An Exploratory Study of the Prosecution of Fatal Child Maltreatment: Criminal Charges Filed Against Presumed Perpetrators in the United States in 2017

In the United States child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) do not usually meet the standard for manslaughter or murder, resulting in convictions of lesser crimes and little jail time. This exploratory study examined the charges brought against suspected CMF perpetrators in 2017. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using data obtained from the Nexis Uni newspaper database, that has over 40,000 high quality media sources, for the year 2017. We found that the most frequently used charges were endangering the welfare of a child and murder, the former of which was more related to neglect-deaths and the latter to physical abuse-deaths. There was no difference between charges for male and female perpetrators. Practical implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed

Effect Of Shock Tunnel Geometry On Shockwave And Vortex Ring Formation, Propagation, And Head On Collision

Vortex ring research primarily focuses on the formation from circular openings. Consequently, the role of tunnel geometry is less understood, despite there being numerous research studies using noncircular shock tunnels. This experimental study investigated shockwaves and vortex rings from different geometry shock tunnels from formation at the tunnel opening to head on collision with another similarly formed vortex ring using schlieren imaging and statistical analysis. The velocity of the incident shockwave was found to be consistent across all four shock tunnel geometries, which include circle, hexagon, square, and triangle of the same cross-sectional area. The velocity was 1.2 ± 0.007 Mach and was independent of the tunnel geometry. However, the velocities of the resulting vortex rings differed between the shapes, with statistical analysis indicating significant differences between the triangle and hexagon vortex velocities compared to the circle. Vortex rings from the square and circle shock tunnels were found to have statistically similar velocities. All vortex rings slowed as they traveled due to corner inversion and air drag. All shock tunnels with corners produce a wobble in the vortex rings. Vortex rings interact with opposing incident shockwaves prior to colliding with each other. Vortex velocity before and after shock-vortex interaction was measured and evaluated, showing statistically similar results. Shock-vortex interaction slows the shockwave upon interaction, while the shock-shock interaction resulted in no change in shock velocity. Although the vortex rings travel at different velocities, all head-on vortex ring collisions produce a perpendicular shockwave that travels at 1.04 ± 0.005 Mach

2015 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar

Mission Critical: Reforming Foster Care and Child Protective Services is the sixth Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar. It is designed to emphasize a family perspective in policymaking on issues related to reforming foster care and child protective services in the Commonwealth. In general, Family Impact Seminars analyze the consequences an issue, policy, or program may have for families

Study Title-Based Framing Effects on Reports of Sexual Violence Factors in College Students

Objective: There are many methodological issues in studying sexual violence, including potential framing effects. Framing effects refer to how researchers communicate the purpose of a study to participants, such as, how the study is advertised or explained. The aim of the current study was to investigate if framing effects were associated with differences in participants’ self-reported experiences of sexual violence and related correlates. Methods: College students (N = 782) were recruited to participate in one of four identical studies that differed in the title: “Questionnaires about Alcohol,” “Questionnaires about Crime,” “Questionnaires about Health,” or “Questionnaires about Sexual Assault.” Participants chose one of the four studies and completed measures of sexual violence as well as attitudinal and behavioral measures in randomized order. Results: We found significantly more reports of childhood sexual abuse (33.6% vs. 18.5%), rape (33.9% vs. 21.1%), higher frequency of victimization (M = 11.35 vs. 5.44), and greater acknowledged rape for bisexual people (46.2% vs. 0.0%) in the Sexual Assault condition compared to other conditions. There were no differences in sexual violence perpetration or attitudinal or behavioral measures. Conclusion: These results revealed that framing effects, based on the study title, affect outcomes in sexual victimization research. Rape was reported 1.6x more in the “Sexual Assault” condition than in the “Health” condition. It is unclear whether these framing effects reflect self-selection bias or framing related increased reports in the Sexual Assault condition, suppression of reports in other conditions, or a combination thereof

The Sirenic Links between Diabetes, Obesity, and Bladder Cancer

There is considerable evidence of a positive association between the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity with bladder cancer (BCa), with the link between T2DM and obesity having already been established. There also appear to be potential associations between Pleckstrin homology domain containing S1 (PLEKHS1) and the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) axis. Seven literature searches were carried out to investigate the backgrounds of these potential links. PLEKHS1 is a candidate biomarker in BCa, with mutations that are easily detectable in urine and increased expression seemingly associated with worse disease states. PLEKHS1 has also been implicated as a potential mediator for the onset of T2DM in people with obesity. The substantial evidence of the involvement of IGF in BCa, the role of the IGF axis in obesity and T2DM, and the global prevalence of T2DM and obesity suggest there is scope for investigating the links between these components. Preliminary findings on the relationship between PLEKHS1 and the IGF axis signal possible associations with BCa progression. This indicates that PLEKHS1 plays a role in the pathogenesis of BCa that may be mediated by members of the IGF axis. Further detailed research is needed to establish the relationship between PLEKHS1 and the IGF axis in BCa and determine how these phenomena overlap with T2DM and obesity

Arsenic Cleanup Criteria for Soils in the US and Abroad: Comparing Guidelines and Understanding Inconsistencies

