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The purpose of this work is to provide physics students and teachers with a simple experiment in modern physics, which utilizes modern spectroscopic methods and provides computational modeling of incandescent lamp spectra. Captured spectra are modeled with Planck's radiation distribution, so that a temperature can be extracted. Voltage across and current through the lamp are recorded at the time of spectra capture, and the power and temperature data are fit with the Stefan-Boltzmann law. This experiment is further expanded by investigating the lamp's resistance as a function of temperature. It is seen that typical incandescent lamps obtained at local retail stores are great examples of blackbody radiators, while the common energy efficient fluorescent lamps are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study summarizes results from six data collection instruments administered to tourists, hotel workers, and commercial sex workers (CSWS) in the Dominican Republic (D.R.). The objective of this study was to assess: [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the most common medical emergencies that present to the hospital, and delineating the underlying etiology is essential to provide adequate definitive treatment. The purpose of this case report was to review the diagnosis and treatment of a rare complication known as radiation-induced hemorrhagic gastritis (RIHG) that can occur in patients with prior radiation exposure. The motivation for this study arose from the identification of a case within our institution., Case Presentation: The study involved a review of the diagnosis and management of a patient who presented with anemia and recurrent episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding at our institution after undergoing treatment for metastatic biliary adenocarcinoma. With the advent of new therapies, we aimed to investigate the various techniques utilized to manage these patients and highlight the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for RIHG as a potential etiology of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with a relevant medical history of radiation exposure. Despite the literature review, we found that there is a lack of guidelines in the approach to the management of these patients., Conclusion: This case report underscores the rarity of radiation-induced gastritis and the complications that may arise from its diagnosis, including recurrent GI bleeding. Further investigation into identifying definitive treatment and creating guidelines for its management is desperately needed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that none of them has a conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Early liver transplantation (LT) for alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is the fastest growing indication for LT, but prediction of harmful alcohol use post-LT remains limited. Among 10 ACCELERATE-AH centers, we examined psychosocial evaluations from consecutive LT recipients for AH from 2006 to 2017. A multidisciplinary panel used content analysis to develop a maximal list of psychosocial variables. We developed an artificial intelligence model to predict post-LT harmful alcohol use. The cohort included training (N = 91 among 8 centers) and external validation (N = 25 among 2 centers) sets, with median follow-up of 4.4 (IQR 3.0-6.0) years post-LT. In the training set, AUC was 0.930 (95%CI 0.862-0.998) with positive predictive value of 0.891 (95%CI 0.620-1.000), internally validated through fivefold cross-validation. In the external validation set, AUC was 0.692 (95%CI 0.666-0.718) with positive predictive value of 0.82 (95%CI 0.625-1.000). The model identified specific variables related to social support and substance use as highly important to predict post-LT harmful alcohol use. We retrospectively developed and validated a model that identified psychosocial profiles at LT predicting harmful alcohol use post-LT for AH. This preliminary model may inform selection and post-LT management for AH and warrants prospective evaluation in larger studies among all alcohol-associated liver disease being considered for early LT., (© 2022 The Authors. American Journal of Transplantation published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.)

In this brief report, we aim to assess levels of HIV mis-information among cisgender Haitian female sex workers engaged in sex work at the Haiti and Dominican Republic border. We conducted bivariate analyses on the 2014 Border Study on Sex Workers comparing responses from female sex workers on the Haiti side of the border to those from their peers on the Dominican Republic side (N=212). Prevention of HIV acquisition by correct and consistent condom use with each sex act was correctly endorsed by 90.5% of female sex workers in Haiti but only 57.0% of their peers in Dominican Republic (χ2=32.28, p<0.001); 84.1% of respondents in Haiti correctly identified that HIV can be transmitted through a single unprotected sexual act, compared to 52.3% in Dominican Republic (χ2=25.2, p<0.001). Significantly higher percentages of female sex workers in Dominican Republic correctly responded that HIV can be transmitted in pregnancy, compared to respondents in Haiti (96.5% vs. 71.4%; χ2=21.42, p<0.001). Higher percentages of respondents in Dominican Republic correctly answered that HIV can be transmitted through needle sharing, relative to respondents in Haiti (100.0% vs 89.7%; χ2=9.45, p<0.01). Respondents in Dominican Republic more accurately rejected the possibility of transmission through food or through mosquito bites, compared to respondents in Haiti (95.4% vs. 81.8%, χ2=8.51, p<0.01; 97.7% vs. 86.5%, χ2=7.81, p<0.01, respectively). Findings indicate that if HIV knowledge is examined aggregating responses to individual questions, then elements of misinformation may remain unaddressed. For example, we found significant differences in correct answers ranging from 16.7% to 100.0%., Competing Interests: Conflicts: The authors state that there they have no known conflicts of interest.

