Early Childhood Intervention and Income Inequality: An Analysis on the Intergenerational Mobility of Head Start Participants

The Head Start program is an early childhood intervention program funded by the federal government. Designed for low-income families, it promotes school readiness among its participants. In my research, I examine the effects of Head Start on the intergenerational mobility of its participants. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and the NLSY Child and Young Adult Supplement (CNLSY), I measure the degree of earnings persistence between parents and their children for students in preschool and Head Start. I find that participation in Head Start is associated with an increase in mobility, which remains true after controlling for family effects

A comparison of the Polatest method and the Von Graefe method for the determination of vertical balance

A comparison of the Polatest method and the Von Graefe method for the determination of vertical balanc

Clinical encounters about obesity: Systematic review of patients' perspectives.

Guidelines recommend clinicians intervene on obesity but it is unclear how people with overweight react. In this systematic review, we searched 20 online databases for qualitative studies interviewing people with overweight or obesity who had consulted a primary care clinician. Framework synthesis was used to analyse 21 studies to produce a new theoretical understanding. Consultations in which patients discussed their weight were more infrequent than patients would have liked, which some perceived was because they were unworthy of medical time; others that it indicated doctors feel being overweight is not a serious risk. Patients reported that doctors offered banal advice assuming that the patient ate unhealthily or was not trying to address their weight. Patients reported doctors assumed that their symptoms were due to overweight without a proper history or examination, creating concern that serious illness may be missed. Patients responded positively to offers of support for weight loss and active monitoring of weight. Patients with overweight internalize weight stigma sensitizing them to clues that clinicians are judging them negatively, even if weight is not discussed. Patients' negative experiences in consultations relate to perceived snap judgements and flippant advice and negative experiences appear more salient than positive ones

Monitoring sound levels in the intensive care unit: A mixed-methods system development project to optimize design features for a new electronic interface in the healthcare environment.

BACKGROUND: Intensive care units (ICU) are busy round the clock and it is difficult to maintain low sound levels that support patient rest. To help ICU staff manage activities we developed a visual display that monitors and reports sound levels in real-time. This facilitates immediate feedback, encouraging proactive behavior change to limit disturbances. METHODS: Following the principles of user-centered design practices we created our 'user persona' to understand the needs and goals of potential users of the system. We then conducted iterative user testing with current members of the ICU team, primarily using the 'think aloud' method to refine the design and functionality of our novel system. Ethnography evaluated team use of the display. RESULTS: The final design was simple, clear, and efficient, and both functional and aesthetically pleasing for the key user demographic. We identified challenges in the implementation and adoption process that were separate from the 'usability' of the system itself. CONCLUSIONS: Embedding the design process within the core user demographic ensured the final product delivered relevant information for key users, and that this information was intuitive to interpret. Initiating sustainable change is not straightforward. It requires recognition of cultural practices within teams, departments, professions, organizations, and strategies to maximize engagement

Fecal Enterobacteriales enrichment is associated with increased in vivo intestinal permeability in humans

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked with increased intestinal permeability, but the clinical significance of this phenomenon remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential link between glucose control, intestinal permeability, diet and intestinal microbiota in patients with T2D. Thirty‐two males with well‐controlled T2D and 30 age‐matched male controls without diabetes were enrolled in a case–control study. Metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, endotoxemia, and intestinal microbiota in individuals subdivided into high (HP) and normal (LP) colonic permeability groups, were the main outcomes. In T2D, the HP group had significantly higher fasting glucose (P = 0.034) and plasma nonesterified fatty acid levels (P = 0.049) compared with the LP group. Increased colonic permeability was also linked with altered abundances of selected microbial taxa. The microbiota of both T2D and control HP groups was enriched with Enterobacteriales. In conclusion, high intestinal permeability was associated with poorer fasting glucose control in T2D patients and changes in some microbial taxa in both T2D patients and nondiabetic controls. Therefore, enrichment in the gram‐negative order Enterobacteriales may characterize impaired colonic permeability prior to/independently from a disruption in glucose tolerance

The relationship between uncertainty tolerance and oncologists’ perceptions of large-panel genomic tumor testing

Introduction: Large-panel genomic tumor testing (GTT) is a new technology that promises to make cancer treatment more precise, but that currently poses many uncertainties regarding its clinical value and appropriate use. Uncertainty Tolerance (UT), a psychological construct that describes trait-level differences in individuals’ responses to uncertainty, may influence oncologists’ perceptions and attitudes regarding GTT

