The Effectiveness of an Introductory Interprofessional Course in Building Readiness for Collaboration in the Health Professions

INTRODUCTION Interprofessional Education (IPE) prepares collaborative-ready health professionals although the actual process of learning “about, from and with” each other is widely debated in the literature (World Health Organization, 2010). The goal of the study was to examine the effectiveness of an introductory IPE course in improving students’ collaboration skills. METHODS Undergraduate, health professions students completed the 11-item Self-Assessed Collaboration Skills (SACS) survey before and after completing an introductory IPE course. RESULTS Results of paired samples t-tests suggest that there were significant improvements in students’ self-assessed collaboration skills and on the learning, information sharing, and team support dimensions. DISCUSSION This study highlights the role of an introductory IPE course in improving self-assessed collaboration and teamwork skills of entry-level learners. Features of the course design that contribute to its effectiveness include: interactive class sessions, a culminating team project, and using in-class time for team meetings. CONCLUSION An introductory IPE course can be effective in improving learners’ self-assessed collaboration skills and can prepare them for future IPE courses

Muscle Activation in Individuals Who are Status-Post a Stroke during Over Ground, Treadmill, and Body Weight Supported Gait: A Comparative Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate individuals who are status post stroke during ambulation over ground, on a treadmill without support, and on a treadmill with partial body weight support (PBWS) to determine if there are any differences in muscle activation of major muscle groups in the lower extremity. Subjects: Two subjects were recruited for this study. Subjects were included if they were over the age of 50 years, could fulfill a two-hour time commitment, and walk independently with or without the use of an assistive device. Subjects were excluded if they have had surgery or an existing orthopedic involvement of the lower extremities. Instrumentation: Sensor surface electrodes were used to pick up electromyography (EMG) activity. EMG activity was collected and final data is presented as percent of normalized EMG activity as an average of four to five gait cycles for each of the support trials. Procedure: Consent forms were reviewed and signed by each participant. Electrodes and a heel switch were placed on the involved lower extremity. Subjects performed two trial walks over level ground. Subjects also performed three treadmill ambulation conditions in random order: ambulation on the treadmill without a harness (trm), ambulation on the treadmill with a harness and no body weight support (trmh), and ambulation on the treadmill with a harness and PBWS of 15% (trms). Subjects ambulated for two minutes and EMG activity was recorded for 30 seconds at the end of each minute during each trial condition. Data Analysis: The mean EMG activity of the second trial for all ambulation conditions was calculated for both stance and swing phases of each subject. Descriptive statistics were then used to compare muscle activation across conditions, as well as rank EMG mean muscle activity for each trial condition from highest to lowest. Results: EMG rankings were inconsistent across conditions, but both subjects had the least gastrocnemius activity during the trms condition. Conclusion and Clinical Implication: There were no major findings or trends to suggest differences or similarities in muscle activation between any of the conditions for either subject. Therefore, further research is needed

Perceived protein needs and measured protein intake in collegiate male athletes: an observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein needs for athletes are likely higher than those for the general population. However, athletes may perceive their protein needs to be excessively high. The purpose of this research was to compare collegiate athletes' perceived protein needs and measured protein intake to the recommended protein intake (RDI) for healthy adults (i.e. 0.8 g/kg/d) and to the maximum beneficial level for strength-trained athletes (i.e. 2.0 g/kg/day).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Perceived protein needs were quantified in 42 strength-trained collegiate male athletes by using a survey that asked the athletes to provide their perception about protein needs in specific quantitative terms (i.e. g/kg/d). Perceived protein needs were also determined by having the athletes select a daylong menu that they perceived to have adequate protein content from a collection of 5 isoenergetic menus, which differed in terms of protein content. Actual protein intake was quantified using 3-day food records and nutrient analysis. Single sample t-tests were used to compare protein intake and perceived protein needs to 0.8 g/kg/day and 2.0 g/kg/day.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When asked to provide, in quantitative terms, protein needs for athletes, 67% of the athletes indicated "do not know." Of the remaining 33% of athletes, all gave values greater than 2.0 g/kg/d (mean 21.5 ± 11.2 g/kg/d, p = 0.14 vs. 2.0 g/kg/d). Based on the menu selection method for determining perceived protein needs, the athletes indicated that their protein needs were 2.4 ± 0.2 g/kg/d, which was greater than the RDI for protein (p < 0.0001) and tended to be greater than the maximally beneficial protein intake of 2.0 g/kg/d (p = 0.13). Measured protein intake was 2.0 ± 0.1 g/kg/d, which was greater than the RDI (p < 0.0001) but not different from the maximally beneficial protein intake of 2.0 g/kg/d (p = 0.84).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Male collegiate athletes recognize that their protein needs are higher than that of the general population and consume significantly more protein than recommended in the RDI. However, it also appears that athletes are not aware of objective recommendations for protein intake and may perceive their needs to be excessively high. This study highlights the need for nutrition education in collegiate athletes, in particular nutrition education on macronutrient distribution and protein needs.</p

