Integration of Women Veterans into VA Quality Improvement Research Efforts: What Researchers Need to Know

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies require funded researchers to include women in their studies. Historically, many researchers have indicated they will include women in proportion to their VA representation or pointed to their numerical minority as justification for exclusion. However, women’s participation in the military—currently 14% of active military—is rapidly changing veteran demographics, with women among the fastest growing segments of new VA users. These changes will require researchers to meet the challenge of finding ways to adequately represent women veterans for meaningful analysis. We describe women veterans’ health and health-care use, note how VA care is organized to meet their needs, report gender differences in quality, highlight national plans for women veterans’ quality improvement, and discuss VA women’s health research. We then discuss challenges and potential solutions for increasing representation of women veterans in VA research, including steps for implementation research

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Determinants of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka: Study Protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leptospirosis is becoming a major public health threat in Sri Lanka as well as in other countries. We designed a case control study to determine the factors associated with local transmission of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka, in order to identify major modifiable determinants of leptospirosis. The purpose of this paper is to describe the study protocol in detail prior to the publishing of the study results, so that the readership will be able to understand and interpret the study results effectively.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A hospital based partially matched case control design is proposed. The study will be conducted in three selected leptospirosis endemic districts in central Sri Lanka. Case selection will include screening all acute fever patients admitted to selected wards to select probable cases of leptospirosis and case confirmation using an array of standard laboratory criteria. Age and sex matched group of acute fever patients with other confirmed diagnosis will be used as controls. Case to control ratio will be 1:2. A minimum sample of 144 cases is required to detect 20% exposure with 95% two sided confidence level and 80% power. A pre tested interviewer administered structured questionnaire will be used to collect data from participants. Variables included in the proposed study will be evaluated using conceptual hierarch of variables in three levels; Exposure variables as proximal; reservoir and environmental variables as intermediate; socio-demographic variables as distal. This conceptual hierarch hypothesised that the distal and intermediate variables are mediated through the proximal variables but not directly. A logistic regression model will be used to analyse the probable determinants of leptospirosis. This model will evaluate the effect of same level and upper level variables on the outcome leptospirosis, using three blocks.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The present national control programme of leptospirosis is hampered by lack of baseline data on leptospirosis disease transmission. The present study will be able to provide these essential information for formulation of better control strategies.</p

Zebrafish con/disp1 reveals multiple spatiotemporal requirements for Hedgehog-signaling in craniofacial development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The vertebrate head skeleton is derived largely from cranial neural crest cells (CNCC). Genetic studies in zebrafish and mice have established that the Hedgehog (Hh)-signaling pathway plays a critical role in craniofacial development, partly due to the pathway's role in CNCC development. Disruption of the Hh-signaling pathway in humans can lead to the spectral disorder of Holoprosencephaly (HPE), which is often characterized by a variety of craniofacial defects including midline facial clefting and cyclopia <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr></abbrgrp>. Previous work has uncovered a role for Hh-signaling in zebrafish dorsal neurocranium patterning and chondrogenesis, however Hh-signaling mutants have not been described with respect to the ventral pharyngeal arch (PA) skeleton. Lipid-modified Hh-ligands require the transmembrane-spanning receptor Dispatched 1 (Disp1) for proper secretion from Hh-synthesizing cells to the extracellular field where they act on target cells. Here we study <it>chameleon </it>mutants, lacking a functional <it>disp1</it>(<it>con/disp1</it>).</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>con/disp1 </it>mutants display reduced and dysmorphic mandibular and hyoid arch cartilages and lack all ceratobranchial cartilage elements. CNCC specification and migration into the PA primorida occurs normally in <it>con/disp1 </it>mutants, however <it>disp1 </it>is necessary for post-migratory CNCC patterning and differentiation. We show that <it>disp1 </it>is required for post-migratory CNCC to become properly patterned within the first arch, while the gene is dispensable for CNCC condensation and patterning in more posterior arches. Upon residing in well-formed pharyngeal epithelium, neural crest condensations in the posterior PA fail to maintain expression of two transcription factors essential for chondrogenesis, <it>sox9a </it>and <it>dlx2a</it>, yet continue to robustly express other neural crest markers. Histology reveals that posterior arch residing-CNCC differentiate into fibrous-connective tissue, rather than becoming chondrocytes. Treatments with Cyclopamine, to inhibit Hh-signaling at different developmental stages, show that Hh-signaling is required during gastrulation for normal patterning of CNCC in the first PA, and then during the late pharyngula stage, to promote CNCC chondrogenesis within the posterior arches. Further, loss of <it>disp1 </it>disrupted normal expression of <it>bapx1 </it>and <it>gdf5</it>, markers of jaw joint patterning, thus resulting in jaw joint defects in <it>con/disp1 </it>mutant animals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study reveals novel requirements for Hh-signaling in the zebrafish PA skeleton and highlights the functional diversity and differential sensitivity of craniofacial tissues to Hh-signaling throughout the face, a finding that may help to explain the spectrum of human facial phenotypes characteristic of HPE.</p

A systematic review evaluating the psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion

Introduction: Improving social inclusion opportunities for population health has been identified as a priority area for international policy. There is a need to comprehensively examine and evaluate the quality of psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion that are used to guide social policy and outcomes. Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the literature on all current measures of social inclusion for any population group, to evaluate the quality of the psychometric properties of identified measures, and to evaluate if they capture the construct of social inclusion. Methods: A systematic search was performed using five electronic databases: CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC and Pubmed and grey literature were sourced to identify measures of social inclusion. The psychometric properties of the social inclusion measures were evaluated against the COSMIN taxonomy of measurement properties using pre-set psychometric criteria. Results: Of the 109 measures identified, twenty-five measures, involving twenty-five studies and one manual met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the reviewed measures was variable, with the Social and Community Opportunities Profile-Short, Social Connectedness Scale and the Social Inclusion Scale demonstrating the strongest evidence for sound psychometric quality. The most common domain included in the measures was connectedness (21), followed by participation (19); the domain of citizenship was covered by the least number of measures (10). No single instrument measured all aspects within the three domains of social inclusion. Of the measures with sound psychometric evidence, the Social and Community Opportunities Profile-Short captured the construct of social inclusion best. Conclusions: The overall quality of the psychometric properties demonstrate that the current suite of available instruments for the measurement of social inclusion are promising but need further refinement. There is a need for a universal working definition of social inclusion as an overarching construct for ongoing research in the area of the psychometric properties of social inclusion instruments

Gut-central nervous system axis is a target for nutritional therapies

Historically, in the 1950s, the chemist Linus Pauling established a relationship between decreased longevity and obesity. At this time, with the advent of studies involving the mechanisms that modulate appetite control, some researchers observed that the hypothalamus is the "appetite centre" and that peripheral tissues have important roles in the modulation of gut inflammatory processes and levels of hormones that control food intake. Likewise, the advances of physiological and molecular mechanisms for patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel diseases, bariatric surgery and anorexia-associated diseases has been greatly appreciated by nutritionists. Therefore, this review highlights the relationship between the gut-central nervous system axis and targets for nutritional therapies

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

CMS Data Processing Workflows during an Extended Cosmic Ray Run

Peer reviewe

Aligning the CMS Muon Chambers with the Muon Alignment System during an Extended Cosmic Ray Run

Peer reviewe