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Mood disorders significantly impact global health, with MDD ranking as the second leading cause of disability in the United States and BD ranking 18th. Despite their prevalence and impact, the relationship between premorbid intelligence and the subsequent development of BD and MDD remains inconclusive. This study investigates the potential of premorbid Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and school failure frequency as risk factors for Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in a birth cohort setting. We analyze data from the Pelotas population-based birth cohort study, comprising 3580 participants aged 22, who had no prior mood disorder diagnoses. Utilizing regression models and accounting for potential confounders, we assess the impact of IQ and school failure, measured at age 18, on the emergence of BD and MDD diagnoses at age 22, using individuals without mood disorders as comparators. Results reveal that lower IQ (below 70) at 18 is associated with an increased risk of BD (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 1.75, 95%CI: 1.00–3.09, p < 0.05), while higher IQ (above 120) is linked to MDD (AOR 2.16, 95%CI: 1.24–3.75, p < 0.001). Moreover, an elevated number of school failures is associated with increased BD risk (AOR 1.23, 95%CI: 1.11–1.41, p < 0.001), particularly for BD type 1 (AOR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.17–1.58, p < 0.001). These findings offer insights into the distinct premorbid intellectual characteristics of BD and MDD and contribute to a deeper understanding of their developmental trajectories, potentially informing the development of risk assessment tools for mood disorders. • At 18, high intellectual functioning doubles the risk of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) within 4 years. • At 18, low/borderline intellectual functioning increases Bipolar Disorder (BD) risk 1.75x in 4 years. • BD linked to more school failures compared to those without mood disorders. • Absence of school dropout is a protective factor for Bipolar I Disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Although many people who are incarcerated have risk factors for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, the proportion of hepatitis A cases among people with a recent incarceration is unknown. We examined the relationship between recent incarceration and HAV infection during community-based, person-to-person outbreaks to inform public health recommendations. Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed health departments in 33 jurisdictions reporting person-to-person HAV outbreaks during 2016-2020 on the number of outbreak-associated cases, HAV-infected people recently incarcerated, and HAV-associated hospitalizations and deaths. Results: Twenty-five health departments reported 18 327 outbreak-associated hepatitis A cases during January 11, 2016–January 24, 2020. In total, 2093 (11.4%) HAV-infected people had been recently incarcerated. Of those with complete data, 1402 of 1462 (95.9%) had been held in a local jail, and 1513 of 1896 (79.8.%) disclosed hepatitis A risk factors. Eighteen jurisdictions reported incarceration timing relative to the exposure period. Of 9707 cases in these jurisdictions, 991 (10.2%) were among recently incarcerated people; 451 of 688 (65.6%) people with complete data had been incarcerated during all (n = 55) or part (n = 396) of their exposure period. Conclusions: Correctional facilities are important settings for reaching people with risk factors for HAV infection and can also be venues where transmission occurs. Providing HAV vaccination to incarcerated people, particularly people housed in jails, can be an effective component of community-wide outbreak response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To improve our understanding of the Earth's interior, seismologists often have to deal with enormous amounts of data, requiring automatic tools for their analyses. It is the purpose of this study to present SeisLib, an open-source Python package for multiscale seismic imaging. At present, SeisLib includes routines for carrying out surface-wave tomography tasks based on seismic ambient noise and teleseismic earthquakes. We illustrate here these functionalities, both from the theoretical and algorithmic point of view and by application of our library to seismic data from North America. We first show how SeisLib retrieves surface-wave phase velocities from the ambient noise recorded at pairs of receivers, based on the zero crossings of their normalized cross-spectrum. We then present our implementation of the two-station method, to measure phase velocities from pairs of receivers approximately lying on the same great-circle path as the epicentre of distant earthquakes. We apply these methods to calculate dispersion curves across the conterminous United States, using continuous seismograms from the transportable component of USArray and earthquake recordings from the permanent networks. Overall, we measure 144 272 ambient-noise and 2055 earthquake-based dispersion curves, that we invert for Rayleigh-wave phase-velocity maps. To map the lateral variations in surface-wave velocity, SeisLib exploits a least-squares inversion algorithm based on ray theory. Our implementation supports both equal-area and adaptive parametrizations, with the latter allowing for a finer resolution in the areas characterized by high density of measurements. In the broad period range 4–100 s, the retrieved velocity maps of North America are highly correlated (on average, 96 per cent) and present very small average differences (0.14 ± 0.1 per cent) with those reported in the literature. This points to the robustness of our algorithms. We also produce a global phase-velocity