The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled Profession

The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled ProfessionDana GoldsteinNew York: Doubleday, 2014, 349 p.Dana Goldstein je novinarka i spisateljica te dobitnica nekoliko cijenjenih stipendija na području novinarstva. Piše o obrazovanju, ženskim pitanjima, nejednakosti i kaznenom pravosuđu. Njena knjiga „The Teacher Wars“ u kojoj pokriva 175 godina povijesti američkog školstva postala je bestseler New York Timesa što je učinilo Goldstein jednom od najcjenjenijih mladih novinarki u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama. Knjiga je podijeljena na uvod, deset poglavlja, epilog, zahvalu, bilješke, odabranu bibliografiju i indeks. Više od petsto primarnih i sekundarnih izvora koje je autorica koristila navedeno je u bilješkama, dok u odabranoj bibliografiji donosi, organizirane prema temi, samo one izvore koje je najviše upotrebljavala što daje vrijedan pregled literature iz ovog područja. U sredini knjige nalaze se i fotografije povijesnih ličnosti i događaja čiju ulogu u razvoju američkog školstva Goldstein opisuje.</p

Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for prevention and treatment of COVID-19

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has resulted in substantial mortality. Some specialists proposed chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for treating or preventing the disease. The efficacy and safety of these drugs have been assessed in randomized controlled trials. Objectives To evaluate the effects of chloroquine (CQ) or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for 1) treating people with COVID‐19 on death and time to clearance of the virus; 2) preventing infection in people at risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure; 3) preventing infection in people exposed to SARS‐CoV‐2. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, Current Controlled Trials (www.controlled‐trials.com), and the COVID‐19‐specific resources www.covid‐nma.com and covid‐19.cochrane.org, for studies of any publication status and in any language. We performed all searches up to 15 September 2020. We contacted researchers to identify unpublished and ongoing studies. Selection criteria We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in people with COVID‐19, people at risk of COVID‐19 exposure, and people exposed to COVID‐19. Adverse events (any, serious, and QT‐interval prolongation on electrocardiogram) were also extracted. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed eligibility of search results, extracted data from the included studies, and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane ‘Risk of bias’ tool. We contacted study authors for clarification and additional data for some studies. We used risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences (MD) for continuous outcomes, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We performed meta‐analysis using a random‐effects model for outcomes where pooling of effect estimates was appropriate

Linezolid for drug-resistant tuberculosis

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the efficacy of linezolid when used as part of a second-line regimen for treating people with multidrug-resistant (MDR-) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR-) pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and to assess the prevalence and severity of adverse events associated with linezolid use in this patient grou

The COVID guidelines India project: A rapid living evidence synthesis during a pandemic in a LMIC setting

Background COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact worldwide. Evidence for management interventions emerged rapidly but was difficult for clinicians and others to assess and decide how to use. Our team in India set up a national and international collaboration preparing guidance in real time to help guide clinical practice in the country during a pandemic setting. We describe our methods and the product in this paper. Methods Specialized groups comprising core, steering, methodology, evidence synthesis, dissemination and intervention expert working groups were formed. A Cochrane Rapid Review approach was used for prioritised questions in areas of clinical equipoise in management of COVID-19. GRADE methodology was incorporated into this process and expert working groups tailored guidelines for India using the WHO Evidence to Decision framework. This was then disseminated on a widely accessible platform: indiacovidguidelines.org. A questionnaire was then used to obtain end-user feedback on the guidelines. Results Since May 2021, a total of 20 guidelines have been developed spanning pharmacological, respiratory and other supportive interventions for management of COVID-19, with over 83,600 unique page views up to December 2023. Results from a pilot survey suggest usefulness of the guidelines, but also highlighted areas for improvement. A key output was adoption of our anticoagulation recommendation in state level COVID-19 guidelines (Kerala, India). National and institutional capacity for evidence synthesis and guidelines was strengthened. Conclusions The COVID Guidelines India project successfully developed contextually relevant, nationally applicable, evidence-based guidelines in a timely manner, and disseminated these freely through a dedicated website while successfully building capacity amongst Indian clinicians for evidence-based guideline development. Throughout the ongoing COVID Guidelines India project, the team has maintained a 'living' approach, continuously updating and refining recommendations in response to emerging evidence during the ever-evolving pandemic landscape

