Comparative analysis of NOAA REFM and SNB3GEO tools for the forecast of the fluxes of high-energy electrons at GEO.

Reliable forecasts of relativistic electrons at geostationary orbit (GEO) are important for the mitigation of their hazardous effects on spacecraft at GEO. For a number of years the Space Weather Prediction Center at NOAA has provided advanced online forecasts of the fluence of electrons with energy >2 MeV at GEO using the Relativistic Electron Forecast Model (REFM). The REFM forecasts are based on real-time solar wind speed observations at L1. The high reliability of this forecasting tool serves as a benchmark for the assessment of other forecasting tools. Since 2012 the Sheffield SNB3GEO model has been operating online, providing a 24 h ahead forecast of the same fluxes. In addition to solar wind speed, the SNB3GEO forecasts use solar wind density and interplanetary magnetic field Bz observations at L1.The period of joint operation of both of these forecasts has been used to compare their accuracy. Daily averaged measurements of electron fluxes by GOES 13 have been used to estimate the prediction efficiency of both forecasting tools. To assess the reliability of both models to forecast infrequent events of very high fluxes, the Heidke skill score was employed. The results obtained indicate that SNB3GEO provides a more accurate 1 day ahead forecast when compared to REFM. It is shown that the correction methodology utilized by REFM potentially can improve the SNB3GEO forecast.

Impact of environment and behaviour on self-esteem in Jamaican adolescent girls.

The goals of this study are to evaluate the impact of a distressed environment on self-esteem in Jamaican adolescent girls and to assess the impact of behavioural patterns on self-esteem. Participants were African-Jamaicans ages 13-17 years from a Place of Safety (experimental group) and local high schools (control group). All participants completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) while the experimental group also completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). Participants in the experimental group were classified as either internalizers (depressed, anxious and somatizing), externalizers (exhibiting aggressive, disruptive behaviours), both (externalizers and internalizers) or other (reporting no or very few symptoms). It was hypothesized that the participants residing in the Place of Safety would report lower levels of self-esteem in comparison to the control group. Secondly, the 'both' group would report lower levels of self-esteem than any other group. Results indicated no differences in self-esteem scores; however, statistical significance was found between 'externalizers' and 'both' groups (p = 0.006). This study challenges the assumptions of self-esteem and its relationship to behavioural and emotional problems.

Persistent IgE synthesis in the nasal mucosa of hay fever patients.

The location of IgE synthesis has been a longstanding controversy, with previous evidence favoring either the mucosa or lymphoid tissue in the region of allergen entry. The evidence for IgE synthesis in mucosal tissues has always been circumstantial. We have developed a novel explant culture system, using ELISA and radioactive amino acid incorporation, to measure de novo IgE protein synthesis in the nasal mucosa of hay fever patients. Surprisingly, IgE synthesis continues between seasons in the explants from grass pollen-sensitive patients and a higher proportion of this IgE compared to serum IgE is allergen specific. Persistent IgE synthesis may ensure the expression of immediate hypersensitivity in the mucosa and promote rapid amplification of the allergic response in the local lymphoid tissue on allergen provocation. Our work demonstrates definitively for the first time that the local mucosa is a site of ongoing IgE synthesis.

Determinants of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in rural older women.

The purpose of this study was to: (a) describe the health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and attempts at change among 102 community-dwelling rural women aged 65 and older, and (b) determine the extent to which personal influences (demographics, definition of health, and perceived health status) and contextual influences (sources of health information and provider counseling) explain health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and attempts at change among those women. They scored highest on frequency of nutrition behaviors and lowest on frequency of physical activity behaviors. They had attempted change in from zero to five areas of health-promoting lifestyle within the past year. Multiple regression analyses revealed that younger age, living with other(s), defining health as wellness, better perceived mental health, more sources of health information and provider counseling were significantly associated with health-promoting lifestyle behaviors. Only younger age and more sources of health information were significantly associated with attempts at change. These findings provide information that is relevant in designing interventions to enhance health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among rural older women.

