Off-label prescription of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) to neonates <34 weeks’ gestation has increased during the past decade. In early 2011, the National Institutes of Health determined that the available evidence did not support iNO use in this population.

Use of iNO among neonates <34 weeks’ gestation has increased since 2011, entirely from greater use in extremely preterm neonates. Off-label prescription of this drug now accounts for nearly half of all iNO use in American NICUs. (Read the full article)

Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in up to 50% of children after cardiopulmonary bypass and is associated with adverse outcomes. Renal biomarkers have been shown to predict postoperative AKI, but few studies have examined cardiac biomarkers for risk classification.

Preoperative levels of creatine kinase-MB and heart-type fatty acid binding protein are strongly associated with the development of postoperative AKI after pediatric cardiac surgery and can be used to improve preoperative clinical risk prediction. (Read the full article)

Burns are a leading cause of pediatric emergency department visits and hospitalizations and are often associated with significant long-term physical and psychological consequences and long-term medical and nursing treatments. Little is known of the long-term impacts of burns on mortality.

Children with burns had a 1.6 times greater rate of long-term mortality than a matched population-based cohort of children with no injury. Total mortality burden based on in-hospital deaths alone underestimates the true burden from both minor and severe burns. (Read the full article)

Firearm violence is a leading cause of death among US youth aged 14 to 24. The emergency department is a key setting for interacting with high-risk assault-injured youth and remains an underused but important setting for violence prevention programs.

High-risk youth seeking emergency department care for assault have high rates of firearm violence over the subsequent 2 years. Higher severity substance use, combined with negative retaliatory attitudes and access to firearms, increases this risk for involvement with firearm violence. (Read the full article)

Neurodevelopmental disabilities are the most common, and potentially the most damaging, sequelae of congenital heart defects. Children with congenital heart defects undergoing surgery in infancy have problems with reasoning, learning, executive function, inattention and impulsive behavior, language skills, and social skills.

Early neurodevelopmental outcomes for survivors of cardiac surgery in infancy have improved modestly over time, but only after adjustment for innate patient risk factors. As more high-risk infants with congenital heart defects survive cardiac surgery, a growing population will require significant societal resources. (Read the full article)

Infants with an inconclusive diagnosis of cystic fibrosis after newborn screening may turn out to have cystic fibrosis. However, little is known about the incidence, characteristics (phenotype and genotype), and outcomes of these infants to guide investigations and follow-up.

In this prospective longitudinal study, a proportion (11%) of infants with an initial inconclusive diagnosis were subsequently diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. This finding underscores the need for follow-up of this population. (Read the full article)

Previous studies found that 2010–2011 trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) were associated with statistically significant increased risks of febrile seizures (FS) in the United States.

Estimated FS relative risks after TIV or PCV13 adjusted for DTaP were >1, although not statistically significant and lower than previous estimates. Same-day administration of TIV and PCV13 did not result in more FS compared with separate-day vaccination. (Read the full article)

Although nonphysician reentry transitions have been characterized in the literature, little is known about the reentry of residents after either short-term (1-month elective) or long-term (12-month training) global health experiences abroad.

Reverse culture shock may be a useful conceptual framework for understanding the range of emotions felt by pediatric residents when they reenter residency after global health experiences, particularly if these experiences were long term. (Read the full article)

Neurodevelopmental outcomes after cardiac surgery in early life provide critical information for understanding and improving care. Studies show these children are at risk for arterial ischemic stroke and acquired brain injury; further characterization of motor impairment is needed.

This study focuses on the presence of chronic neuromotor disabilities including cerebral palsy and motor impairments after acquired brain injury in children surviving early complex cardiac surgery, providing information on the frequency, characteristics, and predictors that may assist in prevention. (Read the full article)

Urologic outcomes of prenatal myelomeningocele closure have previously been reported. This study, however, represents a large, prospectively followed cohort of these patients and presents detailed findings of urologic outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the largest study of this type.

Our study is the only trial to compare urologic outcomes in children with myelomeningocele having undergone prenatal closure with those who had postnatal repair in a prospective and systematic manner. We report our findings at 12 and 30 months. (Read the full article)

A number of studies have reported an association between birth by cesarean delivery and adverse childhood health outcomes such as obesity, asthma, atopy, and a number of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. However, these studies have had limited capacity to control for confounders.

Using a prospective cohort while controlling for birth factors, social vulnerability, maternal BMI, and breastfeeding, we found few differences between children delivered by cesarean delivery and those born vaginally. Higher child BMI was explained by maternal BMI. (Read the full article)

National guidelines recommend testing and prophylaxis for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and pregnancy for adolescent sexual assault victims. Little is known about rates of testing and prophylaxis in adolescent victims of sexual assault evaluated in pediatric emergency departments.

