The Role and Responsibility of the Public

It\u27s the title of the conference—the court of public opinion—and the topic of this panel. Professor Christopher Schroeder of Duke Law School is joined by media and public policy professor Kim Gross, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice Scott Bullock, and litigation director of the ACLU Steve Shapiro to contemplate both the influence of the media on public opinion and ways to use the media as an advocacy tool. Gross discusses her research into the influence of media coverage on the public, followed by Bullock and Shapiro who explain the ways in which public interest law may choose to incorporate a media strategy into a larger legal battle. Questions/themes/discussion topics Media framing How media coverage can influence public opinion Factors that influence the media\u27s power How the Duke lacrosse case differs from typical crime coverage Legal strategies of public interest organizations Winning in the court of law, but losing in the court of public opinion Losing in the court of law, but winning in the court of public opinio

Stability of Single Particle Tracers for Differentiating Between Heavy- and Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions

To determine the size and chemical composition of particles derived from on-road vehicle emissions, individual particles were sampledcontinuously with an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) at the Caldecott Tunnel in Northern California. In this tunnel, traffic is segregated, such that in theory only light duty vehicle emissions or a mix of heavy- (HDV) and light-duty vehicle (LDV) emissions can be sampled separately. Two studies were carried out, one in November 1997 anda secondin July 2000, time periods with average ambient temperatures of 10–15 and 26–32 1C, respectively, with the instrument operating at ambient outdoor temperatures. Analysis of the chemical composition of the particles sampled in these studies shows that sampling conditions can strongly impact the determination of suitable markers for identifying particles emitted from different vehicle types during ambient studies

Most Impactful Years of the Yemeni Civil War

The Yemeni civil war that started in 2014 has ravaged the country and has led to a surge of negative changes in living conditions throughout the area. Many different events throughout the seven-year war have led to harsh conditions to still be prevalent throughout the country. It is hard to pinpoint what years of the war had the most effect on the society’s well-being. Using data from the Yemen Data Project, it was possible to find what years of the war were the most violent, and compare that data to the GDP of Yemeni people, the number of undernourished people in Yemen and the average dollar amount of aid the Yemeni people require per year. Results showed that despite the beginning years of the war being the most violent as the most airstrikes were being dropped, the conditions of Yemeni people continue to get exponentially worse despite a heavy drop in the amount of airstrike attacks against them. Lack of military clashes has not led to better conditions that deteriorate day by day. The vast intensity of the first few years of the war were so devastating that they created a ripple effect in which the infrastructure of the country was heavily damaged, leading to a situation that will need much assistance to repeal the effects of the most impactful years of the war.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/durep_posters/1048/thumbnail.jp

Selective Role of the Catalytic PI3K Subunit p110β in Impaired Higher Order Cognition in Fragile X Syndrome

SummaryDistinct isoforms of the PI3K catalytic subunit have specialized functions in the brain, but their role in cognition is unknown. Here, we show that the catalytic subunit p110β plays an important role in prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent cognitive defects in mouse models of Fragile X syndrome (FXS), an inherited intellectual disability. FXS is caused by loss of function of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), which binds and translationally represses mRNAs. PFC-selective knockdown of p110β, an FMRP target that is translationally upregulated in FXS, reverses deficits in higher cognition in Fmr1 knockout mice. Genetic full-body reduction of p110β in Fmr1 knockout mice normalizes excessive PI3K activity, restores stimulus-induced protein synthesis, and corrects increased dendritic spine density and behavior. Notably, adult-onset PFC-selective Fmr1 knockdown mice show impaired cognition, which is rescued by simultaneous p110β knockdown. Our results suggest that FMRP-mediated control of p110β is crucial for neuronal protein synthesis and cognition

The impact of teach-back on comprehension of discharge instructions and satisfaction among emergency patients with limited health literacy: A randomized, controlled study

OBJECTIVE: Recommended as a ‘universal precaution’ for improving provider–patient communication, teach-back has a limited evidence base. Discharge from the emergency department (ED) to home is an important high-risk transition of care with potential for miscommunication of critical information. We examined whether teach-back improves: comprehension and perceived comprehension of discharge instructions and satisfaction among patients with limited health literacy (LHL) in the ED. METHODS: We performed a randomized, controlled study among adult patients with LHL, to teach-back or standard discharge instructions. Patients completed an audio-recorded structured interview evaluating comprehension and perceived comprehension of (1) diagnosis, (2) ED course, (3) post-ED care, and (4) reasons to return and satisfaction using four Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems questions. Concordance with the medical record was rated using a five-level scale. We analyzed differences between groups using multivariable ordinal logistic regression. RESULTS: Patients randomized to receive teach-back had higher comprehension of post-ED care areas: post-ED medication (P < 0.02), self-care (P < 0.03), and follow-up instructions (P < 0.0001), but no change in patient satisfaction or perceived comprehension. CONCLUSION: Teach-back appears to improve comprehension of post-ED care instructions but not satisfaction or perceived comprehension. Our data from a randomized, controlled study support the effectiveness of teach-back in a busy clinical setting. Further research is needed to test the utility and feasibility of teach-back for routine use including its impacts on distal outcomes

Predicting which children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis will not attain early remission with conventional treatment: Results from the Reacch-out cohort

Objective. To estimate the probability of early remission with conventional treatment for each child with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Children with a low chance of remission may be candidates for initial treatment with biologics or triple disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD). Methods. We used data from 1074 subjects in the Research in Arthritis in Canadian Children emphasizing Outcomes (ReACCh-Out) cohort. The predicted outcome was clinically inactive disease for ≥ 6 months starting within 1 year of JIA diagnosis in patients who did not receive early biologic agents or triple DMARD. Models were developed in 200 random splits of 75% of the cohort and tested on the remaining 25% of subjects, calculating expected and observed frequencies of remission and c-index values. Results. Our best Cox logistic model combining 18 clinical variables a median of 2 days after diagnosis had a c-index of 0.69 (95% CI 0.67-0.71), better than using JIA category alone (0.59, 95% CI 0.56-0.63). Children in the lowest probability decile had a 20% chance of remission and 21% attained remission; children in the highest decile had a 69% chance of remission and 73% attained remission. Compared to 5% of subjects identified by JIA category alone, the model identified 14% of subjects as low chance of remission (probability \u3c 0.25), of whom 77% failed to attain remission. Conclusion. Although the model did not meet our a priori performance threshold (c-index \u3e 0.70), it identified 3 times more subjects with low chance of remission than did JIA category alone, and it may serve as a benchmark for assessing value added by future laboratory/imaging biomarkers