Search

The California Psychological Inventory's Dominance scale was investigated for inconsistencies in item-trait associations across four samples (one American normative and three culturally dissociated manager groupings). The Kim, Cohen, and Park procedure was used, enabling simultaneous multigroup comparison in addition to the traditional differential item functioning focus on paired-group contrasts. Framing comparisons within Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Dominance construct-item association inconsistencies were predicted to occur across Indian manager responses (when contrasted relatively with U.S. and U.K. responses). Results are consistent with the Hofstede predictions and have particular implications for empirically keyed assessments, multigroup contrasts, the cross-cultural expression of individual differences, and the generalizability of trait definitions across cultures. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Objective: To determine macronutrients and micronutrients in foods served to and consumed by children at child-care centres in Oklahoma, USA and compare them with Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI).Design: Observed lunch nutrients compared with one-third of the age-based DRI (for 1-3 years-olds and 4-8-year-olds). Settings Oklahoma child-care centres (n 25), USA.Subjects: Children aged 3-5 years (n 415).Results: Regarding macronutrients, children were served 1782 (sd 686) kJ (426 (sd 164) kcal), 22·0 (sd 9·0) g protein, 51·5 (sd 20·4) g carbohydrate and 30·7 (sd 8·7) % total fat; they consumed 1305 (sd 669) kJ (312 (sd 160 kcal), 16·0 (sd 9·1) g protein, 37·6 (sd 18·5) g carbohydrate and 28·9 (sd 10·6) % total fat. For both age-based DRI: served energy (22-33 % of children), protein and carbohydrate exceeded; consumed energy (7-13 % of children) and protein exceeded, while carbohydrate was inadequate. Regarding micronutrients, for both age-based DRI: served Mg (65·9 (sd 24·7) mg), Zn (3·8 (sd 11·8) mg), vitamin A (249·9 (sd 228·3) μg) and folate (71·9 (sd 40·1) µg) exceeded; vitamin E (1·4 (sd 2·1) mg) was inadequate; served Fe (2·8 (sd 1·8) mg) exceeded only in 1-3-year-olds. Consumed folate (48·3 (sd 38·4) µg) met; Ca (259·4 (sd 146·2) mg) and Zn (2·3 (sd 3·0) mg) exceeded for 1-3-year-olds, but were inadequate for 4-8-year-olds. For both age-based DRI: consumed Fe (1·9 (sd 1·2) mg) and vitamin E (1·0 (sd 1·7) mg) were inadequate; Mg (47·2 (sd 21·8) mg) and vitamin A (155·0 (sd 126·5) µg) exceeded.Conclusions: Lunch at child-care centres was twice the age-based DRI for consumed protein, while energy and carbohydrate were inadequate. Areas of improvement for micronutrients pertain to Fe and vitamin E for all children; Ca, Zn, vitamin E and folate for older pre-schoolers. Adequate nutrients are essential for development and the study reveals where public health nutrition experts, policy makers and care providers should focus to improve the nutrient density of foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several developments involving anti-money laundering laws in the U.S. as of 2015, and it mentions statutory history, organized crime-related laws, and legislation such as America's Bank Secrecy Act and the country's Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984.

The article offers information on the significance of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), which enhances the value of U.S. provisional and non-provisional patent applications (PPAs and NPAs) to foreign applicants in the U.S. It discusses traditional benefits to foreign filers of PPAs including term extension, cost-efficiency and secrecy of applicants. Topics discussed include the implementation for the GATT, patent laws and the significance of the European Patent Office (EPO).

