A validation study of the high acuity readmission risk pediatric screen (HARRPS) tool©: Predicting readmission risk within the pediatric population.

Background: The initial research study of the High Acuity Readmission Risk Pediatric Screen (HARRPS) Tool © focused on using retrospective data to apply weighted values to the questions within the tool, identify overall risk score, and attribute risk categories (low, moderate, high risk) to the overall risk score. This study focused on validating the data from the initial study, as well as cross examining the need to include admission diagnosis within the tool.

Method: Study was a single-centered, retrospective chart review study using a different subset of patients from the initial study.

Hagfish to Illuminate the Developmental and Evolutionary Origins of the Vertebrate Retina.

The vertebrate eye is a vital sensory organ that has long fascinated scientists, but the details of how this organ evolved are still unclear. The vertebrate eye is distinct from the simple photoreceptive organs of other non-vertebrate chordates and there are no clear transitional forms of the eye in the fossil record. To investigate the evolution of the eye we can examine the eyes of the most ancient extant vertebrates, the hagfish and lamprey.

Retrospective Chart Review: Readmission Prediction Ability of the High Acuity Readmission Risk Pediatric Screen (HARRPS) Tool.

Background: Nurse Case Managers utilize adult based readmission risk tools upon admission to identify readmission risk. An evidence-based pediatric readmission tool could not be identified to replicate in the pediatric space, therefore the High Acuity Readmission Risk Pediatric Screen (HARRPS) Tool was developed to fill this gap. The research aim was to develop a risk score algorithm that accurately predicts pediatric readmissions and provide a predictive validation of the HARRPS Tool.

Age-related changes in prefrontal norepinephrine transporter density: The basis for improved cognitive flexibility after low doses of atomoxetine in adolescent rats.

Adolescence is a period of major behavioral and brain reorganization. As diagnoses and treatment of disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often occur during adolescence, it is important to understand how the prefrontal cortices change and how these changes may influence the response to drugs during development. The current study uses an adolescent rat model to study the effect of standard ADHD treatments, atomoxetine and methylphenidate on attentional set shifting and reversal learning.

Engendering development and disasters.

Over the last two decades the different impacts of disasters on women and men have been acknowledged, leading to calls to integrate gender into disaster risk reduction and response. This paper explores how evolving understandings of ways of integrating gender into development have influenced this process, critically analysing contemporary initiatives to 'engender' development that see the inclusion of women for both efficiency and equality gains. It has been argued that this has resulted in a 'feminisation of responsibility' that can reinforce rather than challenge gender relations.

Effects of environmentally-relevant levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate on clinical parameters and immunological functions in B6C3F1 mice.

In the first part of a series of studies to account for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)-induced sheep red blood cell (SRBC)-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody suppression in mice, a survey of clinical and immunotoxicological endpoints was examined. Adult female B₆C₃F₁ mice were exposed orally for 28 days to a total administered dose (TAD) of 0, 0.1, 0.

Effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) exposure on markers of inflammation in female B6C3F1 mice.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS; 1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptadecafluoro-1-octanesulfonic acid) has been reported to alter humoral immune functions, but inflammatory processes following PFOS exposure have not been fully characterized. Therefore, the current study, assessed TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations in serum and peritoneal lavage fluid, numbers of splenoctyes expressing intracellular TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10 or IL-1, and ex vivo TNF-α and IL-6 production by peritoneal macrophages following either in vivo or in vitro LPS exposure. Adult female B6C3F1 mice were exposed orally for 28 days to 0, 1, 3, or 300 mg PFOS/kg total administered dose [TAD] (e.

Estrogen promotes sympathetic nerve regeneration in rat proximal urethra.

Objectives: To assess whether sympathetic reinnervation of the rat proximal urethra is affected by differences in estrogen levels. Sympathetic innervation mediates tonic contraction of proximal urethral smooth muscle, thus contributing to urinary continence. Urethral innervation is particularly susceptible to damage during vaginal delivery, a time characterized by decreasing estrogen levels.

A role for sphingosine kinase 1 in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis.

The bioactive lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is emerging as an important mediator of immune and inflammatory responses. S1P formation is catalyzed by sphingosine kinase (SK), of which the SK1 isoenzyme is activated by tumor necrosis alpha (TNF-alpha). SK1 has been shown to be required for mediating TNF-alpha inflammatory responses in cells, including induction of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2).

A role for Fli-1 in B cell proliferation: implications for SLE pathogenesis.

Transgenic overexpression of Fli-1 in normal mice leads to SLE-like disease and increased expression was reported in SLE-affected human and murine lymphocytes. Reducing Fli-1 expression in MRL/lpr mice decreased antibody production, proteinuria, renal pathology, and mortality. Compared to those with wild-type expression of Fli-1, we report here that proliferative responses of Fli-1-deficient naïve B cells to several mitogens were reduced in lupus-prone and control mice.

The transcription factor Fli-1 modulates marginal zone and follicular B cell development in mice.

Fli-1 belongs to the Ets transcription factor family and is expressed primarily in hematopoietic cells, including most cells active in immunity. To assess the role of Fli-1 in lymphocyte development in vivo, we generated mice that express a truncated Fli-1 protein, lacking the C-terminal transcriptional activation domain (Fli-1(DeltaCTA)). Fli-1(DeltaCTA)/Fli-1(DeltaCTA) mice had significantly fewer splenic follicular B cells, and an increased number of transitional and marginal zone B cells, compared with wild-type controls.