map at the period of 40 s, combining our dispersion measurements with those collected at global scale in previous studies. This allows us to demonstrate the reliability and optimized computational speed of SeisLib, even in presence of very large seismic inverse problems and strong variability in the data coverage. The last part of the manuscript deals with the attenuation of Rayleigh waves, which can be estimated through SeisLib based on the seismic ambient noise recorded at dense arrays of receivers. We apply our algorithm to produce an attenuation map of the United States at the period of 4 s, which we find consistent with the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: This study proposes to map the barriers to scaling the microfinance industry in the U.S., as it pertains to home maintenance and improvement for low-income households. The selected context of analysis is the American city of Baltimore, due to the city's high need for housing repair and large percentage of residents with limited access to finance. Originality/Value: Most research has discarded microfinance as a viable option for a housing market solution in the U.S. This paper discusses how the market of microfinance for housing repair could improve its financial sustainability seizing the smaller dollar value of repair loans, relative to housing purchase, and the high and recurring need for repair. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research was conducted on how microfinance for housing repair works in Baltimore City, leveraging secondary government and private research, along with interviews with lenders and borrowers. Data were analyzed through PESTEL framework, describing the macro-environmental context. Findings: The market for Housing Microfinance (HM) loan products in Baltimore matches the academic literature. Similar market demands exist as they relate to an increasingly aging housing stock. Lender supply of financing seems "healthy", but it is mostly from philanthropic or government sources favoring "affordability" over financial sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We analyzed the phylogenetic and time–space relationships (phylodynamics) of 181 isolates of vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSNJV) causing disease in Mexico and the United States (US) from 2005 through 2012. We detail the emergence of a genetic lineage in southern Mexico causing outbreaks in central Mexico spreading into northern Mexico and eventually into the US. That emerging lineage showed higher nucleotide sequence identity (99.5%) than that observed for multiple lineages circulating concurrently in southern Mexico (96.8%). Additionally, we identified 58 isolates from Mexico that, unlike previous isolates from Mexico, grouped with northern Central America clade II viruses. This study provides the first direct evidence for the emergence and northward migration of a specific VSNJV genetic lineage from endemic areas in Mexico causing VS outbreaks in the US. In addition we document the emergence of a Central American VSNJV genetic lineage moving northward and causing outbreaks in central Mexico. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The need to develop innovative technologies that could replace fossil fuels and, consequently contribute to the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases is now clear. In this circumstance, algal biofuels are generating considerable interest around the world. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated assessment of microalgae potential as a source of biofuels, while comparing its costs with that from other emerging biofuel technologies. This article emphasizes the importance of emerging United States and European Union energy policies that will encourage the development of innovative, and sustainable technologies in their respective regions. An ample review of the scientific literature was carried out, contributing to the analysis of cost, economic and technical indicators. The results obtained allowed the detection of important gaps of information that need to be filled, in order to guide future investment decisions concerning this rising technology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This essay addresses the poetics of Harryette Mullen, an awarded African-American female poet whose work questions the boundaries that shape the expectations for accessible intelligibility in African-American literature. Mullens poems skirt the edges of intelligibility by going beyond the expectations for a visible/intelligible form of language that would embrace the experience of blackness. I argue that writing in Mullen's poetry works as process of miscegenation by playing on the illegibility of blackness, beyond a visible line of distinction between what is or should be considered part of blackness itself, which engages new forms of reflection on poetry as a politically meaningful tool for rethinking the role of the black (female) poet within the black diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on issues regarding the use of genetic information to discriminate against job applicants or employees in the U.S. Advances in scientific technology, especially in genetics, will make it easier to predict what types of health problems a potential employee may develop based on a review of his or her genetics. Employers may find such information desirable to lower their costs in recruiting, training and providing health care for employees but the public fears that this personal knowledge may be used to illegitimately discriminate against job applicants and employees. The article examines the many ethical and legal issues that may come up and continue to evolve around the use and misuse of genetic science in the workplace as genetic testing becomes more commonplace.

