Retrospective Review of Watershed Characteristics and a Framework for Future Research in the Sarasota Bay Watershed, Florida

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
George R. Kish ◽  
Arnell S. Harrison ◽  
Mark Alderson
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Bushara ◽  
Alex Guzner ◽  
Elizabeth Bachman ◽  
Roger Stupp ◽  
Rimas V Lukas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients with both primary and metastatic brain tumors have significant seizure burden due to their tumor. The management of tumor related epilepsy (TRE) and optimizing antiepileptic drug (AED) regimen requires collaboration between neurologists and seizure specialists, which is facilitated by seizure documentation in clinic notes. We aim to describe seizure incidence in patients seen in neuro-oncology clinical practice. Further, in the subset of those patients with TRE, we aim to analyze seizure documentation. Methods This is a retrospective review of patients with a primary or metastatic brain tumor seen in a neuro-oncology clinic in October 2019. Patients with TRE were included in the analysis of seizure documentation. These notes were analyzed for inclusion of seizure descriptors, terminology, AED regimens, and changes in management. Results Of the full cohort of 356 patients, 199 (55.9%) had TRE. Anaplastic astrocytomas had the highest percentage of patients with TRE. The analysis of seizure documentation in patients with TRE revealed that the majority of notes (90.9%) mentioned seizures. Fewer notes (39.6%) provided additional descriptions of the seizures or commented on AED regimens (58.3%). In notes for patients who had seizures within the previous 6 months, seizure descriptors were more likely. Conclusions This study defines the TRE burden in a cohort of patients seen in neuro-oncology clinic. Among patients with TRE, our study shows that documentation of many aspects of the characteristics and management of patient seizures can be improved, which would facilitate further analysis of impact on patient care as well as future research.


Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 2583-2583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Christopher Hambley ◽  
Akiva Diamond ◽  
Strouse Connie ◽  
Sasan Partovi ◽  
Todd Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Liver disease is often marked by changes in hemostasis. Vitamin K is frequently administered to cirrhotic patients with an elevated INR to improve their coagulopathy, though strong evidence justifying this approach is lacking. Questions regarding the efficacy of vitamin K have been gathering based on an increased understanding of the rebalanced hemostasis of liver disease. This study evaluated the effect of vitamin K on the INR 24-72 hours after administration. Methods: This retrospective chart review used the VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure (VINCI) database to identify 886 admissions for patients with liver disease who received vitamin K between January 1, 2001 and March 31, 2014. Patients were included if they had a coded diagnosis of cirrhosis, acute hepatitis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or end stage liver disease. Charts for patients with one of those diagnoses who received vitamin K at the LSCDVAMC were included. All data was collected from the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Medication route and dosing was determined from the pharmacy administration record. Patients were excluded if they received heparin, LMWH, FFP, or if they did not have an INR value before the administration of vitamin K or 24-72 hours after the dose was given. Results: A total 886 individual admissions were identified, 333 admissions met inclusion criteria for analysis. The mean INR on admission for the included encounters was 1.88 (95% CI 1.798 - 1.955) the lowest INR was 0.86 and the highest was 5.99. In the 333 admissions analyzed the mean decrease in the INR was 0.08 (95% CI 0.028 - 0.132). 180 encounters had a repeat INR during the hospitalization. The mean decrease in INR from admission to the second post-vitamin K INR was 0.123 (95% CI 0.058 - 0.187). Of the 333 included patient encounters 37 had a change in INR (increase or decrease) >0.4, of which in 11 the INR increased and in 24 the INR decreased (mean change in INR 0.313; 95% CI -0.139 to 0.765). The average INR of those 37 encounters was 2.83 (95% CI 2.497 - 3.171). There was no significant difference in albumin in encounters when the INR increased vs. decreased in response to vitamin K. There was a trend towards higher total bilirubin (TBILI) when the INR did not decrease in response to vitamin K. Mean TBILI was 5.9 in INR responders (95% CI 5.011 - 6.789) and was 6.66 (95% CI 5.219 - 8.101) in the encounters where the INR increased despite vitamin K. Conclusion: Vitamin K administration to improve the coagulopathy of patients with liver disease is common and often administered in response to an elevated INR. This is the largest retrospective review to date evaluating the effect of vitamin K on the INR of patients with liver disease. While a statistically significant decrease in INR of 0.08 was found, it is unclear if such a difference from vitamin K would be clinically significant. Moreover, only a very small portion of the patients included in this study (24/333) had an INR decrease of greater than 0.4. A limitation of our study is that patient centered outcomes, such as bleeding events, were not assessed. Future research should evaluate if there is a role for vitamin K in liver disease patients with a significantly elevated INR and low total bilirubin. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison E. Fowler ◽  
Rebecca E. Irwin ◽  
Lynn S. Adler

Parasites are linked to the decline of some bee populations; thus, understanding defense mechanisms has important implications for bee health. Recent advances have improved our understanding of factors mediating bee health ranging from molecular to landscape scales, but often as disparate literatures. Here, we bring together these fields and summarize our current understanding of bee defense mechanisms including immunity, immunization, and transgenerational immune priming in social and solitary species. Additionally, the characterization of microbial diversity and function in some bee taxa has shed light on the importance of microbes for bee health, but we lack information that links microbial communities to parasite infection in most bee species. Studies are beginning to identify how bee defense mechanisms are affected by stressors such as poor-quality diets and pesticides, but further research on this topic is needed. We discuss how integrating research on host traits, microbial partners, and nutrition, as well as improving our knowledge base on wild and semi-social bees, will help inform future research, conservation efforts, and management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Christian Sibbersen ◽  
Mogens Johannsen

