Foods for health : report of the pilot program : a pilot nutrition education program by Giant Food Inc. in cooperation with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute /

"August 1983."

Revitalizing health for all : international Indigenous representative group. Learning from the experience of comprehensive primary health care in Aboriginal Australia — A commentary on three projects

This paper presents a regional commentary (hereafter ‘the commentary’) on the three Australian projects of the Teasdale-Corti Global Health Research Partnership Program. The three Australian projects are: Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Ltd (VAHS), Melbourne, Victoria���Forty Years of Comprehensive Primary Health Care; Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Inc. (Congress), Alice Springs, Northern Territory—Ingkintja, Male Health Program; and Urapuntja Health Service (UHS), Utopia, Northern Territory—Outstation Health Care. It highlights common themes and lessons in respect to the Revitalising Health for All project in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia.

Air quality and its impact on health: focus on particulate matter

Inadequate air quality and the inhalation of airborne pollutants pose many risks to human health and wellbeing, and are listed among the top environmental risks worldwide. The importance of outdoor air quality was recognised in the 1950s and indoor air quality emerged as an issue some time later and was soon recognised as having an equal, if not greater importance than outdoor air quality. Identification of ambient air pollution as a health hazard was followed by steps, undertaken by a broad range of national and international professional and government organisations, aimed at reduction or elimination of the hazard. However, the process of achieving better air quality is still in progress. The last 10 years or so have seen an unprecedented increase in the interest in, and attention to, airborne particles, with a special focus on their finer size fractions, including ultrafine (< 0.1 m) and their subset, nano particles (< 0.05 m). This paper discusses the current status of scientific knowledge on the links between air quality and health, with a particular focus on airborne particulate matter, and the directions taken by national and international bodies to improve air quality.

Multicultural mental health awareness scale

Australia is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) society in the world. There are individuals from all over the globe settled in Australia. They enter Australia as migrants or refugees. Although, the process of migration differs from individual to individual, it can be an uprooting experience and can bring with it many mental health challenges which need professional attention. Mainstream allied and mental health professionals need to be prepared for this diverse population and their mental health issues and concerns. These professionals may have to offer multicultural counselling to clients from an ethnic and cultural background, which is very different from their own. It is therefore essential for them to demonstrate multicultural counselling competencies (MCC)...

Managing the health effects of temperature in response to climate change : challenges ahead

BACKGROUND: Although many studies have shown that high temperatures are associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity, there has been little research on managing the process of planned adaptation to alleviate the health effects of heat events and climate change. In particular, economic evaluation of public health adaptation strategies has been largely absent from both the scientific literature and public policy discussion. OBJECTIVES: his paper aims to discuss how public health organizations should implement adaptation strategies, and how to improve the evidence base for policies to protect health from heat events and climate change. DISCUSSION: Public health adaptation strategies to cope with heat events and climate change fall into two categories: reducing the heat exposure and managing the health risks. Strategies require a range of actions, including timely public health and medical advice, improvements to housing and urban planning, early warning systems, and the assurance that health care and social systems are ready to act. Some of these actions are costly, and the implementation should be based on the cost-effectiveness analysis given scarce financial resources. Therefore, research is required not only on the temperature-related health costs, but also on the costs and benefits of adaptation options. The scientific community must ensure that the health co-benefits of climate change policies are recognized, understood and quantified. CONCLUSIONS: The integration of climate change adaptation into current public health practice is needed to ensure they increase future resilience. The economic evaluation of temperature-related health costs and public health adaptation strategies are particularly important for policy decisions.

Stress, lifestyle and quality of life in midlife and older Australian women : results from the stress and the health of women study

Background Chronic psychological stress may pose a serious threat to health, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. This study examines the impact of stress on modifiable lifestyle factors, depressive symptoms, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and chronic illness in older Australian women. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected from a random sample of 181 older adults aged 60-70 years from rural and urban areas of South-East Queensland, Australia. We used structural equation modelling to examine associations between stress, modifiable lifestyle factors, HRQoL, and chronic illness. Findings Parameter estimates show that older women who reported life stressors where they felt helpless and feared for their life (high magnitude stressors) also reported higher body mass index (p = 0.03) and more chronic illness (p <0.01). In contrast, duration of exposure to life stressors was associated with higher depressive symptom scores (CES-D, p = 0.02) and sleep disturbance scores (p <0.01). Conclusions Our findings support the link between traumatic personal histories (exposure to high magnitude stressors) and unhealthy lifestyle factors. Findings highlight the need for more research on how stress reduction healthy lifestyle and positive coping strategies can be used to reduce the effects of high magnitude stress on health-related quality of life and chronic illness.

