Family and peer modeling of alcohol use in African American college students [abstract]

Abstract only availableFamily influences on alcohol consumption have received considerable research attention. However relatively little research has examined this aspect of the alcoholism risk process for African Americans. This study tested whether familial influences on participant drinking differed as a function of socioeconomic status. The study sample consisted of 141 African American college students (mean age = 21.89, SD = 1.24; 41% male). The association between participant report of family drinking (father, mother, sibling), peer drinking and personal drinking levels were tested. Next, tests were ran to determine whether these associations differed by socioeconomic status. Results indicated that mother, sibling, and peer drinking were associated with participant drinking, but father drinking and socioeconomic status were not. There was evidence for moderation, with socioeconomic status having a greater impact on participant drinking for those reporting high maternal drinking. These results highlight the need for more complex models to test the effect of contextual factors, such as family drinking and socioeconomic status on alcohol use

First time stroke survivors' perceptions of their health status and their goals for recovery

Stroke is an intensely individual, complex and life changing experience. Stroke recovery has many dimensions, and perceptions of health status are thought to affect recovery. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe patients' perceptions of their health status and their goals for recovery from early post stroke. Following ethical approval, semi structured interviews were conducted with patients (n=10) diagnosed with a first incident of stroke. Time following stroke onset ranged from 4 to 7 days. Gender difference was equal, and mean age of participants was 77 years. Participants considered themselves to be active and in excellent health prior to the stroke onset. All participants perceived that their health had declined since the stroke onset, but they were hopeful for the future. Two distinct themes emerged; "sudden fear and helplessness" and "regaining control in life". Participants reported wanting to quickly return to doing everyday things and identified individual goals for recovery. The patients' experience should be considered early post stroke to provide a complete picture of their role in recovery. Participants believed that the greatest challenge would be testing themselves at home. This study reinforces the importance of engaging with patients early post stroke so that recovery goals are identified that help restore meaning through the re-establishment of previous activities. Patient goals for recovery need to be discussed and devised in conjunction with health care professionals

Developing a framework for mobile payments integration

This paper derives a theoretical framework for consideration of both the technologically driven dimensions of mobile payment solutions, and the associated value proposition for customers. Banks promote traditional payment instruments whose value proposition is the management of risk for both consumers and merchants. These instruments are centralised, costly and lack decision support functionality. The ubiquity of the mobile phone has provided a decentralised platform for managing payment processes in a new way, but the value proposition for customers has yet to be elaborated clearly. This inertia has stalled the design of sustainable revenue models for a mobile payments ecosystem. Merchants and consumers in the meantime are being seduced by the convenience of on-line and mobile payment solutions. Adopting the purchase and payment process as the unit of analysis, the current mobile payment landscape is reviewed with respect to the creation and consumption of customer value. From this analysis, a framework is derived juxtaposing customer value, related to what is being paid for, with payment integration, related to how payments are being made. The framework provides a theoretical and practical basis for considering the contribution of mobile technologies to the payment industry. The framework is then used to describe the components of a mobile payments pilot project being run on a trial population of 250 students on a campus in Ireland. In this manner, weaknesses in the value proposition for consumers and merchants were highlighted. Limitations of the framework as a research tool are also discussed

Estimating rainfall and water balance over the Okavango River Basin for hydrological applications

A historical database for use in rainfall-runoff modeling of the Okavango River Basin in Southwest Africa is presented. The work has relevance for similar data-sparse regions. The parameters of main concern are rainfall and catchment water balance which are key variables for subsequent studies of the hydrological impacts of development and climate change. Rainfall estimates are based on a combination of in-situ gauges and satellite sources. Rain gauge measurements are most extensive from 1955 to 1972, after which they are drastically reduced due to the Angolan civil war. The sensitivity of the rainfall fields to spatial interpolation techniques and the density of gauges was evaluated. Satellite based rainfall estimates for the basin are developed for the period from 1991 onwards, based on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data sets. The consistency between the gauges and satellite estimates was considered. A methodology was developed to allow calibration of the rainfall-runoff hydrological model against rain gauge data from 1960-1972, with the prerequisite that the model should be driven by satellite derived rainfall products for the 1990s onwards. With the rain gauge data, addition of a single rainfall station (Longa) in regions where stations earlier were lacking was more important than the chosen interpolation method. Comparison of satellite and gauge rainfall outside the basin indicated that the satellite overestimates rainfall by 20%. A non-linear correction was derived used by fitting the rainfall frequency characteristics to those of the historical rainfall data. This satellite rainfall dataset was found satisfactory when using the Pitman rainfall-runoff model (Hughes et al., this issue). Intensive monitoring in the region is recommended to increase accuracy of the comprehensive satellite rainfall estimate calibration procedur