An explanatory model of fatigue in women receiving adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is the most common and disturbing complaint reported by women during adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy, but little is known about the mechanisms influencing it. OBJECTIVES: To test an explanatory model of variables influencing fatigue in women during the first three cycles of adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy and to determine the extent to which model variables explain fatigue at treatments and predict fatigue at cycle midpoints. METHODS: A prospective, correlational design with repeated measures was used. The sample included 60 women who received chemotherapy after surgery for Stage I or II breast cancer. Fatigue was measured by the Piper Fatigue Scale. Predictor variables and measures were health and functional status (MOS SF-36), chemotherapy protocol, health-promoting lifestyle behaviors (HPLPII), nutritional status (hematocrit [Hct] and body mass index [BMI]), symptom distress (MSDS), and initial reaction to the diagnosis of cancer (RDCQ). Multiple regression was used for path analyses. RESULTS: Trimmed models of influences on fatigue were identified. At treatments, direct influences on fatigue were symptom distress (beta = 0.45-0.76, p = 0.002-0.001), chemotherapy protocol (beta = 0.26, p = 0.02), and interpersonal relations (IPR) behaviors (beta = -0.28, p = 0.02); indirect influences were confronting reaction to the diagnosis through IPR behaviors and through symptom distress. At cycle midpoints, direct influences on fatigue were symptom distress from the previous treatment (beta = 0.36-0.43, p = 0.004-0.001), physical and social function (beta = -0.31-0.50, p = 0.02-0.001), and IPR behaviors (beta = -22, p = 0.05); an indirect influence was confronting reaction to the diagnosis (through IPR behaviors). Variance explained in fatigue ranged from 42% to 62% at treatments and from 40% to 56% at cycle midpoints. CONCLUSIONS: Further testing of the model is warranted. Findings suggest that interventions to reduce symptom distress and promote health and functional status need to be developed and evaluated for effectiveness in modifying fatigue during adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy.

Determinants of preventive services utilization in rural older women.

Research describing preventive services utilization and determinants of preventive services utilization for rural older women is scant. The purpose of this study was to: (a) describe the prevalence of preventive services utilization in compliance with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations for screening, counseling, and immunizations among rural older women in four Nebraska counties and (b) determine the extent to which personal influences (e.g., demographics, definition of health, perceived health status) and contextual influences (e.g., access to care, sources of health information, provider recommendations) explain preventive services utilization among those women. A sample of 102 community-dwelling rural women age 65 and older participated in the study. The prevalence of receipt of USPSTF-recommended preventive services utilization among these rural women was alarmingly low. Multiple regression analyses revealed that provider recommendations, access to care, sources of health information, and perceived health status were significantly associated with preventive services utilization. These findings provide information that is relevant in designing interventions to increase preventive services utilization among rural older women.

Actual and perceived risk for chronic illness in rural older women.

Little is known regarding the risk perceptions of older women for the chronic illnesses for which they are at highest risk. The purpose of this study was to explore the actual and perceived risk for six chronic illnesses: coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), breast and colorectal cancer, osteoporosis, and depression. In addition, the relationship of demographic characteristics of the women and their perceived and functional health status to actual risk factors and risk perception was studied. A convenience sample of 102 rural women aged 65-91 answered a questionnaire on their actual and perceived risk for the chronic illnesses. As in younger samples, these older women generally underestimated their risk of disease. There was no relationship between demographics and risk perception, but there was a significant correlation between perceived health and functional status and risk perception. Only those actual risk factors associated with life experience were associated with increased perceived risk, supporting earlier findings that life experience has more influence on risk perception than the presence of actual risk factors per se. Based on the results of this study, clinicians should assume that older women patients are likely to underestimate their risk for common health problems. Clinicians are advised, therefore, in addition to regular evaluation of actual risk based on epidemiologic data, to probe their patients for information regarding their perception of risk and the basis of that perception. Combining information regarding perceived risk with actual risk data, the clinician can work with the patient to develop and implement an effective personalized risk management program.

The prevalence of clinical preventive services utilization by older women.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the extent to which women ages 65 and older were in compliance with the 1989 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations for clinical preventive services. Data from the 1991 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey of 5,574 women ages 65 and older were analyzed to determine the proportion in three age-groups (65 to 74 years, 75 to 84 years, and 85 years and older) who reported receiving recommended screening, counseling, and immunization services. Sixty percent of women ages 65 and over had had a routine check-up within the last year, and 78% had had one within the past 2 years. However, fewer than 1% reported receiving all recommended screening services (history, physical examination, and laboratory/diagnostic testing) or all recommended counseling services, and only 5.3% of women were current with recommended immunizations. As age increased, the number of services received tended to decrease in all categories of clinical preventive services except immunizations. The prevalence of receipt of clinical preventive services by older women is unacceptably low. Greater effort must be focused on educating both women and their primary health care providers about the USPSTF recommendations and why they are important in achieving health benefits.

