Statistics and the art of Latin prose

I have been investigating various statistical methods of looking for poetical cadences (sentence ends which have rhythm) in Latin prose. Stata was used as my primary software for performing my own analysis, and for checking the analysis of previous scholars. Several methods for determining rhythmicity have been proposed over the last twenty years; I have evaluated the use of some of these, and used others to analyse a particular text by the Venerable Bede (a Northumbrian monk, born in c.672, who wrote Biblical commentaries in Latin, amongst other things). The research method involved Chi-squared tests performed against control texts (examples of Latin prose selected for the type of their cadences). The analysis using Stata provided me with the necessary figures for performing adjustments to avoid overtesting (the Chi-squared test was performed many times on the same material). I found that, when compared to control texts, Bede was significantly more likely than the control texts to use rhythmical cadences, but was equally likely to use metrical cadences. I concluded that Bede used rhythmical cadences in his prose, but may not have used metrical cadences in his prose.

Socioeconomic position and children\u27s physical activity and sedentary behaviors : longitudinal findings from the CLAN study

Background: This study aimed to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and physical activity and sedentary behaviors amongst children and adolescents. Methods: Maternal education was reported by parents of 184 5-6 year-old and 358 10-12 year-old children in 2001. In 2001 and 2004, physical activity was assessed by accelerometry. Older children self-reported and parents of younger children proxy-reported physical activity and television (TV) viewing behaviors. Linear regression was used to predict physical activity and sedentary behaviors, and changes in these behaviors, from maternal education. Results: Among all children, accelerometer-determined and self/parent-reported moderate and vigorous physical activity declined over three years. Girls of higher SEP demonstrated greater decreases in TV viewing behaviours than those of low SEP. In general, no prospective associations were evident between SEP and objectively-assessed physical activity. A small number of prospective associations were noted between SEP and self-reported physical activity, but these were generally weak and inconsistent in direction. Conclusions: This study did not find strong evidence that maternal education was cross-sectionally or longitudinally predictive of children&rsquo;s physical activity or sedentary behaviors. Given the well-documented inverse relationship of SEP with physical activity levels in adult samples, findings suggest that such disparities may emerge after adolescence.<br /

Mental health literacy of negative body image: symptom recognition and beliefs about body image in a British community sample

The present study examined mental health literacy of negative body image in a sample of 485 British adults. Participants were presented with vignettes of a fictional woman (‘Kate’) and man (‘Jack’) suffering from negative body image and were asked questions addressing symptom recognition, distress, sympathy and sources of help-seeking. Participants also completed measures of body appreciation and psychiatric skepticism. Results showed that less than a fifth of participants correctly identified the vignettes as depicting cases of negative body image. The vignette describing Kate was rated as significantly more distressing, deserving of sympathy and requiring help than that of Jack. Women rated the conditions described by both vignettes as significantly more distressing and requiring help than did men. Psychiatric skepticism and body appreciation were significantly associated with beliefs about the vignettes. Implications of the results for the promotion of mental health literacy in relation to body image are discussed

Belonging home: Capabilities, belonging and mental health recovery in low resourced settings

Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. There are significant barriers to the development of a ‘balanced model’ of mental health in low-income countries. These include gaps in the evidence base on effective responses to severe mental health issues and what works in the transition from hospital to home, and a low public investment in primary and community care. These limitations were the drivers for the formation of the non-government organization, YouBelong Uganda (YBU), which works to contribute to the implementation of a community-based model of mental health care in Uganda. This paper overviews an intervention protocol developed by YBU, which is a combined model of parallel engagement with the national mental hospital in Kampala, Uganda, movement of ‘ready for discharge’ patients back to their families and communities, and community development. The YBU programme is theoretically underpinned by a capabilities approach together with practical application of a concept of ‘belonging’. It is an experiment in implementation with hopes that it may be a positive step towards the development of an effective model in Uganda, which may be applicable in other countries. Finally, we discuss the value in joining ideas from social work, sociology, philosophy, public health and psychiatry into a community mental health ‘belonging framework’.The YouBelong Home intervention is being refined through a trial development project ‘Curtailing Hospital Readmissions of Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Africa (CHaRISMA)’, funded under the UK Joint Global Health Trials (JGHT) by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for International Development, the Medical Research Council and Wellcome

A Therapeutic Communication Study of Families with Children Suffering From Cancer

