A Comparative Study of Compliance Among Patients Attending an Opiate Outpatient Treatment Center in Rural Appalachia

Adults with an opiate addiction have a higher rate of noncompliance with treatment, which limits its effectiveness and increases the burden of care for society. Effective treatment decreases emergency room visits, and overdoses. The tristate area of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio has experienced increased opiate-related arrests and deaths. This study sought to measure the extent to which treatment type (medical treatment (MS) or faith-based component of service (FBS)) predicts compliance when measured by number of clean urine drug screens (UDSs) and number of kept pill count, over and above dual diagnosis, college education, and income. The on-site records of voluntary enrollees in an outpatient facility that used either MT alone or MT with FBS were reviewed. Spearman\u27s rho and multiple stepwise regression revealed that, with respect to clean UDSs or kept pill count, the association between dual diagnosis and college education was not found to be statistically significant. Rather, income explained about 5% of the variance in clean UDSs with a significant f change of .019, while type of treatment did not significantly impact clean UDSs. Dual diagnosis, income, and college education were not found to be significantly associated with the number of kept pill count. According to this study, type of treatment did not significantly impact compliance in the tristate area of Appalachia as measured by clean UDSs or kept pill count. Since MT and FBS are so similar in their relationship to compliance, attendance and participation in treatment may be areas for future study

Randomised controlled trials of physical activity promotion in free living populations: a review

This article was first published in:Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1995:49:448-453OBJECTIVES--To review evidence on the effectiveness of trials of physical activity promotion in healthy, free living adults. To identify the more effective intervention programmes. METHODS--Computerised databases and references were searched. Experts were contacted and asked for information about existing work. INCLUSION CRITERIA--Randomised controlled trials of healthy, free living adult subjects, where exercise behaviour was the dependent variable were included. CONCLUSIONS--Ten trials were identified. The small number of trials limits the strength of any conclusions and highlights the need for more research. No UK based studies were found. Previously sedentary adults can increase activity levels and sustain them. Promotion of these changes requires personal instruction, continued support, and exercise of moderate intensity which does not depend on attendance at a facility. The exercise should be easily included into an existing lifestyle and should be enjoyable. Walking is the exercise most likely to fulfil these criteria.Financial assistance was provided by the Health Gain Project which is funded by North Thames(West)Regional Health Authority and the Health Education Authority

Comparison of Tropospheric Ozone Columns Calculated from MLS, OMI, and Ozonesonde Data

This poster shows a comparison of three derived tropospheric ozone residual (TOR) products with integrated tropospheric ozone columns from ozonesonde profile: (1) the method of Ziemke et al. (2006), (2) a modified version of Fishman et al. (2003), and (3) a trajectory mapping approach. In each case, MLS ozone profiles are integrated to the tropopause and subtracted from OMI (TOMS retrieval) total column ozone. The effectiveness of each of these techniques is examined as a function of latitude, time, and geographic region. In general, we find good agreement between the derived products and the ozonesondes, with the Fishman et al. TOR (labeled “Amy”) generally high and the Schoeberl trajectory mapping (labeled “Mark”) product generally low as compared to the integrated ozonesonde profiles (labeled “Sonde”) as computed using the WMO tropopause definition. Differences in TOR results are due, at least in part, to non-uniform tropopause height definitions between the three approaches

Understanding Coping Strategies and Behaviors of Employees Affected by Toxic Leadership

Toxic leaders affect nearly half of the U.S. employee base and create environments in which followers, peers, and staff might be less effective due to stress, devaluation, and potential job loss. A multiple case study approach was used to understand what coping strategies employees use to reduce the negative effects of toxic leadership on themselves, other employees, and the overall workplace; and to understand the behaviors that result from these strategies. The purposeful and snowball sample consisted of 29 participants within the United States, ages 30 to 65, who worked within two or more organizations and who either directly experienced a toxic leader or observed someone who did. The theoretical framework was based on betrayal trauma theory, conservation of resources theory, and the cognitive theory of trauma. Research questions focused on how affected employees coped during and after the toxic event and any coping differences between sample groups. Data were collected via one-on-one telephone interviews. Data were analyzed via data organization, acquaintance, classification, coding, and interpretation. The major themes that emerged were emotional reaction, coping strategies used, effects at work and home, and resulting health issues for both person and family. Seeking resource help was identified as the most effective coping strategy when dealing with a toxic leader. Toxic leadership can have lasting negative effects on both organizations and employees that can extend beyond the workplace. Organizations have an organizational and social responsibility to address toxic leader behaviors and provide resources to employees to counteract toxic leadership to create a more positive work environment where employees can find work rewarding and fulfilling

Linguistics

Contains research objectives and summary of research on one research project.National Institute of Mental Health (Grant 3 P01 MH13390-08S1)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 TOl HD00111-10)National Institute of Mental Health (Grant HD 05168-01, 02, 03)M.I.T. Sloan Fund for Basic ResearchGrant Foundatio

