Nuclear Matter and Nuclear Dynamics

Highlights on the recent research activity, carried out by the Italian Community involved in the "Nuclear Matter and Nuclear Dynamics" field, will be presented.Comment: Proceedings of the 12th Conference on Problems in Theoretical Nuclear Physics, to appear in Journal of Physics, Conference Serie

A Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Study of IPE Students\u27 Perceptions of Health Profession Groups: Revisiting the Contact Hypothesis

Abstract Despite the increasing momentum and integration of Interprofessional Education (IPE) programs into various health professions curriculum, the findings of previous research are mixed regarding the impact these programs have on dismantling or even stifling students’ negative stereotypes of health professions. Of those studies that find “positive” shifts in students’ perceptions, elements of the Contact Hypothesis are frequently employed to support these apparent shifts. However, there is often little to no attention paid to how intergroup contact within IPE programs actually impacts students’ stereotypes. To examine if students’ attitudes towards other health professions shifted following participation in an IPE program 528 students from six different health profession training programs completed the Student Stereotypes Rating Questionnaire (SSRQ) assessing their perceptions/stereotypes of their own and other health professions at the beginning and end of a two-year IPE program. Following the finding that students’ attitudes did indeed positively shift, interviews with 20 students were analyzed to explore how contact within the program may have impacted their perceptions. The findings lend support for the Contact Hypothesis and the authors argue that opportunities to informally interact and socialize may be more influential on students’ attitudes than the formal aspects of IPE programs, and that models of cognitive representation that emphasis more personalization (as opposed to differentiation) may be more effective tools in examining how intergroup contact within IPE affects students’ stereotypes. Measureable Learning Objectives: a.) Provide a better understanding of the Contact Hypothesis and models of cognitive representations, and how these approaches can be utilized effectively in IPE research, b.) Provide an example of effective and efficient mixed-methods research in evaluating IPE programs, and c.) Provide tools (both methodological and theoretical) to better assess IPE outcomes

Examining Health Mentor Perceptions of Student Teamwork

Purpose: To evaluate how community lay teachers, or Health Mentors (HMs), perceive student teams over time by using the Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide (JTOG), a survey based upon interprofessional education (IPE) core competencies. Background: Our academic health center offers a unique, two-year program emphasizing delivery of patient-centered care and IPE core competency skill development by pairing interprofessional student teams with a HM. The HM is an adult community volunteer with one or more chronic health condition(s). Student teams include representatives from couple and family therapy, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant. Description of Intervention or Program: HMs were invited to complete the JTOG survey in Spring 2015 and again in Fall 2015. This survey asked them to evaluate their student team members’ ability to work together based on IPE core competencies and solicited information from the HM about participating in the program. Student demonstration and attainment of IPE core competencies were evaluated using a Likert scale. Open-ended comment sections were included for the HM to describe specific observations or examples. Results: A total of 50.4% of HMs completed the surveys for both semesters. There was a significant difference in knowledge gained by the HM pertaining to wellness from Spring 2015 to Fall 2015, t=-2.463 (df=54), p=0.017, d=0.27. There was also a significant negative correlation between worse health and neutral HM comments during the Spring of 2015, ρ=-0.410 (n=36), p=0.13. Conclusion: Results were compiled and analyzed to evaluate HM perceptions of team functioning, including student engagement, friendly interaction, and respect for the HM. There were small changes between the Fall and Spring responses; most were not statistically significant. The HMs learned more about wellness and caring for themselves through this program. Relevance to interprofessional education or practice: Results will be used as feedback to better educate students and identify areas for improvement in this interprofessional program. Learning objectives: 1. Describe methods of evaluating teamwork among interprofessional students in the HM program. 2. Apply strategies to engage HMs as partners in developing and improving new models of interprofessional education and care

Leading an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fair: A Train the Trainer Seminar

Objectives • Practice teaching skills related to interprofessional education (IPE) and geriatric competencies • Formulate an Action Plan and prepare to introduce an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fair at their own institutions • Recognize essential elements of a measurement tool that evaluates the effectiveness of an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fai

Perspectives on the Trypanosoma cruzi-host cell receptor interaction

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The critical initial event is the interaction of the trypomastigote form of the parasite with host receptors. This review highlights recent observations concerning these interactions. Some of the key receptors considered are those for thromboxane, bradykinin, and for the nerve growth factor TrKA. Other important receptors such as galectin-3, thrombospondin, and laminin are also discussed. Investigation into the molecular biology and cell biology of host receptors for T. cruzi may provide novel therapeutic targets

Production of π0 and η mesons in Cu+Au collisions at sNN =200 GeV

Production of π0 and η mesons has been measured at midrapidity in Cu+Au collisions at sNN=200GeV. Measurements were performed in π0(η)→γγ decay channel in the 1(2)-20GeV/c transverse momentum range. A strong suppression is observed for π0 and η meson production at high transverse momentum in central Cu+Au collisions relative to the p+p results scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. In central collisions the suppression is similar to Au+Au with comparable nuclear overlap. The η/π0 ratio measured as a function of transverse momentum is consistent with mT-scaling parametrization down to pT=2GeV/c, its asymptotic value is constant and consistent with Au+Au and p+p and does not show any significant dependence on collision centrality. Similar results were obtained in hadron-hadron, hadron-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions as well as in e+e- collisions in a range of collision energies sNN=3-1800 GeV. This suggests that the quark-gluon-plasma medium produced in Cu+Cu collisions either does not affect the jet fragmentation into light mesons or it affects the π0 and η the same way

Vitamin D supplementation and breast cancer prevention : a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

In recent years, the scientific evidence linking vitamin D status or supplementation to breast cancer has grown notably. To investigate the role of vitamin D supplementation on breast cancer incidence, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing vitamin D with placebo or no treatment. We used OVID to search MEDLINE (R), EMBASE and CENTRAL until April 2012. We screened the reference lists of included studies and used the “Related Article” feature in PubMed to identify additional articles. No language restrictions were applied. Two reviewers independently extracted data on methodological quality, participants, intervention, comparison and outcomes. Risk Ratios and 95% Confident Intervals for breast cancer were pooled using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 test. In sensitivity analysis, we assessed the impact of vitamin D dosage and mode of administration on treatment effects. Only two randomized controlled trials fulfilled the pre-set inclusion criteria. The pooled analysis included 5372 postmenopausal women. Overall, Risk Ratios and 95% Confident Intervals were 1.11 and 0.74–1.68. We found no evidence of heterogeneity. Neither vitamin D dosage nor mode of administration significantly affected breast cancer risk. However, treatment efficacy was somewhat greater when vitamin D was administered at the highest dosage and in combination with calcium (Risk Ratio 0.58, 95% Confident Interval 0.23–1.47 and Risk Ratio 0.93, 95% Confident Interval 0.54–1.60, respectively). In conclusions, vitamin D use seems not to be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer development in postmenopausal women. However, the available evidence is still limited and inadequate to draw firm conclusions. Study protocol code: FARM8L2B5L

Evaluation of an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fair

Objectives •Describe the utilization of an interprofessional geriatric clinical skills fair to impart knowledge and skills pertaining to both core geriatric and IPE competencies. •Prepare to introduce an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fair at one’s own institution •Recognize essential elements of a measurement tool that evaluates the effectiveness of an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fai

P055 CXCL13 as biomarker for histological involvement in sjogren's syndrome

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