A Trade Union Perspective on Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a major workplace problem. It occurs in large workplaces and in small ones. Sexual harassment is no respector of race, age, class or status within the workplace or the community. Its victims are overwhelmingly women

Empowering Women through Microfinance in Some Selected Microfinance Institution and Small Scale Business Women in Takoradi Business Area

Women play vital role in the economic development of their families and communities but certain problems such as unemployment, poverty, low household income and societal discrimination mainly in the developing countries have hindered their effective performance of that role. It is revealed that small scale business women could be effective strategists if they are empowered to be economically active to give quality life to their households since they form majority of small scale business in the country. The research revealed that microfinance institutions mainly target women because most of them engage in small scale business and empowering them will not only increase economic activities in the country but also sharpen them to support their families and their communities and make effective decisions as well. Conclusions drawn was in respect of the fact that though microfinance has empowered women, the impact have not been felt because of the challenges in the areas of cash collateral, high interest rate, mode of debt payment and virtually same products being offered to customers. Potential and existing customers are discouraged to access loan. Again, default being one of the challenges of the microfinance institutions are on the higher side and strategies should be put in place to ensure that customers pay for their debts in due time in order to keep the microfinance institutions in operations all the time. Keywords: microfinance, women empowerment in small scale busines

Equitable and Fair Assessments of English Learners in California’s New Assessment System

This article focuses on the assessment needs that are unique to English learners (ELs) and provides a comprehensive set of recommendations regarding their equitable and fair assessment. Specific recommendations are provided for when to assess ELs, accommodations for ELs, and the budget and infrastructure that necessary to support these accommodations. The authors expect that these recommendations resonate with state leaders and policymakers as the state of California transitions to a new state assessment system.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_journalarticles/1004/thumbnail.jp

Test, Trace, and Isolate: Covid-19 and the Canadian Constitution

Contact tracing is essential to controlling the spread of infectious disease and plays a central role in plans to safely loosen Covid-19 physical distancing measures and begin to reopen the economy. Contact tracing apps, used in conjunction with established human contact tracing methods, could serve as part of Canada’s “test, trace, and isolate” strategy. In this brief, we consider the potential benefits of using contract tracing apps to identify people who have been exposed to Covid-19, as well as the limitations of using this technology. We also consider the privacy implications of different app design choices. Finally, we consider how the privacy impacts of contact tracing apps could be evaluated under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which provides a framework for balancing competing rights and interests. We argue that so long as apps are carefully constructed and the information they reveal is appropriately safeguarded, tracing apps may have a role to play in the response of a free and democratic society to the Covid 19 pandemic. 1. Improving the Efficiency of Human Contact Tracing: The public health goal of a contact tracing app should be to integrate with human contact tracing and make it more efficient rather than replace it. We need to keep humans in the loop to ensure accuracy and to maintain the important social functions of contact tracing, which includes educating people about risks and helping them access social supports. 2. Privacy Choices: Currently, the most privacy-protective design for contact tracing apps makes use of proximity data (via Bluetooth) through a decentralized design. This method is receiving significant technical support from Apple and Google. However, this method fails to integrate with the human contact tracing system. Other options, such as the use of location logs or a centralized registration system, are more aligned with the public health goal of integration with human contact tracing but raise additional privacy questions. In addition to the constitutional questions raised by these privacy choices, there are two important considerations. First, social trust is important. If individuals do not feel comfortable with using a particular contact tracing app there will not be the large-scale uptake needed to make these an effective addition to human contact tracing. Second, due to various technical challenges, it is difficult to make effective contact tracing apps utilizing proximity data unless one uses the method supported by Apple and Google. However, Google and Apple prohibit app developers both from utilizing centralized methods and from utilizing location data. 3. Constitutional Balancing: Our privacy commissioners have discussed the need to assess these privacy choices according to the principles of necessity and proportionality. The Canadian Charter provides an important framework for thinking about these principles as it provides us with a framework for how to balance rights and interests in a free and democratic society. The Charter requires that we choose the most privacy-protective app design that meets the public health goal, so long as the benefits of meeting this goal outweigh its deleterious effects on privacy. This requires a reasonable belief in the efficacy of such an app. It also requires an assessment of the nature of the benefits, which are not just the economic benefits of reopening the economy. The currently prevailing restrictions on movement and work are themselves limitations of basic rights and liberties. Individuals who self-isolate in situations of poverty, precarious housing, mental health challenges, abusive relationships, or other vulnerabilities face challenges that affect their security of the person. There are also broader effects on equality and human flourishing. If contact tracing, enhanced by an app, reduces the need for restrictions in the form of self-isolation, it promotes other Charter rights and values (e.g., security of the person) which must be balanced against the potential infringement of privacy rights

Screening for Alzheimer’s Disease in Vermont Primary Care Practice

Introduction: • Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a form of progressive dementia that affects 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth leading cause of death in the US. • Age is a major risk factor for disease , and 1 in 8 Americans over 65 can expect to develop AD. • The U.S. healthcare system spends $172 billion/year on patients with AD and dementia, more than half of the Medicare budget. This cost is estimated to increase to over$1 trillion by 2050. • In 2003, the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) concluded that screening older adults for dementia is ineffective due to insufficient means of preventing or slowing its progression. • In 2011, the National Institute on Aging published new diagnostic criteria for AD. • In accordance with these guidelines the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released rules for the new Annual Wellness Visit that include the detection of cognitive impairment. • Our goal was to identify the attitudes and practices of primary care physicians (PCPs) in Vermont (VT) related to screening for AD and dementia.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1063/thumbnail.jp

