The Evangelization of the Arctic in the Middle Ages: Gardar, the "Diocese of Ice"

The author outlines the history of the evangelization of Greenland from the days of Saint Brendan until the loss of communication with the area in the 1400's apparently through worsening climate. The author includes letters from two popes of Rome expressing anxiety for the fate of the Christian Greenlanders

A Good Sign for Multivariate Risk Taking

Decisions under risk are often multidimensional, where the preferences of the decision maker depend on several attributes. For example, an individual might be concerned about both her level of wealth and the condition of her health. Many times the signs of successive cross derivatives of a utility function play an important role in these models. However, there has not been a simple and intuitive interpretation for the meaning of such derivatives. The purpose of this paper is to give such an interpretation. In particular, we provide an equivalence between the signs of these cross derivatives and individual preference within a particular class of simple lotteries.correlation aversion, multivariate risk, prudence, risk aversion, temperance

Mapping linkages between biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people: a ValPar.CH perspective

The approach of Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) has been developed to emphasize human dependence on nature and to better target environmental conservation efforts. While the methods used for NCP assessments have evolved greatly over the last 20 years, the challenge of how to best link and predict NCP to and from individual species or biotic communities still remains largely unmet. Current NCP-based conservation prioritization methods tend to fail to account for individual species and many other dimensions of biodiversity (BD). Therefore, land-management policies based on simple NCP mapping are unlikely to properly account for the full complexity of ecosystems and can ultimately lead to biodiversity loss. Furthermore, as landscapes are increasingly modified by anthropogenic forces, the remaining (semi-)natural ecosystems represent a potential ecological ‘infrastructure’ to be maintained and kept functional. In this working paper, we provide i) a review on the BD-NCP spatial relationships, ii) the main methods used for their study, iii) the main research gaps, and iv) recommendations on how the study of their relationships can be improved, especially when considering a national ecological infrastructure (EI), and a roadmap about how we will approach this subject within the ValPar.CH project. The roadmap focuses on the EI mapping objectives of ValPar.CH, and its main stakeholders

Particularités épidémiologiques de l'infection rétrovirale à HTLV-1 en Afrique centrale

L'Afrique subsaharienne est le réservoir le plus important de virus HTLV-1, mais son épidémiologie reste très mal connue. Pour y remédier, les auteurs ont étudié - de 1987 à 1990 - la situation qui prévaut dans six états d'Afrique centrale. Les modalités admises de la transmission sont effectives : voie sanguine par le biais de la transfusion au rôle à moduler selon les régions en fonction de l'importance, souvent faible, de cette pratique; voie hétérosexuelle qui ne paraît pas avoir la place essentielle supposée dans les autres régions d'endémicité du globe et transmission de la mère à l'enfant par l'allaitement au sein. Mais il semble que des facteurs environnementaux - qui restent à préciser - puissent jouer un rôle non négligeable parmi lesquels vecteurs ailés et helminthes pourraient être pris en considération. (Résumé d'auteur

Leo program, a short multi-family skill-based psychoeducational program for caregivers of relatives living with a severe mental disorder: a retrospective pilot study

BackgroundCaring for a relative with a severe mental disorder (SMD) is associated with high levels of burden and poor physical and mental health. There is a dire need for family psychoeducational programs that can be provided as early as possible. This manuscript describes the pilot testing of “Leo” a motivational-based psychoeducational program for caregivers of individuals with a SMD. The Leo program aims to provide caregivers with skills to best support their relative and to adopt self-care behaviors.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed medical records of caregivers who enrolled in a short, multi-family, skill-based psychoeducational program, consisting of eight 3-hour sessions over 8 weeks. Outcomes of interest included: i) adherence to the program, ii) satisfaction and perceived usefulness, and iii) pre-post changes in self-reported levels of depression (CES-D), burden (ZBI), and skills (10 Likert-scaled items). A network analysis was used to investigate the relationships between pre-post changes in self-evaluated skills and pre-post changes in burden and depression levels.ResultsOver the 91 enrolled participants, 87 (95.6%) completed the program attending at least 5/8 sessions, 80.5% attending all sessions. Seventy-six caregivers fulfilled the questionnaires at baseline and after the program, and were included in the analysis. Although there was no evidence for significant change in self-reported depression levels (Cohen’s d=0.19, p=0.210), burden scores and all evaluated skills were improved post-intervention, with medium to strong effect size (Cohen’s ds from 0.47 to 0.87; p<0.001). Network output indicated that increased self-evaluated competence in 5 skills were associated with a global improvement in caregivers’ burden and/or depression scores. Post-intervention, 89.7% of caregivers were “very satisfied” and 82.1% found the program “extremely useful”.ConclusionThis pilot retrospective study shows high levels of satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and adherence to “Leo”, a short, multi-family, skill-based psychoeducational program with promising results in improving caregivers’ burden, self-evaluated competence in coping with caregiving demands and in self-care behaviors. This study provides preliminary insights into the mechanisms by which family psychoeducation might alleviate burden of care. A larger-scaled, controlled, randomized study with follow-up assessments is warranted to determine how burden, depression, and skills, as well as their inter-relationships, evolve over time