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Participant‐Reported Health Status Predicts Cardiovascular and All‐Cause Mortality Independent of Established and Nontraditional Biomarkers: Evidence From a Representative US Sample
Get PDFBackground: Participant‐reported health status is a key indicator of cardiovascular health, but its predictive value relative to traditional and nontraditional risk factors is unknown. We evaluated whether participant‐reported health status, as indexed by self‐rated health, predicted cardiovascular disease, and all‐cause mortality risk excess of 10‐year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores and 5 nontraditional risk biomarkers.
Methods and Results: Analyses used prospective observational data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys among those aged 40 to 79 years (N=4677). Vital status was ascertained through 2011, during which there were 850 deaths, 206 from cardiovascular disease (CVD). We regressed CVD and all‐cause mortality on standardized values of self‐rated health in survival models, adjusting for age, sex, education, existing chronic disease, race/ethnicity, ASCVD risk, and standardized biomarkers (fibrinogen, C‐reactive protein [CRP], triglycerides, albumin, and uric acid). In sociodemographically adjusted models, a 1‐SD decrease in self‐rated health was associated with increased risk of CVD mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.92; 95% CI, 1.51–2.45; P<0.001), and this hazard remained strong after adjusting for ASCVD risk and nontraditional biomarkers (HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.42–2.26; P<0.001). Self‐rated health also predicted all‐cause mortality even after adjustment for ASCVD risk and nontraditional biomarkers (HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.35–1.66; P<0.001).
Conclusions: Self‐rated health provides prognostic information beyond that captured by traditional ASCVD risk assessments and by nontraditional CVD biomarkers. Consideration of self‐rated health in combination with traditional risk factors may facilitate risk assessment and clinical care
Archive data used for Strahan et al. 2016 "Shifts in community-level traits and functional diversity in a mixed conifer forest: a legacy of land-use change"
No full textHistorical reference conditions have long been used to guide the restoration of degraded ecosystems. However, a rapidly changing climate and altered disturbance regimes are calling into question the usefulness of this approach. As a consequence, restoration goals are increasingly focused on creating communities that are resilient to novel environmental stressors and emphasis is being placed on defining functional targets through the use of plant traits. While changes in forest structure and composition have received much attention, long-term changes in stand-level functional traits are not well understood. We used dendrochronology to reconstruct historical forest structure and composition in 1880, the year immediately following the disruption of the natural fire regime in a mixed conifer forest in Arizona, USA. We analysed differences in presettlement and contemporary forest composition, structure, and community-weighted mean (CWM) traits, and functional diversity metrics (Rao’s Q and functional richness) for four plant functional traits: leaf nitrogen content (leaf N), specific leaf area (SLA), wood density, and bark thickness. We observed significant shifts in forest composition, structure, CWM traits and functional diversity from 1880 to 2011. These changes reflect a reduction in fire and drought tolerance, driven largely by increases in the relative importance of Abies concolor and Pinus strobiformis. Compositional changes were associated with declines in CWM leaf N, SLA, wood density and bark thickness. We found lower multi-trait functional diversity (Rao’s Q) in contemporary forests driven primarily by leaf N; however, bark thickness variation was greater in contemporary forests than in 1880. Compositional shifts toward reduced average bark thickness and wood density in contemporary forests driven by land-use change has likely reduced forest resilience to both fire and drought. Managers can manipulate forest structure and species composition to achieve functional objectives by increasing stand-level bark thickness to promote fire tolerance and increasing stand-level wood density to promote drought tolerance. Forecasts for extended fire seasons along with declining precipitation are projected for many ecosystems around the planet. A focus on restoring optimal functional trait combinations may be as important as managing ecosystem structure for restoring resilient ecosystems
How do Video Games Normalize Violence? A Qualitative Content Analysis of Popular Video Games
No full textNews accounts about the school shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook Elementary have raised concern about violent content in video games. The literature on video games is less developed and my research relies on news stories to conceptualize the problem. This study examines video game content to understand how that content normalizes violence. Three questions guide my study: (1) is there evidence of the normalization of violence in the contents of video games. (2) If so, how do these processes operate? In addition (3) to what extent, are these processes like or different from normalization processes that occur in social interaction? I pursue these questions from a criminological perspective. Specifically, this study observes eight processes that previous criminologists suggest normalize violence: repetition, rewards system, dehumanization, naturalization, minimization, legitimization, historical use of violence, and heteronormative values. The data for this study derives from recorded observations of 10 popular video games. Through a qualitative content analysis, this study identifies and describes eight sociological processes within my sample of 10 popular games from 2010 to 2015. My analysis is that these processes are present in the video games. Furthermore, the sociological processes combine with one another to create a mindset that violence in video games is normal. I provide implications for news media, educators, parenting experts, and parents as well as suggestions for conducting a content analysis of video games
Willpower and ego depletion: Useful constructs?
