A Systems-Theory Analysis of the Relationship between Communication, Beliefs/Practices, Religiosity, Spirituality and Expected Future Religious Practices of College Students

This study uses systems theory to explore relationships between individual, micro, meso, and macro factors and expected future religious practices of students studying at a Seventh-day Adventist university. The study operationalizes system theory in context of both public relations and spirituality. The primary purpose is to understand relationship between each level of systems theory and students’ expectations about future religious practices. Key recommendations include the need to increase use of digital communication tools, the value of distinguishing between understanding and belief/action at the micro level, and the importance of supporting spiritual development outside the context of organized religion

Connecting Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis: Are Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells a Nexus of Disease?

The pathology in neurodegenerative diseases is often accompanied by inflammation. It is well-known that many cells within the central nervous system (CNS) also contribute to ongoing neuroinflammation, which can promote neurodegeneration. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is both an inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease in which there is a complex interplay between resident CNS cells to mediate myelin and axonal damage, and this communication network can vary depending on the subtype and chronicity of disease. Oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cell of the CNS, and their precursors, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), are often thought of as the targets of autoimmune pathology during MS and in several animal models of MS; however, there is emerging evidence that OPCs actively contribute to inflammation that directly and indirectly contributes to neurodegeneration. Here we discuss several contributors to MS disease progression starting with lesion pathology and murine models amenable to studying particular aspects of disease. We then review how OPCs themselves can play an active role in promoting neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and how other resident CNS cells including microglia, astrocytes, and neurons can impact OPC function. Further, we outline the very complex and pleiotropic role(s) of several inflammatory cytokines and other secreted factors classically described as solely deleterious during MS and its animal models, but in fact, have many neuroprotective functions and promote a return to homeostasis, in part via modulation of OPC function. Finally, since MS affects patients from the onset of disease throughout their lifespan, we discuss the impact of aging on OPC function and CNS recovery. It is becoming clear that OPCs are not simply a bystander during MS progression and uncovering the active roles they play during different stages of disease will help uncover potential new avenues for therapeutic intervention

Intersecting race and gender stereotypes:Implications for group-level attitudes

Two studies examined the relationship between explicit stereotyping and prejudice by investigating how stereotyping of minority men and women may be differentially related to prejudice. Based on research and theory related to the intersectional invisibility hypothesis (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008), we hypothesized that stereotyping of minority men would be more strongly related to prejudice than stereotyping of minority women. Supporting our hypothesis, in both the United Kingdom (Study 1) and the United States (Study 2), when stereotyping of Black men and women were entered into the same regression model, only stereotyping of Black men predicted prejudice. Results were inconsistent in regard to South Asians and East Asians. Results are discussed in terms of the intersectional invisibility hypothesis (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008) and the gendered nature of the relationship between stereotyping and attitudes

INCREASING ACCESS TO FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES IN DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NC TO ADDRESS YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES VIA REDUCING FOOD INSECURITY STRESS

The social and community context a child grows up in greatly influences their health over the course of their life. Healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) development is essential for building resistance to stress during childhood and throughout the lifespan. However, without proper nutrition and access to healthy foods, healthy MEB development cannot occur and poor mental health outcomes result. According to the 2019 Durham County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 32% of middle school students and 35% of high school students reported feeling depressed in the past year (Davis, 2019). This proposal aims to improve mental health among Black and Latino youth in Durham County through free school lunches (FSL) at all Durham Public Schools. Schools that are eligible for and willing to apply for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will be incentivized to do so, while additional funding will be secured to implement FSL at schools that do not receive CEP. Behavioral outcomes associated with free meal programs include reduction in hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and a reduced surge in disciplinary infractions (Hanks, n.d.).Master of Public Healt

INCREASING ACCESS TO FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES IN DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NC TO ADDRESS YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES VIA REDUCING FOOD INSECURITY STRESS

The social and community context a child grows up in greatly influences their health over the course of their life. Healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) development is essential for building resistance to stress during childhood and throughout the lifespan. However, without proper nutrition and access to healthy foods, healthy MEB development cannot occur and poor mental health outcomes result. According to the 2019 Durham County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 32% of middle school students and 35% of high school students reported feeling depressed in the past year (Davis, 2019). This proposal aims to improve mental health among Black and Latino youth in Durham County through free school lunches (FSL) at all Durham Public Schools. Schools that are eligible for and willing to apply for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will be incentivized to do so, while additional funding will be secured to implement FSL at schools that do not receive CEP. Behavioral outcomes associated with free meal programs include reduction in hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and a reduced surge in disciplinary infractions (Hanks, n.d.).Master of Public Healt

INCREASING ACCESS TO FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES IN DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NC TO ADDRESS YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES VIA REDUCING FOOD INSECURITY STRESS

