Identification of Activities That Are Appropriate Parts of a Partnership Between Secondary Technology Education Programs and Business and Industry.

The purpose of this study was to identify specific activities that are considered appropriate parts of a partnership between secondary technology education programs and the business and industry community by experts in the field of technology education and business and industry in the southeastern region of the United States. The states included in the study were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. A form of the Delphi Technique was used to solicit and reach consensus on the appropriateness of partnership activities between secondary technology education programs and members of the business and industry community. The combined panel consisted of two secondary technology education teachers and two business and industry representatives from each of the nine states included in the study for a total of 38 panel members. The study identified 153 unique activities during the first round of the study. These activities were categorized as relating to curriculum development and modification; supplies, materials, and equipment; instruction or staff development; and other activities. Following rounds two and three, the combined panel and the panel of secondary technology education teachers reached consensus on the appropriateness of all 153 activities while the panel of business and industry representatives reached consensus on 152 of the activities

At Issue: New Career-Technical Teachers - What Gets Them, and Why is it Important to Know?

The road to finding a career path as a Trade and Industrial (T&I) or Healthcare Science (HSTE) (formerly Heath Occupations) teacher is winding at best. Job incumbents in this profession are hired after years of employment in an occupational field, and subsequently obtain the necessary credentials for their new teaching career (Burns, Schaefer, & Hayden, 2005). Various models of career motivation offer reasons why individuals choose a certain career and reasons why individuals may or may not be successful in a career choice (Lopes, 2006). Additionally, a variety of theories have been offered to explain career choices of people in general, for those in helping careers and for those in career and technical education (Harms & Knoblock, 2005). While these models and theories have great value to any discussion on career development, they fall short when it comes to determining why individuals whose first career choice was to work in a trade or in healthcare make a career change into teaching, and what influences them to make that change. In fact, the career development of T&I and HSTE teachers is largely unknown and overlooked. This exploratory study surfaced from the researchers’ experience as T&I and HSTE teacher educators, and a review of previous research and literature revealing a scarcity of available data about the reasons T&I and HSTE professionals choose to change careers and become teachers. Our primary purpose is to describe the career choice motivations of T&I and HSTE teachers. From a practical standpoint, we would like to provide insight for those in the school system who recruit teachers and those who have the goal to retain them. It is our belief that we must understand the career motivations of new T&I and HSTE teachers in order to provide better induction into the field, mentoring that matches needs and stronger retention

Development in Astronomy and Space Science in Africa

The development of astronomy and space science in Africa has grown significantly over the past few years. These advancements make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals more achievable, and open up the possibility of new beneficial collaborations.Comment: Paper published in Nature Astronomy. Figures 1 and 2 are included in the published version, that can be seen at https://rdcu.be/2oE

Fellows as teachers: a model to enhance pediatric resident education

Pressures on academic faculty to perform beyond their role as educators has stimulated interest in complementary approaches in resident medical education. While fellows are often believed to detract from resident learning and experience, we describe our preliminary investigations utilizing clinical fellows as a positive force in pediatric resident education. Our objectives were to implement a practical approach to engage fellows in resident education, evaluate the impact of a fellow-led education program on pediatric resident and fellow experience, and investigate if growth of a fellowship program detracts from resident procedural experience.This study was conducted in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where fellows designed and implemented an education program consisting of daily didactic teaching sessions before morning clinical rounds. The impact of a fellow-led education program on resident satisfaction with their NICU experience was assessed via anonymous student evaluations. The potential value of the program for participating fellows was also evaluated using an anonymous survey.The online evaluation was completed by 105 residents. Scores were markedly higher after the program was implemented in areas of teaching excellence (4.44 out of 5 versus 4.67, p<0.05) and overall resident learning (3.60 out of 5 versus 4.61, p<0.001). Fellows rated the acquisition of teaching skills and enhanced knowledge of neonatal pathophysiology as the most valuable aspects of their participation in the education program. The anonymous survey revealed that 87.5% of participating residents believed that NICU fellows were very important to their overall training and education.While fellows are often believed to be a detracting factor to residency training, we found that pediatric resident attitudes toward the fellows were generally positive. In our experience, in the specialty of neonatology a fellow-led education program can positively contribute to both resident and fellow learning and satisfaction. Further investigation into the value of utilizing fellows as a positive force in resident education in other medical specialties appears warranted

Mapeamento endocárdico e epicárdico para a ablaçao do substrato arritmogênico de pacientes com cardiomiopatia chagásica e taquicardia ventricular refratária ao tratamento farmacológico

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a segurança e a eficácia da ablaçao por cateter de substrato endocárdico e epicárdico de pacientes com cardiomiopatia chagásica e taquicardia ventricular refratária ao tratamento farmacológico. MÉTODO: 34 pacientes foram incluídos no estudo. Durante o ritmo sinusal, foi realizado o mapeamento eletroanatômico (CARTO-XP) endoepicárdico de voltagem utilizando critérios padronizados (cicatriz pace mapping) na borda da cicatriz. A ablaçao foi realizada após definiçao do circuito e do substrato pelas técnicas descritas. RESULTADOS: Foram realizados 34 procedimentos, com sucesso imediato de 79%. Foi encontrada cicatriz epicárdica em 88% dos pacientes. Nao houve tamponamento cardíaco ou qualquer outra complicaçao grave relacionada ao procedimento. No seguimento de 12 meses, a taxa de recorrência foi de 15% sem induçao de taquicardia ventricular e três pacientes morreram devido a progressao da falência cardíaca. CONCLUSAO: A ablaçao endocárdica e epicárdica foi segura e efetiva para o controle da taquicardia ventricular em pacientes com doença de Chagas