Interactions of ingested food, beverage, and tobacco components involving human cytochrome P4501A2, 2A6, 2E1, and 3A4 enzymes

Human cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes are involved in the oxidation of natural products found in foods, beverages, and tobacco products and their catalytic activities can also be modulated by components of the materials. The microsomal activation of aflatoxin B1 to the exo-3,9-epoxide is stimulated by flavone and 7,8-benzoflavone, and attenuated by the flavonoid naringenin, a major component of grapefruit. P4502E1 has been demonstrated to play a potentially major role in the activation of a number of very low-molecular weight cancer suspects, including ethyl carbamate (urethan), which is present in alcoholic beverages and particularly stone brandies. The enzyme (P4502E1) is also known to be inducible by ethanol. Tobacco contains a large number of potential carcinogens. In human liver microsomes a significant role for P4501A2 can be demonstrated in the activation of cigarette smoke condensate. Some of the genotoxicity may be due to arylamines. P4501A2 is also inhibited by components of crude cigarette smoke condensate. The tobacco-specific nitrosamines are activated by a number of P450 enzymes. Of those known to be present in human liver, P4501A2, 2A6, and 2E1 can activate these nitrosamines to genotoxic products.

Discovering future disaster management capability needs using scenario planning

In recent years disaster risk reduction efforts have focused on disturbances ranging from climate variability, seismic hazards, geo-political instability and public and animal health crises. These factors combined with uncertainty derived from inter-dependencies within and across systems of critical infrastructure create significant problems of governance for the private and public sector alike. The potential for rapid spread of impacts, geographically and virtually, can render a comprehensive understanding of disaster response and recovery needs and risk mitigation issues beyond the grasp of competent authority. Because of such cascading effects communities and governments at local and state-levels are unlikely to face single incidents but rather series of systemic impacts: often appearing concurrently. A further point to note is that both natural and technological hazards can act directly on socio-technical systems as well as being propagated by them: as network events. Such events have been categorised as ‘outside of the box,’ ‘too fast,’ and ‘too strange’ (Lagadec, 2004). Emergent complexities in linked systems can make disaster effects difficult to anticipate and recovery efforts difficult to plan for. Beyond the uncertainties of real world disasters, that might be called familiar or even regular, can we safely assume that the generic capability we use now will suit future disaster contexts? This paper presents initial scoping of research funded by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre seeking to define future capability needs of disaster management organisations. It explores challenges to anticipating the needs of representative agencies and groups active in before, during and after phases of emergency and disaster situations using capability deficit assessments and scenario assessment.

Identification of bacterial community composition in freshwater aquaculture system farming of Litopenaeus vannamei reveals distinct temperature-driven patterns

Change in temperature is often a major environmental factor in triggering waterborne disease outbreaks. Previous research has revealed temporal and spatial patterns of bacterial population in several aquatic ecosystems. To date, very little information is available on aquaculture environment. Here, we assessed environmental temperature effects on bacterial community composition in freshwater aquaculture system farming of Litopenaeus vannamei (FASFL). Water samples were collected over a one-year period, and aquatic bacteria were characterized by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and 16S rDNA pyrosequencing. Resulting DGGE fingerprints revealed a specific and dynamic bacterial population structure with considerable variation over the seasonal change, suggesting that environmental temperature was a key driver of bacterial population in the FASFL. Pyrosequencing data further demonstrated substantial difference in bacterial community composition between the water at higher (WHT) and at lower (WLT) temperatures in the FASFL. Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the highest abundant phyla in the FASFL, however, a large number of unclassified bacteria contributed the most to the observed variation in phylogenetic diversity. The WHT harbored remarkably higher diversity and richness in bacterial composition at genus and species levels when compared to the WLT. Some potential pathogenenic species were identified in both WHT and WLT, providing data in support of aquatic animal health management in the aquaculture industry.

