Making the Match: Finding Funding for After School Education and Safety Programs

Outlines strategies for California school and community leaders to secure cash and in-kind resources -- including public- and private-sector funding -- for ASES programs

A Cognitive Approach to Spatial Visualization Assessment for First-year Engineering Students

First-year engineering (FYE) students are routinely screened for spatial ability, with the goals of predicting retention in the major and identifying those who need supplementary spatial instruction. Psychometric tests used for such screenings are often domain-general measures that lack diagnostic information to inform remedial instruction. A new approach to spatial screening is to use measures that assess perfor¬mance on authentic engineering tasks while accounting for the cognitive processes that underlie spatial thinking. We tested the utility of a relatively new spatial visualization test (the Santa Barbara Solids Test; SBST) to characterize individual differences in performance among FYE students with low mental rotation scores. The internal reliability and predictive validity of the SBST were previously demonstrated in sample populations with average spatial skill. One hundred and forty-one FYE students with low mental rotation scores completed the SBST and an engineering drawing task before instruction. We investigated the internal reliability of the SBST, patterns of performance and the validity of the test to predict performance on the drawing task. Through item analysis, we deleted problems that contributed to low internal reliability. Performance means were normally distributed. There were small significant positive correlations between the drawing task and SBST total score and subscales. The SBST shows promise for diagnosing difficul¬ties and strategies demonstrated by students who are challenged by spatial visualization. We suggest applications of the SBST to support remedial spatial instruction

Influenza-associated morbidity and mortality in South Africa

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, October 2014Introduction Data on the burden of influenza-associated hospitalisation and mortality in relation to other aetiologies of pneumonia as well as risk groups for severe and complicated disease are important to guide influenza prevention policy. Materials and methods We estimated influenza-related deaths as excess mortality above a model baseline during influenza epidemic periods from monthly age-specific mortality data using Serfling regression models. For individuals aged ≥65 years from South Africa and the United States of America (US) we evaluated influenza-related deaths due to all causes, pneumonia and influenza (P&I) and other influenza-associated diagnoses for 1998-2005. For adults with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) aged 25-54 years in South Africa (1998-2005) and the US (pre-highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era: 1987-1994; HAART era: 1997-2005) we estimated deaths due to all-causes and P&I. We prospectively enrolled individuals with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) at six hospitals in four provinces of South Africa from 2009-2012. Using polymerase chain reaction, respiratory samples were tested for ten respiratory viruses and blood for pneumococcal DNA. Cumulative annual SARI incidence was estimated at one site with available population denominators. Results Age-standardised excess mortality rates amongst seniors were higher in South Africa than in the US (545 vs. 133 per 100,000 for all-causes, p<0.001; 63 vs. 21 for P&I, p=0.03). The mean percent of winter deaths attributable to influenza was 16% in South Africa and 6% in the US, p<0.001. For all respiratory causes, cerebrovascular disease and diabetes age-standardised excess death rates were 4- to 8-fold greater in South Africa than in the US, and the percent increase in winter deaths attributable to influenza was 2- to 4-fold higher. In the US pre-HAART, influenza-related mortality rates in adults with AIDS were 150- (95% confidence interval (CI) 49-460) and 208- (95% CI 74-583) times greater than in the general population for all-cause and P&I respectively and 2.5- (95% CI 0.9-7.2) and 4.1- (95% CI 1.4-13) times higher than in seniors. Following HAART introduction, influenza-related mortality in adults with AIDS dropped 3-6 fold but remained elevated compared to the general population (all cause relative risk (RR) 44, 95% CI 16-12); P&I RR 73, 95% CI 47-113). Influenza-related mortality in South African adults with AIDS was similar to that in the US in the pre-HAART era. From 2009-2012 we enrolled 8723 children age 7 days (odds ratio (OR) 3.6, 95% CI 2.8-5.0) and had a 4.2-fold (95% CI 2.6-6.8) higher case-fatality ratio. From 2009-2012, we enrolled 7193 individuals aged ≥5 years with SARI. HIV-prevalence was 74% (4663/6334) and 9% (621/7067) tested influenza positive. The annual incidence of SARI hospitalisation in individuals age ≥5 years ranged from 325-617 per 100,000 population and was 13 to 19-fold greater in HIV-infected individuals (p7 days rather than <2 days OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.8-3.2) and had a higher case-fatality ratio (8% vs. 5%; OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.2), but were less likely to be infected with influenza (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.8). Influenza was identified in 9% (1056/11925) of patients of all ages enrolled in SARI surveillance from 2009-2011. Among influenza case-patients, 44% (358/819) were HIV-infected. Age-adjusted influenza-associated SARI incidence was 4-8 times greater in HIV-infected (186-228 per 100,000 population) than HIV-uninfected (26-54 per 100,000 population). On multivariable analysis, compared to HIV-uninfected individuals, HIV-infected individuals with influenza-associated SARI were more likely to have pneumococcal co-infection (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.0), influenza type B than type A (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.4), be hospitalised for 2-7 days (OR 2.8 95% CI 1.5-5.5) or >7 days (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.1-9.5) and more likely to die (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.1-14.1). Discussion and conclusions The mortality impact of seasonal influenza in the South African elderly may be substantially higher in an African setting compared to the US. Adults with AIDS in South Africa and the US experience substantially elevated influenza-associated mortality rates, which although lessened by widespread HAART treatment does not completely abrogate the heightened risk for influenza illness. HIV-infected children and adults also experience substantially elevated incidence of hospitalisation for influenza-associated SARI and have higher case-fatality ratios. Influenza is commonly detected amongst children (7%) and adults (9%) with SARI. Less frequent identification of influenza amongst HIV-infected than -uninfected individuals aged ≥5 years likely reflects increased relative burden and role of other opportunistic pathogens such as pnuemococcus and Pneumocystis jirovecii. Improved access to HAART for HIV-infected individuals and vaccination against influenza virus amongst HIV-infected individuals, young children and the elderly, where the influenza burden is great may reduce the high burden of hospitalisations and mortality associated with influenza

