446 research outputs found
Recurrent violent injury: magnitude, risk factors, and opportunities for intervention from a statewide analysis.
INTRODUCTION: Although preventing recurrent violent injury is an important component of a public health approach to interpersonal violence and a common focus of violence intervention programs, the true incidence of recurrent violent injury is unknown. Prior studies have reported recurrence rates from 0.8% to 44%, and risk factors for recurrence are not well established.
METHODS: We used a statewide, all-payer database to perform a retrospective cohort study of emergency department visits for injury due to interpersonal violence in Florida, following up patients injured in 2010 for recurrence through 2012. We assessed risk factors for recurrence with multivariable logistic regression and estimated time to recurrence with the Kaplan-Meier method. We tabulated hospital charges and costs for index and recurrent visits.
RESULTS: Of 53 908 patients presenting for violent injury in 2010, 11.1% had a recurrent violent injury during the study period. Trauma centers treated 31.8%, including 55.9% of severe injuries. Among recurrers, 58.9% went to a different hospital for their second injury. Low income, homelessness, Medicaid or uninsurance, and black race were associated with increased odds of recurrence. Patients with visits for mental and behavioral health and unintentional injury also had increased odds of recurrence. Index injuries accounted for 25.3 million.
CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent violent injury is a common and costly phenomenon, and effective violence prevention programs are needed. Prevention must include the nontrauma centers where many patients seek care
Patient experience and challenges in group concept mapping for clinical research.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Group concept mapping (GCM) is a research method that engages stakeholders in generating, structuring and representing ideas around a specific topic or question. GCM has been used with patients to answer questions related to health and disease but little is known about the patient experience as a participant in the process. This paper explores the patient experience participating in GCM as assessed with direct observation and surveys of participants.
METHODS: This is a secondary analysis performed within a larger study in which 3 GCM iterations were performed to engage patients in identifying patient-important outcomes for diabetes care. Researchers tracked the frequency and type of assistance required by each participant to complete the sorting and rating steps of GCM. In addition, a 17-question patient experience survey was administered over the telephone to the participants after they had completed the GCM process. Survey questions asked about the personal impact of participating in GCM and the ease of various steps of the GCM process.
RESULTS: Researchers helped patients 92 times during the 3 GCM iterations, most commonly to address software and computer literacy issues, but also with the sorting phase itself. Of the 52 GCM participants, 40 completed the post-GCM survey. Respondents averaged 56âyears of age, were 50% female and had an average hemoglobin A1c of 9.1%. Ninety-two percent (nâ=â37) of respondents felt that they had contributed something important to this research project and 90% (nâ=â36) agreed or strongly agreed that their efforts would help others with diabetes. Respondents reported that the brainstorming session was less difficult when compared with sorting and rating of statements.
DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that patients find value in participating in GCM. Patients reported less comfort with the sorting step of GCM when compared with brainstorming, an observation that correlates with our observations from the GCM sessions. Researchers should consider using paper sorting methods and objective measures of sorting quality when using GCM in patient-engaged research to improve the patient experience and concept map quality
Examining the Role of Diagnosis in the Emergency Department Experience
Study Objective:
To explore the social, functional, and emotional needs that patients want addressed when seeking a diagnosis at their ED visit.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/cwicposters/1037/thumbnail.jp
The small world of global marine fisheries: the cross-boundary consequences of larval dispersal
Fish stocks are managed within national boundaries and by regional organizations, but the interdependence of stocks between these jurisdictions, especially as a result of larval dispersal, remains poorly explored. We examined the international connectivity of 747 commercially fished taxonomic groups by building a global network of fish larval dispersal. We found that the worldâs fisheries are highly interconnected, forming a small-world network, emphasizing the need for international cooperation. We quantify each countryâs dependence on its neighbors in terms of landed value, food security, and jobs. We estimate that more than $10 billion in annual catch from 2005 to 2014 is attributable to these international flows of larvae. The economic risks associated with these dependencies is greatest in the tropics
Correlated Prompt Fission Data in Transport Simulations
Detailed information on the fission process can be inferred from the
observation, modeling and theoretical understanding of prompt fission neutron
and -ray~observables. Beyond simple average quantities, the study of
distributions and correlations in prompt data, e.g., multiplicity-dependent
neutron and \gray~spectra, angular distributions of the emitted particles,
-, -, and -~correlations, can place stringent
constraints on fission models and parameters that would otherwise be free to be
tuned separately to represent individual fission observables. The FREYA~and
CGMF~codes have been developed to follow the sequential emissions of prompt
neutrons and -rays~from the initial excited fission fragments produced
right after scission. Both codes implement Monte Carlo techniques to sample
initial fission fragment configurations in mass, charge and kinetic energy and
sample probabilities of neutron and ~emission at each stage of the
decay. This approach naturally leads to using simple but powerful statistical
techniques to infer distributions and correlations among many observables and
model parameters. The comparison of model calculations with experimental data
provides a rich arena for testing various nuclear physics models such as those
related to the nuclear structure and level densities of neutron-rich nuclei,
the -ray~strength functions of dipole and quadrupole transitions, the
mechanism for dividing the excitation energy between the two nascent fragments
near scission, and the mechanisms behind the production of angular momentum in
the fragments, etc. Beyond the obvious interest from a fundamental physics
point of view, such studies are also important for addressing data needs in
various nuclear applications. (See text for full abstract.)Comment: 39 pages, 57 figure files, published in Eur. Phys. J. A, reference
added this versio
Emergency Medicine Resident Perceptions About the Need for Increased Training in Communicating Diagnostic Uncertainty.
