Neurodiversity and the Field of Speech Language Pathology: A Literary Review of the History, Common Practices, and Misconceptions

Neurodiversity is a new and emerging topic within the field of communication sciences and disorders. This literature review describes what neurodiversity is alongside part of the history of neurodiversity, and then turns and looks at neurodiversity and neurodiverse-affirming care in the field of speech language pathology. This literature review also suggests an area of possible future research looking at undergraduate and graduate students\u27 views of neurodiversity

Assessment of QEC Forecasts, 1984-90. Quarterly Economic Commentary Special Article, Spring 1991

Like most economic forecasters, we keep an informal check on the performance of our forecasts. Significant errors are analysed in the hope of minimising their recurrence in the future. There is a strong case, however, for undertaking and publishing a more structured overview of forecasting performance from time to time. Studying several years' forecasts together should indicate whether there is any tendency for errors to follow persistent patterns. Accordingly, this exercise examines the forecasts presented in Quarterly Economic Commentaries (QEC) for the years from 1984 to 1990

The Cost of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Maine, 2010

Summary findings In 2010, the total estimated cost of substance abuse in Maine was $1.403 billion. This$1.403 billion translates into a cost equaling $1,057 for every resident of Maine. This was a 56.2Substance abuse treatment ($47.0 million) comprised the smallest proportion of total cost (3.4%), while mortality, $409.6 million, comprised the largest proportion of costs (24.8%)

Tabucchi's brutal empires

This article charts the dramatic shift in Antonio Tabucchi's representation of Portuguese empire, from a romanticized, Eurocentric depiction of imperialism in the 1984 text Notturno indiano to a portrayal of a brutal and repressive empire in his 1991 collection L'angelo nero and his 1997 novel La testa perduta di Damasceno Monteiro. This abrupt change is located within the historiographical debates regarding empire which took place in Italy and Portugal from the 1970s onwards, and it is suggested that such a shift may be usefully viewed against the reassessment of Italian colonialism which occurred in Italy in the 1990s

Universal GP care in Ireland: Potential cost implications. ESRI Research Bulletin, 2018/05

Ireland is unusual in a European context in not providing free or heavily subsidised General Practitioner (GP) care for the total population. While medical and GP-visit cardholders are entitled to GP visits free at the point of use, those without a card must pay the full cost associated with accessing GP services. In 2016 an all-party parliamentary committee (Houses of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare) was established with the aim of achieving a single long-term vision for healthcare and the direction of health policy in Ireland. One of the recommendations of the committee’s final Sláintecare Report, published in May 2017, was the introduction of universal GP care, which was equated to access to GP care for all without cost. The aim of this analysis is to quantify the potential cost implications of implementing universal GP care in Ireland

StrokeCog Markov Model Projected Prevalent and Incident Cases of Stroke and Poststroke Cognitive Impairment to 2035 in Ireland

Background and Purpose: Cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) and dementia are common stroke outcomes, with significant health and societal implications for aging populations. These outcomes are not included in current epidemiological models. We aimed to develop an epidemiological model to project incidence and prevalence of stroke, poststroke CIND and dementia, and life expectancy, in Ireland to 2035, informing policy and service planning. Methods: We developed a probabilistic Markov model (the StrokeCog model) applied to the Irish population aged 40 to 89 years to 2035. Data sources included official population and hospital-episode statistics, longitudinal cohort studies, and published estimates. Key assumptions were varied in sensitivity analysis. Results were externally validated against independent sources. The model tracks poststroke progression into health states characterized by no cognitive impairment, CIND, dementia, disability, stroke recurrence, and death. Results: We projected 69 051 people with prevalent stroke in Ireland in 2035 (22.0 per 1000 population [95% CI, 20.8-23.1]), with 25 274 (8.0 per 1000 population [95% CI, 7.1-9.0]) of those projected to have poststroke CIND, and 12 442 having poststroke dementia (4.0 per 1000 population [95% CI, 3.2-4.8]). We projected 8725 annual incident strokes in 2035 (2.8 per 1000 population [95% CI, 2.7-2.9]), with 3832 of these having CIND (1.2 per 1000 population [95% CI, 1.1-1.3]), and 1715 with dementia (0.5 per 1000 population [95% CI, 0.5-0.6]). Life expectancy for stroke survivors at age 50 was 23.4 years (95% CI, 22.3-24.5) for women and 20.7 (95% CI, 19.5-21.9) for men. Conclusions: This novel epidemiological model of stroke, poststroke CIND, and dementia draws on the best available evidence. Sensitivity analysis indicated that findings were robust to assumptions, and where there was uncertainty a conservative approach was taken. The StrokeCog model is a useful tool for service planning and cost-effectiveness analysis and is available for adaptation to other national contexts.Peer reviewe

The S-layer protein of a Clostridium difficile SLCT-11 strain displays a complex glycan required for normal cell growth and morphology.

