Marion Jaques Smith Correspondence

Entries include brief biographical information, a typed biography, a handwritten list of research questions and a revealing letter concerning the risks of collaboration, typed requests for books, local histories, stories, maps, and illustrations on plain paper for Smith\u27s work on the Little Bear books, from an author primarily of books for children about Maine history from the perspective of bears and skunks

Summer Programming: What Do Children Say?

Studies document that low-income children lose academic skills over the summer. Six years of reading achievement data collected by Energy Express, a nationally recognized summer reading and nutrition program in West Virginia, has established the efficacy of the intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of a voluntary summer program that foster participation. Interview data indicates that children attend because they perceive the program as fun; large creative art (for example, full-body portraits, appliance box castles, wall murals) seems particularly important. Energy Express gives children both the fun they want and the enrichment they need in the summer

Disease-associated pathophysiologic structures in pediatric rheumatic diseases show characteristics of scale-free networks seen in physiologic systems: implications for pathogenesis and treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While standard reductionist approaches have provided some insights into specific gene polymorphisms and molecular pathways involved in disease pathogenesis, our understanding of complex traits such as atherosclerosis or type 2 diabetes remains incomplete. Gene expression profiling provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand complex human diseases by providing a global view of the multiple interactions across the genome that are likely to contribute to disease pathogenesis. Thus, the goal of gene expression profiling is not to generate lists of differentially expressed genes, but to identify the physiologic or pathogenic processes and structures represented in the expression profile.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>RNA was separately extracted from peripheral blood neutrophils and mononuclear leukocytes, labeled, and hybridized to genome level microarrays to generate expression profiles of children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis relative to childhood controls. Statistically significantly differentially expressed genes were identified from samples of each disease relative to controls. Functional network analysis identified interactions between products of these differentially expressed genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>In silico </it>models of both diseases demonstrated similar features with properties of scale-free networks previously described in physiologic systems. These networks were observable in both cells of the innate immune system (neutrophils) and cells of the adaptive immune system (peripheral blood mononuclear cells).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Genome-level transcriptional profiling from childhood onset rheumatic diseases suggested complex interactions in two arms of the immune system in both diseases. The disease associated networks showed scale-free network patterns similar to those reported in normal physiology. We postulate that these features have important implications for therapy as such networks are relatively resistant to perturbation.</p

Making sense of policy choices: understanding the roles of value predispositions, mass media, and cognitive processing in public attitudes toward nanotechnology

Using a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,015 adults in the United States, this study examines how value predispositions, communication variables, and perceptions of risks and benefits are associated with public support for federal funding of nanotechnology. Our findings show that highly religious individuals were less supportive of funding of nanotech than less religious individuals, whereas individuals who held a high deference for scientific authority were more supportive of funding of the emerging technology than those low in deference. Mass media use and elaborative processing of scientific news were positively associated with public support for funding, whereas factual scientific knowledge had no significant association with policy choices. The findings suggest that thinking about and reflecting upon scientific news promote better understanding of the scientific world and may provide a more sophisticated cognitive structure for the public to form opinions about nanotech than factual scientific knowledge. Finally, heuristic cues including trust in scientists and perceived risks and benefits of nanotech were found to be associated with public support for nanotech funding. We conclude with policy implications that will be useful for policymakers and science communication practitioners

Cost-effectiveness of replacing versus discarding the nail in children with nail bed injury

Every year in the UK, around 10 000 children need to have operations to mend injuries to the bed of their fingernails. Currently, most children have their fingernail placed back on the injured nail bed after the operation. The NINJA trial found that children were slightly less likely to have an infection if the nail was thrown away rather than being put back, but the difference between groups was small and could have be due to chance. This study looked at whether replacing the nail is cost-effective compared with throwing it away. Using data from the NINJA trial, we compared costs, healthcare use, and quality of life and assessed the cost-effectiveness of replacing the nail. It was found that throwing the nail away after surgery would save the National Health Service (NHS) £75 (€85) per operation compared with placing the nail back on the nail bed. Changing clinical practice could save the NHS in England £720 000 (€819 000) per year

Effectiveness of nail bed repair in children with or without replacing the fingernail : NINJA multicentre randomized clinical trial

Background Surgery for nail bed injuries in children is common. One of the key surgical decisions is whether to replace the nail plate following nail bed repair. The aim of this RCT was to assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of nail bed repair with fingernail replacement/substitution compared with repair without fingernail replacement. Methods A two-arm 1 : 1 parallel-group open multicentre superiority RCT was performed across 20 secondary-care hospitals in the UK. The co-primary outcomes were surgical-site infection at around 7 days after surgery and cosmetic appearance summary score at a minimum of 4 months. Results Some 451 children presenting with a suspected nail bed injury were recruited between July 2018 and July 2019; 224 were allocated to the nail-discarded arm, and 227 to the nail-replaced arm. There was no difference in the number of surgical-site infections at around 7 days between the two interventions or in cosmetic appearance. The mean total healthcare cost over the 4 months after surgery was €84 (95 per cent c.i. 34 to 140) lower for the nail-discarded arm than the nail-replaced arm (P < 0.001). Conclusion After nail bed repair, discarding the fingernail was associated with similar rates of infection and cosmesis ratings as replacement of the finger nail, but was cost saving

Exploring the Experiences of Former Alternative Education Participants: Case Studies

Alternative education has become an integral program, in one form or another throughout most school districts in the United States. Alternative education is a very complex and controversial issue that is best understood through the stories of former alternative education students looking back on their lived experiences. Children in the alternative education program studied here were generally those who did not fit into a general education program due to behavior problems or lack of academic success. The purpose of the study was to investigate alternative education primarily through in-depth interviews and case studies of 18 previous alternative education students who were voluntary participants and secondarily through interviews of current alternative education professional staff. The main research question was: In what ways has the study program been meeting the needs of students in the alternative education program, and in what ways may it be improved? The sub questions were the following: (a) Which aspects of this alternative education program are effective or ineffective and why, according to former participants? and (b) Which strategies utilized in the alternative education program may be useful in general education classrooms, according to the participants? Results revealed that the majority of students viewed the alternative education experience as positive if there was a patient, supportive, caring adult in their school life. The study program was effective in meeting the needs of the students through low student-to-teacher ratios, highly structured classrooms, school and community mentors, and high quality academic instruction. However, more of the following is needed: funding for some students who need services outside the school, initial and continuing education for staff to counter teacher burn-out and stereotyping of students, space to alleviate overcrowding, parent involvement, and leadership. Ten themes emerged from the data: anger, victim mentality, neglect, abandonment, apathy, self-doubt, bullying, academic struggles, unequal prospects, and most important—a relationship with a caring adult