RECREATIONAL SWIMMING BENEFITS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE LAKE WATER QUALITY POLICIES: AN APPLICATION OF A REPEATED DISCRETE CHOICE MODEL

Water pollution control policies generally direct sources (i.e., industry, agriculture) to reduce loadings of certain pollutants. Thus, evaluating the relative net recreation benefits of policies to improve water quality requires establishing a linkage between the sources, the resultant water quality degradation at the affected water bodies, and, ultimately, the effect on recreation behavior. This linkage is rarely present in the empirical literature which is, thus, deficient for water pollution control policy assessment purposes. In this paper, we estimate the relative recreational swimming benefits that may result from controlling point and nonpoint sources of pollution, respectively, in New Hampshire's lakes. We use a repeated discrete choice framework to model swimming behavior as a function of each lake's level of eutrophication, bacteria, and oil and grease. For each pollutant, at each affected lake, we identify which source is responsible for the pollution, and we conduct scenarios controlling each pollution source independently, and then, taken together. Seasonal benefit estimates are presented for each scenario. Coupled with information on the most cost effective means of generating the scenarios, these estimates provide a useful starting point for a quantitative assessment of the net recreation benefits of policies to improve the quality of New Hampshire lakes.Environmental Economics and Policy,

TAKE ME BACK TO MOVE ME FORWARD: RE-ENACTMENT OF THE FAMILY SYSTEM AS A PATHWAY TO BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALEXITHYMIC PATIENTS IN GROUP THERAPY

Background: Despite much attention in the clinical literature, research on alexithymia in the treatment setting has only recently gained traction. While several reports indicate limited benefit from therapy amongst patients with high alexithymia, this seems to be less so in the context of group therapy. This study considers a specific aspect of the group therapy process - family re-enactment - in facilitating improvement in overall quality of life for patients with high levels of alexithymia. Subjects and methods: Family re-enactment was examined as a potential mediator of the relationship between alexithymia and change in quality of life among 50 patients who completed treatment in an intensive, integrative group therapy programme. Patients completed three self-report measures: Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (baseline), Quality of Life Inventory (baseline, post-therapy), and Therapeutic Factors Inventory-Short Form (week 8). Regression with mediation analysis was employed using the change score for the QOLI as the dependent variable, alexithymia scores as the independent variable, and the family re-enactment score as the mediator; baseline quality of life was included in the model as a control variable. Results: Family re-enactment emerged as a significant mediator of the relationship between alexithymia and treatment outcome, implicating it as a contributing mechanism of change for alexithymic patients who participate in group therapy. Conclusion: Patients with higher levels of alexithymia (in particular, difficulty identifying and describing feelings) were more likely to positively endorse aspects of family re-enactment during group therapy, which in turn were significantly associated with greater improvement in patients’ overall quality of life

Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island

The first excavations on Obi Island, north-east Wallacea, reveal three phases of occupation beginning in the terminal Pleistocene. Ground shell artefacts appear at the end of the terminal Pleistocene, the earliest examples in Wallacea. In the subsequent early Holocene occupation phase, ground stone axe flakes appear, which are again the earliest examples in Wallacea. Ground axes were likely instrumental to subsistence in Obi's dense tropical forest. From ~8000 BP there was a hiatus lasting several millennia, perhaps because increased precipitation and forest density made the sites inhospitable. The site was reoccupied in the Metal Age, with this third phase including quadrangular ground stone artefacts, as well as pottery and pigs; reflecting Austronesian influences. Greater connectivity at this time is also indicated by an Oliva shell bead tradition that occurs in southern Wallacea and an exotic obsidian artefact. The emergence of ground axes on Obi is an independent example of a broader pattern of intensification at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Wallacea and New Guinea, evincing human innovation in response to rapid environmental change

