Socioeconomic status (SES) is inversely related to mortality and health in children; the higher an individual’s SES, the less likely illness and death. It is unknown whether the association of SES and pediatric mortality exists in the inpatient setting.

Within children’s hospitals, in-hospital mortality is inversely associated with SES, but is lower than expected for even the lowest SES quartile. The association between SES and mortality varies by clinical service line. (Read the full article)

In Mexico, substantial declines in childhood diarrhea deaths have been documented since the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in 2007. However, there is concern of lower vaccine effectiveness in less developed regions of Mexico with higher diarrhea-related mortality.

We documented significant and comparable declines across all 3 regions of Mexico with different levels of development, indicating equitable vaccine distribution to children with varying risk of mortality and reaffirming the beneficial effects of rotavirus vaccination against fatal diarrheal disease. (Read the full article)

The incidence of childhood and adolescent melanoma has been significantly increasing up to 2004. Risk factors (fair skin, light-colored hair/eyes, female gender, presence of nevi, family history, increased number of sunburns, and exposure to UV radiation) are associated with melanoma.

This study describes incidence trends of melanoma diagnosed between the ages of 0 and 19 years and from 1973 through 2009 by gender, stage and age at diagnosis, primary site, and exposure to UV radiation. (Read the full article)

Universal oxygen saturation screening by pulse oximetry is now recommended for early detection of critical congenital heart disease. The distribution of saturations in asymptomatic newborns in a large population has not been described.

Our study is the largest to date to establish simultaneous pre- and postductal oxygen saturation nomograms in asymptomatic newborns at ~24 hours after birth. The mean postductal saturation is higher than preductal during this time. (Read the full article)

Twin studies suggest that bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is heritable; however, only a small number of genetic loci have been associated with BPD and these explain only a limited amount of this heritability.

A genome-wide association study of singleton infants (899 BPD cases and 827 controls) of 25 to 30 weeks’ gestational age did not identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with BPD at the genome-wide significance level but did identify polymorphisms warranting further study. (Read the full article)

Tympanometry provides a measure of middle ear function. There has been no description of the relationship between measurements of middle ear function in the absence of gross anatomic defects and clinical outcome among children with acute nontraumatic coma.

This study reveals an unexpected association between abnormal middle ear function and death in childhood acute coma. These findings call for more investigations on the relationship between middle and inner ear anatomy and function and intracranial dynamics and clinical outcomes. (Read the full article)

More than 70% of all preterm deliveries are late-preterm (34–36 weeks of gestation). Compared with those born at term, those born late-preterm have higher risk for medical and neurodevelopmental disabilities and suffer more often from mental and behavioral problems.

Late-preterm birth is associated with considerable lifetime socioeconomic disadvantages across the adult years. These disadvantages are not explained by childhood parental socioeconomic position. (Read the full article)

Current guidelines recommend renal ultrasound as a screening test after febrile urinary tract infection, with voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) only if the ultrasound is abnormal. Few studies have evaluated the accuracy of ultrasound as a screening test for VCUG-identified abnormalities.

This study shows that ultrasound is a poor screening test for genitourinary abnormalities identified on VCUG, such as vesicoureteral reflux. Neither positive nor negative ultrasounds reliably identify or rule out such abnormalities. Ultrasound and VCUG provide different, but complementary, information. (Read the full article)

Previous analyses have documented increased health care costs for children with autism spectrum disorders but have not provided comprehensive estimates of the total economic burden.

There are substantial additional costs associated with caring for children with autism spectrum disorders, amounting to >$17 000 per child annually. Costs accrued outside of the health care system account for the majority of the financial burden. (Read the full article)

The first evaluation of the economic impact of all vaccines in the routine US childhood immunization schedule assessed the 2001 schedule (excluding pneumococcal conjugate and influenza vaccines) and documented substantial cost savings over the lifetimes of the cohort of children born in 2001.

This report updates our previous evaluation, and estimates the costs and benefits of vaccinating the cohort of children born in 2009. We include vaccines routinely recommended for children in 2009. (Read the full article)

We previously reported that parents of children enrolled in genomic research made more restrictive data sharing (DS) decisions than adults. The ethics of pediatric DS have been discussed, but reasons for differences in decision-making have not been explored.

We present an empirically based discussion of attitudes toward and preferences for DS obtained from structured interviews of adult patients and parents of pediatric patients enrolled in genomic research studies. Parents expressed more concern about future risks than adult participants. (Read the full article)

Rapid and reliable tools for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis are still unavailable. No single biomarker studied has yielded conclusive results. Genome-wide expression profiles (GWEPs) have been successfully determined for the diagnosis of sepsis in pediatric and adult populations.

