A school-commissioned model of speech and language therapy

Many speech and language therapy (SLT) services have limited capacity for providing school-based input. Some offer commissioned SLT input, to enhance the service provided by the UK National Health Service (NHS), giving schools the option to increase the amount and scope of SLT intervention. This two-tiered model of service provision is relatively new and has not been researched. This study investigated the experiences of schools who had commissioned input from the local SLT service, in terms of (1) describing how this was utilized and (2) exploring perceptions of its value. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCos) from 11 schools and were thematically analysed using Framework Analysis. SENCos reported many positive aspects of the commissioned model, including better communication with Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and improved outcomes for children. SENCos felt that the numbers of children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) had reduced following commissioned input. Very few disadvantages of the model were identified. SLTs delivered a range of activities, including training staff and providing direct input for children. SENCos would recommend the service, and perceived the cost to be moderate. These data suggest that SENCos place a high value on SLT in schools, and welcome the opportunity to purchase additional input

Carbon Dioxide Challenge and Hot Flashes

poster abstractLittle is known about the pathophysiology of menopausal hot flashes, although there appear to be many similarities between hot flashes and panic attacks. While hot flashes occur at random and are difficult to study, there is a method of testing panic attacks. A Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Challenge is a validated method that has been used to induce panic attacks in a laboratory setting. The aim of this study is to test whether a CO2 Challenge using inhalations of 20% and 35% CO2 can provoke a hot flash in menopausal women. We hypothesize that women who have many hot flashes each day (4+) will have a hot flash when exposed to the increased concentration of CO2 using this challenge. Six healthy women attended a study session lasting ninety minutes. In this placebo controlled, cross-over study, women inhale room air, 20% CO2 for 40 seconds, rest for 15 minutes, and 35% CO2 using a double-breath vital capacity inhalation. Anxiety was measured on a numeric rating scale (NRS) and a State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Most participants have reported a hot flash within minutes of the CO2Challenge. There have been no significant changes in anxiety during the study. Findings provide evidence of the proposed link between hot flashes and panic

An economic analysis of a contingency model utilising vaccination for the control of equine influenza in a non-endemic country

BACKGROUND:Equine influenza (EI) is an infectious respiratory disease of horses that has never been reported in New Zealand (NZ). However, the 2007 EI outbreak in Australia, previously EI free, spurred the NZ government and stakeholders into evaluating alternative EI control strategies in order to economically justify any future decision to eradicate or manage EI. To build on the policy debate, this paper presents an epinomic (epidemiologic and economic) modelling approach to evaluate alternative control strategies. An epidemiologic model to determine how alternative EI control strategies influence the distribution of EI. Model results were then input into a cost-benefit analysis framework, to identify the return and feasibility of alternative EI eradication strategies in NZ. METHODS:The article explores nine alternative eradication scenarios and two baseline strategies. The alternative scenarios consisted of three vaccination strategies (suppressive, protective or targeted) starting at three time points to reflect the commercial breeding-cycle. These alternatives were compared to two breeding-cycle adjusted baselines: movement restriction in the breeding season (August to January) or non-breeding season (February to July). The economic loss parameters were incursion response, impact to the commercial racing industry (breeding, sales and racing), horse morbidity and mortality, and compensation to industry participants. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:Results suggest that the economic viability of the EI eradication programme is dependent on when within the breeding-cycle the EI outbreak occurs. If an outbreak were to occur, the return on each dollar invested for protective or suppressive vaccination strategies would be between NZD$3.67 to NZD$4.89 and between NZD$3.08 to NZD$3.50 in the breeding and non-breeding seasons, respectively. Therefore, protective or suppressive vaccination strategies could be prioritised, regardless of season. As multiple industry stakeholders benefit from these strategies, the study will enable policy development and to better formulate a user-pays eradication programme

