Beyond Access, beyond literacy: peer mentors as agents of change in a juvenile detention center library

Partnerships between libraries, community organizations, and Juvenile Detention Centers (JDCs) can build communities of (digital) literacy and can increase the life chances of incarcerated youth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of youth peer mentors in this community building process, focusing on the Illinois based organization “Peer Ambassadors.

COMBUSTION OF PYROLYSIS \u27BIO-OILS\u27 IN A TUNNEL FURNACE

A test program has been carried out in a pilot-scale (2.5 GJ/h) tunnel furnace to evaluate potential emission levels from combustion of various biomass pyrolysis oil \u27cuts\u27. Two pyrolysis oil cuts were tested: a “whole” oil and a “premium” high moisture (30% H2O) oil, both supplied by Ensyn. A CETC-O designed external mixing air-assisted atomising nozzle originally designed for coal liquid mixtures was used. The oils were preheated to 48 – 52°C. The atomizing air was not preheated and main combustion air preheat was varied from ambient to 120°C. Under steady state operation both pyrolysis oil cuts were found to perform well within the following ranges: O2 4.5 %; CO 45 – 106 ppm and NOx 150 – 250 ppm. The oils were also tested in co-firing mode in which natural gas was added from 10 to 50% of the total heat input. This served to substantially improve the performance of both oil cuts and CO then easily maintained below 50 ppm and total particulates below 50 mg/Nm3. These results were generally independent of natural gas level in the 10 - 50% range and were similar for both cuts of oil

Learning Outside the Classroom: A Distinctive Approach to Co-Curricular Recognition in the Australian context

Co-curricular engagement is an essential a part of the student experience in Australian higher education institutions. Whilst there is wide acknowledgement of the benefits of students participating in co-curricular activities, formally recognising students for the knowledge, skills and experiences that they have gained through co-curricular learning has only recently emerged in the Australian context. This practice paper will describe one Australian university’s approach in developing and implementing a co-curricular recognition framework. UOWx sits at the core of University of Wollongong’s (UOW) student experience, providing holistic and transformational personal development of students. The distinctive features of UOW’s approach include developing a whole of institution approach; embedding the student voice into continuous improvement cycles; and developing an active strategy to embed UOWx with employers and community organisations. This approach has transformed student co-curricular learning at UOW, by increasing the breadth of student engagement and deepening student understanding of the knowledge, skills and experiences students have gained through their co-curricular engagement. Keywords: Co-curricular framework; designing co-curricular recognition; reflection.Austin, K.; Thompson, A.; Coyle, J.; Chicharo, J. (2020). Learning Outside the Classroom: A Distinctive Approach to Co-Curricular Recognition in the Australian context. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):361-369. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11062OCS36136930-05-202

Toward a Functional Definition of a “Rare Disease” for Regulatory Authorities and Funding Agencies

AbstractBackgroundThe designation of a disease as “rare” is associated with some substantial benefits for companies involved in new drug development, including expedited review by regulatory authorities and relaxed criteria for reimbursement. How “rare disease” is defined therefore has major financial implications, both for pharmaceutical companies and for insurers or public drug reimbursement programs. All existing definitions are based, somewhat arbitrarily, on disease incidence or prevalence.ObjectivesWhat is proposed here is a functional definition of rare based on an assessment of the feasibility of measuring the efficacy of a new treatment in conventional randomized controlled trials, to inform regulatory authorities and funding agencies charged with assessing new therapies being considered for public funding.MethodsIt involves a five-step process, involving significant negotiations between patient advocacy groups, pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and public drug reimbursement programs, designed to establish the feasibility of carrying out a randomized controlled trial with sufficient statistical power to show a clinically significant treatment effect.Results and ConclusionsThe steps are as follows: 1) identification of a specific disease, including appropriate genetic definition; 2) identification of clinically relevant outcomes to evaluate efficacy; 3) establishment of the inherent variability of measurements of clinically relevant outcomes; 4) calculation of the sample size required to assess the efficacy of a new treatment with acceptable statistical power; and 5) estimation of the difficulty of recruiting an adequate sample size given the estimated prevalence or incidence of the disorder in the population and the inclusion criteria to be used

NMR backbone resonance assignment and solution secondary structure determination of human NSD1 and NSD2.

