Study Examines Sexual Assault Survivor Experiences

The Alaska Department of Public Safety is working with the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center to better understand how sexual assaults reported to the Alaska State Troopers are handled and perceived, and which factors shape the likelihood of achieving justice for sexual assault victim-survivors. A final report including recommendations for practice improvement is expected mid-2020.Questions of justice / SAKI research in Alaska / Understanding experiences and perceptions / Reference

Thoracoschisis: case report and review of the literature

Introduction: Thoracoschisis is a rare congenital malformation characterized by herniation of intraabdominal contents through a thoracic wall defect. There have been six previously reported cases. We describe our novel approach incorporating closure of the chest wall defect with temporary abdominal wall expansion utilizing a silastic pouch.Case report: A male child born at 29 weeks’ gestation was transferred to our institution for the management of a right anterior chest wall defect with herniation of intraabdominal contents through this defect. The patient was taken to the operating room for reduction of the herniated viscera from the right chest wall defect into the abdomen utilizing a spring-loaded silastic pouch to cover the abdominal viscera.Discussion: The cause of thoracoschisis is unclear. Multiple mechanisms have been proposed for the development of thoracoschisis, including amnionic rupture, vascular injury, and embryologic maldevelopment. In previously reported cases, a majority of patients had associated limb abnormalities. It has been proposed that this association between extremity agenesis/deformity  and chest wall defects is related to the limb–body wall complex. In addition, most of the cases reported also had an accompanying diaphragmatic defect, allowing the abdominal viscera to enter the chest and then herniate through the thoracic defect.Conclusion: Overall, thoracoschisis is a very rare congenital abnormality characterized by a chest wall defect with herniation of intra-abdominal organs through this defect. Previously, only six cases have been reported, most of which had an associated limb anomaly or diaphragmatic hernia.Keywords: gastroschisis, limb–body wall complex, thoracoabdominal schisis, thoracoschisi

Prevalence of non-communicable diseases in Brazilian children: follow-up at school age of two Brazilian birth cohorts of the 1990's

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few cohort studies have been conducted in low and middle-income countries to investigate non-communicable diseases among school-aged children. This article aims to describe the methodology of two birth cohorts, started in 1994 in Ribeirão Preto (RP), a more developed city, and in 1997/98 in São Luís (SL), a less developed town.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prevalences of some non-communicable diseases during the first follow-up of these cohorts were estimated and compared. Data on singleton live births were obtained at birth (2858 in RP and 2443 in SL). The follow-up at school age was conducted in RP in 2004/05, when the children were 9-11 years old and in SL in 2005/06, when the children were 7-9 years old. Follow-up rates were 68.7% in RP (790 included) and 72.7% in SL (673 participants). The groups of low (<2500 g) and high (≥ 4250 g) birthweight were oversampled and estimates were corrected by weighting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the more developed city there was a higher percentage of non-nutritive sucking habits (69.1% vs 47.9%), lifetime bottle use (89.6% vs 68.3%), higher prevalence of primary headache in the last 15 days (27.9% vs 13.0%), higher positive skin tests for allergens (44.3% vs 25.3%) and higher prevalence of overweight (18.2% vs 3.6%), obesity (9.5% vs 1.8%) and hypertension (10.9% vs 4.6%). In the less developed city there was a larger percentage of children with below average cognitive function (28.9% vs 12.2%), mental health problems (47.4% vs 38.4%), depression (21.6% vs 6.0%) and underweight (5.8% vs 3.6%). There was no difference in the prevalence of bruxism, recurrent abdominal pain, asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness between cities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Some non-communicable diseases were highly prevalent, especially in the more developed city. Some high rates suggest that the burden of non-communicable diseases will be high in the future, especially mental health problems.</p