Nursing Faculty\u27s Needs of Knowledge, Beliefs, and Readiness to Implement Interprofessional Education in their Teaching: An Exploratory Study

The drive towards interprofessional health education in nursing cannot be isolated from political and financial factors that affect Western countries and the demands for knowledge and skills required to face the health challenges of the 21st century. Complex social determinants of health relating to demographic aging, health inequities, higher prevalence of non-communicable illnesses, and the rise of health care costs constitute the forces that push for the delivery of interprofessional health education. Despite the growing literature on interprofessional education in nursing and health sciences, less attention has been devoted to studying the needs of faculty development needs of nurse educators. This study addresses this gap in knowledge regarding nursing faculty development perspective. The objectives of the study were to explore and understand nursing faculty members’ perceptions of knowledge, beliefs, barriers and needs related to interprofessional education. A descriptive exploratory quantitative design was used to study a sample of 53 faculty members at a Canadian institution of higher nursing education. With ethics approval, an online survey was administered to a sample of convenience across five geographical sites. The survey was conducted from August to September 2013 with a recall two weeks after sending the online invitation. Issues of anonymity and confidentiality were addressed. Twenty faculty members out of 53 participated in the survey for a response rate of 35%. The survey was composed of 68 items derived from validated and reliable instruments such as the National Competency Framework and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS). Descriptive and non-parametric statistical analyses were used to explore correlations between age, years of practice, the level of education, years of teaching, and knowledge and readiness for interprofessional health education. Results indicate participants’ willingness of implement interprofessional education within teaching activities, yet issues like time constraints, workload, lack of time, lack of knowledge and skills, and low self- esteem and confidence influence nurse educators’ readiness. Also, institutional support is the main factor to support the application of interprofessional health education activities. Despite the limitations related to the sample size, findings show that addressing faculty`s lack of knowledge and skills represent the steps to implement interprofessional education in higher education and health professionals programs. A successful and sustainable implementation of interprofessional education requires nurse administrators and educators to address the lack of knowledge and skills and support faculty members through evidence-based faculty development programs. Résumé L’impulsion vers la formation interprofessionnelle en sciences infirmières ne peut être isolée des facteurs politiques et financiers touchant les pays occidentaux ni des exigences en matière de connaissances et de compétences pour répondre aux défis de santé du XXIe siècle. Les déterminants sociaux complexes de la santé liés au vieillissement démographique, aux inégalités de santé, à l’augmentation de la prévalence des maladies non transmissibles et la hausse des coûts des soins de santé incitent à mettre en œuvre une formation interprofessionnelle en santé. Malgré un corps de connaissances de plus en plus vaste sur la formation interprofessionnelle en sciences infirmières et en sciences de la santé, peu d’attention a été portée à l’étude des besoins de développement des professeures en sciences infirmières. La présente étude, dont les objectifs étaient d’explorer et de comprendre les perceptions des membres du corps professoral en sciences infirmières quant aux connaissances, aux croyances, aux obstacles et aux besoins liés à la formation interprofessionnelle, vise à combler ce manque de connaissances quant à la perspective du corps professoral en sciences infirmières. Un devis descriptif, exploratoire et quantitatif a été utilisé pour analyser un échantillon de 53 membres du corps professoral dans un établissement d’enseignement supérieur canadien offrant la formation en sciences infirmières. Après avoir obtenu l’approbation éthique, un sondage en ligne a été effectué auprès d’un échantillon de convenance couvrant cinq lieux géographiques. Le sondage a été mené d’août à septembre 2013, avec une relance deux semaines après l’envoi de l’invitation en ligne. Les questions d’anonymat et de confidentialité ont été prises en compte. Vingt membres du corps professoral sur 53 ont participé au sondage, ce qui représente un taux de réponse de 35 %. Le sondage comprenait 68 énoncés provenant d’instruments validés et fiables tels que le cadre national de compétences et l’échelle de perception sur la formation interdisciplinaire (IEPS). Des analyses statistiques descriptives et non paramétriques ont été utilisées pour explorer les corrélations entre l’âge, les années de pratique, le niveau de formation, les années d’enseignement, ainsi que les connaissances et le sentiment de préparation quant à la formation interprofessionnelle en santé. Les résultats indiquent la volonté des participants d’intégrer la formation interprofessionnelle aux activités pédagogiques, mais des questions telles que les contraintes de temps, la charge de travail, les connaissances et compétences insuffisantes, le manque d’estime de soi et de confiance ont un effet sur le sentiment de préparation des infirmières enseignantes. De plus, le soutien institutionnel est le principal facteur nécessaire à la mise en œuvre d’activités de formation interprofessionnelle en santé. Malgré les limites liées à la taille de l’échantillon, les résultats montrent que remédier au manque de connaissances et de compétences du corps professoral constitue une étape nécessaire pour permettre l’intégration de la formation interprofessionnelle dans les programmes d’enseignement supérieur pour les professionnels de la santé. Une mise en œuvre réussie et durable de la formation interprofessionnelle exige que les administratrices des programmes de formation en sciences infirmières pallient au manque de connaissances et de compétences en soutenant les membres du corps professoral par l’entremise de programmes de développement fondés sur des données probantes

Genomic abundance is not predictive of tandem repeat localization in grass genomes.

