Educating the future workforce: building the evidence about interprofessional learning

This paper addresses the theme of interprofessional education for health and social care professionals as it effects on the development of the work force. The drivers for change in the UK, typified by the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Victoria Climbié inquiries and the response to this in the form of Department of Health policy, are discussed. The need for rapid development of the evidence base around this subject is evident form literature reviews of the impact of interprofessional education. Directions for future research and investment in this area are proposed including the need for a stronger theoretical base and for longitudinal studies over extended periods of time in order to examine short, medium and long term outcomes in relation to health care practice

Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

Molecular phylogenetic studies on the lichenicolous Xanthoriicola physciae reveal Antarctic rock-inhabiting fungi and Piedraia species among closest relatives in the Teratosphaeriaceae

The phylogenetic placement of the monotypic dematiaceous hyphomycete genus Xanthoriicola was investigated. Sequences of the nLSU region were obtained from 11 specimens of X. physciae, which formed a single clade supported both by parsimony (91 %), and maximum likelihood (100 %) bootstraps, and Bayesian Posterior Probabilities (1.0). The closest relatives in the parsimony analysis were species of Piedraria, while in the Bayesian analysis they were those of Friedmanniomyces. These three genera, along with species of Elasticomyces, Recurvomyces, Teratosphaeria, and sequences from unnamed rock-inhabiting fungi (RIF), were all members of the same major clade within Capnodiales with strong support in both analyses, and for which the family name Teratosphaeriaceae can be used pending further studies on additional taxa

Diagnosing Spin at the LHC via Vector Boson Fusion

We propose a new technique for determining the spin of new massive particles that might be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider. The method relies on pair-production of the new particles in a kinematic regime where the vector boson fusion production mechanism is enhanced. For this regime, we show that the distribution of the leading jets as a function of their relative azimuthal angle can be used to distinguish spin-0 from spin-1/2 particles. We illustrate this effect by considering the particular cases of (i) strongly-interacting, stable particles and (ii) supersymmetric particles carrying color charge. We argue that this method should be applicable in a wide range of new physics scenarios.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

A bi-directional relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life : evidence from the longitudinal AusDiab study

Objective: To assess the prospective relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life, including a novel assessment of the impact of health-related quality of life on weight gain.Design and setting: Longitudinal, national, population-based Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study, with surveys conducted in 1999/2000 and 2004/2005.Participants: A total of 5985 men and women aged 25 years at study entry.Main outcome measure(s): At both time points, height, weight and waist circumference were measured and self-report data on health-related quality of life from the SF-36 questionnaire were obtained. Cross-sectional and bi-directional, prospective associations between obesity categories and health-related quality of life were assessed.Results: Higher body mass index (BMI) at baseline was associated with deterioration in health-related quality of life over 5 years for seven of the eight health-related quality of life domains in women (all P0.01, with the exception of mental health, P&gt;0.05), and six out of eight in men (all P&lt;0.05, with the exception of role-emotional, P=0.055, and mental health, P&gt;0.05). Each of the quality-of-life domains related to mental health as well as the mental component summary were inversely associated with BMI change (all P&lt;0.0001 for women and P0.01 for men), with the exception of vitality, which was significant in women only (P=0.008). For the physical domains, change in BMI was inversely associated with baseline general health in women only (P=0.023).Conclusions: Obesity was associated with a deterioration in health-related quality of life (including both physical and mental health domains) in this cohort of Australian adults followed over 5 years. Health-related quality of life was also a predictor of weight gain over 5 years, indicating a bi-directional association between obesity and health-related quality of life. The identification of those with poor health-related quality of life may be important in assessing the risk of future weight gain, and a focus on health-related quality of life may be beneficial in weight management strategies.<br /

