Motivational interviewing as a pregroup intervention for partner-violent men

This study investigated the effects of a pregroup motivational intervention for domestic abuse perpetrators. Men presenting for treatment at a community domestic violence agency (N = 108) were assigned to receive either a two-session intake using the techniques of motivational interviewing (MI) or a structured intake (SI) control. All participants were then referred to a cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) program in groups homogeneous with respect to intake condition. The motivational intake led to more constructive in-session behavior during the early phase of group CBT, greater compliance with group CBT homework assignments, higher late session therapist ratings of the working alliance, and more help seeking outside of the domestic violence program. No significant effects of intake condition were found on session attendance, self-reports of readiness to change abusive behavior, or client reports of the working alliance. Partner reports of abusive behavior outcomes during the 6 months after group CBT revealed a marginal effect favoring the MI condition on physical assault. The findings suggest that motivational interviewing can increase receptivity to partner violence interventions.     

Comparability of the 6-min walk test using different test configurations

The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a common component of fitness assessments of older adults; however, differing course configurations might affect 6MWT performance. It is unclear how comparable 2 different configurations are. To determine the comparability of 2 courses, 35 adults >65 years of age completed two 6MWT, once walking around a 20- by 5-yd outdoor rectangle and once on an indoor oval track (circumference 144.3 yd). Scores for the 2 tests were internally consistent (intraclass correlation coefficient = .95). The participants walked farther on the oval track than around the rectangle (639 +/- 19 vs. 582 +/- 16 yd; p < .0001), but responses to the rectangular configuration could be readily estimated using the equation 66.7 yd + 0.807 x (oval walking distance), R2 = .85. Thus, within-participant responses are similar across both 6MWT, but the course configuration affects the distance walked.     

Depression during menopausal transition: a review of treatment strategies and pathophysiological correlates

It has long been recognized that women are at a higher risk than men to develop depression and that such risk is particularly associated with reproductive cycle events. Recent long-term, prospective studies have demonstrated that the transition to menopause is associated with higher risk for new onset and recurrent depression. A number of biological and environmental factors are independent predictors for depression in this population, including the presence of hot flushes, sleep disturbance, history of severe premenstrual syndrome or postpartum blues, ethnicity, history of stressful life events, past history of depression, body mass index, socioeconomic status and the use of hormones and antidepressants. Accumulated evidence suggests that ovarian hormones modulate serotonin and noradrenaline neurotransmission, a process that may be associated with underlying pathophysiological processes involved in the emergence of depressive symptoms during periods of hormonal fluctuation in biologically predisposed subpopulations. Transdermal estradiol and serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants are efficacious in the treatment of depression and vasomotor symptoms in symptomatic, midlife women. The identification of individuals whom might be at a higher risk for depression during menopausal transition could guide preventive strategies for this population.     

The max quasi-independent set problem

In this paper, we deal with the problem of finding quasi-independent sets in graphs. This problem is formally defined in three versions, which are shown to be polynomially equivalent. The one that looks most general, namely, f-max quasi-independent set, consists of, given a graph and a non-decreasing function f, finding a maximum size subset Q of the vertices of the graph, such that the number of edges in the induced subgraph is less than or equal to f(|Q|). For this problem, we show an exact solution method that runs within time O^*(2^{\fracd-27/23d+1n})O^{*}(2^{\frac{d-27/23}{d+1}n}) on graphs of average degree bounded by d. For the most specifically defined γ-max quasi-independent set and k-max quasi-independent set problems, several results on complexity and approximation are shown, and greedy algorithms are proposed, analyzed and tested.     

长三角地区节能减排演化情景分析及预测

以长三角地区经济发展为基础,综合考虑该地区能源环境现状。基于节能减排动态演化模型,结合情景分析法对长三角地区2015年经济产值、能源消耗及污染排放进行预测,并分析2009～2015年经济产值、能源消耗及污染排放演化情况。旨在为未来长三角地区实施节能减排策略,实现可持续发展提供理论依据。     

Designing Efficient Infrastructural Investment and Asset Transfer Mechanisms in Humanitarian Supply Chains

We analyze the efficacy of different asset transfer mechanisms and provide policy recommendations for the design of humanitarian supply chains. As a part of their preparedness effort, humanitarian organizations often make decisions on resource investments ex ante because doing so allows for rapid response if an adverse event occurs. However, programs typically operate under funding constraints and donor earmarks with autonomous decision‐making authority resting with the local entities, which makes the design of efficient humanitarian supply chains a challenging problem. We formulate this problem in an agency setting with two independent aid programs, where different asset transfer mechanisms are considered and where investments in resources are of two types: primary resources that are needed for providing the aid and infrastructural investments that improve the operation of the aid program in using the primary resources. The primary resources are acquired from earmarked donations. We show that allowing aid programs the flexibility of transferring primary resources improves the efficiency of the system by yielding greater social welfare than when this flexibility does not exist. More importantly, we show that a central entity that can acquire primary resources from one program and sell them to the other program can further improve system efficiency by providing a mechanism that facilitates the transfer of primary resources and eliminates losses from gaming. This outcome is achieved without depriving the individual aid programs of their decision‐making autonomy while maintaining the constraints under which they operate. We find that outcomes with centralized resource transfer but decentralized infrastructural investments by the aid programs are the same as with a completely centralized system (where both resource transfer and infrastructural investments are centralized).     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management

The Genesis of this Special Issue came from the Board of the POMS College on Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management (HO&CM). It was seen as a necessary initiative to define the field and examine research opportunities. This Special Issue shows that humanitarian operations pose challenges for P/OM researchers and practitioners that differ markedly from those of conventional supply chains associated with profitable enterprises. On the basis of the eight articles in this Special Issue, we have described and demonstrated the unique characteristics of the POM/HO&CM interaction. We have also identified those attributes that tend to overlap with conventional aspects of POM. In addition to wanting to be cost effective, the issue of equity fairness is pervasive in humanitarian operations, and so is the need to always base considerations on “last‐mile logistics,” that is, getting aid to those in most need. Research is essential to determine how to train researchers to scout out and map the territory of the real problems. One of the most vexing problems is the lack of robust data in the humanitarian domain which is as richly varied as the types of disasters that can occur.     

Sleep and psychological well-being

Although many studies have linked sleep problems with symptoms of psychopathology, fewer studies have examined the relationship between sleep and dimensions of psychological health as well as depression. To fill this gap, 502 community residents were surveyed about sleep habits, symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as Ryff’s six dimensions of psychological well-being. Using cut-offs suggested by epidemiological research, participants were classified as either optimal sleepers (those reporting an average of 6 hours or less than 8.5 hours per night) or suboptimal sleepers (those sleeping less than 6 hours or 8.5 or more hours per night). After controlling for demographic differences (i.e., sex, age, education, ethnicity, employment status, marital status, presence of children), the Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) suggested that optimal sleepers reported fewer symptoms of depression, and anxiety, and reported higher levels of environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self acceptance. Differences between optimal sleepers and non-optimal sleepers in depressive symptoms, positive relations with others, purpose in life and self-acceptance remained significant when people with mild to moderate symptoms of depression were eliminated from the data set. These results are consistent with a theoretical framework that defines sleep as a resource related to stress management and self-regulation.