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Background: In the past, there has been a clear conclusion regarding the sole impact of serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) on the risk of death. However, the combined effect of sNfL levels and type 2 DM on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality is still uncertain. Methods: This study was a prospective cohort study based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The sNfL levels were measured through immunological methods using blood samples collected during the survey. The diagnosis of diabetes was based on rigorous criteria, and participants' mortality data were followed up until December 31, 2019. Firstly, we separately examined the effects of sNfL and type 2 DM on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and finally studied the comprehensive impact of the combination of sNfL and type 2 DM on the risk of mortality. Cumulative Kaplan-Meier curves, multivariate logistic regression and sensitivity analysis were incorporated throughout the entire study. Results: Participants in the highest quartile of sNfL were observed. Multivariable COX regression model showed that increased sNfL levels and type 2 DM were respectively associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Furthermore, elevated sNfL levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality after adjustment for confounding factors. When considering both elevated sNfL levels and type 2 DM, individuals had a significantly increased risk of mortality. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the findings. Conclusions: These results suggest that elevated levels of sNfL and type 2 DM are associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and that participants with increased sNfL levels associated with type 2 DM have higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economics has become increasingly empirical and, alongside this shift, has come more demand for improved transparency and reproducibility in empirical economic research. In this article, we distribute a survey to almost 1500 economics faculty from the top 161 liberal arts colleges with an economics major (according to U.S. News & World Report) in the United States to determine the prevalence of teaching reproducible methods in undergraduate economics, summarize the most-common methods of instruction, and determine the intended student learning objectives. We find that of the economics faculty at liberal arts colleges who teach these reproducible methods, most do so in advanced upper-level (42%) and basic econometrics (31%) courses. Those faculty report teaching reproducibility using the following methods: transparent coding (85%), organizational skills (78%), and producing replication documentation (47%) through individual research projects (82%), homework assignments (55%), and/or workshops (33%). We conclude with some qualitative text analysis to shed light on the intended learning objectives and find that research skills (59%) and the importance of reproducibility (37%) are the most common reasons cited for teaching these methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To understand the barriers and facilitators that lactation professionals and supporters (LPSs) in the Appalachian region of the United States experience when providing services and support to families. Methods. We used a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design with a survey of LPSs in Appalachia (March‒July 2019), followed by semistructured interviews with LPSs (January‒April 2020). We summarized survey responses descriptively and analyzed interview transcripts thematically. Results. The survey was completed by 89 LPSs in Appalachia. We conducted semistructured interviews with 20 LPSs. Survey participants most commonly identified challenges with other health care providers, hospital practices, and non‒medically indicated supplementation as barriers. Interview participants described challenges with clients' families not supporting breastfeeding, difficulty reaching clients, limited numbers of LPSs, and lack of racial/ethnic diversity among LPSs. LPSs identified the need for training in lactation and substance use, mental health, and birth trauma, and supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, plus (LGBTQ+) families. LPSs described social media and telehealth as both facilitators and barriers. Social support from other LPSs was a facilitator. Conclusions. LPSs in Appalachia face various challenges. Addressing these challenges has the potential to improve the lactation support and services families in Appalachia receive. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S8):S797–S806. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307025) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review on the potential contribution of myeloid‐derived cells to prostate cancer, mechanisms for myeloid cell recruitment, and emerging myeloid‐cell targeted therapies in the clinic. Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer mortality in men in the United States. As is the case for other tumor types, accumulating evidence suggests an important role for myeloid‐derived cells in the promotion and progression of prostate cancer. Here, we briefly describe myeloid‐derived cells that interact with tumor cells and what is known about their immune suppressive function. We next discuss new evidence for tumor cell–mediated myeloid infiltration via the PI3K/PTEN/AKT signaling pathway and an alternative mechanism for immune evasion that may be regulated by an endoplasmic reticulum stress response. Finally, we discuss several interventions that target myeloid‐derived cells to treat prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Punitive school discipline procedures have increasingly taken hold in America's schools. While they are detrimental to the wellbeing and to the academic success of all students, they have proven to disproportionately punish minority students, especially African American youth. Such policies feed into wider social issues that, once more, disproportionately affect minority communities: the school-to-prison pipeline, high school dropout rates, the push-out phenomenon, and the criminalization of schools. Before such pervasive racial inequality