The social and community context a child grows up in greatly influences their health over the course of their life. Healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) development is essential for building resistance to stress during childhood and throughout the lifespan. However, without proper nutrition and access to healthy foods, healthy MEB development cannot occur and poor mental health outcomes result. According to the 2019 Durham County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 32% of middle school students and 35% of high school students reported feeling depressed in the past year (Davis, 2019). This proposal aims to improve mental health among Black and Latino youth in Durham County through free school lunches (FSL) at all Durham Public Schools. Schools that are eligible for and willing to apply for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will be incentivized to do so, while additional funding will be secured to implement FSL at schools that do not receive CEP. Behavioral outcomes associated with free meal programs include reduction in hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and a reduced surge in disciplinary infractions (Hanks, n.d.).Master of Public Healt

A clustered randomised trial examining the effect of social marketing and community mobilisation on the age of uptake and levels of alcohol consumption by Australian adolescents

IntroductionThroughout the world, alcohol consumption is common among adolescents. Adolescent alcohol use and misuse have prognostic significance for several adverse long-term outcomes, including alcohol problems, alcohol dependence, school disengagement and illicit drug use. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether randomisation to a community mobilisation and social marketing intervention reduces the proportion of adolescents who initiate alcohol use before the Australian legal age of 18, and the frequency and amount of underage adolescent alcohol consumption.Method and analysisThe study comprises 14 communities matched with 14 non-contiguous communities on socioeconomic status (SES), location and size. One of each pair was randomly allocated to the intervention. Baseline levels of adolescent alcohol use were estimated through school surveys initiated in 2006 (N=8500). Community mobilisation and social marketing interventions were initiated in 2011 to reduce underage alcohol supply and demand. The setting is communities in three Australian states (Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia). Students (N=2576) will complete school surveys in year 8 in 2013 (average age 12). Primary outcomes: (1) lifetime initiation and (2) monthly frequency of alcohol use. Reports of social marketing and family and community alcohol supply sources will also be assessed. Point estimates with 95% CIs will be compared for student alcohol use in intervention and control communities. Changes from 2006 to 2013 will be examined; multilevel modelling will assess whether random assignment of communities to the intervention reduced 2013 alcohol use, after accounting for community level differences. Analyses will also assess whether exposure to social marketing activities increased the intervention target of reducing alcohol supply by parents and community members

Women, anger, and aggression an interpretative phenomenological analysis

This study reports a qualitative phenomenological investigation of anger and anger-related aggression in the context of the lives of individual women. Semistructured interviews with five women are analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. This inductive approach aims to capture the richness and complexity of the lived experience of emotional life. In particular, it draws attention to the context-dependent and relational dimension of angry feelings and aggressive behavior. Three analytic themes are presented here: the subjective experience of anger, which includes the perceptual confusion and bodily change felt by the women when angry, crying, and the presence of multiple emotions; the forms and contexts of aggression, paying particular attention to the range of aggressive strategies used; and anger as moral judgment, in particular perceptions of injustice and unfairness. The authors conclude by examining the analytic observations in light of phenomenological thinking

Targeting Hypoxic Prostate Tumors Using the Novel Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug OCT1002 Inhibits Expression of Genes Associated with Malignant Progression

Purpose: To understand the role of hypoxia in prostate tumor progression and to evaluate the ability of the novel unidirectional hypoxia-activated prodrug OCT1002 to enhance the antitumor effect of bicalutamide. Experimental Design: The effect of OCT1002 on prostate cancer cells (LNCaP, 22Rv1, and PC3) was measured in normoxia and hypoxia in vitro. In vivo, tumor growth and lung metastases were measured in mice treated with bicalutamide, OCT1002, or a combination. Dorsal skin fold chambers were used to image tumor vasculature in vivo. Longitudinal gene expression changes in tumors were analyzed using PCR. Results: Reduction of OCT1002 to its active form (OCT1001) decreased prostate cancer cell viability. In LNCaP-luc spheroids, OCT1002 caused increased apoptosis and decreased clonogenicity. In vivo, treatment with OCT1002 alone, or with bicalutamide, showed significantly greater tumor growth control and reduced lung metastases compared with controls. Reestablishment of the tumor microvasculature following bicalutamide-induced vascular collapse is inhibited by OCT1002. Significantly, the upregulation of RUNX2 and its targets caused by bicalutamide alone was blocked by OCT1002. Conclusions: OCT1002 selectively targets hypoxic tumor cells and enhances the antitumor efficacy of bicalutamide. Furthermore, bicalutamide caused changes in gene expression, which indicated progression to a more malignant genotype; OCT1002 blocked these effects, emphasizing that more attention should be attached to understanding genetic changes that may occur during treatment. Early targeting of hypoxic cells with OCT1002 can provide a means of inhibiting prostate tumor growth and malignant progression. This is of importance for the design and refinement of existing androgen-deprivation regimens in the clinic