Predictors and Outcomes of Postpartum Mothers\u27 Perceptions of Readiness for Discharge after Birth

Objective: To identify predictors and outcomes of postpartum mothers\u27 perceptions of their readiness for hospital discharge. Design: A correlational design with path analyses was used to explore predictive relationships among transition theory-related variables. Setting: Midwestern tertiary perinatal center. Participants: One hundred and forty-one mixed-parity postpartum mothers who had experienced vaginal birth or Cesarean delivery of normal healthy infants. Methods: Before hospital discharge, patients completed questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, hospitalization factors, quality of discharge teaching, and readiness for discharge. Three weeks postdischarge, mothers were contacted by telephone to collect coping difficulty and health care utilization data. Main Outcome Measures: Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale, Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale, Utilization of postdischarge services. Results: Quality of discharge teaching, specifically the relative difference in the amount of informational content needed and received and the skills of nurses in delivering discharge teaching, explained 38% of the variance in postpartum mothers\u27 perceptions of discharge readiness. Readiness for discharge scores explained 22% of the variance in postdischarge coping difficulty scores. Nurses\u27 skills in delivery of discharge teaching, coping difficulty, patient characteristics, and birth hospitalization factors were predictive of utilization of family support and postdischarge health care services. Conclusion: A trajectory of influence was evident in the sequential relationships of quality of discharge teaching, readiness for discharge, postdischarge coping, and utilization of family support and health care services. Transitions theory provided a useful framework for conceptualizing and investigating the transition home after childbirth

Adolescent Exposure to Food Advertising on Television

Summarizes a study of the link between adolescents' exposure to television advertising for healthy and unhealthy foods and rates of obesity. Compares data by type of food product and race/ethnicity

Ebola Contact Tracing Study data

The collection contains four datasets captured in the Ebola Contact Tracing Study: [1] 'summary_data_cases' contains details of the 41 confirmed Ebola cases included in the study; [2] 'app_data_contacts' contains details of the 646 Ebola contacts registered on the Ebola Contact Tracing App (ECT) smartphone app. These originate from 18 Ebola cases (16 were laboratory confirmed and 2 were “secret burials” that were not confirmed); [3] 'paper_data_contacts' describes 408 Ebola contacts who were identified from 25 Ebola cases for monitoring using the standard paper-based system for contact tracing; and [4] 'main_analysis_dataset' contains information on 804 Ebola contacts and their contact tracing monitoring status collected using both the ECT app and paper-based system

Optometric and educational considerations in the management of Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The purpose of this paper is to review the current literature on Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) and to explore the options for management of children with the disorder. The areas that are addressed include 1) a history and definition of ADD/ADHD, the signs and symptoms, the theories behind why ADD/ ADHD occurs, the diagnostic procedures used to identify ADD/ ADHD children, the role of the optometrist in this process, an overview of the treatment options, 2) an aid for teachers in the understanding of the visual problems associated with ADD/ADHD and the visual effects of drug treatment and the effects this has on classroom learning, and 3) vision therapy techniques and methods of classroom modification that help alleviate symptoms of ADD/ADHD

The Cell-Cycle Regulatory Protein p21CIP1/WAF1 Is Required for Cytolethal Distending Toxin (Cdt)-Induced Apoptosis.

The Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans cytolethal distending toxin (Cdt) induces lymphocytes to undergo cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis; toxicity is dependent upon the active Cdt subunit, CdtB. We now demonstrate that p21CIP1/WAF1 is critical to Cdt-induced apoptosis. Cdt induces increases in the levels of p21CIP1/WAF1 in lymphoid cell lines, Jurkat and MyLa, and in primary human lymphocytes. These increases were dependent upon CdtB's ability to function as a phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) phosphatase. It is noteworthy that Cdt-induced increases in the levels of p21CIP1/WAF1 were accompanied by a significant decline in the levels of phosphorylated p21CIP1/WAF1. The significance of Cdt-induced p21CIP1/WAF1 increase was assessed by preventing these changes with a two-pronged approach; pre-incubation with the novel p21CIP1/WAF1 inhibitor, UC2288, and development of a p21CIP1/WAF1-deficient cell line (Jurkatp21-) using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/cas9 gene editing. UC2288 blocked toxin-induced increases in p21CIP1/WAF1, and JurkatWT cells treated with this inhibitor exhibited reduced susceptibility to Cdt-induced apoptosis. Likewise, Jurkatp21- cells failed to undergo toxin-induced apoptosis. The linkage between Cdt, p21CIP1/WAF1, and apoptosis was further established by demonstrating that Cdt-induced increases in levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bid, Bax, and Bak were dependent upon p21CIP1/WAF1 as these changes were not observed in Jurkatp21- cells. Finally, we determined that the p21CIP1/WAF1 increases were dependent upon toxin-induced increases in the level and activity of the chaperone heat shock protein (HSP) 90. We propose that p21CIP1/WAF1 plays a key pro-apoptotic role in mediating Cdt-induced toxicity

Prenatal Serum Concentrations of Brominated Flame Retardants and Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability in the Early Markers of Autism Study: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in California.