There is significant variation in testing and prophylaxis practices in the pediatric emergency department evaluation of adolescent victims of sexual assault. Adolescents cared for in emergency departments with clinical pathways are more likely to receive recommended prophylaxis. (Read the full article)

When can schools use federal funds to help students with disabilities prepare for life after special education? A new resource from the federal education department offers a road map.

A handful of districts and other groups are reshaping the after-school space to provide a wide range of social and linguistic supports for newcomer students.

The heads of Deutsche Bank and Siemens, two of Germany’s biggest companies, are among a dwindling number of high-profile delegates still scheduled to attend an investment conference in Saudi Arabia following the disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

For a moment, Wall Street seemed to be inching away from Saudi Arabia. Now, it’s already inching back.

For more than a year and a half, UN peacekeepers have continuously supported military operations conducted by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) against the Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in North and South Kivu.

A case of M. leprae rifampicin resistance after irregular anti-leprosy treatments since 1971 is reported. Whole-genome sequencing from four longitudinal samples indicated relapse due to acquired rifampicin resistance and not to reinfection with another strain. A putative compensatory mutation in rpoC was also detected. Clinical improvement was achieved using an alternative therapy.

According to a recent forensic analysis, a WhatsApp account from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly sent government-bought spyware to Bezos' phone in May 2018, two UN human rights experts said on Wednesday.

Staff from NHS England have been asked to travel hundreds of miles to Scotland to be tested for coronavirus, according to reports.

Yong Y. Han
Dec 1, 2005; 116:1506-1512
ARTICLES

CNA Staff, Apr 21, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- The Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth in Canada has offered prayers for the victims of a weekend shooting rampage in a small town in Nova Scotia, including a member of the country’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 

In a letter addressed to the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) dated April 20, Archbishop Anthony Mancini of Halifax-Yarmouth expressed condolences for the death of Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the force. 

“I wish to express on my behalf, as Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth, and in the name of Catholic faithful, our sincere condolences on the loss of life of Constable Heidi Stevenson,” said Mancini. 

“Her death in the line of duty indicates the highest sacrifice that one can make on behalf of the citizens she served,” he added. The archbishop said that he would be praying for her family, and for the officers of the RCMP who are mourning her life. 

In a video message posted on Tuesday, April 21, Mancini offered condolences, prayers, and assurances to the people of his archdiocese after, according to police, denture-fitter Gabriel Wortman went on a 14-hour shooting attack which spread across Saturday and Sunday.

“These last few days have been a shock, as we have all been affected by the useless and premature death of so many of our fellow citizens,” he said. “Try as we will to understand this tragedy, it remains incomprehensible. We are experiencing a great sense of loss, frustration, and even anger,” he added. 

As of Monday morning, 18 people have been confirmed to have been killed by the shooter, making it the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history, stunning a province which typically sees fewer than 15 homicides total per year. 

Authorities have not yet determined a motive for why the 51-year-old denture fitter committed the attack. The suspect is now deceased, although it has not yet been determined how he died. 

Mancini acknowledged that the existing circumstances related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made the grieving process more complicated.

“This loss of life comes upon us at a time when we are already weighed down by the threat of the coronavirus. In this time of mourning, we ought to be able to come together to experience the comfort of community care and its support. Yet here we are, in isolation in order to stay safe, making the present circumstances even more tragic,” he said. 

The archbishop encouraged people to use “technological means” to offer support to each other throughout the grieving process, and reminded Nova Scotians that “love is greater than tragedy and death.”

“I wish to extend to all the families and friends of those who have died our prayers and our expression of solidarity,” he said. “In this time, when we celebrate the resurrection, it is good to recall that death is not the last word.”

Mancini also suggested that his flock pray for “the growing number of COVID-19 victims” and “for those on the front lines doing all they can to protect us--the doctors, the nurses, and of course, the police.”

The man hopped the airport perimeter fence, an airport spokesperson confirmed.

The U.S. coronavirus death toll has surpassed 77,000.

The Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee has today issued a call for views from the culture and tourism industry on the current Covid-19 crisis.

The recent breaches of NordVPN and TorGuard demonstrate how trust is an intangible but important feature of security software. If you lose confidence in a security product, such as a VPN, it's probably time to ditch it.

Come May 18, College of Education student Gabriela Marsh will commission as second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. She graduated from Officers Candidate School in August 2019, completed her senior year at Penn State in the Navy ROTC program and commissions with the Marines in mid-May.

Hindsight is, as they say, 20:20. It’s usually easier to see, after the event, what should have been done to prevent it from happening. But whether this is true for the recent tragic events in Paris is a case for argument.