GWEPs are described for the first time in very low birth weight infants with proven bacterial sepsis. Our results suggest that GWEPs could be used for early discrimination of septic newborn versus nonseptic infants. (Read the full article)

Indoor tanning has gained widespread popularity among adolescents and young adults. Incidence rates of early-onset basal cell carcinoma also appear to be rising. Scant evidence exists on the impacts of early exposure and whether it leads to early occurrence of this malignancy.

In a US population-based study, indoor tanning was associated with an elevated risk of basal cell carcinomas occurring at or before the age of 50 years, with an increasing trend in risk with younger age at exposure among adolescents and young adults. (Read the full article)

Socioeconomic status (SES) often influences timeliness of health care delivery, even in publicly funded systems. Children need prompt surgical care for a variety of time-sensitive developmental conditions, and children of lower SES may be especially vulnerable to delays in surgery.

It is unknown whether a publicly funded system’s ability to provide timely pediatric surgical care is related to SES. In 39 327 consecutive surgical cases, we demonstrate that SES need not influence timeliness of surgical care in a publicly funded system. (Read the full article)

Youth in foster care are at higher risk of health problems at entrance and during their stays in care. Little is known about this group’s risk of health problems in young adulthood, in comparison with other populations of young adults.

This is the first prospective study to our knowledge demonstrating that former foster youth are at higher risk of chronic health problems than economically secure and insecure general population young adults. (Read the full article)

Exclusively breastfed newborns lose weight daily in the first few days after birth. The amount of weight lost varies substantially between newborns, with higher amounts of weight loss increasing risk for morbidity.

This study presents nomograms demonstrating percentiles for weight loss by delivery mode for those who are exclusively breastfed. The nomograms have potential to be used for early identification of neonates on a trajectory for greater weight loss and related morbidities. (Read the full article)

Previous research has established steep socioeconomic status gradients in children’s cognitive ability at kindergarten entry. Few studies have had comprehensive data to examine the contribution of a wide range of risk and protective factors across early childhood to these gradients.

Family background, health, home learning, parenting, and early care and education factors explain over half the gaps in reading and math ability between US children in the lowest versus highest socioeconomic status quintiles, suggesting a need for comprehensive early interventions. (Read the full article)

Although there is evidence regarding comorbidity of physical and mental disorders from clinical samples of specific disorders and treatment registries, there is limited evidence from systematic samples of youth with comprehensive information on the full range of mental and physical disorders.

This report is the first study to investigate the specificity of associations between a broad range of mental and physical conditions by using a large, systematically obtained pediatric sample with enriched information from electronic medical records and direct interviews. (Read the full article)

Smoking has been found to increase the risk of some specific congenital anomalies; however, results remain inconsistent. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is increasingly being used as for smoking cessation in pregnancy although little is known about its association with congenital anomalies.

Being prescribed NRT while pregnant was not associated with major congenital anomalies (MCA), except a small increase in respiratory anomalies (3/1000 births). This must be considered in context of the rarity of MCAs and higher morbidities in the NRT group. (Read the full article)

The frequency of cardiac arrest is significantly lower in children than in adults, rendering the delivery of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation more difficult. Metronome-based studies in adults showed improvement in adequate compression rate, with a detrimental effect on the depth of chest compressions.

This is the first pediatric study to confirm that the use of a metronome during cardiopulmonary resuscitation significantly improves the delivery of adequate rate without affecting the compression depth. This effect was more prominent among medical students and pediatric residents and fellows than nurses. (Read the full article)

Permanently-drawn curtains on the city’s empty luxury high-rises and dust gathering over shuttered storefronts in the Beirut Souks mall offer a glimpse of the economic gloom gathering over one of the world’s most indebted countries.

Strategic partnerships could be used to create win-win outcomes, says Sifiso Skenjana.

To history buffs, the Covid-19 pandemic must seem eerily familiar, says Noah Smith.

Our economy is in deep trouble, from whichever perspective you look at it. The economic battering taken by economically strong countries is frightening, leaving us in South Africa to fear the worst.