BackgroundPrior studies suggest neurodevelopmental impacts of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), but few have examined diagnosed developmental disorders.ObjectivesOur aim was to determine whether prenatal exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs) is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disability without autism (ID).MethodsWe conducted a population-based case-control study including children with ASD (n=545) and ID (n=181) identified from the California Department of Developmental Services and general population (GP) controls (n=418) from state birth certificates. ASD cases were matched to controls by sex, birth month, and birth year. Concentrations of 10 BFRs were measured in maternal second trimester serum samples stored from routine screening. Logistic regression was used to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for associations with ASD, and separately for ID, compared with GP controls, by quartiles of analyte concentrations in primary analyses.ResultsGeometric mean concentrations of five of the six congeners with ≥55% of samples above the limit of detection were lower in mothers of children with ASD or ID than in controls. In adjusted analyses, inverse associations with several congeners were found for ASD relative to GP (e.g., quartile 4 vs. 1, BDE-153: AOR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.84). When stratified by child sex (including 99 females with ASD, 77 with ID, and 73 with GP), estimates were consistent with overall analyses in boys, but in the opposite direction among girls, particularly for BDE-28 and -47 (AOR=2.58, 95% CI: 0.86, 7.79 and AOR=2.64, 95% CI: 0.97, 7.19, respectively). Similar patterns overall and by sex were observed for ID.ConclusionsContrary to expectation, higher PBDE concentrations were associated with decreased odds of ASD and ID, though not in girls. These findings require confirmation but suggest potential sexual dimorphism in associations with prenatal exposure to BFRs. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1079

Von der Rampenbeleuchtung zur modernen Theaterbeleuchtung

Die vorliegende Arbeit mit dem Titel „Von der Rampenbeleuchtung zur modernen Theaterbeleuchtung“ beschäftigt sich mit den Techniken der Beleuchtung von der Renaissance bis ins 19.Jahrhundert und versucht die Gründe für bestimmte Beleuchtungsmethoden und Beleuchtungsstandorte, allen voran die Rampenbeleuchtung, aufzuzeigen. Die Rampenbeleuchtung wurde sehr lange beibehalten, sie wurde von Beginn an hart kritisiert, ihr wurde Unnatürlichkeit vorgeworfen, und dass sie die Gesichter der Schauspieler verzerrte. Und dennoch überlebte sie über Jahrhunderte hinweg. Dies lag sowohl an der Technik als auch an der Gesellschaft der damaligen Zeit. Auch das Bühnenbild spielte eine wichtige Rolle. In diesem Zusammenhang wird in der Diplomarbeit direkt auf Texte eingegangen, die von Theoretikern aus der Zeit der Rampenbeleuchtung stammen. Wie wurde sie von ihnen aufgenommen, was wurde zur Verbesserung vorgeschlagen und gab es überhaupt eine Möglichkeit, die Verbesserungsvorschläge praktisch umzusetzen. Ein wichtiger Grund war, dass die Technik noch nicht so weit fortgeschritten war. Ein Teil der Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Geschichte der Beleuchtungstechnik, ein weiterer Teil mit dem Zuschauerraum des Theaters. Trotz zahlreicher Forderungen nach Abdunkelung blieb dieser noch bis ins 19. Jahrhundert hell erleuchtet. Grund dafür war teilweise das Publikum, das darauf noch nicht vorbereitet war. Die für die Arbeit verwendeten Quellen reichen vom 17. bis ins 21. Jahrhundert. Die methodische Herangehensweise ist es, aus den verschiedensten Werken die zentralsten Punkte herauszuarbeiten und der Beleuchtungsgeschichte eine übersichtliche Form zu geben. Die Bibliographie enthält sowohl Primärwerke von Theoretikern, als auch Sekundärwerke über die Bühne im Allgemeinen und die Beleuchtung im Speziellen

Indicators of Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in Fishing Dependent Communities Along the Eastern and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. Marine Policy

Changing climatic conditions are affecting the relationship between fishing communities and the marine resources they depend on. This shift will require an adaptive response on the part of policy makers and fishery managers. In the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) established, in its fisheries agency (NOAA Fisheries), a set of social indicators of fishing community vulnerability and resilience to evaluate the impacts of changes in fishery management regimes. These indicators enhance the analytical capabilities within NOAA Fisheries for conducting fisheries social impact assessments and informing ecosystem-based fishery management. Building on the existing Community Social Vulnerability Indicators (CSVIs), new measures of climate change vulnerability are defined for the U.S. Eastern and Gulf coasts. These new indicators are used to assess the impact of sea level rise on critical commercial fishing infrastructure and the dependence of communities on species identified as vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Examples are provided in this article to demonstrate the utility of these new indicators to policy makers and the NOAA strategic goal for building resilient coastal communities that are environmentally and economically sustainable. Integration of CSVIs and the new climate change vulnerability indices highlight community needs for unique solutions in order to adapt to environmental and social changes and maintain their well-being