Therapeutic communication is a relatively new area of research in Indonesia. It is widely known that the success of therapeutic communication is largely influenced by the medical providers\u27 communication effectiveness when dealing with their clients. This paper reports on research that aimed to explore the connection between therapeutic communication and satisfaction and dissatisfaction as experienced by families of child cancer patients. It used a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design. The sample was the families of child cancer patients who were acccompanying the patients during hospital stay treatment at an Indonesian public hospital in Jakarta over the period December of 2014 – March 2015. There were 23 respondents for the research. The statistical test used was chi-square with an 0.05 level of significance. The result indicated that 56.5% of the respondents were satisfied with the therapeutic communication provided by nursing staff and that those who praticed therapeutic communication well, were 22 times more likely to provide a satisfactory level to the families of child cancer patients compared with those who did not apply good therapeutic communication (the value of p=0.003 and Odds ratio= 22). Thus, the research indicated that the medical providers\u27 communication effectiveness was associated with the patients\u27 satisfaction. We suggest that medical providers be given workshops on how to improve their communication skills to make their clients more satisfied with the medical services

Do food and physical activity environments vary between disadvantaged urban and rural areas? Findings from the READI study

Issues addressed: The presence or absence of amenities in local neighbourhood environments can either promote or restrict access to opportunities to engage in healthy and/or less healthy behaviours. Rurality is thought to constrain access to facilities and services. This study investigated whether the presence and density of environmental amenities related to physical activity and eating behaviours differs between socioeconomically disadvantaged urban and rural areas in Victoria, Australia.Methods: We undertook cross-sectional analysis of environmental data collected in 2007-08 as part of the Resilience for Eating and Activity Despise Inequality (READI) study. These data were sourced and analysed for 40 urban and 40 rural socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. The variables examined were the presence, raw count, count/km2, and count/\u27000 population of a range of environmental amenities (fast-food restaurants, all supermarkets (also separated by major chain and other supermarkets), greengrocers, playgrounds, gyms/leisure centres, public swimming pools and public open spaces).Results: A greater proportion of urban areas had a fast-food restaurant and gym/leisure centre present while more rural areas contained a supermarket and public swimming pool. All amenities examined (with the exception of swimming pools) were more numerous per km2 in urban areas, however rural areas had a greater number of all supermarkets, other supermarkets, playgrounds, swimming pools and public open area per \u27000 population.Conclusion: Although opportunities to engage in healthy eating and physical activity exist in many rural areas, a lower density per km2 suggests a greater travel distance may be required to reach these

Haemolytic activity of live Phaeocystis pouchetii during mesocosm blooms

Chemical defence is a potential mechanism contributing to the success of Phaeocystis species that repeatedly dominate the phytoplankton in coastal areas. Species within the genus Phaeocystis have long been suspected of imposing negative effects on co-occurring organisms. Recently a number of toxins have been extracted and identified from Phaeocystis samples, but it is not clear if they do enhance the competitive advantage of Phaeocystis species. In the present study the cytotoxic impact of live Phaeocystis pouchetii to human blood cells in close proximity, regardless of the nature of the responsible mechanism, was quantified using a bioassay. Haemolytic activity was measured during blooms of P. pouchetii in mesocosms. These environments were chosen to mimic natural conditions including chemically mediated interactions that could trigger defensive and/or allelopathic responses of Phaeocystis. Haemolytic activity correlated with P. pouchetii numbers and was absent during the preceding diatom bloom. Samples containing live P. pouchetii cells showed the highest activity, while filtered sea water and cell extracts were less haemolytic or without effect. Dose-response curves were linear up to 70% lysis, and haemolysis in samples containing live P. pouchetii cells reached EC50 values comparable to known toxic prymnesiophytes (1.9 * 10(7) cells l(-1)). Haemolytic activity was enhanced by increased temperature and light. The results indicate that unprotected and thus presumably vulnerable cells present in a P. pouchetii bloom may lyse within days

The Butterfly Fauna Of The Italian Maritime Alps:Results Of The &#171;Edit&#187; Project

Bonelli, Simona, Barbero, Francesca, Casacci, Luca Pietro, Cerrato, Cristiana, Balletto, Emilio (2015): The butterfly fauna of the Italian Maritime Alps: results of the EDIT project. Zoosystema 37 (1): 139-167, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/z2015n1a

Expectations and Experiences: Service User and Carer perspectives on the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act

Mae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg. This document is also available in Welsh. © Crown Copyright Digital ISBN 978-1-80391-736-8The report provides findings from 170 people living in Wales who receive care and support or who are carers and is part of a wider evaluation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act., known as the IMPACT study.Welsh Governmen

Communicating CSR Practices: A Web Site Analysis Of Indonesia's State-Owned Entities

This paper reports on a study of public relations (PR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Indonesia. The study examined the web-based CSR communication of 140 State-owned Entities (SOEs) in Indonesia. Whilst there is variation in the exercise of the public relations function through website communication, the study finds that it is predominately one-way information about what the SOE does under the banner of CSR. Furthermore, and in accordance with Indonesian government regulations, CSR tends to be partnership programs and community development. There are opportunities to strengthen CSR communication, and to further extend this to be an ongoing two-way dialogue with stakeholders. PR has an important role to play in these developments