A Way With Words: A Unique Approach to Literacy and Career Development

This article describes a unique collaboration between the Career Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia Public Schools and the community. A WAY WITH WORDS is an America Reads community literacy program that has enriched the educational experience of graduate, undergraduate and K-5 students since 1996. Teams of undergraduate volunteers led by graduate students in Counseling Psychology and Educational Leadership (ELPA) tutor local children in an effort to increase literacy. The teams interact and communicate with children, parents, teachers and principals as they serve during school and in after-school programs that they co create with school administrators and community members. Tremendous opportunities exist for learning about socio-economically and increasing ethnically diverse communities. During a biweekly seminar, team leaders lead career exploration activities that focus on mentoring, multicultural issues and team building. The program seeks to cultivate civic responsibility as an aspect of career development through communication, relatedness and reflection

Food security in the Americas: The need for a new development model

Se aborda la situación económica mundial inestable, para el 2009; la crisis financiera influyendo al mercado en la crisis de los alimentos. Se presentan varias estrategias de corto, mediano y largo plazo para resolver el problema, con respecto a la iniciativa que tiene el IICA con sus países miembros, en fomento a la seguridad alimentaria para emprender o reforzar las acciones a favor.The unstable world economic situation is addressed for 2009; the financial crisis influencing the market in the food crisis. Several short, medium and long-term strategies are presented to solve the problem, with respect to the initiative that IICA has with its member countries to promote food security in order to undertake or reinforce actions in favor of it.1. Algunas respuestas en el plano internacional; 2. La visión del IICA y su respuesta a las necesidades de nuestros Estados Miembros; 3. El camino por seguir ¿cuáles son las respuestas y los desafíos en los países?; 4. Un nuevo modelo de desarrollo

Clinical Partners’/Emergency Techs’ Work Relationships and Job Satisfaction

Purpose: Clinical Partners (CPs) and Emergency Techs (ETs) are direct care bedside workers on the nursing units. CPs/ETs are generally considered to be ancillary personnel with little decision making functions and subject to the decisions made by others for them. Fulfilling the responsibilities of a CP/ETs requires a working relationship with the nurses that manage and direct their work functions. Yet, in patient care, the CPs/ETs are the di-rect care bedside workers and their actions and decisions make a difference in patient care. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships among the CPs’/ETs’ perceptions of their work relationships with RN team managers, sense of empowerment as team members, and their job satisfaction. Methods: The study was a descriptive correlational design using paper and pencil. Besides demographic questions, the study utilized two instruments, the Clinical Partner Work Environment Scale (CPWE) and the Benjamin Rose Nurse Assistant Job Satisfaction Scale (BRNAS). The surveys were anonymous and participation was voluntary. The sur-veys were distributed to CPs and ETs on the four medical-surgical units, ICU-PACU, and the Emergency Department at Doctors Hospital. Results: A total of 56 CPs/ETs participated in the study. Our results indicate that our CPs/ETs are fairly satisfied with their positions, but are least satisfied with the pay they receive. Furthermore, respondents indicated a lower level of satisfaction with the amount of time they have to perform their jobs, cooperation between nurse team manag-ers & coworkers, the amount of support they receive to perform their jobs, and their chances to talk about concerns. Conclusion: Job satisfaction of CPs/ETs may be linked to a number of variables of interest to healthcare administrators, including quality of care and clinical outcomes. Sat-isfied employees are less likely to leave an institution, thus investing in employees’ job sat-isfaction may help retain existing employees and attract new ones, lowering costs, and im-proving the continuity and quality of care. Nursing leaders must create positive work en-vironments that fosters teamwork and mutual respect in a supportive shared governance structure

Historic Image Gallery for the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas

Historic images curated at the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) have been digitized and uploaded to the collections of the Center for Regional Heritage Research in the institutional repository of Stephen F. Austin State University. Searchable metadata is included with each image, and metadata can be harvested through the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). All images are made available at three resolutions; full, medium, and thumbnail, and are available for download under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/). Data in the collection is compliant with the new European Union General Data Protection Regulation, ensuring compliance with the most recent privacy guidelines

High prevalence of albuminuria amongst people who inject drugs: A cross-sectional study.

Albuminuria is a key biomarker for cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. Our study aimed to describe the prevalence of albuminuria amongst people who inject drugs in London and to test any potential associations with demographic characteristics, past diagnoses, and drug preparation and administration practices. We carried out a cross-sectional survey amongst people who use drugs in London. The main outcome measure was any albuminuria including both microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria. Three-hundred and sixteen samples were tested by local laboratory services. Our study initially employed point-of-care testing methods but this resulted in a high number of false positives. Our findings suggest the prevalence of albuminuria amongst PWID is twice that of the general population at 19% (95%CI 15.3-24.0%). Risk factors associated with albuminuria were HIV (aOR 4.11 [95% CI 1.37-12.38]); followed by overuse of acidifier for dissolving brown heroin prior to injection (aOR 2.10 [95% CI 1.04-4.22]). Albuminuria is high amongst people who inject drugs compared to the general population suggesting the presence of increased cardiovascular and renal pathologies. This is the first study to demonstrate an association with acidifier overuse. Dehydration may be common amongst this population and may affect the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care testing for albuminuria