Background: Single-center studies suggest an increasing incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) in children. Our specific aims were to (i) estimate the recent secular trends, (ii) assess the disease burden, and (iii) define the demographics and comorbid conditions of AP in hospitalized children within the United States. Methods: We used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids’ Inpatient Database, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the years 2000 to 2009. Extracted data were weighted to generate national-level estimates. We used the Cochrane-Armitage test to analyze trends; cohort-matching to evaluate the association of AP and in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and charges; and multivariable logistic regression to test the association of AP and demographics and comorbid conditions. Results: We identified 55,012 cases of AP in hospitalized children (1–20 years of age). The incidence of AP increased from 23.1 to 34.9 (cases per 10,000 hospitalizations per year; P<0.001) and for all-diagnoses 38.7 to 61.1 (P<0.001). There was an increasing trend in the incidence of both primary and all-diagnoses of AP (P<0.001). In-hospital mortality decreased (13.1 to 7.6 per 1,000 cases, P<0.001), median length of stay decreased (5 to 4 days, P<0.001), and median charges increased ($14,956 to $22,663, P<0.001). Children with AP compared to those without the disease had lower in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 0.86, 95% CI, 0.78–0.95), longer lengths of stay (aOR 2.42, 95% CI, 2.40–2.46), and higher charges (aOR 1.62, 95% CI, 1.59–1.65). AP was more likely to occur in children older than 5 years of age (aORs 2.81 to 5.25 for each 5-year age interval). Hepatobiliary disease was the comorbid condition with the greatest association with AP. Conclusions: These results demonstrate a rising incidence of AP in hospitalized children. Despite improvements in mortality and length of stay, hospitalized children with AP have significant morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection of the lower respiratory tract is the leading cause of respiratory failure among infants in the United States of America and annually results in >300,000 deaths worldwide. Despite the importance of RSV, there is no licensed vaccine, and no specific form of therapy. This is largely due to the absence of an appropriate animal model for the evaluation of vaccines and therapeutic agents. We inoculated anesthetized infant (4 wk) baboons (Papio anubis) with a human strain of RSV intranasally or intratracheally. Baboons were monitored daily for clinical changes. Anesthetized baboons were intubated at various intervals, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed for viral culture and determination of leukocyte counts. Sham-infected baboons served as controls. Necropsies were performed on infected baboons on days 1, 3, 5, 8, or 13 after inoculation, with pathological analysis and immunohistochemical staining of lung tissues to detect RSV antigen. Infected baboons developed tachypnea and reduced oxygenation peaking from 4 to 8 days after infection and persisting for ≥14 days. Virus was recoverable in BAL fluid up to 8 days following infection. Necropsy revealed intense interstitial pneumonia, sloughing of the bronchiolar epithelium, and obstruction of the bronchiolar lumen with inflammatory cells and sloughed epithelial cells. RSV antigen was identified in bronchiolar and alveolar epithelium. We conclude that RSV-infected infant baboons develop clinical and pathological changes that parallel those observed in human infants with RSV infection. The infant baboon represents a much-needed model for studying the pathogenesis of RSV infection and evaluating antivirals and vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how issues concerning the Internet are affecting the elderly population. It argues that although the ADA guarantees equal access to employment, retail and other places of public accommodation to the elderly and disabled, its legal interpretation does not consider the Internet as a place. Challenges are also faced by elderly Internet users because of age-related disabilities like age vision impairment.

Thirty faculty in randomly selected Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) programs representing four geographical regions of the United States were asked to respond to a survey that included seven brief vignettes depicting gatekeeping and remediation challenges supervisors may face when working with therapists-in-training. Research participants were asked to select from among a range of 17 response options and were also asked to provide a rationale for the selection of their responses. The response rate for the mailed survey was 34%. Telephone interviews were conducted with three respondents who had provided especially detailed responses to the open-ended portions of the mailed survey and who also volunteered to be questioned regarding how supervision decisions are made. Results support the conclusion that COAMFTE faculty take their gatekeeping function seriously as they balance commitments to multiple stakeholders. When presented with hypothetical “bare-bones” vignettes, the supervisors in our study consistently recommended talking with the student in order to more fully understand the context of the student’s performance problem before deciding how to proceed. Supervisors recommended a variety of remediation efforts, but reserved the most severe consequences, such as probation, dismissal, and filing an ethics complaint, for the vignette involving dishonesty and lack of personal integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The objective was to estimate emergency department ( ED) visits for Clostridium difficile infection in the United States for the years 2006 through 2010. Methods Estimates of ED visits for C. difficile infection were calculated in patients 18 years and older using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Results During the calendar years 2006 through 2010, there were an estimated total of 491,406,018 ED visits. Of these, 462,160 ED visits were associated with a primary International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis of C. difficile. The C. difficile infection ED visit rate (visits/100,000 census population) increased from 34.1 in 2006 to 42.3 in 2010, an increase of 24% (p < 0.01). There was also a significant overall increased trend in the number of ED visits for C. difficile from 2006 through 2010 (p < 0.01). The highest ED visit rate for C. difficile was observed for patients 65 years and older (163.18 per 100,000), while the lowest visit rate was for patients aged 18 to 24 years (5.10 per 100,000). The greatest increase in C. difficile infection visits occurred in the age group 18 to 24 years. Conclusions These results indicate an increased trend of ED visits for C. difficile in the period 2006 through 2010 with an overall population-adjusted increase of 24%. This represents important complementary data to previous studies reporting an increase in the rate of C. difficile infections in the U.S. hospitalized population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In 2016, the neonatal resuscitation guidelines suggested electronic cardiac (ECG) monitoring to assess heart rate for an infant receiving positive pressure ventilation immediately after birth. Our aim was to study the impact of ECG monitoring on delivery room resuscitation interventions and neonatal outcomes., Methods: Observational cohort study compared maternal, perinatal and infant characteristics, before (retrospective cohort, calendar year 2015) and after (prospective cohort, calendar year 2017) implementation of ECG monitoring in the delivery room. Association of ECG monitoring with delivery room resuscitation practice interventions and neonatal outcomes was assessed using unadjusted and adjusted multivariable regression analyses., Results: Of 632 newly born infants who received positive pressure ventilation in the delivery room, ECG monitoring was performed in 369 (the prospective cohort) compared with no ECG monitoring in 263 (the retrospective cohort). Compared to neonates in the retrospective cohort, neonates with ECG monitoring had a significantly lower endotracheal intubation rate (36% vs 48%, P < .005) in the delivery room and higher 5-min Apgar scores (7 [5-8] vs 6 [5-8], P < .05). There was no difference in mortality (31 [8%] vs 23 [9%]), but infants who received ECG monitoring had increased odds of receiving chest compressions with an adjusted odds ratio of 3.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.4-9.5)., Conclusion: Introduction of ECG monitoring in the delivery room was associated with fewer endotracheal intubations, and an increase use of chest compressions with no difference in mortality., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We investigated the volume of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs) performed in hospitalized children in the United States using a nationwide healthcare administrative database for the years 2000 to 2009. A total of 22,153 cases of ERCP were identified: 6372 diagnostic and 17,314 therapeutic (1533 cases were recorded as undergoing both types during a single hospitalization). The number of ERCPs increased from 5337 to 6733 per year; diagnostic ERCPs decreased 43% and therapeutic increased 69% (significant decreasing trends for diagnostic and increasing for therapeutic ERCPs, P<0.001 for each analysis). Our results define a recent increase in the use of therapeutic ERCPs in hospitalized children.

