Rebecca Hardin and Frances Scott in a Junior Recital

This is the program for the junior voice recital of soprano, Rebecca Hardin, accompanied by Ouida Eppinette on the piano, and soprano, Frances Scott, accompanied by Bill Borland on piano. The recital was held on April 19, 1968

Odds of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Receiving Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors: A National Cohort Study Within the Department of Veterans Affairs

Preclinical and clinical data of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP‐4) inhibitors have demonstrated discordant data regarding acute kidney injury (AKI). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between DPP‐4 use and AKI. This cohort study utilized data from the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluating patients diagnosed with type 2 (T2) diabetes with a DPP‐4 inhibitor and compared with nondiabetic and diabetic patients. The primary end point is the development of AKI, and statistical analyses were performed to examine the association. DPP‐4 use is associated with a lower odds of AKI compared with diabetics (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.39; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.32–0.48) and nondiabetics (OR = 0.64; 95% CI = 0.52–0.79). DPP‐4 use in patients with T2 diabetes mellitus is associated with lower odds of AKI within 120 days compared with nondiabetic and diabetic controls when adjusting for study covariates

The Association Between Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors and Colorectal Cancer in a National Cohort of Patients

INTRODUCTION: To examine the association between phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor use and incidence of colorectal cancer among patients with erectile dysfunction treated in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using the Veterans Affairs Informatics and Computing Infrastructure was conducted, with data spanning January 2001-December 2016. Patients were followed up from index until (i) the first diagnosis of colorectal cancer, (ii) death, or (iii) the end of study period. Statistical analyses evaluated demographics and baseline characteristics between cohorts (PDE-5 exposed or not) and the effect of additional dosages of each specific PDE-5 inhibitor using adjusted multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: A total of 221,538 patients met the study inclusion criteria, 192,691 patients in the PDE-5 cohort and 29,227 patients in the never use PDE-5 cohort. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model results revealed that the those who had any exposure to a PDE-5 inhibitor have an 18% lower hazard of colorectal cancer (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.816, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.754-0.882). For each additional 100-mg dosage of sildenafil and 10-mg dosage of tadalafil, the hazard of colorectal cancer is reduced by 2.4% (adjusted HR = 0.976, 95% CI = 0.973-0.979) and 1.7% (adjusted HR = 0.983, 95% CI = 0.972-0.996), respectively. DISCUSSION: PDE-5 inhibitor usage in patients with erectile dysfunction is associated with a lower hazard of colorectal cancer compared with patients not exposed to PDE-5 inhibitors

Application Memory Isolation on Ultra-Low-Power Mcus

The proliferation of applications that handle sensitive user data on wearable platforms generates a critical need for embedded systems that offer strong security without sacrificing flexibility and long battery life. To secure sensitive information, such as health data, ultra-low-power wearables must isolate applications from each other and protect the underlying system from errant or malicious application code. These platforms typically use microcontrollers that lack sophisticated Memory Management Units (MMU). Some include a Memory Protection Unit (MPU), but current MPUs are inadequate to the task, leading platform developers to software-based memory-protection solutions. In this paper, we present our memory isolation technique, which leverages compiler inserted code and MPU-hardware support to achieve better runtime performance than software-only counterparts

Developing the BIO Questionnaire: A Bilingual Parent Report Tool for Prekindergarten English Learners of Latino Heritage

With the increasing number of preschool-age children of Latino heritage entering U.S. schools comes a growing need to accurately determine children's individual needs and identify potential disabilities, beginning with the screening process. Unfortunately, teachers face many challenges when screening English language learners. Often, parents have important information that can contribute to teachers’ understanding of children's development, but there are limited tools available to collect information from parents. The Formulario Familiar Bilingue de Información Formulario y Observación/Family Bilingual Information & Observation (BIO) Questionnaire is a new parent report tool that can be used to collect information from parents of Latino heritage concerning their child's language development history, current language usage, and exposure to Spanish and English. A multiphase research study was conducted to collect formative data and to establish construct validity for the questionnaire. Results from a focus group, pilot study, and face validity review provided numerous suggestions to improve the tool, and established that the BIO is a viable means to collect parent perspectives on their own children's language development

Special Education Referral, Evaluation, and Placement Practices for Preschool English Language Learners

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in early childhood regular and special education services has increased dramatically in the past decade. A survey was conducted with 141 early childhood administrators and teachers to examine their beliefs and practices concerning the special education referral, evaluation, and placement process for preschool ELLs and their families. Survey questions were designed to gather information about: 1) how cultural and language differences were addressed, 2) what strategies were used to ensure parent participation of ELL children, and 3) what training was available and being used by early childhood professionals. Data were coded and percentages of similar responses calculated to understand participants’ beliefs, attitudes, and practices. Results indicate that inconsistencies in methods are used to determine home language and English proficiency, a lack of clarity regarding the purpose of instruments used for screening and evaluating ELL children, a need for reliable and valid screening and assessment tools in a variety of languages, a need for interpreters who are trained in early childhood terms and the special education referral, evaluation, and placement process, and a need for more teacher training on meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse families

A Comprehensive GC–MS Sub-Microscale Assay for Fatty Acids and its Applications

Fatty acid analysis is essential to a broad range of applications including those associated with the nascent algal biofuel and algal bioproduct industries. Current fatty acid profiling methods require lengthy, sequential extraction and transesterification steps necessitating significant quantities of analyte. We report the development of a rapid, microscale, single-step, in situ protocol for GC–MS lipid analysis that requires only 250 μg dry mass per sample. We furthermore demonstrate the broad applications of this technique by profiling the fatty acids of several algal species, small aquatic organisms, insects and terrestrial plant material. When combined with fluorescent techniques utilizing the BODIPY dye family and flow cytometry, this micro-assay serves as a powerful tool for analyzing fatty acids in laboratory and field collected samples, for high-throughput screening, and for crop assessment. Additionally, the high sensitivity of the technique allows for population analyses across a wide variety of taxa

Midlatitude Oceanic Cloud and Precipitation Properties as Sampled by the ARM Eastern North Atlantic Observatory

An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2019 American Geophysical Union.Marine low clouds are critical to the climate system because of their extensive coverage and associated controls on boundary layer dynamics and radiative energy balance. The primary foci for this study are marine low cloud observations over a heavily instrumented site on the Azores archipelago in the Eastern North Atlantic and their associated raindrop size distribution (DSD) properties, relative low cloud contributions to the precipitation, and additional sampling (instrument, environmental) considerations. The contribution from low clouds (e.g., cloud top < 4 km) to the overall precipitation over midlatitude oceans is poorly understood, in part because of the lack of coupled, high‐quality measurements of precipitation and low cloud properties. Cloud regime and precipitation breakdowns performed for a multiyear (2014–2017) record emphasize diurnal precipitation and raindrop size distribution characteristics for both low and deeper clouds, as well as differences between the two disdrometer types used. Results demonstrate that marine low clouds over this Eastern North Atlantic location account for a significant (45%) contribution to the total rainfall and exhibit a diurnal cycle in cloud (thickness, top, and base) and precipitation characteristics similar to satellite records. Additional controls on observed surface rainfall characteristics of low clouds allowed by the extended ground‐based facility data sets are also explored. From those analyses, it is suggested that the synoptic state exerts a significant control on low cloud and surface precipitation properties