School superintendents, principals, and school board members found a lot to like in a draft bill to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

HPE learned of the defect from the SSDs' unnamed manufacturer, and dozen of different products, including individual memory drives to server models, suffer from the bug.

Fin24's Matthew le Cordeur spoke with Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba after his maiden mini budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday. Watch.

By Bishop Arthur Serratelli

One of the most famous figures of all English literature is the ghost of Hamlet’s father. Three times he appears in Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He demands that his son settle accounts with his uncle who murdered the dead king. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Richard III, ghosts also appear. From the 3rd century B.C. Epic of Gilgamesh through Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Shakespeare and Dickens, ghosts populated the pages of literature. They have appeared in films and even starred in their own TV show, Ghost Hunters.

Are ghosts merely fictional? Do they really exist?  First Lady Grace Coolidge said that she saw Abraham Lincoln’s ghost looking out the window of the Oval Office. Many others have, likewise, reported sightings of the ghost of our 16th President at the White House. Among those claiming to have seen a spectral Lincoln are Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and President Reagan’s daughter Maureen.

Within the Old Testament, there is the famous incident of the ghost of the prophet Samuel. In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul is facing a fierce battle with the Philistines. He wants to know the outcome; and, so he consults the witch of Endor. The spirit of the dead prophet Samuel appears and predicts Saul’s imminent defeat and death. Some commentators say that Samuel came because God allowed him to come and speak on God’s behalf (cf. Sir 46:20). Other commentators consider this incident a demonic apparition. In either case, they accept the apparition.

The New Testament gives evidence that the disciples of Jesus believed in the reality of ghosts. After the miracle of the loaves and fish, “when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear” (Mt 14:26). When the Risen Lord appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, “they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have’ ” (Lk 24:37-39). 

The word “ghost” simply means “spirit.” It refers to the spirit of a deceased person who has made himself or herself present to the living. According to polls taken in the last ten years, almost forty-two percent of Americans believe in ghosts. According to a recent poll, almost thirty percent of Americans say they have been in touch with someone who has died.

Stories about contact with the dead continue to fascinate us. They provoke the imagination. They manifest our awareness that there is more to reality than the physical world which we empirically experience. These reports of the spirits of those who have died clearly suggest personal survival after death. 

In her wisdom, the Church rightly condemns consulting mediums to be in touch with the dead. In fact, “all forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2116).

As Catholics, we hold that, at death, we face an immediate judgment of our lives. If we are in the state of perfect charity, we go to heaven. If we die in the state of mortal sin (God forbid!), we suffer eternal estrangement from God in hell. And, those of us who die in the state of grace, but not in perfect charity, undergo a purification of love in purgatory before we come into the presence of God. In a word, death is not the end of our personal existence. Nor does the Grim Reaper sever our relationships with each other. All tales of ominous specters appearing from beyond the grave pale before the brilliant truth of the Risen Christ who leaves the tomb empty and joins the living and the dead in one holy Communion of Saints where we assist each other with our prayers!
 

The Heritage Foundation says current federal programs supporting things like after-school centers don't work and their funding should be redirected for education savings accounts.

The House appropriations committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill providing a slight funding increase for the U.S. Department of Education, bringing overall funding to about $71 billion.

A research-practice partnership examines how urban after-school programs can support positive youth development.

A community-based organization's partnership with researchers creates a 'knowledge neighborhood' supporting after-school programs.

Parents rate homework help, physical activity, and healthy snacks at the top of the list when choosing after-school programs for their children, but access to hands-on activities in STEM is gaining a following.

Students whose peers in afterschool programs would intervene when students misbehaved were less likely to misbehave themselves, according to new research from Pennsylvania State University published in the American Journal of Community Psychology.

A new study suggests working together is something that after-school providers can improve on.

Three ways that the burgeoning healthy afterschool movement can be a leader in incorporating social, emotional, and academic development, as explained by Daniel Hatcher.

Authorities say the single victim of a shooting this week at a high school in North Las Vegas, Nev., was an 18-year-old student.

Through a city-school partnership in Nashville, Tenn., after-school programs are using data to tailor lessons to students' learning needs.

A pair of after-school programs in Portland offer high school students a glimpse of what it's like to work in building design and construction.

Elev8 Baltimore sees the impact relationships and out of school time programs have on one student's life.

After-school programs can help schools support students' reading and math achievement, social-emotional development, and their likelihood of graduating high school, finds a research analysis.

Faced with a push for academic programming, after-school providers are deploying new strategies to train and recruit effective educators.

Educators are invited to write about their experiences teaching online in the age of COVID-19.