Teaching Visually Impaired College Students in Introductory Statistics

Instructors of postsecondary classes in statistics rely heavily on visuals in their teaching, both within the classroom and in resources like textbooks, handouts, and software, but this information is often inaccessible to students who are blind or visually impaired (BVI). The unique challenges involved in adapting both pedagogy and course materials to accommodate a BVI student may provoke anxiety among instructors teaching a BVI student for the first time, and instructors may end up feeling unprepared or “reinventing the wheel.” We discuss a wide variety of accommodations inside and outside of the classroom grounded in the empirical literature on cognition and learning and informed by our own experience teaching a blind student in an introductory statistics course

Superconductivity in Co-doped LaFeAsO

Here we report the synthesis and basic characterization of LaFe1-xCoxAsO for several values of x. The parent phase LaFeAsO orders antiferromagnetically (TN ~ 145 K). Replacing Fe with Co is expected to both electron dope the system and introduce disorder in the FeAs layer. For x = 0.05 antiferromagnetic order is destroyed and superconductivity is observed at Tconset = 11.2 K. For x = 0.11 superconductivity is observed at Tc(onset) = 14.3 K, and for x = 0.15 Tc = 6.0 K. Superconductivity is not observed for x = 0.2 and 0.5, but for x = 1, the material appears to be ferromagnetic (Tc ~ 56 K) as judged by magnetization measurements. We conclude that Co is an effective dopant to induce superconductivity. Somewhat surprisingly, the system appears to tolerate considerable disorder in the FeAs planes.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure

Validity and reliability of patient reported outcomes used in Psoriasis: results from two randomized clinical trials

BACKGROUND: Two Phase III randomized controlled clinical trials were conducted to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of weekly subcutaneous administration of efalizumab for the treatment of psoriasis. Patient reported measures of psoriasis-related functionality and health-related quality of life and of psoriasis-related symptom assessments were included as part of the trials. OBJECTIVE: To assess the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the patient reported outcome measures that were used in the trials – the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Psoriasis Symptom Assessment (PSA) Scale, and two itch measures, a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) itch measure. METHODS: Subjects aged 18 to 70 years with moderate to severe psoriasis for at least 6 months were recruited into the two clinical trials (n = 1095). Internal consistency reliability was evaluated for all patient reported outcomes at baseline and at 12 weeks. Construct validity was evaluated by relations among the different patient reported outcomes and between the patient reported outcomes and the clinical assessments (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index; Overall Lesion Severity Scale; Physician's Global Assessment of Change) assessed at baseline and at 12 weeks, as was the change over the course of the 12 week portion of the trial. RESULTS: Internal consistency reliability ranged from 0.86 to 0.95 for the patient reported outcome measures. The patient reported outcome measures were all shown to have significant construct validity with respect to each other and with respect to the clinical assessments. The four measures also demonstrated significant responsiveness to change in underlying clinical status of the patients over the course of the trial, as measured by the independently assessed clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The DLQI, the PSA, VAS, and the NPF are considered useful tools for the measurement of dermatology-related limitations of functional ability and the frequency, severity and impact of psoriasis symptoms on patients' lives and psoriasis-related quality of life

How to Collect your Water Sample and Interpret the Results for the Fish Pond Analytical Package

The Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC) in cooperation with the Cooperative Extension Service offers several analytical packages to assess the quality of your water resources. This document is intended to provide guidance to aquaculture producers and pond owners on the “Fish Pond Report” provided by the AWRC’s water quality laboratory. The information contained within this fact sheet should be used as general guidance, and the reader is encouraged to seek advice from Extension specialists regarding the interpretation of individual reports and water testing results that may be of concern. The Aquaculture Center for Excellence is at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, see aqfi.uaex.edu for more information and fisheries contact

National trends in utilization, mortality, and survival after repair of type B aortic dissection in the Medicare population

