Hepatitis C Diagnoses in an American Indian Primary Care Population

BACKGROUND: Despite large disparities in the burden of chronic liver disease, data on hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among American Indians (AIs) are lacking. We reviewed hepatitis C diagnoses in 35,712 AI/AN primary care patients. MAIN FINDINGS: At least one HCV-associated ICD-9 code was recorded in 251 (1%) patients between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2003. An HCV enzyme-linked immunoassay (HCVEIA) was sent in 209 (83.0%); 206/209 (99%) were positive. Confirmatory testing was performed in 144/206 (70%) HCV-EIA positive patients; HCV infection was confirmed in 144 (100%). In the 90/144 (63%) charts with risk factor documentation, injection drug use was the most common risk factor (61/90, 68%). Deficiencies were present in hepatitis B and HIV testing, and hepatitis A and B vaccination. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in laboratory workup of HCV and co-infections, risk factor ascertainment and documentation, and adult vaccination are needed to address HCV effectively in this population

All is Whale That Ends Whale? The Deficiencies in National Protection for Orca Whales in Captivity

With the severity of our Earth’s climate change crisis, this article endeavors to underline the critical need for environmental reformation. It is no secret that orca whales epitomize miraculous intelligence, gentility, and strength. As overwhelming as this crisis might be, there are very concrete steps that our legal system can take to begin protecting and making a difference for our whales and our Earth. It is my hope that this article can shed some light on what is at stake for these animals, and how we might move forward toward a sustainable, safe future for them

Consumer Perceptions of Sustainable Farming Practices: A Best-Worst Scenario

This paper uses data collected in the summer and fall of 2010 from a national, web-based survey of 1002 households to initiate the process of examining consumer inferences and valuations of food products making "sustainably produced” claims. A Best-Worst scaling framework was implemented to identify what consumers believe “sustainably produced” labels mean and their preferences for each of the individual sustainable farming practices. The best-worst survey method forces respondents to make trade-offs by simultaneously choosing the most and least preferred attributes. The measured level of concern is then applied to a ratio scale. The ability of a firm to differentiate their product hinges critically on an accurate understanding of the perceptions consumers hold regarding what a credence labelling claim implies. Building upon existing work evaluating other food attribute labels (e.g., genetically-modified products, region of origin, use of growth hormones) and the impact of consumer inferences (e.g., implicit associations made from explicitly provided information), this work begins to address gaps in the literature regarding food products with “sustainably produced” claims.Sustainably Produced Food, Consumer Perceptions, Best-Worst, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q01, Q13, Q11,

The Value of Continuous Assessment Strategies in Students’ Learning of Geography in Senior High Schools in Ghana

This survey investigated the views of geography teachers and students on the value of continuous assessment strategies in students’ learning of geography in senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis and Cape Coast North District within the Central Region of Ghana. Data were collected with the use of two sets of questionnaires from 20 geography teachers and a random sample of 198 geography students. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that although there are various kinds of continuous assessment strategies, geography teachers most often used take-home assignment, written test and recap exercise to assess how geography students learn geography. It was found that the use of continuous assessment helps students to understand difficult areas as well as master the content of geography. Continuous assessment also makes students more confident and ready for final examinations. Therefore, it was recommended that geography teachers need more assistance in devising the rubrics for using the various kinds of continuous assessment strategies. Key concepts: Assessment, continuous assessment, value, students’ learning and continuous assessment strategie

A Review of the Geography One Aspect of the 2010 Geography Syllabus for Senior High Schools in Ghana

