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Prevalence, Risk Factors and Self-awareness for Hypertension and Diabetes: Rural-Urban and Male-Female Dimensions from a cross-sectional study in Ghana
Get PDFThis version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13410-022-01141-9Background: Hypertension and diabetes remain the primary cause of non-communicable disease (NCD) related morbidity and mortality globally. Rural-urban transitions in developing countries might aggravate the risk factors and prevalence of these conditions. The study aims to determine prevalence, demographic, anthropometric and diet-related predisposing factors for hypertension and diabetes among urban and rural dwellers and assess participants’ self-awareness of their hypertension and diabetes status.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey involved 850 adult males and females age ≥18 years residing in urban and rural areas in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana, randomly sampled using probability proportional to size. Data included demographic, anthropometric, physiologic (blood pressure, fasting blood glucose) and dietary information. Nutrient quantities were analysed using the Research to Improve Infant Nutrition and Growth (RIING Nutrient Database Software. All other data was analysed in SPSS (v25). Risk factors for hypertension were estimated through ordinal logistic regression and the odds ratio (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence level (CI) documented.
Results: More females participated than males (58.4% vs 41.6%), similarly rural compared to urban inhabitants (53.5% vs 47.5%, p=0.002) with a mean age of 47.3±16.1 years. Females generally had higher adiposity, rural dwellers had higher BMI whereas urban dwellers had higher waist and hip circumferences. Overall, 4.4% and 18.5% were diabetics and pre-diabetics; while 20.4% and 12.1% were overweight and obese respectively. Of the 36.8% hypertensives, only 18.2% were aware of their status, with significant male (40.3%) female (59.7%); and urban (43.5%) rural (56.6%) differences. Males had higher intakes of energy and nutrients of public health importance to hypertension, similar as rural inhabitants except for cholesterol. Advancing age (95% CI: 0.02.03-0.05), being male (OR: 1.56 95% CI:0.12-0.81) and increased BMI (95% CI: 0.01-0.11) were independently associated with hypertension.
Conclusions: A third of the population were hypertensives but were unaware. Findings challenge the assumption of lower predisposition among rural inhabitants as we observe lifestyle habits consistent with increasing urbanisation. Efforts to mitigate rising NCD trend requires intensified community-based screening, awareness creation, and lifestyle interventions to improve diet, physical activity and health seeking
Peptide mass fingerprinting of preserved collagen in archaeological fish bones for the identification of flatfish in European waters
Get PDFBones of Pleuronectiformes (flatfish) are often not identified to species due to the lack of diagnostic features on bones that allow adequate distinction between taxa. This hinders in-depth understanding of archaeological fish assemblages and particularly flatfish fisheries throughout history. This is especially true for the North Sea region, where several commercially significant species have been exploited for centuries, yet their archaeological remains continue to be understudied. In this research, 8 peptide biomarkers for 18 different species of Pleuronectiformes from European waters are described using MALDI-TOF MS and LC-MS/MS data obtained from modern reference specimens. Bone samples (n=202) from three archaeological sites in the UK and France dating to the medieval period (c. 7th–16th century CE) were analysed using ZooMS. Of the 201 that produced good quality spectra, 196 were identified as flatfish species, revealing a switch in targeted species through time and indicating that ZooMS offers a more reliable and informative approach for species identification than osteological methods alone. We recommend this approach for future studies of archaeological flatfish remains as the precise species uncovered from a site can tell much about the origin of the fish, where people fished and whether they traded between regions
Are you lookin’ at me? A mixed-methods case study to investigate the influence of coaches’ presence on performance testing outcomes in male academy rugby league players
Get PDFRichardson, B., Dobbin, N., White, C., Bloyce, D., & Twist, C., Are you lookin’ at me? A mixed-methods case study to investigate the influence of coaches’ presence on performance testing outcomes in male academy rugby league players, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, (Volume 18 and Issue Number 2) pp. 563–571. Copyright © [2022] (The Authors). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.The study used a mixed-methods approach to examine how the presence of coaches influenced male academy rugby league players’ performance during physical performance testing. Fifteen male rugby players completed two trials of 20 m sprint, countermovement jump and prone Yo-Yo test; one with only the lead researcher present and a second where the lead researcher conducted the battery with both the club’s lead S&C coach, academy manager, and the first team assistant and head coach present. Players and coaches then completed one-to-one semi-structured interviews to explore their beliefs, attitudes and opinions towards physical performance testing. In all tests, the players’ performance was better when the coaches were present compared to when this was conducted by the sport scientist alone. Interviews revealed performance testing was used by coaches to exercise their power over players to socialise them into a desired culture. Players’ own power was evident through additional effort during testing when coaches were present. Practitioners should ensure consistency in the presence of significant observers during performance testing of male rugby players to minimise their influence on test outcome
Cholesterol transport in blood, lipoproteins, and cholesterol metabolism.
