Evaluating the effectiveness of the Disability Discrimination (NI) Order (2006) duties

This report evaluates the effectiveness of the Disability Discrimination (NI) Order (2006) duties. These duties require public authorities in Northern Ireland to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and to encourage the participation of disabled people in public life. The duties also require public authorities to produce disability action plans and to report annually on progress towards disability equality. The report provides a framework for evaluation of progress and applies this to provide an assessment of the implementation of these duties up to 2009 and makes recommendations to improve the effectiveness and implementation of the duties

Developments in the Surgical Approach to Staging and Resection of Rhabdomyosarcoma

Local treatment; Rhabdomyosarcoma; SurgeryTratamiento local; Rabdomiosarcoma; CirugíaTractament local; Rabdomiosarcoma; CirurgiaAlthough survival after rhabdosarcoma treatment has improved over the years, one third of patients still develop locoregional relapse. This review aims to highlight developments pertaining to staging and local treatment of specific RMS tumor sites, including head and neck, chest/trunk, bladder-prostate, female genito-urinary, perianal, and extremity sites

Prospectus, April 1, 1987

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1987/1010/thumbnail.jp

The loss of a fellow service member: Complicated grief in postâ 9/11 service members and veterans with combatâ related posttraumatic stress disorder

Bereavement is a potent and highly prevalent stressor among service members and veterans. However, the psychological consequences of bereavement, including complicated grief (CG), have been minimally examined. Loss was assessed in 204 postâ 9/11, when service members and veterans with combatâ related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) took part in a multicenter treatment study. Those who reported the loss of an important person completed the inventory of complicated grief (ICG; nâ =â 160). Over three quarters (79.41%) of the sample reported an important lifetime loss, with close to half (47.06%) reporting the loss of a fellow service member (FSM). The prevalence of CG was 24.75% overall, and nearly one third (31.25%) among the bereaved. CG was more prevalent among veterans who lost a fellow service member (FSM) (41.05%, nâ =â 39) compared to those bereaved who did not (16.92%, nâ =â 11; ORâ =â 3.41, 95% CI: 1.59, 7.36). CG was associated with significantly greater PTSD severity, functional impairment, traumaâ related guilt, and lifetime suicide attempts. Complicated grief was prevalent and associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes in veterans and service members with combatâ related PTSD. Clinicians working with this population should inquire about bereavement, including loss of a FSM, and screen for CG. Additional research examining CG in this population is needed.The loss of a fellow service member occurs commonly and is associated with complicated grief (CG) amongst service members and veterans with combatâ related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The presence of CG in this study was associated with more severe PTSD, guilt, and lifetime suicide attempts, as well as poorer functioning.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139942/1/jnr24094_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139942/2/jnr24094.pd

A Randomised, Double-Blind, Controlled Vaccine Efficacy Trial of DNA/MVA ME-TRAP Against Malaria Infection in Gambian Adults

BACKGROUND: Many malaria vaccines are currently in development, although very few have been evaluated for efficacy in the field. Plasmodium falciparum multiple epitope (ME)– thrombospondin-related adhesion protein (TRAP) candidate vaccines are designed to potently induce effector T cells and so are a departure from earlier malaria vaccines evaluated in the field in terms of their mechanism of action. ME-TRAP vaccines encode a polyepitope string and the TRAP sporozoite antigen. Two vaccine vectors encoding ME-TRAP, plasmid DNA and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), when used sequentially in a prime-boost immunisation regime, induce high frequencies of effector T cells and partial protection, manifest as delay in time to parasitaemia, in a clinical challenge model. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A total of 372 Gambian men aged 15–45 y were randomised to receive either DNA ME-TRAP followed by MVA ME-TRAP or rabies vaccine (control). Of these men, 296 received three doses of vaccine timed to coincide with the beginning of the transmission season (141 in the DNA/MVA group and 155 in the rabies group) and were followed up. Volunteers were given sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine 2 wk before the final vaccination. Blood smears were collected weekly for 11 wk and whenever a volunteer developed symptoms compatible with malaria during the transmission season. The primary endpoint was time to first infection with asexual P. falciparum. Analysis was per protocol. DNA ME-TRAP and MVA ME-TRAP were safe and well-tolerated. Effector T cell responses to a non-vaccine strain of TRAP were 50-fold higher postvaccination in the malaria vaccine group than in the rabies vaccine group. Vaccine efficacy, adjusted for confounding factors, was 10.3% (95% confidence interval, −22% to +34%; p = 0.49). Incidence of malaria infection decreased with increasing age and was associated with ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: DNA/MVA heterologous prime-boost vaccination is safe and highly immunogenic for effector T cell induction in a malaria-endemic area. But despite having produced a substantial reduction in liver-stage parasites in challenge studies of non-immune volunteers, this first generation T cell–inducing vaccine was ineffective at reducing the natural infection rate in semi-immune African adults