Neuromodulation in Drug Resistant Epilepsy.

Epilepsy affects approximately 70 million people worldwide, and it is a significant contributor to the global burden of neurological disorders. Despite the advent of new AEDs, drug resistant-epilepsy continues to affect 30-40% of PWE. Once identified as having drug-resistant epilepsy, these patients should be referred to a comprehensive epilepsy center for evaluation to establish if they are candidates for potential curative surgeries.

The social ecology of childhood and early life adversity.

An increasing prevalence of early childhood adversity has reached epidemic proportions, creating a public health crisis. Rather than focusing only on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as the main lens for understanding early childhood experiences, detailed assessments of a child's social ecology are required to assess "early life adversity." These should also include the role of positive experiences, social relationships, and resilience-promoting factors.

Demographic and psychosocial factors associated with hair cortisol concentrations in preschool children.

Background: Early life stress has enduring effects on physical and mental health. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) reflect exposures to contextual stressors in early life, but are understudied in preschool children.

Methods: Hair samples from children (N = 693) during clinic visits (CVs) scheduled at 1-4 years (CV1-CV4) were measured using validated assay methods for HCC.

Measuring socioeconomic adversity in early life.

Aim: Early life adversity leads to enduring effects on physical and mental health, school performance and other outcomes. We sought to identify potentially modifiable factors associated with socioeconomic adversity in early life.

Methods: We enrolled 1503 pregnant women aged 16-40 years, without pregnancy complications or pre-existing conditions from Shelby County, Tennessee.

Management of Autoimmune Status Epilepticus.

Status epilepticus is a neurological emergency with increased morbidity and mortality. Urgent diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent irreversible brain damage. In this mini review, we will discuss the recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune status epilepticus (ASE), a rare form of the disorder encountered in the intensive care unit.

Evaluating the Sustainability of School-Based Health Centers.

Background: The United States is facing a surge in the number of school-based health centers (SBHCs) owing to their success in delivering positive health outcomes and increasing access to care. To preserve this success, experts have developed frameworks for creating sustainable SBHCs; however, little research has affirmed or added to these models.

Objectives: This research seeks to analyze elements of sustainability in a case study of three SBHCs in San Diego, California, with the purpose of creating a research-based framework of SBHC sustainability to supplement expertly derived models.

The Childhood Roots of Cardiovascular Disease Disparities.

A recent national review of the social determinants of cardiovascular disease (CVD) underscored the growing recognition that poor socioeconomic conditions early in life place children at higher risk for CVD as adults. There is growing evidence that chronic elevation of allostatic load as a consequence of high levels of early childhood stress can trigger early atherosclerotic changes in children independently of behaviors. Elevated levels of circulating cortisol have been documented in children as young as 4 years who were raised in highly stressful circumstances.

Parental limited English proficiency and health outcomes for children with special health care needs: a systematic review.

Background: One in 10 US adults of childbearing age has limited English proficiency (LEP). Parental LEP is associated with worse health outcomes among healthy children. The relationship of parental LEP to health outcomes for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) has not been systematically reviewed.

Bending the Medicare cost curve for physicians' services: lessons learned from Canada.

In 1997 Congress created the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula for the payment of physicians under Part B of Medicare. SGR established a target rate of growth for aggregate costs of physician services under Part B, linked to growth in overall GDP. If growth in aggregate Part B costs exceeds the target, the rate at which physicians are paid in the following year is to be reduced by a corresponding amount.

A molecular phylogenetic evaluation of the spizellomycetales.

Order Spizellomycetales was delineated based on a unique suite of zoospore ultrastructural characters and currently includes five genera and 14 validly published species, all of which have a propensity for soil habitats. We generated DNA sequences from small (SSU), large (LSU) and 5.8S ribosomal subunit genes to assess the monophyly of all genera and species in this order.

Chemistry courses as the turning point for premedical students.

Previous research has documented that negative experiences in chemistry courses are a major factor that discourages many students from continuing in premedical studies. This adverse impact affects women and students from under-represented minority (URM) groups disproportionately. To determine if chemistry courses have a similar effect at a large public university, we surveyed 1,036 students from three entering cohorts at the University of California, Berkeley.

Mexican immigrants in the US living far from the border may return to Mexico for health services.

Background: This study explores to what extent and why Mexican immigrants in the U.S. living far from the border return to Mexico for medical services.

Rhizophlyctidales--a new order in Chytridiomycota.

Rhizophlyctis rosea (Chytridiomycota) is an apparently ubiquitous, soil-inhabiting, cellulose-degrading chytrid that is the type for Rhizophlyctis. Previous studies have revealed multiple zoospore subtypes among morphologically indistinguishable isolates in the R. rosea complex sensu Barr.

The leaky pipeline: factors associated with early decline in interest in premedical studies among underrepresented minority undergraduate students.

Purpose: To determine the causes among underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups (URM) of a decline in interest during the undergraduate years in pursuing a career in medicine.

Method: From fall 2002 through 2007, the authors conducted a longitudinal study of 362 incoming Stanford freshmen (23% URM) who indicated on a freshman survey that they hoped to become physicians. Using a 10-point scale of interest, the authors measured the change in students' levels of interest in continuing premedical studies between the beginning of freshman year and the end of sophomore year.

Planning services for the homeless in the San Francisco peninsula.

A survey of clients seeking homeless services at agencies in the SF Peninsula, indicates that a disproportionate percentage are minority group members (African American and Hispanic) and veterans, and points to the need for integrated housing, social services, and health care for this vulnerable population.