Reducing Health Risks and Psychological Distress Among Older Black Residents of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities

2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly P. Lyons ◽  
Carol Magai
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Black Residents

scholarly journals Effect of Photosensitization Mediated by Curcumin on Carotenoid and Aflatoxin Content in Different Maize Varieties

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 5902
Author(s):  
Rafael Nguenha ◽  
Maral Seidi Damyeh ◽  
Anh D. T. Phan ◽  
Hung T. Hong ◽  
Mridusmita Chaliha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Risks ◽  
Carotenoid Content ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Maize Kernels ◽  
Dose Dependent ◽  
Preservation Technique ◽  
Scanning Electron

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain types of fungi that contaminate food and feed, posing serious health risks to human and livestock. This study evaluated the combination of blue light with curcumin to inactivate Aspergillus flavus spores, its effect on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production and maintaining carotenoid content in three maize varieties. The study was first conducted in vitro, and the spore suspensions (104 CFU·mL−1) were treated with four curcumin concentrations (25 and 50 µM in ethanol, 1000 and 1250 µM in propylene glycol) and illuminated at different light doses from 0 to 130.3 J·cm−2. The photoinactivation efficiency was light-dose dependent with the highest photoinactivation of 2.3 log CFU·mL−1 achieved using 1000 µM curcumin at 104.2 J·cm−2. Scanning electron microscopy revealed cell wall deformations as well as less density in photosensitized cells. Photosensitization of maize kernels gave rise to a complete reduction in the viability of A. flavus and therefore inhibition of AFB1 production, while no significant (p > 0.05) effect was observed using either light or curcumin. Moreover, photosensitization did not affect the carotenoids in all the studied maize varieties. The results suggest that photosensitization is a green alternative preservation technique to decontaminate maize kernels and reduce consumer exposure to AFB1 without any effect on carotenoid content.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Study of Police Officers’ Perceptions of Health Risk, Work Stress, and Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Outbreak in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiufeng Huang ◽  
Ali Ahmad Bodla ◽  
Chiyin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Gender Difference ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Health Risk Perception

BackgroundHow do the police officers perceive health risk, psychological distress, and work stress during the COVID-19 outbreak in China? This study explores the health risk perception, work stress, and psychological distress of police officers who worked at the front line to implement lockdown measures.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a large-scale field survey (N = 5,611) with police officers sample in the northwestern part of China from February 29 to March 7, 2020. Independent-sample T-test and ANOVA were used to analyze whether there are differences in health risk perception, work stress, and psychological distress between different groups. The regression analysis was employed to figure out the factors that influence police officers’ psychological distress.ResultsResults showed a gender difference in perceiving work stress among police officers. Also, police officers with chronic disease perceived higher health risks, more psychological distress, and higher work stress. Additionally, police officers above 45 years old significantly perceived higher health risks than young officers did. It also revealed that working hours contribute to police officers’ health risk perception, psychological distress, and work stress. Finally, our results highlight that age, working hours, chronic disease, health risk perception, and work stress significantly contribute to police officers’ psychological distress.ConclusionOur research verifies that there is a gender difference in perceiving work stress among police officers. Police officers with ongoing medical issues and above 45 years old suffer more during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Our research suggests that the government should pay more attention to their physical health and mental health. The heavy workload containing the COVID-19 extends police officers’ working hours, causing higher health risks, work stress, and psychological distress. This study contributes to the psychological distress literature and provides a way forward to other countries struggling to contain the COVID-19.

scholarly journals Communicating Arsenic’s Risks

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 3436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogers ◽  
Rardin ◽  
Lawlor ◽  
Chen ◽  
Borsuk
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Well Water ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Toxic Metalloid

Arsenic is a naturally occurring toxic metalloid that has many human health implications. Its strong prevalence in the bedrock and thus much of the well water in New England puts many private well owners at risk. It is also found in food products, particularly those that contain rice. Despite the documented health risks, arsenic is not high on the list of concerns for residents of the region. This study will describe two types of environmental communication efforts that have been undertaken by the Dartmouth Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program (DTMSRP)—the development and evaluation of a comprehensive website, Arsenic and You, and a mental models research approach to better understand the disconnect between expert and community perceptions of arsenic risk. We find that there are knowledge gaps between the two, particularly regarding the origin of arsenic in drinking water and food, the necessity of testing well water, and the process for treating water that is above recommended limits. Moreover, the mental models approach provides a structured framework for better understanding these gaps. A website can address some of these disconnects, and it is important to have a “one-stop shop” for vetted information on the risks and steps to reduce exposure.

scholarly journals Healthy Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: A Low-Cost Approach to Facilitating Healthy Aging

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (7) ◽  
pp. 1164-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Masotti ◽  
Robert Fick ◽  
Ana Johnson-Masotti ◽  
Stuart MacLeod
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Cost Approach ◽  
Naturally Occurring

scholarly journals A Natural Analogue Approach for Estimating the Health Risks from Release and Migration of Radionuclides from Radioactive Waste.

