The Degree of Agreement in Defining Child Maltreatment Among Hennepin County Child Protection Workers in Minnesota

State laws set broad and vague limits on defining child maltreatment. Varying interpretations may occur between communities and within communities when defining maltreatment. The purpose of this study was to describe how consistent social workers at Hennepin County child protection define child maltreatment. The study analyzed any differences among the workers through examining background of the worker. The study involved an anonymous survey of 160 workers. The study findings indicated that workers were inconsistent 50% of the time The study was inconclusive in determining if position, race, age, years in social work, or years in current position changed perceptions of maltreatment

Southern Iowa Biomass Crop Workshop

There is increasing interest in biomass crops for energy in Iowa. Initially, it was thought that strong commodity prices would limit the interest of growers in planting perennials for bioenergy, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A Biomass Crop Production workshop Thursday, March 8, at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa will explore why interest is increasing. The program will start at 8:45 a.m. and conclude at 2:15 p.m

Population Characteristics within the Portland-Vancouver MSA

In this article, we will explore population characteristics in different parts of the Portland MSA using Census Public Use Microsample (PUMS) data from 2005-2007. For the spatial component, we will use a Census-defined small area geography called Public Use Microsample Area (PUMA), designed to follow existing county boundaries and contain around 100,000 people. (The Census reports the one-year and three-year ACS data only to the detail of this geography in order to maintain the privacy of survey respondents and to improve the precision of the estimates.) We will sometimes focus on a couple of example PUMAs to show the interesting differences within the region. (The information shown is available for all PUMAs in this case, but for the sake of space, we will Population Characteristics within the PortlandVancouver MSA Webb Sprague, Emily Picha, Sheila Martin Institute of Metropolitan Studies, PSU May 2010 just focus on a few.

ranacapa: An R package and Shiny web app to explore environmental DNA data with exploratory statistics and interactive visualizations.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is becoming a core tool in ecology and conservation biology, and is being used in a growing number of education, biodiversity monitoring, and public outreach programs in which professional research scientists engage community partners in primary research. Results from eDNA analyses can engage and educate natural resource managers, students, community scientists, and naturalists, but without significant training in bioinformatics, it can be difficult for this diverse audience to interact with eDNA results. Here we present the R package ranacapa, at the core of which is a Shiny web app that helps perform exploratory biodiversity analyses and visualizations of eDNA results. The app requires a taxonomy-by-sample matrix and a simple metadata file with descriptive information about each sample. The app enables users to explore the data with interactive figures and presents results from simple community ecology analyses. We demonstrate the value of ranacapa to two groups of community partners engaging with eDNA metabarcoding results

The infuence of the host microbiome on 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced hyperthermia and vice versa

Hyperthermia induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can be life-threatening. Here, we investigate the role of the gut microbiome and TGR5 bile acid receptors in MDMA-mediated hyperthermia. Fourteen days prior to treatment with MDMA, male Sprague-Dawley rats were provided water or water treated with antibiotics. Animals that had received antibiotics displayed a reduction in gut bacteria and an attenuated hyperthermic response to MDMA. MDMA treated animals showed increased uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)and TGR5 expression levels in brown adipose tissue and skeletal muscle while increased expression of UCP3 was observed only in skeletal muscle. Antibiotics prior to MDMA administration significantly blunted these increases in gene expression. Furthermore, inhibition of the TGR5 receptor with triamterene or of deiodinase II downstream of the TGR5 receptor with iopanoic acid also resulted in the attenuation of MDMA-induced hyperthermia. MDMA-treatment enriched the relative proportion of a Proteus mirabilis strain in the ceca of animals not pre-treated with antibiotics. These findings suggest a contributing role for the gut microbiota in MDMA-mediated hyperthermia and that MDMA treatment can trigger a rapid remodeling of the composition of the gut microbiome

Understanding vaccine hesitancy through communities of place

This UK-US collaborative study examining vaccine engagement highlights the importance of tapping into local knowledge and leadership in efforts to improve Covid-19 vaccine take-up. It explores levels of vaccine engagement in four locations: Oldham and Tower Hamlets in the UK, and the cities of Boston and Hartford in the US

Effect of time to diagnostic testing for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening abnormalities on screening efficacy: A modeling study

Background: Patients who receive an abnormal cancer screening result require follow-up for diagnostic testing, but the time to follow-up varies across patients and practices. Methods: We used a simulation study to estimate the change in lifetime screening benefits when time to follow-up for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers was increased. Estimates were based on four independently developed microsimulation models that each simulated the life course of adults eligible for breast (women ages 50–74 years), cervical (women ages 21–65 years), or colorectal (adults ages 50–75 years) cancer screening. We assumed screening based on biennial mammography for breast cancer, triennial Papanicolaou testing for cervical cancer, and annual fecal immunochemical testing for colorectal cancer. For each cancer type, we simulated diagnostic testing immediately and at 3, 6, and 12 months after an abnormal screening exam. Results: We found declines in screening benefit with longer times to diagnostic testing, particularly for breast cancer screening. Compared to immediate diagnostic testing, testing at 3 months resulted in reduced screening benefit, with fewer undiscounted life years gained per 1,000 screened (breast: 17.3%, cervical: 0.8%, colorectal: 2.0% and 2.7%, from two colorectal cancer models), fewer cancers prevented (cervical: 1.4% fewer, colorectal: 0.5% and 1.7% fewer, respectively), and, for breast and colorectal cancer, a less favorable stage distribution. Conclusions: Longer times to diagnostic testing after an abnormal screening test can decrease screening effectiveness, but the impact varies substantially by cancer type. Impact: Understanding the impact of time to diagnostic testing on screening effectiveness can help inform quality improvement efforts. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(2); 158–64. 2017 AACR

ranacapa: An R package and Shiny web app to explore environmental DNA data with exploratory statistics and interactive visualizations [version 1; referees: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is becoming a core tool in ecology and conservation biology, and is being used in a growing number of education, biodiversity monitoring, and public outreach programs in which professional research scientists engage community partners in primary research. Results from eDNA analyses can engage and educate natural resource managers, students, community scientists, and naturalists, but without significant training in bioinformatics, it can be difficult for this diverse audience to interact with eDNA results. Here we present the R package ranacapa, at the core of which is a Shiny web app that helps perform exploratory biodiversity analyses and visualizations of eDNA results. The app requires a taxonomy-by-sample matrix and a simple metadata file with descriptive information about each sample. The app enables users to explore the data with interactive figures and presents results from simple community ecology analyses. We demonstrate the value of ranacapa to two groups of community partners engaging with eDNA metabarcoding results