Exploring the Influence of Trauma-Informed Care on Pelvic Examinations for Women

Trauma-informed care (TIC) has become increasingly common in discussions regarding women’s health. TIC refers to a clinical approach that implements compassion, respect, and acknowledges the impact of trauma on patients. In the United States, pelvic exams are routinely performed on women over 21 for gynecological abnormalities. Many of these women present with histories of post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and other psychological comorbidities. These histories greatly influence women’s behaviors, including their likelihood to seek gynecological care in fear of being retraumatized. A literature search was conducted to determine the impact of TIC on the rates of women with histories of trauma who are receiving pelvic examinations. The literature search occurred on CINAHL, PubMed, and Nursing Reference Center databases using the following search terms: trauma-informed care, women’s health, and pelvic exams. A total of 11 articles met the inclusion criteria. While the results regarding rates of pelvic exams were inconclusive, TIC leads to better long-term health outcomes and may lead to an increased sense of control for patients. The literature indicates a common theme of clinicians feeling there is a lack of training or information regarding TIC. Additional recommendations include further research on interventions that should be implemented, such as explanation of exams; allowing patients to be involved in their care, and collecting pertinent trauma history on patients. Trauma can have a major impact on all aspects of women’s health and further studies are needed to determine best approaches to implementation

EFFECTS OF INSULIN, GLUCAGON, AND INSULIN/GLUCAGON INFUSIONS ON LIVER MORPHOLOGY AND CELL DIVISION AFTER COMPLETE PORTACAVAL SHUNT IN DOGS

Insulin, glucagon, and insulin/glucagon mixtures have been infused for four days into the left portal vein of dogs after portacaval shunt. In the left but not the right liver lobes, insulin alone reduced atrophy, preserved hepatocyte ultrastructure, and trebled cell renewal. Glucagon alone had no effect. In small doses, glucagon did not potentiate the action of insulin and in large doses it may have reduced the insulin benefit. These studies explain the development of the previously mysterious Eck fistula syndrome, provide clues about in-vivo cell growth control by hormones, and suggest new lines of inquiry about the pathogenesis and/or treatment of several human disease processes. © 1976

Atom trapping and two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates in field-induced adiabatic potentials

We discuss a method to create two-dimensional traps as well as atomic shell, or bubble, states for a Bose-Einstein condensate initially prepared in a conventional magnetic trap. The scheme relies on the use of time-dependent, radio frequency-induced adiabatic potentials. These are shown to form a versatile and robust tool to generate novel trapping potentials. Our shell states take the form of thin, highly stable matter-wave bubbles and can serve as stepping-stones to prepare atoms in highly-excited trap eigenstates or to study `collapse and revival phenomena'. Their creation requires gravitational effects to be compensated by applying additional optical dipole potentials. However, in our scheme gravitation can also be exploited to provide a route to two-dimensional atom trapping. We demonstrate the loading process for such a trap and examine experimental conditions under which a 2D condensate may be prepared.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

At the Wage Floor: Covering Homecare and Early Care and Education Workers in the New Generation of Minimum Wage Laws, 2018

The dynamics of minimum wage increases vary across industries based on each industry’s specific structure. Nowhere are the distinct dynamics more pronounced and challenging than for those employed in human services industries. This paper focuses on an important subset of these workers: those who provide homecare and early care and education services to the very young, people with disabilities, and those who are frail due to age or illness. We explain the pressing need to raise these workers’ wages and the unique structure of their industries that results in a funding squeeze for wage increases—at the root of this is the fact that most families are unable to afford all of the homecare and child care they need, never mind pay enough to ensure that workers earn a living wage, and public human services are chronically underfunded.These workers provide a critical (but too often unrecognized) public good; as such, we argue that a significant public investment is a necessary part of the solution, both to deliver minimum wage increases to these workers and to cover the significant unmet need for care. We provide background about the shared and divergent challenges in the homecare and early care and education industries, as well as review emerging policy initiatives to fund wage increases for homecare and early care and education workers and identify principles for public policy going forward