Get PDFIt is widely recognized that the ability to exert will and defy the temptation of short-term rewards in favor of long term goals has many significant implications and is predictive of increased well-being across many domains. The American Psychological Association characterizes willpower as “the psychological science of self-control”, and their recent survey regarding Americans’ perception of their own self-control, cited the lack of will-power as the primary reason they fail to follow through with making healthy life-style changes. The “strength” model of self-control conceptualizes willpower as a limited resource which cannot be sustained indefinitely. According to the model, expending effort to exert self-control results in a reduced ability for individuals to exert self-control in a subsequent task—a psychological state known as ego depletion. Numerous investigations have replicated this effect across multiple domains and have also examined the influence of variables that moderate ego depletion. However, recent regression analyses have strongly suggested that the effect size for ego depletion is substantially smaller than was originally computed. In addition, despite widespread acceptance in both the popular press and the scientific study of psychology, the strength model has come under criticism that it has evolved into an over-reaching and unfalsifiable theory that should be subsumed under a more comprehensive theory of self-control that integrates traditional influences on self-control, including motivation, learning, and self- efficacy
Exercise and mental health - implications for treatment: A review of the literature
Get PDFThis paper reviews the literature regarding the positive effects of exercise and physical activity on the human psyche. In particular, the focus of this paper is to examine mental health benefits of exercise in clinical and nonclinical populations. Exercise as treatment for mental illness is thoroughly examined. Exercise interventions have been found to be effective in alleviating symptoms of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. General physical activity and aerobic exercise have potential to be used as alternative or adjunctive treatments for mental disorders in addition to or instead of medications. Green exercise—exercising in nature—is also explored. The use of psychotherapy combined with exercise and other types of physiologically-based health interventions are explored. Suggestions for future research are provided
Phylogeny, Biogeography, Floral Morphology Of Cyphocarpoideae (Campanulaceae)
Get PDFCampanulaceae is a family of flowering plants in the Asterales that is composed of five morphologically distinct subfamilies. Historically, systematic studies have focused within the two large subfamilies and have largely ignored the relationships among the subfamilies. Furthermore, studies of the anomalous Cyphocarpoideae, consisting of three species distributed in the Atacama Desert of Chile, are all but absent from the literature. Historical hypotheses concerning the evolution of the subfamilies and the placement of Cyphocarpoideae are tested with molecular phylogenies constructed from 57 plastid coding sequences for 78 taxa and 3 nuclear ribosomal genes for 47 taxa. All five subfamilies are sampled including a phylogenetically diverse representation of the larger subfamilies and all three extant species of Cyphocarpoideae. A rapid radiation early in the evolution of Campanulaceae is evident including
an initial divergence into two lineages. In the lineage comprised of Lobelioideae, Nemacladoideae and Cyphocarpoideae, Cyphocarpoideae is sister to Nemacladoideae. Divergence dates, geologic events and floristic affinities are used to reconstruct a biogeographic
history that includes a single long distance dispersal event from South Africa (origin of Lobelioideae) to the Neotropics via GAARlandia followed by a second dispersal to the Nearctic(origin of Nemacladoideae). The distribution of Cyphocarpoideae can be explained by a dispersal from either the Nearctic or Neotropics
Unpacking self-care: The connection between mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-care for counselors
Get PDFWith an escalating need for provision of mental health services to clients with serious and complex mental health concerns, it is vital that professional counselors find ways to prevent and address the adverse effects of working in stressful, emotionally demanding environments (Craig & Sprang, 2010). While self-care has been shown to mitigate compassion fatigue, self-care activities can be vague and difficult to prioritize. In this article, the authors present a review of the literature on mindfulness in mitigating compassion fatigue in counselors and propose a conceptualization of mindfulness as a gateway to self-care through self-compassion. Implications for research, counselor training, and professional development are discussed
The shadow side of the great psychotherapists
Get PDFThe great psychotherapists provide us with models for how to practice our work as counselors and psychologists, but it is important not to think of them as infallible guides. By learning something about the personal quirks and failings of some of the greatest psychotherapists in history we can develop a more sophisticated understanding of their lives and work. This article describes some lesser-known facts about the lives of Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, Albert Ellis, and Milton Erickson. The ethical challenges and mental disorders experienced by the great psychotherapists illustrate the need for all counselors and psychotherapists to seek help when needed
