Associations Between Access to Food Stores and Adolescent Body Mass Index

Summarizes a study of the link between the availability of supermarkets and other types of food stores and adolescents' body mass index and overweight prevalence in a neighborhood. Compares associations by race/ethnicity and mother's employment status

Understanding Why Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Join Diabetes Online Communities: Semantic Network Analyses.

BackgroundAs individuals age, chronic health difficulties may disrupt physical and social well-being. Individuals can turn to online communities to interact with similar peers, which may help buffer negative effects resulting from health difficulties.ObjectiveThis study investigated the reasons that older adults join a diabetes online community to better understand the specific resources that are being sought.MethodsWe used semantic network analyses to categorize the reasons participants provided for joining a community during the sign-up process.ResultsThe most frequent reasons for joining were to seek information about their health condition, to help with self-management of health difficulties, for feelings of informational and social support, and for having a community with whom to share. Women were more likely to go online for sharing and companionship as well as for information and social support reasons, whereas men were more likely to go online for general information and self-management reasons.ConclusionsThis study shows the reasons older adults seek to join a diabetes online community: for increased information and support regarding chronic health difficulties. Practitioners may want to consider ways to promote access to online communities among their older patients as a source of health information and a resource to provide a sense of community

Optical Spectral Properties of Swift BAT Hard X-ray Selected Active Galactic Nuclei Sources

The Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) survey of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is providing an unprecedented view of local AGNs ( = 0.03) and their host galaxy properties. In this paper, we present an analysis of the optical spectra of a sample of 64 AGNs from the 9-month survey, detected solely based on their 14-195 keV flux. Our analysis includes both archived spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and our own observations from the 2.1-m Kitt Peak National Observatory telescope. Among our results, we include line ratio classifications utilizing standard emission line diagnostic plots, [O III] 5007 A luminosities, and H-beta derived black hole masses. As in our X-ray study, we find the type 2 sources to be less luminous (in [O III] 5007 A and 14-195 keV luminosities) with lower accretion rates than the type 1 sources. We find that the optically classified LINERs, H II/composite galaxies, and ambiguous sources have the lowest luminosities, while both broad line and narrow line Seyferts have similar luminosities. From a comparison of the hard X-ray (14-195 keV) and [O III] luminosities, we find that both the observed and extinction-corrected [O III] luminosities are weakly correlated with X-ray luminosity. In a study of the host galaxy properties from both continuum fits and measurements of the stellar absorption indices, we find that the hosts of the narrow line sources have properties consistent with late type galaxies.Comment: 84 pages, 20 figures, 17 tables, accepted in Ap

Sensitivity of estuaries to compound flooding.

Fluvial and surge-tide extremes can occur synchronously resulting in compound flooding in estuaries, greatly intensifying the hazard. This flood risk has the potential to increase in the future as the frequency, phasing and/or intensity of these drivers change. Improved understanding of how extreme fluvial discharge and surge-tides interact will help inform future flood mitigation methodology. In this paper, therefore, we resolve for the first time intra-estuary sensitivities to fluvial and surge-tide extremes, for two contrasting UK estuaries (Humber and Dyfi). Model simulations at hyper-spatial resolution (< 50 m) using a 2D hydrodynamic model predicted compound flooding hazards based on: (1) present-day extreme events (worst on record); (2) present-day extreme events with shifted timings of the drivers to maximise flooding; and (3) modified drivers representing projected climate change. We found that in a small estuary with short-duration, high-intensity fluvial inputs (Dyfi), flood extent is sensitive to the relative timing of the fluvial and surge-tide drivers. In contrast, the relative timing of these drivers did not affect flooding in a larger estuary with a slower fluvial response to rainfall (Humber). In the Humber, extreme fluvial inputs during a compound hazard actually reduced maximum water depths in the outer estuary, compared with a surge-tide-only event. Projected future changes in these drivers by 2100 will increase compound flooding hazards: simulated sea-level rise scenarios predicted substantial and widespread flooding in both estuaries. However, projected increases in surge-tide behaved differently to sea-level rise of the same magnitude, resulting in a greater seawater influx and more flooding. Increased fluvial volumes were the weakest driver of estuarine flooding. In this paper we show how these interactions are complex and how the hydrodynamics vary considerably between different estuaries and sites within estuaries, making it difficult to generalise, use probabilistic or use 1D approaches for assessing compound flooding hazards. Hence, we contribute new knowledge and methods for catchment-to-coast impact modelling used for flood mitigation strategies

Primary Cutaneous Melanoma Arising in a Long-Standing Irradiated Keloid

Ionizing radiation has been used therapeutically for a variety of clinical conditions, including treatment of hypertrophic keloids. Keloids may rarely be associated with malignancy, but the use of low-dose ionizing radiation is associated with an increased risk of cutaneous malignancies. We describe a case in which a primary desmoplastic melanoma arose in a long-standing, previously irradiated keloid

