The Design of Vascular-Targeted Carriers for Enhanced Interactions with Diseased Endothelium via Blood Flow.

Particulate carriers proposed for use in vascular-targeting are typically spherical and on the nanometer to sub-micron scale. However, spherical nanoparticles do not efficiently marginate, or localize to the cell-free layer (CFL), in blood flow making them sub-optimal as vascular-targeted carriers. Microspheres with diameter ≥ 2 µm are able to efficiently marginate in the presence of blood, however may present issues in navigating the vasculature or in adhering in the presence of high shear forces. Here, we investigate how physical design parameters in addition to particle size, namely particle shape and density, affect the efficacy of vascular-targeted carriers (VTC) both in vitro and in vivo. We find that particle shape and density both affect the ability of microparticles to adhere to inflamed endothelium from blood flow. Rod and disk-shaped particles display improved adhesion in vitro to endothelium compared to equivalent spheres, provided the aspect ratio is sufficiently high and the equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) is ≥ 1 µm. These effects were confirmed in vivo, as targeted 2 µm ESD rods bound to the aorta of atherosclerotic mice at levels ~3 times higher than equivalent spheres, while 500 nm rods and spheres displayed minimal adhesion. We also find that particle density affects the ability of nanoparticles (500 nm diameter) to target inflamed endothelium. Silica spheres (2.0 g/cm3) adhered to inflamed endothelium in vitro at consistently higher levels than either polystyrene (1.05 g/cm3) or titania (3.9 g/cm3) spheres, while titania spheres only display improved adhesion when external forces (such as gravity, centrifugal force) also favor adhesion. Particle density also affected the adhesion profile along the aorta of mice with systemic inflammation, with silica spheres displaying the most adhesion. Overall this work shows that particle shape and density are design parameters which should be considered to optimize the performance of vascular-targeted carriers.PHDChemical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111367/1/ajthomp_1.pd

Improving Nursing Students’ Attitudes and Beliefs About Transgender Clients Through the Use of a Simulated Clinical Experience

Background: Negative healthcare experiences may lead to poor health outcomes for transgender individuals, but nursing curricula give little attention to transgender healthcare. This study engaged nursing students in a simulated clinical experience (SCE) which featured a young adult transgender male in an acute care setting to determine whether participation would have a significant impact on student nurses’ attitudes and beliefs about transgender individuals. Methods: The convergent parallel mixed-methods design used a one group pretest-posttest and a post-case debriefing interview to examine undergraduate nursing student attitudes and beliefs toward transgender individuals. Participants (N=27) reported their feelings via the Transgender Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (TABS), a 29-item inventory with three subscales: interpersonal comfort, sex/gender beliefs, and human value. Results: Paired-samples t-tests compared scores before and after the SCE. There were significant differences in the total pre (M=161.55, SD=19.95) and post (M=167.48, SD=23.25) SCE scores, t(26)=2.70, p=.01 and the sex/gender beliefs pre (M=46.40, SD=7.66) and post (M=52.33, SD=12.26) SCE subscale, t(26)=3.30, p\u3c.001. There were not significant differences for the interpersonal comfort and human value subscales. Four themes (discomfort recognition, avoidance rationalization, identity dismissal, and values divergence) emerged from the post-SCE debriefing interviews. Conclusions: These findings suggest that participation in a SCE can have a positive impact on students’ overall attitudes and beliefs about transgender individuals, particularly when examining rigid attitudes and beliefs regarding sex and gender. Additional research with larger groups of nursing students in different academic settings using other transgender SCE cases is needed to determine whether these results are generalizable

The Effects of Geometry and Architecture of Polymer Matrix Composites on Acoustic Emissions

