65 research outputs found
Improving Communication between Doctors and Parents after Newborn Screening
Background: Newborn screening (NBS) enables early treatment, and some consider it a natural vehicle for genetic screening. Bioethicists argue for caution since families of infants with carrier status can develop psychosocial complications. This paper describes the methods and feasibility of Wisconsinâs statewide project for quality improvement of communication and psychosocial outcomes after NBS.
Methods: When NBS identifies carrier status for cystic fibrosis or sickle cell, we contact primary care providers (PCPs), answer questions, and invite them to rehearse informing the parents. Three months later, we telephone the parents, assess knowledge and psychosocial outcomes, provide counseling, and assist with self-referral to further resources. Afterward, evaluation surveys are provided to the parents, to be returned anonymously.
Results: Birthing facilities provided accurate PCP names for 73% of 817 infants meeting inclusion criteria; we identified PCPs for 21% more. We reached 47.3% of PCPs in time to invite a rehearsal; 60% of these accepted. We successfully called 50.2% of eligible parents; 61% recalled a PCP explanation, and 48.5% evaluated the explanation favorably. Evaluations by parents with limited health literacy were less favorable.
Conclusion: It is feasible to follow parents for psychosocial outcomes after NBS. Preliminary data about communication is mixed, but further data will describe psychosocial outcomes and investigate outcomesâ associations with communication
The Ethical Ideal of the Professions: a Sociological Analysis of the Academic and Medical Professions.
Construction and properties of a mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 with glycoprotein H coding sequences deleted
A mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in which glycoprotein H (gH) coding sequences were deleted and replaced by the Escherichia coli lacZ gene under the control of the human cytomegalovirus IE-1 gene promoter was constructed. The mutant was propagated in Vero cells which contained multiple copies of the HSV-1 gH gene under the control of the HSV-1 gD promoter and which therefore provide gH in trans following HSV-1 infection. Phenotypically gH-negative virions were obtained by a single growth cycle in Vero cells. These virions were noninfectious, as judged by plaque assay and by expression of I-galactosidase following high-multiplicity infection, but partial recovery of infectivity was achieved by using the fusogenic agent polyethylene glycol. Adsorption of gH-negative virions to cells blocked the adsorption of superinfecting wild-type virus, a result in contrast to that obtained with gD-negative virions (D. C. Johnson and M. W. Ligas, J. Virol. 62:4605-4612, 1988). The simplest conclusion is that gH is required for membrane fusion but not for receptor binding, a conclusion consistent with the conservation of gH in all herpesviruses
Electron Weibel instability induced magnetic fields in optical-field ionized plasmas
Generation and amplification of magnetic fields in plasmas is a long-standing
topic that is of great interest to both plasma and space physics. The electron
Weibel instability is a well-known mechanism responsible for self-generating
magnetic fields in plasmas with temperature anisotropy and has been extensively
investigated in both theory and simulations, yet experimental verification of
this instability has been challenging. Recently, we demonstrated a new
experimental platform that enables the controlled initialization of highly
nonthermal and/or anisotropic plasma electron velocity distributions via
optical-field ionization. Using an external electron probe bunch from a linear
accelerator, the onset, saturation and decay of the self-generated magnetic
fields due to electron Weibel instability were measured for the first time to
our knowledge. In this paper, we will first present experimental results on
time-resolved measurements of the Weibel magnetic fields in non-relativistic
plasmas produced by Ti:Sapphire laser pulses (0.8 ) and then discuss the
feasibility of extending the study to quasi-relativistic regime by using
intense (e.g., 9.2 ) lasers to produce much hotter plasmas.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure
Preservice Elementary Teachers Increase Descriptive Science Vocabulary by Making Descriptive Adjective Object Boxes
Descriptive vocabulary is needed for communication and mental processing of science observations. Elementary preservice teachers in a science methods class at a mid-sized public college in central New York State increased their descriptive vocabularies through a course assignment of making a descriptive adjective object box. This teaching material consists of a set of theme-related objects with corresponding cards housed in a box. The front of each card lists four descriptive adjectives that describe physical observations of one of the objects, with an image of the object on the reverse for self-checking. The student reads these descriptive words and attempts to locate the one object to which they all refer. Preservice teachers (N = 67; 8M, 59F; 3H, 2B, 1A, 61W) took identical pretests/posttests in which they wrote descriptive adjectives for four objects. During the intervention, they explored example boxes with activities and worked in pairs to create their own sets of materials. Participants increased words generated from 17.8 to 25.7 for the four objects. The grade level of words produced also increased from 2.9 to 3.8. Both increases were statistically significant with a very large effect size (1.84) for words generated and a medium effect size (0.35) for increase in grade level of vocabulary
