Intraoperative Indocyanine Green Laser Angiography in Pediatric Autologous Ear Reconstruction.

Skin flap vascularity is a critical determinant of aesthetic results in autologous ear reconstruction. In this study, we investigate the use of intraoperative laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) as an adjunctive measure of skin flap vascularity in pediatric autologous ear reconstruction. Twenty-one consecutive pediatric patients undergoing first-stage autologous total ear reconstruction were retrospectively evaluated. The first 10 patients were treated traditionally (non-ICGA), and the latter 11 patients were evaluated with ICGA intraoperatively after implantation of the cartilage construct and administration of suction. Relative and absolute perfusion units in the form of contour maps were generated. Statistical analyses were performed using independent sample Student t test. Statistically significant differences in exposure and infection were not found between the 2 groups. However, decreased numbers of surgical revisions were required in cases with ICGA versus without ICGA (P = 0.03), suggesting that greater certainty in skin flap perfusion correlated with a reduction in revision surgeries. In cases of exposure, we found an average lowest absolute perfusion unit of 14.3, whereas cases without exposure had an average of 26.1 (P = 0.02), thereby defining objective parameters for utilizing ICGA data in tailoring surgical decision making for this special population of patients. Defined quantitative parameters for utilizing ICGA in evaluating skin flap vascularity may be a useful adjunctive technique in pediatric autologous ear reconstruction

Fit Into College: A Program to Improve Physical Activity and Dietary Intake Lifestyles Among College Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a 10-week program could improve physical activity, physical fitness, body weight, dietary intake, and perceptions of exercise and diet among college 30 healthy college freshmen. Outcomes were measured at baseline, and following the 10-week program. The weekly sessions incorporated constructs of the Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change and were administered by fitness interns who were junior or senior college students enrolled in health-related majors. The participants presented with low physical activity, physical fitness, and poor dietary intake, and 50% were overweight/obese (BMI \u3e 25). Participants demonstrated gains in their physical fitness and their perceived benefits to engaging in exercise and decreased their perceived barriers to engaging in exercise and a healthy diet. College freshmen presented with low levels of physical activity, poor dietary intake, and excess body weight. A peer-administered program can improve these measures and favorably change perceptions of exercise and diet

Discussion forum rubrics: Using rubrics to enhance and increase project management students' participation in online discussions

This paper examines the impact of using a discussion forum grading rubric to encourage and enhance discussions (posts) in an online introduction to project management course. The study consists of 53 Master of Business Administration (MBA) students enrolled in three sections of the course from October 2010 to May 2011. A control group of 20 students was compared to two experimental groups of 16 and 17 students respectively. The two experimental groups were given the specific grading rubric and instructions designed to encourage online conversation; the control group was not. The results indicate that there was a statistical difference in average postings per student between the two experimental groups and the control group but no statistical difference between the two experimental groups. The results suggest that the use of a rubric specifically designed to engage the student and expand the student's learning experience can increase online classroom participation and, as a consequence, enhance the educational experience for the online project management student and strengthen the university's MBA program

Chimpanzee Signing: Darwinian Realities and Cartesian Delusions

Truly discontinuous, all-or-none phenomena must be rare in nature. Historically, the great discontinuities have turned out to be conceptual barriers rather than natural phenomena. They have been passed by and abandoned rather than broken through in the course of scientific progress. The sign language studies in chimpanzees have neither sought nor discovered a means of breathing humanity into the soul of a beast. They have assumed instead that there is no discontinuity between verbal behavior and the rest of human behavior or between human behavior and the rest of animal behavior—no barrier to be broken, no chasm to be bridged, only unknown territory to be explored

Bias in the Workplace: Consistent Evidence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination 1998-2008

This article summarizes social science data published during the past decade documenting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in employment. Over the last ten years, many researchers have conducted studies to find out whether LGBT people face sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. These studies include surveys of LGBT individuals\u27 workplace experiences, wage comparisons between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual persons, analyses of discrimination complaints filed with administrative agencies, and testing studies and controlled experiments

Evaluation of 4 Outcomes Measures in Microtia Treatment: Exposures, Infections, Aesthetics, and Psychosocial Ramifications.

