Media Portrayals of Wildfire Displacement and Homelessness with Maude Hines and Janet Cowal

In this episode of PDXPLORES, Portland State professors Maude Hines (English, Black Studies, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative) and Janet Cowal (Applied Linguistics, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative) discuss their recently published article, Natural/Disaster: Differential Media Portrayals of Wildfire Displacement and Homelessness in Portland, Oregon, co-authored by Idowu (Jola) Ajibade, Emily Leickly, Marta Petteni, and Stefanie Knowlton. The research explores media coverage of the 2020 wildfires in Oregon and the differential language used to cover those affected by the devastating blazes. Click on the Download button to access the audio transcript

Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis masquerading as carcinoma of the breast: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is an uncommon, benign entity with a diagnosis of exclusion. The typical clinical presentation of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis often mimics infection or malignancy. As a result, histopathological confirmation of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis combined with exclusion of infection, malignancy and other causes of granulomatous disease is absolutely necessary. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a young woman with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, initially mistaken for mastitis as well as breast carcinoma, and successfully treated with a course of corticosteroids. CONCLUSION: There is no clear clinical consensus regarding the ideal therapeutic management of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. Treatment options include expectant management with spontaneous remission, corticosteroid therapy, immunosuppressive agents and extensive surgery for refractory cases

HST NICMOS Observations of the Polarization of NGC 1068

We have observed the polarized light at 2 micron in the center of NGC 1068 with HST NICMOS Camera 2. The nucleus is dominated by a bright, unresolved source, polarized at a level of 6.0 pm 1.2% with a position angle of 122degr pm 1.5degr. There are two polarized lobes extending up to 8'' northeast and southwest of the nucleus. The polarized flux in both lobes is quite clumpy, with the maximum polarization occurring in the southwest lobe at a level of 17% when smoothed to 0.23'' resolution. The perpendiculars to the polarization vectors in these two lobes point back to the intense unresolved nuclear source to within one 0.076'' Camera 2 pixel, thereby confirming that this is the illuminating source of the scattered light and therefore the probable AGN central engine. Whereas the polarization of the nucleus is probably caused by dichroic absorption, the polarization in the lobes is almost certainly caused by scattering, with very little contribution from dichroic absorption. Features in the polarized lobes include a gap at a distance of about 1'' from the nucleus toward the southwest lobe and a ``knot'' of emission about 5'' northeast of the nucleus. Both features had been discussed by ground-based observers, but they are much better defined with the high spatial resolution of NICMOS. The northeast knot may be the side of a molecular cloud that is facing the nucleus, which cloud may be preventing the expansion of the northeast radio lobe at the head of the radio synchrotron-radiation-emitting jet. We also report the presence of two ghosts in the Camera 2 polarizers. These had not been detected previously (Hines et al. 2000) because they are relatively faint and require observations of a source with a large dynamic range.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS Polarization Observations of Three Edge-on Massive YSOs

Massive young stellar objects (YSOs), like low-mass YSOs, appear to be surrounded by optically thick envelopes and/or disks and have regions, often bipolar, that are seen in polarized scattered light at near-infrared wavelengths. We are using the 0.2'' spatial resolution of NICMOS on Hubble Space Telescope to examine the structure of the disks and outflow regions of massive YSOs in star-forming regions within a few kpc of the Sun. Here we report on 2 micron polarimetry of NGC 6334 V and S255 IRS1. NGC 6334 V consists of a double-lobed bright reflection nebula seen against a dark region, probably an optically thick molecular cloud. Our polarization measurements show that the illuminating star lies ~ 2'' south of the line connecting the two lobes; we do not detect this star at 2 micron, but there are a small radio source and a mid-infrared source at this location. S255 IRS1 consists of two YSOs (NIRS1 and NIRS3) with overlapping scattered light lobes and luminosities corresponding to early B stars. Included in IRS1 is a cluster of stars from whose polarization we determine the local magnetic field direction. Neither YSO has its scattered light lobes aligned with this magnetic field. The line connecting the scattered light lobes of NIRS1 is twisted symmetrically around the star; the best explanation is that the star is part of a close binary and the outflow axis of NIRS1 is precessing as a result of non-coplanar disk and orbit. The star NIRS3 is also offset from the line connecting its two scattered light lobes. We suggest that all three YSOs show evidence of episodic ejection of material as they accrete from dense, optically thick envelopes.Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables To be published in The Astrophysical Journa