can be addressed effectively, the social and the psychological mechanisms that create racial inequality in the first place must be examined. This Comment offers insights from the field of Critical Race Theory on the root causes for racial inequality in American society more broadly, and in the context of school discipline more specifically. It argues that racial stigmatization, stereotyping, and implicit biases that are based on a long history of racial prejudice in the United States continue to infuse seemingly objective standards of what is considered appropriate behavior, as well as the practices--such as punitive school discipline--that are used to enforce such standards. Because a comprehensive remedy to these systemic issues cannot be expected to come from efforts in the courts, advocates will have to rely on alternative strategies to soften and to reverse the negative impact that punitive school discipline imposes on students, especially minority students. This Comment proposes disciplinary practices based on the concept of Restorative Justice as a promising alternative to current disciplinary policies. It argues that Restorative Justice-based disciplinary policies are consistent with core principles of Critical Race Theory and are more conducive to creating a nurturing, safe, and inclusive school environment that not only keeps children in school but also helps to undermine the sources of racial conflict and of racial inequality that have plagued this nation for too long. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the effectiveness and cost of distribution surveys using live trapping to those using detection dog-handler teams for a cryptic rodent (Franklin’s ground squirrel [Poliocitellus franklinii]). We livetrapped at 62 sites in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin for Franklin’s ground squirrels in 2007–2009 and surveyed 40 of those sites using detection dogs in 2009. Independent surveys of a site by 2 dog-handler teams took <1 hr and yielded detection rates comparable to 2 daily livetrapping surveys (detection rate ¼ 83–84%). However, false presences are a potential problem when detection dogs are trained to scent of a species that leaves little visual sign to confirm its presence. Surveys by 2 dog-handler teams cost >2 daily livetrapping surveys conducted by 2 technicians but more and larger sites can be surveyed by dog-handler teams in a shorter time. For surveys covering large spatial scales or when time is a limiting factor, number of false presences, and study costs can be reduced by employing a 2-stage survey protocol in which livetrapping is conducted only at sites where detection dog surveys indicate presence. We conclude a 2-stage strategy could be used effectively in large-scale surveys for a variety of rare and cryptic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author examines public policy related to Adult Protective Services (APS) in the United States from the perspective of more than 20 years of experience in a large state APS program and a long-standing involvement in national activities related to elder abuse and adult protection. The article discusses the intricate role and impact of policy within and on APS, delineates and describes significant public policy issues affecting APS practice and performance, and proposes fundamental policy changes that might help to resolve the conceptual tension between APS and elder abuse in order to better prepare the field for the service demands of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This study sought to estimate the size and direction of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with populations greater than 500 000. Methods. A "components model" from review of more than 350 documents, several large datasets, and information from 220 public health personnel was, used. Data review focused on injection drug users, men who have sex with men, and high-risk heterosexual men and women. Results. In the 96 MSAS, there are, broadly, an estimated 1.5 million injection drug users, 1.7 million gay and bisexual men, and 2.1 million at-risk heterosexuals, and, among them, an estimated 565 000 prevalent and 38 000 incident HIV infections. This implies about 700 000 prevalent and 41 000 new HIV infections yearly in the United States. Roughly, half of all estimated new infections are occurring among injection drug users, most of them in northeastern cities, Miami, and San Juan. Gay and bisexual men still represent most prevalent HIV infections, although incidence-except in young and minority gay men-is much lower now than it was a decade ago. Relatively high prevalences of HIV in at-risk heterosexual persons in several cities indicate the potential for an increase in transmission among them. Conclusions. This review and synthesis outline the comparative epidemiology of HIV in major US cities and identify populations for interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reexamines Phillips's findings regarding the linkage between the appearance of news stories on prominent suicides and the subsequent monthly rise of national suicides-the Werther effect. Extending Phillips's original data set to 1977, and employing the quasi-experimental method, it is found that stories on prominent suicides are likely to trigger a subsequent rise in national suicides. However, this rise may be related to the linkage of suicide with the business cycle, and the fact that more prominent suicides may occur in years when there is a downturn in the economy. This study analyzes suicide rate data with a multivariate time-series model and controls for seasonal effects, the average duration of unemployment and war. No significant linkage is found between the national suicide rate and stories on prominent suicides on the front page of the New York Times, Employing Boorstin's definition of celebrities, the prominent suicides on the front page of the New York Times between 1947 and 1977 are differentiated as celebrity and noncelebrity suicides. Examining only celebrity suicides, it is found that a significant rise in the national suicide rate occurs in the month after a celebrity commits suicide. Suicidal imitation by the public is more selective than originally hypothesized by Phillips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]