Assessing Transportation Hurtles in Lamoille County, VT

Rural areas are often characterized by low population densities, and large distances between available services and the population they serve. Lack of transportation in these areas makes access to services even more challenging. Access to primary healthcare was listed as the number one concern for patients in 2015 Copley Hospital Service Area (Lamoille County) and lack of suitable transportation was a major reason for this lack of access. The primary purpose of this project was to assess the medical transportation options for patients without appropriate transportation in Lamoille county, and to produce a flyer educating the patients about their options. The second goal was to educate the providers at Morrisville Family Health Care about the transportation struggles their patients face.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1361/thumbnail.jp

Theories of developmental dyslexia: Insights from a multiple case study of dyslexic adults

A multiple case study was conducted in order to assess three leading theories of developmental dyslexia: the phonological, the magnocellular (auditory and visual) and the cerebellar theories. Sixteen dyslexic and 16 control university students were administered a full battery of psychometric, phonological, auditory, visual and cerebellar tests. Individual data reveal that all 16 dyslexics suffer from a phonological deficit, 10 from an auditory deficit, 4 from a motor deficit, and 2 from a visual magnocellular deficit. Results suggest that a phonological deficit can appear in the absence of any other sensory or motor disorder, and is sufficient to cause a literacy impairment, as demonstrated by 5 of the dyslexics. Auditory disorders, when present, aggravate the phonological deficit, hence the literacy impairment. However, auditory deficits cannot be characterised simply as rapid auditory processing problems, as would be predicted by the magnocellular theory. Nor are they restricted to speech. Contrary to the cerebellar theory, we find little support for the notion that motor impairments, when found, have a cerebellar origin, or reflect an automaticity deficit. Overall, the present data support the phonological theory of dyslexia, while acknowledging the presence of additional sensory and motor disorders in certain individuals

Malignant Melanoma metastacizing to the Thyroid Gland: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Oral presentation 2006 AAO-H&NS Annual Meeting Toronto, Canada September 17-20, 2006. Objectives: The thyroid gland is a relatively uncommon site for secondary malignancy. Even lesscommon is metastasis of malignant melanoma to the thyroid gland. We present a case of malignantmelanoma metastatic to the thyroid gland presenting as thyroid enlargement. Study Design: This is a case report which utilizes chart review, intraoperative photographs,radiographic images, and pathology slides. Methods: A 68 year old patient with no prior evidence of primary skin melanoma presented witha neck mass which tested positive for melanoma. A year and a half following modified radical neckdissection, the patient presented with a diffusely enlarged thyroid gland from which fine needleaspiration revealed metastatic malignant melanoma. Results: A few months following this, the patient began having seizures and was found on MRIto have metastatic disease to the brain. He developed ventilator dependent respiratory failure andrequired a subtotal thyroidectomy for the placement of a tracheostomy tube. Conclusions: Patients with a history of malignancy and a thyroid nodule present a diagnosticdilemma—is it benign, a new primary, or distant metastasis? Review of this case and the literaturestrengthens the argument that any patient with a history of malignancy and a thyroid mass shouldbe considered as having metastasis until proven otherwise

CEO pay, shareholder returns, and accounting profits

We assess the impact on CEO pay (including salary, cash bonus, and benefits in kind) of changes in both accounting and shareholder returns in 99 British companies in the years 1972-89. After correcting for heterogeneity biases inherent in the standard specifications of the problem, we find a strong positive relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in shareholder returns, and no statistically significant relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in accounting returns. Differences between firms in long-term average profitability do appear to have a substantial effect on CEO pay, while differences between firms in shareholder returns add nothing to the within-firm pay dynamics.These findings call into question the rationale for explicitly share-based incentive schemes

Differential rates of perinatal maturation of human primary and nonprimary auditory cortex

Abstract Primary and nonprimary cerebral cortex mature along different timescales; however, the differences between the rates of maturation of primary and nonprimary cortex are unclear. Cortical maturation can be measured through changes in tissue microstructure detectable by diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this study, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to characterize the maturation of Heschl’s gyrus (HG), which contains both primary auditory cortex (pAC) and nonprimary auditory cortex (nAC), in 90 preterm infants between 26 and 42 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). The preterm infants were in different acoustical environments during their hospitalization: 46 in open ward beds and 44 in single rooms. A control group consisted of 15 term-born infants. Diffusion parameters revealed that (1) changes in cortical microstructure that accompany cortical maturation had largely already occurred in pAC by 28 weeks PMA, and (2) rapid changes were taking place in nAC between 26 and 42 weeks PMA. At term equivalent PMA, diffusion parameters for auditory cortex were different between preterm infants and term control infants, reflecting either delayed maturation or injury. No effect of room type was observed. For the preterm group, disturbed maturation of nonprimary (but not primary) auditory cortex was associated with poorer language performance at age two years

Malignant melanoma metastatic to the thyroid gland: a case report and review of the literature.

