A Review of Literature on Health-Related Quality of Life of Retinoblastoma Survivors.

Background: Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumor of the eye that typically presents in early childhood and occurs in approximately 1 in 20,000 births. While active treatment of the tumor is typically completed in childhood, survivors often suffer from long-term effects from treatment including visual impairment, facial deformities, and fear of recurrence or secondary cancer. However, little is known how these long-term effects affect their health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Purpose: To review the literature on HRQOL in retinoblastoma survivors. Method: We searched three electronic databases from January 2005 to December 2018 for original research articles reporting on HRQOL or individual domains such as function, cognition, and psychosocial outcomes in retinoblastoma survivors. Results: A total of 59 articles were reviewed and 15 were identified as eligible. Five of the studies reported worse HRQOL in retinoblastoma survivors than controls or general population norms. Parent-proxy ratings were worse than survivors' self-reports. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the need for further HRQOL research to assess the factors influencing long-term outcomes associated with treatment in adolescent and young adult retinoblastoma survivors. By identifying any potential deficits in specific domains of HRQOL, early interventions might be developed to improve HRQOL in retinoblastoma survivors

Communicating the Threat of a Tropical Cyclone to the Eastern Range

The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) has developed a tool to help visualize the Wind Speed Probability product from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and to help communicate that information to space launch customers and decision makers at the 45th Space Wing (45 SW) and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) located in east central Florida. This paper reviews previous work and presents the new visualization tool, including initial feedback as well as the pros and cons. The NHC began issuing their Wind Speed Probability product for tropical cyclones publicly in 2006. The 45 WS uses this product to provide a threat assessment to 45 SW and KSC leadership for risk evaluations with an approaching tropical cyclone. Although the wind speed probabilities convey the uncertainty of a tropical cyclone well, communicating this information to customers is a challenge. The 45 WS continually strives to provide the wind speed probability information to customers in a context which clearly communicates the threat of a tropical cyclone. First, an intern from the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) Atmospheric Sciences department, sponsored by Scitor Corporation, independently evaluated the NHC wind speed probability product. This work was later extended into a M.S. thesis at FIT, partially funded by Scitor Corporation and KSC. A second thesis at FIT further extended the evaluation partially funded by KSC. Using this analysis, the 45 WS categorized the probabilities into five probability interpretation categories: Very Low, Low, Moderate, High, and Very High. These probability interpretation categories convert the forecast probability and forecast interval into easily understood categories that are consistent across all ranges of probabilities and forecast intervals. As a follow-on project, KSC funded a summer intern to evaluate the human factors of the probability interpretation categories, which ultimately refined some of the thresholds. The 45 WS created a visualization tool to express the timing and risk for multiple locations in a single graphic. Preliminary results on an on-going project by FIT will be included in this paper. This project is developing a new method of assigning the probability interpretation categories and updating the evaluation of the performance of the NHC wind speed probability analysis

The Trade Paper and Business

Back in the days when man struck fire from flint and steel and gleamed his daily food from bush and stream, no such thing as collective industry existed. Personal industry directed solely toward a necessary objective, forms the humble background for that which we today blandly designate as industry , without concerning ourselves particularly with the de­rivation of definition of the term

Learning in large learning spaces:the academic engagement of a diverse group of students

Teaching larger groups of students is a growing phenomenon in HE and this brings with it, its own challenges not least for the students themselves but also their lecturers. Demographic factors as well as the experiences that characterise us as individuals will impact upon our ability to learn. The pilot study reported here considered the “academic engagement” of a diverse group of students where their course is delivered in large learning environments. As a pilot study, the paper concludes with the identification of two areas which are worthy of further research. Firstly, the study highlighted that mature students were more likely to engage in learning strategies that are associated with surface learning – the binary opposite to which practitioners often strive to achieve. Secondly, the research suggests that students who appear to know their tutors well indicate a preference for study approaches that are likely to develop deeper learning

Systems Maintenance Automated Repair Tasks (SMART)

SMART is a uniform automated discrepancy analysis and repair-authoring platform that improves technical accuracy and timely delivery of repair procedures for a given discrepancy (see figure a). SMART will minimize data errors, create uniform repair processes, and enhance the existing knowledge base of engineering repair processes. This innovation is the first tool developed that links the hardware specification requirements with the actual repair methods, sequences, and required equipment. SMART is flexibly designed to be useable by multiple engineering groups requiring decision analysis, and by any work authorization and disposition platform (see figure b). The organizational logic creates the link between specification requirements of the hardware, and specific procedures required to repair discrepancies. The first segment in the SMART process uses a decision analysis tree to define all the permutations between component/ subcomponent/discrepancy/repair on the hardware. The second segment uses a repair matrix to define what the steps and sequences are for any repair defined in the decision tree. This segment also allows for the selection of specific steps from multivariable steps. SMART will also be able to interface with outside databases and to store information from them to be inserted into the repair-procedure document. Some of the steps will be identified as optional, and would only be used based on the location and the current configuration of the hardware. The output from this analysis would be sent to a work authoring system in the form of a predefined sequence of steps containing required actions, tools, parts, materials, certifications, and specific requirements controlling quality, functional requirements, and limitations

Estimation of Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Intensity in Lilongwe, Malawi, by Microscopy, Rapid Diagnostic Testing, and Nucleic Acid Detection.

