Boys and girls start out on the same biological footing when it comes to math, finds the first neuroimaging study of math gender differences in children, published this month in the journal Science of Learning.

In honor of a recently retired professor, a generous alumnus donation has enabled the creation of the Martin W. Trethewey Early Career Professorship.

Boys and girls start out on the same biological footing when it comes to math, finds the first neuroimaging study of math gender differences in children, published this month in the journal Science of Learning.

U.S. Department of Education money will help public television develop projects promoting math and literacy for children ages 2 to 8.

Wide-scale use of insecticide-treated bed nets has led to substantial declines in global incidences of malaria in recent years. As a result, mosquitos have been shifting their biting times to earlier in the evening and later in the morning. In a new study, an international team of researchers has found that mosquitoes are most likely to transmit malaria in the early evening, when people are exposed, then at midnight, when people are protected by bed nets, or in the morning. The findings may have implications for malaria prevention initiatives.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of early oral switch (EOS) prior to 14 days for low-risk Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (LR-SAB), which is the primary treatment strategy employed at our institution. Usually recommended therapy is 14 days of intravenous (IV) antibiotics.

Methods. All patients with SAB at our hospital were identified between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018. Those meeting low-risk criteria (healthcare-associated, no evidence of deep infection or demonstrated involvement of prosthetic material, and no further positive blood cultures after 72-hours) were included in the study. The primary outcome was occurrence of a SAB-related complication within 90 days.

Results. There were 469 SAB episodes during the study period, 100 (21%) of whom met inclusion criteria. EOS was performed in 84 patients. In this group, line infection was the source in 79%, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus caused 95% of SABs and 74% of patients received IV flucloxacillin. The median duration of IV and oral antibiotics in the EOS group was 5 (IQR 4-6) and 10 days (IQR 9-14), respectively. Seventy-one percent of patients received flucloxacillin as their EOS agent. Overall, 86% of oral step-down therapy was with beta-lactams. One patient (1%) undergoing EOS had SAB relapse within 90 days. No deaths attributable to SAB occurred within 90 days.

Conclusions. In this low MRSA prevalence LR-SAB cohort, EOS was associated with a low incidence of SAB-related complications. This was achieved with oral beta-lactam therapy in most patients. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has grown to become a major burden on healthcare systems. The cumulation of limited therapeutic options and worsened patient outcomes with persistent MRSA bacteremia has driven research in optimizing its initial management. The guidelines published by the Infectious Disease of America currently recommend combination therapy for refractory MRSA bacteremia, but the utility of combining antibiotics from the start of therapy is under investigation. The alternative strategy of early use of a β-lactam antibiotics in combination with vancomycin upon initial MRSA bacteremia detection has shown promise. While this concept has gained international attention, providers should give this strategy serious consideration prior to implementation. The objective of this review is to examine retrospective and prospective evidence for early combination with vancomycin and β-lactam antibiotics, as well as explore potential consequences of combination therapy.

CYP450 enzymes are involved in biotransformation of chloroquine (CQ), but the role of the different metabolism profiles of this drug has not been properly investigated in relation to P. vivax recurrences. To investigate the influence of CYPs genotypes associated with CQ-metabolism on early recurrence rates of P. vivax, a case-control study was carried out. Cases included patients presenting an early recurrence (CQ-recurrent), defined as recurrence during the first 28 days after initial infection, plasma concentrations of CQ plus desethylchloroquine (DCQ, the major CQ metabolite) higher than 100 ng/mL. A control (CQ-responsive) with no parasite recurrence over the follow-up was also included. CQ and DCQ plasma levels were measured on Day 28. CQ CYPs (CYP2C8, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5) genotypes were determined by real-time PCR. An ex vivo study was conducted to verify CQ and DCQ efficacy in P. vivax isolates. The frequency of alleles associated with normal and slow metabolism was similar between the cases and controls for CYP2C8 (OR=1.45, 95% CI=0.51-4.14, p=0.570), CYP3A4 (OR=2.38, 95% CI=0.92-6.19, p=0.105) and CYP3A5 (OR=4.17, 95% CI=0.79-22.04, p=1.038) genes. DCQ levels were higher than CQ, regardless of the genotype. Regarding the DCQ/CQ rate, there was no difference between groups or between those patients who had a normal or mutant genotype. DCQ and CQ showed similar efficacy ex vivo. CYPs genotypes had no influence on early recurrence rates. Similar efficacy of CQ and DCQ ex vivo could explain the absence of therapeutic failure, despite presence of alleles associated with slow metabolism.

