The relationship of early social, mental, and behavioral experiences with adult obesity and Alcohol Use Disorder

Stressful life events early in life, including symptoms of mental disorders or childhood maltreatment, may increase risk for worse mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms and maltreatment experience on two adult outcomes: obesity and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Mediational effects of adolescent characteristics were explored. This dissertation used Waves I, III, and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. In Paper 1 (Chapter 3), we investigated the association between multiple types of child maltreatment and adult objective (body mass index; BMI) and subjective (self-rated) obesity, as well as mediating effects by adolescent characteristics including depressive symptoms and BMI. Results showed that after adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, and maternal education, physical maltreatment was moderately associated with adulthood obesity as measured by BMI and self-reported obesity, while sexual maltreatment was more strongly associated with the objective measure but not the subjective measure. The indirect effects of mediation of adolescent BMI and depressive symptoms were statistically significant. In Paper 2 (Chapter 4), the objective was to examine mediation by adolescent depressive symptoms, alcohol consumption, peer alcohol consumption, and delinquency in the relationship between ADHD symptoms and adult AUD. The indirect effects of mediation of adolescent delinquency, alcohol consumption, and peer alcohol consumption were statistically significant in single and multiple mediator models. In Paper 3 (Chapter 5), the objective was to assess the joint effects of maltreatment/neglect on adult AUD. After adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, child maltreatment, and parental AUD, ADHD symptoms were significantly associated with increased odds of AUD. There was no strong evidence of multiplicative interaction by maltreatment. This association was stronger for males than females, although the interaction term was not statistically significant. This dissertation adds to the literature by examining relationships between several major public health problems: ADHD symptoms, childhood maltreatment, AUD, depressive symptoms, and obesity. This project has implications for understanding how early life stress increases risk for later physical and mental health problems, and identifying potential intervention targets for adolescents.

The relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in early pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes in a large, prospective cohort

Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency have been associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Controversy remains as findings have been inconsistent between disparate populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D status and pregnancy outcomes in a large, prospective pregnancy cohort. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D concentration was analysed in serum samples collected at 15 weeks of gestation from 1710 New Zealand women participating in a large, observational study. Associations between vitamin D status and pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA) and gestational diabetes were investigated. The mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 72·9 nmol/l. In all, 23 % had 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations <50 nmol/l, and 5 % of participants had concentrations <25 nmol/l. Women with 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations <75 nmol/l at 15 weeks of gestation were more likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus than those with concentrations >75 nmol/l (OR 2·3; 95 % CI 1·1, 5·1). However, this effect was not significant when adjustments were made for BMI and ethnicity (OR 1·8; 95 % CI 0·8, 4·2). 25-Hydroxyvitamin D concentration at 15 weeks was not associated with development of pre-eclampsia, spontaneous preterm birth or SGA infants. Pregnancy complications were low in this largely vitamin D-replete population.

The Relationship of Progesterone and Estradiol Concentrations During Pregnancy with Lamb Birth Weigh In Javanese Thin-Tail Ewes

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mempelajari hubungan antara konsentrasi progesteron dan estrogen selama kebuntingan dengan bobot lahir pada domba ekor tipis.  Tiga puluh sembilan domba bunting digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Domba percobaan disuntik PGF2α dua kali secara intra muskuler dengan interval sebelas hari.  Satu-dua hari setelah penyuntikan terakhir domba percobaan dikawinkan secara alami melalui perkawinan kelompok.  Sampel darah diambil setiap bulan (0 – 5 bulan) selama periode kebuntingan untuk menentukan konsentrasi progesterone dan estrogen.  Bobot lahir anak ditimbang sekitar 12 jam setelah kelahiran.  Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa jumlah anak sekelahiran, konsentrasi progesterone dan estradiol serum induk pada bulan kedua kebuntingan secara positif berkorelasi dengan bobot lahir anak.  Disimpilkan bahwa semakin tinggi konsentrasi progesterone dan estradiol selama kebuntingan akan semakin tinggi total bobot lahir anak.  Disarankan bahwa peningkatan konsentrassi progesterone dan estradiol selama kebuntingan dapat memperbaiki pertumbuhan prenatal dan bobot lahir. (Animal Production 6(1): 49-55 (2004) Key Words: Progesteron, Estradiol,  Bobot Lahir, Kebuntingan, Domba

Relationship between Facilities, Conditions, Member Participation, and Founding and Maintenance of Dairy Cattle Farmers Group with Entrepreneurship of Its Member in Banyumas Regency

Research was carried out for 12 weeks from May to June 2004 in Kecamatan Ajibarang, Cilongok, Kalibagor, Sokaraja and Purwokerto Timur.  Aims of this research were (1) to find out level of entrepreneurship of dairy cattle farmers; (2) to find out relationship between facilities, conditions, member participation, and founding and maintenance of dairy farmers group with entrepreneurship attitude and income rate of its member. A total of 55 respondents (30% of the population) was selected using random sampling.  Analysis of rank spearmann was applied to observe relationship between factors.  Results showed that (1) entrepreneurship of dairy cattle farmers was on moderate category; (2) members entrepreneurship has not significantly related to factors of facilities, conditions, and member participation, but it has a significant relationship to group founding and maintenance. . (Animal Production 7(2): 111-120 (2005) Key Words: Entrepreneurship, Dairy cattle, Farmers group

Exposure to pesticides, ill health and averting behaviour : costs and determining the relationship

Farmers' exposure to pesticides is high in developing countries. As a result many farmers suffer from ill-health, both short and long term. Deaths are not uncommon. This paper addresses this issue. Field survey data from Sri Lanka are used to estimate farmers' expenditure on defensive behavior (DE) and to determine factors that influence DE. The avertive behavior approach is used to estimate costs. Tobit regression analysis is used to determine factors that influence DE. Field survey data show that farmers' expenditures on DE are low. This is inversely related to high incidence of ill health among farmers using pesticides.

Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) - Repeat Visitation Opportunities for Destination Marketing Organisations

In competitive tourism markets the consumer-traveller is spoilt by choice of available destinations. Successfully differentiating a destination and getting noticed at decision time is arguably the focus of activities by destination marketing organisations (DMOs). In pursuit of differentiation, three emergent themes in the marketing literature during the past decade have been branding, integrated marketing communications (IMC), and customer relationship management (CRM) a fundamental goal of each being stimulating customer loyalty. However there has been little attention given to destination loyalty in the tourism literature. The purpose of this paper is to report an exploratory investigation of visitor relationship management (VRM) by DMOs. Based on interviews with the management of 11 regional tourism organisations (RTO) in Queensland, Australia, the opportunities for, and immediate challenges of, VRM are discussed. While each RTO recognised the potential for VRM, none had yet been able to develop a formal approach to engage in meaningful dialogue with previous visitors from their largest market.