Robotic Lunar Lander Development Status

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory have developed several mission concepts to place scientific and exploration payloads ranging from 10 kg to more than 200 kg on the surface of the moon. The mission concepts all use a small versatile lander that is capable of precision landing. The results to date of the lunar lander development risk reduction activities including high pressure propulsion system testing, structure and mechanism development and testing, and long cycle time battery testing will be addressed. The most visible elements of the risk reduction program are two fully autonomous lander flight test vehicles. The first utilized a high pressure cold gas system (Cold Gas Test Article) with limited flight durations while the subsequent test vehicle, known as the Warm Gas Test Article, utilizes hydrogen peroxide propellant resulting in significantly longer flight times and the ability to more fully exercise flight sensors and algorithms. The development of the Warm Gas Test Article is a system demonstration and was designed with similarity to an actual lunar lander including energy absorbing landing legs, pulsing thrusters, and flight-like software implementation. A set of outdoor flight tests to demonstrate the initial objectives of the WGTA program was completed in Nov. 2011, and will be discussed

Recommendations pertaining to the use of influenza vaccines and influenza antiviral drugs, 2016

Vaccination is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. It is recommended that influenza vaccine be administered each year before the influenza season, i.e. from March to June, although for individuals at increased risk of severe influenza in whom vaccination was missed, vaccine may be administered later. For a review of the 2015 influenza season and ongoing real-time updates of the 2016 influenza season when it starts, refer to the website of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service (www.nicd.ac.za). In this article we provide recommendations for the use of influenza vaccines in anticipation of the 2016 Southern Hemisphere influenza season. Guidance is based on available evidence to assist clinicians in making decisions regarding influenza vaccination. It should be noted that this article includes general recommendations for vaccination with influenza vaccines available in South Africa and may differ from groups targeted in specific vaccination programmes, e.g. the National Department of Health Programme

Recommendations pertaining to the use of influenza vaccines and influenza antiviral drugs: Influenza 2015

Prevention of influenza is the most effective management strategy. Influenza vaccine is administered each year before the influenza season. Here we provide recommendations for the use of influenza vaccines in anticipation of the 2015 Southern Hemisphere influenza season. For a review of the 2014 influenza season, please refer to the website of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, www.nicd.ac.z

Main themes, barriers, and solutions to palliative and end-of-life care in the English-speaking Caribbean : a scoping review

Objectives. To identify common themes documented in the literature on palliative and end-of-life care in English-speaking Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS), and to describe barriers, improvement strategies, and suggested ways forward. Methods. In 2015, we conducted a systematic scoping review of relevant literature identified through the MEDLINE and Web of Science databases. We supplemented that with searches of other electronic and hard-copy sources to map key concepts and summarize themes. Results. Primary data and other literature from and about English-speaking Caribbean nations are relatively scarce. The available literature offers an overview of the existing situation in the region and explores why palliative and end-of-life care is limited there. This review identified barriers in five main areas recurring across this literature: i) culture and attitudes of health care providers, patients, and those close to them towards terminal illness and death; ii) opioid availability and use; iii) limited development of palliative care services; iv) unmet palliative care needs; and v) limited research on palliative or end-of-life care. Conclusions. Our analysis helps to document the need for palliative and end-of-life care in Caribbean SIDS and highlights suggestions for moving forward with related practice, policy, and research

Effective surveillance of variants.

Community testing studies can provide insights as SARS-CoV-2 evolves