BackgroundIn craniofacial microsomia, microtia and canal atresia pose formidable reconstructive challenges. We review our institutional experience in treating microtia and atresia to identify variables associated with 4 outcomes measures: complications, surgical revisions, aesthetic outcomes, and psychosocial function.MethodsCraniofacial microsomia patients treated at the University of California Los Angeles Craniofacial Clinic between 2008 and 2014 greater than 13 years of age (n = 68) were reviewed for microtia and atresia treatment and outcomes.ResultsIn total, 91.2% of patients diagnosed with craniofacial microsomia presented with microtia, affecting 75 ears. Both a male and right-sided predominance were observed. Fifty-six patients (90.3%) underwent autologous external ear reconstruction at an average age of 8.5 years. Age, type of incision, and size of cartilage framework did not predict total number of surgeries or complications. Severity of ear anomalies correlated with increased number of surgeries (P < 0.001) and decreased aesthetic outcomes (P < 0.001) but not complications. In total, 87.1% of patients with microtia had documented hearing loss, of which the majority were conductive and 18.5% were mixed sensorineural and conductive. Hearing deficits were addressed in 70.4% of patients with external hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, or canaloplasty. Of all variables, improvement of psychosocial function was correlated only to hearing loss treatment of any type (P = 0.01).ConclusionsOn evaluation of surgical and patient characteristics, severity of microtia predicted the total number of surgical revisions performed and aesthetic ratings. In addition, we found that the only factor that correlated with improved patient and parent-reported psychosocial outcomes was treatment of hearing loss

Health screenings administered during the domestic medical examination of refugees and other eligible immigrants in nine US states, 2014-2016: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Refugees and other select visa holders are recommended to receive a domestic medical examination within 90 days after arrival to the United States. Limited data have been published on the coverage of screenings offered during this examination across multiple resettlement states, preventing evaluation of this voluntary program\u27s potential impact on postarrival refugee health. This analysis sought to calculate and compare screening proportions among refugees and other eligible populations to assess the domestic medical examination\u27s impact on screening coverage resulting from this examination. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to summarize and compare domestic medical examination data from January 2014 to December 2016 from persons receiving a domestic medical examination in seven states (California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Kentucky, Illinois, and Texas); one county (Marion County, Indiana); and one academic medical center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We analyzed screening coverage by sex, age, nationality, and country of last residence of persons and compared the proportions of persons receiving recommended screenings by those characteristics. We received data on disease screenings for 105,541 individuals who received a domestic medical examination; 47% were female and 51.5% were between the ages of 18 and 44. The proportions of people undergoing screening tests for infectious diseases were high, including for tuberculosis (91.6% screened), hepatitis B (95.8% screened), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; 80.3% screened). Screening rates for other health conditions were lower, including mental health (36.8% screened). The main limitation of our analysis was reliance on data that were collected primarily for programmatic rather than surveillance purposes. CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis, we observed high rates of screening coverage for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and HIV during the domestic medical examination and lower screening coverage for mental health. This analysis provided evidence that the domestic medical examination is an opportunity to ensure newly arrived refugees and other eligible populations receive recommended health screenings and are connected to the US healthcare system. We also identified knowledge gaps on how screenings are conducted for some conditions, notably mental health, identifying directions for future research

Osteosarcoma Associated With Diamond-Blackfan Anaemia: A Case of a Child Receiving Growth Hormone Therapy

Purpose: Diamond–Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a rare pure congenital red cell aplasia, usually presenting in infancy or early childhood. The literature suggests a predisposition to haemopoietic malignancy but in addition solid tumours have been reported, with five cases of osteosarcoma described

Social Inclusion in a Hyperconnected World

Early ‘digital divide’ research focused on inequalities between those who had access to information technologies (IT) and those who did not. This research reflected the view that IT was creating a parallel reality, which people needed to connect to, or risk being left behind. Fast forward to 2013 and a ‘hyperconnected’ world has emerged, characterized by immediate access to information, institutions, and people. The central place of IT in this open, digital world creates a need to investigate the part IT plays in determining the extent to which people can participate in a hyperconnected society. To that end, this panel considers how information systems (IS) research can help reframe digital divide research to address broader issues related to social inclusion. The panel includes reflection on whether investigating the implications of hyperconnectivity for social inclusion requires IS researchers to expand their conceptualizations of ‘legitimate’ IS research questions, theories, and methods