Factor H-Dependent Alternative Pathway Inhibition Mediated by Porin B Contributes to Virulence of Neisseria meningitidis

The identification of factor H binding protein (fHbp)-null invasive meningococcal isolates and the realization that widespread use of fHbp-based vaccines could herald selection of such strains prompted us to characterize novel mechanisms of alternative pathway (AP) inhibition on meningococci. Of seven strains engineered to lack four known AP-inhibiting molecules, capsular polysaccharide, lipooligosaccharide sialic acid, fHbp, and neisserial surface protein A (quadruple mutants), four strains inhibited human AP-mediated C3 deposition. All four expressed the porin B2 (PorB2) molecule, and three strains belonged to the hypervirulent ST-11 lineage. Consistent with reduced C3 deposition, the rate of C3a generation by a PorB2 isolate was lower than that by a PorB3 strain. Allelic replacement of PorB3 with PorB2, in both encapsulated and unencapsulated strains, confirmed the role of PorB2 in AP inhibition. Expression of PorB2 increased resistance to complement-dependent killing relative to that seen in an isogenic PorB3-expressing strain. Adult rabbit and mouse APs were unimpeded on all mutants, and human fH inhibited nonhuman C3 deposition on PorB2-expressing strains, which provided functional evidence for human fH-dependent AP regulation by PorB2. Low-affinity binding of full-length human fH to quadruple mutants expressing PorB2 was demonstrated. fH-like protein 1 (FHL-1; contains fH domains 1 through 7) and fH domains 6 and 7 fused to IgG Fc bound to one PorB2-expressing quadruple mutant, which suggested that fH domains 6 and 7 may interact with PorB2. These results associate PorB2 expression with serum resistance and presage the appearance of fHbp-null and hypervirulent ST-11 isolates that may evade killing by fHbp-based vaccines. IMPORTANCE The widespread use of antimeningococcal vaccines based on factor H (fH) binding protein (fHbp) is imminent. Meningococci that lack fHbp were recently isolated from persons with invasive disease, and these fHbp-null strains could spawn vaccine failure. Our report provides a molecular basis for an explanation of how fHbp-null strains may evade the host immune system. Meningococci possess several mechanisms to subvert killing by the alternative pathway (AP) of complement, including production of the fHbp and NspA fH binding proteins. Here we show that a meningococcal protein called porin B2 (PorB2) contributes to inhibition of the AP on the bacterial surface. A majority of the fHbp-null isolates identified, as well as all members of a hypervirulent lineage (called ST-11), express PorB2. Our findings highlight the potential for the emergence of fHbp-negative strains that are able to regulate the AP and may be associated with fHbp vaccine failure

Difference in prevalence of common mental disorder as measured using four questionnaire delivery methods among young people in rural Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that interviewer-administered questionnaires can under-estimate the prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation when compared with self-administered ones. We report here on differences in prevalence of reporting mental health between four questionnaire delivery modes (QDM). METHODS: Mental health was assessed using the Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ), a locally validated 14-item indigenous measure for common mental affective disorders. A representative sample of 1495 rural Zimbabwean adolescents (median age 18) was randomly allocated to one of four questionnaire delivery modes: self-administered questionnaire (SAQ), SAQ with audio (AASI), interviewer-administered questionnaire (IAQ), and audio computer-assisted survey instrument (ACASI). RESULTS: Prevalence of common affective disorders varied between QDM (52.3%, 48.6%, 41.5%, and 63.6% for SAQ, AASI, IAQ, and ACASI respectively (P<0.001)). Fewer participants failed to complete SSQ using IAQ and ACASI than other methods (1.6% vs. 12.3%; P<0.001). Qualitative data suggested that respondents found it difficult answering questions honestly in front of an interviewer. LIMITATIONS: Direction of accuracy cannot be ascertained due to lack of objective or clinical assessments of affective disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Estimates of prevalence of psychosomatic symptoms and suicidal ideation varied according to mode of interview. As each mode's direction of accuracy remains unresolved evaluations of interventions continue to be hampered

Promoting Positive Youth Development: Relational Data Analysis (RDA)

This article provides an overview of the origins and use of relational data analysis (RDA). RDA is a multidimensional, multiphasic framework for unifying data analytic strategies across dimensions (quantitative/qualitative, causal/structural, observation/interpretation, etc.) and phases of analyses (conceptual, theoretical, and research analyses). RDA was developed within a relational metatheoretical methodological framework for overcoming the splits that have historically characterized methodological metatheory. The aim was to formulate a practical, ready-at-hand framework that the developmental scientist could use to unify the analysis of developmental change in real life “applied” settings as well as clinic and laboratory settings