Integrating Information Literacy Instruction in an Upper-Division Writing-Intensive Class

Writing-intensive courses are a required component of undergraduate education at the University of South Alabama, but often the courses are designed to test students’ writing skills, rather than to teach the research and writing process. In the fall of 2008, an instruction librarian and an assistant professor in political science collaborated to redesign one writing intensive course, Public Administration (PSC 401), in an attempt to address this dilemma. This project was born out of frustration – frustration on the part of the professor about the generally poor quality of writing and research skills by students in the course the previous year, and frustration on the part of the librarian at a lack of opportunities for integrating information literacy instruction (beyond one-shot bibliographic instruction sessions) into the curriculum. The project was also born out of optimism that a new approach could make a difference in improving students’ abilities in terms of researching and writing papers

Increased Risk of Non-Q Wave Myocardial Infarction After Directional Atherectomy Is Platelet Dependent: Evidence From the EPIC Trial

AbstractObjectives. We sought to determine the effects of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor blockade on adverse outcomes, especially non-Q wave myocardial infarction, in patients undergoing directional atherectomy in the Evaluation of c7E3 for the Prevention of Ischemic Complications (EPIC) trial.Background. Randomized trials comparing directional atherectomy with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) have demonstrated modest benefits favoring atherectomy but at a cost of increased acute ischemic complications, notably non-Q wave myocardial infarction. The mechanism for this excess risk is unknown.Methods. Of 2,038 high risk patients undergoing coronary intervention in the EPIC trial, directional atherectomy was performed in 197 (10%). Patients randomly received the chimeric glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antibody 7E3 (c7E3), as a bolus or a bolus and 12-h infusion or placebo. Study end points included death, myocardial infarction, repeat intervention or bypass surgery.Results. Patients undergoing directional atherectomy had a lower baseline risk for acute complications but had a higher incidence of any myocardial infarction (10.7% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.021) and non-Q wave myocardial infarction (9.6% vs. 4.9%, p = 0.006). Bolus and infusion of c7E3 reduced non-Q wave myocardial infarctions by 71% after atherectomy (15.4% for placebo vs. 4.5% for bolus and infusion, p = 0.046). Non-Q wave myocardial infarction rates after PTCA were not affected by c7E3, although Q wave myocardial infarctions were reduced from 2.6% to 0.8% (p = 0.017).Conclusions. The EPIC trial confirmed the increased risk of non-Q wave myocardial infarction with directional atherectomy use compared with PTCA. A bolus and 12-h infusion of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitor c7E3 abolished this excess risk. Directional atherectomy-related non-Q wave myocardial infarction appears to be platelet aggregation dependent

From Retinal Waves to Activity-Dependent Retinogeniculate Map Development

A neural model is described of how spontaneous retinal waves are formed in infant mammals, and how these waves organize activity-dependent development of a topographic map in the lateral geniculate nucleus, with connections from each eye segregated into separate anatomical layers. The model simulates the spontaneous behavior of starburst amacrine cells and retinal ganglion cells during the production of retinal waves during the first few weeks of mammalian postnatal development. It proposes how excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms within individual cells, such as Ca2+-activated K+ channels, and cAMP currents and signaling cascades, can modulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of waves, notably by controlling the after-hyperpolarization currents of starburst amacrine cells. Given the critical role of the geniculate map in the development of visual cortex, these results provide a foundation for analyzing the temporal dynamics whereby the visual cortex itself develops

Identification of Antifungal Compounds Active against Candida albicans Using an Improved High-Throughput Caenorhabditis elegans Assay

Candida albicans, the most common human pathogenic fungus, can establish a persistent lethal infection in the intestine of the microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The C. elegans–C. albicans infection model was previously adapted to screen for antifungal compounds. Modifications to this screen have been made to facilitate a high-throughput assay including co-inoculation of nematodes with C. albicans and instrumentation allowing precise dispensing of worms into assay wells, eliminating two labor-intensive steps. This high-throughput method was utilized to screen a library of 3,228 compounds represented by 1,948 bioactive compounds and 1,280 small molecules derived via diversity-oriented synthesis. Nineteen compounds were identified that conferred an increase in C. elegans survival, including most known antifungal compounds within the chemical library. In addition to seven clinically used antifungal compounds, twelve compounds were identified which are not primarily used as antifungal agents, including three immunosuppressive drugs. This assay also allowed the assessment of the relative minimal inhibitory concentration, the effective concentration in vivo, and the toxicity of the compound in a single assay

2009 Focused Updates: ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (Updating the 2004 Guideline and 2007 Focused Update) and ACC/AHA/SCAI Guidelines on Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (Updating the 2005 Guideline and 2007 Focused Update)

Late-breaking clinical trials presented at the 2007 and 2008 annual scientific meetings of the ACC, AHA, Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics, the European Society of Cardiology, and the 2009 annual scientific sessions of the ACC were reviewed by the standing guideline writing committee along with the parent Task Force and other experts to identify those trials and other key data that may impact guideline recommendations. On the basis of the criteria/considerations noted above, recent trial data and other clinical information were considered important enough to prompt a focused update of the ACC/AHA 2004 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction and the ACC/AHA 2005 Guidelines for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, inclusive of their respective 2007 focused updates (2–5)

