Canadian Children and Youth in Care: The Cost of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND: A high prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure has been reported among children in care and thus, the risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in this population is high. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to estimate the number of children (0–18 years) in care with FASD and to determine the associated cost by age group, gender, and province/territory in Canada in 2011. METHODS: The prevalence of children in care by province/territory was obtained from the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal, and the number of children in care with FASD for each province/territory was estimated from available epidemiological studies. In order to calculate the total cost per province/territory, the cost per individual per day, by age group, was applied to the respective number of children in care with FASD. RESULTS: The estimated number of children in care with FASD ranged from 2,225 to 7,620, with an annual cost of care ranging from $57.9 to$198.3 million Canadian dollars (CND). The highest overall cost ($29.5 to$101.1 million CND) was for 11–15 year-olds. CONCLUSION: The study findings can be used to demonstrate the substantial economic burden that FASD places on the child welfare system. Attention towards the needs of this population and prevention efforts to reduce FASD incidence in Canada, and other countries are urgently needed

Cost attributable to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Canadian correctional system

AbstractPrenatal alcohol exposure is the leading identifiable cause of intellectual disability in the Western world and may result in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Individuals with FASD have a higher risk of being involved in the legal system, either as offenders or as victims. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to estimate the direct cost for youths (12–17years old) and adults (18+ years old) with FASD to the Canadian correctional system in 2011/2012. The prevalence of FASD in the Canadian correctional system, obtained from the current epidemiological literature, was applied to the average number of youths and adults in the correctional system in 2011/2012. The average daily cost for corrections was then applied to the estimated number of youths and adults with FASD in custody. The cost of corrections among youths with FASD in Canada in 2011/2012 was calculated to be approximately $17.5M Canadian dollars (CND;$13.6M CND for males and $3.8M CND for females) and among adults with FASD was estimated to be about$356.2M CND ($140M CND for provincial and territorial custody and$216.2M CND for federal custody). The study findings emphasize the need to raise awareness regarding the prevalence of FASD in the correctional system. It is crucial to incorporate FASD screening and intervention strategies as early as possible in the criminal justice process

Chicago shipwrecks: disasters and their impact on maritime law

The shipwreck and maritime history of the Illinois region of Lake Michigan was one wrought with tragedy and shaped the laws of the shipping industry for the future. What has become known as the ‘Shipwreck Era’ of 1825-1925 hosts the most well-known tragedies of Lake Michigan. Ships such as the Lady Elgin, Eastland, and Rouse Simmons rest as the focal points of most research due to the tragic yet popular nature of their respective disasters. A qualitative analysis into the archival documents at Newberry Library, Manitowoc Maritime Museum and the Winnetka Historical Society along the western lakeshore, explorations of individual shipwrecks are able to be compiled into a digital exhibit and foundation of a boat tour to fully explore the wreckage that remains at the bottom of the lake. (Author abstract)Lange, S.M. (2017). Chicago shipwrecks: disasters and their impact on maritime law. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduMaster ArtsHistor

Estimation of national, regional, and global prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy and fetal alcohol syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Alcohol use during pregnancy is the direct cause of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy and FAS in the general population and, by linking these two indicators, estimate the number of pregnant women that consumed alcohol during pregnancy per one case of FAS. Methods We began by doing two independent comprehensive systematic literature searches using multiple electronic databases for original quantitative studies that reported the prevalence in the general population of the respective country of alcohol use during pregnancy published from Jan 1, 1984, to June 30, 2014, or the prevalence of FAS published from Nov 1, 1973, to June 30, 2015, in a peer-reviewed journal or scholarly report. Each study on the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy was critically appraised using a checklist for observational studies, and each study on the prevalence of FAS was critically appraised by use of a method specifi cally designed for systematic reviews addressing questions of prevalence. Studies on the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy and/or FAS were omitted if they used a sample population not generalisable to the general population of the respective country, reported a pooled estimate by combining several studies, or were published in iteration. Studies that excluded abstainers were also omitted for the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy. We then did country-specifi c randomeff ects meta-analyses to estimate the pooled prevalence of these indicators. For countries with one or no empirical studies, we predicted prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy using fractional response regression modelling and prevalence of FAS using a quotient of the average number of women who consumed alcohol during pregnancy per one case of FAS. We used Monte Carlo simulations to derive confi dence intervals for the country-specifi c point estimates of the prevalence of FAS. We estimated WHO regional and global averages of the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy and FAS, weighted by the number of livebirths per country. The review protocols for the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy (CRD42016033835) and FAS (CRD42016033837) are available on PROSPERO. Findings Of 23 470 studies identifi ed for the prevalence of alcohol use, 328 studies were retained for systematic review and meta-analysis; the search strategy for the prevalence of FAS yielded 11 110 studies, of which 62 were used in our analysis. The global prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy was estimated to be 9·8% (95% CI 8·9–11·1) and the estimated prevalence of FAS in the general population was 14·6 per 10 000 people (95% CI 9·4–23·3). We also estimated that one in every 67 women who consumed alcohol during pregnancy would deliver a child with FAS, which translates to about 119 000 children born with FAS in the world every year. Interpretation Alcohol use during pregnancy is common in many countries and as such, FAS is a relatively prevalent alcohol-related birth defect. More eff ective prevention strategies targeting alcohol use during pregnancy and surveillance of FAS are urgently needed

Murine obscurin and Obsl1 have functionally redundant roles in sarcolemmal integrity, sarcoplasmic reticulum organization, and muscle metabolism.

