Correlation Between An Email Based Board Review Program and American Board of Pediatrics General Pediatrics Certifying Examination Scores

Objective To investigate the impact of a weekly email based board review course on individual resident performance on the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) General Pediatrics Certifying Examination for pediatric residents and, specifically, residents with low ABP In-training Examination (ITE) scores. Methods Weekly board-type questions were emailed to all pediatric residents from 2004–2007. Responses to board-type questions were tracked, recorded, and correlated with ITE scores and ABP General Pediatrics Certifying Examination Scores. Results With regard to total number of questions answered, only total number of questions answered correctly had a significant positive correlation with standard board scores (n = 71, r = 0.24, p = 0.047). For “at risk” residents with ITE scores ≤ 200 (n = 21), number of questions answered in PL 3 year (r = 0.51, p = 0.018) and number of questions answered correctly for all PL years (r = 0.59, p = 0.005) had significant positive correlations with standard board scores. Conclusions Participating regularly in the email-based board review course, answering board style questions, and answering correctly to board style questions were associated with higher standard board scores. This benefit existed for all but was especially prominent among those with poor in-training examination scores

Violent Relaxation, Phase Mixing, and Gravitational Landau Damping

This paper proposes a geometric interpretation of flows generated by the collisionless Boltzmann equation (CBE), focusing on the coarse-grained approach towards equilibrium. The CBE is a noncanonical Hamiltonian system with the distribution function f the fundamental dynamical variable, the mean field energy H[f] playing the role of the Hamiltonian and the natural arena of physics being the infinite-dimensional phase space of distribution functions. Every time-independent equilibrium f_0 is an energy extremal with respect to all perturbations that preserve the constraints associated with Liouville's Theorem, local energy minima corresponding to linearly stable equilibria. If an initial f(t=0) is sufficiently close to some linearly stable lower energy f_0, its evolution involves linear phase space oscillations about f_0 which, in many cases, would be expected to exhibit linear Landau damping. If f(t=0) is far from any stable extremal, the flow will be more complicated but, in general, one would anticipate that the evolution involves nonlinear oscillations about some lower energy f_0. In this picture, the coarse-grained approach towards equilibrium usually termed violent relaxation is interpreted as nonlinear Landau damping. The evolution of a generic initial f(t=0) involves a coherent initial excitation, not necessarily small, being converted into incoherent motion associated with nonlinear oscillations about some equilibrium f_0 which, in general, will exhibit destructive interference.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, no macros, no figure

An integrated encyclopedia of DNA elements in the human genome

The human genome encodes the blueprint of life, but the function of the vast majority of its nearly three billion bases is unknown. The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project has systematically mapped regions of transcription, transcription factor association, chromatin structure and histone modification. These data enabled us to assign biochemical functions for 80% of the genome, in particular outside of the well-studied protein-coding regions. Many discovered candidate regulatory elements are physically associated with one another and with expressed genes, providing new insights into the mechanisms of gene regulation. The newly identified elements also show a statistical correspondence to sequence variants linked to human disease, and can thereby guide interpretation of this variation. Overall, the project provides new insights into the organization and regulation of our genes and genome, and is an expansive resource of functional annotations for biomedical research

Educação e imagens na sociedade do espetáculo: as pedagogias culturais em questão

O artigo analisa as razões pelos quais a cultura de imagens se faz presente nos agentes simbólicos da atual cultura, fomentando experiências e estratégias educativas que se difundem para além das fronteiras da educação formal. A hipótese é a de que toda análise crítica dirigida às pedagogias culturais viabilizam condições para que as estratégias educacionais também utilizem componentes imagéticos presentes nos agentes simbólicos da cultura. Para tanto, será analisada a cultura das imagens na perspectiva da Sociedade do Espetáculo (2000), e as razões pelas quais a análise crítica das pedagogias culturais se tornam essenciais no campo da educação, desafiando as próprias práticas educacionais atuais

Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a public health priority in Latin America. While the burden of HIV is historically concentrated in urban areas and high-risk groups, subnational estimates that cover multiple countries and years are missing. This paucity is partially due to incomplete vital registration (VR) systems and statistical challenges related to estimating mortality rates in areas with low numbers of HIV deaths. In this analysis, we address this gap and provide novel estimates of the HIV mortality rate and the number of HIV deaths by age group, sex, and municipality in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Methods: We performed an ecological study using VR data ranging from 2000 to 2017, dependent on individual country data availability. We modeled HIV mortality using a Bayesian spatially explicit mixed-effects regression model that incorporates prior information on VR completeness. We calibrated our results to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Results: All countries displayed over a 40-fold difference in HIV mortality between municipalities with the highest and lowest age-standardized HIV mortality rate in the last year of study for men, and over a 20-fold difference for women. Despite decreases in national HIV mortality in all countries—apart from Ecuador—across the period of study, we found broad variation in relative changes in HIV mortality at the municipality level and increasing relative inequality over time in all countries. In all six countries included in this analysis, 50% or more HIV deaths were concentrated in fewer than 10% of municipalities in the latest year of study. In addition, national age patterns reflected shifts in mortality to older age groups—the median age group among decedents ranged from 30 to 45 years of age at the municipality level in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in 2017. Conclusions: Our subnational estimates of HIV mortality revealed significant spatial variation and diverging local trends in HIV mortality over time and by age. This analysis provides a framework for incorporating data and uncertainty from incomplete VR systems and can help guide more geographically precise public health intervention to support HIV-related care and reduce HIV-related deaths

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations

Mapping inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries, 2000–2018

Abstract: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) of ≥70% EBF prevalence by 2030. While six LMICs are projected to meet the WHO GNT of ≥70% EBF prevalence at a national scale, only three are predicted to meet the target in all their district-level units by 2030