Variability of Millennial-Scale Trends in the Geomagnetic Axial Dipole

The historical trend in the axial dipole is sufficient to reverse the field in less than 2 kyr. Assessing the prospect of an imminent polarity reversal depends on the probability of sustaining the historical trend for long enough to produce a reversal. We use a stochastic model to predict the variability of trends for arbitrary time windows. Our predictions agree well with the trends computed from paleomagnetic models. Applying these predictions to the historical record shows that the current trend is likely due to natural variability. Furthermore, an extrapolation of the current trend for the next 1 to 2 kyr is highly unlikely. Instead, we compute the trend and time window needed to reverse the field with a specified probability. We find that the dipole could reverse in the next 20 kyr with a probability of 2%

The Need for Tobacco Education: Studies of Collegiate Dental Hygiene Patients and Faculty

The need for inclusion of comprehensive tobacco control education/training for health care providers continues to be stressed in publications addressing cessation services. The dental appointment presents an excellent opportunity to provide tobacco interventions to basically healthy people on regular intervals. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to assess the need (stage of change and concomitant need for tobacco cessation intervention) of dental hygiene patients at a Midwest dental hygiene clinic, and 2) to assess and compare the level of tobacco intervention education currently being offered by dental hygiene educators in a Midwestern state. Patients (n=426) of a collegiate dental health clinic completed a survey that assessed the level and type of tobacco cessation intervention patients might require. A statewide sample of dental hygiene faculty (n=97) were surveyed to determine the attitudes, perceived barriers, and current practices in tobacco education offered in their programs. Of patients who currently smoked (34.5 percent), 24.7 percent indicated being in the Action stage of change; 14.2 percent were in Preparation; 22.2 percent were in Contemplation; and 29 percent were in Precontemplation. Although faculty indicated tobacco education was very important (5.03 on 1-6 scale), they felt only moderately confident delivering tobacco education (3.18 on a 1-5 scale). Only 16 percent to 35 percent of faculty reported that their curriculum included brief motivational interviewing, pharmacotherapies, or setting-up a private practice tobacco control program. The results strongly suggest the need for a comprehensive, competency-based tobacco curriculum to enhance and expand existing dental hygiene programs

Evaluation of a Comprehensive Tobacco Cessation Curriculum for Dental Hygiene Programs

Dental health care providers continue to offer inconsistent and limited tobacco use cessation (TUC) interventions even though smoking-related morbidity and mortality continue to be a substantial health concern. Our purpose was to conduct a comprehensive, three-year (2003-06) TUC curriculum evaluation that included assessment of existing TUC education offered; dental hygiene educators\u27 readiness to incorporate TUC education into the curriculum; and development of a pre-test/post-test assessment instrument and faculty development program. This curriculum study was carried out alongside a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-reviewed tobacco curriculum (Tobacco Free! Curriculum). Faculty members (baseline n=97; third-year n=42) from the twelve dental hygiene associate degree programs in Illinois participated in the study, which included a pre-treatment survey, six hours of on-site TUC curriculum training, and a post-treatment survey to determine the attitudes, perceived barriers, and current practices in tobacco education. Results showed an average increase of eighty-five minutes spent on tobacco education in the dental hygiene curriculum, a large positive increase in the percentage of faculty members who formally assessed the use of 5As and 5Rs (21 percent to 88 percent), and a dramatic increase (+100) in the percentage of faculty members who taught or included most of the thirteen TUC content areas following the introduction of the curriculum and training program

Health literacy, health status, and healthcare utilization of Taiwanese adults: results from a national survey

Abstract Background Low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic covariates of low health literacy in Taiwanese adults and to investigate the relationships between health literacy and health status and health care utilization. Methods A national survey of 1493 adults was conducted in 2008. Health literacy was measured using the Mandarin Health Literacy Scale. Health status was measured based on self-rated physical and mental health. Health care utilization was measured based on self-reported outpatient clinic visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Results Approximately thirty percent of adults were found to have low (inadequate or marginal) health literacy. They tended to be older, have fewer years of schooling, lower household income, and reside in less populated areas. Inadequate health literacy was associated with poorer mental health (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.35-0.91). No association was found between health literacy and health care utilization even after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusions Low (inadequate and marginal) health literacy is prevalent in Taiwan. High prevalence of low health literacy is not necessarily indicative of the need for interventions. Systematic efforts to evaluate the impact of low health literacy on health outcomes in other countries would help to illuminate features of health care delivery and financing systems that may mitigate the adverse health effects of low health literacy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/1/1471-2458-10-614.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/2/1471-2458-10-614.pdfPeer Reviewe