Biological roles of obscurin and its close homolog Obsl1 (obscurin-like 1) have been enigmatic. While obscurin is highly expressed in striated muscles, Obsl1 is found ubiquitously. Accordingly, obscurin mutations have been linked to myopathies, whereas mutations in Obsl1 result in 3M-growth syndrome. To further study unique and redundant functions of these closely related proteins, we generated and characterized Obsl1 knockouts. Global Obsl1 knockouts are embryonically lethal. In contrast, skeletal muscle-specific Obsl1 knockouts show a benign phenotype similar to obscurin knockouts. Only deletion of both proteins and removal of their functional redundancy revealed their roles for sarcolemmal stability and sarcoplasmic reticulum organization. To gain unbiased insights into changes to the muscle proteome, we analyzed tibialis anterior and soleus muscles by mass spectrometry, uncovering additional changes to the muscle metabolism. Our analyses suggest that all obscurin protein family members play functions for muscle membrane systems

Universal Continuous Variable Quantum Computation in the Micromaser

We present universal continuous variable quantum computation (CVQC) in the micromaser. With a brief history as motivation we present the background theory and define universal CVQC. We then show how to generate a set of operations in the micromaser which can be used to achieve universal CVQC. It then follows that the micromaser is a potential architecture for CVQC but our proof is easily adaptable to other potential physical systems.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for a presentation at the 9th International Conference on Unconventional Computation (UC10) and LNCS proceedings

Prototyping the implementation of a suicide prevention protocol in primary care settings using PDSA cycles: a mixed method study

IntroductionIn Canada, approximately 4,500 individuals die by suicide annually. Approximately 45% of suicide decedents had contact with their primary care provider within the month prior to their death. Current versus never smokers have an 81% increased risk of death by suicide. Those who smoke have additional risks for suicide such as depression, chronic pain, alcohol, and other substance use. They are more likely to experience adverse social determinants of health. Taken together, this suggests that smoking cessation programs in primary care could be facilitators of suicide prevention, but this has not been studied.Study objectivesThe objectives of the study are to understand barriers/facilitators to implementing a suicide prevention protocol within a smoking cessation program (STOP program), which is deployed by an academic mental health and addiction treatment hospital in primary care clinics and to develop and test implementation strategies to facilitate the uptake of suicide screening and assessment in primary care clinics across Ontario.MethodsThe study employed a three-phase sequential mixed-method design. Phase 1: Conducted interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research exploring barriers to implementing a suicide prevention protocol. Phase 2: Performed consensus discussions to map barriers to implementation strategies using the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change tool and rank barriers by relevance. Phase 3: Evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of implementation strategies using Plan Do Study Act cycles.ResultsEleven healthcare providers and four research assistants identified lack of training and the need of better educational materials as implementation barriers. Participants endorsed and tested the top three ranked implementation strategies, namely, a webinar, adding a preamble before depression survey questions, and an infographic. After participating in the webinar and reviewing the educational materials, all participants endorsed the three strategies as acceptable/very acceptable and feasible/very feasible.ConclusionAlthough there are barriers to implementing a suicide prevention protocol within primary care, it is possible to overcome them with strategies deemed both acceptable and feasible. These results offer promising practice solutions to implement a suicide prevention protocol in smoking cessation programs delivered in primary care settings. Future efforts should track implementation of these strategies and measure outcomes, including provider confidence, self-efficacy, and knowledge, and patient outcomes

The Ursinus Weekly, April 28, 1978

Ursinus news in brief: Fire wakes New Dorm; Muds victorious; Faculty members promoted; Ec student cited; Files accessible; Weekly to change name; Hash bash • Richter outlines proposed changes • Judiciary Board revived • Reaction to Richter encouraging, optimistic • Comment: The Happy days • Letters to the editor: Necessary repair?; Fletcher controversy; Curriculum force in gear; And again; Student comments; Alumni speaks; Staff member reacts • Finally an answer: a modest proposal • Top tunes • Language action group: Dubious privilege • Cub and Key present alumni • Renaissance: Changing with the seasons • Apology • Women\u27s lacrosse cradles to Cape Cod • B-ball banquet • Muds win big • Lacrosse wrap-up • Ursinus track: 3-2 • Widener takes two • Tennis team optimistichttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1085/thumbnail.jp