Neurological associations of COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is of a scale not seen since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Although the predominant clinical presentation is with respiratory disease, neurological manifestations are being recognised increasingly. Based on knowledge of other coronaviruses, especially those that caused the SARS and MERS epidemics, we might expect to see rare cases of central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.Recent developments: A growing number of case reports and series describe a wide array of neurological manifestations, but many lack detail, reflecting the challenge of studying such patients. Encephalopathy is relatively common, being reported for 93 patients in total, including 16 (7.5%) of 214 hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China, and 40 (69%) of 58 in intensive care with COVID-19 in France. Encephalitis has been described in 8 patients to date, and Guillain-Barré syndrome in 19 patients. SARS-CoV-2 is detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of some patients. Anosmia and ageusia are common and may occur in the absence of other clinical features. Unexpectedly, acute cerebrovascular disease is also emerging as an important complication, with cohort studies reporting stroke in 1.6-6% of hospitalised COVID-19 cases. So far, 88 patients have been described, mostly with ischaemic stroke, who frequently have vascular events in the context of a pro-inflammatory hypercoagulable state with elevated CRP, D-dimer, and ferritin.Where next?: Careful clinical, diagnostic and epidemiological studies are needed to help define the manifestations and burden of neurological disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Precise case definitions must be used to distinguish non-specific complications of severe disease, such as hypoxic encephalopathy and critical care neuropathy, from those caused directly or indirectly by the virus; these include infectious, para- and post-infectious encephalitis, hypercoagulable states leading to stroke, and acute neuropathies such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. Recognising SARS-CoV-2 neurological disease in patients whose respiratory infection is mild or asymptomatic may prove challenging, especially if the primary COVID-19 illness occurred weeks earlier. The proportion of infections leading to neurological disease will remain small. However, these patients may be left with severe neurological sequelae. With so much of the population infected, the overall number of neurological patients, and their associated health, social and economic costs, may be large. Healthcare planners and policymakers must prepare for this eventuality. The many ongoing studies investigating the neurological association will increase our knowledge base.<br

Favipiravir for treating COVID-19

Objectives: This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows:. To determine the efficacy and safety of favipiravir in patients with COVID-19 as compared to standard of care without favipiravir

The India brain infections guidelines project: Global evidence for local application.

Background Brain infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. India lacks systematically evidence-informed guidelines for brain infections. Methods We had set up a group of experts in brain infections, evidence synthesis and guideline development to produce guidelines for hospital clinicians diagnosing and treating patients with suspected and confirmed brain infections in India. Questions are being drafted and prioritised, and a plan for GRADE-informed evidence synthesis and guideline development is in place, using methods to increase efficiency of the process where possible. Dissemination and outputs The guidelines will be disseminated through publication as well as on a dedicated website. Training of clinicians in evidence synthesis and guideline development, and setting up a network of institutions and professional societies, will provide lasting impact in terms of national capacity strengthening

Cerebral venous thrombosis after vaccination against COVID-19 in the UK: a multicentre cohort study.