Animal magnetism and curriculum history

This article elaborates the impact that crises of authority provoked by animal magnetism, mesmerism, and hypnosis in the 19th century had for field formation in American education. Four layers of analysis elucidate how curriculum history’s repetitive focus on public school policy and classroom practice became possible. First, the article surveys external conditions of possibility for the enactment of compulsory public schooling. Second, “internal” conditions of possibility for the formation of educational objects (e.g., types of children) are documented via the processes of différance that were generated from within the experiences of confinement. Third, the article maps how these were interpenetrated by animal magnetic debates that were lustered and planished in education’s emerging field, including impact upon behavior management practices, the contouring of expertise and authority, the role of Will in intelligence testing and child development theories, and the redefinition of public and private. Last, the article examines implications for curriculum history, whether policy- or practice-oriented, especially around the question of influence, the theorization of child mind, and philosophies of Being.

Equine hyperinsulinemia: Investigation of the enteroinsular axis during insulin dysregulation

Compared to other species insulin dysregulation in equids is poorly understood. Hyperinsulinemia causes laminitis, a significant and often lethal disease affecting the pedal bone/hoof wall attachment site. Until recently, hyperinsulinemia has been considered a counter-regulatory response to insulin resistance (IR), but there is growing evidence to support a gastrointestinal etiology. Incretin hormones released from the proximal intestine, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide, augment insulin secretion in several species, but require investigation in horses. This study investigated peripheral and gut-derived factors impacting insulin secretion by comparing the response to intravenous (IV) and oral D-glucose. Oral and IV tests were performed in 22 ponies previously shown to be insulin dysregulated, of which only 15 were classified as IR (IV test). In a more detailed study, nine different ponies received four treatments: D-glucose orally, D-glucose IV, oats and Workhorse-mix. Insulin, glucose and incretin concentrations were measured before and after each treatment. All nine ponies showed similar IV responses, but five were markedly hyper-responsive to oral D-glucose and four were not. Insulin responsiveness to oral D-glucose was strongly associated with blood glucose concentrations and oral glucose bioavailability, presumably driven by glucose absorption/distribution, as there was no difference in glucose clearance rates. Insulin was also positively associated with active GLP-1 following D-glucose and grain. This study has confirmed a functional enteroinsular axis in ponies which likely contributes to insulin dysregulation that may predispose them to laminitis. Further, IV tests for IR are not reliable predictors of the oral response to dietary non-structural carbohydrate.

Occupational burnout and health

Occupational burnout and heath Occupational burnout is assumed to be a negative consequence of chronic work stress. In this study, it was explored in the framework of occupational health psychology, which focusses on psychologically mediated processes between work and health. The objectives were to examine the overlap between burnout and ill health in relation to mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and cardiovascular diseases, which are the three commonest disease groups causing work disability in Finland; to study whether burnout can be distinguished from ill health by its relation to work characteristics and work disability; and to determine the socio-demographic correlates of burnout at the population level. A nationally representative sample of the Finnish working population aged 30 to 64 years (n = 3151-3424) from the multidisciplinary epidemiological Health 2000 Study was used. Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey. The diagnoses of common mental disorders were based on the standardized mental health interview (the Composite International Diagnostic Interview), and physical illnesses were determined in a comprehensive clinical health examination by a research physician. Medically certified sickness absences exceeding 9 work days during a 2-year period were extracted from a register of The Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Work stress was operationalized according to the job strain model. Gender, age, education, occupational status, and marital status were recorded as socio-demographic factors. Occupational burnout was related to an increased prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders and alcohol dependence among the men and women. Burnout was also related to musculoskeletal disorders among the women and cardiovascular diseases among the men independently of socio-demographic factors, physical strenuousness of work, health behaviour, and depressive symptoms. The odds of having at least one long, medically-certified sickness absence were higher for employees with burnout than for their colleagues without burnout. For severe burnout, this association was independent of co-occurring common mental disorders and physical illnesses for both genders, as was also the case for mild burnout among the women. In a subgroup of the men with absences, severe burnout was related to a greater number of absence days than among the women with absences. High job strain was associated with a higher occurrence of burnout and depressive disorders than low job strain was. Of these, the association between job strain and burnout was stronger, and it persisted after control for socio-demographic factors, health behaviour, physical illnesses, and various indicators of mental health. In contrast, job strain was not related to depressive disorders after burnout was accounted for. Among the working population over 30 years of age, burnout was positively associated with age. There was also a tendency towards higher levels of burnout among the women with low educational attainment and occupational status and among the unmarried men. In conclusion, a considerable overlap was found between burnout, mental disorders, and physical illnesses. Still, burnout did not seem to be totally redundant with respect to ill health. Burnout may be more strongly related to stressful work characteristics than depressive disorders are. In addition, burnout seems to be an independent risk factor for work disability, and it could possibly be used as a marker of health-impairing work stress. However, burnout may represent a different kind of risk factor for men and women, and this possibility needs to be taken into account in the promotion of occupational health.