To determine whether the incidence of Clostridium difficile infection continues to increase in hospitalized pediatric patients, we evaluated data from a United States national inpatient database. For the period of 2003 to 2009, we found an increasing trend in the incidence of C. difficile infection. These data suggest greater effort be given to prevent and treat this infection in children.

Background: The incidence and prevalence of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) seems to be increasing in North America and Europe. Our objective was to evaluate hospitalization rates in children with IBD in the United States during the decade 2000 to 2009., Methods: We analyzed cases with a discharge diagnosis of Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) within the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality., Results: We identified 61,779 pediatric discharges with a diagnosis of IBD (CD, 39,451 cases; UC, 22,328 cases). The number of hospitalized children with IBD increased from 11,928 to 19,568 (incidence, 43.5-71.5 cases per 10,000 discharges per year; P < 0.001). For CD, the number increased from 7757 to 12,441 (incidence, 28.3-45.0; P < 0.001) and for UC, 4171 to 7127 (15.2-26.0; P < 0.001). Overall, there was a significant increasing trend for pediatric hospitalizations with IBD, CD, and UC (P < 0.001). In addition, there was an increase in IBD-related complications and comorbid disease burden (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: There was a significant increase in the number and incidence of hospitalized children with IBD in the United States from 2000 to 2009.

Objective: To investigate the association of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) with the outcomes of hospitalized patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD)., Methods: We extracted all adult cases with a discharge diagnosis of ESRD or CDI from the United States Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2009 database. Outcome variables (mortality, length of hospital stay [LOS], and hospitalization charges), demographic information, and comorbidity data were collected. Data were evaluated by univariate and multiple regression analyses., Results: We identified 184,139 cases with ESRD of which 2.8% had CDI. Comparison of patients with ESRD + CDI to those with only ESRD revealed in-hospital mortality (13.2% vs 5.3%; P < 0.001), LOS (17.3 vs 7.1 days; P < 0.001), and charges ($124,846 vs $56,663; P < 0.001) to be more than 2-fold greater. In the ESRD cohort (ESRD only and ESRD + CDI), CDI was independently associated with greater mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 2.15; 95% CI, 2.07-2.24; P < 0.001), longer LOS (mean difference, 9.4 days; 95% CI, 9.2-9.5; P < 0.001), and higher charges (mean difference, $62,824; 95% CI, 61,615-64,033; P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Clostridium difficile infection is associated with significantly worse outcomes in hospitalized patients with ESRD.