Likelihood inference for exponential-trawl processes

Integer-valued trawl processes are a class of serially correlated, stationary and infinitely divisible processes that Ole E. Barndorff-Nielsen has been working on in recent years. In this Chapter, we provide the first analysis of likelihood inference for trawl processes by focusing on the so-called exponential-trawl process, which is also a continuous time hidden Markov process with countable state space. The core ideas include prediction decomposition, filtering and smoothing, complete-data analysis and EM algorithm. These can be easily scaled up to adapt to more general trawl processes but with increasing computation efforts.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, forthcoming in: "A Fascinating Journey through Probability, Statistics and Applications: In Honour of Ole E. Barndorff-Nielsen's 80th Birthday", Springer, New Yor

Probabilistic Guarded P Systems, A New Formal Modelling Framework

Multienvironment P systems constitute a general, formal framework for modelling the dynamics of population biology, which consists of two main approaches: stochastic and probabilistic. The framework has been successfully used to model biologic systems at both micro (e.g. bacteria colony) and macro (e.g. real ecosystems) levels, respectively. In this paper, we extend the general framework in order to include a new case study related to P. Oleracea species. The extension is made by a new variant within the probabilistic approach, called Probabilistic Guarded P systems (in short, PGP systems). We provide a formal definition, a simulation algorithm to capture the dynamics, and a survey of the associated software.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2012- 37434Junta de Andalucía P08-TIC-0420

Using small molecules to facilitate exchange of bicarbonate and chloride anions across liposomal membranes

Bicarbonate is involved in a wide range of biological processes, which include respiration, regulation of intracellular pH and fertilization. In this study we use a combination of NMR spectroscopy and ion-selective electrode techniques to show that the natural product prodigiosin, a tripyrrolic molecule produced by microorganisms such as Streptomyces and Serratia, facilitates chloride/bicarbonate exchange (antiport) across liposomal membranes. Higher concentrations of simple synthetic molecules based on a 4,6-dihydroxyisophthalamide core are also shown to facilitate this antiport process. Although it is well known that proteins regulate Cl-/HCO3- exchange in cells, these results suggest that small molecules may also be able to regulate the concentration of these anions in biological systems

CX3CR1 Polymorphisms are associated with atopy but not asthma in German children

Chemokines and their receptors are involved in many aspects of immunity. Chemokine CX3CL1, acting via its receptor CX3CR1, regulates monocyte migration and macrophage differentiation as well as T cell-dependent inflammation. Two common, nonsynonymous polymorphisms in CX3CR1 have previously been shown to alter the function of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 pathway and were suggested to modify the risk for asthma. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight technology, we genotyped polymorphisms Val249Ile and Thr280Met in a cross-sectional population of German children from Munich (n = 1,159) and Dresden ( n = 1,940). For 249Ile an odds ratio of 0.77 (95% confidence interval 0.63-0.96; p = 0.017) and for 280Met an odds ratio of 0.71 ( 95% confidence interval 0.56-0.89; p = 0.004) were found with atopy in Dresden but not in Munich. Neither polymorphism was associated with asthma. Thus, amino acid changes in CX3CR1 may influence the development of atopy but not asthma in German children. Potentially, other factors such as environmental effects may modify the role of CX3CR1 polymorphisms. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Sensory Electrical Stimulation Improves Foot Placement during Targeted Stepping Post-Stroke

Proper foot placement is vital for maintaining balance during walking, requiring the integration of multiple sensory signals with motor commands. Disruption of brain structures post-stroke likely alters the processing of sensory information by motor centers, interfering with precision control of foot placement and walking function for stroke survivors. In this study, we examined whether somatosensory stimulation, which improves functional movements of the paretic hand, could be used to improve foot placement of the paretic limb. Foot placement was evaluated before, during, and after application of somatosensory electrical stimulation to the paretic foot during a targeted stepping task. Starting from standing, twelve chronic stroke participants initiated movement with the non-paretic limb and stepped to one of five target locations projected onto the floor with distances normalized to the paretic stride length. Targeting error and lower extremity kinematics were used to assess changes in foot placement and limb control due to somatosensory stimulation. Significant reductions in placement error in the medial–lateral direction (p = 0.008) were observed during the stimulation and post-stimulation blocks. Seven participants, presenting with a hip circumduction walking pattern, had reductions (p = 0.008) in the magnitude and duration of hip abduction during swing with somatosensory stimulation. Reductions in circumduction correlated with both functional and clinical measures, with larger improvements observed in participants with greater impairment. The results of this study suggest that somatosensory stimulation of the paretic foot applied during movement can improve the precision control of foot placement