Injecting-related health harms and overuse of acidifiers among people who inject heroin and crack cocaine in London: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Venous access is a priority for people who inject drugs (PWID). Damage and scarring of peripheral veins can exacerbate health harms, such as skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), and promote transitions to femoral and subcutaneous injecting. Brown heroin available in Europe requires acidification for injection preparation. In this paper, we present mixed-methods data to explore our hypothesis of a link between overly acidic injection solutions, venous damage and SSTI risk. METHODS: We present a structured survey (n = 455) and in-depth qualitative interview (n = 31) data generated with PWID in London for the Care & Prevent study. Participants provided life history data and detail on injecting environments and drug preparation practices, including the use of acidifiers. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using a logistic regression for binary outcomes to explore associations between outcomes and excessive acidifier use. Grounded theory principles informed inductive qualitative analysis. Mixed-methods triangulation was iterative with results comparison informing the direction and questions asked of further analyses. RESULTS: Of the 455 participants, most (92%) injected heroin and/or crack cocaine, with 84% using citric as their primary acid for drug preparation. Overuse of acidifier was common: of the 418 who provided an estimate, 36% (n = 150) used more than ½ a sachet, with 30% (n = 127) using a whole sachet or more. We found associations between acidifier overuse, femoral injecting and DVT, but not SSTI. Qualitative accounts highlight the role of poor heroin quality, crack cocaine use, information and manufacturing constraints in acidifier overuse. Painful injections and damage to peripheral veins were common and often attributed to the use of citric acid. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce injecting-related injury and associated consequences, it is crucial to understand the interplay of environmental and practice-based risks underpinning venous damage among PWID. Overuse of acidifier is a modifiable risk factor. In the absence of structural supports such as safe injecting facilities or the prescribing of pharmaceutical diamorphine, there is an urgent need to revisit injecting paraphernalia design and distribution in order to alleviate health harms and distress among the most marginalised

Phase variation of a Type IIG restriction-modification enzyme alters site-specific methylation patterns and gene expression in Campylobacter jejuni strain NCTC11168

Phase-variable restriction-modification systems are a feature of a diverse range of bacterial species. Stochastic, reversible switches in expression of the methyltransferase produces variation in methylation of specific sequences. Phase-variable methylation by both Type I and Type III methyltransferases is associated with altered gene expression and phenotypic variation. One phase-variable gene of Campylobacter jejuni encodes a homologue of an unusual Type IIG restriction-modification system in which the endonuclease and methyltransferase are encoded by a single gene. Using both inhibition of restriction and PacBio-derived methylome analyses of mutants and phase-variants, the cj0031c allele in C. jejuni strain NCTC11168 was demonstrated to specifically methylate adenine in 5′CCCGA and 5′CCTGA sequences. Alterations in the levels of specific transcripts were detected using RNA-Seq in phase-variants and mutants of cj0031c but these changes did not correlate with observed differences in phenotypic behaviour. Alterations in restriction of phage growth were also associated with phase variation (PV) of cj0031c and correlated with presence of sites in the genomes of these phages. We conclude that PV of a Type IIG restriction-modification system causes changes in site-specific methylation patterns and gene expression patterns that may indirectly change adaptive traits

Sexual Priming, Gender Stereotyping, and Likelihood to Sexually Harass: Examining the Cognitive Effects of Playing a Sexually-Explicit Video Game

The present study examines the short-term cognitive effects of playing a sexually explicit video game with female “objectification” content on male players. Seventy-four male students from a university in California, U.S. participated in a laboratory experiment. They were randomly assigned to play either a sexually-explicit game or one of two control games. Participants’ cognitive accessibility to sexual and sexually objectifying thoughts was measured in a lexical decision task. A likelihood-to-sexually-harass scale was also administered. Results show that playing a video game with the theme of female “objectification” may prime thoughts related to sex, encourage men to view women as sex objects, and lead to self-reported tendencies to behave inappropriately towards women in social situations

'Care and Prevent': rationale for investigating skin and soft tissue infections and AA amyloidosis among people who inject drugs in London.

BACKGROUND: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people who inject drugs (PWID). International data indicate up to one third of PWID have experienced an SSTI within the past month. Complications include sepsis, endocarditis and amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis. AA amyloidosis is a serious sequela of chronic SSTI among PWID. Though there is a paucity of literature reporting on AA amyloidosis among PWID, what has been published suggests there is likely a causal relationship between AA amyloidosis and injecting-related SSTI. If left untreated, AA amyloidosis can lead to renal failure; premature mortality among diagnosed PWID is high. Early intervention may reverse disease. Despite the high societal and individual burden of SSTI among PWID, empirical evidence on the barriers and facilitators to injecting-related SSTI prevention and care or the feasibility and acceptability of AA amyloidosis screening and treatment referral are limited. This study aims to fill these gaps and assess the prevalence of AA amyloidosis among PWID. METHODS: Care and Prevent is a UK National Institute for Health Research-funded mixed-methods study. In five phases (P1-P5), we aim to assess the evidence for AA amyloidosis among PWID (P1); assess the feasibility of AA amyloidosis screening, diagnostic and treatment referral among PWID in London (P2); investigate the barriers and facilitators to AA amyloidosis care (P3); explore SSTI protection and risk (P4); and co-create harm reduction resources with the affected community (P5). This paper describes the conceptual framework, methodological design and proposed analysis for the mixed-methods multi-phase study. RESULTS: We are implementing the Care and Prevent protocol in London. The systematic review component of the study has been completed and published. Care and Prevent will generate an estimate of AA amyloidosis prevalence among community recruited PWID in London, with implications for the development of screening recommendations and intervention implementation. We aim to recruit 400 PWID from drug treatment services in London, UK. CONCLUSIONS: Care and Prevent is the first study to assess screening feasibility and the prevalence of positive proteinuria, as a marker for AA amyloidosis, among PWID accessing drug treatment services. AA amyloidosis is a serious, yet under-recognised condition for which early intervention is available but not employed