The purpose of this project is to study how the variance of the geometry and architecture of polymer matrix composites (PMCs) affect the acoustic emissions measured whilst said structures are subjected to tensile stress. In these tests, a method called Modal AE will be utilized. In Modal AE, some relationships between sources and waves in various materials and geometries are presented in other papers/research. This study will focus on how different thickness and different makeup/ply patterns affect the acoustic emission tests. Some research has been completed and shown how energy attenuation affects the frequency content on PMCs similar to the ones chosen for this project. Using a similar test setup and analysis the goal of this project is to see if the thickness/geometry of these samples will affect energy attenuation and therefore affect frequency content. The reason frequency content is so important in AE is that it is a method of exploring the different damage modes PMCs experience during stress tests. From this data more information can be obtained about frequency content and the effects that energy attenuation/architecture/geometry can have on PMCs. These AE events can also be used to identify the location of a break and to see how internal breaks have propagated through the structure. Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) are widely used in the aerospace industry, particularly in structures securing thrust generating systems to the primary structure. Each test subjects a polymer matrix composite (PMC) of a specific thickness and weave design to determine the damage modes for each sample. The peak frequency of the propagated acoustic emissions with respect to the time domain will also be measured

Design, synthesis, radiosynthesis and biological evaluation of Fenretinide analogues as anticancer and metabolic syndromepreventive agents

We thank the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement N° 675417 (PET3D project) for financial support of the project and the studentship of I.P. We also thank the British Heart Foundation for the project grant PG/16/90/32518.Peer reviewedPostprin

Discord between Egyptian Agriculture Students’ and Employers’ Perceptions of the Importance of Various Skills in new Employees

Unemployment remains high among Egyptian university graduates. This study aimed to identify demographic attributes that influence student perceptions of the importance of employability skills, as well as to measure concordance between employers versus student perceptions of the importance of employability skills. Egyptian university agriculture students and private sector employers completed a survey where they assessed their perceived importance of 35 skills. A multivariate linear regression model was used to measure the influence of student demographics in decision-making and concordance between employers and students were compared using Cohen\u27s weighted Kappa. Student location was the most influential demographic that determined perceptions of the importance of employability skills. As a group, students possessed more intra-group concordance than employers, but concordance levels of all students were low when compared to employers. Our findings indicate that regardless of demographics, Egyptian agriculture university students are unaware of what is important to potential employers, meaning that students do not know which skills to focus on developing when searching for a job. Teaching students the skills that are most desired by employers contributes to Human Capital Theory because it improves the employability value of university graduates. Few studies have analyzed student demographics combined with student/employer concordance. This approach could assist future studies that aim to compare individual student and employer perceptions to each other

Planning, implementation and scientific goals of the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field mission

The Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field mission based at Ellington Field, Texas, during August and September 2013 employed the most comprehensive airborne payload to date to investigate atmospheric composition over North America. The NASA ER-2, DC-8, and SPEC Inc. Learjet flew 57 science flights from the surface to 20 km. The ER-2 employed seven remote sensing instruments as a satellite surrogate and eight in situ instruments. The DC-8 employed 23 in situ and five remote sensing instruments for radiation, chemistry, and microphysics. The Learjet used 11 instruments to explore cloud microphysics. SEAC4RS launched numerous balloons, augmented AErosol RObotic NETwork, and collaborated with many existing ground measurement sites. Flights investigating convection included close coordination of all three aircraft. Coordinated DC-8 and ER-2 flights investigated the optical properties of aerosols, the influence of aerosols on clouds, and the performance of new instruments for satellite measurements of clouds and aerosols. ER-2 sorties sampled stratospheric injections of water vapor and other chemicals by local and distant convection. DC-8 flights studied seasonally evolving chemistry in the Southeastern U.S., atmospheric chemistry with lower emissions of NOx and SO2 than in previous decades, isoprene chemistry under high and low NOx conditions at different locations, organic aerosols, air pollution near Houston and in petroleum fields, smoke from wildfires in western forests and from agricultural fires in the Mississippi Valley, and the ways in which the chemistry in the boundary layer and the upper troposphere were influenced by vertical transport in convective clouds