Examines the impact of the accounting scandal faced by U.S. energy firm Enron on corporate disclosure. Factors that lead to employee benefit litigation; Step taken by employees who worked for start-up companies; Failure that can result in costly employee litigation; Case common when an anticipated employee benefit is at stake.

In this article the author discusses issues regarding the proper distribution of health services to the diverse society in the U.S. He mentions that most dental and medical curricula do not concentrate on the health of those growing multicultural population despite the current demographics and health disparities in the country. He highlights the effort of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to improve the numbers of minority medical professionals and students in the country.

Presents the speech of former U.S. Secretary of Education given at the plenary session of the 42nd annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, held August 1991 in San Antonio, Texas. Significant role of education in biology; Budget, trade, and education deficits facing the U.S.; Need for a total overhaul and restructuring of American schools; Declining performance in grades K-12 and higher education.

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of the presence and characteristics of ischemic electrocardiographic (ECG) changes during dipyridamole stress echocardiography. The ECG response in 178 patients with echocardiographic evidence of myocardial ischemia during dipyridamole stress testing was analyzed. ECG changes occurred in 105 patients (59%). Patients with ECG changes had a higher incidence of echocardiographic signs of ischemia at a low dose than patients with an unchanged electrocardiogram (50% vs 23%; p = 0.0002). Three-vessel and/or left main coronary artery disease (CAD) was found in 41% of patients with and in 21% of patients without ECG changes (p = 0.029). During follow-up (33 +/- 19 months), 30 cardiac events occurred: 10 deaths, 6 infarctions, and 14 unstable anginas. Coronary revascularization was performed in 48 patients with and in 17 patients without ECG changes (p = 0.0022). The univariate predictors of cardiac events were: presence of ischemia in > or =4 ECG leads (p = 0.0004), echocardiographic evidence of ischemia at a low dose (p = 0.0062), ST-segment shift on precordial leads (p = 0.0094), family history of CAD (p = 0.0115), coexistence of > or =3 cardiovascular risk factors (p = 0.0156), ST-segment depression (p = 0.0172), and ECG changes during testing (p = 0.0335). At Cox analysis, occurrence of ischemia at a low dose (odds ratio 3.0; 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 6.8) and the presence of ischemia in > or =4 ECG leads (odds ratio 3.5; 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 9.3) had an independent prognostic importance. In conclusion, the presence and characteristics of ischemic ECG changes are associated with more extensive CAD and worse prognostic outlook than are echocardiographic changes alone during dipyridamole stress echocardiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the national education policy adopted by the United States government. Need for America to change its attitude about national education goals; School-based management; Incentives for higher achievement.