Modifiable lifestyle factors associated with risk of sessile serrated polyps, conventional adenomas, and hyperplastic polyps

ObjectiveTo identify modifiable factors associated with sessile serrated polyps (SSPs) and compare the association of these factors with conventional adenomas (ADs) and hyperplastic polyps (HPs).DesignWe used data from the Tennessee Colorectal Polyp Study, a colonoscopy-based case–control study. Included were 214 SSP cases, 1779 AD cases, 560 HP cases and 3851 polyp-free controls.ResultsCigarette smoking was associated with increased risk for all polyps and was stronger for SSPs than for ADs (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.62, for current vs never, ptrend=0.008). Current regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was associated with a 40% reduction in SSP risk in comparison with never users (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.96, ptrend=0.03), similar to the association with AD. Red meat intake was strongly associated with SSP risk (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.41 to 4.74 for highest vs lowest intake, ptrend&lt;0.001) and the association with SSP was stronger than with AD (ptrend=0.003). Obesity, folate intake, fibre intake and fat intake were not associated with SSP risk after adjustment for other factors. Exercise, alcohol use and calcium intake were not associated with risk for SSPs.ConclusionsSSPs share some modifiable risk factors for ADs, some of which are more strongly associated with SSPs than ADs. Thus, preventive efforts to reduce risk for ADs may also be applicable to SSPs. Additionally, SSPs have some distinctive risk factors. Future studies should evaluate the preventive strategies for these factors. The findings from this study also contribute to an understanding of the aetiology and biology of SSPs.</jats:sec

Treatment with patiromer decreases aldosterone in patients with chronic kidney disease and hyperkalemia on renin-angiotensin system inhibitors

Elevated serum aldosterone can be vasculotoxic and facilitate cardiorenal damage. Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors reduce serum aldosterone levels and/or block its effects but can cause hyperkalemia. Patiromer, a nonabsorbed potassium binder, decreases serum potassium in patients with chronic kidney disease on renin-angiotensin system inhibitors. Here we examined the effect of patiromer treatment on serum aldosterone, blood pressure, and albuminuria in patients with chronic kidney disease on renin-angiotensin system inhibitors with hyperkalemia (serum potassium 5.1–6.5 mEq/l). We analyzed data from the phase 3 OPAL-HK study (4-week initial treatment phase of 243 patients; 8-week randomized withdrawal phase of 107 patients). In the treatment phase, the (mean ± standard error) serum potassium was decreased concordantly with the serum aldosterone (−1.99 ± 0.51 ng/dl), systolic/diastolic blood pressure (−5.64 ± 1.04 mm Hg/−3.84 ± 0.69 mm Hg), and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (−203.7 ± 54.7 mg/g), all in a statistically significant manner. The change in the plasma renin activity (−0.44 ± 0.63 μg/l/hr) was not significant. In the withdrawal phase, mean aldosterone levels were sustained with patiromer (+0.23 ± 1.07 ng/dl) and significantly increased with placebo (+2.78 ± 1.25 ng/dl). Patients on patiromer had significant reductions in mean systolic/diastolic blood pressure (−6.70 ± 1.59/−2.15 ± 1.06 mm Hg), whereas those on placebo did not (−1.21 ± 1.89 mm Hg/+1.72 ± 1.26 mm Hg). Significant changes in plasma renin activity were found only in the placebo group (–3.90 ± 1.41 μg/l/hr). Thus, patiromer reduced serum potassium and aldosterone levels independent of plasma renin activity in patients with chronic kidney disease and hyperkalemia on renin-angiotensin system inhibitors

Colorectal cancer risk following adenoma removal: a large prospective population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials have demonstrated significant reductions in colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality associated with polypectomy. However, little is known about whether polypectomy is effective at reducing CRC risk in routine clinical practice. The aim of this investigation was to quantify CRC risk following polypectomy in a large prospective population-based cohort study. METHODS: Patients with incident colorectal polyps between 2000 and 2005 in Northern Ireland (NI) were identified via electronic pathology reports received to the NI Cancer Registry (NICR). Patients were matched to the NICR to detect CRC and deaths up to 31(st) December 2010. CRC standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated and Cox proportional hazards modelling applied to determine CRC risk. RESULTS: During 44,724 person-years of follow-up, 193 CRC cases were diagnosed amongst 6,972 adenoma patients, representing an annual progression rate of 0.43%. CRC risk was significantly elevated in patients who had an adenoma removed (SIR 2.85; 95% CI: 2.61 to 3.25) compared with the general population. Male sex, older age, rectal site and villous architecture were associated with an increased CRC risk in adenoma patients. Further analysis suggested that not having a full colonoscopy performed at, or following, incident polypectomy contributed to the excess CRC risk. CONCLUSIONS: CRC risk was elevated in individuals following polypectomy for adenoma, outside of screening programmes. IMPACT: This finding emphasises the need for full colonoscopy and adenoma clearance, and appropriate surveillance, after endoscopic diagnosis of adenoma

Parkland, September 30, 1987

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1987/1020/thumbnail.jp