Abortion Resources Patient Handout SmartPhrase

Many patients in Vermont need to seek abortion care outside of their regular doctors office. When a patient discovers that she is pregnant there should be a non-biased conversation about options as part of The Patient Centered Medical Home. This resource includes: where to go for an abortion, how to pay for it, who to call for support, and advice on how to avoid biased institutions.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1237/thumbnail.jp

Convergent Evolution of Brain Morphology and Communication Modalities in Lizards

Animals communicate information within their environments via visual, chemical, auditory, and/or tactile modalities. The use of each modality is generally linked to particular brain regions, but it is not yet known whether the cellular morphology of neurons in these regions has evolved in association with the relative use of a modality. We investigated relationships between the behavioral use of communication modalities and neural morphologies in six lizard species. Two of these species (Anolis carolinensis and Leiocephalus carinatus) primarily use visual signals to communicate with conspecifics and detect potential prey, and two (Aspidoscelis gularis and Scincella lateralis) communicate and forage primarily using chemical signals. Two other species (Hemidactylus turcicus and Sceloporus olivaceus) use both visual and chemical signals. For each species, we performed behavioral observations and quantified rates of visual and chemical behaviors. We then cryosectioned brain tissues from 9-10 males of each species and measured the soma size and density of neurons in two brain regions associated with visual behaviors (the lateral geniculate nucleus and the nucleus rotundus) and one region associated with chemical behaviors (the nucleus sphericus). With analyses conducted in a phylogenetic context, we found that species that performed higher rates of visual displays had a denser lateral geniculate nucleus, and species that used a higher proportion of chemical displays had larger somas in the nucleus sphericus. These relationships suggest that neural morphologies in the brain have evolved convergently in species with similar communication behaviors

Development of a perioperative medicine research agenda: a cross sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Post-operative complications are a significant source of morbidity and mortality for patients undergoing surgery. However, there is little research in the emerging field of perioperative medicine beyond cardiac risk stratification. We sought to determine the research priorities for perioperative medicine using a cross sectional survey of Canadian and American general internists. METHODS: Surveys were electronically sent to 312 general internists from the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine and 130 internists from the perioperative medicine research interest group within the US based Society of General Internal Medicine. The questionnaire contained thirty research questions and respondents were asked to rate the priority of these questions for future study. RESULTS: The research topics with the highest ratings included: the need for tight control of diabetes mellitus postoperatively and the value of starting aspirin on patients at increased risk for postoperative cardiac events. Research questions evaluating the efficacy and safety of perioperative interventions had higher ratings than questions relating to the prediction of postoperative risk. Questions relating to the yield of preoperative diagnostic tests had the lowest ratings (p < 0.001 for differences across these categories). CONCLUSION: The results of this survey suggest that practicing general internists believe that interventions studies are a priority within perioperative medicine. These findings should help prioritize research in this emerging field

Analysing the professional development of teaching and learning from a political ethics of care perspective

This paper uses Tronto’s political ethics of care as a normative framework to evaluate a model of teaching and learning professional development. This framework identifies five integrated moral elements of care – attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness and trust. This paper explicates on each of these elements to evaluate the piloting and implementation of a teaching and learning professional development model at a South African higher education institution. The political ethics of care was found to be a useful normative framework for a group of higher educators to reflect on the process of engaging in teaching and learning professional development in that it revealed the importance of differential power relations, the importance of working collaboratively and being attentive to the needs of both caregivers and care receivers.Web of Scienc

Four “Lessons Learned” While Implementing a Multi-Site Caries Prevention Trial

As the number of dental-related randomized clinical trials (RCTs) increases, there is a need for literature to help investigators inexperienced in conducting RCTs design and implement studies. This commentary describes four “lessons learned,” or considerations important in the planning and initial implementation of RCTs in dentistry that to our knowledge have not been discussed in the general dental literature describing trial techniques. These considerations are 1) preparing or securing a thorough systematic review, 2) developing a comprehensive set of study documents, 3) designing and testing multiple recruitment strategies, and 4) employing a run-in period prior to enrollment. Attention to these considerations in the planning phases of a dental RCT can help ensure that the trial is clinically relevant while also maximizing the likelihood that its implementation will be successful

Unique V3 Loop Sequence Derived from the R2 Strain of HIV-Type 1 Elicits Broad Neutralizing Antibodies

DNA vaccines expressing the envelope (Env) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) have been relatively ineffective at generating high-titer, long-lasting, neutralizing antibodies. In this study, DNA vaccines were constructed to express the gp120 subunit of Env from the isolate HIV-1R2 using both wild-type and codon- ptimized gene sequences. Three copies of the murine C3d were added to the carboxyl terminus to enhance the immunogenicity of the expressed fusion protein. Mice (BALB/c) vaccinated with DNA plasmid expressing the gp120R2 using codon-optimized Env sequences elicited high-titer anti-Env antibodies regardless of conjugation to C3d. In contrast, only mice vaccinated with DNA using wild-type gp120R2 sequences fused to mC3d3, had detectable anti- Env antibodies. Interestingly, mice vaccinated with DNA expressing gp120R2 from codon-optimized sequences elicited antibodies that neutralized both homologous and heterologous HIV-1 isolates. To determine if the unique sequence found in the crown of the V3 loop of the EnvR2 was responsible for the elicitation of the cross-clade neutralizing antibodies, the codons encoding for the Pro-Met (amino acids 313–314) were introduced into the sequences encoding the gp120ADA (R5) or gp12089.6 (R5X4). Mice vaccinated with gp120ADA–mC3d3–DNA with the Pro–Met mutation had antibodies that neutralized HIV-1 infection, but not the gp12089.6–mC3d3–DNA. Therefore, the use of the unique sequences in the EnvR2 introduced into an R5 tropic envelope, in conjunction with C3d fusion, was effective at broadening the number of viruses that could be neutralized. However, the introduction of this same sequence into an R5X4-tropic envelope was ineffective in eliciting improved cross-clade neutralizing antibodies. Originally published AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, Vol. 20, No. 11, Nov 200

Wild Bird Influenza Survey, Canada, 2005

Of 4,268 wild ducks sampled in Canada in 2005, real-time reverse transcriptase–PCR detected influenza A matrix protein (M1) gene sequence in 37% and H5 gene sequence in 5%. Mallards accounted for 61% of samples, 73% of M1-positive ducks, and 90% of H5-positive ducks. Ducks hatched in 2005 accounted for 80% of the sample