Background: Female sex workers (FSW) are socially and economically marginalized, and this vulnerability can be exacerbated when they hold the intersectional identity of also being an immigrant, such as in the case of Haitian FSWs in the Dominican Republic., Objective: Considering that half of migratory young women and girls relocating across the Latin American and Caribbean region do so without their families, increasing the likelihood of experiencing abuses, our primary objective was to test the hypothesis that Haitian FSWs in the Dominican Republic have higher odds of being physically abused by sexual partners compared to Haitian FSWs in Haiti., Methods: We conducted bivariate analyses and multivariate analyses on 2014 Hispaniola Sex Workers Study (N = 232)., Findings: Approximately 80% of Haitian FSWs in the Dominican Republic reported experiencing violence by a regular partner (80.3%), compared with 60.0% of Haitian FSWs in Haiti (χ 2 = 11.34, p < 0.001). Controlling for socio-demographics, substance use, childhood abuse, and sexual behaviors, Haitian FSWs in Haiti maintained lower odds of experiencing violence by a regular partner (OR:0.37, p < 0.01) and higher odds of experiencing violence from a coworker (OR:6.38, p < 0.001) compared to FSWs in the Dominican Republic. Using sex to avoid arrest is associated with higher odds of experiencing violence by a client and violence by a coworker (OR:2.18, p < 0.05; OR:3.74, p < 0.001; respectively). Accepting payment in the form of drugs/alcohol is associated with higher odds of experiencing physical violence by a regular partner but lower odds of experiencing violence by a client (OR:3.99, p < 0.05; OR:0.43, p < 0.05; respectively)., Conclusions: Assuming health is a human right, then practitioners and scholars must actively collaborate to fortify vulnerable populations against injurious structural and sociocultural forces examining the intersectionality and compound effects of multiple stigmatized identities, in this study being an FSW and an immigrant, that moderate the potential positive effects of public health interventions., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s).)

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that non-medical prescription opioid (NMPO) use may be a risk factor for initiating heroin use; however, pathways from PO to heroin use among youth remain underexplored. We sought to examine the association between NMPO use and heroin initiation., Methods: Between September 2005 and June 2017 data were derived from an open prospective cohort of street-involved youth aged 14-28 who use illegal drugs in Vancouver, Canada. The study included 526 youth who had never used non-injection heroin, and 652 youth who had never used injection heroin at baseline. We used Cox proportional hazards regressions to examine the association between NMPO use - in addition to other substance use patterns - and subsequent initiation into non-injection and injection heroin use., Results: Among those who had never used non-injection heroin at baseline, 133 (25.3%) initiated non-injection heroin use during the study period. Among those who had never injected heroin at baseline, 137 (21.0%) initiated heroin injection during the study period. In multivariable analyses, NMPO use, crack use, and crystal methamphetamine use predicted non-injection heroin initiation (all p < 0.05). In separate multivariable analyses, non-injection heroin and crystal methamphetamine predicted heroin injection initiation (all p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Among street-involved youth in this setting, NMPO use predicted initiation into non-injection heroin use but not initiation into heroin injection. Interestingly, crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine use were stronger predictors of heroin initiation than NMPO use was, suggesting that stimulant use may carry greater risks for heroin initiation than NMPO use., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Aims: While much research has sought to identify the factors associated with initiation and cessation of various forms of drug use among vulnerable youth, little is known about relapse into drug use in this population. We sought to characterise relapse into stimulant and opioid use among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada., Design and Methods: Data were collected between 2005 and 2017 from the At-Risk Youth Study, a prospective cohort study of street-involved youth who use illicit drugs in Vancouver. Multivariable extended Cox regression was utilised to identify factors associated with relapse into illegal stimulants and/or opioids among youth who had previously ceased using stimulants and/or opioids for 6 months or longer., Results: Among 246 participants who reported a period of cessation lasting 6 months or longer, 165 (67.1%) relapsed at some point during study follow-up. Youth who were recently incarcerated (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 1.46), homeless (AHR: 1.43), or had a history of daily stimulant use (AHR: 1.48) were significantly more likely to report relapse, while youth of who identified as white (AHR: 0.74) were significantly less likely to report relapse (all P < 0.05)., Discussion and Conclusions: Relapse into stimulants and/or opioids was common among youth in our setting, and incarceration, homelessness, and daily stimulant use were found to be positively associated with relapse among youth. Findings suggest that increased access to youth housing supports and alternatives to the criminalisation of drug use may help to reduce the rates of relapse into stimulants and/or opioids in this population., (© 2019 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Objective: Food