Introduction Diagnostic uncertainty is common in healthcare encounters. Effective communication is important to help patients and providers navigate diagnostic uncertainty, especially at transitions of care. This study sought to assess the experience and training of emergency medicine (EM) residents with communication of diagnostic uncertainty. Methods This was a survey study of a national sample of EM residents. The survey questions elicited quantitative and qualitative responses about experiences with and educational preparation for communication with patients in the setting of diagnostic uncertainty. Results A sample of 263 emergency medicine residents who had trained at over 87 medical schools and 37 residency programs responded to the survey. Nearly half of participants noted they frequently encountered challenges with these conversations; 63% reported having been somewhat or less trained to have these conversations during residency, and 51% expressed a strong desire for more training in how to approach these discussions. Survey respondents reported that prior educational experiences in the communication of diagnostic uncertainty were largely informal and that many residents experience frustration in clinical encounters due to inability to meet patients\u27 expectations of reaching a diagnosis at the time of discharge. Conclusion This study found that emergency medicine residents frequently struggle in communicating with patients when there is diagnostic uncertainty upon emergency department discharge and perceived the need for training in how to communicate in these situations. The development of targeted educational strategies for improving communication in the setting of diagnostic uncertainty is consistent with emergency medicine core competencies and may improve patient and provider satisfaction with these clinical encounters
FORTY-EIGHTH SUPPLEMENT TO THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTSâ UNION CHECK-LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS
Relationship between maternal obesity and infant feeding-interactions
BACKGROUND: There are no data regarding the relationship between maternal adiposity and interaction and feeding of infants and possible contribution to childhood obesity. In this study we determined the relationship between maternal body weight and composition and infant feeding patterns and maternal-infant interaction during 24-hour metabolic rate measurements in the Enhanced Metabolic Testing Activity Chamber (EMTAC). METHODS: The amount of time four obese (BMI = 33.5 ± 5.3 kg/m(2)) and three normal weight (BMI = 23.1 ± 0.6 kg/m(2)) biological mothers, spent feeding and interacting with their infants, along with what they ingested, was recorded during 24-hour metabolic rate measurements in the EMTAC. The seven infants were 4.9 ± 0.7 months, 69 ± 3 cm, 7.5 ± 0.8 kg, 26 ± 3 % fat and 29 ± 25 percentile for weight for length. Energy and macronutrient intake (kcal/kg) were assessed. Maternal body composition was determined by air displacement plethysmorgraphy and that of the infants by skin-fold thicknesses. Pearson correlations and independent t-tests were utilized for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Infants born to obese biological mothers consumed more energy (87.6 ± 18.9 vs. 68.1 ± 17.3) and energy as carbohydrate (25 ± 6 vs.16 ± 3; p < 0.05) than their normal weight counterparts. Most of the increased intake was due to complementary feedings. Twenty-four hour infant energy intake increased with both greater maternal body weight (r = 0.73;p < 0.06) and percent body fat. Furthermore, obese biological mothers spent less total time interacting (570 ± 13 vs. 381 ± 30 minutes) and feeding (298 ± 32 vs.176 ± 22 minutes) (p < 0.05) their infants than their normal weight counterparts. Twenty-four hour interaction time negatively correlated with both maternal body weight (r = -0.98; p < 0.01) and percent body fat (r = -0.92; p < 0.01). Moreover, infants of obese mothers slept more (783 ± 38 vs. 682 ± 32 minutes; p < 0.05) than their normal weight counterparts. However, there were no differences in total 24-hour energy expenditure, resting and sleeping metabolic rates (kcal/kg) for infants born to obese and normal weight biological mothers. CONCLUSION: Greater maternal body weight and percent body fat were associated with greater infant energy intakes. These infants were fed less frequently and consumed more carbohydrates in a shorter period of time as compared to infants from normal weight biological mothers. These variations in feeding patterns may predispose certain infants to obesity
Conservation of a pH-sensitive structure in the C-terminal region of spider silk extends across the entire silk gene family
Spiders produce multiple silks with different physical properties that allow them to occupy a diverse range of ecological niches, including the underwater environment. Despite this functional diversity, past molecular analyses show a high degree of amino acid sequence similarity between C-terminal regions of silk genes that appear to be independent of the physical properties of the resulting silks; instead, this domain is crucial to the formation of silk fibres. Here we present an analysis of the C-terminal domain of all known types of spider silk and include silk sequences from the spider Argyroneta aquatica, which spins the majority of its silk underwater. Our work indicates that spiders have retained a highly conserved mechanism of silk assembly, despite the extraordinary diversification of species, silk types and applications of silk over 350 million years. Sequence analysis of the silk C-terminal domain across the entire gene family shows the conservation of two uncommon amino acids that are implicated in the formation of a salt bridge, a functional bond essential to protein assembly. This conservation extends to the novel sequences isolated from A. aquatica. This finding is relevant to research regarding the artificial synthesis of spider silk, suggesting that synthesis of all silk types will be possible using a single process
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