The VCU Nursing Home ECHO, a Member of the National COVID-19 Action Network

Educational Objectives 1. To demonstrate the tremendous impact of COVID-19 on long-term care facilities. 2. To discuss the need for continuous, current, interprofessional education of both administrative and clinical staff within long-term care facilities. 3. To discuss the value of building interconnective and interprofessional relationships between both academic health science centers and nursing homes

Energy density and weight change in a long-term weight-loss trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health risks linked to obesity and the difficulty most have in achieving weight loss underscore the importance of identifying dietary factors that contribute to successful weight loss.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study examined the association between change in dietary energy density and weight loss over time. Subjects were 213 men and women with BMI of 30–39 kg/m²and without chronic illness enrolled in 2004 in a randomized trial evaluating behavioral treatments for long-term weight loss. Subjects completed a 62-item food frequency questionnaire at baseline and at 6, 12, and 18 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pearson correlations between BMI and energy density (kcals/g of solid food) at baseline were not significantly different from zero (r = -0.02, p = 0.84). In a longitudinal analysis, change in energy density was strongly related to change in BMI. The estimated β for change in BMI (kg/m²) of those in the quartile representing greatest decrease in energy density at 18 months compared to those in the quartile with the least was -1.95 (p = 0.006). The association was especially strong in the first six months (estimated β = -1.43), the period with greatest weight loss (mean change in BMI = -2.50 kg/m²from 0–6 months <it>vs. </it>0.23 kg/m²from 12–18 months) and the greatest contrast with respect to change in energy density.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Decreased energy density predicted weight loss in this 18 month weight loss study. These findings may have important implications for individual dietary advice and public health policies targeting weight control in the general population</p

Therapeutic and Prognostic Implications of BRAF V600E in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas.

Purpose BRAF V600E is a potentially highly targetable mutation detected in a subset of pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs). Its biologic and clinical effect within this diverse group of tumors remains unknown. Patients and Methods A combined clinical and genetic institutional study of patients with PLGGs with long-term follow-up was performed (N = 510). Clinical and treatment data of patients with BRAF V600E mutated PLGG (n = 99) were compared with a large international independent cohort of patients with BRAF V600E mutated-PLGG (n = 180). Results BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 69 of 405 patients (17%) with PLGG across a broad spectrum of histologies and sites, including midline locations, which are not often routinely biopsied in clinical practice. Patients with BRAF V600E PLGG exhibited poor outcomes after chemotherapy and radiation therapies that resulted in a 10-year progression-free survival of 27% (95% CI, 12.1% to 41.9%) and 60.2% (95% CI, 53.3% to 67.1%) for BRAF V600E and wild-type PLGG, respectively ( P \u3c .001). Additional multivariable clinical and molecular stratification revealed that the extent of resection and CDKN2A deletion contributed independently to poor outcome in BRAF V600E PLGG. A similar independent role for CDKN2A and resection on outcome were observed in the independent cohort. Quantitative imaging analysis revealed progressive disease and a lack of response to conventional chemotherapy in most patients with BRAF V600E PLGG. Conclusion BRAF V600E PLGG constitutes a distinct entity with poor prognosis when treated with current adjuvant therapy

Therapeutic and Prognostic Implications of BRAF V600E in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas

Purpose BRAF V600E is a potentially highly targetable mutation detected in a subset of pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs). Its biologic and clinical effect within this diverse group of tumors remains unknown. Patients and Methods A combined clinical and genetic institutional study of patients with PLGGs with long-term follow-up was performed (N = 510). Clinical and treatment data of patients with BRAF V600E mutated PLGG (n = 99) were compared with a large international independent cohort of patients with BRAF V600E mutated-PLGG (n = 180). Results BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 69 of 405 patients (17%) with PLGG across a broad spectrum of histologies and sites, including midline locations, which are not often routinely biopsied in clinical practice. Patients with BRAF V600E PLGG exhibited poor outcomes after chemotherapy and radiation therapies that resulted in a 10-year progression-free survival of 27% (95% CI, 12.1% to 41.9%) and 60.2% (95% CI, 53.3% to 67.1%) for BRAF V600E and wild-type PLGG, respectively (P < .001). Additional multivariable clinical and molecular stratification revealed that the extent of resection and CDKN2A deletion contributed independently to poor outcome in BRAF V600E PLGG. A similar independent role for CDKN2A and resection on outcome were observed in the independent cohort. Quantitative imaging analysis revealed progressive disease and a lack of response to conventional chemotherapy in most patients with BRAF V600E PLGG. Conclusion BRAF V600E PLGG constitutes a distinct entity with poor prognosis when treated with current adjuvant therapy. (C) 2017 by American Society of Clinical Oncolog

Riparian Research and Management: Past, Present, Future: Volume 1

Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions to wildlife and the ecosystem function of watersheds. This changed as riparian values were identified and documented, and the science of riparian ecology developed steadily. Papers in this volume range from the more mesic northwestern United States to the arid Southwest and Mexico. More than two dozen authors—most with decades of experience—review the origins of riparian science in the western United States, document what is currently known about riparian ecosystems, and project future needs. Topics are widespread and include: interactions with fire, climate change, and declining water; impacts from exotic species; unintended consequences of biological control; the role of small mammals; watershed response to beavers; watershed and riparian changes; changes below large dams; water birds of the Colorado River Delta; and terrestrial vertebrates of mesquite bosques. Appendices and references chronicle the field’s literature, authors, “riparian pioneers,” and conferences

Formal Feeling Comes: Poems in Form by Contemporary Women

A collection of more than 40 poems including brief critical statements by each poet and concise critical mini-essays on the poetry of each poet. Finch examines the course of 20th century poetry by American women, exploring the strain of male dominance that submerged more than two generations of women writers. -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1117/thumbnail.jp

Phillis Wheatley and the Sentimental Tradition

This essay describes critics’ relations to sentimentality, and then situates Phillis Wheatley’s poetry within it. Carefully distinguishing between Enlightenment poetry of sensibility and nineteenth-century sentimental poetry allows us to recognize Wheatley as among the first innovators of sentimentality, and it is precisely the politics of “race” which promotes such an innovation. Wheatley’s poetry presents us with a manifesto of sentimentality. She discovered the advantages, in the task of overcoming poetical oppression, of constructing a sentimental poetry that is genuinely intersubjective rather than subjective. What this examination of Wheatley’s work shows us is that the Romantic, expressivist aesthetic, allegedly so spontaneous, can be seen as in fact much more manipulative – at least politically – than Wheatley’s innovative, sentimentalist form

Villanelles

The first of its kind--a comprehensive collection of the best of the villanelle, a delightful poetic form whose popularity ranks only behind that of the sonnet and the haiku.With its intricate rhyme scheme and dance-like pattern of repeating lines, its marriage of recurrence and surprise, the villanelle is a form that has fascinated poets since its introduction almost two centuries ago. Many well-known poets in the past have tried their hands at the villanelle, and the form is enjoying a revival among poets writing today. The poems collected here range from the classic villanelles of the nineteenth century to such famous and memorable examples as Dylan Thomas\u27s Do not go gentle into that good night, Elizabeth Bishop\u27s One Art, and Sylvia Plath\u27s Mad Girl\u27s Love Song.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/facbooks/1155/thumbnail.jp