Sentinel-based Surveillance of Coyotes to Detect Bovine Tuberculosis, Michigan

Coyotes could be used as sentinels to detect Mycobacterium bovis in the wild

Military veteran mortality following a survived suicide attempt

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Suicide is a global public health problem. Recently in the U.S., much attention has been given to preventing suicide and other premature mortality in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A strong predictor of suicide is a past suicide attempt, and suicide attempters have multiple physical and mental comorbidities that put them at risk for additional causes of death. We examined mortality among U.S. military veterans after hospitalization for attempted suicide.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective cohort study was conducted with all military veterans receiving inpatient treatment during 1993-1998 at United States Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities following a suicide attempt. Deaths occurring during 1993-2002, the most recent available year at the time, were identified through VA Beneficiary and Records Locator System data and National Death Index data. Mortality data for the general U.S. adult population were also obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics. Comparisons within the veteran cohort, between genders, and against the U.S. population were conducted with descriptive statistics and standardized mortality ratios. The actuarial method was used estimate the proportion of veterans in the cohort we expect would have survived through 2002 had they experienced the same rate of death that occurred over the study period in the U.S. population having the age and sex characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During 1993-1998, 10,163 veterans were treated and discharged at a VA medical center after a suicide attempt (mean age = 44 years; 91% male). There was a high prevalence of diagnosed alcohol disorder or abuse (31.8%), drug dependence or abuse (21.8%), psychoses (21.2%), depression (18.5%), and hypertension (14.2%). A total of 1,836 (18.1%) veterans died during follow up (2,941.4/100,000 person years). The cumulative survival probability after 10 years was 78.0% (95% CI = 72.9, 83.1). Hence the 10-year cumulative mortality risk was 22.0%, which was 3.0 times greater than expected. The leading causes overall were heart disease (20.2%), suicide (13.1%), and unintentional injury (12.7%). Whereas suicide was the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. population overall (1.8%) during the study period, suicide was the leading and second leading cause among women (25.0%) and men (12.7%) in the cohort, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Veterans who have attempted suicide face elevated risks of all-cause mortality with suicide being prominent. This represents an important population for prevention activities.</p

HIV and schistosomiasis co-infection in African children

HIV/AIDS and schistosomiasis both cause a substantial disease burden in sub-Saharan Africa and the two diseases often overlap in their epidemiological characteristics. Although disease-specific control interventions are continuing, potential synergies in the control efforts for these two diseases have not been investigated. With a focus on children with schistosomiasis, we assess the risk for increased HIV transmission, HIV progression, and impaired response to drugs when given alongside HIV interventions. A new research agenda tailored to children is needed to better understand the interactions of these two diseases and the potential for combined responses

Circadian Rhythm and Sleep Disruption: Causes, Metabolic Consequences and Countermeasures.

Circadian (∼ 24 hour) timing systems pervade all kingdoms of life, and temporally optimize behaviour and physiology in humans. Relatively recent changes to our environments, such as the introduction of artificial lighting, can disorganize the circadian system, from the level of the molecular clocks that regulate the timing of cellular activities to the level of synchronization between our daily cycles of behaviour and the solar day. Sleep/wake cycles are intertwined with the circadian system, and global trends indicate that these too are increasingly subject to disruption. A large proportion of the world's population is at increased risk of environmentally-driven circadian rhythm and sleep disruption, and a minority of individuals are also genetically predisposed to circadian misalignment and sleep disorders. The consequences of disruption to the circadian system and sleep are profound and include myriad metabolic ramifications, some of which may be compounded by adverse effects on dietary choices. If not addressed, the deleterious effects of such disruption will continue to cause widespread health problems; therefore, implementation of the numerous behavioural and pharmaceutical interventions that can help restore circadian system alignment and enhance sleep will be important