Search

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There have been numerous reports of neurologic manifestations identified in hospitalized patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here, we identify the spectrum of associated neurologic symptoms and diagnoses, define the time course of their development, and examine readmission rates and mortality risk posthospitalization in a multiethnic urban cohort. METHODS: We identify the occurrence of new neurologic diagnoses among patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in New York City. A retrospective cohort study was performed on 532 cases (hospitalized patients with new neurologic diagnoses within 6 weeks of positive SARS-CoV-2 laboratory results between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020). We compare demographic and clinical features of the 532 cases with 532 controls (hospitalized COVID-19 patients without neurologic diagnoses) in a case-control study with one-to-one matching and examine hospital-related data and outcomes of death and readmission up to 6 months after acute hospitalization in a secondary case-only analysis. RESULTS: Among the 532 cases, the most common new neurologic diagnoses included encephalopathy (478, 89.8%), stroke (66, 12.4%), and seizures (38, 7.1%). In the case-control study, cases were more likely than controls to be male (58.6% vs 52.8%, p = 0.05), had baseline neurologic comorbidities (36.3% vs 13.0%, p < 0.0001), and were to be treated in an intensive care unit (62.0% vs 9.6%, p < 0.0001). Of the 394 (74.1%) cases who survived acute hospitalization, more than half (220 of 394, 55.8%) were readmitted within 6 months, with a mortality rate of 23.2% during readmission. DISCUSSION: Hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 and new neurologic diagnoses have significant morbidity and mortality postdischarge. Further research is needed to define the effect of neurologic diagnoses during acute hospitalization on longitudinal post-COVID-19-related symptoms including neurocognitive impairment.

The present study focuses on the mechanical performance of steel and polyvinyl alcohol fibers embedded in the geopolymer matrix. A high-strength geopolymer concrete with fly ash, slag and silica fume as precursors and sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions as activators has been tested for its strength in compression and flexure. The influence of fibers on flowability, long-term shrinkage and sulphuric acid attack on the geopolymer concrete has also been studied. The dosage of fibers was maintained at 1%, 2% and 3% by volume, and fibers of length 13 mm have been used in the study. Results indicate that slag with 3% steel fibers by volume had a predominant influence on the strength development of steel fiber-reinforced geopolymer concrete, yielding a compressive strength of 107 MPa after 28 days. Blast furnace slag resulted in increasing the shrinkage of concrete due to rapid gel formation owing to the presence of calcium ions, although the fibers helped reduce the shrinkage to some extent. The strength of steel fiber geopolymer concrete was superior to PVA fiber geopolymer concrete; however, after an acid attack, the strength of steel fiber geopolymer concrete was reduced more than PVA fiber geopolymer concrete due to the enhanced corrosion resistance of PVA fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of high-quality early childhood education on children's health and development are legion and far-reaching. Historically, efforts to improve quality have targeted the social and curricular aspects of early childhood programs. The physical setting of schools has received less attention, despite the vast body of research over the past several decades which has revealed the numerous ways that the built environment shapes young children's educational experiences. In this paper we review the extant literature on the connections between physical environment and children's learning and development, and present evidence-based design and assessment principles for these educational settings, with practical applications for educators. We argue that discussions of educational quality are incomplete without addressing the built aspects of learning centres and provide practical guidance for evidence-based design of these environments.

Typically, school administrators determine their school's security practices, but parental involvement may also play an important role in school security decisions. Data from the 2015-2016 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS 2016) was used to examine the relationship between parental involvement and the presence of physically invasive security practices in secondary schools. Invasive security was defined as the emplacement of metal detectors, contraband sweeps or drug sniffing canines. Analyses revealed that high levels of school-based parent engagement were associated with lower odds of employing invasive security measures in the school setting.

For most species, a precise understanding of how climatic parameters determine the timing of seasonal life cycle stages is constrained by limited long-term data. Further, most long-term studies of plant phenology that have examined relationships between phenological timing and climate have been local in scale or have focused on single climatic parameters. Herbarium specimens, however, can expand the temporal and spatial coverage of phenological datasets. Using Trillium ovatum specimens collected over > 100 yr across its native range, we analyzed how seasonal climatic conditions (mean minimum temperature (Tmin ), mean maximum temperature and total precipitation (PPT)) affect flowering phenology. We then examined long-term changes in climatic conditions and in the timing of flowering across T. ovatum's range. Warmer Tmin advanced flowering, whereas higher PPT delayed flowering. However, Tmin and PPT were shown to interact: the advancing effect of warmer Tmin was strongest where PPT was highest, and the delaying effect of higher PPT was strongest where Tmin was coldest. The direction of temporal change in climatic parameters and in the timing of flowering was dependent on geographic location. Tmin , for example, decreased across the observation period in coastal regions, but increased in inland areas. Our results highlight the complex effects of climate and geographic location on phenology.