Socioeconomic,psychological and demographic determinants of Australian baby boomers' financial planning for retirement

Aim: Research from around the Western World has shown that psychological, socioeconomic and demographic factors can influence levels of financial planning. This study aims to determine how these factors interrelate to predict planning outcomes. Method: Data from the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia Study were used to examine the effects of multiple factors on financial planning for 709 employed Australians nearing retirement. Results: The results showed that higher income, future time perspective (FTP) and financial knowledge independently predicted levels of retirement planning. The effects of FTP and financial knowledge on financial planning were consistent across levels of socioeconomic status. Conclusions: While similar issues in financial planning appeared across socioeconomic status, a ‘one size fits all’ approach to retirement policy may not be effective. Instead, policy should be targeted towards the diverse needs of different groups. Raising public awareness of FTP and financial knowledge may provide a useful starting point.     

Irregular menstruation according to occupational status

This cross-sectional study explored associations of irregular menstruation with occupational characteristics, using secondary analyses of data from 4,731 women aged 19–54 years, collected from a nationally representative sample, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-V during 2010–2012. The associations between irregular menstruation and occupation were explored using multiple logistic regression. Compared to non-manual workers, service/sales workers had a greater odds of irregular menstruation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.44; 95percent confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.99) as did manual workers and unemployed women (aOR: 1.56; 95percent CI: 1.10–2.22, aOR: 1.46; 95percent CI: 1.14–1.89, respectively). Compared to regular workers, temporary workers and unemployed women had aORs of 1.52 (95percent CI: 1.08–2.13) and 1.33 (95percent CI: 1.05–1.69), respectively. Also, when compared to full-time workers, part-time workers and unemployed women had greater odds of irregular menstruation (aOR: 1.41; 95percent CI: 1.00–2.00 and aOR: 1.29; 95percent CI: 1.03–1.63, respectively). Furthermore, compared to daytime workers, shift workers and unemployed women had greater odds irregular menstruation (aOR: 1.39; 95percent CI: 1.03–1.88 and aOR: 1.28; 95percent CI: 1.04–1.59, respectively). Women with these occupational characteristics should be screened for early diagnosis and intervention for irregular menstruation.     

Agricultural development,diet and nutrition

The geographical distribution of infant mortality rates (IMRs) in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul follows closely the pattern of land tenure, with high IMRs in districts of large ranches and lower rates in districts of small fanns. A household anthropometric survey of 802 children aged 12 to 35.9 months living in two districts with contrasting IMRs and land tenure patterns revealed that prevalences of protein‐energy malnutrition were consistent with these differentials. The survey showed that children in the district with large ranches were more likely to present with stunting, wasting and underweight than those in the small‐farms district. When the analysis was restricted to rural children, these differentials were even wider — 4‐fold for length for age and 13‐fold for weight for age. Children of labourers were more likely to be malnourished than those of landowners, while children of sharecroppers presented intermediate levels. On the other hand, among children of landowners, there was no association between the area of land owned by the family and malnutrition, or according to whether most of the food consumed was home grown or not.     

Persistence of lactase activity among Northern Europeans: A weighing of evidence for the calcium absorption hypothesis

Considered in this paper is a broad range of evidence bearing on the calcium absorption hypothesis that has been advanced to explain high frequencies of the gene for persistence of lactase activity (PLA) among adults in northern Europe. According to that hypothesis, lactase‐sufficient individuals in early northern Europe enjoyed a selective advantage over lactase‐deficient ones that led to high incidences of PLA in adults of the region. Northern Europeans, the hypothesis goes, suffered from a dietary shortage of vitamin D and, in addition, were unable to synthesize adequate vitamin D from the sun's ultraviolet radiation because of northern Europe's cloudiness and its location in higher latitudes. This led to chronic vitamin D deficiency along with a reduced ability to absorb calcium from milk and lactose‐rich dairy products. As a result, the deficiency diseases rickets—which affects infants and children and can leave a child with bowlegs and other bone defects—and osteomalacia—which weakens and deforms the bones of adults—were common in early northern Europe, and represented powerful selective forces that contributed to development of the highly depigmented skin that is typical of the region's peoples. In addition, the hypothesis goes, calcium absorption was enhanced by a process independent of vitamin D. Such enhancement, found especially or solely among lactase‐sufficient individuals, was brought on by ingestion of lactose in milk and milk products. Thus, persons who enjoyed high lactase activity through life were favored in the struggle for survival, which ultimately led northern European peoples to have among the highest incidences of PLA in the world.

In this article, evidence, much of it recent, is presented to show that lactase‐deficient humans are able to absorb calcium from milk as readily, or nearly as readily, as lactase‐sufficient humans. Evidence is also presented that rickets and osteomalacia occur in parts of the world that have an abundance of sunshine, whether originating from customs that limit exposure to sunshine or otherwise; that heavy cloud cover and high latitude need not result in vitamin D deficiency, rickets, and osteomalacia; that, indeed, osteological evidence from archeological sites in northern Europe indicates that rickets and osteomalacia were quite rare in antiquity; that those conditions appear to have become common in northern Europe only with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, too short a time to have been a significant factor in bringing on the high incidences of PLA that prevail today; and that, indeed, the calcium absorption hypothesis is not confirmed by historical, osteoarcheological, or bio‐medical evidence.     

