lines as well as the continuum at 880 microns and 1.3 mm. We have combined our CO and continuum data to measure an average gas-to-dust mass ratio of 120 +/- 28 (rms deviation 109) in the central regions of these galaxies, very similar to the value of 150 determined for the Milky Way. This similarity is interesting given the more intense heating from the starburst and possibly accretion activity in the luminous infrared galaxies compared to the Milky Way. We find that the peak H_2 surface density correlates with the far-infrared luminosity, which suggests that galaxies with higher gas surface densities inside the central kiloparsec have a higher star formation rate. The lack of a significant correlation between total H_2 mass and far-infrared luminosity in our sample suggests that the increased star formation rate is due to the increased availability of molecular gas as fuel for star formation in the central regions. In contrast to previous analyses by other authors, we do not find a significant correlation between central gas surface density and the star formation efficiency, as trace by the ratio of far-infrared luminosity to nuclear gas mass. Our data show that it is the star formation rate, not the star formation efficiency, that increases with increasing central gas surface density in these galaxies.Comment: 66 pages, 39 figures, aastex preprint format; to be published in ApJ Supplements. Version of paper with full resolution figures available at http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/~wilson/www_xfer/ULIRGS_publi

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Truck Seat Intervention: Part 1-Assessment of Whole Body Vibration Exposures

Full-time vehicle and heavy equipment operators often have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, especially low back pain (LBP). In occupations requiring vehicles or heavy equipment operation, exposure to whole body vibration (WBV) has been consistently associated with LBP. LBP is the most common cause of work-related disability and continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and lost productivity in the US workforce. Using a parallel randomized controlled trial design, over a 12-month period, this study evaluated two different seating interventions designed to reduce WBV exposures. Forty professional truck drivers were initially recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups: (I) a passive suspension/control group-20 drivers who received a new, industry-standard air-suspension seat, and (ii) an intervention group-20 drivers who received an active-suspension seat, which has been shown to reduce vertical WBV exposures by up to 50% compared to passive seats. WBV exposures from the truck seat and floor were collected during driver's full shifts (6-18 h) before (pre-intervention) and after the intervention (0, 3, 6, and 12 months post-intervention) per International Standards Organization (ISO) 2631-1 and 2631-5WBV standards. After subject dropout and turnover, 16 truck drivers remained in each group. The pre-intervention WBV data showed that there were no differences in the daily equivalent time-weighted average WBV exposures (A(8)], vibration dose values [VDV(8)], and static spinal compression doses [S-ed(8)] between the two groups (P's > 0.36). After the new seats were installed, the A(8) values showed that the active suspension/ intervention group experienced much greater reduction in the vertical (z) axis[(similar to 50%; P= <0.0001; Cohen's d effect size (95% CI) = 1.80 (1.12, 2.48)] exposures when compared to in the passive suspension/control group [similar to 20%; P = 0.23; 0.33 (-0.36, 1.02)].The post-intervention z-axis VDV(8) and S-ed(8) WBV exposure measures were not different between the two seat groups [VDV(8), P. 0.33; 0.35 (-0.32, 1.03); S-ed(8), P. 0.61; 0.08 (-0.59, 0.76)].These study findings indicate that, relative to the current industry-standard, passive air-suspension seats which are ubiquitous in all semi-trucks today, the active suspension seat dramatically reduced average continuous [A(8)] WBV exposures but not periodic, cumulative impulsive exposures [VDV(8) and S-ed(8)]

The Aromatase Gene (CYP19A1) Variants and Circulating Hepatocyte Growth Factor in Postmenopausal Women

Background: Estrogen and androgen have been linked to the regulation of circulating hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), an adipose tissue-derived cytokine. It is possible that the CYP19A1 gene which alters sex hormones production may influence HGF levels. We examined the association between the CYP19A1 gene variants and plasma HGF concentrations. Design We evaluated 45 common and putative functional variants of CYP19A1 and circulating levels of HGF among 260 postmenopausal women who later developed colorectal cancer from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Cohort. As the distribution of HGF levels was highly skewed, we transformed HGF concentrations for all women into a log-, ranked-, or normal score-scale value. Multiple linear regression with adjustment for age was used to evaluate the associations. Results: We observed an association between the rs7172156, rs1008805, rs6493494, rs749292, and rs11636639 variants and HGF levels in ranked and normal score scales (corrected p values ≤0.02), although the association of these 5 SNPs with log-scale HGF was not significant (corrected p values ≥0.16). The associations remained unchanged after additional adjustment for hormone therapy use and estradiol levels. These 5 SNPs, which were in linkage disequilibrium (pairwise D′≥97%, r2≥56%), constituted a block with 2 common haplotypes accounting for 82% frequency. The most common haplotype, TCCCA, was associated with lower ranked- or normal score-transformed HGF levels (corrected p values ≤0.001), whereas the second most common haplotype, CTTCA, was associated with higher ranked- or normal score-transformed HGF levels (corrected p values ≤0.02). Conclusion: Our findings of a potential association between the CYP19A1 variants and circulating HGF levels warrant confirmation in studies with larger sample size

Misremembering solitude : the role of personality and cultural self-concepts in shaping discrepancies between recalled and concurrent affect in solitude

Background Affect recall is key to psychological assessment and decision-making. However, self-concepts (self-beliefs) may bias retrospective affect reports such that they deviate from lived experiences. Does this experience-memory gap apply to solitude experiences? We hypothesized that individuals misremember how they feel overall and when in solitude, in line with self-concepts of introversion, self-determined/not-self-determined solitude motivations, and independent/interdependent self-construal. A pilot study comparing retrospective to daily affect reports captured over 2 weeks (N = 104 UK university students) provided preliminary evidence of introversion and not-self-determined solitude shaping affect recall. Methods In the main pre-registered study, participants aged 18–49 in the UK (N = 160) and Hong Kong (N = 159) reported their momentary affective states and social situations 5 times per day over 7 days, then recalled how they felt over the week. Results and Discussion Individuals higher in self-determined solitude were more prone to retrospectively overestimate their high- and low-arousal positive affect in solitude and showed less overestimation/more underestimation of negative affect in solitude. Higher not-self-determined solitude was associated with overestimating loneliness, and higher interdependent self-construal with overestimating loneliness and energy levels, in solitude. Comparisons based on residence/ethnicity suggest culture influences solitude-seeking and affective memory. Implications for well-being and affect measurement are discussed