Faculty Recitals

A faculty recital performed at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall

Why is school closed today? Unplanned K-12 school closures in the United States, 2011-2013.

INTRODUCTION: We describe characteristics of unplanned school closures (USCs) in the United States over two consecutive academic years during a non-pandemic period to provide context for implementation of school closures during a pandemic. METHODS: From August 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013, daily systematic internet searches were conducted for publicly announced USCs lasting ≥ 1 day. The reason for closure and the closure dates were recorded. Information on school characteristics was obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics. RESULTS: During the two-year study period, 20,723 USCs were identified affecting 27,066,426 students. Common causes of closure included weather (79%), natural disasters (14%), and problems with school buildings or utilities (4%). Only 771 (4%) USCs lasted ≥ 4 school days. Illness was the cause of 212 (1%) USCs; of these, 126 (59%) were related to respiratory illnesses and showed seasonal variation with peaks in February 2012 and January 2013. CONCLUSIONS: USCs are common events resulting in missed school days for millions of students. Illness causes few USCs compared with weather and natural disasters. Few communities have experience with prolonged closures for illness

Predictors of Cognitive Dysfunction After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background—Cognitive dysfunction is a common and disabling sequela of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Although several clinical and radiographic findings have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cognitive dysfunction after SAH, few prospective studies have comprehensively and simultaneously evaluated these risk factors. Methods—Between July 1996 and March 2000, we prospectively evaluated 113 of 248 consecutively admitted nontraumatic SAH patients alive at 3 months with a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Summary scores for 8 cognitive domains were calculated to express test performance relative to the entire study population. Clinical and radiographic variables associated with domain-specific cognitive dysfunction were identified with forward stepwise multiple regression, with control for the influence of demographic factors. Results—The study participants were younger (Pϭ0.005), less often white (Pϭ0.006), and had better 3-month modified Rankin scores (Pϭ0.001) than those who did not undergo neuropsychological testing. The proportion of subjects who scored in the impaired range (Ͼ2 SD below the normative mean) on each neuropsychological test ranged from 10% to 50%. Predictors of cognitive dysfunction in 2 or more domains in the multivariate analysis included global cerebral edema (4 domains), left-sided infarction (3 domains), and lack of a posterior circulation aneurysm (2 domains). Other variables consistently associated with cognitive dysfunction in the univariate analysis included admission Hunt-Hess grade Ͼ2 and thick SAH in the anterior interhemispheric and sylvian fissures. Conclusions—Global cerebral edema and left-sided infarction are important risk factors for cognitive dysfunction after SAH. Treatment strategies aimed at reducing neurological injury related to generalized brain swelling, infarction, and clot-related hemotoxicity hold the best promise for improving cognitive outcomes after SAH. (Stroke. 2002;33:200209.

Selected characteristics of school closure events and association with ≥4 unplanned closure days — United States, 2011–2013.

<p>*Accounts for clustering by specific events.</p><p>Selected characteristics of school closure events and association with ≥4 unplanned closure days — United States, 2011–2013.</p

Selected characteristics of school closure events and schools by reason for school closure — United States, 2011–2013.

a<p>Closure events where reopening date not specified were assumed to last 1 day.</p>b<p>Percents reported out of number of events where data on number of students affected were known: 194 illness-, 2620 natural disaster-, 802 building/utilities-, 144 violence-, and 14625 weather-related events.</p>c<p>Schools were counted once for each closure event.</p><p>Selected characteristics of school closure events and schools by reason for school closure — United States, 2011–2013.</p

Geographic distribution of public school districts with closure events related to weather, natural disasters, and illness, by year — United States, August 2011–June 2013.

<p>Panels A and B: weather-related closure events; panels C and D: natural disaster-related closure events; panels E and F: illness-related closure events, one event in Alaska not shown.</p

Characteristics of school closures by academic year — United States, 2011–2013.

a<p>Closure events where reopening date not specified were assumed to last 1 day.</p>b<p>Students and teachers were counted once for each closure event.</p>c<p>Part-time teaching positions were reported as a fraction of one full-time position <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0113755#pone.0113755-National3" target="_blank">[30]</a>.</p>d<p>Schools were counted once for each closure event. 286 districts that did not match to NCES schools were counted as one school. District-wide closures could only match to public schools in NCES database.</p>e<p>Reported for 10,207 schools in 2011–2012 and 40,620 schools in 2012–2012; data applicable for public schools only.</p><p>Characteristics of school closures by academic year — United States, 2011–2013.</p