intomas de ansiedade e depressão em adultos e idosos na pós-intervenção coronária percutânea.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of disability and death. One of the forms of treatment for them is the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). After a diagnosis or cardiac procedure, patients have psychological symptoms that often go unnoticed and interfere with their health condition. The aim of this article was to evaluate the intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms in adult and elderly patients hospitalized after PCI. The design of the study was cross-sectional, analytical, correlational and comparative. Participants were 266 patients who had undergone PCI. Their average age was 64.5 years (SD =8.9 years) and most of them were men (68%) with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (64.3%). The research instruments used were the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory - Second Edition (BDIII). Data collection was performed during the patients’ hospitalization and statistical analysis was carried out by means of the Chi-SquareTest, the Kolmogorov –Smirnov Test and ANOVA. The level of significance used was p ≤ .05. Results showed that the majority of patients presented severe symptoms of anxiety (29.7%) and minimum intensity depressive symptoms (51.9%). The study highlights the importance of assessing and treating psychological symptoms after PCI as these interfere with the patient’s adherence to treatment and with their quality of life.Las enfermedades cardiovasculares están entre las principales causas de incapacidad y mortalidad en el mundo, pero existe un modo de tratamiento para estas denominado intervención coronaria percutánea (ICP). Después de un diagnóstico o procedimiento cardiaco, los pacientes presentan síntomas psicológicos que a menudo pasan desapercibidos e interfieren con su condición de salud. El objetivo del presente artículo fue evaluar la intensidad de los síntomas de ansiedad y depresión en pacientes adultos y adultos mayores hospitalizados después de una ICP. Se utilizó un diseño transversal, analítico, correlacional y comparativo. En total, participaron 266 pacientes a quienes se les había realizado ICP, estos tenían un promedio de edad de 64.5 años (DE = 8.9), 68 % eran hombres y 64.3 % presentaban diagnóstico de infarto agudo de miocardio (IAM). Se utilizó el Inventario de Ansiedad de Beck (BAI) y el Inventario de Depresión de Beck - Segunda Edición (BDI-II) como instrumentos de investigación, y la recolección de datos se realizó durante la hospitalización del paciente. El análisis de datos se llevó a cabo por medio de las pruebas Chi-Cuadrado, Kolmogorov-Smirnov y ANOVA, con un nivel de significancia de p ≤ .05. Los resultados muestran que la mayoría de los pacientes presentó síntomas de ansiedad graves (29.7 %) y síntomas depresivos de intensidad mínima (51.9 %). Estos resultados destacan la importancia de evaluar y tratar los síntomas psicológicos post ICP, debido a que estos interfieren en la adhesión al tratamiento y en la calidad de vida del paciente.As doenças cardiovasculares estão entre as principais causas de incapacidade e mortalidade no mundo. Um dos tratamentos indicados é a intervenção coronária percutânea (ICP). Após um diagnóstico ou procedimento cardíaco, os pacientes apresentam sintomas psicológicos que costumam passar despercebidos e interferem na sua condição de saúde. O objetivo do presente artigo foi avaliar a intensidade dos sintomas de ansiedade e depressão em pacientes adultos e idosos hospitalizados depois de uma ICP. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, analítico, correlacional e comparativo. Participaram 266 pacientes que realizaram ICP. A média de idade dos pacientes foi de 64.5 anos (DP = 8.9), 68% eram homens e 64.3% apresentavam diagnóstico de infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM). Utilizou-se o Inventário de Ansiedade de Beck (BAI) e o Inventário de Depressão de Beck - Segunda Edição (BDI-II) como instrumentos de pesquisa e a coleta de dados foi realizada durante a hospitalização do paciente. A análise de dados foi realizada por meio dos testes Qui-Quadrado, Kolmogorov-Smirnov e ANOVA, com um nível de significância de p ≤ .05. Os resultados mostram que a maioria dos pacientes apresentou sintomas de ansiedade graves (29.7%) e sintomas depressivos de intensidade mínima (51.9%). Esses resultados destacam a importância de avaliar e tratar os sintomas psicológicos pós-ICP, uma vez que interferem na adesão ao tratamento e na qualidade de vida do paciente

Carbon Nanotube Composites with Bottlebrush Elastomers for Compliant Electrodes

Wearable electronics and biointerfacing technology require materials that are both compliant and conductive. The typical design strategy exploits polymer composites containing conductive particles, but the addition of a hard filler generally leads to a substantial increase in modulus that is not well-matched to biological tissue. Here, we report a new class of supersoft, conductive composites comprising carbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded in bottlebrush polymer networks. By virtue of the bottlebrush polymer architecture, these materials are several orders of magnitude softer than comparable composites in the literature involving linear polymer networks. For example, a CNT content of 0.25 wt % yields a shear modulus of 66 kPa while maintaining a typical conductivity for a CNT composite (ca. 10-2 S/m). An added benefit of this bottlebrush matrix chemistry is the presence of dynamic polyester bonds that facilitate thermal (re)processing. This unique strategy of designing soft composites provides new opportunities to tailor the structure and properties of sustainable advanced materials

Optimal Sunlight Harvesting in Photovoltaics and Photosynthesis

Materials employed to harvest sunlight are commonly recognized to be at a premium when their optical absorption peaks in the visible, extends to the infrared, is panchromatic, and is matched to the solar spectrum. By contrast, natural photosynthetic absorbers such as chlorophylls and carotenoids display absorption spectra with narrow peaks for yet-unknown evolutionary reasons. Beyond such general observations, a rigorous treatment of sunlight harvesting optimization is still lacking. In this work, we provide a quantitative analysis of optimal solar energy harvesting in materials. We derive optimal absorption spectra as a function of absorber thickness, elucidate the concept of solar-matched absorption and its applicability limits, and define a procedure to rank photovoltaic materials for sunlight harvesting. In addition, we suggest a possible explanation for why absorption in plant photosynthetic pigments occurs in narrow energy windows