Linguistics

Contains research objectives and reports on two research project.National Institute of Mental Health (Grant 5 P01 MH-13390-04

Advanced Manned Launch System (AMLS) study

To assure national leadership in space operations and exploration in the future, NASA must be able to provide cost effective and operationally efficient space transportation. Several NASA studies and the joint NASA/DoD Space Transportation Architecture Studies (STAS) have shown the need for a multi-vehicle space transportation system with designs driven by enhanced operations and low costs. NASA is currently studying an advanced manned launch system (AMLS) approach to transport crew and cargo to the Space Station Freedom. Several single and multiple stage systems from air-breathing to all-rocket concepts are being examined in a series of studies potential replacements for the Space Shuttle launch system in the 2000-2010 time frame. Rockwell International Corporation, under contract to the NASA Langley Research Center, has analyzed a two-stage all-rocket concept to determine whether this class of vehicles is appropriate for the AMLS function. The results of the pre-phase A study are discussed

Duration

There is a unique relationship in photography between the event of the subject and the birth of its symbol. They are simultaneous. The photograph contains only the present. The present enters the camera and is likely to reside in the print as a duration no larger than the event of exposure. Time is then bound by discrete fact; and the photograph becomes a statement in perfect tense, with no history beyond its borders. It is a point in linear time, lifted and held like a number remembered. The thesis exhibition is intended as an investigation of time in the photograph; its goal, the expansion of the present into a larger duration to include an intimation of continuing transaction of past and future. An effort has been made to eliminate both the symbol of duration obtained in the record of explicit actions and the symbols of the event of exposure. This is not to conjure the dream-like or the memory, but to question what passes through the objects of interest when the observer's time is not imposed upon them. The camera should receive the present anonymously. The photograph, in turn, should act as a kind of palimpsest, its incompleteness blurring the cleavage between past and future and the events of its writing remaining obscure. The event is not important, but what goes through the event, the imperfect tense without the identity of verb. The prints should convey the anonymity of time

Essential irrigation and the economics of strawberries in a temperate climate

Strawberries are a high value crop in the UK soft fruit sector, with the majority of production grown at field-scale and under protected (polytunnel) conditions. Despite its importance to the rural economy, there is surprisingly little published scientific evidence on the economics of irrigated strawberry production and the value of water in this horticultural sector. A survey of growers, supplemented by secondary data and industry sources, shows considerable variation in key physical and financial performance indicators, both within and between different strawberry production systems, as well as evidence of good practice. Water application depths ranged widely from 800 to over 2000 m3 ha−1 according to grower and crop variety. Irrigation costs typically range between £1.30 and £2.50 m−3 of water applied, highest where storage reservoirs and public water supplies are used. The average value of irrigation water for strawberry net of costs was about £6 m−3, much higher than for field crops such as potatoes. The importance of a reliable water supply to support irrigated strawberry production is highlighted. Climate change and growing pressures on water resources are likely to force a greater interest in irrigation economics in the soft fruit sector, especially in the face of restrictions on summer abstraction and rising competition and charges for using public water supply

Mortality benefits of population-wide adherence to national physical activity guidelines: a prospective cohort study.

We quantified the mortality benefits and attributable fractions associated with engaging in physical activity across a range of levels, including those recommended by national guidelines. Data were from the Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey, a population-based prospective cohort comprising 1,796 male and 2,122 female participants aged 16-96 years, randomly selected from 30 English constituencies in 1990. Participants were tagged for mortality at the Office for National Statistics. Cox multivariable regression quantified the association between self-reported achievement of activity guidelines--150 min of at least moderate activity per week, equivalent here to 30 or more 20-min episodes of at least moderate activity per month--and mortality adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, social class, geographical area, anxiety/depression and interview season. There were 1,175 deaths over a median (IQR) of 22.9 (3.9) years follow-up; a mortality rate of 15.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.4-16.1 per 1,000 person years. Compared with being inactive (no 20-min bouts per month), meeting activity guidelines (30+ bouts) was associated with a 25% lower mortality rate, adjusting for measured confounders. If everyone adhered to recommended-, or even low-activity levels, a substantial proportion of premature mortality might be avoided (PAF, 95% CI 20.6, 6.9-32.3 and 8.9, 4.2-13.4%, respectively). Among a representative English population, adherence to activity guidelines was associated with significantly reduced mortality. Efforts to increase population-wide activity levels could produce large public health benefits and should remain a focus of health promotion efforts.The Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey was funded by the Department of Health, Health Education Authority, The Sports Council and Allied Dunbar Assurance plc. This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/1, MC_UU_12015/3 and MC_UU_12015/4). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the National Institute for Health Research, or the UK Department of Health.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10654-014-9965-5