An update on the diagnosis and treatment of early Lyme Disease: Focusing on the bull\u27s eye, you may miss the mark

To confidently diagnose and treat Lyme disease, the clinician must first understand the natural history of this disease, especially its protean early manifestations. Emergency physicians, primary care physicians, and other providers need to be vigilant in terms of the timely recognition of erythema migrans (EM), the unique marker of early localized stage 1 disease. The classic EM, originally described as a slowly expanding bull\u27s eye lesion, is now recognized to be present in only the minority of cases (9%); the dominant morphologic lesion of EM is now recognized to be the diffusely homogenous red plaque or patch, which occurs in over 50% of cases. This update will define the current morphologic features of early Lyme disease, the indication for serologic studies, and the most recent treatment guidelines, including therapeutic pitfalls

Interactive learning online: Challenges and opportunities

Since the early 1990s online education and online learning systems have held the promise of increasing instructional productivity and reducing costs without sacrificing educational quality. There is no evidence to date that such promise has materialized. The impetus of the newest developments with free online courses to hundreds of thousands of students might drastically transform how we teach more and better with less. The innovation that prompted this panel is called Interactive Learning Online (ILO), and has the distinctive feature of highly interactive, machine-guided instruction that can be scaled to accommodate a large number of students who benefit from targeted and personalized learning. The panelists have experimented with online learning in different ways. Their perspectives will address challenges and opportunities with the adoption of ILO systems

Neither boom nor bust: how Houston's housing market differs from nation's

The ongoing housing downturn has served as a significant headwind for the U.S. economy, subtracting nearly a percentage point from the country's gross domestic product growth in each of the past six quarters. However, this downturn has not been uniform across the country. Houston is an example of a metropolitan area that was seemingly immune to the trend until its housing market began slowing significantly in mid-2007. ; Houston did not share in the rapid price appreciation seen by some large metros in the early 2000s or the sharp downturn of late 2006 and early 2007. But the tightening of credit standards since August has affected Houston disproportionately. Mortgage and housing markets have seen wide variations in performance as a result of the downturn, and this is Houston's story in the context of the national housing market turmoil.Housing ; Texas

Evolving R Coronae Borealis Stars with MESA

The R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars are rare hydrogen--deficient, carbon--rich supergiants. They undergo extreme, irregular declines in brightness of many magnitudes due to the formation of thick clouds of carbon dust. It is thought that RCB stars result from the mergers of CO/He white dwarf (WD) binaries. We constructed post--merger spherically asymmetric models computed with the MESA code, and then followed the evolution into the region of the HR diagram where the RCB stars are located. We also investigated nucleosynthesis in the dynamically accreting material of CO/He WD mergers which may provide a suitable environment for significant production of 18O and the very low 16O/18O values observed. We have also discovered that the N abundance depends sensitively on the peak temperature in the He--burning shell. Our MESA modeling consists of engineering the star by adding He--WD material to an initial CO--WD model, and then following the post--merger evolution using a nuclear--reaction network to match the observed RCB abundances as it expands and cools to become an RCB star. These new models are more physical because they include rotation, mixing, mass-loss, and nucleosynthesis within MESA. We follow the later evolution beyond the RCB phase to determine the stars' likely lifetimes. The relative numbers of known RCB and Extreme Helium (EHe) stars correspond well to the lifetimes predicted from the MESA models. In addition, most of computed abundances agree very well with the observed range of abundances for the RCB class.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS in pres

Information technology and computer science programs: How do we relate?

In this panel session, the relationship between computer science programs and information technology programs at universities that house both will be explored. People outside the computing disciplines often find the distinction between these programs confusing. The panelists, who have experience with both types of program, will discuss strategies for differentiating the programs in the eyes of administrators, for advising students into the correct program, and for maintaining focus and excellence in both computer science and information technology programs

Prescription packaging design for the impaired : a meta-analysis.

This thesis is a critical analyzation of the state of prescription drug packaging in the United States with respect to unresolved problems for users with visual, physical, and cognitive impairments. It begins with an anecdotal overview inspired by Deborah Adler’s journey of prescription drug packaging for her grandparents and her design solution outlined by a case study. This case study focuses on the need for better prescription packaging for those with the aforementioned and neglected issues. This thesis uses studies in user-centered design, packaging design, and industrial design among others in order to critically assess and question the current state of user experience for those with impairments. The latter part of the thesis argues that a universal standard would be difficult to implement due to logistical challenges of the private sector of pharmaceutical companies

How Silently Sheela-Na-Gig Speaks: Memory, Mythos, and the Female Body

How and why do we destroy female agency, still today? Focusing on some of the mythical foundations and formations found in ancient Celtic and Greek imaginings, the bodily aspects in particular, this thesis traces the ways in which some of the modern women intellectuals receive or reject the typical feminist or female elements found in mythologies; the elided nature of the female trinity and the life giver-destroyer circularity inherent in goddesses and archetypes, for instance, appears to mirror our cultural impulse to destroy the female body. It is then not enough to create a new mythology by and for women--we must reinterpret and reintegrate myths of women back into our social consciousness in order to understand women\u27s historicity. To ignore these stories, signs and symbols is to blacken the illumination of nature, to silence historical voices, and to muddle the female lineage of spirituality. The symbols and mythos that point to the life and death circles have not been fully integrated into our modern cultural consciousness. Despite the interest feminist thinkers have ascribed to mythological women, the idea of the female trinity has been rebuffed and buried by patriarchal religions. While this annihilation is common, the question of why and how still remains. Interestingly, as we dig into the reasoning behind this patriarchal disempowerment and disregard we find that the problem is not with the enchanted woman of the myth, but her body

Borrower- and Mortgage-Related Factors Associated with Foreclosure

The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual model that could be used to aid in identifying which household factors contribute to an increased likelihood of foreclosure. More specifically, what borrower-related and mortgage-related factors are correlated with home foreclosure? This was achieved by studying a sample from an inventory of active and foreclosed Federal Housing Administration (FHA) homes in the state of Utah. The sample consisted of 179 cases. Characteristics of interest were extracted from data and divided into two categories: borrower-related factors and mortgage-related factors. Bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted with the borrower- and mortgage-related factors. Among the major findings was the significance of race, front-end ratio, and interest rate in the likelihood of foreclosure. Similarly non- White borrowers were found as a concern group. Lastly, the presence of a first-time homebuyer and a high front-end ratio need to be viewed as potential factors leading to foreclosure