Millicent Collins
Aug 1, 2017; 140:e20160719-e20160719
CASE REPORTS

The start of November has brought a ton of great deals, with some matching last year's Black Friday prices. The 512GB Samsung EVO Select microSDXC card is only $78.

At Amazon right now, you can save up to 47 percent on a Samsung Q60 series QLED 4K Ultra HD smart TV with HDR support and Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility.

Without rigorous research that accurately reflects the current population, early education won't deliver for all students, write two education researchers.

In response to Nonie K. Lesaux and Stephanie M. Jones' Commentary on early education's need for more exacting research ("Early-Childhood Research Is Out of Touch," Feb. 14, 2018), better research is certainly welcome.

An educator's experience teaching math is important, but performance on math-content-certification tests is the best predictor of how well a teacher's students will perform in early algebra, finds a new study by the Regional Educational Laboratory Central at Marzano Research.

Philip M. Farrell
Jan 1, 2001; 107:1-13
ARTICLES

Christine Yoshinaga-Itano
Nov 1, 1998; 102:1161-1171
ARTICLES

Barbara J. Stoll
May 1, 2011; 127:817-826
ARTICLES

John Penders
Aug 1, 2006; 118:511-521
ARTICLES

Elaine Barry, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus, and Janet Spearly, director of academic advising in the Smeal College of Business, have been selected to receive the 2020 Penn State Excellence in Advising Award.

The Early College Program at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to complete college credits at a fifty percent tuition adjustment and earn scholarships. A virtual information session will be offered on Thursday, April 30 at 6:00 p.m. for interested students and families.

The Association for Clinical and Translational Science recently recognized Steven Hicks for his achievements. Hicks received the Early (Faculty) Career Development Award.

Right now the popular Echo Dot is $20 off and Echo Buds are $40 off. Plus, you can save up to $35 on the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite, and up to $40 on the Echo Show 5 or 8.

By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J.

In this political season—some call it the theater of the absurd—discussions about women presidents evoke strong views.

In the1960s, there was one woman whose contributions to society were so far reaching that, if the times had been more propitious to women, she could have been elected President of the United States.  But it was not to be.

Eunice Kennedy (1921-2009)

Eunice was the fifth child and the third daughter born to Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy. As the granddaughter of John F., “Honey Fitz,” Fitzgerald, the famous mayor of Boston, she inherited her mother’s natural political instincts; from her father, the energy, initiative and drive of a human dynamo.    

Rosemary was the third child and first daughter born into the Kennedy family.  Unlike the bright brood of eight other brothers and sisters, she was found to be retarded. Eventually, this fact changed the lives of millions of retarded children and adults because Eunice looked after her older sister for the rest of her life.   

“I had enormous respect for Rosie,” Eunice said of her sister. “If I had never met Rosemary, never known anything about handicapped children, how would I have ever found out?  Nobody accepted them any place.” Through Rosemary’s limitations, Eunice discovered her ministry—really her genius—to spend herself and achieve marvelous things for retarded children throughout the world.  

Academic and Professional Preparation

Educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton, London and at the Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, Eunice graduated from Stanford University in 1943 with a Bachelor’s degree in sociology.  She worked for the Special War Problems Division of the U.S. State Department and eventually moved to the U.S. Justice Department as executive secretary for a project dealing with juvenile delinquency.  

In 1951, she served as a social worker at the Federal Industrial Institution for Women before moving to Chicago to work with the House of the Good Shepherd women’s shelter and the Chicago Juvenile Court.  

In 1953, she married Sargent Shriver, an attorney who later worked in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  He was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps; the founder of the Job Corps, and the architect of Johnson’s “war on poverty.”  During his service as the U.S. ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970, Eunice studied intellectual disabilities there.  
    
Advocate for the Mentally Retarded

Among advocates of every kind, Eunice excelled as this country’s advocate for the mentally retarded.   In 1962, an exhausted and distressed mother of a retarded child phoned Eunice at her home.  No summer camp would accept her child, she said. Eunice responded with largesse by opening her own home as a summer camp—free of charge—at Timberlawn, the family estate in Maryland,. She would get in the pool and teach the youngsters to swim, loving them as her own children.

Eunice and Her Brothers

Eunice’s advocacy for the mentally retarded was overshadowed by the political pursuits of her three brothers, but she far surpassed them as the natural politician.  More than once it has been said that Eunice would have made a fine President of the Unites States.