Processing attention and question density in computer-based instruction

Abstract: The effect of density of embedded post-questions on learning from computer-based instruction (CBI) was studied among 90 sixth-graders randomly assigned to three versions of a CBI programme -high density, low density, and no embedded questions. Children made significant achievement gains across each increase in question density, consistent across the continuum of reading ability represented in the study. High question density facilitates student learning from embedded post-questions in CBI and does not appear to seriously diffuse processing attention. Article: INTRODUCTION The value of adjunct post-questions in facilitating learning from text is well established (e.g., The Anderson and Kulhavy et al. position raises important questions for the rapidly growing computer-based instruction (CBI) field. CBI programmes in the schools employ embedded questions much more commonly than paper-based instructional programmes. However, the frequency and number of questions varies widely from programme to programme Another issue related to post-questions has to do with their effects across reading levels. Seretny and Dean (1986) found a significant effect for embedded post-questions on the reading comprehension of sixth graders who were below-average and average readers, but not for above-average readers. They suggest, however, that the non-significant results for high readers may be due to a ceiling effect on their criterion measure. An alternative explanation, of course, is that capable readers already possess superior processing skills and therefore benefit less from embedded post-questions. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of question density -the number of embedded post-questions per question set -on student learning from computer-based instruction. Post-test scores were also analysed by reading ability to determine the consistency of effect for post-questions across reading levels. METHOD Design and sample The study incorporated a randomised post-test only control group design with two experimental groups and with the no-question treatment serving as the control group. Participants in the study were 90 sixth-grade students, 30 per treatment, from two suburban elementary schools in Phoenix, Arizona. AB students had prior experience using microcomputers

Patient-reported outcomes in left ventricular assist device therapy:a systematic review and recommendations for clinical research and practice

Background-Technological advancements of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) have created today's potential for extending the lives of patients with end-stage heart failure. Few studies have examined the effect of LVAD therapy on patient-reported outcomes (PROs), such as health status, quality of life, and anxiety/depression, despite poor PROs predicting mortality and rehospitalization in patients with heart failure. In this systematic review, we provide an overview of available evidence on the impact of LVAD therapy on PROs and discuss recommendations for clinical research and practice. Methods and Results-A systematic literature search identified 16 quantitative studies with a sample size >= 10 (mean +/- SD age=50.1 +/- 12.6 years) that examined the impact of LVAD therapy on PROs using a quantitative approach. Initial evidence suggests an improvement in health status, anxiety, and depression in the first few months after LVAD implantation. However, PRO scores of patients receiving LVAD therapy are still lower for physical, social, and emotional functioning compared with transplant recipients. These studies had several methodological shortcomings, including the use of relatively small sample sizes, and only a paucity of studies focused on anxiety and depression. Conclusions-There is a paucity of studies on the patient perspective of LVAD therapy. To advance the field of LVAD research and to optimize the care of an increasingly growing population of patients receiving LVAD therapy, more well-designed large-scale studies are needed to further elucidate the impact of LVAD therapy on PROs. (Circ Heart Fail. 2011;4:714-723.

Depression and Prostate Cancer: Examining Comorbidity and Male-Specific Symptoms

© The Author(s) 2018. Depression in men with prostate cancer is a significant and complex issue that can challenge clinicians’ diagnostic efforts. The objective of the current study was to evaluate prototypic and male-specific depression symptoms and suicidal ideation in men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer relative to those with and without comorbidity. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Male Depression Risk Scale-22 (MDRS-22) were completed online along with demographic and background variables by 100 men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer (n = 54 prostatectomy, n = 33 receiving active treatment). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine recent (past 2 weeks) suicide ideation. Over one-third of the sample (38%) reported a comorbidity, and this group had significantly higher total depression scores on the PHQ-9 (Cohen’s d = 0.65), MDRS-22 emotion suppression (d = 0.35), and drug use subscales (d = 0.38) compared to respondents without comorbidity. A total of 14% reported recent suicidal ideation, of which 71.4% of cases were identified by the PHQ-9 “moderate” cut-off, and 85.7% of cases were identified by the MDRS-22 “elevated” cut-off. After control variables, MDRS-22 subscales accounted for 45.1% of variance in recent suicidal ideation. While limited by the exclusive use of self-report data, findings point to the potential benefits of evaluating male-specific symptoms as part of depression and suicide risk screening in men with prostate cancer and the need to be mindful of the heightened risk for depression among men with prostate cancer who have comorbidity

The Anxiety Depression Pathway Among Men Following a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: Cross-Sectional Interactions Between Anger Responses and Loneliness.

