Aesthetics and Tourism

The aim of this few comments is to link tourism to the desire for beauty that seems to be side by side with humankind since the very beginnings. Reflections are grounded on Benjamin ́s interpretation of Baudelaire, on Boorstin, MacCannel and Urry, as well as on my own field experience and intend to stimulate more research on the role played by aesthetics in tourism experience

Assessing the Influence of Health Policy and Population Mobility on COVID-19 Spread in Arkansas

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a major crisis across the world since its start in 2019, and its influence on every realm of society is undeniable. Globally, more than 500 million cases have been recorded since March 2020, with almost 6 million deaths. In the wake of this crisis, many governments and health organizations have taken steps and precautions to mitigate its spread. These steps involve public mandates of information, reducing frequency of personal contact, and use of masks to minimize the risk of transmission. Current access to mobility data released from Google detailing population movements has provided a great opportunity to quantify the correlation between COVID-19 mandates and health policies on community traveling and COVID spread. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between population mobility and the COVID pandemic, specifically focusing on the state of Arkansas. Three main types of mobility changes and various indicators of COVID spread were examined from available data ranging from March of 2020 to March of 2022. We employed various statistical methods including discontinued regression, causality tests, and mixed regression models to better understand how implemented COVID safety polices relate to a population’s aggregate mobility, and to estimate the subsequent correlation between population mobility and COVID-19 spread within counties in Arkansas

\u3cem\u3eRacism in Metropolitan Areas.\u3c/em\u3e Rik Pinxten and Ellen Preckler.

Book note for Rik Pinxten and Ellen Preckler, Racism in Metropolitan Areas. New York: Berghahn Books, 2006. $70.00 hardcover,$22.50 papercover

\u3cem\u3eNot Working: Latina Immigrants, Low-wage Jobs and the Failure of Welfare Reform.\u3cem\u3e Alejandra Marchevsky and Jeanne Theorharis.

Book note for Rik Pinxten and Ellen Preckler, Racism in Metropolitan Areas. New York: Berghahn Books, 2006. $70.00 hardcover,$22.50 papercover

Comparative analysis of hypothalamic damage caused by pediatric craniopharyngioma versus pediatric low grade gliomas

Numerous studies have suggested rapid weight gain following diagnosis and initial treatment of childhood craniopharyngioma (CP) due to the damage sustained by the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic lesions formed by the treatment of the tumor and/or by invasiveness of the tumor itself are known to cause intractable weight gain, known as hypothalamic obesity. In contrast, hypothalamic obesity manifested in pediatric low-grade glioma (PLGG) patients is not as prominently addressed in literature; likely due to the expansive set of histological tumor subtypes that makes generalization challenging. Specifically, there is a lack of analysis that examines the difference in treatment, endocrinopathies, and weight gain between CP and PLGG patients. The purpose of this study was to compare hypothalamic damage in subjects diagnosed with pediatric hypothalamic low-grade glioma versus subjects diagnosed with childhood craniopharyngioma. We hypothesized that CP patients will have a more rapid post diagnosis weight gain and a greater degree of obesity compared with PLGG patients due to the more invasive nature of the tumor and the aggressive surgical treatments involved. We performed a retrospective review of the clinical records of patients who received a diagnosis of childhood craniopharyngioma or pediatric low-grade glioma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between 1980 and 2009. We identified 45 patients, who met criteria for evaluation, 28 were previously diagnosed with childhood craniopharyngioma and 17 were diagnosed with hypothalamic pediatric low-grade glioma. We analyzed the impact of treatment, the presence of endocrinopathies, and weight gain after diagnosis. We concluded that there was no statistically significant difference in the rate or magnitude of post diagnosis weight gain, disproving our initial hypotheses

Sepsis Social Hour: Resocialization of the Inpatient Handoff Sepsis Bundle Checklist on a Medical-Surgical Unit

Problem: Sepsis presents a significant healthcare challenge that demands early recognition and intervention to reduce mortality and morbidity rates. Preliminary data collected at Hospital A identified gaps in the Medical-Surgical Unit’s awareness and utilization of the Inpatient Handoff Sepsis Bundle Checklist (IHSBC). Context: A gap in knowledge and implementation of the IHSBC was identified in the Medical-Surgical Unit which necessitates the implementation of measures to enhance staff comprehension and use of the checklist. Interventions: A resocialization approach was delivered to reinforce the checklist’s importance which included reintegrating the checklist in the morning staff huddles, communicating with the nurse educator, and providing readily accessible copies of the checklist on the unit. Measures: Data was collected through microsystem assessments and verbal pre- and post-surveys to determine staff familiarity with the checklist. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to measure improvements in knowledge. Results: Preliminary data in September 2023 displayed low staff awareness (25%) and recall (12.5%) of the IHSBC. Following resocialization efforts in October 2023, awareness improved to 60%. Conclusion: Resocialization efforts positively influenced staff awareness of the IHSBC, demonstrating the potential for improved utilization. Ongoing education and communication, most especially targeting travel nurses, are recommended to further enhance checklist application, ultimately contributing to improved sepsis care compliance and reduced sepsis fallouts