The Kawa Model’s Value for Level II Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Students

Fieldwork (FW) plays a crucial role in occupational therapy (OT) education by fostering students to become competent entry-level practitioners. Reflective journaling promotes increased competence in OT FW students. The Kawa Model can be used as a journaling framework that uses metaphorical illustrations to self-reflect. It has been described as useful in multiple contexts. No study has yet investigated the use of the Kawa Model as a self-reflection tool with OT FW students. Video self-reflections of their Kawa Model drawings and audio recorded semi-structured interviews were used to explore Level II FW students’ perceptions of the usefulness of the Kawa Model. Seven themes emerged from the qualitative analysis, all pivoting around the concept of the usefulness of the Kawa model for self-reflection and the model’s ability to authentically represent the OT students’ Level II FW experience. Overall, the results suggest that Level II FW students find the Kawa Model useful for self-reflection. The students reported that the structure and metaphorical illustrations used in the Kawa model were true to their professional growth during their FW experience. The Kawa Model may be a unique way to foster OT students’ authentic view and appreciation of all relevant and meaningful aspects of their FW journey

Demonstration of translation elongation factor 3 activity from a non-fungal species, Phytophthora infestans

In most eukaryotic organisms, translation elongation requires two highly conserved elongation factors eEF1A and eEF2. Fungal systems are unique in requiring a third factor, the eukaryotic Elongation Factor 3 (eEF3). For decades, eEF3, a ribosome-dependent ATPase, was considered “fungal-specific”, however, recent bioinformatics analysis indicates it may be more widely distributed among other unicellular eukaryotes. In order to determine whether divergent eEF3-like proteins from other eukaryotic organisms can provide the essential functions of eEF3 in budding yeast, the eEF3-like proteins from Schizosaccharomyes pombe and an oomycete, Phytophthora infestans, were cloned and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Plasmid shuffling experiments showed that both S. pombe and P. infestans eEF3 can support the growth of S. cerevisiae in the absence of endogenous budding yeast eEF3. Consistent with its ability to provide the essential functions of eEF3, P. infestans eEF3 possessed ribosome-dependent ATPase activity. Yeast cells expressing P. infestans eEF3 displayed reduced protein synthesis due to defects in translation elongation/termination. Identification of eEF3 in divergent species will advance understanding of its function and the ribosome specific determinants that lead to its requirement as well as contribute to the identification of functional domains of eEF3 for potential drug discovery

Obesity, inflammatory and thrombotic markers, and major clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with COVID‐19 in the US

Objective This study aimed to determine whether obesity is independently associated with major adverse clinical outcomes and inflammatory and thrombotic markers in critically ill patients with COVID‐19. Methods The primary outcome was in‐hospital mortality in adults with COVID‐19 admitted to intensive care units across the US. Secondary outcomes were acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy (AKI‐RRT), thrombotic events, and seven blood markers of inflammation and thrombosis. Unadjusted and multivariable‐adjusted models were used. Results Among the 4,908 study patients, mean (SD) age was 60.9 (14.7) years, 3,095 (62.8%) were male, and 2,552 (52.0%) had obesity. In multivariable models, BMI was not associated with mortality. Higher BMI beginning at 25 kg/m2 was associated with a greater risk of ARDS and AKI‐RRT but not thrombosis. There was no clinically significant association between BMI and inflammatory or thrombotic markers. Conclusions In critically ill patients with COVID‐19, higher BMI was not associated with death or thrombotic events but was associated with a greater risk of ARDS and AKI‐RRT. The lack of an association between BMI and circulating biomarkers calls into question the paradigm that obesity contributes to poor outcomes in critically ill patients with COVID‐19 by upregulating systemic inflammatory and prothrombotic pathways