May biscuits contribute to iron balance? An observation in children with juvenile idiopatic arthritis

Abstract

Within an observational open study on the effects of a scheduled dosage of biscuits with iron, children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis were either supplemented with biscuits supplying iron fumarate (median 3.6?mg per day) or left to their customary dietary habits. After 4 months, supplemented children showed a more favourable percentage change of blood haemoglobin, while ferritin levels (markers of inflammation) remained stable. We conclude that the supply of iron with available dietary products may contribute to an adequate iron status in children with chronic inflammatory disorders in a stable situation.     

Health and Safety in the Lesotho Highlands Dam and Tunnel Construction Program

Abstract

To review health and safety practice s and to determine the occupational health status of dam workers in the Lesotho Highlands, a health and safety audit and a health study of 258 workers was undertaken. The workers were administered respiratory health questionnaires and underwent chest x-rays and lung function and audiometric testing. The audit revealed a low level of aware ness of health and safety issues at all levels of management and a lack of occupational medicine an d industrial hygiene systems. Noise-induced hearing loss occurred among 92% of the study subjects. Among the 158 dam construction workers, 5.4% had pneumoconiosis. With poorly developed laws and regulatory bodies, unsophisticated trade unions, and little client supervision, health and safety had a low priority in this construction project. Recommendations are made that are pertinent to health and safety management where international companies are operating in developing countries.     

Socio-economic risk factors for injuries in Swedish children and adolescents: A national study over 15 years

Abstract

Few studies have assessed if Sweden's injury prevention work has been equally effective for children of different socio-economic backgrounds. The goal of this paper is to review the country's injury rates for children over time, stratified by socio-economic status (SES), to see if the effects are similar across SES levels. This study employs a retrospective case-control study design, using data from the hospitalisation records of 51,225 children, which were linked to family socio-economic data. Children and adolescents in families receiving social welfare benefits, and those living with single parents and mothers with less education had higher risks of injuries leading to hospitalisation. The population-based safety work over the past decades seems to have had only minor effects on reducing the impact of socio-economic based difference in injury risks to younger Swedes.     

Liposomal formulation of curcumin attenuates seizures in different experimental models of epilepsy in mice

Contemporary research indicates promising anticonvulsant effect of curcumin. However, its poor oral bioavailability is a major hindrance toward its pharmacological action. Thus, this study was carried out to evaluate the acute effect of liposome‐entrapped curcumin on increasing current electroshock seizures (ICES) test, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)‐induced seizures, and status epilepticus in mice. Liposome‐entrapped curcumin in doses 25 and 50 mg/kg demonstrated significant increase in seizure threshold current and latency to myoclonic and generalized seizures in ICES test and PTZ‐induced seizures, respectively. Similarly, liposomal‐entrapped curcumin also increased the latency to the onset and decreased the duration of seizures during status epilepticus in mice. To conclude, liposomal‐entrapped curcumin possesses anticonvulsant activity against status epilepticus in mice.     

宫颈癌调强放疗中膀胱状态对靶区及危及器官影响

目的：研究宫颈癌调强放疗中膀胱不同状态对靶区及危及器官( OAR)的影响,根据靶区位移的大小初步推断内靶区的大致范围。方法选择7例无严重合并症的局部晚期初治宫颈癌患者,CT定位时分别在膀胱充盈和排空状态下行2次全盆腔CT扫描,将获得的CT图像传输至治疗计划系统后,为每位患者勾画临床靶区( CTV)及OAR,在规定CTV至少达到95%处方剂量的前提下,由物理师设计治疗计划。测量2个计划的靶区及OAR剂量学参数和选定径线长度,并进行统计分析。结果膀胱不同状态的2个计划中,CTV最大剂量、平均剂量和适形指数差异无统计学意义(P>0．05),膀胱本身的体积和剂量学参数差异颇大,直肠部分剂量学参数差异有统计学意义(P<0．05),膀胱充盈状态下剂量学参数更优。膀胱状态不同可使靶区产生明显位移,宫底位移在头脚、前后和左右方向上分别为1．33、0．67和0．60 cm,在宫颈为1．18、0．63和0．49 cm,在靶区质心为0．61、0．46和0．28 cm。膀胱体积变化和靶区质心前后位移之间具有很强的相关性(r=0．843,P<0．05)。结论宫颈癌患者调强放疗时采用膀胱充盈状态对OAR的保护性更好,应尽量保持分次外照射过程中膀胱状态的一致性。 CTV的外放采用头脚方向稍大、宫底范围大于宫颈的锥形外放更为合理。