Proteins of the NSD family are histone-methyl transferases with critical functions in the regulation of chromatin structure and function. NSD1 and NSD2 are homologous proteins that function as epigenetic regulators of transcription through their abilities to catalyse histone methylation. Misregulation of NSD1 and NSD2 expression or mutations in their genes are linked to a number of human diseases such as Sotos syndrome, and cancers including acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lung cancer. The catalytic domain of both proteins contains a conserved SET domain which is involved in histone methylation. Here we report the backbone resonance assignments and secondary structure information of the catalytic domains of human NSD1 and NSD2

Application of a policy framework for the public funding of drugs for rare diseases

BACKGROUND: In many countries, decisions about the public funding of drugs are preferentially based on the results of randomized trials. For truly rare diseases, such trials are not typically available, and approaches by public payers are highly variable. In view of this, a policy framework intended to fairly evaluate these drugs was developed by the Drugs for Rare Diseases Working Group (DRDWG) at the request of the Ontario Public Drug Programs. OBJECTIVE: To report the initial experience of applying a novel evaluation framework to funding applications for drugs for rare diseases. METHODS: Retrospective observational cohort study. MEASURES: Clinical effectiveness, costs, funding recommendations, funding approval. KEY RESULTS: Between March 2008 and February 2013, eight drugs were evaluated using the DRDWG framework. The estimated average annual drug cost per patient ranged from 28,000 to 1,200,000 Canadian dollars (CAD). For five drugs, full evaluations were completed, specific funding recommendations were made by the DRDWG, and funding was approved after risk-sharing agreements with the manufacturers were negotiated. For two drugs, the disease indications were determined to be ineligible for consideration. For one drug, there was insufficient natural history data for the disease to provide a basis for recommendation. For the five drugs fully evaluated, 32 patients met the predefined eligibility criteria for funding, and five were denied based on predefined exclusion criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The framework improved transparency and consistency for evaluation and public funding of drugs for rare diseases in Ontario. The evaluation process will continue to be iteratively refined as feedback on actual versus expected clinical and economic outcomes is incorporated. © 2014 Society of General Internal Medicine

Fat quantification in MRI-defined lumbar muscles

Some studies suggest fat infiltration in the lumbar muscles (LM) is associated with lower back pain (LBP) in adults. Usually fat in MRI-defined lumbar muscles is qualitatively valuated by visual grading via a 3 point scale, whereas a quantitative continuous (0 - 100%) approach may provide a greater insight. In this paper, we propose a method to precisely quantify the fat content / infiltration in a user-defined region of the lumbar muscles, which may aid better diagnosis. The key steps are segmenting the region of interest (ROI) from the lumbar muscles, identifying the fatty regions in the segmented region based on the selected threshold and softness levels, computing the parameters (such as total and region-wise fat content percentage, total-cross sectional area (TCSA), functional cross- sectional area (FCSA)) and exporting the computations and associated patient information from the MRI, into a atabase. A standalone application using MATLAB R2010a was developed to perform the required computations along with an intuitive GUI

An interactive segmentation tool for quantifying fat in lumbar muscles using axial lumbar-spine MRI

In this paper we present an interactive tool that can be used to quantify fat infiltration in lumbar muscles, which is useful in studying fat infiltration and lower back pain (LBP) in adults. Currently, a qualitative assessment by visual grading via a 5-point scale is used to study fat infiltration in lumbar muscles from an axial view of lumbar-spine MR Images. However, a quantitative approach (on a continuous scale of 0–100%) may provide a greater insight. In this paper, we propose a method to precisely quantify the fat deposition/infiltration in a user-defined region of the lumbar muscles, which may aid better diagnosis and analysis. The key steps are interactively segmenting the region of interest (ROI) from the lumbar muscles using the well known livewire technique, identifying fatty regions in the segmented region based on variable-selection of threshold and softness levels, automatically detecting the center of the spinal column and fragmenting the lumbar muscles into smaller regions with reference to the center of the spinal column, computing key parameters [such as total and region-wise fat content percentage, total-cross sectional area (TCSA) and functional cross-sectional area (FCSA)] and exporting the computations and associated patient information from the MRI, into a database. A standalone application using MATLAB R2014a was developed to perform the required computations along with an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI)

Maintenance hemodialysis patients have high cumulative radiation exposure

Hemodialysis is associated with an increased risk of neoplasms which may result, at least in part, from exposure to ionizing radiation associated with frequent radiographic procedures. In order to estimate the average radiation exposure of those on hemodialysis, we conducted a retrospective study of 100 patients in a university-based dialysis unit followed for a median of 3.4 years. The number and type of radiological procedures were obtained from a central radiology database, and the cumulative effective radiation dose was calculated using standardized, procedure-specific radiation levels. The median annual radiation dose was 6.9 millisieverts (mSv) per patient-year. However, 14 patients had an annual cumulative effective radiation dose over 20mSv, the upper averaged annual limit for occupational exposure. The median total cumulative effective radiation dose per patient over the study period was 21.7mSv, in which 13 patients had a total cumulative effective radiation dose over 75mSv, a value reported to be associated with a 7% increased risk of cancer-related mortality. Two-thirds of the total cumulative effective radiation dose was due to CT scanning. The average radiation exposure was significantly associated with the cause of end-stage renal disease, history of ischemic heart disease, transplant waitlist status, number of in-patient hospital days over follow-up, and death during the study period. These results highlight the substantial exposure to ionizing radiation in hemodialysis patients