insufficiency, defined by the experience of hunger, is known to be prevalent and a source of health-related harm among-street involved youth, but little is known about its relationship with depression in this population. Therefore, we sought to assess the association between food insufficiency and symptoms of depression among a cohort of street-involved youth., Design: Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between food insufficiency, defined as being hungry but not having enough money to buy food, and depression as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale., Setting: Data from April 2006 to November 2013 were derived from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), a prospective cohort of street-involved youth who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada., Subjects: There were 1066 street-involved youth enrolled in the study, including 340 (31·9 %) females., Results: Of 1066 youth enrolled in the study, 724 (67·9 %) reported some food insufficiency and 565 (53·0 %) met criteria for depression. Compared with youth who did not report food insufficiency, those who reported often experiencing food insufficiency had a higher likelihood of reporting depression (adjusted OR=2·52; 95 % CI 1·74, 3·67), as did those who reported sometimes experiencing food insufficiency (adjusted OR=1·99; 95 % CI 1·47, 2·70)., Conclusions: Food insufficiency was prevalent and associated in a dose-dependent trend with symptoms of depression among street-involved youth in our setting. Findings highlight the need to address the nutritional and mental health needs of youth and identify pathways by which food insufficiency may contribute to depression among vulnerable populations.

Background: The distribution of take-home naloxone (THN) kits has been an important strategy in reducing overdose fatalities among people who use drugs. However, little is known about the use of THN among youth who are street-involved. The present study explores knowledge and possession of THN among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting., Methods: Data were derived from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), a prospective cohort of street-involved youth age 14-28 at enrollment in Vancouver, Canada. Participants completed a standardized questionnaire, which included items related to knowledge and possession of THN, sociodemographic characteristics, and substance use-related factors. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors independently associated with knowledge and possession of THN., Results: Between December 2014 and November 2016, 177 youth were interviewed, including 68 females (38.4%). While 126 (71.2%) participants reported knowledge of THN, only 40 (22.6%) possessed a THN kit. Caucasian/white ethnicity was found to be positively associated with both knowledge and possession of THN (both p < 0.05). Public injection drug use in the last 6 months was found to be positively associated with knowledge of THN, while daily heroin use and daily methamphetamine use were associated with possession of THN (all p < 0.05). Male gender was negatively associated with possession of THN (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: These findings highlight important gaps between knowledge and possession of THN among youth and the need to increase participation in THN programs among specific populations including non-white and male youth. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the barriers that may prevent certain youth from acquiring THN kits.

Objectives: To evaluate gender-based differences in narrative letters of recommendation (NLORs) and standardized letters of recommendation (SLORs) submitted for applicants to an otolaryngology head and neck surgery (OHNS) residency program., Study Design: Retrospective review., Methods: Nine hundred fifty-eight letters of recommendation (LORs) submitted to one OHNS program in 2013 to 2014 were analyzed., Results: NLORs (n = 590) and SLORs (n = 368) were reviewed. Male writers composed over 85% of all LORs. Compared with male writers, female writers of LORs were more likely to compose a letter of minimal assurance (P < 0.025). Female writers of SLORs were more likely to rank applicants higher in communication skills (P < 0.035) and match potential (P < 0.045). Analysis of LORs by applicant gender revealed that female applicants were more likely than male applicants to be described as team players (P < 0.025) and less likely to receive a letter of minimal assurance (P < 0.001). Compared with SLORs, NLORs written for male applicants were more likely to reference their leadership potential (P < 0.001). Female applicants were less likely to be described as "bright" (P < 0.001) and more likely to have their appearance mentioned (P < 0.03) in NLORs when compared to SLORs., Conclusion: Although we found that SLORs reduce gender biases compared to NLORs, there remain significant differences in how female and male applicants are described. Greater awareness of historical biases likely has contributed to more equitable letter writing, although impactful gender biases remain when reviewing applicants., Level of Evidence: NA. Laryngoscope, 127:2738-2745, 2017., (© 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Introduction: Not only do transgender female sex workers have some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and experienced stigma, they also have higher likelihood of early sexual debut and some of the lowest levels of educational attainment compared to other stigmatized populations. Some of the most common interventions designed to reduce transmission of HIV and STIs seek to educate high-risk groups on sexual health and encourage condom use across all partner