Search

This qualitative diary study explored emotional responses of college students to social distancing (SD) protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty college students in an undergraduate senior capstone psychology course at a medium-sized public university in the Eastern USA wrote reflective diaries for several weeks. Their reactions to ongoing SD protocols were analyzed across four cohorts, from the virus onset in spring 2020 through late 2021. Entries related to SD protocols were selected, then coded with etic and emic coding strategies to characterize the aspects of SD and associated emotions. Participants discussed ten aspects of SD in passages that were complex in emotion, most strongly fear, joy, and sadness, and to a lesser extent, anger, disgust, and surprise. Gender differences in emotional reactions were minimal. Results are discussed in relation to student well-being, the socio-emotional toll of SD protocols, and ways to ease negative SD impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores how the examination of U.S. race relations found in the novel "Go Down, Moses," by William Faulkner, reflects the history of U.S.-Caribbean relations. The author investigates how Faulkner engages with the rhetoric used to justify the establishment of U.S. hegemony in the Caribbean in his discussions of American slavery and its historiography through the character of Isaac (Ike) McCaslin.

The aim of this article is to review the diagnostic and prognostic relevance of measurement of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in pediatric patients with congenital cardiac diseases (CHD). A computerized literature search in the National Library of Medicine using the keywords 'BNP assay' and 'NT-proBNP assay'+neonate/s and newborn/s was performed. Next, we refined the analysis to include only the studies specifically designed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of BNP and NT-proBNP measurements in children with CHD. Several authors suggested that BNP/NT-proBNP is clinically helpful as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for children with suspected CHD. BNP values are age dependent, even in paediatric populations. Unfortunately, accurate reference values for BNP and NT-proBNP for neonatal ages have only recently become available. As a result, the lack of homogenous and accurate decisional levels in the neonatal period greatly limits the clinical impact of the BNP assay, and also contributed to the production of conflicting results. Regardless of age, there is great variability in BNP/NT-proBNP values among CHD characterized by different hemodynamic and clinical conditions. In particular, cardiac defects characterized by left ventricular volume and pressure overload usually show a higher BNP response than CHD which is characterized by right ventricular volume or pressure overload. BNP and NT-proBNP may be considered helpful markers in the integral clinical approach for patients with CHD. Measurement of BNP cannot replace cardiac imaging (including echocardiography, angiography and magnetic resonance), but provide independent, low cost and complementary information for the evaluation of cardiac function and clinical status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postexercise release of cardiac troponin (cTn) is a well-known phenomenon, although the influence of various confounders remains unclear. The aim of this critical review was to analyze the postexercise release of cTn according to age, sex, different types of sport, exercise intensity and duration, and training level., Data Sources: A literature search was performed within the National Library of Medicine using the following keywords: cTn, peak, release, and exercise. The search was further refined by adding the keywords athletes, children/adolescents, and sport., Main Results: For final analysis, 52 studies were included: 43 adult studies, 4 pediatric studies, and 5 with a mixed population of adults and children. Several studies have investigated the kinetics of cTn response after exercise with different biomarkers. The current evidence suggests that sport intensity and duration have significant effects on postexercise cTn elevation, whereas the influence of the type of sport, age, and sex have been not completely defined yet. Most data were obtained during endurance races, whereas evidence is limited (or almost absent), particularly for mixed sports. Data on young adults and professional athletes are limited. Finally, studies on women are extremely limited, and those for non-White are absent., Conclusions: Postexercise release of cTn can be observed both in young and master athletes and usually represents a physiological phenomenon; however, more rarely, it may unmask a subclinical cardiac disease. The influence of different confounders (age, sex, sport type/intensity/duration, and training level) should be better clarified to establish individualized ranges of normality for postexercise cTn elevation., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)