2015 Wildfire Season: An Overview, Southwestern U.S.
Get PDFSouthwestern ecosystems are fire-adapted and fire is arguably the most important process in our forests and grass lands. This overview is designed to help everyone from the general public to natural resource managers better understand the past fire season.
This report describes the vegetation impacted by the 12 largest fires in Arizona and New Mexico of 2015 (greater than 4,000 acres) and the degree to which the fires affected resources including soils, vegetation, and structures.
Weather, climate, vegetation type, fuel conditions, and topography all influence how an individual wildfire burns on the landscape and whether it
will have beneficial effects on the landscape. Some fires will leave a large number of unburned patches creating a mosaic burn pattern, whereas others will burn more contiguously. Managers approach each fire with multiple objectives that range from managing the fire for public safety and to protect homes and property to managing the fire to improve natural resources. As federal wildland fire management policy states:
“Response to wildland fires is based on ecological, social and legal consequences of the fire. The circumstances under which a fire occurs, and the likely consequences on firefighter and public safety and welfare, natural and cultural resources, and, values to be protected, dictate the appropriate response to the fire.”1
A full range of wildland fire response strategies may be employed to meet these objectives, including containing, confining or suppressing the wildfire. In a notable change, the national Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR) in 2015 began noting fires managed for full suppression in contrast to those using a strategy other than full suppression monitor, confine, or point protection. The Southwest Coordinating Committee recognized that multiple strategies are often used in an individual fire and lists the percentage of each fire managed with monitor, confine, point protection, or suppression.2 It is important to note that federal agencies only recognize two types of fires: prescribed fires and wildfire.
Wildland fire management strategies are based on a thoughtful and systematic risk-based approach that takes into account firefighter and public safety, cause of the wildfire, location, existing land management plans, availability of resources, values at risk, and social factors. Federal policy dictates that “initial action on human-caused wildfire will be to suppress the fire.”1
This report follows the format of past years’ overviews3 to facilitate a comparison between years. As in previous overviews, this report covers the temporal period, fire management costs, vegetation types, previous burn footprints, and burn severity. The conclusion section summarizes these same measures for the large fires in the region and also touches on how these fires burned in relation to communities. In 2013, the eight largest fires burned 215,380 acres. In 2014, the 12 largest fires burned 177,907 acres. In 2015, the largest 12 fires burned 125,746, or 62 percent of the total number of acres burned by wildfire in the Southwest in 2015.
Prescribed fires made up 37% of the acres burned, the highest percentage of acres burned in the Southwest since 2003. Based on the Southwest Coordination Center’s listing, managers used full suppression strategies on 11% and other strategies on 89% of the acres burned in fires over 100 acres in 2015.5 Eighty- six percent and 65% of fires over 100 acres were managed with full suppression strategies in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Most of the fires in the Southwest in 2015 burned
in Arizona (79%). This overview only includes three New Mexico fires: the Red Canyon, North Cut and Guadalupe fires; eight fires burned in Arizona: Whitetail, Camillo, Springs, Sawmill, Playground, Rattlesnake, Jar Complex, and SA Hill; and the remaining fire, the Hog Fire, burned in both states. These 12 fires are listed in order of size starting with the largest
14th annual Northern Arizona University assessment fair program
Get PDFThis is the program for the 2016 NAU Assessment Fair. The program includes the schedule of events, poster abstracts, and contest winners for the 14th Annual Assessment Fair