Mapping the self-generated magnetic fields due to thermal Weibel instability
Weibel-type instability can self-generate and amplify magnetic fields in both
space and laboratory plasmas with temperature anisotropy. The electron Weibel
instability has generally proven more challenging to measure than its ion
counterpart owing to the much smaller inertia of electrons, resulting in a
faster growth rate and smaller characteristic wavelength. Here, we have probed
the evolution of the two-dimensional distribution of the magnetic field
components and the current density due to electron Weibel instability, in -ionized hydrogen gas (plasma) with picosecond resolution using a
relativistic electron beam. We find that the wavenumber spectra of the magnetic
fields are initially broad but eventually shrink to a narrow spectrum
representing the dominant quasi-single mode. The measured -resolved growth
rates of the instability validate kinetic theory. Concurrently,
self-organization of microscopic plasma currents is observed to amplify the
current modulation magnitude that converts up to of the plasma
thermal energy into magnetic energy.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure
Clinical and Serologic Manifestations of Autoimmune Disease in MRL-lpr/lpr Mice Lacking Nitric Oxide Synthase Type 2
Nitric oxide (NO) is an important mediator of the inflammatory response. MRLâlpr/lpr mice overexpress inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) and overproduce NO in parallel with the development of an autoimmune syndrome with a variety of inflammatory manifestations. In previous studies, we showed that inhibiting NO production with the nonselective nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor NG-monomethylâarginine reduced glomerulonephritis, arthritis, and vasculitis in MRLâlpr/lpr mice. To define further the role of NO and NOS2 in disease in MRLâlpr/lpr mice, mice with targeted disruption of NOS2 were produced by homologous recombination and bred to MRLâlpr/lpr mice to the N4 generation. MRLâlpr/lpr littermates homozygous for disrupted NOS2 (â/â), heterozygous for disrupted NOS2 (+/â), or wildtype (+/+) were derived for this study. Measures of NO production were markedly decreased in the MRL-lpr/lpr (â/â) mice compared with MRL-lpr/lpr (+/+) mice, with intermediate production by the MRL-lpr/lpr (+/â) mice. There was no detectable NOS2 protein by immunoblot analysis of the spleen, liver, kidney, and peritoneal macrophages of the (â/â) animals, whereas that of (+/+) was high and (+/â) intermediate. The (â/â) mice developed glomerular and synovial pathology similar to that of the (+/â) and (+/+) mice. However, (â/â) mice and (+/â) mice had significantly less vasculitis of medium-sized renal vessels than (+/+) mice. IgG rheumatoid factor levels were significantly lower in the (â/â) mice as compared with (+/+) mice, but levels of anti-DNA antibodies were comparable in all groups. Our findings show that NO derived from NOS2 has a variable impact on disease manifestations in MRL-lpr/lpr mice, suggesting heterogeneity in disease mechanisms
The implications of defining obesity as a disease: a report from the Association for the Study of Obesity 2021 annual conference
Unlike various countries and organisations, including the World Health Organisation and the European Parliament, the United Kingdom does not formally recognise obesity as a disease. This report presents the discussion on the potential impact of defining obesity as a disease on the patient, the healthcare system, the economy, and the wider society. A group of speakers from a wide range of disciplines came together to debate the topic bringing their knowledge and expertise from backgrounds in medicine, psychology, economics, and politics as well as the experience of people living with obesity. The aim of their debate was not to decide whether obesity should be classified as a disease but rather to explore what the implications of doing so would be, what the gaps in the available data are, as well as to provide up-to-date information on the topic from experts in the field. There were four topics where speakers presented their viewpoints, each one including a question-and-answer section for debate. The first one focused on the impact that the recognition of obesity could have on people living with obesity regarding the change in their behaviour, either positive and empowering or more stigmatising. During the second one, the impact of defining obesity as a disease on the National Health Service and the wider economy was discussed. The primary outcome was the need for more robust data as the one available does not represent the actual cost of obesity. The third topic was related to the policy implications regarding treatment provision, focusing on the public's power to influence policy. Finally, the last issue discussed, included the implications of public health actions, highlighting the importance of the government's actions and private stakeholders. The speakers agreed that no matter where they stand on this debate, the goal is common: to provide a healthcare system that supports and protects the patients, strategies that protect the economy and broader society, and policies that reduce stigma and promote health equity. Many questions are left to be answered regarding how these goals can be achieved. However, this discussion has set a good foundation providing evidence that can be used by the public, clinicians, and policymakers to make that happen
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