: Estimates of malaria transmission intensity (MTI) typically rely upon microscopy or rapid diagnostic testing (RDT). However, these methods are less sensitive than nucleic acid amplification techniques and may underestimate parasite prevalence. We compared microscopy, RDT, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia as part of an MTI study of 800 children and adults conducted in Lilongwe, Malawi. PCR detected more cases of parasitemia than microscopy or RDT. Age less than 5 years predicted parasitemia detected by PCR alone (adjusted odds ratio = 1.61, 95% confidence interval = 1.09-2.38, Wald P = 0.02). In addition, we identified one P. falciparum parasite with a false-negative RDT result due to a suspected deletion of the histidine-rich protein 2 (hrp2) gene and used a novel, ultrasensitive PCR assay to detect low-level parasitemia missed by traditional PCR. Molecular methods should be considered for use in future transmission studies as a supplement to RDT or microscopy.<br/

Baseline Postural Control Measures: An Indicator for Increased Injury Frequency Following Sports Related Concussion

INTRODUCTION: An increase in acute lower extremity (LE) injuries have been observed in athletes following sports-related concussion.1, 2, 3 It has been suggested that lingering postural control deficits as a result of concussive injury, may play a role in the increased prevalence of injury.1 PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between baseline postural control metrics (Root Mean Square; Peak Excursion Velocity; Sample Entropy) and acute LE injury frequency in NCAA Division I student athletes (SA) with a previous history of concussion. METHODS: Eighty-four NCAA Division I SA were selected from a single university, 42 SA with a previous history of concussion (CONC) and 42 without as the control group (CTRL). Baseline postural control assessment, measured via force platform (Sample frequency 1000Hz), and medical charts were retrospectively reviewed. Postural control assessment consisted of three trials of eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) quiet stance for duration of 30 sec. Center of pressure data was used to quantify peak excursion velocity (PEV), root mean square (RMS) and sample entropy (SampEn) in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) direction. Medical records were assessed for all acute LE injuries sustained one-year following baseline postural control assessments. RESULTS: Chi squared analysis revealed a significant increase in frequency (p = 0.025) of acute LE injuries within CONC (22/49 = 44.9%) in comparison to CTRL (10/44 = 22.7%). Paired sample t-test demonstrated a significant decreased in EC PEV AP (p = 0.006) of the CONC group (0.063 ± 0.025) compared to CTRL (0.078 ± 0.038) with moderate effect (Cohen’s d = 0.487), but lacked significance in all other conditions. While the logistic regression model lacked overall significance (p = 0.379), participant group (B = 1.302, P = 0.033) and EO SampEn AP (B = -6.086, P = 0.062) were significant predictors for acute LE injury. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that SA with a previous history of concussion do have a higher acute LE injury frequency than those without a history of concussion. And variations in baseline postural control assessments may help to identify this increase in frequenc

The Potential of Indian River Lagoon Muck to act as a Reservoir for Emerging Organic Contaminants

Pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and personal care products are frequently found in sediments and waterways around the world. These chemicals, collectively known as Emerging Organic Contaminants (EOCs) can harm the environments in which they are deposited by killing or stressing the local flora and fauna. These EOCs also can be released back into the water column when these substrates are disturbed. Such sediments and their associated EOCs are particularly problematic in urbanized areas. However, the particular composition of urbanization-associated sediments as well as their potential to harbor EOCs needs to be evaluated in the context of their environment, to ensure proper mitigation efforts. In this study, water and sediment samples were taken from the Sykes Creek Area of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon (IRL), which has a highly restricted waterflow. This restricted flow means that pollutants entering the IRL, especially in the north where there are fewer inlets, remain in the system for extended periods. The samples taken for this study were run through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to identify and quantify eight common EOCs: Diazepam, Oxybenzone, Sulisobenzone, Acetaminophen, Atrazine, Chloramphenicol, Ibuprofen, and Sucralose. Information on the concentration and location of these EOCs was then used, in combination with additional information about pollutants at each site provided by the Ocean Resource and Conservation Association (ORCA), to attempt to create a predictive model for each EOC using RStudio. The EOC data collected indicated that muck does not actually act as a significant reservoir for EOCs in the IRL. The vast majority of EOCs quantified in this study were found in the water column. The modeling in RStudio showed only water depth and Ammonia measured from the water of the sample sites were able to predict the presence of any EOC, while Ammonia, Sulfur, and Mercury were the only parameters measured from the muck of the sample sites capable of predicting the presence of any EOC