types; however, reaching stigmatized populations, particularly those in resource-limited settings, is particularly challenging. Considering the importance of condom use in stopping the spread of HIV, the aim of this study was two-fold; first to characterize this hard-to-reach population of transgender female sex workers in the Dominican Republic, and second, to assess associations between their HIV knowledge, experienced stigma, and condom use across three partner types., Methods: We analyzed self-reported data from the Questionnaire for Transgender Sex Workers (N = 78). Respondents were interviewed at their workplaces. Univariate and bivariate analyses were employed. Fisher Chi-square tests assessed differences in HIV knowledge and experienced stigma by condom use across partner types., Results: HIV knowledge was alarmingly low, condom use varied across partner type, and the respondents in our sample had high levels of experienced stigma. Average age of first sexual experience was 13.12 years with a youngest age reported of 7. Dominican Republic statutory rape laws indicate 18 years is the age of consent; thus, many of these transgender women's first sexual encounters would be considered forcible (rape) and constitute a prosecutable crime. On average, respondents reported 8.45 sexual partners in the prior month, with a maximum of 49 partners. Approximately two thirds of respondents used a condom the last time they had sex with a regular partner. This was considerably lower than condom use reported with coercive partners (92.96%) and clients (91.78%). Bivariate analyses revealed two trends: experienced stigma was associated with lower rates of condom use, and lower HIV knowledge was associated with lower rates of condom use. The former provides additional evidence that experienced stigma may become internalized, affecting individual-level behaviors-lowering self-confidence and resilience-making it more difficult to negotiate condom use due to lack of self-efficacy and desire to show trust in one's partner. The latter supports public health research that suggests gaps in HIV knowledge persist and are pronounced in highly stigmatized populations., Discussion: The vulnerabilities experienced by transgender persons, particularly in environments that vehemently adhere to conservative ideologies related to sex and gender, are significant and harm this population. These vulnerabilities could potentially be addressed through critically examining of impact of policies that indirectly promote or allow victimization of transgender citizens and subsequently diminish the effectiveness of public health and educational interventions. By taking action through the revocation of such laws, the Dominican Republic has the opportunity to improve overall population health, to protect some of its most stigmatized citizens, and to become the flag bearer of enhanced human rights in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Transgender women are a high-risk population, and transgender female sex workers are one of the most vulnerable populations globally. Transgender female sex workers have high rates of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and exposure to violence compared to cisgender sex workers; these negative exposures are associated with an increase in HIV risk behaviors. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between exposure to violence and condom non-use in transgender female sex workers residing in the Dominican Republic. We hypothesize that mediation exists wherein the effects of violence on condom non-use are mediated by distrust. Facilitated interview data ( N = 78) were used. Primary outcome was condom non-use with coercive partner. Four logistic regression models and a mediation analysis were employed. Respondents' mean age was 23.0 years (SD = 4.8) with an average level education attainment of 10.1 years (SD = 2.6); 35% reported experiencing violence; 17% believed that a person who asks a partner to use a condom does not trust that partner. Exploratory mediation analyses yielded a significant indirect effect of experience with violence on condom non-use through distrust (b = 0.64, SE = 0.33, p = .05). Results suggest that distrust mediates the association between experienced violence and condom use with coercive partners. It was concluded that developing interventions on increasing resilience and perceived self-worth, plus provision of screening for violence and referral services may reduce maladaptive attributions and cognitions about condom use. Furthermore, by implementing policies that protect vulnerable populations, and subsequently enforcing them, the Dominican Republic has the opportunity to improve overall population health and protect their most disadvantaged citizens.

Abnormalities in liver function tests appear in 3% of pregnancies. Severe acute liver damage can be an exclusive condition of pregnancy (dependent or independent of pre-eclampsia) or a concomitant disease. HELLP syndrome and acute fatty liver of pregnancy are the most severe liver diseases associated with pregnancy. Both appear during the third trimester and have a similar clinical presentation. Acute fatty liver may be associated with hypoglycemia and HELLP syndrome is closely linked with pre-eclampsia. Among concomitant conditions, fulminant acute hepatitis caused by medications or virus is the most severe disease. Its clinical presentation may be hyper-acute with neurological involvement and severe coagulation disorders. It has a high mortality and patients should be transplanted. Fulminant hepatic failure caused by acetaminophen overdose can be managed with n-acetyl cysteine. Because of the high fetal mortality rate, the gestational age at diagnosis is crucial.