Enhancing Communication Between Sonographers and Patients in Diverse Cultural Settings via Digital Human Role-Playing

Effective communication skills are essential for sonographers to build trust, to explain examination procedures to the patient in non-technical terms, to alleviate anxiety and gain patient consent and collaboration, and to provide information at a pace suitable for the patient. In order to communicate effectively, the sonographer needs to be able to communicate empathetically, adjusting their communication style to meet the needs of different audiences. This is particularly challenging when working with a diverse and multicultural group of patients where the risk of misinterpretation is higher. Students are provided with the opportunity to practice dialogues with virtual patients that are able to interact as real human beings, communicating concerns, emotions, and moods both at a verbal and non-verbal level. Coaching through digital humans accelerates learning from experience without the risks associated with learning in the field

Characterizing nutrient patterns of food items in adolescent diet using data from a novel citizen science project and the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

IntroductionA healthy diet is essential for promoting good health during adolescence and mitigating disease risks in adulthood. This underscores the need for improved nutrition education and increased access to healthier food choices. However, the accuracy of dietary data poses a significant challenge in nutritional research.MethodsWe utilized and analyzed a novel dietary record dataset collected through a high school citizen science project to address this issue. We focused on nutrients rather than food groups to characterize adolescent dietary patterns. The same analyses were performed on the 2019–2021 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data for comparison.ResultsBased on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recommended daily value (DV) for nutrients, the majority of food items in our citizen science dataset are low (i.e., <5% DV) in lipids, fiber, potassium, calcium, iron, sugar, and cholesterol. Only a minority of items are high (i.e., >20% DV) in macro and micronutrients. The clustering analysis identified nine food clusters with distinct nutrient profiles that vary significantly in size. The analyses on the NHANES data yielded similar findings, but with higher proportions of foods high in energy, lipids, carbohydrates, sugar, iron, and sodium compared with those of the citizen science dataset.DiscussionThis study demonstrates the potential of citizen science projects in gathering valuable dietary data and understanding adolescent nutrient intake. Identifying critical nutrient gaps can guide targeted nutrition education and the provision of accessible healthier food options, leading to positive health outcomes during adolescence and beyond

Bringing class back in: class consciousness and solidarity among Chinese migrant workers in Italy and the UK

The growing literature on international migration has a tendency to emphasize homogenous elements such as shared ethnic background, social network and cultural similarities in shaping immigrants' identity. We argue that this underestimates the differences (and sometimes conflicts) of interests between ethnic employers and migrant workers and that class needs to be brought back into the studies of ethnic relationship. Based upon findings from a series of fieldwork in Veneto, Italy and East Midlands, UK, this article contends that class consciousness has co-existed, sometimes uneasily, alongside co-ethnic and cultural relationships among Chinese migrant workers and has played an important part in the making of new Chinese communities. By analysing the perspectives of Chinese migrant workers and their relationship with co-ethnic entrepreneurs, this article illustrates complex factors behind the formation, diffusion and development of class consciousness among Chinese migrant workers

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Early transcriptomic response to Fe supply in Fe-deficient tomato plants is strongly influenced by the nature of the chelating agent

Figure S1. Cluster heat map of gene expression data. Table S1. Results of Real-time RT-PCR experiments performed for a set of transcripts resulted differentially expressed in the different comparison of microarray analysis. Table S2. Number of differentially expressed transcripts resulted by root transcriptional profile comparisons of Fe-deficient plants supplied for 1 h with the three natural sources of Fe and Fe-sufficient plants. Figure S2. Shared transcripts modulated in Fe-deficient plants after 1 h in response to supply with the three natural Fe sources relative to Fe-sufficient plants. Table S5. Sequence of forward and reverse primers used in Real-time RT-PCR experiments. (PDF 2631 kb

The GW Mobile Learning Center: Mixed-Reality within an Immersive and Interactive Learning Setting

The Community Medi-Corps Program - designed and implemented by the George Washington University (GW)  School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) faculty with Growth and Opportunity Virginia funding (GO Virginia) - is aimed at leveraging the power of community, educational institutions, mentors, industry, and business partners to close the opportunity gap, transform student learning, and enrich the regional workforce. This program transforms educational experience through innovative virtual reality, augmented reality, and a mix between the two that is the enhanced reality (e-REAL). Students will be better prepared in the pathways they choose for high demand health and life sciences industry jobs that will help grow the economy

Additional file 3: Table S4. of Early transcriptomic response to Fe supply in Fe-deficient tomato plants is strongly influenced by the nature of the chelating agent

Functional annotation of differentially expressed transcripts resulted by the comparison of root transcriptional profiles of Fe-deficient plants supplied for 1 h with Fe-citrate, Fe-PS and Fe-WEHS with root transcriptional profile of Fe-deficient plants. Probe ID, description, species, identity, score, e-value, Uniprot entry and biological GO term were reported. The adjusted p-value and Log2(R) were also reported for each transcript. (XLSX 130 kb

Functional outcome measures in young, steroid-naïve boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The purpose of this study was to quantitate motor performance in 196 genetically confirmed steroid-naïve boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), to evaluate the test-retest reliability of measures of motor performance in young DMD boys, and to assess correlations among the different functional outcomes including timed tests. Boys aged 4-7 years were recruited in the FOR-DMD study, a comparative effectiveness study of different steroid regimens in DMD. Eligible boys had to be able to rise from the floor independently and to perform pulmonary function testing consistently. The boys were evaluated with standardized assessments at the screening and baseline visits at 32 sites in 5 countries (US, UK, Canada, Italy, Germany). Assessments included timed rise from floor, timed 10 m walk/run, six-minute walk distance, North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) and forced vital capacity (FVC). Mean age at baseline was 5.9 years (range 4.1-8.1 years). Test-retest reliability was high for functional assessments, regardless of time lag between assessments (up to 90 days) and for the majority of age groups. Correlations were strong among the functional measures and timed tests, less so with FVC. Physiotherapy measures are reliable in a young, steroid-naïve population and rise from floor velocity appears to be a sensitive measure of strength in this population