22 research outputs found
What do Trauma Surgery Textbooks Teach About Racial Disparities and the Roots of Violence?
No full textSupplemental Material for What do Trauma Surgery Textbooks Teach About Racial Disparities and the Roots of Violence? by Kyung Yoon, Ajiri Eroraha, Evan Lutton, Daniella Kington, Janice M. Bonsu, Phyllis E. Lawani, Randi N. Smith, and John N. Bliton, in The American Surgeon</p
AXIOMATIC FORMULATION OF THE OPTIMAL TRANSACTION COST THEORY IN THE LEGAL PROCESS THROUGH COBB-DOUGLAS OPTIMIZATION
No full textSubject and purpose of work: This paper uses Cobb-Douglas optimization to formulate an optimal transaction cost algorithm within the constraint of a generalized legal framework. Materials and methods: The author has adopted a Lagrangian approach to formulate the social utility function, then, from a set of legally allowed strategies established the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions for the legal game so as to find the optimal parameters within the social utility function. Finally, the optimal transaction cost algorithm was developed. Results: The Bordered Hessian Matrix from the partial differentials of the social utility function showed that there is a particular parameter within the social utility function which describes the optimal transaction cost. An adjustment of this parameter is essential in mechanism design for legal games. Conclusions: The author has shown how transaction costs influence the set of strategies played by players in a legal game, and has described the essence of a social utility function and how it can be optimized
Lessons from the field: the conduct of randomized controlled trials in Botswana
No full textAbstract Background The conduct of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in low-resource settings may present unique financial, logistic, and process-related challenges. Middle-income countries that have comparable disease burdens to low-income countries, but greater availability of resources, may be conducive settings for RCTs. Indeed, the country of Botswana is experiencing a rapid increase in the conduct of RCTs. Our objective was to explore the experiences of individuals conducting RCTs in Botswana to gain an understanding of the challenges and adaptive strategies to their work. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 national and international individuals working on RCTs in Botswana. Participants included principal investigators, research coordinators, lab technicians, research assistants, and other healthcare professionals. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and coded for thematic analysis. Results Five primary themes were identified: ethics board relationships (including delays in the process); research staff management (including staff attrition and career development); study recruitment and retention (including the use of reimbursements); resource availability (including challenges accessing laboratory equipment); and capacity-building (including issues of exporting locally sourced samples). These themes were explored to discuss key challenges and adaptive strategies. Conclusions This study offers a first-hand account of individuals engaged in conducting RCTs in Botswana, a nation that is experiencing a rapid increase in research activities. Findings provide a foundational understanding for researchers in Botswana and trial managers in similar settings when planning RCTs so that the conduct of research does not outpace the ability to manage, support, and regulate it
Creative Thinkers Writer's Club
No full textHere is, I believe, a real rarity. Two students in the Department of Publishing Studies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology took up as their final project establishing a writing club at a primary school and publishing a collection of their stories. The result is a number of one-page and two-page stories on pages 8 through 41 of this 7›" x 7" pamphlet. I find these fables among them: "The Big Fish" (26-27), an original fable about going out into the big and dangerous world and coming satisfied back home; FM (34-35); and "The Twins and Their Younger Brother" (38-39) about a younger brother who should have learned from the misdeeds of his older brothers. Each story is complemented by a full-page crayon drawing by its author. The authors range in age from 8 to 11. In this version of FM, the negligent frog apparently did not know that he was killing the frog. The hawk attacked when the frog back on land "sported" the Mouse.Linda Aduhene and Roselyn Mensah-Bons
Music and Worship in Africa: Adventists\u27 Dialogue from Biblical, Historical, and Cultural Perspectives
No full textMusic and Worship in Africa presents ideas that need to be discussed and studied. This book presents various author\u27s views of these two subjects that have generated a lot of disagreement. However, many good biblical and Spirit of Prophecy principles are shared to help the reader struggle with these important issues.https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/books/1331/thumbnail.jp
Relationship between bulk foam stability, surfactant formulation and oil displacement efficiency in porous media
No full textSuccess of foam as a displacing fluid in porous media depends on longevity of foams in the presence of non-aqueous phase liquids such as hydrocarbons. The stability of foam at bulk scale has been used in many cases to screen potential surfactants for core flooding studies. Although this method may aid in determining the foamability and stability of a surfactant, no reliable correlation has been found to exist between bulk foam stability and performance in porous media. We have conducted a comprehensive series of experiments to examine and compare the stability of selected surfactant foams at bulk scale and during oil displacement in porous media. The oil displacement was investigated in a micromodel manufactured by 3D printing technology. Our results demonstrated that oil displacement efficiency by foam is strongly influenced by the surfactant formulation. More importantly, no meaningful correlation between the bulk foam stability and the oil displacement efficiency of the corresponding foams in porous media was observed. Our pore-scale investigation shows that the stability or instability of foam at bulk scale does not necessarily determine its effectiveness in porous media. Hence, performing displacement tests as presented in our study may give more insights into the potential performance of foams. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd
Implications of irradiating the subventricular zone stem cell niche
No full textRadiation therapy is a standard treatment for brain tumor patients. However, it comes with side effects, such as neurological deficits. While likely multi-factorial, the effect may in part be associated with the impact of radiation on the neurogenic niches. In the adult mammalian brain, the neurogenic niches are localized in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, where the neural stem cells (NSCs) reside. Several reports showed that radiation produces a drastic decrease in the proliferative capacity of these regions, which is related to functional decline. In particular, radiation to the SVZ led to a reduced long-term olfactory memory and a reduced capacity to respond to brain damage in animal models, as well as compromised tumor outcomes in patients. By contrast, other studies in humans suggested that increased radiation dose to the SVZ may be associated with longer progression-free survival in patients with high-grade glioma. In this review, we summarize the cellular and functional effects of irradiating the SVZ niche. In particular, we review the pros and cons of using radiation during brain tumor treatment, discussing the complex relationship between radiation dose to the SVZ and both tumor control and toxicity
Long-term dominance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Uganda family in peri-urban Kampala-Uganda is not associated with cavitary disease
No full textPrevious studies have shown that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) Uganda family, a sub-lineage of the MTB Lineage 4, is the main cause of tuberculosis (TB) in Uganda. Using a well characterized patient population, this study sought to determine whether there are clinical and patient characteristics associated with the success of the MTB Uganda family in Kampala.; A total of 1,746 MTB clinical isolates collected from1992-2009 in a household contact study were genotyped. Genotyping was performed using Single Nucleotide Polymorphic (SNP) markers specific for the MTB Uganda family, other Lineage 4 strains, and Lineage 3, respectively. Out of 1,746 isolates, 1,213 were from patients with detailed clinical data. These data were used to seek associations between MTB lineage/sub-lineage and patient phenotypes.; Three MTB lineages were found to dominate the MTB population in Kampala during the last two decades. Overall, MTB Uganda accounted for 63% (1,092/1,746) of all cases, followed by other Lineage 4 strains accounting for 22% (394/1,746), and Lineage 3 for 11% (187/1,746) of cases, respectively. Seventy-three (4 %) strains remained unclassified. Our longitudinal data showed that MTB Uganda family occurred at the highest frequency during the whole study period, followed by other Lineage 4 strains and Lineage 3. To explore whether the long-term success of MTB Uganda family was due to increased virulence, we used cavitary disease as a proxy, as this form of TB is the most transmissible. Multivariate analysis revealed that even though cavitary disease was associated with known risk factors such as smoking (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 4.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.33-6.84) and low income (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.47-3.01), no association was found between MTB lineage and cavitary TB.; The MTB Uganda family has been dominating in Kampala for the last 18 years, but this long-term success is not due to increased virulence as defined by cavitary disease
Health care utilization and mortality associated with heart failure‐related admissions among cancer patients
No full textAims: Heart failure (HF) outcomes continue to improve with widespread use of new therapies. Concurrently, cancer survival has dramatically improved. Yet whether cancer patients share similar strategies and outcomes of inpatient HF treatment to those without HF is unknown. We sought to assess the contemporary impacts of cancer on inpatient HF outcomes over time.
Methods and results: The retrospective National Inpatient Sample (2003–15) and National Readmissions Database (2013–14) registries were queried for adults admitted for HF and stratified for cancer status, excluding cases of metastatic disease. Temporal trends in HF admissions, hospital charge rates, length of hospitalization, HF-related procedure utilization, in-hospital mortality, and hospital readmissions were analysed. Over 13 years of follow-up, there were 12 769 077 HF admissions (mean age 73 years, 50.8% female, 30.8% non-White), among which 1 413 287 (11%) had a co-morbid cancer diagnosis. Cancer patients were older, were predominantly male, and tended to be smokers. Over time, HF admission rates among cancer patients increased, despite a concurrent decrease among patients without cancer (P \u3c 0.0001). After propensity matching, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher among cancer HF patients (5.1% vs. 2.9%, P \u3c 0.0001). Additionally, HF-related procedure utilization was disproportionately lower among cancer patients (0.30 vs. 0.35 procedures/HF hospitalization, P \u3c 0.001); the presence of cancer was associated with increased costs, length of hospitalizations, and all-cause readmissions, but fewer HF readmissions (P \u3c 0.0001, each).
Conclusions: While the incidence of HF hospitalizations has increased among cancer patients, they do not appear to share the same rates of advanced HF care, readmissions trends, or reductions in in-hospital mortality. Future studies targeting modifiable factors related to these differences are needed
Teaching Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults to Drive: Perspectives of Specialized Driving Instructors
No full text
