Advancing a Transnational, Transdisciplinary and Translingual Professional Development Framework for Teaching Assistants in Writing and Spanish Programs: An Update

In 2018, we published a translingual and transdisciplinary collaborative piece that sought to respond to the call for writing and language programs to develop professional development opportunities central to multilingual writers’ needs as language learners and writers and their sophisticated and diverse language and writing abilities (Guerra, 2008; Horner et al., 2011; Kells, 2007; Tardy, 2017). We described the design, implementation, and implications of a multilingual pedagogy professional development series for teaching assistants in a transnational and multilingual context (Cavazos, et al., 2018). In this chapter, we provide an update on what has transpired since the series ended. We arrange the chapter as follows: first, we give a brief description of the institutional context where the workshops took place. Then we briefly describe the professional development series for readers unfamiliar with our first piece. After that, we provide an update on what happened after the series ended that emphasizes the impact, affordances, and challenges of implementing this type of workshop and how the authors continue to enact the core components of the proposed workshop in their disciplinary contexts and teaching practices

Advancing a Transnational, Transdisciplinary and Translingual Framework: A Professional Development Series for Teaching Assistants in Writing and Spanish Programs

Considering the need for writing and language programs to develop translingual and transdisciplinary pedagogies for teacher development at the graduate level (Canagarajah, 2016; Williams & Rodrigue, 2016), the authors examine the design of a multilingual pedagogy professional development series for first-year Spanish and Writing teaching assistants (TAs). As designers of and participants in the series, the authors explore the benefits and challenges inherent in transdisciplinary and translingual conversations and discuss implications for teaching and research in language and writing instruction and teacher development. In order to advance transdisciplinary and translingual approaches as a new normal in composition studies (Tardy 2017; Horner, NeCamp, and Donahue 2011), the authors hope to provide a professional development framework that adapts to the linguistic realities of different institutional contexts and students’ lived language experiences

Pelvic floor dysfunction in Mexican women

Background: Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is a term used to describe a variety of disorders that involve moderate to severe impairment of the pelvic floor muscles. Throughout their lives, up to 46% of women will present at least one form of PFD and may even have a combination of this pathology. These afflictions have a profound influence on women’s general well-being and quality of life, as well as being an immense economic burden for global health systems. Methods: This was a populational study which used surveys made in Google Forms of different questionnaires validated in Spanish [Urinary Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ), Female Sexual Function Index (IFSF), CPPQ Questionnaire for chronic pelvic pain, Wexner anal incontinence scale and quality of life] which were taken by women with access to social networks and who agreed to carry out an anonymous survey. Results: Seven hundred and twenty-one participants were evaluated, a total of 61.4% (443) responded positively to involuntary loss of urine, 35% had presented discomfort during sexual activity or lack of sexual interest, 14% had genital pain and 16% reported involuntary loss of feces or gas. Of all the patients that answered any of these questioners positively, only 33% had sought medical attention in the past. Conclusions: We concluded that in our population PFD is underdiagnosed. Our populations prevalence of urinary incontinence and pelvic pain is within the internationally described margins; anal incontinence is above international reports, and our population presented a lower prevalence of sexual dysfunction. With this new information we must impulse awareness to guide various preventive behaviors

Urethro-cutaneous fistula: a rare complication in anti-incontinence surgery with trans-obturator tapes sling

This case report presents a rare complication of tension-free mid-urethral tape surgery by the obturator approach (TOT) in the form of a urethro-cutaneous fistula. The patient underwent successful surgical repair, highlighting the importance of intraoperative cystoscopy to minimize surgical risks and complications. Tension-free mid-urethral tape surgery is a commonly performed procedure for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). However, complications can occur, albeit rarely. In this case, a 52-year-old female patient developed a urethro-cutaneous fistula following TOT surgery. The fistula was identified by the presence of urine leakage at the right inguinal level, leading to significant distress and discomfort for the patient. Prompt diagnosis and appropriate management are crucial in such cases. The patient underwent surgical repair, which involved excision of the fistulous tract. The procedure was successful, resulting in complete resolution of the fistula and restoration of normal urinary function. In conclusion, this case report highlights the occurrence of a rare complication, namely a urethro-cutaneous fistula, following TOT surgery. The successful surgical repair emphasizes the importance of prompt diagnosis and appropriate management. Furthermore, the authors propose that an intraoperative cystoscopic evaluation be considered, even after a TOT procedure. Especially in cases that present risk factors or in hospital-school institutions. By implementing this practice, surgeons can enhance patient safety and improve surgical outcomes in anti-incontinence procedures

Graph Theory Modeling on the BrainMap Community Portal: Network topology reveals a central role for the medial frontal gyrus in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

"Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy(MTLE) is a disorder of neural networks, often amenable to surgical treatment. Yet, resection of the seizure-onset zone can be non-curative. Seizure recurrence is attributable to distributed network-mediation of ictogenesis(seizure-onset). To address reasons for surgical failure, it is crucial to understand higher-level network properties in MTLE pathology. Graph theory models(GTM) interrogate network properties by quantifying features of network topology. Imaging studies have leveraged graph theory to detect compensatory network changes and predict seizure-onset laterality in MTLE, portending GTM utility in biomarker development. GTM was recently adapted for coordinate-based meta-analysis(CBMA) of voxel-based morphometry(VBM) and physiology(VBP) studies, instantiating a multi-variate extension of activation likelihood estimation(mass-univariate-CBMA). We applied meta-analytic-GTM(M-GTM) to VBM/VBP-studies of MTLE, to infer organizational properties of MTLE network pathology. To quantify topological organization of MTLE network pathology, BrainMap applications (M-GTM/Mango) were used to derive a co-alteration GTM from 74 experiments. M-GTM was used to model coordinates of MTLE pathology as spatial probability distributions, defining nodes at peaks in the joint distribution of pathology and computing edges as co-alterations in individual studies. Clusters of network pathology (modules) were detected via spectral-partition and interpreted in Mango via Regional Behavioral/Diseases Analyses of the BrainMap database(21,435-Task-Activation/4,398-VBM-experiments;n=107,167/115,627-subjects). MATLAB/Cytoscape were used to compute topology metrics and nodal influence on MTLE network topology. Two distributed network-modules were identified in the MTLE co-alteration network, connected only via three most-influential nodes: hippocampus/MDN-thalamus/medial frontal gyrus. Module-1 regions(M1:mesial-temporal/deep-nuclear/frontal/precentral/postcentral/cingulate/inf-parietal structures) were associated with emotion-cognition(Z=3.7) and weakly with social-cognition/explicit-memory(Z=2.5/2.3). Module-2(M2:cerebellar/occipital/temporoparietal/precentral/inf.frontal/med.frontal gyri) regional associations included language/speech/semantic-cognition(Z=4.1/3.0/2.3). M1 matched known VBM-patterns in Alzheimer’s(Z=4.1); both M1/M2 matched those of structural epilepsy pathology(Z=3.4/3.6). A 2-node module(M3:parahippocampus/amygdala) and disconnected pair(M4:mid.frontal/cingulate gyri) were noted. Discrete co-alteration networks exist in MTLE. The medial frontal gyrus likely mediates interactions and evolution of limbic-M1 and verbal-M2 symptoms in MTLE. Pathology modules and intermodular connections represent potential targets for disease monitoring/therapeutic modulation. This study was funded by R01MH074457, T32GM113896, T32TR004545, F31NS131025, and the American Epilepsy Society."Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC

Discovering Pathophysiologic Networks of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Using the BrainMap Community Portal through the Texas Advanced Computing Center

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) seizures cause regional damage, detectable on imaging of brain structure (VBM) and function (VBM). Damage is mediated by aberrant neuronal activity propagating along existing network architecture. TLE networks remain ill-defined and are of great interest to diagnostic and therapeutic development. Independent component analysis (ICA) can detect neural-networks by computing multi-variate co-occurrence patterns across a volume and is validated for coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA/Meta-ICA). Meta-ICA is methodologically distinct from mass-univariate meta-analytics (ALE) that simply detect robust regions/hubs of pathology. Although meta-ICA is typically used to extract canonical/healthy networks, we applied meta-ICA to VBM/VBP reports of TLE-pathology, to infer TLE-specific network anomalies. To identify TLE-networks, BrainMap Community Portal applications were used to access coordinate-results (Sleuth) of 74 experiments (n=1599), model coordinates as spatial probability distributions (weighted by sample-size) and apply ICA (Meta-ICA) at dimensions:d=1&2 (per sample-size restrictions), computing coordinate co-occurrence within and across experiments. TLE pathology-hubs were computed (GingerALE) separately as spatial convergence across studies (ALE), agnostic to within-study co-occurrence. Two anatomically distinct TLE-networks were identified (i.e. no overlap, excepting ALE hubs). Network-IC1 included brain-regions involved in language processing (speech-execution:Z=6.95; speech-cognition:Z=4.10) at d=2, with similar results (spatial-correlation:R=0.89) at d=1. Network-IC2 included brain-regions involved in emotion (reward:Z=4.76) and cognition (attention:Z=4.02; memory:Z=3.80). Meta-ICA implicated a superset of hub regions from GingerALE (IC1-tonsil; IC2-pulvinar, caudate, superior-temporal; Both-hippocampus, MDN-thalamus), uniquely identifying anterior nucleus, insula, supramarginal, and pre/paracentral gyri. Neither network matched canonical networks. VBM/VBP distribution to ICs was homogenous (χ2:p=0.07). Meta-ICA networks align with TLE symptom profiles. IC1 (verbal/visual) disruption can impair communication and cause visual hallucinosis. IC2 (limbic) aligns with social-emotional deficits; dyscognitive seizures disrupt cognition (attention/memory), impair awareness, and induce postictal amnesia. These findings reveal two novel TLE-networks, debut the first low-d meta-ICA detection of disease-networks, and highlight a BrainMap Community Portal use-case with implications in biomarker development within/beyond epilepsy pathologies.Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC

The gut microbiome is associated with markers of cerebral small vessel disease

Background Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is a major cause of cognitive impairment and dementia in the elderly. Dysregulation of the gut microbiome has been linked to cSVD, stroke, and dementia in human and animal studies. However, whether dysbiosis is associated with markers of cSVD is unclear. We aimed to assess the cross-sectional association between the gut microbiome and MRI markers of cSVD and executive function in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Method We included FHS participants from the Third-generation cohort without a history of stroke or dementia. We estimated the gut microbiota composition using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. MRI markers of cSVD included white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD). Executive function was assessed as the difference between the Trail Making Test (TMT) part B and A. We used multivariable regression analysis to evaluate the association between the gut microbiota and WMH, PSMD, and TMT, adjusting for age, age2, sex, BMI, and education. Additionally, we used differential abundance analysis to explore extremes of cSVD markers dichotomized by their distribution with the upper quintile representing the least healthy group. Finally, we used PICRUSt (Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States) to gain insight into the functional profiles of the underlying microbial communities. Result Our sample included 972 participants (age: 55 ± 10 years, 56% female). Using multivariable models, we found that greater abundance of genera Pseudobutyrivibrio and Ruminococcus were associated with lower (healthier) WMH and PSMD (p-values \u3c 0.001), as well as better executive function (p-values \u3c 0.01). Furthermore, the differential analysis indicated a lower abundance of the genus Prevotella in the group of participants with the highest (least healthy) PSMD and WHM (p-values \u3c 0.05). Finally, functional analyses using PICRUSt implicated various KEGG pathways, including carbohydrate metabolism, glycosaminoglycan, and fatty acid biosynthesis previously associated with cognitive performance. Conclusion Our study suggests abundance of certain gut bacteria in genus Pseudobutyrivibrio, Ruminococcus, and Prevotella, that produce butyric acid and other metabolites used by the human brain, are associated with healthier brain vasculature and better cognitive function in middle-aged healthy adults

MRI evaluation of the peripheral attachments of the lateral meniscal body: the menisco-tibio-popliteus-fibular complex

Data de publicació electrònica: 17-06-2021Purpose: To determine, identify and measure the structures of the menisco-tibio-popliteus-fibular complex (MTPFC) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in knees without structural abnormalities or a history of knee surgery. Methods: One-hundred-and-five knees without prior injury or antecedent surgery were analyzed by means of MRI. The average age was 50.1 years ± 14.8. All the measurements were performed by three observers. The peripherical structures of the lateral meniscus body were identified to determine the location, size, and thickness of the entire MTPFC. The distance to other "key areas" in the lateral compartment was also studied and compared by gender and age. Results: The lateral meniscotibial ligament (LMTL) was found in 97.1% of the MRIs, the popliteofibular ligament (PFL) in 93.3%, the popliteomeniscal ligaments (PML) in 90.4% and the meniscofibular ligament (MFL) in 39%. The anteroposterior distance of the LMTL in an axial view was 20.7 mm ± 3.9, the anterior thickness of the LMTL was 1.1 mm ± 0.3, and the posterior thickness of the LMTL 1.2 mm ± 0.1 and the height in a coronal view was 10.8 mm ± 1.9. The length of the PFL in a coronal view was 8.7 mm ± 2.5, the thickness was 1.4 mm ± 0.4 and the width in an axial view was 7.8 mm ± 2.2. Conclusions: The MTPFC has a constant morphological and anatomical pattern for three of its main ligaments and can be easily identified and measured in an MRI; the MFL has a lower prevalence, considering a structure difficult to identify by 1.5 T MRI

Repair of ovine peripheral nerve injuries with xenogeneic human acellular sciatic nerves prerecellularized with allogeneic Schwann-like cells—an innovative and promising approach

Introduction: The iatrogenic effects of repairing peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) with autografts (AGTs) encouraged the present study to involve a new approach consisting of grafting xenogeneic prerecellularized allogeneic cells instead of AGTs. Methods: We compared sheep's AGT regenerative and functional capacity with decellularized human nerves prerecellularized with allogeneic Schwann-like cell xenografts (onwards called xenografts). Mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from ovine adipose tissue and induced in vitro to differentiate into Schwann-like cells (SLCs). Xenografts were grafted in ovine sciatic nerves. Left sciatic nerves (20 mm) were excised from 10 sheep. Then, five sheep were grafted with 20 mm xenografts, and five were reimplanted with their nerve segment rotated 180° (AGT). Results: All sheep treated with xenografts or AGT progressively recovered the strength, movement, and coordination of their intervened limb, which was still partial when the study was finished at sixth month postsurgery. At this time, numerous intrafascicular axons were observed in the distal and proximal graft extremes of both xenografts or AGTs, and submaximal nerve electrical conduction was observed. The xenografts and AGT-affected muscles appeared partially stunted. Conclusions: Xenografts and AGT were equally efficacious in starting PNI repair and justified further studies using longer observation times. The hallmarks from this study are that human xenogeneic acellular scaffolds were recellularized with allogenic SCL and were not rejected by the nonhuman receptors but were also as functional as AGT within a relatively short time postsurgery. Thus, this innovative approach promises to be more practical and accessible than AGT or allogenic allografts and safer than AGT for PNI repair