Eunice made it a habit of calling the offices of her more famous brothers urging them to another project for the retarded. Teasingly, they dubbed her repeated requests nagging. Yet, they dared not ignore them.

President Kennedy set up research centers on mental retardation.  Robert Kennedy inspected squalid state mental institutions, and Sen. Edward Kennedy helped write the Americans with Disabilities Act.  “It was extraordinary of her to conceive that she too, could play a role comparable to that of her brothers,” Edward Shorter says, author of The Kennedy Family and the Story of Mental Retardation.  “Her leadership role would be in the area of mental retardation rather than on the big political stage.”

In 1968, Eunice founded the Special Olympics.  Today, they include more than 2.25 million people in 160 countries. “She had the genius to see that she, in fact, was capable of major achievements helping these kids, and that is what she did.  She dedicated her life to it,” writes Shorter.  

Awards

Among the many awards Eunice Kennedy Shriver received, the most notable are:
1984  Presidential Medal of Honor by Ronald Reagan highest civilian award in U.S.
1990  Eagle award from the U.S. Sports Academy
1992  Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged
1995  Second American to appear on a U.S. coin while still living
2006  Papal Knighthood and made Dame of the Order of St. Gregory
2009 Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled an historic portrait of her, the first portrait of the NPG has ever commissioned of an individual who had not served as a US President or First Lady.
2010 The State University of New York at Brockport, home of the 1979 Special Olympics, renamed its football stadium after Eunice Shriver.  (Awarded posthumously)

Later Years    

At 85, Eunice was not about to retire or relax.  She continued her tireless work on the issues concerning those with special needs “because in so many countries, the retarded are not accepted in the schools, not accepted in play programs, just not accepted. We have so much to do.”     Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her husband were devout Roman Catholics and lifelong Democrats. Both staunchly pro-life, Eunice was a member of Feminists for Life. She died in 2009, her husband, in 2011.  

The epilogue of the Book of Proverbs is a fitting tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a woman of noble character.  She lived for others.

Proverbs 31:10-31 Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character    
10 [a]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

 

More than 9.3 million U.S. students attended a rural school last year. A new report examines factors that affect them like poverty, academic achievement, and diversity.

The Department of Education has denied 99 percent of applications for public service loan forgiveness under a temporary expanded program funded by Congress, a report finds.

The first 20 minutes of a business owner's work day may determine the success or failure of the business, says a franchise expert

The non-marital birth rate to women age 24 and under was 71 percent in 2017. Here's what that means for educational outcomes and schools, according to guest blogger Ian Rowe.

Preschool-age children who frequently play number-related games at home show better math skills and growth by the end of kindergarten, finds a new study in the journal Child Development.

The Delaware Department of Justice’s Family Division announced that a new targeting of child support absconders has resulted in location of individuals who collectively owe more than $1 million in child support payments in order for them to begin paying support to their families. Led by Deputy Attorney General Phyllis Scully, Special Investigator William McGillan, […]

Investigations result in discovery and correction of issues impacting consumers The Delaware Department of Insurance’s Market Conduct Examinations resulted in the receipt of nearly $700,000 in fines during 2019 from more than a dozen companies found to violate the Insurance Code or other related regulations. The fines are contributed to the General Fund, providing funding […]

An archaeological study years in the making has revealed a wealth of new information about some of Delaware’s earliest colonial settlers and shed new light on what life would have been like in the region three centuries ago.

The event will include scholarly presentations on My Lord’s Gift, a 17th century archaeological site in Queenstown, Md.; and the Coleman Farm, Reedy Island and Fort Casimir sites in Delaware.

India's fuel demand dipped 45.8% in April from a year earlier, as a nationwide lockdown and travel curbs to combat the spread of novel coronavirus eroded economic activity. Consumption of fuel, a...

India will tour Australia later this year for a Test series.

Nearly 4,800 Indian nationals, most of whom are living in dormitories for foreign workers, have been tested positive with the novel coronavirus in Singapore till the end of April, the Indian High...

Governor Jack Markell celebrated Arbor Day by joining over 500 kindergarten students at McIlvaine Early Childhood Center for a ribbon-cutting to unveil the school's new "Tree Walk & Talk Arboretum." Gov. Markell also honored winners of the Delaware Forest Service's annual Arbor School Poster Contest and joined in commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the adoption of the American holly as Delaware's state tree in 1939.