1983 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Food Concentration ◽  
Causal Chain ◽  
Transfer Factors ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Naturally Occurring Radionuclides ◽  
Sum Of Products ◽  
Modeling Transport ◽  
And Migration

ABSTRACTThe health risks from radioactive waste may be expressed as a sum of products of transfer factors that characterize the causal chain of events between disposal of radionuclides in a waste field and the consequent health effects. “Model” estimates for the transfer factors are commonly obtained by modeling transport and other mechanisms in the subsystems that form the links in the causal chain. “Natural” estimates of some transfer factors for naturally occurring radionuclides can be obtained from data on the concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides in soil, food, and the human body. These “model” and “natural” estimates can be used with scaling procedures to estimate the uncertainties and to obtain better estimates of the transfer factors. The scaling procedures take into account the differences in the source characteristics for radionuclides in a waste field of limited size and for radionuclides generally distributed in the natural environment. The ratios of the natural estimates to the model estimates for several transfer factors and several radionuclides belonging to the U-238 decay series have been determined. These ratios range from 1/8 to 4/1 for food-concentration/sourceconcentration transfer factors for the food pathways and from 1 to 77 for dose-rate/source-concentration transfer factors for the internal radiation dose pathways to various organs.

scholarly journals Nutritional supplements: prevalence of use and contamination with doping agents

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Van Thuyne ◽  
P Van Eenoo ◽  
F. T Delbeke
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Dietary Supplements ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Elite Athletes ◽  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Nutritional Supplements ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
The World ◽  
World Anti Doping Agency ◽  
Herbal Formulations

AbstractBased upon recent sales numbers, nutritional supplements play a key role in the lifestyle of a substantial proportion of the population. As well as products such as vitamins or minerals, several precursors of anabolic steroids are marketed as nutritional supplements. Another group of commercially available supplements are products for weight loss based upon herbal formulations originating fromEphedraspecies. Apart from supplements indicating the presence of these active compounds, numerous non-hormonal nutritional supplements were found that were contaminated with non-labelled anabolic steroids. Stimulating agents other than naturally occurring analogues of ephedrine were detected. A major group using dietary supplements are sportsmen, ranging from amateur level to elite athletes. Besides the possible health risks associated with the use of dietary supplements, athletes should take care not to violate the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency because athletes remain responsible for substances detected in their biofluids, irrespective of their origin. Several analytical methods have been developed to determine the presence of doping agents as contaminants. The present review attempts to address the issues concerning the use of nutritional supplements and the detection of doping agents as contaminants in dietary supplements.

scholarly journals Self-Medication with Antibiotics for Protection against COVID-19: The Role of Psychological Distress, Knowledge of, and Experiences with Antibiotics

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
Airong Zhang ◽  
Elizabeth V. Hobman ◽  
Paul De De Barro ◽  
Asaesja Young ◽  
David J. Carter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Logistic Analysis

: Self-medication with antibiotics is a major contributing factor to antimicrobial resistance. Prior research examining factors associated with antibiotic self-medication has focused on an individual’s knowledge about antibiotics, antibiotic usage practices, accessibility to antibiotic medication, and demographic characteristics. The role of psychological distress associated with perceived health risks in explaining antibiotic self-medication is less understood. This study was designed to address this knowledge gap in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. An online survey of 2217 participants was conducted at the height of the initial outbreak and revealed that 19.5% of participants took antibiotics to protect themselves from COVID-19. Multivariate logistic analysis examined the predictors of taking antibiotics for protection against COVID-19. An integrative framework developed from the results illustrates potential pathways and facilitating factors that may contribute to prophylactic self-medication with antibiotics. Specifically, COVID-19 pandemic-induced psychological distress was significantly positively related to self-medication. Preventive use of antibiotics was also facilitated by a lack of understanding about antibiotics, inappropriate antibiotics usage practices, the nature of the patient-doctor relationship, and demographic characteristics. The findings highlight that to combat antimicrobial resistance due to self-medication, interventions need to focus on interrupting entrenched behavioural responses and addressing emotional responses to perceived health risks.

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