Predicting health-promoting lifestyles in the workplace.

A multivariate model proposed as explanatory and predictive of health-promoting lifestyles was evaluated in a sample of 589 employees enrolled in six employer-sponsored health-promotion programs. Perceived personal competence, definition of health, perceived health status, and perceived control of health accounted for 31% of the variance in health-promoting lifestyle patterns. Employees who reported more health-promoting lifestyles perceived themselves as competent in handling life situations, defined health as high-level wellness rather than merely the absence of illness, evaluated their health positively, and perceived their health as affected by significant others but not by chance or luck. Those who were female, older, and in the maintenance phase of the company fitness program also had healthier lifestyle patterns. These variables and the perception of health as internally controlled were predictive of health-promoting lifestyles three months later.

A Spanish language version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile.

The development and initial psychometric evaluation of a Spanish language version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) is described. The 48-item instrument was translated into Spanish and found to be culturally relevant and reliable in a pilot study. The Spanish version was then administered to a diverse but predominantly Mexican-American group of 485 Hispanics residing in metropolitan and surrounding rural areas. In a principal components factor analysis, all but one item loaded significantly on six factors similar to those isolated previously during psychometric assessment of the English language version. Those six dimensions comprise the HPLP subscales of self-actualization, health responsibility, exercise, nutrition, interpersonal support, and stress management. The six factors explained 45.9% of the variance in the measure. Second-order factor analysis yielded a single factor, interpreted as health-promoting lifestyle. The alpha reliability coefficient for the total scale was .93 and 2-week test-retest reliability was .86; alpha coefficients for the subscales ranged from .70 to .87.

Determinants of health-promoting lifestyle in ambulatory cancer patients.

The Health Promotion Model was tested as an explanatory framework for health-promoting lifestyle in a sample of 385 ambulatory cancer patients undergoing treatment in 13 clinical sites in the midwestern United States. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which cognitive/perceptual and modifying variables identified in the Health Promotion Model explain the occurrence of health-promoting behaviors in adults with cancer. A secondary aim was to determine the potential of illness-specific cognitive/perceptual and modifying variables for further explaining the occurrence of health-promoting behaviors in adults with cancer. Multiple regression analyses revealed that 23.5% of the variance in health-promoting lifestyle was explained by the model cognitive/perceptual variables definition of health, perceived health status and perceived control of health and the modifying variables education, income, age and employment. When illness-specific variables were included in the analysis, initial reaction to the diagnosis of cancer was found to be a significant contributor to the regression. Study results support the importance of both general health-related and cancer-specific cognitive/perceptual factors in explaining the occurrence of health-enhancing behaviors among ambulatory cancer patients; these factors may therefore be suitable targets for interventions to encourage adoption of healthy lifestyles.

Health-promoting life styles of older adults: comparisons with young and middle-aged adults, correlates and patterns.

The purposes of the study presented were to compare the health-promoting behaviors of older adults with those of young and middle-aged adults, to examine the relationship of age and other sociodemographic characteristics to life style throughout adulthood, and to identify differing life-style patterns among older adults. Six dimensions of life style were measured by the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile in 452 adults aged 18 to 88. Older adults had higher scores in overall health-promoting life style and in the dimensions of health responsibility, nutrition, and stress management than both young and middle-aged adults. Sociodemographic variables accounted for only 13.4% of the variance in life style and for 5.2% to 18.6% in its six dimensions. Five major health-promoting life-style patterns were identified among older adults, depicting a heterogeneous group with varying needs for health promotion programming.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the exercise benefits/barriers scale.

Initial psychometric evaluation of an instrument to measure perceived benefits of exercise and perceived barriers to exercise was based on the responses of 650 adults and included item analysis, factor analysis, and reliability measures. Factor analysis yielded nine factors, five benefits and four barriers, which explained 64.9% of the variance in the 43-item instrument. Second order factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution, one a benefits factor and the other a barriers factor. The standardized Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were: .952 for the total scale, .953 for the benefits scale, and .886 for the barriers scale. Use of the instrument in research involving perceptions of the benefits of exercise and the barriers to exercise appears warranted.