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IntroductionMuch of the higher risk for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in African American individuals relates to ancestry-specific variation in the apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1). Relative to kidneys from European American deceased-donors, kidneys from African American deceased-donors have shorter allograft survival and African American living-kidney donors more often develop ESKD. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored APOL1 Long-term Kidney Transplantation Outcomes Network (APOLLO) is prospectively assessing kidney allograft survival from donors with recent African ancestry based on donor and recipient APOL1 genotypes.MethodsAPOLLO will evaluate outcomes from 2614 deceased kidney donor-recipient pairs, as well as additional living-kidney donor-recipient pairs and unpaired deceased-donor kidneys.ResultsThe United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, American Society of Transplantation, American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, and nearly all U.S. kidney transplant programs, organ procurement organizations (OPOs), and histocompatibility laboratories are participating in this observational study. APOLLO employs a central institutional review board (cIRB) and maintains voluntary partnerships with OPOs and histocompatibility laboratories. A Community Advisory Council composed of African American individuals with a personal or family history of kidney disease has advised the NIH Project Office and Steering Committee since inception. UNOS is providing data for outcome analyses.ConclusionThis article describes unique aspects of the protocol, design, and performance of APOLLO. Results will guide use of APOL1 genotypic data to improve the assessment of quality in deceased-donor kidneys and could increase numbers of transplanted kidneys, reduce rates of discard, and improve the safety of living-kidney donation.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with marked gender and ethnic disparities. We report a large transancestral association study of SLE using Immunochip genotype data from 27,574 individuals of European (EA), African (AA) and Hispanic Amerindian (HA) ancestry. We identify 58 distinct non-HLA regions in EA, 9 in AA and 16 in HA (∼50% of these regions have multiple independent associations); these include 24 novel SLE regions (P

The highest quality of learning takes place when students are immersed in the rich cultural heritage of a variety of countries, as they learn from hands-on studio projects, curated museum exhibitions, literacy resources, and elaborate food, music, and costume fiestas to round out their experiences. In this article, the authors describe a program for the South Miami K-8 Center's Expressive Arts Center students at the Lowe Art Museum in Miami. After learning about the indigenous Maya of Guatemala, children created a portrait of a peer, inspired by the art and textiles of Latin America. (Contains 1 resource and 5 online resources.)

The authors describe how they started a holiday mural project for students in different grades. They discuss how Gustav Klimt became the inspiration for this project. Klimt is an artist known for his "painted mosaics." The authors decided to use a theme that was decorative and enchanting, containing all of the jewel-like qualities that a holiday art typically contains. The authors chose to make the Tree of Life at the center of their mural, a theme that fulfilled many universal holiday themes. (Contains 2 online resources.)

Mental health is one of the key priorities of Indigenous communities in the Canadian North. Land-based programs rooted in Indigenous knowledge and focused on building connections to one's land and culture have been used to promote mental wellness. However, evaluation of land-based programs is an emerging field of work. In this article, we describe the process of developing and implementing an evaluation tool for community-led land-based programs across the Canadian North to promote mental wellness among Indigenous boys and men. Through a partnership between eight community organisations and a community-based northern health research centre, a scoping review of existing evaluation tools and related literature was conducted by the research team to identify priority evaluation concepts. These concepts were then further discussed and reviewed during a consensus workshop to develop an evaluation tool (36-item questionnaire). Six community organisations in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunatsiavut used the tool to evaluate their programs, which validated its usefulness to assess programs varying in their activities, geography, and organisational types and capacities. Some implementation challenges were also identified. The findings highlight the necessity of developing program evaluation strategies tailored to the specific contexts of Indigenous communities, as well as the need for further research to report on the outcomes of evaluation initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Prolonged Exposure (PE) may be targeted to facilitate moral healing in the course of PTSD treatment. • Emergent conceptualizations of moral injury are compatible with the PE model. • In vivo and imaginal exposure procedures may be expanded to meet patient needs. • This case example demonstrates positive functional outcomes in a soldier with PTSD and moral injury. Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a highly effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) across a variety of delivery formats and samples. However, for military service members, the treatment tends to be less effective than for civilians. One explanation for the reduced response to PE in military service members is the frequency, intensity, and heterogeneity of combat trauma. Combat trauma may yield a variety of posttraumatic responses, including moral injury, or the psychosocial-spiritual suffering consequent of exposure to moral injurious events. Despite rapidly increasing research on combat-related moral injury, little clinical guidance exists on how or if moral injury may be addressed via trauma-focused treatments such as PE. This case report describes the facilitation of moral healing for a U.S. Army soldier with combat-related PTSD in a 3-week intensive outpatient PE program. While PTSD symptoms were reduced from pre- to posttreatment, even more substantial treatment gains were observed in the soldier's functional changes, engagement with values-based activities, and his reported willingness to embrace moral pain. Although not explicit in the PE manual, targeting these latter outcomes in PE can facilitate moral healing in service members with PTSD. This case report provides a detailed description of how PE procedures were targeted to address moral injury and where theory-driven augmentations were included to facilitate moral healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristics and Level of Evidence of the Selected Studies Eligibility Criteria for Trials of a Speaking Valve Benefits of Speaking Valve Use Discussion Conclusions One-way speaking valves have been successfully used to restore audible meaningful speech in adult patients after tracheostomy tube placement. One-way speaking valves have also been used in pediatric patients after tracheostomy tube placement with promising results. We conducted a scoping review to synthesize and summarize the current evidence on the use of one-way tracheos- tomy tube speaking valves in the pediatric population to identify knowledge gaps that could inform future research programs and facilitate evidence-based clinical decision making. The Arksey and O'Malley 5-step methodological framework was used for this scoping review. We searched OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Google Scholar to locate articles published between January 1,1946 and May 26, 2016. Our search resulted in a total of 524 articles. After removing 270 duplicates, we screened 254 abstracts, and 50 articles were identified for full text review. We excluded 38 references. A total of 12 articles met our inclusion criteria. Details of all studies were charted. Application of the Sackett levels of evidence to evaluate the qualitative strength of the evidence provided by the 12 articles selected for study found that 6 studies were level 5, 4 were level 4, and 2 studies were categorized as level 3 evidence. Eligibility criteria for trials of speaking valves were inconsistent across all studies and included a combination of clinical assessment coupled with published indications. Much of the literature has focused on tolerance/successful use of speaking valves in children with a tracheostomy with limited evidence on its impact on verbal communication. Current evidence on the use of speaking valves in children with a tracheostomy, its indication, and its impact on verbal communication is inadequate, mandating further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months corrected age among very low birth weight infants ≤32 weeks gestation with histologic chorioamnionitis. Study design: Observational, regionalized, single-center cohort study with prospective follow-up. Results: Of the 628 infants meeting the selection criteria, 303 (48%) were born to mothers with evidence of histologic chorioamnonitis. Neonates with histologic chorioamnonitis were of lower gestational age and birth weight. On univariate analysis, they were more likely to have hypotension, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe intraventricular hemorrhage, severe retinopathy of prematurity, early-onset sepsis, and death. Infants with histologic chorioamnonitis were more likely to have any neurodevelopmental impairment, specifically, mental delay with a lower mental developmental index. When adjusting for perinatal variables, histologic chorioamnonitis had a protective effect on mortality rates (adjusted OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.24-0.8; P = .01; n = 619), had a nonsignificant effect on neurodevelopmental impairment (adjusted odds ratio = 1.33, 95% CI: 0.82-2.17; P = .25; n = 496), and was associated with a 4-point lower mental developmental index at 18-months follow-up (adjusted difference −3.93, 95% CI: −7.52 to −0.33; P = .03; n = 496). Conclusions: Although infants with histologic chorioamnonitis were at an increased risk for death and neurodevelopmental impairment, after multivariate analyses, histologic chorioamnonitis was not associated with adverse long-term outcomes. Results suggest fetal protection from treatment-responsive maternal infection and inflammation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Art Learning Resource Center provides a concentrated art experience for fifth graders in the Omaha Public Schools. The program utilizes collections of the Joslyn Art Museum, community resources, and guest artists as motivation for the awareness, appreciation and production of art. A sample lesson on Greek art is included. (Author/SJL)