ObjectiveThe application of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has changed treatment paradigms for thoracic aortic disease. We sought to better define specific treatment patterns and outcomes for type B aortic dissection treated with TEVAR or open surgical repair (OSR).MethodsMedicare patients undergoing type B thoracic aortic dissection repair (2000-2010) were identified by use of a validated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnostic and procedural code–based algorithm. Trends in utilization were analyzed by procedure type (OSR vs TEVAR), and patterns in patient characteristics and outcomes were examined.ResultsTotal thoracic aortic dissection repairs increased by 21% between 2000 and 2010 (2.5 to 3 per 100,000 Medicare patients; P = .001). A concomitant increase in TEVAR was seen during the same interval (0.03 to 0.8 per 100,000; P < .001). By 2010, TEVAR represented 27% of all repairs. TEVAR patients had higher rates of comorbid congestive heart failure (12% vs 9%; P < .001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (17% vs 10%; P < .001), diabetes (8% vs 5%; P < .001), and chronic renal failure (8% vs 3%; P < .001) compared with OSR patients. For all repairs, patient comorbidity burden increased over time (mean Charlson comorbidity score of 0.79 in 2000, 1.10 in 2010; P = .04). During this same interval, in-hospital mortality rates declined from 47% to 23% (P < .001), a trend seen in both TEVAR and OSR patients. Whereas in-hospital mortality rates and 3-year survival were similar between patients selected for TEVAR and OSR, there was a trend toward women having slightly lower 3-year survival after TEVAR (60% women vs 63% men; P = .07).ConclusionsSurgical treatment of type B aortic dissection has increased over time, reflecting an increase in the utilization of TEVAR. Overall, type B dissection repairs are currently performed at lower mortality risk in patients with more comorbidities

1022-107 Outcome of Different Reperfusion Strategies in Thrombolytic “Eligible” versus “Ineligible” Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Pts considered “not eligible” for inclusion in most early U.S. thrombolytic trials because of advanced age, late presentation, prior CABG or shock have avery poor prognosis; thus, some have suggested broadening the criteria for lyric eligibility. To examine the role of different reperfusion strategies in pts traditionally considered lytic “eligible” vs. “ineligible” (age&gt;70, MI onset&gt;4 hours, or prior CABG), we examined the PAMI database in which 395 pts of any age within 12 hours onset of MI were randomized to t-PA or primary PTCA (pts with shock were excluded). Compared to lyric eligible pts, ineligible pts were o1der(67 vs. 56 yrs, p&lt;0.0001). more frequently female (38% vs. 20%, P&lt;0.0001), diabetic (17% vs. 10%, P=0.03), had prior CABG (8% vs. 0%, P&lt;0.0001), presented later (4.4 vs. 2.2 hours, p&lt;0.0001), and were more likely to present in CI-1F (20% vs. 11%, P=0.01). Endpoints included death (D), reinfarction (R), recurrent ischemic events (RIE) and stroke:Thrombolytic eligibleThrombolytic ineligiblePTCA (n=127)t-PA (n=117)PPTCA (n=68)t-PA (n=83)Pin-hosp. D2.4%1.7%NS2.9%13.3%0.025in-hosp. D or R5.5%9.4%NS4.4%15.7%0.026in-hosp. RIE11.8%29.1%0.00087.4%26.6%0.002in-hasp. stroke0%1.7%NS0%6.0%0.046 month D3.9%1.7%NS2.9%15.7%0.0096 month D or R8.7%12.8%NS7.4%22.9%0.009In conclusion: Pts traditionally considered thrombolytic eligible comprise a low risk cohort, and have a favorable prognosis whether treated with primary PTCA or t-PA. In contrast, pts historically excluded from most early lytic trials because of advanced age, late presentation or prior CABG are at increased risk, and may have improved survival with primary PTCA rather than thrompresented laterbolysis

Blood Flow Restriction Training After Patellar INStability (BRAINS Trial)