A Spitzer IRS Study of Debris Disks Around Planet-Host Stars

Since giant planets scatter planetesimals within a few tidal radii of their orbits, the locations of existing planetesimal belts indicate regions where giant planet formation failed in bygone protostellar disks. Infrared observations of circumstellar dust produced by colliding planetesimals are therefore powerful probes of the formation histories of known planets. Here we present new Spitzer IRS spectrophotometry of 111 Solar-type stars, including 105 planet hosts. Our observations reveal 11 debris disks, including two previously undetected debris disks orbiting HD 108874 and HD 130322. Combining our 32 micron spectrophotometry with previously published MIPS photometry, we find that the majority of debris disks around planet hosts have temperatures in the range 60 < T < 100 K. Assuming a dust temperature T = 70 K, which is representative of the nine debris disks detected by both IRS and MIPS, we find that debris rings surrounding Sunlike stars orbit between 15 and 240 AU, depending on the mean particle size. Our observations imply that the planets detected by radial-velocity searches formed within 240 AU of their parent stars. If any of the debris disks studied here have mostly large, blackbody emitting grains, their companion giant planets must have formed in a narrow region between the ice line and 15 AU.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. 14 pages, including five figures and two table

The RNA binding protein Larp1 regulates cell division, apoptosis and cell migration.

The RNA binding protein Larp1 was originally shown to be involved in spermatogenesis, embryogenesis and cell-cycle progression in Drosophila. Our data show that mammalian Larp1 is found in a complex with poly A binding protein and eukaryote initiation factor 4E and is associated with 60S and 80S ribosomal subunits. A reduction in Larp1 expression by siRNA inhibits global protein synthesis rates and results in mitotic arrest and delayed cell migration. Consistent with these data we show that Larp1 protein is present at the leading edge of migrating cells and interacts directly with cytoskeletal components. Taken together, these data suggest a role for Larp1 in facilitating the synthesis of proteins required for cellular remodelling and migration

Finding the Patient’s Voice Using Big Data: Analysis of Users’ Health-Related Concerns in the ChaCha Question-and-Answer Service (2009–2012)

Background: The development of effective health care and public health interventions requires a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions, concerns, and stated needs of health care consumers and the public at large. Big datasets from social media and question-and-answer services provide insight into the public&#8217;s health concerns and priorities without the financial, temporal, and spatial encumbrances of more traditional community-engagement methods and may prove a useful starting point for public-engagement health research (infodemiology). Objective: The objective of our study was to describe user characteristics and health-related queries of the ChaCha question-and-answer platform, and discuss how these data may be used to better understand the perceptions, concerns, and stated needs of health care consumers and the public at large. Methods: We conducted a retrospective automated textual analysis of anonymous user-generated queries submitted to ChaCha between January 2009 and November 2012. A total of 2.004 billion queries were read, of which 3.50% (70,083,796/2,004,243,249) were missing 1 or more data fields, leaving 1.934 billion complete lines of data for these analyses. Results: Males and females submitted roughly equal numbers of health queries, but content differed by sex. Questions from females predominantly focused on pregnancy, menstruation, and vaginal health. Questions from males predominantly focused on body image, drug use, and sexuality. Adolescents aged 12&#8211;19 years submitted more queries than any other age group. Their queries were largely centered on sexual and reproductive health, and pregnancy in particular. Conclusions: The private nature of the ChaCha service provided a perfect environment for maximum frankness among users, especially among adolescents posing sensitive health questions. Adolescents&#8217; sexual health queries reveal knowledge gaps with serious, lifelong consequences. The nature of questions to the service provides opportunities for rapid understanding of health concerns and may lead to development of more effective tailored interventions. [J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e44

Validation of a Salivary RNA Test for Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relies on behavioral assessment. Efforts to define biomarkers of ASD have not resulted in an objective, reliable test. Studies of RNA levels in ASD have demonstrated potential utility, but have been limited by a focus on single RNA types, small sample sizes, and lack of developmental delay controls. We hypothesized that a saliva-based poly-“omic” RNA panel could objectively distinguish children with ASD from their neurotypical peers and children with non-ASD developmental delay.Methods: This multi-center cross-sectional study included 456 children, ages 19–83 months. Children were either neurotypical (n = 134) or had a diagnosis of ASD (n = 238), or non-ASD developmental delay (n = 84). Comprehensive human and microbial RNA abundance was measured in the saliva of all participants using unbiased next generation sequencing. Prior to analysis, the sample was randomly divided into a training set (82% of subjects) and an independent validation test set (18% of subjects). The training set was used to develop an RNA-based algorithm that distinguished ASD and non-ASD children. The validation set was not used in model development (feature selection or training) but served only to validate empirical accuracy.Results: In the training set (n = 372; mean age 51 months; 75% male; 51% ASD), a set of 32 RNA features (controlled for demographic and medical characteristics), identified ASD status with a cross-validated area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.86–0.88). In the completely separate validation test set (n = 84; mean age 50 months; 85% male; 60% ASD), the algorithm maintained an AUC of 0.88 (82% sensitivity and 88% specificity). Notably, the RNA features were implicated in physiologic processes related to ASD (axon guidance, neurotrophic signaling).Conclusion: Salivary poly-omic RNA measurement represents a novel, non-invasive approach that can accurately identify children with ASD. This technology could improve the specificity of referrals for ASD evaluation or provide objective support for ASD diagnoses