Effectiveness of stroke early supported discharge

Background Implementation of stroke early supported discharge (ESD) services has been recommended in many countries’ clinical guidelines, based on clinical trial evidence. This is the first observational study to investigate the effectiveness of ESD service models operating in real-world conditions, at scale. Methods AND RESULTS Using historical prospective data from the United Kingdom Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (January 1, 2016–December 31, 2016), measures of ESD effectiveness were “days to ESD” (number of days from hospital discharge to first ESD contact; n=6222), “rehabilitation intensity” (total number of treatment days/total days with ESD; n=5891), and stroke survivor outcome (modified Rankin scale at ESD discharge; n=6222). ESD service models (derived from Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme postacute organizational audit data) were categorized with a 17-item score, reflecting adoption of ESD consensus core components (evidence-based criteria). Multilevel modeling analysis was undertaken as patients were clustered within ESD teams across the Midlands, East, and North of England (n=31). A variety of ESD service models had been adopted, as reflected by variability in the ESD consensus score. Controlling for patient characteristics and Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme hospital score, a 1-unit increase in ESD consensus score was significantly associated with a more responsive ESD service (reduced odds of patient being seen after ≥1 day of 29% [95% CI, 1%–49%] and increased treatment intensity by 2% [95% CI, 0.3%–4%]). There was no association with stroke survivor outcome measured by the modified Rankin Scale. Conclusions This study has shown that adopting defined core components of ESD is associated with providing a more responsive and intensive ESD service. This shows that adherence to evidence-based criteria is likely to result in a more effective ESD service as defined by process measures. REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.isrctn.com/ ; Unique identifier: ISRCTN15568163

Effectiveness of Stroke Early Supported Discharge: Analysis From a National Stroke Registry

BackgroundImplementation of stroke early supported discharge (ESD) services has been recommended in many countries’ clinical guidelines, based on clinical trial evidence. This is the first observational study to investigate the effectiveness of ESD service models operating in real-world conditions, at scale.Methods AND RESULTSUsing historical prospective data from the United Kingdom Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (January 1, 2016–December 31, 2016), measures of ESD effectiveness were “days to ESD” (number of days from hospital discharge to first ESD contact; n=6222), “rehabilitation intensity” (total number of treatment days/total days with ESD; n=5891), and stroke survivor outcome (modified Rankin scale at ESD discharge; n=6222). ESD service models (derived from Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme postacute organizational audit data) were categorized with a 17-item score, reflecting adoption of ESD consensus core components (evidence-based criteria). Multilevel modeling analysis was undertaken as patients were clustered within ESD teams across the Midlands, East, and North of England (n=31). A variety of ESD service models had been adopted, as reflected by variability in the ESD consensus score. Controlling for patient characteristics and Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme hospital score, a 1-unit increase in ESD consensus score was significantly associated with a more responsive ESD service (reduced odds of patient being seen after ≥1 day of 29% [95% CI, 1%–49%] and increased treatment intensity by 2% [95% CI, 0.3%–4%]). There was no association with stroke survivor outcome measured by the modified Rankin Scale.ConclusionsThis study has shown that adopting defined core components of ESD is associated with providing a more responsive and intensive ESD service. This shows that adherence to evidence-based criteria is likely to result in a more effective ESD service as defined by process measures

Rotating Convection in an Anisotropic System

We study the stability of patterns arising in rotating convection in weakly anisotropic systems using a modified Swift-Hohenberg equation. The anisotropy, either an endogenous characteristic of the system or induced by external forcing, can stabilize periodic rolls in the K\"uppers-Lortz chaotic regime. For the particular case of rotating convection with time-modulated rotation where recently, in experiment, chiral patterns have been observed in otherwise K\"uppers-Lortz-unstable regimes, we show how the underlying base-flow breaks the isotropy, thereby affecting the linear growth-rate of convection rolls in such a way as to stabilize spirals and targets. Throughout we compare analytical results to numerical simulations of the Swift-Hohenberg equation