The Influence of a Crosshair Visual Aid on Observer Detection of Simulated Fetal Heart Rate Signals

Objective To determine whether a visual aid overlaid on fetal heart rate (FHR) tracings increases detection of critical signals relative to images with no visual aid. Study Design In an experimental study, 21 undergraduate students viewed 240 images of simulated FHR tracings twice, once with the visual aids and once without aids. Performance was examined for images containing three different types of FHR signals (early deceleration, late deceleration, and acceleration) and four different FHR signal-to-noise ratios corresponding to FHR variability types (absent, minimal, moderate, and marked) identified by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2008). Performance was analyzed using repeated-measures analyses of variance. Results The presence of the visual aid significantly improved correct detections of signals overall and decreased false alarms for the marked variability condition. Conclusion The results of the study provide evidence that the presence of a visual aid was useful in helping novices identify FHR signals in simulated maternal-fetal heart rate images. Further, the visual aid was most useful for conditions in which the signal is most difficult to detect (when FHR variability is highest)

Recent Advances for Polycyclic Aromatic Analysis in Airborne Particulate Matter

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed in natural processes during combustion of biomass (e.g., forest fires) and by anthropogenic activities at high temperatures. In according with the suggestion the major sources of PAHs in the environment. The main sources of PAHs come basically from heat and power generation (e.g., coal, gas, wood, and oil), industrial processes (e.g., coke production), refuse burning and vehicle emissions. Human exposure to airborne PAHs can result from these processes, as well as from emissions from other sources, such as cooking, smoking, and materials containing PAHs (e.g., petroleum products and fuels). The potential serious health effects resulting from acute and chronic human exposure to PAHs are of concern. For this reason, the identification and quantification of PAHs in airborne particles have been a real challenge, given the multiple impacts that these substances represent for human health. In the last decade, multiple technological developments have been implemented, ranging from sampling systems, extraction and analysis of these compounds with the aim of obtaining more accurate and reliable results. This chapter was prepared to describe and to assess the state of the art about the evolution and application of sampling, extraction and analysis methodologies for the determination of PAHs in airborne particles

Advancing the Next Generation of Higher Education Scholars: An Examination of One Doctoral Classroom

Course content in graduate school is especially important in terms of helping students make progress toward a doctorate. However, content is merely one aspect of developing successful students. This article highlights the value of creating an affirming learning environment by discussing one graduate class on Qualitative Policy Research. The majority of student participants were graduate students of color. The authors discuss the pedagogical approaches guiding this course and outline ways in which the instructor served to create safe spaces that invited as well as validated diverse perspectives and made the research process transparent. These efforts resulted in the production of high quality research used as pilot studies for successful dissertation defenses, accepted presentations at scholarly conferences, and published articles in peer-reviewed journals. Throughout this article, suggestions for replicating a similar course environment are discussed

Latinos in Sampson County, North Carolina : an action-oriented community diagnosis

The following document is a detailed report of an Action Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD) conducted by a team of six students from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Educations in collaboration with the Sampson County Health Department. The AOCD was conducted in order to understand the cultural, social, economic, and health experiences of Latinos living in or accessing services in Sampson County. Throughout the AOCD process, the AOCD student team and community participants worked together to identify the strengths and challenges of Latinos living or accessing services in Sampson County and to create action steps addressing several of the identified challenges. Between September 2007 and April 2008, with the help of community liaisons from the Sampson County Health Department, the student team made an effort to learn about the community. By reviewing secondary sources of information such as newspapers, and websites, conducting in-depth interviews with 16 service providers and nine community members; and facilitating five focus groups with community members, the team members gained a broad perspective on issues important to the Latino community in Sampson County. The team organized a data coding system to identify recurring themes related to the Latino community living in or accessing services in Sampson County. On April 19, 2008, the analyzed data were presented to the community at a forum held at the Sampson Community College, with the aim of bridging different viewpoints, creating a dialogue among county residents and service providers, and developing actions steps to address the identified challenges. The specific challenges included transportation, language and communication, awareness of services, leadership, housing, and recreation. The following are action steps that resulted from the group discussion at the forum: Raise awareness of transportation services that currently exist in Sampson County through Spanish language newspapers and radio. Get more people involved in community events. Organize ongoing community meetings to share information between service providers and community members. Following the forum, the student team compiled this report that presents recommendations for the community based on results from the forum and its experiences in Sampson County. The principal final recommendations include: The team recommends that service providers and community members work closely together to develop materials and to organize events that are culturally appropriate and will encourage more Latinos to participate in community discussions. The team also recommends that advertisements for activities, events or services clearly state whether translation services are provided or bilingual staff will be present and what, if any, documentation is required. Further, it is recommended that these advertisements are distributed or announced in a manner that is likely to reach the Latino population, (e.g., door-to-door flier circulation, Spanish language radio, Spanish language newspapers, etc.) The team strongly recommends that service providers work in collaboration with community members in any community organizing effort in order to best serve the community‘s needs. Following the action steps identified, the team recommends that ongoing community meetings are held in an effort to bring together service providers and community members to share information. The student team hopes that this document and its contents will serve as a resource for continuing a community dialogue initiated at the community forum. Ultimately, the team hopes that the entire AOCD process and final report will lead to improvements not only for Latinos, but also for all residents of Sampson County.Master of Public Healt

Protection characteristics of a Faraday cage compromised by lightning burnthrough.