Climate emotions, thoughts, and plans among US adolescents and young adults: a cross-sectional descriptive survey and analysis by political party identification and self-reported exposure to severe weather events

Background Climate change has adverse effects on youth mental health and wellbeing, but limited large-scale data exist globally or in the USA. Understanding the patterns and consequences of climate-related distress among US youth can inform necessary responses at the individual, community, and policy level.Methods A cross-sectional descriptive online survey was done of US youth aged 16–25 years from all 50 states and Washington, DC, between July 20 and Nov 7, 2023, via the Cint digital survey marketplace. The survey assessed: climate-related emotions and thoughts, including indicators of mental health; relational aspects of climate-related emotions; beliefs about who or what has responsibility for causing and responding to climate change; desired and planned actions in response to climate change; and emotions and thoughts about the US Government response to climate change. Respondents were asked whether they had been affected by various severe weather events linked to climate change and for their political party identification. Sample percentages were weighted according to 2022 US census age, sex, and race estimates. To test the effects of political party identification and self-reported exposure to severe weather events on climate-related thoughts and beliefs we used linear and logistic regression models, which included terms for political party identification, the number of self-reported severe weather event types in respondents’ area of residence in the past year, and demographic control variables.Findings We evaluated survey responses from 15 793 individuals (weighted proportions: 80·5% aged 18–25 years and 19·5% aged 16–17 years; 48·8% female and 51·2% male). Overall, 85·0% of respondents endorsed being at least moderately worried, and 57·9% very or extremely worried, about climate change and its impacts on people and the planet. 42·8% indicated an impact of climate change on self-reported mental health, and 38·3% indicated that their feelings about climate change negatively affect their daily life. Respondents reported negative thoughts about the future due to climate change and actions planned in response, including being likely to vote for political candidates who support aggressive climate policy (72·8%). In regression models, self-reported exposure to more types of severe weather events was significantly associated with stronger endorsement of climate-related distress and desire and plans for action. Political party identification as Democrat or as Independent or Other (vs Republican) was also significantly associated with stronger endorsement of distress and desire and plans for action, although a majority of self-identified Republicans reported at least moderate distress. For all survey outcomes assessed in the models, the effect of experiencing more types of severe weather events did not significantly differ by political party identification.Interpretation Climate change is causing widespread distress among US youth and affecting their beliefs and plans for the future. These effects may intensify, across the political spectrum, as exposure to climate-related severe weather events increases

Volume 07

Introduction from Interim Dean Dr. Jennifer Apperson Spatial Analysis of Potential Risk Factors Associated with Addition of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Through Virginia by Rachel C. Lombardi Delicate Matters with No Speaking, Hope and Nothing, Mono Duality by Ben Osterhout Connect Graphic Design Senior Project by Lindsay Graybill Phenolic Acids in Brassicaceae Plants: Ovipositional Stimulants or Deterrents for Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris Rapae? by Rebecca E. Dey And Skyler T. Carpenter Abecedarian Cards by Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, And Mollie Andrews Helvetica: A Type Specimen Book by James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, And Maria Wheaton “Things Left Behind” by Dallas Price Heretic Adornment by Laura Kahler Photography by Sarah Charlton Revisiting Longfellow: Expressing Universality through Accessibility by Anna Bultrowicz Magazine Spreads from “What Dreams May Come: Marriage Across Cultures” by Emily Spittle Magazine Spreads From “Live on The Street: A Naked Look at Human Sex Trafficking” by Erin Godwin Lasting Light by Eamon Brokenbroug