Contends that unless we turn the nation's poor education performance around, our economic competitiveness is gravely threatened. Statistics on the dropout rates for Hispanic students; The growing diversity of our society; The place to start is in the home; Contention that more money will not fix the problem; Importance of parental involvement in child's education; Goals for the year 2000.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a primary cause of pediatric morbidity. The improved characterization of healthcare disparities for pediatric TBI in United States (U.S.) rural communities is needed to advance care. Methods: The PubMed database was queried using keywords (("brain/head trauma" OR "brain/head injury") AND "rural/underserved" AND "pediatric/child"). All qualifying articles focusing on rural pediatric TBI, including the subtopics epidemiology (N = 3), intervention/healthcare cost (N = 6), and prevention (N = 1), were reviewed. Results: Rural pediatric TBIs were more likely to have increased trauma and head injury severity, with higher-velocity mechanisms (e.g., motor vehicle collisions). Rural patients were at risk of delays in care due to protracted transport times, inclement weather, and mis-triage to non-trauma centers. They were also more likely than urban patients to be unnecessarily transferred to another hospital, incurring greater costs. In general, rural centers had decreased access to mental health and/or specialist care, while the average healthcare costs were greater. Prevention efforts, such as mandating bicycle helmet use through education by the police department, showed improved compliance in children aged 5–12 years. Conclusions: U.S. rural pediatric patients are at higher risk of dangerous injury mechanisms, trauma severity, and TBI severity compared to urban. The barriers to care include protracted transport times, transfer to less-resourced centers, increased healthcare costs, missing data, and decreased access to mental health and/or specialty care during hospitalization and follow-up. Preventative efforts can be successful and will require an improved multidisciplinary awareness and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection endemic to the southwestern United States. Hydrocephalus can develop after intracranial dissemination, and management of this disease entity is difficult. We present our institutional experience with shunting coccidioidomycosis-related hydrocephalus. A cohort of patients with coccidioidomycosis-related hydrocephalus undergoing an intracranial shunt placement were retrospectively identified over a 24-year period. Demographics and treatment characteristics were obtained from the electronic medical record. Thirty patients undergoing 83 procedures were identified, with a median follow-up of 19.4 months. The average age of the cohort was 43 years at the time of initial shunt placement. Most patients (66.7%) had ≥1 shunt failure, and the average number of revisions required was 2.6 for patients who had shunt failure. The average shunt valve pressure threshold required was 5.5 cm H 2 O, and patients who harbored the disease for a longer period (>7 months) had a lower pressure setting for initial shunt valves. Shunts without an antisiphon component were more likely to be failure free on multivariate analysis (odds ratio, 9.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.4–35.7). Death was associated with a longer diagnosis-to-shunt time interval, and patients having been diagnosed with intracranial disease for more than 10 months before shunt placement had significantly higher rates of death on follow-up. Patients with coccidioidomycosis-related hydrocephalus typically have normal to low pressure setting requirements, high shunt failure rates, prolonged hospitalizations, and mortality. In this disease context, shunt valves without an antisiphon component are associated with lower shunt failure rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy has gained acceptance since its introduction in 1991. It is considered nowadays as a good alternative for treating small tumors in most of the medical centers in the United States. Material and method: We report the first laparoscopic radical nephrectomy made in our hospital on a 48 year-old female with a small tumor (3 cm) in the right kidney found during follow-up of a breast cancer diagnosed and treated four years earlier. Patient characteristics and size of the tumor were examined and correlated with ease of surgical dissection and surgical outcome. Computed tomography was used to identify the tumor size. Result: The patient underwent successful laparoscopic radical nephrectomy without the need for an open conversion. We made a 7 cm incision for the extraction of the kidney at the level of lateral trocar. The size of the tumor was 3.0 cm located on the lower pole. The operative time was 340 minutes. The estimated blood loss was 250 cc. Conclusions: Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is a reproducible technique of minimally invasive surgery that is a lengthy and demanding procedure today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the Study: To report the current activity of intestinal transplantation in Europe (EU) and Unites States of America (USA), underlining outcomes in the last 5 years and discussing possible trends., Patients and Methods: Data review of results was performed through analysis of ITR and UNOS registries, Eurotransplant and newsletter transplant reports, congress abstracts, international published literature, personal communications and hospital web sites., Results: The absence in Europe of a sole organization collecting donors and the presence of many low-volume centers (less than 5 cases/year) makes the difference with USA: in the last 5 years (2010-2014), 222 intestinal/multivisceral transplants have been performed in EU countries (most of them in the UK), while in USA, the number of transplants achieved 634 procedures in the same period of time. Waiting list mortality remains unacceptable in both continents. Improved short-term results, with over 80% survival at 1 year, have been achieved in the busiest transplant centers likely due to immune-induction agents, more recently to innovative cross match strategies and optimizing organ allocation, but long term outcomes are still inferior to other organ transplants. Most long-term survivors were reintegrated to society with self-sustained socioeconomic status. The economic burden for the society is high and related costs are different between USA and EU (and inside Europe between member state's health-care systems), but cost-effectiveness for intestinal transplantation still needs to be proved., Conclusion: Overall intestinal transplantation continues to develop in EU and USA together with surgical and medical rehabilitation of patients affected by short gut syndrome., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)