New Pulsating DB White Dwarf Stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We are searching for new He atmosphere white dwarf pulsators (DBVs) based on the newly found white dwarf stars from the spectra obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. DBVs pulsate at hotter temperature ranges than their better known cousins, the H atmosphere white dwarf pulsators (DAVs or ZZ Ceti stars). Since the evolution of white dwarf stars is characterized by cooling, asteroseismological studies of DBVs give us opportunities to study white dwarf structure at a different evolutionary stage than the DAVs. The hottest DBVs are thought to have neutrino luminosities exceeding their photon luminosities (Winget et al. 2004), a quantity measurable through asteroseismology. Therefore, they can also be used to study neutrino physics in the stellar interior. So far we have discovered nine new DBVs, doubling the number of previously known DBVs. Here we report the new pulsators' lightcurves and power spectra.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, ApJ accepte

A Prospective Longitudinal Study of the Clinical Outcomes from Cryptococcal Meningitis following Treatment Induction with 800 mg Oral Fluconazole in Blantyre, Malawi

Introduction: Cryptococcal meningitis is the most common neurological infection in HIV infected patients in Sub Saharan Africa, where gold standard treatment with intravenous amphotericin B and 5 flucytosine is often unavailable or difficult to administer. Fluconazole monotherapy is frequently recommended in national guidelines but is a fungistatic drug compromised by uncertainty over optimal dosing and a paucity of clinical end-point outcome data. Methods: From July 2010 until March 2011, HIV infected adults with a first episode of cryptococcal meningitis were recruited at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. Patients were treated with oral fluconazole monotherapy 800 mg daily, as per national guidelines. ART was started at 4 weeks. Outcomes and factors associated with treatment failure were assessed 4, 10 and 52 weeks after fluconazole initiation. Results: Sixty patients were recruited. 26/60 (43%) died by 4 weeks. 35/60 (58.0%) and 43/56 (77%) died or failed treatment by 10 or 52 weeks respectively. Reduced consciousness (Glasgow Coma Score ,14 of 15), moderate/severe neurological disability (modified Rankin Score .3 of 5) and confusion (Abbreviated Mental Test Score ,8 of 10) were all common at baseline and associated with death or treatment failure. ART prior to recruitment was not associated with better outcomes. Conclusions: Mortality and treatment failure from cryptococcal meningitis following initiation of treatment with 800 mg oral fluconazole is unacceptably high. To improve outcomes, there is an urgent need for better therapeutic strategies and point-of-care diagnostics, allowing earlier diagnosis before development of neurological deficit

IRTF Observations of White Dwarfs with Possible Near-Infrared Excess

Near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy is obtained for a heterogeneous sample of nearby white dwarfs with possible excess flux as identified primarily in the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Among the sample of 43 stars are a number of white dwarfs that are either metal-rich, magnetic, or binary suspects. With a few notable exceptions in four (or possibly five) distinct categories, the newly obtained JHK photometric data fail to corroborate the putative excesses, with K_IRTF - K_2MASS = +0.31 mag. Where available, GALEX photometric data are used to better constrain the overall spectral energy distribution of the white dwarfs, enabling any excess near-infrared flux to stand out more readily against the expected stellar photosphere. With superior data, a near-infrared photometric excess is confirmed at three metal-rich white dwarfs and ruled out at nine others. Several new binaries are confirmed or suggested; five white dwarf - red dwarf pairs and five double degenerates. Four apparently single magnetic white dwarfs -- two DA and two DQp -- display modest to strong near-infrared excess (relative to non-magnetic models), which may be better described as two effective temperatures owing to a redistribution of energy in highly magnetic or peculiar atmospheres.Comment: accepted to MNRAS, 38 pages (26 page appendix with 52 figures