Mosquitoborne Infections after Hurricane Jeanne, Haiti, 2004

After Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004, surveillance for mosquitoborne diseases in Gonaïves, Haiti, identified 3 patients with malaria, 2 with acute dengue infections, and 2 with acute West Nile virus infections among 116 febrile patients. These are the first reported human West Nile virus infections on the island of Hispaniola

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 28, Folk Festival Supplement

• Fifteen Years of Quilting at the Festival • The Shunning • Band Boxes • Cooking for the Lord • A Harvest of Handicrafted Items from the Craft Stalls • Festival Focus • Folk Festival Programs • Country Auctions: Going, Going, But Not Gone! • A Look at PA. Dutch Folk Art Through the Eye of a Needle • Herb Vinegars, Jellies and Salad Dressings • Modern, Clean Rest Rooms: They are Appreciated! • Decorative Paintinghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1084/thumbnail.jp

Isolation and characterization of cidofovir resistant vaccinia viruses

© 2008 Becker et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Positive Approaches to Phosphorus Balancing in Southwest Missouri: Animal Manure Phosphorus Recycling Initiative

Document presented on July 12, 2001 at Crowder College, Neosho, MO and on November 6 & 7 at Water Quality Research in the White River Basin Conference in Springfield, MO.Opportunities exist to create value added animal waste fertilizer products that can be used in crop production, reducing import demands for phosphorus, and relocating phosphorus from areas of excess supply to areas of need for crop production. This paper focuses on opportunities to recycle poultry litter in southwest Missouri.This project is a cooperative effort of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The work is supported by EPA grant X997396-01, Region VII U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under section 104 (b)(3). The Missouri Department of Agriculture appropriated funds to support the work in this report

A pilot evaluation of the Strengthening a Palliative Approach in Long-Term Care (SPA-LTC) program

Background: Despite increased annual mortality in long-term care (LTC) homes, research has shown that care of dying residents and their families is currently suboptimal in these settings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate resident and family outcomes associated with the Strengthening a Palliative Approach in LTC (SPA-LTC) program, developed to help encourage meaningful end of life discussions and planning. Methods: The study employs a mixed method design in four LTC homes across Southern Ontario. Data were collected from residents and families of the LTC homes through chart reviews, interviews, and focus groups. Interviews with family who attended a Palliative Care Conference included both closed-ended and open-ended questions. Results: In total, 39 residents/families agreed to participate in the study. Positive intervention outcomes included a reduction in the proportion of emergency department use at end of life and hospital deaths for those participating in SPA-LTC, improved support for families, and increased family involvement in the care of residents. For families who attended a Palliative Care Conference, both quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that families benefited from attending them. Residents stated that they appreciated learning about a palliative approach to care and being informed about their current status. Conclusions: The benefits of SPA-LTC for residents and families justify its continued use within LTC. Study results also suggest that certain enhancements of the program could further promote future integration of best practices within a palliative approach to care within the LTC context. However, the generalizability of these results across LTC homes in different regions and countries is limited given the small sample size

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 26, Folk Festival Supplement

• Bonnets, Bonnets, Bonnets • Theorem Painting on Velvet • Spinning, Weaving and Lace Making • Mennonites: A Peaceful People • Special Police Force Directs Traffic • Candle Dipping and Molding • Festival Focus • Folk Festival Programs • The Old One-Room School • The Art of Making Brooms • Koom Rei, Huck Dich un Essa (Come In, Sit Down and Eat) • Old Fashioned Apple Butter Making • Fraktur: An Enduring Art Form • Covered Bridges: Folk Festival Questionnairehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1074/thumbnail.jp

Appropriate disclosure of a diagnosis of dementia : identifying the key behaviours of 'best practice'

Background: Despite growing evidence that many people with dementia want to know their diagnosis, there is wide variation in attitudes of professionals towards disclosure. The disclosure of the diagnosis of dementia is increasingly recognised as being a process rather than a one-off behaviour. However, the different behaviours that contribute to this process have not been comprehensively defined. No intervention studies to improve diagnostic disclosure in dementia have been reported to date. As part of a larger study to develop an intervention to promote appropriate disclosure, we sought to identify important disclosure behaviours and explore whether supplementing a literature review with other methods would result in the identification of new behaviours. Methods: To identify a comprehensive list of behaviours in disclosure we conducted a literature review, interviewed people with dementia and informal carers, and used a consensus process involving health and social care professionals. Content analysis of the full list of behaviours was carried out. Results: Interviews were conducted with four people with dementia and six informal carers. Eight health and social care professionals took part in the consensus panel. From the interviews, consensus panel and literature review 220 behaviours were elicited, with 109 behaviours over-lapping. The interviews and consensus panel elicited 27 behaviours supplementary to the review. Those from the interviews appeared to be self-evident but highlighted deficiencies in current practice and from the panel focused largely on balancing the needs of people with dementia and family members. Behaviours were grouped into eight categories: preparing for disclosure; integrating family members; exploring the patient's perspective; disclosing the diagnosis; responding to patient reactions; focusing on quality of life and well-being; planning for the future; and communicating effectively. Conclusion: This exercise has highlighted the complexity of the process of disclosing a diagnosis of dementia in an appropriate manner. It confirms that many of the behaviours identified in the literature (often based on professional opinion rather than empirical evidence) also resonate with people with dementia and informal carers. The presence of contradictory behaviours emphasises the need to tailor the process of disclosure to individual patients and carers. Our combined methods may be relevant to other efforts to identify and define complex clinical practices for further study.This project is funded by UK Medical Research Council, Grant reference number G0300999

A network analysis to identify mediators of germline-driven differences in breast cancer prognosis.

Identifying the underlying genetic drivers of the heritability of breast cancer prognosis remains elusive. We adapt a network-based approach to handle underpowered complex datasets to provide new insights into the potential function of germline variants in breast cancer prognosis. This network-based analysis studies ~7.3 million variants in 84,457 breast cancer patients in relation to breast cancer survival and confirms the results on 12,381 independent patients. Aggregating the prognostic effects of genetic variants across multiple genes, we identify four gene modules associated with survival in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and one in ER-positive disease. The modules show biological enrichment for cancer-related processes such as G-alpha signaling, circadian clock, angiogenesis, and Rho-GTPases in apoptosis

Microscopy-BIDS: An Extension to the Brain Imaging Data Structure for Microscopy Data

The Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) is a specification for organizing, sharing, and archiving neuroimaging data and metadata in a reusable way. First developed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets, the community-led specification evolved rapidly to include other modalities such as magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and quantitative MRI (qMRI). In this work, we present an extension to BIDS for microscopy imaging data, along with example datasets. Microscopy-BIDS supports common imaging methods, including 2D/3D, ex/in vivo, micro-CT, and optical and electron microscopy. Microscopy-BIDS also includes comprehensible metadata definitions for hardware, image acquisition, and sample properties. This extension will facilitate future harmonization efforts in the context of multi-modal, multi-scale imaging such as the characterization of tissue microstructure with qMRI