Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - March 3, 2013

This is the March 3, 2013 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine\u27s newsletter, watercooler. Contents Include Med School Café - Expert Advice for the Community Medical Students Get Hands-On Experience at Procedures Workshop Mark Your Calendar: Match Day 2013 USA Neurology Group Welcomes Nurse Practitioner Stan Hammack Receives National Award from American Hospital Associatio

Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs) Report Emerging Infections Program Network : Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 2013

ABCs Areas: California (3 county San Francisco Bay area); Colorado (5 county Denver area); Connecticut; Georgia (8 county Atlanta area); Maryland (Baltimore City and County); Minnesota (2 metro Twin City counties); New York (1 Rochester county); Oregon (3 county Portland area); Tennessee (1 Nashville county).ABCs Population: The surveillance areas represent 19,842,441 personsABCs Case Definition: Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) disease: isolation of MRSA from a normally sterile site in a resident of the surveillance area in 2013. Cases of disease are classified into one of three epidemiologic classifications. A case is classified as hospital-onset (HO) if the MRSA culture was obtained on or after the fourth calendar day of hospitalization, where admission is hospital day 1; as healthcare-associated community-onset (HACO) if the culture was obtained in an outpatient setting or before the fourth calendar day of hospitalization and had one or more of the following: 1) a history of hospitalization, surgery, dialysis, or residence in a long term care facility in the previous year, or 2) the presence of a central vascular catheter (CVC) within 2 days prior to MRSA culture; and as community-associated (CA) if none of the previously mentioned criteria are met.Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013. Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Report, Emerging Infections Program Network, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 2013.MRSA.feb15staticfixed_2013yrmrsa13.pd

Assessment of the 2013-2014 Drought on Ecosystems of the California Central Coast

Calendar year 2013 was the driest on record in California, with a total of just 30 percent of average statewide precipitation. The objective of this present study was to assess the impacts of the historic 2013-2014 drought on ecosystems of the Central Coast region using a combination of satellite image analysis and in situ measurements of soil moisture. According to differences in Landsat NDWI and NDVI between May of 2010 and 2013, the geographic areas within the study region that were most severely impacted by the 2013 drought were the inland Carmel Valley in northern Monterey County, and the coast zones around San Simeon Point and Cambria in northern San Luis Obispo County. For more detailed examination of drought impacts, the entire study region was separated into the three predominate vegetation types (grasslands, shrublands, and forests) to examine changes in Landsat NDWI and NDVI in the context of differing plant community response to severe drought

LLAS/Why study...? downloadable calendar - December 2012, German

This calendar, for the month of December 2012, in German, was produced by LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. It was created with help from teachers working on the JISC-funded Community Cafe project. Quiz questions and answers are also included. This is the final month of a 16-month series. We have produced a 2013 calendar, order your copy at: https://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/calenda

Assessing the feasibility of a life history calendar to measure HIV risk and health in older South Africans

Life history calendars capture patterns of behavior over time, uncovering transitions and trajectories. Despite the growing numbers of older persons living with HIV in southern Africa, little is known about how HIV testing and risk unfold in this population. Operationalizing a life course approach with the use of an innovative Testing and Risk History Calendar [TRHC], we collected pilot data on older South Africans’ risk and HIV testing. We found older persons were able to provide (1) reference points to facilitate recall over a 10-year period, (2) specifics about HIV tests during that decade, and (3) details that contextualize the testing data, such as living arrangements, relationships, and health status. Interviewer debriefing sessions after each interview captured information on context and links across domains. On a larger scale, the TRHC has potential to reveal pathways between sexual behavior, HIV testing and risk perception, and health at older ages

Harnessing Collaborative Technologies: Helping Funders Work Together Better

This report was produced through a joint research project of the Monitor Institute and the Foundation Center. The research included an extensive literature review on collaboration in philanthropy, detailed analysis of trends from a recent Foundation Center survey of the largest U.S. foundations, interviews with 37 leading philanthropy professionals and technology experts, and a review of over 170 online tools.The report is a story about how new tools are changing the way funders collaborate. It includes three primary sections: an introduction to emerging technologies and the changing context for philanthropic collaboration; an overview of collaborative needs and tools; and recommendations for improving the collaborative technology landscapeA "Key Findings" executive summary serves as a companion piece to this full report

Intensifying Impact: State Budget Cuts Deepen Pain for Ohio Communities

Policy Matters Ohio looked at the size and scope of cuts in each county and in many municipalities. We talked with city and county administrators, local elected officials and residents. On our website, there is a link for each Ohio county that describes the loss in state funding and the impact on cities, towns and services within that county. Because local newspaper clips and quotes from local officials are used, this brief is an oral history as well as a presentation of charts and graphs. The insights of those interviewed add clarity and depth to a description of hard times

Alcohol-related mortality in deprived UK cities: worrying trends in young women challenge recent national downward trends

Background: Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, has high levels of deprivation and a poor-health profile compared with other parts of Europe, which cannot be fully explained by the high levels of deprivation. The ‘excess’ premature mortality in Glasgow is now largely attributable to deaths from alcohol, drugs, suicide and violence. Methods: Alcohol-related mortality in Glasgow from 1980 to 2011 was examined relative to the equally deprived UK cities of Manchester and Liverpool with the aim of identifying differences across the cities, with respect to gender, age and birth cohort, that could help explain the ‘excess’ mortality in Glasgow. Results: In the 1980s, alcohol-related mortality in Glasgow was three times higher than in Manchester and Liverpool. Alcohol-related mortality increased in all three cities over the subsequent three decades, but a sharp rise in deaths in the early 1990s was unique to Glasgow. The increase in numbers of deaths in Glasgow was greater than in Manchester and Liverpool, but there was little difference in the pattern of alcohol-related deaths, by sex or birth cohort that could explain the excess mortality in Glasgow. The recent modest decrease in alcohol-related mortality was largely experienced by all birth cohorts, with the notable exception of the younger cohort (born between 1970 and 1979): women in this cohort across all three cities experienced disproportionate increases in alcohol-related mortality. Conclusions: It is imperative that this early warning sign in young women in the UK is acted on if deaths from alcohol are to reduce in the long term

LLAS/Why study...? downloadable calendar - November 2012, Welsh

This calendar, for the month of November 2012, in Welsh, was produced by LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. It was created with help from teachers working on the JISC-funded Community Cafe project. Look out for another language next month! Quiz questions and answers are also included. This is the fifteenth of a 16-month series lasting until Dec 2012. We are currently in production of our 2013 calendar, pre-order your copy at: https://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/calenda