1,119 research outputs found
A Case of Congenital Coronary Sinus Ostial Atresia with Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava
Introduction: The coronary sinus is responsible for venous drainage of the heart. Congenital anomalies of the coronary sinus are rare and typically associated with other anomalies, such as atrial septal defects or other congenital heart malformations.
Clinical Findings: We present a case of incidentally found atresia of the coronary sinus ostium with associated persistent left superior vena cava. This case involved a 52-year-old patient who initially presented with a supraventricular tachycardia and elevated troponin.
Clinical Course: The patient underwent cardiac workup with a coronary computed tomographic angiography scan. This scan showed no obstructive coronary artery disease, but did show congenital atresia of the coronary sinus and a persistent left superior vena cava.
Conclusions: This case shows that coronary computed tomographic angiography is an excellent modality for identifying anomalous coronary venous return and congenital abnormalities of the coronary sinus
National Certification Initiative for Employment Support Professionals: Promoting Quality Integrated Employment Services
This article describes a recent certification initiative to build an international network of professionals who have the knowledge and skills to provide quality integrated employment services to individuals with a variety of disabilities. An overview of the history and conceptual framework guiding the development of the Employment Support Professional Certification Program will be followed by a presentation of findings from a preliminary survey study of 93 professionals who have been certified. Survey respondents identified both personal and professional motivations for pursuing the Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) designation, including the desire to (a) achieve a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction, (b) demonstrate a professional standard of competence and commitment to the profession, and (c) garner professional credibility and enhanced opportunities for career advancement. The authors describe ongoing efforts and recommendations for validating the credentialing program and for increasing the number of certified professionals equipped to establish and expand equitable employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities
The Future of Healthcare Delivery: IPE/IPP Audiology and Nursing Student/Faculty Collaboration to Deliver Hearing Aids to Vulnerable Adults via Telehealth
A multi-departmental, two-city initiative to provide hearing aid service via a telepractice approach was developed whereby nursing and auditory students with supervisory faculty used AV conferencing for training and interaction with referred patients. Located in two cities, 21 nursing and 15 doctoral level audiology students met virtually, and students received teleaudiology education and practicum with interprofessional education and practice components. Nursing students in one city and a supervising faculty in another city could interact with providers and patients in both cities to provide hearing care. The teleaudiology project delivered hearing health care services, including fitting of digital mini hearing aids, to 181 patients over 29 months of the project. During that time period, 205 total patients were referred to the teleaudiology clinic. Over 90% of these patients, as assessed by either patient teleaudiology clinic visits or telephone follow-up, successfully wore their hearing aids. Students administered selected published surveys related to patient outcomes both pre and post fitting. Patients reported significant hearing handicap reduction and were very satisfied with the teleaudiology mode of digital hearing aid and hearing health care service delivery. The experience provided interprofessional pre-service exposure to cutting edge technology and an innovative delivery system for future members of the healthcare workforce
Recommended from our members
Using the functional response of a consumer to predict biotic resistance to invasive prey
Predators sometimes provide biotic resistance against invasions by nonnative prey. Understanding and predicting the strength of biotic resistance remains a key challenge in invasion biology. A predator's functional response to nonnative prey may predict whether a predator can provide biotic resistance against nonnative prey at different prey densities. Surprisingly, functional responses have not been used to make quantitative predictions about biotic resistance. We parameterized the functional response of signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) to invasive New Zealand mud snails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum; NZMS) and used this functional response and a simple model of NZMS population growth to predict the probability of biotic resistance at different predator and prey densities. Signal crayfish were effective predators of NZMS, consuming more than 900 NZMS per predator in a 12-h period, and Bayesian model fitting indicated their consumption rate followed a type 3 functional response to NZMS density. Based on this functional response and associated parameter uncertainty, we predict that NZMS will be able to invade new systems at low crayfish densities (0.2 crayfish/m²), we predict that low densities of NZMS will be able to