BACKGROUND: A new syndrome of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) has emerged as a rare side-effect of vaccination against COVID-19. Cerebral venous thrombosis is the most common manifestation of this syndrome but, to our knowledge, has not previously been described in detail. We aimed to document the features of post-vaccination cerebral venous thrombosis with and without VITT and to assess whether VITT is associated with poorer outcomes. METHODS: For this multicentre cohort study, clinicians were asked to submit all cases in which COVID-19 vaccination preceded the onset of cerebral venous thrombosis, regardless of the type of vaccine, interval between vaccine and onset of cerebral venous thrombosis symptoms, or blood test results. We collected clinical characteristics, laboratory results (including the results of tests for anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies where available), and radiological features at hospital admission of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis after vaccination against COVID-19, with no exclusion criteria. We defined cerebral venous thrombosis cases as VITT-associated if the lowest platelet count recorded during admission was below 150 × 109 per L and, if the D-dimer was measured, the highest value recorded was greater than 2000 μg/L. We compared the VITT and non-VITT groups for the proportion of patients who had died or were dependent on others to help them with their activities of daily living (modified Rankin score 3-6) at the end of hospital admission (the primary outcome of the study). The VITT group were also compared with a large cohort of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis described in the International Study on Cerebral Vein and Dural Sinus Thrombosis. FINDINGS: Between April 1 and May 20, 2021, we received data on 99 patients from collaborators in 43 hospitals across the UK. Four patients were excluded because they did not have definitive evidence of cerebral venous thrombosis on imaging. Of the remaining 95 patients, 70 had VITT and 25 did not. The median age of the VITT group (47 years, IQR 32-55) was lower than in the non-VITT group (57 years; 41-62; p=0·0045). Patients with VITT-associated cerebral venous thrombosis had more intracranial veins thrombosed (median three, IQR 2-4) than non-VITT patients (two, 2-3; p=0·041) and more frequently had extracranial thrombosis (31 [44%] of 70 patients) compared with non-VITT patients (one [4%] of 25 patients; p=0·0003). The primary outcome of death or dependency occurred more frequently in patients with VITT-associated cerebral venous thrombosis (33 [47%] of 70 patients) compared with the non-VITT control group (four [16%] of 25 patients; p=0·0061). This adverse outcome was less frequent in patients with VITT who received non-heparin anticoagulants (18 [36%] of 50 patients) compared with those who did not (15 [75%] of 20 patients; p=0·0031), and in those who received intravenous immunoglobulin (22 [40%] of 55 patients) compared with those who did not (11 [73%] of 15 patients; p=0·022). INTERPRETATION: Cerebral venous thrombosis is more severe in the context of VITT. Non-heparin anticoagulants and immunoglobulin treatment might improve outcomes of VITT-associated cerebral venous thrombosis. Since existing criteria excluded some patients with otherwise typical VITT-associated cerebral venous thrombosis, we propose new diagnostic criteria that are more appropriate. FUNDING: None

Diagnostic markers of acute encephalitis syndrome and COVID-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children from Southern India.

Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in children poses a significant public health challenge in India. This study aims to explore the utility of host inflammatory mediators and neurofilament (NfL) levels in distinguishing etiologies, assessing disease severity, and predicting outcomes in AES. We assessed 12 mediators in serum (n = 58) and 11 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (n = 42) from 62 children with AES due to scrub typhus, viral etiologies, and COVID-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in Southern India. Additionally, NfL levels in serum (n = 20) and CSF (n = 18) were examined. Clinical data, including Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and Liverpool outcome scores, were recorded. Examining serum and CSF markers in the three AES etiology groups revealed notable distinctions, with scrub typhus differing significantly from viral and MIS-C causes. Viral causes had elevated serum CCL11 and CCL2 compared with scrub typhus, while MIS-C cases showed higher HGF levels than scrub typhus. However, CSF analysis showed a distinct pattern with the scrub typhus group exhibiting elevated levels of IL-1RA, IL-1β, and TNF compared with MIS-C, and lower CCL2 levels compared with the viral group. Modeling the characteristic features, we identified that age ≥3 years with serum CCL11 < 180 pg/mL effectively distinguished scrub typhus from other AES causes. Elevated serum CCL11, HGF, and IL-6:IL-10 ratio were associated with poor outcomes (p = 0.038, 0.005, 0.02). Positive CSF and serum NfL correlation, and negative GCS and serum NfL correlation were observed. Median NfL levels were higher in children with abnormal admission GCS and poor outcomes. Measuring immune mediators and brain injury markers in AES provides valuable diagnostic insights, with the potential to facilitate rapid diagnosis and prognosis. The correlation between CSF and serum NfL, along with distinctive serum cytokine profiles across various etiologies, indicates the adequacy of blood samples alone for assessment and monitoring. The association of elevated levels of CCL11, HGF, and an increased IL-6:IL-10 ratio with adverse outcomes suggests promising avenues for therapeutic exploration, warranting further investigation