Background Patellar instability is a common and understudied condition that disproportionally affects athletes and military personnel. The rate of post-traumatic osteoarthritis that develops following a patellar dislocation can be up to 50% of individuals 5–15 years after injury. Conservative treatment is the standard of care for patellar instability however, there are no evidence-informed rehabilitation guidelines in the scientific literature. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of blood-flow restriction training (BFRT) for patellar instability. Our hypotheses are that this strategy will improve patient-reported outcomes and accelerate restoration of symmetric strength and knee biomechanics necessary to safely return to activity. Methods/Design This is a parallel-group, superiority, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial at the University of Kentucky, sports medicine clinic that aims to recruit 78 patients with acute patellar dislocations randomly allocated into two groups: (1) sham BFRT and (2) BFRT. Both groups will receive the current standard of care physical therapy 3 times per week for up to 9 weeks. Physical therapy sessions will consist of typical standard of care treatment followed by BFRT or sham BFRT. Primary outcomes include the Norwich Patellar Instability Scale, quadriceps strength, and imaging and biochemical biomarkers of cartilage degradation. Discussion The current standard of care for non-operative treatment of patellar instability is highly variable does not adequately address the mechanisms necessary to restore lower extremity function and protect the long-term health of articular cartilage following injury. This proposed novel intervention strategy uses an easily implementable therapy to evaluate if BFRT significantly improves patient-reported outcomes, function, and joint health over the first year of recovery. Trial Registration Blood Flow Restriction Training, Aspiration, and Intraarticular Normal Saline (BRAINS) NCT04554212. Registered on 18 September 2020

Nanoparticle-Delivered Multimeric Soluble CD40L DNA Combined with Toll-Like Receptor Agonists as a Treatment for Melanoma

Stimulation of CD40 or Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) has potential for tumor immunotherapy. Combinations of CD40 and TLR stimulation can be synergistic, resulting in even stronger dendritic cell (DC) and CD8+ T cell responses. To evaluate such combinations, established B16F10 melanoma tumors were injected every other day X 5 with plasmid DNA encoding a multimeric, soluble form of CD40L (pSP-D-CD40L) either alone or combined with an agonist for TLR1/2 (Pam3CSK4 ), TLR2/6 (FSL-1 and MALP2), TLR3 (polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, poly(I:C)), TLR4 ( monophosphoryl lipid A, MPL), TLR7 (imiquimod), or TLR9 (Class B CpG phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide, CpG). When used by itself, pSP-D-CD40L slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival, but did not lead to cure. Of the TLR agonists, CpG and poly(I:C) also slowed tumor growth, and the combination of these two TLR agonists was more effective than either agent alone. The triple combination of intratumoral pSP-D-CD40L + CpG + poly(I:C) markedly slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival. This treatment was associated with a reduction in intratumoral CD11c+ dendritic cells and an influx of CD8+ T cells. Since intratumoral injection of plasmid DNA does not lead to efficient transgene expression, pSP-D-CD40L was also tested with cationic polymers that form DNA-containing nanoparticles which lead to enhanced intratumoral gene expression. Intratumoral injections of pSP-D-CD40L-containing nanoparticles formed from polyethylenimine (PEI) or C32 (a novel biodegradable poly(B-amino esters) polymer) in combination with CpG + poly(I:C) had dramatic antitumor effects and frequently cured mice of B16F10 tumors. These data confirm and extend previous reports that CD40 and TLR agonists are synergistic and demonstrate that this combination of immunostimulants can significantly suppress tumor growth in mice. In addition, the enhanced effectiveness of nanoparticle formulations of DNA encoding immunostimulatory molecules such as multimeric, soluble CD40L supports the further study of this technology for tumor immunotherapy

Improved Imputation of Common and Uncommon Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) with a New Reference Set

Statistical imputation of genotype data is an important technique for analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We have built a reference dataset to improve imputation accuracy for studies of individuals of primarily European descent using genotype data from the Hap1, Omni1, and Omni2.5 human SNP arrays (Illumina). Our dataset contains 2.5-3.1 million variants for 930 European, 157 Asian, and 162 African/African-American individuals. Imputation accuracy of European data from Hap660 or OmniExpress array content, measured by the proportion of variants imputed with R^2^&#x3e;0.8, improved by 34%, 23% and 12% for variants with MAF of 3%, 5% and 10%, respectively, compared to imputation using publicly available data from 1,000 Genomes and International HapMap projects. The improved accuracy with the use of the new dataset could increase the power for GWAS by as much as 8% relative to genotyping all variants. This reference dataset is available to the scientific community through the NCBI dbGaP portal. Future versions will include additional genotype data as well as non-European populations