A lightning flash consists of multiple, high-amplitude but short duration return strokes. Between the return strokes is a lower amplitude, continuing current which flows for longer duration. If the walls of a Faraday cage are made of thin enough metal, the continuing current can melt a hole through the metal in a process called burnthrough. A subsequent return stroke can couple energy through this newly-formed hole. This LDRD is a study of the protection provided by a Faraday cage when it has been compromised by burnthrough. We initially repeated some previous experiments and expanded on them in terms of scope and diagnostics to form a knowledge baseline of the coupling phenomena. We then used a combination of experiment, analysis and numerical modeling to study four coupling mechanisms: indirect electric field coupling, indirect magnetic field coupling, conduction through plasma and breakdown through the hole. We discovered voltages higher than those encountered in the previous set of experiments (on the order of several hundreds of volts)

Gaps in research and capacity development for malaria surveillance and response in the Asia-Pacific: meeting report.

BackgroundThis report is based on the 2021 annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Malaria Elimination Network Surveillance and Response Working Group held online on November 1-3, 2021. In light of the 2030 regional malaria elimination goal, there is an urgency for Asia-Pacific countries to accelerate progress towards national elimination and prevent re-establishment. The Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) Surveillance Response Working Group (SRWG) supports elimination goals of national malaria control programmes (NMCPs) by expanding the knowledge base, guiding the region-specific operational research agenda and addressing evidence gaps to improve surveillance and response activities.MethodsAn online annual meeting was hosted from 1 to 3 November 2021, to reflect on research needed to support malaria elimination in the region, challenges with malaria data quality and integration, current surveillance-related technical tools, and training needs of NMCPs to support surveillance and response activities. Facilitator-led breakout groups were held during meeting sessions to encourage discussion and share experience. A list of identified research priorities was voted on by attendees and non-attending NMCP APMEN contacts.Findings127 participants from 13 country partners and 44 partner institutions attended the meeting, identifying strategies to address malaria transmission amongst mobile and migrant populations as the top research priority, followed by cost effective surveillance strategies in low resource settings, and integration of malaria surveillance into broader health systems. Key challenges, solutions and best practices for improving data quality and integrating epidemiology and entomology data were identified, including technical solutions to improve surveillance activities, guiding priority themes for hosting informative webinars, training workshops and technical support initiatives. Inter-regional partnerships and SRWG-led training plans were developed in consultation with members to be launched from 2022 onwards.ConclusionThe 2021 SRWG annual meeting provided an opportunity for regional stakeholders, both NMCPs and APMEN partner institutions, to highlight remaining challenges and barriers and identify research priorities pertaining to surveillance and response in the region, and advocate for strengthening capacity through training and supportive partnerships

TRIM5alpha Restricts Flavivirus Replication by Targeting the Viral Protease for Proteasomal Degradation

Tripartite motif-containing protein 5alpha (TRIM5alpha) is a cellular antiviral restriction factor that prevents early events in retrovirus replication. The activity of TRIM5alpha is thought to be limited to retroviruses as a result of highly specific interactions with capsid lattices. In contrast to this current understanding, we show that both human and rhesus macaque TRIM5alpha suppress replication of specific flaviviruses. Multiple viruses in the tick-borne encephalitis complex are sensitive to TRIM5alpha-dependent restriction, but mosquito-borne flaviviruses, including yellow fever, dengue, and Zika viruses, are resistant. TRIM5alpha suppresses replication by binding to the viral protease NS2B/3 to promote its K48-linked ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Importantly, TRIM5alpha contributes to the antiviral function of IFN-I against sensitive flaviviruses in human cells. Thus, TRIM5alpha possesses remarkable plasticity in the recognition of diverse virus families, with the potential to influence human susceptibility to emerging flaviviruses of global concern

Impact of in utero exposure to EtOH on corpus callosum development and paw preference in rats: protective effects of silymarin

BACKGROUND: Using a rat model we have found that the bioflavonoid silymarin (SY) ameliorates some of the negative consequences of in utero exposure to ethanol (EtOH). In the current study our aim was to determine if laterality preference and corpus callosum development were altered in rat offspring whose mothers were provided with a concomitant administration of SY with EtOH throughout gestation. METHODS: We provided pregnant Fisher/344 rats with liquid diets containing 35% ethanol derived calories (EDC) throughout the gestational period. A silymarin/phospholipid compound containing 29.8% silybin was co administered with EtOH to a separate experimental group. We tested the offspring for laterality preference at age 12 weeks. After testing the rats were sacrificed and their brains perfused for later corpus callosum extraction. RESULTS: We observed incomplete development of the splenium in the EtOH-only offspring. Callosal development was complete in all other treatment groups. Rats from the EtOH-only group displayed a left paw preference; whereas control rats were evenly divided between right and left paw preference. Inexplicably both SY groups were largely right paw preferring. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of SY to the EtOH liquid diet did confer some ameliorative effects upon the developing fetal rat brain

The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impacts of, and the response to, climate change. The Lancet Countdown tracks 41 indicators across five domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; finance and economics; and public and political engagement. This report is the product of a collaboration of 27 leading academic institutions, the UN, and intergovernmental agencies from every continent. The report draws on world-class expertise from climate scientists, ecologists, mathematicians, geographers, engineers, energy, food, livestock, and transport experts, economists, social and political scientists, public health professionals, and. doctors. The Lancet Countdown’s work builds on decades of research in this field, and was first proposed in the 2015 Lancet Commission on health and climate change,1 which documented the human impacts of climate change and provided ten global recommendations to respond to this public health emergency and secure the public health benefits available (panel 1)