This is a non-empirical article whose main focus is a review of the 2010 Geography One Teaching syllabus currently being used in Senior High Schools in Ghana. Though the 2010 SHS Geography syllabus has been structured and organized into three sections, the review has however been done on the Physical and Practical Geography aspects which constitute the Geography One domain of the syllabus. Certain principles for evaluating instructional programmes (curricula) have been used to assess the relevance of the syllabus to the Geography student in particular and the Ghanaian context in general. The review focused on a discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses in the organization and integration of content and learning experiences towards the attainment of instructional objectives. The review holds the view that the new syllabus is a comprehensive document which has used the holistic approach to address issues of interconnections, distribution linkages and patterns of geographic phenomena and processes and above all, has been able to blend all the components of content to a very high degree. In conclusion, the article suggests that the designers of the syllabus should take steps to rectify the shortcomings identified and then pass on the feedback to the classroom geography teacher for implementation. But before this is done, the article recommends the use of the new Geography One Syllabus in all Senior High Schools where geography is taught. Key Concepts: Teaching syllabus, curriculum principle, geography, evaluation, strengths, weaknesse

Gravitational Radiation from First-Order Phase Transitions

It is believed that first-order phase transitions at or around the GUT scale will produce high-frequency gravitational radiation. This radiation is a consequence of the collisions and coalescence of multiple bubbles during the transition. We employ high-resolution lattice simulations to numerically evolve a system of bubbles using only scalar fields, track the anisotropic stress during the process and evolve the metric perturbations associated with gravitational radiation. Although the radiation produced during the bubble collisions has previously been estimated, we find that the coalescence phase enhances this radiation even in the absence of a coupled fluid or turbulence. We comment on how these simulations scale and propose that the same enhancement should be found at the Electroweak scale; this modification should make direct detection of a first-order electroweak phase transition easier.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Perceptions and experiences of caregivers of children with Cerebral Palsy regarding rehabilitation therapy of their children in Zimbabwe

Master of Public Health - MPHThe Harare Children’s Rehabilitation Unit (CRU) was established to serve the needs of children with disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy (CP) in Zimbabwe. The primary objective of the CRU is to support the Ministry of Health and Child Care policies on hospital-based and community-based rehabilitation. The outreach programme at CRU was created to make rehabilitation therapy services accessible. Despite the services being provided for free, caregivers of children with CP do not adhere to appointments for therapy. This research explored some of the facilitators and barriers to attending rehabilitation therapy

The Impact of Poor Health Behaviors on Workforce Disability

The effects of poor health habits on mortality have been studied extensively. However, few studies have examined the impact of these health behaviors on workforce disability. In the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative cohort of 6044 Americans who were between the ages of 51 and 61 and who were working in 1992, we found that both baseline smoking status and a sedentary lifestyle predict workforce disability six years later. If this relationship is causal, cost-benefit analyses of health behavior intervention that neglect workforce disability may substantially underestimate the benefits of such interventions.

A Review of the Literature on End-of-life Care: Setting a Research Agenda for Maine

In 2002, Last Acts, a national campaign of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issued a report assessing the states on access to end-of-life care and policies supporting its provision. Quite striking for the hospice providers and other stakeholders of Maine, the state ranked second to last in hospice use among persons over age 65 in their last year of life. Although anecdotal and unpublished data suggest that hospice use is on the rise in Maine, concerns about the low use rate remains a concern to those interested in end-of-life care in the State. In order to better understand the factors influencing the use of hospice in Maine, the Maine Hospice Council asked the Muskie School of Public Service to conduct a literature review synthesizing current knowledge on outcomes, use, cost, and barriers to end-of-life care. This review provides a foundation for setting an overall research agenda for the Council. At the end of the report, we have outlined a set of questions for further research regarding end-of-life care in Maine

WHOOPING CRANE NEST BUILDING IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA

The first documented case of whooping crane (Grus americana) nest building in Indiana is described. During spring 2015, a pair of whooping cranes did not leave their wintering grounds in Gibson County, Indiana, to return to their summering area in Wisconsin. Three nest platforms were discovered after the death of the female crane. To date, this is the only documented example of a whooping crane pair in the reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) building nest platforms outside of Wisconsin. Although fidelity to the core nesting areas in Wisconsin is strong, and natal dispersal is usually \u3c30 km, this example from Indiana shows that whooping cranes in the EMP may have the potential to pioneer nesting areas far outside of core reintroduction areas