Housing and Business Investment in Nebraska\u27s Non-metropolitan Communities and Declining Urban Neighborhoods

This study focuses on one subject area of the Urban Affairs Committee\u27s charge: housing and business investment in Nebraska\u27s declining urban neighborhoods and non-metropolitan communities. From its beginning the study has had two primary objectives: First, to ascertain the demand for housing and business investment funds in the declining urban neighborhoods of Nebraska\u27s two major metropolitan cities, Omaha and Lincoln, and in the State\u27s non-metropolitan communities; and the perceptions of homeowners, renters, landlords and businessmen in these communities and neighborhoods regarding the availability to them of such funds. Second, to identify factors which discourage or hamper housing and business investment in the declining urban neighborhoods of Omaha and Lincoln and in the State\u27s non-metropolitan communities, and to recommend legislation and other measures to eliminate such factors and to provide incentives for increased investment in these neighborhoods and communities

Developmental differences in myocyte contractile response after cardioplegic arrest

AbstractAlthough developmental differences in left ventricular function after cardioplegic arrest and rewarming have been postulated, whether differences exist at the level of the myocyte remains unexplored. This project tested the hypothesis that there is a differential effect of hypothermic hyperkalemic cardioplegic arrest with subsequent rewarming on contractile function of immature compared with adult ventricular myocytes. Myocytes were isolated from the left ventricular free wall of five immature and five adult rabbits and incubated for 2 hours in hyperkalemic modified Ringer's solution at 4° C (cardioplegia) or for 2 hours in cell culture medium at 37° C (normothermia). Myocytes were resuspended (“rewarmed”) in 37° C cell culture medium after the incubation protocol. Normothermic baseline contractile performance was lower in immature, compared with adult, myocytes. Specifically, myocyte shortening velocity was 62 ± 4 μm/sec in immature and 112 ± 6 μm/sec in adult myocytes (p < 0.01). After cardioplegia and rewarming, immature myocyte contractile function was unchanged, whereas adult myocyte contractile function was significantly diminished. For example, myocyte shortening velocity was 65 ± 4 μm/sec in immature and 58 ± 3 μm/sec in adult myocytes (p < 0.01 versus normothermic). Myocyte surface area, which reflects myocyte volume, was increased after cardioplegia and rewarming in adults (3582 ± 55 versus 3316 ± 46 μm2, p < 0.01), but remained unchanged in immature myocytes (2212 ± 27 versus 2285 ± 28 μm2, p = not significant). These unique findings demonstrate a preservation of myocyte contractile function and volume regulation in immature myocytes after cardioplegic arrest and rewarming. Thus this study directly demonstrates that developmental differences exist in myocyte responses to hypothermic hyperkalemic cardioplegic arrest with subsequent rewarming. (J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1996;111:1257-66

Ease of predication does not account for imageability effects in performance: a reply to [Jones, 2002]

In this paper we defend our views against [Jones, 2002] claim that the criticism of the ease of predication hypothesis ( [Jones, 1985]) made by [de Mornay Davies and Funnell, 2000] is “fundamentally flawed.” Jones raises five issues concerning the content of the text, the reliability of effects of ease of predication, the generation of predicates, semantic features, and memory retrieval. We address each of these issues in turn and show that either a critical point raised is not made, or the point is mistaken. More importantly we show that our empirical findings, which are entirely overlooked by Jones, unequivocally support the view that ease of predication does not account for imageability effects in performance

The Sanitary Improvement District as a Mechanism for Urban Development

The history of the Sanitary Improvement District (SID) in Nebraska is closely tied to the history of urban development in the Omaha Metropolitan Area. The end of World War II freed the pent-up demand for new dwelling units in Nebraska as well as in the rest of the nation. Omaha\u27s stock of platted lots was rapidly used up in the late 40\u27s and pressures were great for opening up new areas. To meet the demand, new dwellings began to spring up on the fringes of the City, but altogether too many of these were served only by wells and septic tanks. As the housing boom developed it became clear that such utilities could not satisfactorily accommodate large concentrations of suburban populations. Yet the City found it difficult to extend water, sewer and other utilities to the new areas, partly because many existing areas of the City were not provided with such services and political necessity demanded that these needs be met first. Consequently, neither the developers nor the City had the organizational capacities or the financial resources to urbanize these fringe areas properly