NEW CASTLE (Oct. 23, 2019) – “Remembering Farnhurst: Stories from the Delaware State Hospital, 1894-1920,” a new book by local anthropologist Katherine A. Dettwyler, details the early history of the Delaware State Hospital, now known as the Delaware Psychiatric Center. Dettwyler spent four years transcribing seven State Hospital ledgers that detailed the admission and clinical […]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES: Division of Management Services

A group of Superior Court judgments issued on April 22 impose a total of $6.79 million in civil penalties against a Middletown pawn shop and its operators for violations of Delaware’s racketeering statute. The Department of Justice’s Civil Division secured the judgment as the outcome of a 2017 civil racketeering complaint filed against Gold Fever […]

The next Grand Tour episode has been delayed, and host Jeremy Clarkson put producer Andy Wilman on the spot to answer the internet’s questions to when the episode will be released. The live session on Youtube revealed some good insights.

The Indian government in March put a hold on exports of several drugs including paracetamol to secure supplies for its people after the coronavirus outbreak disrupted the industry's supply chain globally. COVID-19 is the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

State governments seem to have collected the lowest-ever inflation-adjusted monthly tax revenue in April.

On the government’s part, these include NEMMP (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan) and FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles).

The US Embassy, located in South Africa, has asked its residents, intending to Plan a trip to the US, to apply for the visas quickly for avoiding a long wait. The embassy stated that the processing of visa applications at US consulates, located in Cape…

Now nearly 3 lakh expats spanning 150 countries are expected to return to Kerala, with registrations already taking place on the online registration facility called Norka Roots.

Since rangeomorphs could not move and are preserved where they lived, it is possible to analyse whole populations from the fossil record.

Respected Sir Need your help has I'm facing a financial crisis beacuse of a sudden decision by my company of relieving me early and hence recovering of joining bonus. I have Joined my Company on 15th June 2018. And I put down my resigination on 20th March 2020. As per my appointment letter I was suppose to serve complusary 90 Days Notice Period. which I was willing to serve. My Last working day in the system was showing has 19th June 2020 thus I was completing 2 years with the company by the time i would have left. Everything was going on smoothly during my noice period when one fine day on 16th April 2020 my company called and informed me that they will be reliving me from the company tomorrow with immediate effect by just giving 1 days notice and they actually relived me on 17th April 2020. Now my present company is demanding from me to pay back 4 Lakhs Recovery Amount of Joining Bonus which they paid when I joinined. It had a clause that if i leave company before completion of 2 years I need to pay backthe same. I want to ask you all the experts here the following things :- 1) Since I was willing to serve my 90 Days of Notice period completely and my actual last working date in the company was after completion of 2 years only, just beacuse of this sudden decision from companies end to relive me early am I liable to pay back this joining bonus amount of 4 lakhs back to the company. 2) Beacuse of this sudden decision I could join my new company only after a gap of 2 weeks in May 2020 therefore incurring a loss in salary for 2 weeks period since I was jobless for 2 weeks sitting in home .Also since my present company relieved me before 2 months from my actual last date Am i eligile to get some compensation for this 2 weeks of joblessness or thr remaing 2 months. I will be very grateful if you can guide me. Also pasting below the two extracts from my Appointment Letters for your referece :- 1) During the service period, either party to this contract shall be at liberty to terminate the same by giving to the other 3 months notice in writing or compensation (on Basic Salary basis) in lieu thereof. Provided that, such notice or compensation in lieu of shall not be payable by the Company to you in the event of any contravention or violation by you, of any of the provisions set forth in this appointment letter. It shall not be necessary for either party to assign any reason for termination of the contract. Final decision on relieving an employee in case of insufficient notice period or compensation in lieu thereof, or the decision to waive the notice period vests with the Company. Any unutilized leave, as per the Company’s leave policy, may be set-off against the notice period of 3 months, at the discretion of the Company. 2) Unless otherwise specified, any reimbursements, in the form of relocation expenses / notice pay or payment of joining bonus, will be fully recovered if your employment with the Company ceases within two years of joining. Any payment made, in the form of relocation expenses / notice pay or payment of sign-on bonus will be taxed as per income tax rules 3) Extract from Joining Bonus Letter : This is on assumption that you will work with the company for a period of a minium 2 years and in the event there is a seperation for any reason, the same will be recovered.from you in full. The other terms and condition will be same as per our appointment letter. PLEAESE GUIDE ME

A total of 396 people have recovered from coronavirus infection through early oxygen therapy at Chirayu Hospital in Madhya Pradesh's capital city Bhopal.