Highly repetitive regions have historically posed a challenge when investigating sequence variation and content. High-throughput sequencing has enabled researchers to use whole-genome shotgun sequencing to estimate the abundance of repetitive sequence, and these methodologies have been recently applied to centromeres. Previous research has investigated variation in centromere repeats across eukaryotes, positing that the highest abundance tandem repeat in a genome is often the centromeric repeat. To test this assumption, we used shotgun sequencing and a bioinformatic pipeline to identify common tandem repeats across a number of grass species. We find that de novo assembly and subsequent abundance ranking of repeats can successfully identify tandem repeats with homology to known tandem repeats. Fluorescent in-situ hybridization shows that de novo assembly and ranking of repeats from non-model taxa identifies chromosome domains rich in tandem repeats both near pericentromeres and elsewhere in the genome

Multi-Epoch Spectropolarimetry for a Sample of Type IIn Supernovae: Persistent Asymmetry in Dusty Circumstellar Material

We present multi-epoch spectropolarimetry and spectra for a sample of 14 Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn). We find that after correcting for likely interstellar polarization, SNe IIn commonly show intrinsic continuum polarization of 1--3% at the time of peak optical luminosity, although a few show weaker or negligible polarization. While some SNe IIn have even stronger polarization at early times, their polarization tends to drop smoothly over several hundred days after peak. We find a tendency for the intrinsic polarization to be stronger at bluer wavelengths, especially at early times. While polarization from an electron scattering region is expected to be grey, scattering of SN light by dusty circumstellar material (CSM) may induce such a wavelength-dependent polarization. For most SNe IIn, changes in polarization degree and wavelength dependence are not accompanied by changes in the position angle, requiring that asymmetric pre-SN mass loss had a persistent geometry. While 2--3% polarization is typical, about 30% of SNe IIn have very low or undetected polarization. Under the simplifying assumption that all SN IIn progenitors have axisymmetric CSM (i.e. disk/torus/bipolar), then the distribution of polarization values we observe is consistent with similarly asymmetric CSM seen from a distribution of random viewing angles. This asymmetry has very important implications for understanding the origin of pre-SN mass loss in SNe IIn, suggesting that it was shaped by binary interaction.Comment: 76 pages, 54 figures (13 in main text, 41 in appendix A

Hybrid Decay: A Transgenerational Epigenetic Decline in Vigor and Viability Triggered in Backcross Populations of Teosinte with Maize.

In the course of generating populations of maize with teosinte chromosomal introgressions, an unusual sickly plant phenotype was noted in individuals from crosses with two teosinte accessions collected near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. The plants of these Bravo teosinte accessions appear phenotypically normal themselves and the F1 plants appear similar to typical maize × teosinte F1s. However, upon backcrossing to maize, the BC1 and subsequent generations display a number of detrimental characteristics including shorter stature, reduced seed set, and abnormal floral structures. This phenomenon is observed in all BC individuals and there is no chromosomal segment linked to the sickly plant phenotype in advanced backcross generations. Once the sickly phenotype appears in a lineage, normal plants are never again recovered by continued backcrossing to the normal maize parent. Whole-genome shotgun sequencing reveals a small number of genomic sequences, some with homology to transposable elements, that have increased in copy number in the backcross populations. Transcriptome analysis of seedlings, which do not have striking phenotypic abnormalities, identified segments of 18 maize genes that exhibit increased expression in sickly plants. A de novo assembly of transcripts present in plants exhibiting the sickly phenotype identified a set of 59 upregulated novel transcripts. These transcripts include some examples with sequence similarity to transposable elements and other sequences present in the recurrent maize parent (W22) genome as well as novel sequences not present in the W22 genome. Genome-wide profiles of gene expression, DNA methylation, and small RNAs are similar between sickly plants and normal controls, although a few upregulated transcripts and transposable elements are associated with altered small RNA or methylation profiles. This study documents hybrid incompatibility and genome instability triggered by the backcrossing of Bravo teosinte with maize. We name this phenomenon "hybrid decay" and present ideas on the mechanism that may underlie it

