Responsibility-sharing for pets in disasters: lessons for One Health promotion arising from disaster management challenges.

During disasters, the behaviour of pet owners and of pets themselves may compromise the ability of emergency responders to perform their duties safely. Furthermore, pet loss can have deleterious effects on personal and community recovery. To explore these issues and their implications for health promotion and disaster management practice, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 emergency responders in Australia, where disaster policy embraces shared responsibility yet does not acknowledge pets.

The subjective world of home care workers in dementia: an "order of worth" analysis.

The perspective of domiciliary workers is needed to recruit a high-quality workforce and meet growing demand. An English ethnographic study yielded extensive insights. To structure analysis of the study data, we apply a method developed by political theorists Boltanski and Thévenot that identifies key variables in different values systems.

'Going the extra mile' for older people with dementia: Exploring the voluntary labour of homecare workers.

Homecare workers provide essential physical, social and emotional support to growing numbers of older people with dementia in the UK. Although it is acknowledged that the work can sometimes be demanding, some homecare workers regularly 'go the extra mile' for service users, working above and beyond the usual remit of the job. This form of voluntarism has been interpreted as an expression of an essentially caring nature, but also as the product of a work environment structured to tacitly endorse the provision of unpaid labour.

Companion Animals in Natural Disasters: A Scoping Review of Scholarly Sources.

During a disaster, people may make evacuation decisions based on their companion animal's welfare, therefore exposing themselves, their companion animals, and emergency responders to increased risk for injury or death. The loss and suffering of companion animals in disasters causes deep distress, diminishing people's capacity to rebuild their lives. This scoping review presents scholarly research studies and reviews relating to people and their companion animals in the context of disasters, with an aim of informing researchers, policymakers, and practitioners and providing direction for future research.

Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study.

Background: Goal-setting theory continues to be among the most popular and influential theories of motivation and performance, although there have been limited academic applications relative to applications in other domains, such as organizational psychology.

Aims: This paper summarizes existing quantitative research and then employs a qualitative approach to exploring academic growth via an in-depth reflective growth goal-setting methodology.

Sample: The study focuses on 92 UK final-year students enrolled in an elective advanced interpersonal skills and personal development module, with self-reflection and growth goal setting at its core.

Folate nutritional genetics and risk for hypertension in an elderly population sample.

Background/aims: 118 elderly participants (65-90 years) were assessed for any relationship between folate, related genes and hypertension.

Methods: Six B-vitamin-related SNPs were genotyped in 80 normotensive and 38 hypertensive subjects.

Results: Of six polymorphisms (677C>T-MTHFR, 1298A>C-MTHFR, 80G>A-RFC, 2756A>G-MS, 66A>G- MSR, 19bpDHFR and 1561C>T-GCPII), only 677C>T-MTHFR was a significant risk for hypertension: OR 1.

Preliminary evidence for genetic selection of 677T-MTHFR by natural annual cycle of folate abundance.

Background/aims: Folic acid mediates transfer of one-carbon units into methionine and DNA-thymine biosynthesis. Discretionary and mandatory use of synthetic folic acid (SFA) to reduce spina bifida is on the increase. We show that historically, the seasonal cycle of abundance of folate-rich foods may have regulated embryo viability by acting as a selection factor for a significant polymorphism within a gene encoding 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (677C-->T-MTHFR).

The psychosocial experience of women with PCOS--a case control study.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder affecting 5-10% of women. It is characterised by androgenisation and anovulation, with sufferers being at increased risk of metabolic problems such as noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia. An increased risk of cardiovascular disease is speculated.

Iodine status in pregnant women and their newborns: are our babies at risk of iodine deficiency?

Objectives: To determine whether pregnant women and their newborns show evidence of iodine deficiency, and to examine the correlation between maternal urine iodine concentration (UIC) and newborn thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: Hospital antenatal care services (March-May 2004) and private obstetrician clinics (June 2004) in the Central Coast area of New South Wales.

G80A reduced folate carrier SNP influences the absorption and cellular translocation of dietary folate and its association with blood pressure in an elderly population.

The functional consequences of the G80A RFC SNP on the expressed reduced folate carrier protein were evaluated by looking at the relationship between intake of folate, plasma folate and cellular stores of the vitamin. The effect on homocysteine was also examined. Homocysteine is a thiol that is known to be inversely associated with folate, and which is considered to be both thrombo- and athrogenic.

Iodine deficiency in urban primary school children: a cross-sectional analysis.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency in primary school children in an Australian urban population.

Design And Setting: A cross-sectional survey of school children aged 5-13 years attending a public school on the Central Coast of New South Wales in November 2000.

Participants: 324 (70%) of the 465 children enrolled in the school (180 boys; 144 girls).

An investigation into the level and impact of merger activity amongst hospitals in the UK's National Health Service.

Since 1990 the National Health Service (NHS) has undergone a sustained period of change. This change has been necessary to prepare the NHS for the task of meeting a demand for services that continues to rise more rapidly than the availability of resources. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one of the most popular ways for trusts to improve their ability to meet demand is through mergers with other trusts.