No full textThe aim of this chapter is to critically discuss recent work which has focused on the dynamics of cholesterol transport and its intersection with health. Firstly, we provide an overview of the main lipoproteins, and their role in whole-body cholesterol metabolism. We then focus on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), paying particular attention to a diverse array of evidence which associates perturbations to these lipoproteins with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Next, we explain how aging and obesity disrupt the biological mechanisms that regulate cholesterol metabolism. Crucially, we reveal the parallels between aging and obesity, underscoring that obesity superimposed on the aging process has the potential to exacerbate the age-related dysregulation of cholesterol metabolism. Following this, we unveil how mathematical modeling can be used to deepen our understanding of cholesterol metabolism. We conclude the chapter by discussing the future of this area; in doing so, we reveal how recent experimental findings could open the way for novel therapeutic approaches which could help maintain optimal blood lipoprotein levels and thus increase health span
The effects of allogrooming and social network position on behavioural indicators of stress in female lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus)
Get PDFAllogrooming serves an important social function in primates and confers short term benefits such as parasite removal and stress-relief. There is currently mixed evidence as to the immediate impact of allogrooming on an individual’s stress levels, which may be influenced by their role in the grooming dyad, position in their social network, or their relationship with their grooming partner. In this study of seven captive adult female lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) in a mixed sex group at Chester Zoo, UK, we found evidence to support a tension-reduction function of allogrooming. Focal animal sampling showed that the duration of self-directed behaviour (SDB), which indicates moderate to high levels of stress, was significantly lower in the five-minute period following allogrooming than the five-minute minute period preceding it for both recipients and groomers. However, when compared to match-control periods, both SDB rates and durations were significantly lower across all individuals in the five-minute period both before and after allogrooming, indicating that although allogrooming reduces stress, it is also more likely to occur when individuals are already in a relatively relaxed state. The rate and duration of SDB post-grooming did not correlate with the strength of a dyad’s bond (based on proximity). This suggests that it is the act of allogrooming itself, rather than the identity of the partner, that reduces stress for both parties. Analysis of the proximity network highlighted a clear cost to social integration; node strength, a measure of the number and strength of an individual’s direct relationships, positively correlated with the duration of self-directed behaviour, suggesting that more gregarious individuals may experience higher levels of stress. These findings add to the growing body of literature that examines the effect of the individual social environment on primate stress levels, and also highlight the need to further investigate the link between social integration and the stress experienced by group-living animals
Do Divisia monetary aggregates help forecast exchange rates in a negative interest rate environment?
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Finance on 12/10/2022, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/1351847X.2022.2124120This paper contributes to the literature as the first work of its kind to examine the role and importance of Divisia monetary aggregates and concomitant User Cost Price indices as superior monetary policy forecasting tools in a negative interest rate environment. We compare the performance of Divisia monetary aggregates with traditional simple-sum aggregates in several theoretical models and in a Bayesian VAR to forecast the exchange rates between the euro, the dollar and yuan at various horizons using quarterly data. We evaluate their performance against that of a random walk using two criteria: Root Mean Square Error ratios and the Clark-West statistic. We find that, under a free-floating exchange regime, superior Divisia monetary aggregates outperform their simple sum counterparts and the benchmark random walk in a negative interest rate environment, consistently
CAP: Patching the Human Vulnerability
Get PDFCyber threats to organisations across all industries are increasing in both volume and complexity, leading to significant, and sometimes severe, conse-quences. The common weakest link in organisations security is the human vulnerability. The sudden popularity of remote-working due to the Covid-19 pandemic opened organisations and their employees up to more risks, partic-ularly as many workers believe that they are more distracted when at home. Existing cyber training using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach has been proven inefficient/ineffective and the need for a more fit-for-purpose training is re-quired. When it comes to cyber training, we know that there is no single-training-fits-all solution – people have different technical skills, different prior knowledge and experience, are in different roles, exposed to different security risks, and require knowledge that is relevant to what they do. This study makes a case for tailored role-based cybersecurity training suitable for awareness within organisations across multiple industries. The study ex-plores the strengths and weaknesses of existing cyber training and literature to make recommendations on efficient awareness and training programme strategies. The study carries out knowledge and task analysis of job roles to create profiles of skills and knowledge they require. These are grouped by topic and level to form scenario-based multiple-choice questions which are mapped to create a Cyber Awareness Platform (CAP). A CAP prototype is in-troduced as a flexible web-based system allowing users to assess their prior knowledge and skills personalised to their role. Knowledge gaps and training needs are identified, and recommendations are tailored to the individual. Ini-tial analysis of CAP shows promising results, indicating that such role-sensitive solution would be highly beneficial to users. This offers further de-velopment opportunities in producing an all-in-one cyber assessment and training platform
Anthropogenic influences on habitat use by African Houbaras Chlamydotis undulata on Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Get PDFAfrican Houbara Chlamydotis undulata is threatened in North Africa by unsustainable hunting and massive overuse of captive-bred birds to replace wild losses. A small population on the Canary Islands is protected from these threats, but the archipelago is economically dependent on tourism which has led to extensive land-use change, particularly close to the coasts. We investigated the drivers of houbara distribution and abundance in and around the large semi-desert El Jable region of northern Lanzarote in order to identify potential measures to conserve this important population. All houbaras seen during point counts in the centre of 30 tetrads (2 km ×2 km) were recorded, along with their location. We used negative binomial regression to evaluate the effects of land use and human activity on the abundance of birds at tetrad scale. At finer scale we used logistic regression to assess the effect of land use on the distribution of displaying males. We recorded 196 houbara sightings on our surveys, although only 10 males were observed displaying. Houbara abundance had a quadratic relationship with the proportion of huerta (agricultural gardens) in a tetrad. The distribution of male displays was positively related to the proportion of long-abandoned farmland within a 100 m radius of their display site. African Houbaras favour the vicinity of small-scale agriculture and abandoned farmland, but avoid areas with higher levels of human land-use. Reduction of extensive land-use change and disturbance in El Jable are key conservation measures
Convulsive and electroconvulsive therapy, a UK perspective from 1922-1944
No full textThis is a presentation that was delivered at the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress, 20th-23rd June 2022, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.Physical treatments in the UK , convulsive therapy including ECT from 1922-194
Book Review: P. Rahtz and L. Watts, St Gregory’s Minster, Kirkdale, North Yorkshire. Archaeological Investigations and Historical Context (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2021). ISBN 978-1-78969- 482-6
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Northern History on 16/11/2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/0078172X.2021.1968175Book Review
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