Abstract In living systems, nucleophilic amino acid residues are prone to non-enzymatic post-translational modification by electrophiles. α-Dicarbonyl compounds are a special type of electrophiles that can react irreversibly with lysine, arginine, and cysteine residues via complex mechanisms to form post-translational modifications known as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and 3-deoxyglucosone are the major endogenous dicarbonyls, with methylglyoxal being the most well-studied. There are several routes that lead to the formation of dicarbonyl compounds, most originating from glucose and glucose metabolism, such as the non-enzymatic decomposition of glycolytic intermediates and fructosyl amines. Although dicarbonyls are removed continuously mainly via the glyoxalase system, several conditions lead to an increase in dicarbonyl concentration and thereby AGE formation. AGEs have been implicated in diabetes and aging-related diseases, and for this reason the elucidation of their structure as well as protein targets is of great interest. Though the dicarbonyls and reactive protein side chains are of relatively simple nature, the structures of the adducts as well as their mechanism of formation are not that trivial. Furthermore, detection of sites of modification can be demanding and current best practices rely on either direct mass spectrometry or various methods of enrichment based on antibodies or click chemistry followed by mass spectrometry. Future research into the structure of these adducts and protein targets of dicarbonyl compounds may improve the understanding of how the mechanisms of diabetes and aging-related physiological damage occur.


1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. DeGregorio ◽  
Nancy Gross Polow

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of teacher training sessions on listener perception of voice disorders. Three ASHA certified speech-language pathologists provided the criteria mean. Thirty randomly selected teachers from a Bergen County school system, randomly placed into two groups, served as subjects. The experimental group received three training sessions on consecutive weeks. Three weeks after the end of training, both groups were given a posttest. Listener perception scores were significantly higher for the experimental group. The implications of these results for in-service workshops, teacher/speech-language pathologist interaction and future research are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Holyfield ◽  
Sydney Brooks ◽  
Allison Schluterman

Purpose Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an intervention approach that can promote communication and language in children with multiple disabilities who are beginning communicators. While a wide range of AAC technologies are available, little is known about the comparative effects of specific technology options. Given that engagement can be low for beginning communicators with multiple disabilities, the current study provides initial information about the comparative effects of 2 AAC technology options—high-tech visual scene displays (VSDs) and low-tech isolated picture symbols—on engagement. Method Three elementary-age beginning communicators with multiple disabilities participated. The study used a single-subject, alternating treatment design with each technology serving as a condition. Participants interacted with their school speech-language pathologists using each of the 2 technologies across 5 sessions in a block randomized order. Results According to visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs calculations, all 3 participants demonstrated more engagement with the high-tech VSDs than the low-tech isolated picture symbols as measured by their seconds of gaze toward each technology option. Despite the difference in engagement observed, there was no clear difference across the 2 conditions in engagement toward the communication partner or use of the AAC. Conclusions Clinicians can consider measuring engagement when evaluating AAC technology options for children with multiple disabilities and should consider evaluating high-tech VSDs as 1 technology option for them. Future research must explore the extent to which differences in engagement to particular AAC technologies result in differences in communication and language learning over time as might be expected.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4193-4207
Author(s):  
Amy S. Pratt ◽  
John A. Grinstead ◽  
Rebecca J. McCauley

Purpose This exploratory study describes the emergent literacy skills of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) who speak Spanish, a language with a simple phonological structure and transparent orthography. We examine differences between children with DLD and their typically developing (TD) peers on a battery of emergent literacy measures. Method Participants included 15 monolingual Spanish-speaking children with DLD (who did not present with cognitive difficulties) and 15 TD controls matched for age, gender, and socioeconomic status, ranging in age from 3;10 to 6;6 (years;months; M age = 4;11). All children completed a battery of comprehension-related emergent literacy tasks (narrative retell, print concept knowledge) and code-related emergent literacy tasks (beginning sound, rhyming awareness, alphabet knowledge, and name-writing ability). Results On average, children with DLD performed significantly worse than TD controls on a battery of comprehension- and code-related emergent literacy measures. On all code-related skills except rhyming, children with DLD were more likely than their TD peers to score “at risk.” Conclusions The results suggest some universality in the effect of DLD on reading development. Difficulties with emergent literacy that are widely documented in English-speaking children with DLD were similarly observed in Spanish-speaking children with DLD. Future research should explore long-term reading outcomes in Spanish for children with DLD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 971-976
Author(s):  
Imran Musaji ◽  
Trisha Self ◽  
Karissa Marble-Flint ◽  
Ashwini Kanade

Purpose The purpose of this article was to propose the use of a translational model as a tool for identifying limitations of current interprofessional education (IPE) research. Translational models allow researchers to clearly define next-step research needed to translate IPE to interprofessional practice (IPP). Method Key principles, goals, and limitations of current IPE research are reviewed. A popular IPE evaluation model is examined through the lens of implementation research. The authors propose a new translational model that more clearly illustrates translational gaps that can be used to direct future research. Next steps for translating IPE to IPP are discussed. Conclusion Comprehensive reviews of the literature show that the implementation strategies adopted to date have fostered improved buy-in from key stakeholders, as evidenced by improved attitudes and perceptions toward interprofessional collaboration/practice. However, there is little evidence regarding successful implementation outcomes, such as changed clinician behaviors, changed organizational practices, or improved patient outcomes. The authors propose the use of an IPE to IPP translational model to facilitate clear identification of research gaps and to better identify future research targets.


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