Clostridium difficile is a bacterial pathogen that causes major health challenges worldwide. It has a well-characterized surface (S)-layer, a para-crystalline proteinaceous layer surrounding the cell wall. In many bacterial and archaeal species, the S-layer is glycosylated, but no such modifications have been demonstrated in C. difficile. Here, we show that a C. difficile strain of S-layer cassette type 11, Ox247, has a complex glycan attached via an O-linkage to Thr-38 of the S-layer low-molecular-weight subunit. Using MS and NMR, we fully characterized this glycan. We present evidence that it is composed of three domains: (i) a core peptide-linked tetrasaccharide with the sequence -4-α-Rha-3-α-Rha-3-α-Rha-3-β-Gal-peptide; (ii) a repeating pentasaccharide with the sequence -4-β-Rha-4-α-Glc-3-β-Rha-4-(α-Rib-3-)β-Rha-; and (iii) a nonreducing end-terminal 2,3 cyclophosphoryl-rhamnose attached to a ribose-branched sub-terminal rhamnose residue. The Ox247 genome contains a 24-kb locus containing genes for synthesis and protein attachment of this glycan. Mutations in genes within this locus altered or completely abrogated formation of this glycan, and their phenotypes suggested that this S-layer modification may affect sporulation, cell length, and biofilm formation of C. difficile In summary, our findings indicate that the S-layer protein of SLCT-11 strains displays a complex glycan and suggest that this glycan is required for C. difficile sporulation and control of cell shape, a discovery with implications for the development of antimicrobials targeting the S-layer

Impact of industrial production system parameters on chicken microbiomes: mechanisms to improve performance and reduce Campylobacter

Publication history: Accepted - 17 August 2020; Published online - 9 September 2020Background The factors affecting host-pathogen ecology in terms of the microbiome remain poorly studied. Chickens are a key source of protein with gut health heavily dependent on the complex microbiome which has key roles in nutrient assimilation and vitamin and amino acid biosynthesis. The chicken gut microbiome may be influenced by extrinsic production system parameters such as Placement Birds/m2 (stocking density), feed type and additives. Such parameters, in addition to on-farm biosecurity may influence performance and also pathogenic bacterial numbers such as Campylobacter. In this study, three different production systems ‘Normal’ (N), ‘Higher Welfare’ (HW) and ‘Omega-3 Higher Welfare’ (O) were investigated in an industrial farm environment at day 7 and day 30 with a range of extrinsic parameters correlating performance with microbial dynamics and Campylobacter presence. Results Our data identified production system N as significantly dissimilar from production systems HW and O when comparing the prevalence of genera. An increase in Placement Birds/m2 density led to a decrease in environmental pressure influencing the microbial community structure. Prevalence of genera, such as Eisenbergiella within HW and O, and likewise Alistipes within N were representative. These genera have roles directly relating to energy metabolism, amino acid, nucleotide and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) utilisation. Thus, an association exists between consistent and differentiating parameters of the production systems that affect feed utilisation, leading to competitive exclusion of genera based on competition for nutrients and other factors. Campylobacter was identified within specific production system and presence was linked with the increased diversity and increased environmental pressure on microbial community structure. Addition of Omega-3 though did alter prevalence of specific genera, in our analysis did not differentiate itself from HW production system. However, Omega-3 was linked with a positive impact on weight gain. Conclusions Overall, our results show that microbial communities in different industrial production systems are deterministic in elucidating the underlying biological confounders, and these recommendations are transferable to farm practices and diet manipulation leading to improved performance and better intervention strategies against Campylobacter within the food chain.OG and NC acknowledge research funding from Moy Park. UZI is funded by NERC Independent Research Fellowship (NE/L011956/1)

Enhancing Participation of Older Women in Surgical Trials

Older participants are often excluded from clinical trials, precluding a representative sample