Predicting infant outcome in families of employed and nonemployed mothers

Differences in infant outcome, predictor variables, and their relationships were explored as a function of maternal employment. Thirty 18-month-olds and their mothers were studied. Child intelligence, attachment security, and dependency were measured, as well as frequency of stressful events in the mother's life, quality of the parents' marital relationship, frequency of the mother's social contacts, and extent of the mother's emotional and parenting supports. Also included were the mother's ability to cope; satisfaction with emotional, parenting, and child care supports; and role satisfaction. For children of employed mothers, attachment and dependency were negatively correlated; securely attached children showed less dependency behavior. For employed mothers, satisfaction with child care and frequent social contacts predicted secure child attachment. Satisfaction with child care, role satisfaction, and ability to cope were strongly interrelated. For nonemployed mothers, maternal coping predicted attachment security, while frequent social contacts predicted greater child dependency. Predictors of child outcome were highly interrelated for nonemployed mothers, with satisfaction with emotional supports playing a pivotal role. These differences suggest that different models to predict infant outcome in employed and nonemployed mother families may be appropriate.     

The Sword and the Sun: The Old World Drought Atlas as a Source for Medieval Mediterranean History

The release of the Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) in November 2015 provides historians with an unprecedented glimpse into the climate of the medieval world. Through the careful examination of tree-ring data provided by the OWDA, historians can better gauge how the environment affected the course of medieval Mediterranean history, particularly in times and places where textual data is sparse, such as North Africa. The case studies of the Norman conquest of the coast of Ifrīqiyya in the 1140s and the invasion by the Banū Hilāl in the mid-eleventh century show the utility of the OWDA for gaining a better understanding the medieval Mediterranean. In particular, OWDA data shows that the arrival of the Banū Hilāl into Ifrīqiyya coincided with a period of extended drought that is not documented in the written sources and suggests that increased competition for scarce resources was instrumental to their entrance into the region.     

Effects of heat acclimation on hand cooling efficacy following exercise in the heat

This study examined the separate and combined effects of heat acclimation and hand cooling on post-exercise cooling rates following bouts of exercise in the heat. Seventeen non-heat acclimated (NHA) males (mean ± SE; age, 23 ± 1 y; mass, 75.30 ± 2.27 kg; maximal oxygen consumption [VO₂ max], 54.1 ± 1.3 ml·kg^?1·min^?1) completed 2 heat stress tests (HST) when NHA, then 10 days of heat acclimation, then 2 HST once heat acclimated (HA) in an environmental chamber (40°C; 40%RH). HSTs were 2 60-min bouts of treadmill exercise (45% VO₂ max; 2% grade) each followed by 10 min of hand cooling (C) or no cooling (NC). Heat acclimation sessions were 90–240 min of treadmill or stationary bike exercise (60–80% VO₂ max). Repeated measures ANOVA with Fishers LSD post hoc (α < 0.05) identified differences. When NHA, C (0.020 ± 0.003°C·min^?1) had a greater cooling rate than NC (0.013 ± 0.003°C·min^?1) (mean difference [95%CI]; 0.007°C [0.001,0.013], P = 0.035). Once HA, C (0.021 ± 0.002°C·min^?1) was similar to NC (0.025 ± 0.002°C·min^?1) (0.004°C [?0.003,0.011], P = 0.216). Hand cooling when HA (0.021 ± 0.002°C·min^?1) was similar to when NHA (0.020 ± 0.003°C·min^?1) (P = 0.77). In conclusion, when NHA, C provided greater cooling rates than NC. Once HA, C and NC provided similar cooling rates.     

A Hole in One: Sport and Environment

Abstract

Sport history is a subfield well positioned to involve and benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to historical actors and spaces. Through the use of personal research and teaching experiences that focuses on the intersection between environmental history and those of sport, this piece explores the value in such an interdisciplinary structure through the examples of researching golf courses as transnational sporting landscapes and of teaching sport and leisure cultures to a diverse student body with high levels of engagement.     

Lack of Relationship Between Functional and Perceived Quality of Life Outcomes Following Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been shown to benefit from participation in pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programs that include exercise training and education. Purpose: To examine the relationship between improvements in 6 minute walk distance and perceived quality of life in individuals with COPD following completion of a PR program. Methods: The records of 139 individuals completing a PR program (3 times a week for 8 weeks) were retrospectively examined. Prior to entry and upon completion of the program each individual completed a 6 minute walk test (6MWT), the SF-36 Health survey, and the UCSD Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (SOB). SF-36 results were analyzed according to 8 subscales [Physical Functioning (PF), Role Physical (RF), Bodily Pain (BP), General Health (GH), Vitality (V), Social Functioning (SF), Role Emotional (RE), and Mental Health (MH)]. Results: PR resulted in significant improvements in 6MWTdistance (Pre = 845 ± 37 ft, Post = 1127 ± 32 ft, p < 0.001), PF (p < 0.001), RF (p = 0.001), Vitality (p = 0.002), SF (p < 0.001), RE (p = 0.037), MH (p < 0.001) and SOB (Pre = 53 ± 2, Post = 47 ± 2, p < 0.001). The change in 6MWT distance was not related to changes in PF (r = 0.17), RF (r = 0.03), GH (r = 0.03), Vitality (r = −0.001), SF (r = 0.01), RE (r = 0.06), MH (r = −0.04) or SOB (r = 0.12). The magnitude of improvement in 6MWT distance (68%) was much greater than that observed in PF (15%), RF (16%), GH (6%), VT (18%), SF (20%), RE (14%), MH (14%), or SOB (8%). Conclusions: PR has a positive impact on 6 minute walk distance and perceived quality of life in individuals with COPD; however, changes in 6 minute walk distance appear to have no relationship to changes in perceived quality of life.