The thyroid gland is a relatively uncommon site for a secondary malignancy; even less common is a case of malignant melanoma metastatic to the thyroid. We describe the case of a 68-year-old man who presented with a neck mass in the posterior triangle. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) identified the mass as a malignant melanoma. The patient had had no known primary skin melanoma. He underwent a left modified radical neck dissection, and the mass was discovered to be a positive lymph node. Postoperatively, he declined to undergo radio- and chemotherapy. Eighteen months later, he returned with a diffusely enlarged thyroid. FNAB again attributed the enlargement to malignant melanoma. Soon thereafter, the patient began experiencing seizures, and on magnetic resonance imaging, he was found to have metastatic disease to the brain. He developed ventilator-dependent respiratory failure and required a subtotal thyroidectomy for the placement of a tracheostomy tube. Patients who present with a thyroid nodule and who have a history of malignancy present a diagnostic dilemma: Is the nodule benign, a new primary, or a distant metastasis? The findings of this case and a review of the literature strengthen the argument that any patient with a thyroid mass and a history of malignancy should be considered to have a metastasis until proven otherwise

An Analysis of Colombian Perceptions: Internal and External Actors and the Pursuit of Peace

Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy (JGI) and the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) conducted a study to understand Colombian perceptions towards internal and external actors and Colombia’s pursuit of peace. The study revolved around the analysis of 14 focus groups conducted in seven Colombian cities: Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Medellín, and Pasto. The results of these focus groups reflect the opinions and perceptions of those who participated in the study.https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/jgi_research/1024/thumbnail.jp

The minimally-invasive thyroidectomy incision: a histological analysis.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive thyroidectomy (MIT) has gained popularity in the surgical management of benign and malignant pathology of the thyroid. One of the main benefits of utilizing this technique is the use of smaller incisions resulting in increased cosmetic satisfaction. Unfortunately, the retraction required for adequate exposure during MIT may lead to skin damage, impaired wound healing and poor cosmetic outcomes. Some have proposed that excising incision edges prior to closure may improve cosmesis. A review of the literature does not reveal any histologic evidence to support this technique. MATERIAL/METHODS: In this prospective observational study, nine subjects undergoing MIT were identified. Both the superior and inferior skin edges were excised and labeled for orientation. Specimens were sent for hematoxylin and eosin staining and histologic analysis by a staff pathologist. RESULTS: All specimens showed no significant findings such as damage to the architecture of the dermis, acute inflammation, edema or evidence of hemorrhage. Focal blood vessel ectasia within the dermis was identified in three of nine subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not yield a histological basis supporting the routine trimming of incisions during MIT. Although no significant findings were noted histologically, further studies are warranted to investigate the long-term cosmetic outcome of MIT incisions

Absolute Objects and Counterexamples: Jones-Geroch Dust, Torretti Constant Curvature, Tetrad-Spinor, and Scalar Density

James L. Anderson analyzed the novelty of Einstein's theory of gravity as its lack of "absolute objects." Michael Friedman's related work has been criticized by Roger Jones and Robert Geroch for implausibly admitting as absolute the timelike 4-velocity field of dust in cosmological models in Einstein's theory. Using the Rosen-Sorkin Lagrange multiplier trick, I complete Anna Maidens's argument that the problem is not solved by prohibiting variation of absolute objects in an action principle. Recalling Anderson's proscription of "irrelevant" variables, I generalize that proscription to locally irrelevant variables that do no work in some places in some models. This move vindicates Friedman's intuitions and removes the Jones-Geroch counterexample: some regions of some models of gravity with dust are dust-free and so naturally lack a timelike 4-velocity, so diffeomorphic equivalence to (1,0,0,0) is spoiled. Torretti's example involving constant curvature spaces is shown to have an absolute object on Anderson's analysis, viz., the conformal spatial metric density. The previously neglected threat of an absolute object from an orthonormal tetrad used for coupling spinors to gravity appears resolvable by eliminating irrelevant fields. However, given Anderson's definition, GTR itself has an absolute object (as Robert Geroch has observed recently): a change of variables to a conformal metric density and a scalar density shows that the latter is absolute.Comment: Minor editing, small content additions, added references. Forthcoming in_Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics_, June 200