Adolescent nutritional and psychological patterns and risk for the development of an eating disorder

A group of 256 female and 248 male adolescent students were assessed regarding nutritional practices and psychological attitudes associated with the development of eating disorders. While the majority showed adequate nutritional practices, there was a high prevalence of dieting and the consumption of low-calorie foods among the girls. For boys, there was no relationship between a strong desire for thinness and restriction of foods high in calories; boys tended to report that hunger and positive affective states were related to overeating. A risk factor conception of nutritional and psychological precursors to the later development of an eating disorder was discussed.This research was supported in part by a Biomedical Research Support Grant to Dr. Cheryl Perry.     

Externalizing and oppositional behaviors and karate-do: the way of crime prevention. A pilot study

Childhood disruptive behaviors can be precursors to later deviance. To verify the efficacy of karate, a complex psychomotor activity that enhances self-regulation and executive skills, as an intervention for externalizing behaviors, 16 children, ranging in age from 8 to 10 years, and meeting diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant disorder were studied. Eight were randomly assigned to a 10-month Wa Do Ryu karate program, whereas 8 children received no intervention. The children were assigned to a larger karate class, composed of typically developing youngsters. Three domains of temperament--intensity, adaptability, and mood regulation--were measured at the beginning and the end of the training period in all 16 participants. A significant improvement in temperament scale scores was measured in the karate group for all tested items compared to controls. Karate, when properly taught, can be a useful adjunct in multimodal programs aimed at externalizing behavior reduction.     

Evaluating partnerships for community health improvement: tracking the footprints

Private-public partnerships are increasingly seen as an important mechanism for improving community health. Despite their popularity, traditional evaluations of these efforts have produced negative or mixed results. This is often attributed to weak interventions or an insufficient period of time to observe an impact. This study examines two additional possibilities--the need for a well-articulated shared vision and the governance and management capabilities of the partnership itself. We conducted a midstream process evaluation of twenty-five community partnerships associated with the Community Care Network (CCN) Demonstration Program. We examined how the roles of a common shared vision, strong governance, and effective management influence a partnership's ability to achieve its objectives. The findings, based on both qualitative and quantitative analyses, underscore the importance of membership organizations' perceived benefits and costs of participation and management capabilities to the partnership's progress toward a vision. Based on the qualitative data, six key governance and management characteristics are identified that separate the top performing partnerships from the lowest performing ones. We explore the implications of this research for future evaluations of public-private community health partnerships.     

The frozen rhetoric of AIDS denialism and the flourishing claims of a cure: A Comparative analysis of Thabo Mbeki and Yahya Jammeh’s rhetoric

This article compares and contrasts the frozen rhetoric of Thabo Mbeki’s Aids denialism and Yahya Jammeh’s flourishing claims of a cure for HIV/Aids. While Jammeh invoked Allah as the source of his herbal therapy, Mbeki employed what scientists referred to as pseudoscience to justify his claim. In the final analysis, whereas Mbeki’s denialist rhetoric froze in South Africa, Jammeh’s cure rhetoric continues to flourish in the Gambia. First, the rhetorical situation in both countries is appraised. Next, antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and alternative therapies, which are at the center of the polemics, are placed in dialogue before the dynamic subject is located at the critical junctures of space, power and the dominant truth games, where the subject shapes the same truth games that shape the subject. Accordingly, the outcomes of the ARVs debate in South Africa and the Gambia flowed from the interactions of space, power and the prevailing truth games in relation to the subject.     

Complaints and findings by the Press Ombudsman on the ANC and ANC-led government: A case study

Abstract

A growing crisis of confidence between the ANC and the ANC-led government and the press came to a head in 2010/11. The ANC suggested the creation of a statutory press tribunal and supported the Protection of Information Bill, both regarded as an infringement on freedom of the press by critics. Parallel to this, a review process of the voluntary self-regulation system took place, followed by another commission on press self-regulation. The result was a new system of ‘independent co-regulation’, which was implemented on February 1, 2013. This article takes a step back to investigate the possible reasons why the ANC and the ANC-led government were so critical of the old system of self-regulation. The success (or lack thereof) experienced by the ANC and the ANC-led government in their complaints to the Press Ombudsman could arguably have played some role in shaping their views. It was found that of the total of 593 cases dealt with in the period August 2007 to August 2011, 91 were lodged by representatives of one or another government entity and the ANC, accounting for 15 per cent of the total. The Ombudsman upheld the highest number of government complaints compared to other complainant types, but this only came to 14 per cent. This is regarded as noteworthy, considering one of the ANC's major criticisms, namely that the ombudsman was biased towards the press in his rulings. This finding was, however, not conclusive in any way. While the full findings may be of some value to determine, in conjunction with other factors, why the ANC and the ANC-led government were so critical towards the press, we also need to seriously consider the reality that their philosophical position(s) regarding press freedom and responsibility (which underpins self-regulation), may be steeped in other normative media positions.     

Distinguishing Atherosclerotic Calcifications in Dry Bone: Implications for Forensic Identification

Atherosclerotic calcifications, as calcified atheromatous elements, are markers of cardiovascular disease. However, the literature gives little information regarding their morphological aspect, making their identification very rare in skeletonized cases. In this paper, we document the morphological, histological, and SEM aspects of atherosclerotic plaques collected from unclaimed cemeterial skeletal remains from an identified osteological collection and extracted from well‐preserved cadavers autopsied at the medico‐legal institute of Milan. Each of the three analyses provided similar results: atherosclerotic calcifications are convex‐concave plaques with a stratified structure, a pale‐yellow coloration in autopsy cases and yellow to brown when recovered in dry bone. Histologically, undecalcified and decalcified sections showed a stratified aspect formed by superimposed layers. Lastly, the SEM analysis showed a precise view of the stratified structure of the plaques in transverse section. As markers of disease, atherosclerotic calcifications can provide important antemortem information on the deceased that may be compared to antemortem data.