Widely divergent cleanup targets, guidelines and standards for arsenic in soils have been established by many regulatory, scientific and advisory organizations in the past 25 years, both in the United States and in other countries. In contrast to many other substances, for which guidelines and standards are similar or identical among agencies, arsenic has provided a powerful study in just how many different ways a single issue can be viewed. This paper provides a detailed survey concerning the breadth of arsenic soil criteria that have been proposed and applied, and explores the basic differences in their derivation, which can be based upon toxicological properties, geological background levels, anthropogenic background contributions, and practical site-specific considerations. A broad comparison of extant values in common use for USEPA, individual states, and non-US entities will be presented, coupled with a discussion regarding common examples of the technical bases for arsenic soil cleanup guideline development. Arsenic target levels in many cases can dominate remedial considerations at sites where the applicable criteria are very stringent. Several case studies will be presented to illustrate the problems that are inherent in such variable criteria for this ubiquitous and extraordinarily common substance

Factors that affect deceased donor liver transplantation rates in the United States in addition to the model for end‐stage liver disease score

Under an ideal implementation of Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD)–based liver allocation, the only factors that would predict deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) rates would be the MELD score, blood type, and donation service area (DSA). We aimed to determine whether additional factors are associated with DDLT rates in actual practice. Data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients for all adult candidates wait‐listed between March 1, 2002 and December 31, 2008 (n = 57,503) were analyzed. Status 1 candidates were excluded. Cox regression was used to model covariate‐adjusted DDLT rates, which were stratified by the DSA, blood type, liver‐intestine policy, and allocation MELD score. Inactive time on the wait list was not modeled, so the computed DDLT hazard ratios (HRs) were interpreted as active wait‐list candidates. Many factors, including the candidate's age, sex, diagnosis, hospitalization status, and height, prior DDLT, and combined listing for liver‐kidney or liver‐intestine transplantation, were significantly associated with DDLT rates. Factors associated with significantly lower covariate‐adjusted DDLT rates were a higher serum creatinine level (HR = 0.92, P < 0.001), a higher bilirubin level (HR = 0.99, P = 0.001), and the receipt of dialysis (HR = 0.83, P < 0.001). Mild ascites (HR = 1.15, P < 0.001) and hepatic encephalopathy (grade 1 or 2, HR = 1.05, P = 0.02; grade 3 or 4, HR = 1.10, P = 0.01) were associated with significantly higher adjusted DDLT rates. In conclusion, adjusted DDLT rates for actively listed candidates are affected by many factors aside from those integral to the allocation system; these factors include the components of the MELD score itself as well as candidate factors that were considered but were deliberately omitted from the MELD score in order to keep it objective. These results raise the question whether additional candidate characteristics should be explicitly incorporated into the prioritization of wait‐list candidates because such factors are already systematically affecting DDLT rates under the current allocation system. Liver Transpl, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95560/1/23548_ftp.pd

Immune Enhancement of Skin Carcinogenesis by CD4+ T Cells

In a transgenic model of multi-stage squamous carcinogenesis induced by human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes, infiltrating CD4+ T cells can be detected in both premalignant and malignant lesions. The lymph nodes that drain sites of epidermal neoplasia contain activated CD4+ T cells predominantly reactive toward Staphylococcal bacterial antigens. HPV16 mice deficient in CD4+ T cells were found to have delayed neoplastic progression and a lower incidence of tumors. This delay in carcinogenesis is marked by decreased infiltration of neutrophils, and reduced activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9, an important cofactor for tumor progression in this model. The data reveal an unexpected capability of CD4 T cells, whereby, proinflammatory CD4+ T cells, apparently responding to bacterial infection of dysplastic skin lesions, can inadvertently enhance neoplastic progression to invasive cancer

Evaluation of Online Consumer Health Information for Idiopathic Scoliosis Identified by a Google Search

Introduction. This study sought to assess the quality of online consumerhealth information about idiopathic scoliosis. Previous studiesshowed that quality of online health information varies and oftenlacks adherence to expert recommendations and guidelines. Nevertheless,72% of internet users seek health information online. A 2005analysis of online scoliosis information found that the informationwas limited and of poor quality. Methods. Two reviewers vetted the top 10 websites resulting from aGoogleTM search for “scoliosis.” Content was organized into categoriesand rated by three physician evaluators using a 1 - 5 scale basedon quality, accuracy, completeness of information, readability, andwillingness to recommend. Additional information, such as numberof ads and Flesch-Kinkaid reading level, also was collected. Results. The average overall physician score was 47.6 (75 possible).All websites included content that was mostly accurate but varied incompleteness. Physicians unanimously recommended Mayo Clinic,MedicineNet, and Kids Health; none recommended the GoogleTMKnowledge Graph. The Scoliosis Research Society website reachedthe highest overall physician score. Readability ranged from 7th gradeto college level; only that of Kids Health was below 10th grade level. Conclusions. Most essential information provided by the websiteswas accurate and generally well rated by physicians. Website rankingby physicians was inconsistent with the ranking order by GoogleTM,indicating that health seekers reviewing the top GoogleTM-rankedwebsites may not be viewing the websites rated highest by physicians.Physicians should consider patient literacy in website recommendations,as many have an above average literacy level.Kans J Med 2018;11(4):95-101