Ram Essential

The underlying causes of food insecurity are complex and often intertwined with related issues that affect a student’s ability to meet even basic needs, such as housing, employment and health care, forcing them to choose between their well-being and their education. The latest Hunger in America report finds that about 10 percent of Feed America’s 46.5 million adult clients are college students. That equates to 2 million full-time college students. “Of those surveyed by the emergency food services network, roughly 30.5 percent of students reported that they were forced to choose between food and educational expenses at some point over the last year.”1 In response, colleges and universities, including VCU, have sprung into action, and the number of campus food pantries at higher educational institutions has risen from a handful in 2009 to more than 500 in 2017.2 But changing food insecurity to food security goes beyond providing just food. It involves a comprehensive approach to providing resources that address the causes and results of being food insecure. Ram Essentials is a holistic approach to addressing basic needs insecurity among VCU students by asking the question, What is essential for our students to be successful? The project focuses on raising the awareness of all existing VCU resources and disseminating them widely through a single user-friendly portal to enhance students’ experience, academic achievement and physical and mental well-being

HLA-A*23 Is Associated With Lower Odds of Acute Retroviral Syndrome in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection: A Multicenter Sub-Saharan African Study

The role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and killer immunoglobulin-like receptor molecules in mediating acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is unclear. Among 72 sub-Saharan African adults, HLA-A*23 was associated with lower odds of ARS (adjusted odds ratio, 0.10 [95% confidence interval, .01–.48]; P = .009), which warrants further studies to explore its role on HIV-1–specific immunopathogenesis

TREASURE – Targeting Emerging Contaminated Sediments Along the Uplifting Northern Baltic Coast of Sweden for Remediation : En sammanfattning av ett fyraårigt forskningsprojekt om fiberbankar inom forskningsprogrammet TUFFO

Det tvärvetenskapliga och ämnesöverskridande forskningsprojektet TREASURE genomfördes mellan åren 2014 och 2019. Projektet finansierades genom FORMAS-SGI TUFFO-initiativet som hade som mål att påskynda sanering av förorenade platser. TREASURE fokuserade på så kallade fiberbankar, som är relativt tjocka avlagringar av förorenade organiskt (cellulosa) rika sediment och som ansamlats i recipienter utanför pappers- och massafabriker innan införandet av miljölagstiftning i slutet av 1960-talet förbjöd detta. Hantering av dessa avlagringar och tillhörande fiberrika sediment som det finns mycket av längs Sveriges nordöstra kust (och vissa sjöar), kräver att platser riskbedöms och prioriteras för åtgärd. En avgörande aspekt av riskbedömningen är spridningen av föroreningar och deras biotillgänglighet. Inom TREASURE tillämpades en ny kombination av analysmetoder, som inkluderade in-situ-mätningar av (i) sedimentgeofysiska och geotekniska egenskaper som en del av analys för släntstabilitet, (ii) spridning av föroreningar genom advektion och diffusion, (iii) bioackumulation och biomagnifikation i bentiska organismer och (iv) studier av mikrobiell genetik.  Resultaten visar att de fiberbankar som studerats är svåra att ta prover på och svåra att fysiskt karakterisera med de metoder som traditionellt används på sediment som vanligtvis har en högre minerogen halt. Den naturliga produktionen av gas, som är resultatet av mikrobiell nedbrytning av organiskt material, har lett till att fiberbankarna har en låg bulkdensitet, vilket i sin tur medför att gränsen mellan fiberbanken och överliggande vattenmassa är svåra att urskilja. Baserat på en kombination av flera metoder och parametrar beräknades exempelvis en av fiberbankarna vara ungefär 12 m mäktig vid en provtagningsplats, vilket var betydligt mer än en tidigare uppskattning som gjorts baserat på mer begränsade metoder. Det framgick också att de fiberbankar som studerats är relativt stabila i relation till släntstabilitet, förmodligen på grund av den låga bulkdensiteten. Däremot finns det en risk att de underliggande naturliga sedimenten som fiberbanken vilar på kan ge vika på grund av ökat porvattentryck i relativt grova skikt inbäddade i finsedimenten

Ventilatory settings in the initial 72 h and their association with outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients: a preplanned secondary analysis of the targeted hypothermia versus targeted normothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (TTM2) trial

International audienc

Oxygen targets and 6-month outcome after out of hospital cardiac arrest: a pre-planned sub-analysis of the targeted hypothermia versus targeted normothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (TTM2) trial

International audienceAbstract Background Optimal oxygen targets in patients resuscitated after cardiac arrest are uncertain. The primary aim of this study was to describe the values of partial pressure of oxygen values (PaO 2 ) and the episodes of hypoxemia and hyperoxemia occurring within the first 72 h of mechanical ventilation in out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. The secondary aim was to evaluate the association of PaO 2 with patients’ outcome. Methods Preplanned secondary analysis of the targeted hypothermia versus targeted normothermia after OHCA (TTM2) trial. Arterial blood gases values were collected from randomization every 4 h for the first 32 h, and then, every 8 h until day 3. Hypoxemia was defined as PaO 2  300 mmHg. Mortality and poor neurological outcome (defined according to modified Rankin scale) were collected at 6 months. Results 1418 patients were included in the analysis. The mean age was 64 ± 14 years, and 292 patients (20.6%) were female. 24.9% of patients had at least one episode of hypoxemia, and 7.6% of patients had at least one episode of severe hyperoxemia. Both hypoxemia and hyperoxemia were independently associated with 6-month mortality, but not with poor neurological outcome. The best cutoff point associated with 6-month mortality for hypoxemia was 69 mmHg (Risk Ratio, RR = 1.009, 95% CI 0.93–1.09), and for hyperoxemia was 195 mmHg (RR = 1.006, 95% CI 0.95–1.06). The time exposure, i.e., the area under the curve (PaO 2 -AUC), for hyperoxemia was significantly associated with mortality ( p = 0.003). Conclusions In OHCA patients, both hypoxemia and hyperoxemia are associated with 6-months mortality, with an effect mediated by the timing exposure to high values of oxygen. Precise titration of oxygen levels should be considered in this group of patients. Trial registration : clinicaltrials.gov NCT02908308 , Registered September 20, 2016