establish in new communities; however, once NZMS reach a threshold density of similar to ~2000 NZMS/m², predation by crayfish will drive negative NZMS population growth. Further, at very high densities, NZMS overwhelm predation by crayfish and invade. Thus, interacting thresholds of propagule pressure and predator densities define the probability of biotic resistance. Quantifying the shape and uncertainty of predator functional responses to nonnative prey may help predict the outcomes of invasions.Keywords: British lowland river, Biotic resistance, Crayfish, Foraging behavior, Propagule pressure, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, Pacifastacus leniusculus, Plant invasion, Type 3 functional response, San Lorenzo River, California, USA, Stream, New Zealand mud snail, predation, Introduced population
The balloon-borne large-aperture submillimeter telescope for polarimetry: BLAST-Pol
The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry
(BLAST-Pol) is a suborbital mapping experiment designed to study the role
played by magnetic fields in the star formation process. BLAST-Pol is the
reconstructed BLAST telescope, with the addition of linear polarization
capability. Using a 1.8 m Cassegrain telescope, BLAST-Pol images the sky onto a
focal plane that consists of 280 bolometric detectors in three arrays,
observing simultaneously at 250, 350, and 500 um. The diffraction-limited
optical system provides a resolution of 30'' at 250 um. The polarimeter
consists of photolithographic polarizing grids mounted in front of each
bolometer/detector array. A rotating 4 K achromatic half-wave plate provides
additional polarization modulation. With its unprecedented mapping speed and
resolution, BLAST-Pol will produce three-color polarization maps for a large
number of molecular clouds. The instrument provides a much needed bridge in
spatial coverage between larger-scale, coarse resolution surveys and narrow
field of view, and high resolution observations of substructure within
molecular cloud cores. The first science flight will be from McMurdo Station,
Antarctica in December 2010.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures Submitted to SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and
Instrumentation Conference 201
Microbiome Composition and Function Drives Wound-Healing Impairment in the Female Genital Tract
The mechanism(s) by which bacterial communities impact susceptibility to infectious diseases, such as HIV, and maintain female genital tract (FGT) health are poorly understood. Evaluation of FGT bacteria has predominantly been limited to studies of species abundance, but not bacterial function. We therefore sought to examine the relationship of bacterial community composition and function with mucosal epithelial barrier health in the context of bacterial vaginosis (BV) using metaproteomic, metagenomic, and in vitro approaches. We found highly diverse bacterial communities dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis associated with host epithelial barrier disruption and enhanced immune activation, and low diversity communities dominated by Lactobacillus species that associated with lower Nugent scores, reduced pH, and expression of host mucosal proteins important for maintaining epithelial integrity. Importantly, proteomic signatures of disrupted epithelial integrity associated with G. vaginalis-dominated communities in the absence of clinical BV diagnosis. Because traditional clinical assessments did not capture this, it likely represents a larger underrepresented phenomenon in populations with high prevalence of G. vaginalis. We finally demonstrated that soluble products derived from G. vaginalis inhibited wound healing, while those derived from L. iners did not, providing insight into functional mechanisms by which FGT bacterial communities affect epithelial barrier integrity
Comparison of prestellar core elongations and large-scale molecular cloud structures in the Lupus 1 region
Turbulence and magnetic fields are expected to be important for regulating molecular cloud formation and evolution. However, their effects on sub-parsec to 100 parsec scales, leading to the formation of starless cores, are not well understood. We investigate the prestellar core structure morphologies obtained from analysis of the Herschel-SPIRE 350 mum maps of the Lupus I cloud. This distribution is first compared on a statistical basis to the large-scale shape of the main filament. We find the distribution of the elongation position angle of the cores to be consistent with a random distribution, which means no specific orientation of the morphology of the cores is observed with respect to the mean orientation of the large-scale filament in Lupus I, nor relative to a large-scale bent filament model. This distribution is also compared to the mean orientation of the large-scale magnetic fields probed at 350 mum with the Balloon-borne Large Aperture Telescope for Polarimetry during its 2010 campaign. Here again we do not find any correlation between the core morphology distribution and the average orientation of the magnetic fields on parsec scales. Our main conclusion is that the local filament dynamics---including secondary filaments that often run orthogonally to the primary filament---and possibly small-scale variations in the local magnetic field direction, could be the dominant factors for explaining the final orientation of each core
- …