Anger has been a largely neglected emotion in prostate cancer research and intervention. This paper highlights the role of anger in the anxiety depression pathway among men with prostate cancer, and whether its impact is dependent on loneliness. Data are presented from a sample of men with prostate cancer (N = 105, M = 69.12 years, prostatectomy = 63.8%) and analysed using conditional process analysis. Dimensions of anger were evaluated as parallel mediators in bi-directional anxiety and depression pathways. Loneliness was evaluated as a conditional moderator of identified significant mediation relationships. Moderate severity depression (16.5%) was endorsed more frequently than moderate severity anxiety (8.6%, p = .008), with 19.1% of the sample reporting past two-week suicide ideation. Consistent with hypotheses, anger-related social interference (but not other dimensions of anger) significantly mediated the anxiety-depression pathway, but not the reverse depression-anxiety pathway. This indirect effect was conditional on men experiencing loneliness. Sensitivity analyses indicated the observed moderated mediation effect occurred for affective, but not somatic symptoms of depression. Findings support anger-related social interference (as opposed to anger frequency, intensity, duration or antagonism) as key to explaining the previously established anxiety-depression pathway. Results underscore the need for enhanced psychosocial supports for men with prostate cancer, with a particular focus on relational aspects. Supporting men with prostate cancer to adaptively process and manage their anger in ways that ameliorate negative social consequences will likely enhance their perceived social support quality, which may in turn better facilitate post-diagnosis recovery and emotional adjustment

William H. Simon: Thinking like a Lawyer - About Ethics

This is the edited text of a panel discussion held as part of the legal ethics curriculum at Duquesne University Law School on October 24, 1999. The speakers have had the opportunity to update and correct this text; therefore, this printed version may deviate slightly from what was presented

Mitogenomes reveal two major influxes of Papuan ancestry across Wallacea following the last glacial maximum and Austronesian contact

The tropical archipelago of Wallacea contains thousands of individual islands interspersed between mainland Asia and Near Oceania, and marks the location of a series of ancient oceanic voyages leading to the peopling of Sahul—i.e., the former continent that joined Australia and New Guinea at a time of lowered sea level—by 50,000 years ago. Despite the apparent deep antiquity of human presence in Wallacea, prior population history research in this region has been hampered by patchy archaeological and genetic records and is largely concentrated upon more recent history that follows the arrival of Austronesian seafarers ~3000–4000 years ago (3–4 ka). To shed light on the deeper history of Wallacea and its connections with New Guinea and Australia, we performed phylogeographic analyses on 656 whole mitogenomes from these three regions, including 186 new samples from eight Wallacean islands and three West Papuan populations. Our results point to a surprisingly dynamic population history in Wallacea, marked by two periods of extensive demographic change concentrated around the Last Glacial Maximum ~15 ka and post-Austronesian contact ~3 ka. These changes appear to have greatly diminished genetic signals informative about the original peopling of Sahul, and have important implications for our current understanding of the population history of the region.1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Sample Collection and Ethics 2.2. Mitochondrial Sequence Generation 2.3. Combined Wallacea–Sahul Dataset 2.4. Phylogenetic Parameter Estimation 2.5. Using Ancestral Node Dates from Geographically Exclusive Clades to Infer Demographic History 2.6. Migration Model Inference and Testing 2.7. Simulating and Estimating the Timing of Migration Events 3. Results 3.1. Summary of New Mitochondrial Haplogroups from Wallacea and West Papua 3.2. Phylogeographic Analyses 4. Discussion 4.1. Post-LGM Population Expansions and Movements 4.2. Redistribution of Papuan mtDNA Lineages Following Austronesian Contact 4.3. Comparison with Wallacean Archaeological and Linguistic Records 5. Conclusion