A carefully classified dataset of perinatal mortality will retain the most significant information on the causes of death. Such information is needed for health care policy development, surveillance and international comparisons, clinical services and research. For comparability purposes, we propose a classification system that could serve all these needs, and be applicable in both developing and developed countries. It is developed to adhere to basic concepts of underlying cause in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), although gaps in ICD prevent classification of perinatal deaths solely on existing ICD codes. We tested the Causes of Death and Associated Conditions (Codac) classification for perinatal deaths in seven populations, including two developing country settings. We identified areas of potential improvements in the ability to retain existing information, ease of use and inter-rater agreement. After revisions to address these issues we propose Version II of Codac with detailed coding instructions. The ten main categories of Codac consist of three key contributors to global perinatal mortality (intrapartum events, infections and congenital anomalies), two crucial aspects of perinatal mortality (unknown causes of death and termination of pregnancy), a clear distinction of conditions relevant only to the neonatal period and the remaining conditions are arranged in the four anatomical compartments (fetal, cord, placental and maternal). For more detail there are 94 subcategories, further specified in 577 categories in the full version. Codac is designed to accommodate both the main cause of death as well as two associated conditions. We suggest reporting not only the main cause of death, but also the associated relevant conditions so that scenarios of combined conditions and events are captured. The appropriately applied Codac system promises to better manage information on causes of perinatal deaths, the conditions associated with them, and the most common clinical scenarios for future study and comparisons.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish normal parameters for placental weights and fetal/placental weight ratios. Study design: Placentas (2402) from uncomplicated singleton deliveries at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta) were collected from 1997 to 1998 and weighed after fixation. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was applied. Results: New reference values were developed for fixed placental weights. Placentas at the 90th percentile were 50 to 100 g heavier than previously reported. Fetal/placental weight ratios at term were similar to published values. Conclusion: The new placental weight reference values from our institution represent a recent and local population. New values may partly reflect parallel increases in term birth weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Much of the higher risk for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in African American individuals relates to ancestry-specific variation in the apolipoprotein L1 gene ( APOL1 ). Relative to kidneys from European American deceased-donors, kidneys from African American deceased-donors have shorter allograft survival and African American living-kidney donors more often develop ESKD. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored APOL1 Long-term Kidney Transplantation Outcomes Network (APOLLO) is prospectively assessing kidney allograft survival from donors with recent African ancestry based on donor and recipient APOL1 genotypes., Methods: APOLLO will evaluate outcomes from 2614 deceased kidney donor-recipient pairs, as well as additional living-kidney donor-recipient pairs and unpaired deceased-donor kidneys., Results: The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, American Society of Transplantation, American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, and nearly all U.S. kidney transplant programs, organ procurement organizations (OPOs), and histocompatibility laboratories are participating in this observational study. APOLLO employs a central institutional review board (cIRB) and maintains voluntary partnerships with OPOs and histocompatibility laboratories. A Community Advisory Council composed of African American individuals with a personal or family history of kidney disease has advised the NIH Project Office and Steering Committee since inception. UNOS is providing data for outcome analyses., Conclusion: This article describes unique aspects of the protocol, design, and performance of APOLLO. Results will guide use of APOL1 genotypic data to improve the assessment of quality in deceased-donor kidneys and could increase numbers of transplanted kidneys, reduce rates of discard, and improve the safety of living-kidney donation., (© 2019 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the third most common adult-onset neurodegenerative disease. Individuals with ALS rapidly progress to paralysis and die from respiratory failure within 3 to 5 years after symptom onset. Epidemiological factors explain only a modest amount of the risk for ALS. However, there is growing evidence of a strong genetic component to both familial and sporadic ALS risk. The International Consortium on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Genetics was established to bring together existing genome-wide association cohorts and identify sporadic ALS susceptibility and age at symptom onset loci. Here, we report the results of a meta-analysis of the International Consortium on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Genetics genome-wide association samples, consisting of 4243 ALS cases and 5112 controls from 13 European ancestry cohorts from across the United States and Europe. Eight genomic regions provided evidence of association with ALS, including 9p21.2 (rs3849942, odds ratio [OR] = 1.21; p = 4.41 × 10(-7)), 17p11.2 (rs7477, OR = 1.30; p = 2.89 × 10(-7)), and 19p13 (rs12608932, OR = 1.37, p = 1.29 × 10(-7)). Six genomic regions were associated with age at onset of ALS. The strongest evidence for an age of onset locus was observed at 1p34.1, with comparable evidence at rs3011225 (R(2)(partial) = 0.0061; p = 6.59 × 10(-8)) and rs803675 (R(2)(partial) = 0.0060; p = 6.96 × 10(-8)). These associations were consistent across all 13 cohorts. For rs3011225, individuals with at least 1 copy of the minor allele had an earlier average age of onset of over 2 years. Identifying the underlying pathways influencing susceptibility to and age at onset of ALS may provide insight into the pathogenic mechanisms and motivate new pharmacologic targets for this fatal neurodegenerative disease., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)