Psychological resources, their social antecedents, and association with well-being and health behaviour in early adulthood

The success of entering work life, young people s psychological resources and self-reported well-being were studied in a longitudinal setting from a life-span developmental-contextual perspective in early adulthood. The aim was to analyse how psychosocial characteristics in early childhood and adolescence predict successful entrance into work life, how this is associated with well-being, and to assess the level of psychological resources such as dispositional optimism, personal meaning of work and coping in early adulthood. The role of these and social support, in the relationship between regional factors (such as place of residence and migration), self-reported health and life satisfaction was studied. The association between a specific coping strategy, i.e. eating and drinking in a stressful situation and eating habits, was studied to demonstrate how coping is associated with health behaviour. Multivariate methods, including binary logistic regression analyses and ANOVA, were used for statistical analyses. The subjects were members of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, which consists of all women and men born in 1966 in the two northernmost provinces of Finland (n= 12,058). The most recent follow-up, at the age of 31 years when 11,637 subjects were alive, took place in 1997-1998. The results show, first, that social resources in the childhood family and adolescence school achievement predict entrance into the labour market. Secondly, psychosocial resources were found to mediate the relationship between migration from rural to urban areas, and subjective well-being. Thirdly, psychological resources at entrance into the labour market were found to develop from early infancy on. They are, however, influenced later by work history. Fourthly, stress-related eating and drinking, as a way of coping, was found to be directly associated with unhealthy eating habits and alcohol use. Gender differences were found in psychosocial resources predicting, and being associated with success in entering the labour market. For men, the role of attitudinal and psychological factors seems to be especially important in entrance into work life and in the development of psychological resources. For women, academic attainment was more important for successfully entering work life, and lack of emotional social support was a risk factor for stress-related eating only among women. Stress-related eating and drinking habits were predicted by a long history of unemployment as well as a low level of education among both genders, but not excluding an academic degree among men. The results emphasize the role of childhood psychosocial factors in preventing long-term unemployment and in enhancing psychological well-being in early adulthood. Success in entering work life, in terms of continuous work history, plays a crucial role for well-being and the amount of psychological resources in early adulthood. The results emphasize the crucial role of enhancing psychological resources for promoting positive health behaviour and diminishing regional differences in subjective well-being.

Impulsivity, health-related behaviour and disease : A prospective study

In clinical settings impulsivity refers to a symptom of psychiatric disorder, but nonclinically oriented research treats impulsivity as a personality and temperament dimension. This prospective study examined whether impulsivity predicts adverse health-related behaviour and increased risk of health problems in a large, nonclinical sample of 5433 subjects working in 12 Finnish hospitals. The data were collected using two questionnaire surveys at a 2-year interval. After controlling for alcohol use at baseline, higher impulsivity predicted increased alcohol consumption at follow-up in both genders (p < .01) and was associated with increased likelihood of becoming a heavy drinker or taking up smoking (p < .05). Impulsivity also predicted an increased number of cigarettes smoked per day in the follow-up among women (p < .001), but not among men, although adjustment for the number of cigarettes smoked at baseline attenuated these associations (p = .08 for women). In men, higher impulsivity was associated with shorter sleep duration and waking up several times per night independent of baseline characteristics (p < .01), whereas in women, higher impulsivity predicted difficulty in falling asleep and waking up feeling tired after the usual amount of sleep (p < .05). In women, these associations became nonsignificant after adjustment for pre-existing somatic and psychiatric diseases. Finally, higher impulsivity was associated with an increased 2-year incidence of physician-diagnosed peptic ulcer disease (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.21 - 4.82) and onset of depression (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.28 - 2.97) after adjustment for a variety of baseline covariates. In conclusion, this study shows that in a nonclinical population, impulsivity appears to be a risk factor for various unhealthy behaviour and health problems.