Negotiation Principles: In Law or World Affairs

Negotiation should be part of every law school curriculum-as a required course. Every lawyer soon learns, in active practice, how important it is. There are certain principles of sound negotiation (or dickering, in colloquial speech) that every lawyer should know-or anyone engaged in any profession, business or enterprise, for that matter. These principles apply almost exactly alike to a negotiation involving a legal action or to one involving national or international frictions-to settlement of a personal injury claim, or a dispute between the United States and Russia

Gender and age differences in the relative burden of rhinitis and asthma on health-related quality of life—A Swedish population study

SummaryThe aim of this study was to investigate the relative burden of rhinitis and asthma on health-related quality of life (HRQL) as a function of gender and age in the general population. A cross-sectional, general population survey was conducted, comprising 5918 men and women aged 16–64 years. The SF-36 Health Survey was administered by mail, along with questions regarding nasal complaints after 15 years of age and physician-diagnosed asthma. Overall, rhinitis and asthma were each associated with impaired HRQL compared with non-cases and the burden of these illnesses in combination was incremental. In the age group 16–49 years, men and women with rhinitis alone had significantly worse health profiles on most scales than non-cases, while asthmatics, with or without rhinitis, showed further decrements on only a few scales. In the age group 50–64 years, men with rhinitis did not differ from non-cases and no differences were found between asthmatics and rhinitis victims on any scale. In contrast, women aged 50–64 years with rhinitis had significantly worse scores than non-cases on bodily pain and general well-being scales (GH, VT), and asthmatics scored much lower on all scales than those with rhinitis alone. The negative association of rhinitis and asthma with HRQL differs by age and sex in the general population. Women aged 50–64 years with one or both ailments are particularly affected. Such gender and age differences should be taken into consideration in the care and treatment of patients with rhinitis and asthma

Bifidobacterial Dominance of the Gut in Early Life and Acquisition of Antimicrobial Resistance.

Bifidobacterium species are important commensals capable of dominating the infant gut microbiome, in part by producing acids that suppress growth of other taxa. Bifidobacterium species are less prone to possessing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes (ARGs) than other taxa that may colonize infants. Given that AMR is a growing public health crisis and ARGs are present in the gut microbiome of humans from early life, this study examines the correlation between a Bifidobacterium-dominated infant gut microbiome and AMR levels, measured by a culture-independent metagenomic approach both in early life and as infants become toddlers. In general, Bifidobacterium dominance is associated with a significant reduction in AMR in a Bangladeshi cohort, both in the number of acquired AMR genes present and in the abundance of AMR genes. However, by year 2, Bangladeshi infants had no significant differences in AMR related to their early-life Bifidobacterium levels. A generalized linear model including all infants in a previously published Swedish cohort found a significant negative association between log-transformed total AMR and Bifidobacterium levels, thus confirming the relationship between Bifidobacterium levels and AMR. In both cohorts, there was no change between early-life and later-life AMR abundance in high-Bifidobacterium infants but a significant reduction in AMR abundance in low-Bifidobacterium infants. These results support the hypothesis that early Bifidobacterium dominance of the infant gut microbiome may help reduce colonization by taxa containing ARGs.IMPORTANCE Infants are vulnerable to an array of infectious diseases, and as the gut microbiome may serve as a reservoir of AMR for pathogens, reducing the levels of AMR in infants is important to infant health. This study demonstrates that high levels of Bifidobacterium are associated with reduced levels of AMR in early life and suggests that probiotic interventions to increase infant Bifidobacterium levels have the potential to reduce AMR in infants. However, this effect is not sustained at year 2 of age in Bangladeshi infants, underscoring the need for more detailed studies of the biogeography and timing of infant AMR acquisition

Construct Validity of the Swedish Version of the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale in an Oncology Sample—A Rasch Analysis

AbstractObjectivesFatigue is a common and distressing symptom in cancer patients due to both the disease and its treatments. The concept of fatigue is multidimensional and includes both physical and mental components. The 22-item Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (RPFS) is a multidimensional instrument developed to assess cancer-related fatigue. This study reports on the construct validity of the Swedish version of the RPFS from the perspective of Rasch measurement.MethodsThe Swedish version of the RPFS was answered by 196 cancer patients fatigued after 4 to 5 weeks of curative radiation therapy. Data from the scale were fitted to the Rasch measurement model. This involved testing a series of assumptions, including the stochastic ordering of items, local response dependency, and unidimensionality. A series of fit statistics were computed, differential item functioning (DIF) was tested, and local response dependency was accommodated through testlets.ResultsThe Behavioral, Affective and Sensory domains all satisfied the Rasch model expectations. No DIF was observed, and all domains were found to be unidimensional. The Mood/Cognitive scale failed to fit the model, and substantial multidimensionality was found. Splitting the scale between Mood and Cognitive items resolved fit to the Rasch model, and new domains were unidimensional without DIF.ConclusionsThe current Rasch analyses add to the evidence of measurement properties of the scale and show that the RPFS has good psychometric properties and works well to measure fatigue. The original four-factor structure, however, was not supported

9th Biennial Judge Joe Lee Bankruptcy Institute

Materials from the 9th Biennial Judge Joe Lee Bankruptcy Institute held December 1999

Maturation of the gut microbiome during the first year of life contributes to the protective farm effect on childhood asthma

Peer reviewedPostprin