PATTERNS OF PERSISTENT GENITAL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS INFECTION AMONG WOMEN WORLDWIDE: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is the strongest risk factor for high-grade cervical precancer. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of HPV persistence patterns worldwide. Medline and ISI Web of Science were searched through January 1, 2010 for articles estimating HPV persistence or duration of detection. Descriptive and meta-regression techniques were used to summarize variability and the influence of study definitions and characteristics on duration and persistence of cervical HPV infections in women. Among 86 studies providing data on over 100,000 women, 73% defined persistence as HPV positivity at a minimum of two time points. Persistence varied notably across studies and was largely mediated by study region and HPV type, with HPV-16, 31, 33 and 52 being most persistent. Weighted median duration of any-HPV detection was 9.8 months. HR-HPV (9.3 months) persisted longer than low-risk HPV (8.4 months), and HPV-16 (12.4 months) persisted longer than HPV-18 (9.8 months). Among populations of HPV positive women with normal cytology, the median duration of any-HPV detection was 11.5 and HR-HPV detection was10.9 months. In conclusion, we estimated that approximately half of HPV infections persist past 6–12 months. Repeat HPV testing at 12 month intervals could identify women at increased risk of high-grade cervical precancer due to persistent HPV infections

Mapeamento endocárdico e epicárdico para a ablaçao do substrato arritmogênico de pacientes com cardiomiopatia chagásica e taquicardia ventricular refratária ao tratamento farmacológico

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a segurança e a eficácia da ablaçao por cateter de substrato endocárdico e epicárdico de pacientes com cardiomiopatia chagásica e taquicardia ventricular refratária ao tratamento farmacológico. MÉTODO: 34 pacientes foram incluídos no estudo. Durante o ritmo sinusal, foi realizado o mapeamento eletroanatômico (CARTO-XP) endoepicárdico de voltagem utilizando critérios padronizados (cicatriz pace mapping) na borda da cicatriz. A ablaçao foi realizada após definiçao do circuito e do substrato pelas técnicas descritas. RESULTADOS: Foram realizados 34 procedimentos, com sucesso imediato de 79%. Foi encontrada cicatriz epicárdica em 88% dos pacientes. Nao houve tamponamento cardíaco ou qualquer outra complicaçao grave relacionada ao procedimento. No seguimento de 12 meses, a taxa de recorrência foi de 15% sem induçao de taquicardia ventricular e três pacientes morreram devido a progressao da falência cardíaca. CONCLUSAO: A ablaçao endocárdica e epicárdica foi segura e efetiva para o controle da taquicardia ventricular em pacientes com doença de Chagas

Acquisition and Persistence of Human Papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) and HPV-18 Among Men With High-HPV Viral Load Infections in a Circumcision Trial in Kisumu, Kenya

Background. Circumcision and lower human papillomavirus (HPV) viral loads in men are possibly associated with a reduced risk of HPV transmission to women. However, the association between male circumcision and HPV viral load remains unclear

Substrate Specifity Profiling of the Aspergillus fumigatus Proteolytic Secretome Reveals Consensus Motifs with Predominance of Ile/Leu and Phe/Tyr

The filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) can cause devastating infections in immunocompromised individuals. Early diagnosis improves patient outcomes but remains challenging because of the limitations of current methods. To augment the clinician's toolkit for rapid diagnosis of AF infections, we are investigating AF secreted proteases as novel diagnostic targets. The AF genome encodes up to 100 secreted proteases, but fewer than 15 of these enzymes have been characterized thus far. Given the large number of proteases in the genome, studies focused on individual enzymes may overlook potential diagnostic biomarkers.As an alternative, we employed a combinatorial library of internally quenched fluorogenic probes (IQFPs) to profile the global proteolytic secretome of an AF clinical isolate in vitro. Comparative protease activity profiling revealed 212 substrate sequences that were cleaved by AF secreted proteases but not by normal human serum. A central finding was that isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine predominated at each of the three variable positions of the library (44.1%, 59.1%, and 57.0%, respectively) among substrate sequences cleaved by AF secreted proteases. In contrast, fewer than 10% of the residues at each position of cleaved sequences were cationic or anionic. Consensus substrate motifs were cleaved by thermostable serine proteases that retained activity up to 50°C. Precise proteolytic cleavage sites were reliably determined by a simple, rapid mass spectrometry-based method, revealing predominantly non-prime side specificity. A comparison of the secreted protease activities of three AF clinical isolates revealed consistent protease substrate specificity fingerprints. However, secreted proteases of A. flavus, A. nidulans, and A. terreus strains exhibited striking differences in their proteolytic signatures.This report provides proof-of-principle for the use of protease substrate specificity profiling to define the proteolytic secretome of Aspergillus fumigatus. Expansion of this technique to protease secretion during infection could lead to development of novel approaches to fungal diagnosis