KBP-7072 is a semi-synthetic aminomethylcycline with broad-spectrum activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens including multidrug resistant bacterial strains. The pharmacokinetics (PK) of KBP-7072 after oral and intravenous (IV) administration of single and multiple doses were investigated in animal models including during fed and fasted states and also evaluated the protein binding and excretion characteristics. In Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, Beagle dogs, and CD-1 mice, KBP-7072 demonstrated a linear PK profile after administration of single oral and IV and multiple oral doses. Oral bioavailability ranged from 12% to 32%. Mean T_max ranged from 0.5 to 4 hours, and mean half-life ranged from approximately 6 to 11 hours. Administration of oral doses in the fed state resulted in a marked reduction in C_max and AUC compared with dosing in fasted animals. The mean bound fractions of KBP-7072 were 77.5%, 69.8%, 64.5%, 69.3%, and 69.2% in mouse, rat, dog, monkey, and human plasma, respectively. Following a single 22.5 mg/kg oral dose of KBP-7072 in SD rats, cumulative excretion in feces was 64% and in urine was 2.5% of the administered dose. The PK results in animal models are consistent with single and multiple ascending dose studies in healthy volunteers and confirm the suitability of KBP-7072 for once daily oral and IV administration in clinical studies.

Spectinomycin is a ribosome-binding antibiotic that blocks the translocation step of translation. A prevalent resistance mechanism is the modification of the drug by aminoglycoside nucleotidyl transferase (ANT) enzymes of the spectinomycin-specific ANT (9) family or by the dual-specificity ANT(3") (9) family that also acts on streptomycin. We previously reported the structural mechanism of streptomycin modification by the ANT(3") (9) AadA from Salmonella enterica. ANT (9) from Enterococcus faecalis adenylates the 9-hydroxyl of spectinomycin. We here present the first structures of spectinomycin bound to an ANT enzyme. Structures were solved for ANT (9) in apo form, in complex with ATP, spectinomycin and magnesium or in complex with only spectinomycin. ANT (9) shows similar overall structure as AadA with an N-terminal nucleotidyltransferase domain and a C-terminal α-helical domain. Spectinomycin binds close to the entrance of the interdomain cleft, while ATP is buried at the bottom. Upon drug binding, the C-terminal domain rotates by 14 degrees to close the cleft, allowing contacts of both domains with the drug. Comparison with AadA shows that spectinomycin specificity is explained by a straight α₅ helix and a shorter α_5-α₆ loop that would clash with the larger streptomycin substrate. In the active site, we observe two magnesium ions, one of them in a previously un-observed position that may activate the 9-hydroxyl for deprotonation by the catalytic base Glu-86. The observed binding mode for spectinomycin suggests that also spectinamides and aminomethyl spectinomycins, recent spectinomycin analogues with expansions in position 4 of the C ring, will be subjected to modification by ANT (9) and ANT(3") (9) enzymes.

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.

The off-label use of third generation cephalosporin (3GC) during in ovo vaccination or vaccination of newly hatched chicks, was a common practice worldwide. CMY-2-producing Escherichia coli have been disseminated among broiler production. The objectives of this study were to determine the epidemiological linkage of bla_CMY-2-positive plasmids among broilers both within and outside Japan because grandparent stock and parent stock were imported in Japan. We examined the whole genome sequences of 132 3GC-resistant E. coli isolates collected from healthy broilers during 2002-2014. The predominant 3GC-resistance gene was bla_CMY-2, which was detected in the plasmids of 87 (65.9%) isolates. The main plasmid replicon types were IncI1-I (n=21; 24.1%), IncI (n=12; 13.8%), IncB/O/K/Z (n=28; 32.2%), and IncC (n=22; 25.3%). Those plasmids were subjected to gene clustering and network analyses and plasmid multi-locus sequence typing (pMLST). The chromosomal DNA of isolates was subjected to MLST and single nucleotide variant (SNV)-based phylogenetic analysis.

MLST and SNV-based phylogenetic analysis revealed high diversity of E. coli isolates. ST429 harboring bla_CMY-2-positive IncB/O/K/Z was closely related to isolates from broiler in Germany harboring bla_CMY-2-positive IncB/O/K/Z. pST55-IncI and pST12-IncI1-I and pST3-IncC were prevalent in western Japan. pST12-IncI1-I and pST3-IncC were closely related to those detected in E. coli isolates from chicken in American continent, whereas 26 IncB/O/K/Z were related to those in Europe. These data will be useful to reveal the whole picture of transmission of CMY-2-producing bacteria in and out of Japan.

The precious metal eased for a third day after US equities hit the highest in almost seven weeks as states including Florida took steps toward easing restrictions.

Global markets rallied on the back of optimism that most governments were gearing up to at least partially reopen their economies following lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The local bourse had managed to open firmer following a rally in Asian stocks in earlier trading.

Deep losses were recorded across most European benchmarks except the FTSE 100 which managed to trade relatively flat on the day.

Source: www.thestar.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
The unemployment rate jumped 5.2 points in April to 13 per cent in the first full month of economic restrictions.

UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe 2012/13 – Shortlist of top three announced

The Scottish Parliament will next week (Tuesday 10 March) be invited to nominate Stephen Boyle to Her Majesty the Queen for appointment as the new Auditor General for Scotland.

The Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee has today issued a call for views from Scottish businesses and workers on the current Covid-19 crisis.

Behavioral economics applies key principles from psychology and economics to address obstacles to behavior change. The important topic of pediatric firearm injuries has not yet been explored through a behavioral economic lens. Pediatric firearm-related injuries are a significant public health problem in the United States. Despite American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines advising that firearms be stored unloaded, in a locked box or with a locking device, and separate from ammunition, estimates suggest that ~4.6 million children live in homes with at least 1 loaded and unlocked firearm. In this article, we use behavioral economic theory to identify specific cognitive biases (ie, present bias; in-group, out-group bias; and the availability heuristic) that may influence parental decision-making around firearm storage. We illustrate situations in which these biases may occur and highlight implementation prompts, in-group messengers, and increased salience as behaviorally informed strategies that may counter these biases and subsequently enhance safe firearm storage. We also describe other opportunities to leverage the behavioral economic tool kit. By better understanding the individual behavioral levers that may impact decision-making around firearm storage, behavioral scientists, pediatric providers, and public health practitioners can partner to design and test tailored interventions aimed at decreasing pediatric firearm injuries. Further empirical study is warranted to identify the presence of specific biases and heuristics and determine the most effective behavior change strategies for different subpopulations.

Next-generation sequencing has revolutionized the diagnostic process, making broadscale testing affordable and applicable to almost all specialties; however, there remain several challenges in its widespread implementation. Barriers such as lack of infrastructure or expertise within local health systems and complex result interpretation or counseling make it harder for frontline clinicians to incorporate genomic testing in their existing workflow. The general population is more informed and interested in pursuing genetic testing, and this has been coupled with the increasing accessibility of direct-to-consumer testing. As a result of these changes, primary care physicians and nongenetics specialty providers find themselves seeing patients for whom genetic testing would be beneficial but managing genetic test results that are out of their scope of practice. In this report, we present a practical and centralized approach to providing genomic services through an independent, enterprise-wide clinical service model. We present 4 years of clinical experience, with >3400 referrals, toward designing and implementing the clinical service, maximizing resources, identifying barriers, and improving patient care. We provide a framework that can be implemented at other institutions to support and integrate genomic services across the enterprise.

Source: www.youtube.com - Tuesday, May 05, 2020

SA is part of a new group of exciting emerging economies, the so-called Civets, says HSBC.

Nominations for individuals and organizations in the arts will be accepted through June 28 Wilmington, Del. (May 15, 2019) – Delaware’s Governor’s Awards for the Arts recognize the contributions of individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions and a lasting and profound impact on the artistic and cultural life of Delaware. Nominees should be […]

Consumers are looking at spending cautiously, but they have not stopped their purchases.

Analysts across the board have been certain about the heavy economic toll that the pandemic will take on the country.

US President Donald Trump on Monday nominated an Indian-American attorney to a federal court in New York.

US President Donald Trump has nominated senior Indian-American diplomat Manisha Singh as his envoy to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Katarzyna Growiec, Jakub Growiec and Bogumił Kamiński: We study the impact of endogenous creation and destruction of social ties in an artificial society on aggregate outcomes such as generalized trust, willingness to cooperate, social utility and economic performance. To this end we put forward a computational multi-agent model where agents of overlapping generations interact in a dynamically evolving social network. In the model, four distinct dimensions of individuals’ social capital: degree, centrality, heterophilous and homophilous interactions, determine their generalized trust and willingness to cooperate, altogether helping them achieve certain levels of social utility (i.e., utility from social contacts) and economic performance. We find that the stationary state of the simulated social network exhibits realistic small-world topology. We also observe that societies whose social networks are relatively frequently reconfigured, display relatively higher generalized trust, willingness to cooperate, and economic performance – at the cost of lower social utility. Similar outcomes are found for societies where social tie dissolution is relatively weakly linked to family closeness.

Governor Jack Markell unveiled a balanced budget proposal that promotes increased job and educational opportunities, supporting the theme of his State of the State address last week when he focused on ways to unleash the potential of all Delawareans.

Governor Markell today announced that he will nominate Brian Maxwell, Deputy Director at the Office of Management and Budget for more than three years, to lead the agency when Director Ann Visalli departs next month. Visalli will end her more than seven years in the position when she becomes Chief Operating Officer at St. Andrew’s School in May. Markell will submit Maxwell for consideration by the State Senate when the General Assembly returns to session.

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act 2008

Governor Markell signed House Bill 160 to permit shellfish aquaculture in Delaware's Inland Bays, allowing the state to reap the economic benefits of a multimillion dollar industry while improving water quality in the bays.