SN2012ab: A Peculiar Type IIn Supernova with Aspherical Circumstellar Material

We present photometry, spectra, and spectropolarimetry of supernova (SN) 2012ab, mostly obtained over the course of $\sim 300$ days after discovery. SN 2012ab was a Type IIn (SN IIn) event discovered near the nucleus of spiral galaxy 2MASXJ12224762+0536247. While its light curve resembles that of SN 1998S, its spectral evolution does not. We see indications of CSM interaction in the strong intermediate-width emission features, the high luminosity (peak at absolute magnitude $M=-19.5$), and the lack of broad absorption features in the spectrum. The H$\alpha$ emission undergoes a peculiar transition. At early times it shows a broad blue emission wing out to $-14{,}000$ km $\mathrm{s^{-1}}$ and a truncated red wing. Then at late times ($>$ 100$\,$days) it shows a truncated blue wing and a very broad red emission wing out to roughly $+20{,}000$ km $\mathrm{s^{-1}}$. This late-time broad red wing probably arises in the reverse shock. Spectra also show an asymmetric intermediate-width H$\alpha$ component with stronger emission on the red side at late times. The evolution of the asymmetric profiles requires a density structure in the distant CSM that is highly aspherical. Our spectropolarimetric data also suggest asphericity with a strong continuum polarization of $\sim 1-3$% and depolarization in the H$\alpha$ line, indicating asphericity in the CSM at a level comparable to that in other SNe IIn. We estimate a mass-loss rate of $\dot{M} = 0.050\, {\rm M}_{\odot}\,\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$ for $v_{\rm pre} = 100$$\,$km$\,$$\mathrm{s^{-1}}$ extending back at least 75$\,$yr prior to the SN. The strong departure from axisymmetry in the CSM of SN 2012ab may suggest that the progenitor was an eccentric binary system undergoing eruptive mass loss.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure

Parallel altitudinal clines reveal trends in adaptive evolution of genome size in \u3ci\u3eZea mays\u3c/i\u3e

While the vast majority of genome size variation in plants is due to differences in repetitive sequence, we know little about how selection acts on repeat content in natural populations. Here we investigate parallel changes in intraspecific genome size and repeat content of domesticated maize (Zea mays) landraces and their wild relative teosinte across altitudinal gradients in Mesoamerica and South America. We combine genotyping, low coverage whole-genome sequence data, and flow cytometry to test for evidence of selection on genome size and individual repeat abundance. We find that population structure alone cannot explain the observed variation, implying that clinal patterns of genome size are maintained by natural selection. Our modeling additionally provides evidence of selection on individual heterochromatic knob repeats, likely due to their large individual contribution to genome size. To better understand the phenotypes driving selection on genome size, we conducted a growth chamber experiment using a population of highland teosinte exhibiting extensive variation in genome size. We find weak support for a positive correlation between genome size and cell size, but stronger support for a negative correlation between genome size and the rate of cell production. Reanalyzing published data of cell counts in maize shoot apical meristems, we then identify a negative correlation between cell production rate and flowering time. Together, our data suggest a model in which variation in genome size is driven by natural selection on flowering time across altitudinal clines, connecting intraspecific variation in repetitive sequence to important differences in adaptive phenotypes

SN 2014ab: An Aspherical Type IIn Supernova with Low Polarization

We present photometry, spectra, and spectropolarimetry of supernova (SN) 2014ab, obtained through $\sim 200$ days after peak brightness. SN 2014ab was a luminous Type IIn SN ($M_V < -19.14$ mag) discovered after peak brightness near the nucleus of its host galaxy, VV 306c. Prediscovery upper limits constrain the time of explosion to within 200 days prior to discovery. While SN 2014ab declined by $\sim 1$ mag over the course of our observations, the observed spectrum remained remarkably unchanged. Spectra exhibit an asymmetric emission-line profile with a consistently stronger blueshifted component, suggesting the presence of dust or a lack of symmetry between the far side and near side of the SN. The Pa$\beta$ emission line shows a profile very similar to that of H$\alpha$, implying that this stronger blueshifted component is caused either through obscuration by large dust grains, occultation by optically thick material, or a lack of symmetry between the far side and near side of the interaction region. Despite these asymmetric line profiles, our spectropolarimetric data show that SN 2014ab has little detected polarization after accounting for the interstellar polarization. This suggests that we are seeing emission from a photosphere that has only small deviation from circular symmetry face-on. We are likely seeing a SN IIn with nearly circular symmetry in the plane normal to our line of sight, but with either large-grain dust or significant asymmetry in the density of circumstellar material or SN ejecta along our line of sight. We suggest that SN 2014ab and SN 2010jl (as well as other SNe IIn) may be similar events viewed from different directions.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figure

The electron-capture origin of supernova 2018zd

In the transitional mass range ($\sim$ 8-10 solar masses) between white dwarf formation and iron core-collapse supernovae, stars are expected to produce an electron-capture supernova. Theoretically, these progenitors are thought to be super-asymptotic giant branch stars with a degenerate O+Ne+Mg core, and electron capture onto Ne and Mg nuclei should initiate core collapse. However, no supernovae have unequivocally been identified from an electron-capture origin, partly because of uncertainty in theoretical predictions. Here we present six indicators of electron-capture supernovae and show that supernova 2018zd is the only known supernova having strong evidence for or consistent with all six: progenitor identification, circumstellar material, chemical composition, explosion energy, light curve, and nucleosynthesis. For supernova 2018zd, we infer a super-asymptotic giant branch progenitor based on the faint candidate in the pre-explosion images and the chemically-enriched circumstellar material revealed by the early ultraviolet colours and flash spectroscopy. The light-curve morphology and nebular emission lines can be explained with the low explosion energy and neutron-rich nucleosynthesis produced in an electron-capture supernova. This identification provides insights into the complex stellar evolution, supernova physics, cosmic nucleosynthesis, and remnant populations in the transitional mass range.Comment: Author version of the published letter in Nature Astronomy, 28 June 202