Developing a Resilient, Robust and Efficient Supply Network in Africa

Purpose — Supply chains need to balance competing objectives; in addition to efficiency, supply chains need to be resilient to adversarial and environmental interference and robust to uncertainties in long-term demand. Significant research has been conducted designing efficient supply chains and recent research has focused on resilient supply chain design. However, the integration of resilient and robust supply chain design is less well studied. The purpose of the paper is to include resilience and robustness into supply chain design. Design/methodology/approach — The paper develops a method to include resilience and robustness into supply chain design. Using the region of West Africa, which is plagued with persisting logistical issues, the authors develop a regional risk assessment framework and then apply categorical risk to the countries of West Africa using publicly available data. A scenario reduction technique is used to focus on the highest risk scenarios for the model to be tractable. Next, the authors develop a mathematical model leveraging this framework to design a resilient supply network that minimizes cost while ensuring the network functions following a disruption. Finally, the authors examine the network\u27s robustness to demand uncertainty via several plausible emergency scenarios. Findings — The authors provide optimal sets of transshipment hubs with varying counts from 5 through 15 hubs. The authors determine there is no feasible solution that uses only five transshipment hubs. The authors\u27 findings reinforce those seven transshipment hubs – the solution currently employed in West Africa – is the cheapest architecture to achieve resilience and robustness. Additionally, for each set of feasibility transshipment hubs, the authors provide connections between hubs and demand spokes. Originality/value — While, at the time of this research, three other manuscripts incorporated both resilience and robustness of the authors\u27 research unique solved the problem as a network flow instead of as a set covering problem. Additionally, the authors establish a novel risk framework to guide the required amount of redundancy, and finally the out research proposes a scenario reduction heuristic to allow tractable exploration of 512 possible demand scenarios

An adaptive 5G multiservice and multitenant radio access network architecture

This article provides an overview on objectives and first results of the Horizon 2020 project 5G NOvel Radio Multiservice adaptive network Architecture (5GNORMA). With 5G NORMA, leading players in the mobile ecosystem aim to underpin Europe's leadership position in 5G. The key objective of 5G NORMA is to develop a conceptually novel, adaptive and future-proof 5G mobile network architecture. This architecture will allow for adapting the network to a wide range of service specific requirements, resulting in novel service-aware and context-aware end-to-end function chaining. The technical approach is based on an innovative concept of adaptive (de)composition and allocation of mobile network functions based on end-user requirements and infrastructure capabilities. At the same time, cost savings and faster time to market are to be expected by joint deployment of logically separated multiservice and multitenant networks on common hardware and other physical resources making use of traffic multiplexing gains. In this context architectural enablers such as network function virtualization and software-defined mobile networking will play a key role for introducing the needed flexible resource assignment to logical networks and specific virtual network functions.This work has been performed in the framework of the H2020-ICT-2014-2 project 5G NORMA

Mobile network architecture evolution toward 5G

As a chain is as strong as its weakest element, so are the efficiency, flexibility, and robustness of a mobile network, which relies on a range of different functional elements and mechanisms. Indeed, the mobile network architecture needs particular attention when discussing the evolution of 3GPP EPS because it is the architecture that integrates the many different future technologies into one mobile network. This article discusses 3GPP EPS mobile network evolution as a whole, analyzing specific architecture properties that are critical in future 3GPP EPS releases. In particular, this article discusses the evolution toward a "network of functions," network slicing, and software-defined mobile network control, management, and orchestration. Furthermore, the roadmap for the future evolution of 3GPP EPS and its technology components is detailed and relevant standards defining organizations are listed.This work has been performed in the framework of the H2020-ICT-2014-2 project 5G NORMA

Stimulated amplification of propagating spin waves

Spin-wave amplification techniques are key to the realization of magnon-based computing concepts. We introduce a novel mechanism to amplify spin waves in magnonic nanostructures. Using the technique of rapid cooling, we create a non-equilibrium state in excess of high-energy magnons and demonstrate the stimulated amplification of an externally seeded, propagating spin wave. Using an extended kinetic model, we qualitatively show that the amplification is mediated by an effective energy flux of high energy magnons into the low energy propagating mode, driven by a non-equilibrium magnon distribution

Control of the Bose-Einstein Condensation of Magnons by the Spin-Hall Effect

Previously, it has been shown that rapid cooling of yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG)/platinum (Pt) nano structures, preheated by an electric current sent through the Pt layer, leads to overpopulation of a magnon gas and to subsequent formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of magnons. The spin Hall effect (SHE), which creates a spin-polarized current in the Pt layer, can inject or annihilate magnons depending on the electric current and applied field orientations. Here we demonstrate that the injection or annihilation of magnons via the SHE can prevent or promote the formation of a rapid cooling induced magnon BEC. Depending on the current polarity, a change in the BEC threshold of -8% and +6% was detected. These findings demonstrate a new method to control macroscopic quantum states, paving the way for their application in spintronic devices

Stabilization of a nonlinear bullet coexisting with a Bose-Einstein condensate in a rapidly cooled magnonic system driven by a spin-orbit torque

We have recently shown that injection of magnons into a magnetic dielectric via the spin-orbit torque (SOT) effect in the adjacent layer of a heavy metal subjected to the action of short (0.1 $\mu$s) current pulses allows for control of a magnon Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). Here, the BEC was formed in the process of rapid cooling (RC), when the electric current heating the sample is abruptly terminated. In the present study, we show that the application of a longer (1.0 $\mu$s) electric current pulse triggers the formation of a nonlinear localized magnonic bullet below the linear magnon spectrum. After pulse termination, the magnon BEC, as before, is formed at the bottom of the linear spectrum, but the nonlinear bullet continues to exist, stabilized for additional 30 ns by the same process of RC-induced magnon condensation. Our results suggest that a stimulated condensation of excess magnons to all highly populated magnonic states occurs

Photodynamic therapy augments the efficacy of oncolytic vaccinia virus against primary and metastatic tumours in mice

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