Diet and Nondiet Predictors of Urinary 3-Phenoxybenzoic Acid in NHANES 1999–2002

3-Phenoxybenzoic acid (3PBA), a pyrethroid metabolite, was detected in 75% of urine samples analyzed for pesticides in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002. NHANES also includes 24-hr diet data and information on household pesticide use, activities, occupation, demographics, and other exposure factors.The objective of our study was to explore the relative importance of diet versus nondiet predictors in explaining variability in urinary 3PBA. A secondary objective was to explore whether the NHANES data could be used to identify particular foods driving 3PBA levels.We divided subjects into child (6-10 years of age), teen (11-18 years), and adult (&gt; or = 19 years) age groups and restricted our analyses to subjects in the morning sampling session who fasted for &gt; or = 8 hr beforehand. Regression modeling consisted of several model-building steps and a final Tobit regression on the left-censored log 3PBA measurements. We also conducted bootstrap analyses to evaluate the stability of the regression parameters.Reported household pesticide use was not significantly associated with urinary 3PBA in any age group. Diet was significant for all three groups, and certain foods appeared to contribute more than others. Among adults, tobacco use was positively associated with 3PBA (p = 0.0326), and positive associations were suggested with the number of cytochrome p450-inhibiting medications taken (p = 0.0652) and minutes spent gardening (p = 0.0613) in the past month.Although exploratory, our findings underline the importance of collecting accurate data on household pesticide use and dietary intake when evaluating pyrethroid exposure-biomarker relationships

Tertiary hypothyroidism in a dog

<p/> <p>A nine-year-old male entire Labrador was diagnosed with pituitary dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Following seven months of successful mitotane therapy, the dog presented with marked weight gain, seborrhoea and alopecia. Routine clinicopathological analyses revealed marked hypercholesterolaemia. Serum total and free thyroxine (T4) concentrations were below their respective reference ranges. Serum thyroid stimulating hormone (cTSH) concentration was within reference range. TSH and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) response tests revealed adequate stimulation of total T4 in both, and cTSH in the latter test. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a mass arising from the pituitary fossa, with suprasellar extension. A diagnosis of tertiary hypothyroidism was made. Following four weeks of levothyroxine therapy, circulating cholesterol concentration had declined, weight loss had ensued and dermatological abnormalities had improved. Euthanasia was performed four months later due to the development of neurological signs. A highly infiltrative pituitary adenoma, with effacement of the overlying hypothalamus was identified on post mortem examination. Tertiary hypothyroidism has not been previously reported in dogs.</p

Basic Amino Acid Mutations in the Nuclear Localization Signal of Hibiscus Chlorotic Ringspot Virus p23 Inhibit Virus Long Distance Movement

10.1371/journal.pone.0074000PLoS ONE89-POLN

Increased Serum and Musculotendinous Fibrogenic Proteins following Persistent Low-Grade Inflammation in a Rat Model of Long-Term Upper Extremity Overuse.

We examined the relationship between grip strength declines and muscle-tendon responses induced by long-term performance of a high-repetition, low-force (HRLF) reaching task in rats. We hypothesized that grip strength declines would correlate with inflammation, fibrosis and degradation in flexor digitorum muscles and tendons. Grip strength declined after training, and further in weeks 18 and 24, in reach limbs of HRLF rats. Flexor digitorum tissues of reach limbs showed low-grade increases in inflammatory cytokines: IL-1β after training and in week 18, IL-1α in week 18, TNF-α and IL-6 after training and in week 24, and IL-10 in week 24, with greater increases in tendons than muscles. Similar cytokine increases were detected in serum with HRLF: IL-1α and IL-10 in week 18, and TNF-α and IL-6 in week 24. Grip strength correlated inversely with IL-6 in muscles, tendons and serum, and TNF-α in muscles and serum. Four fibrogenic proteins, TGFB1, CTGF, PDGFab and PDGFbb, and hydroxyproline, a marker of collagen synthesis, increased in serum in HRLF weeks 18 or 24, concomitant with epitendon thickening, increased muscle and tendon TGFB1 and CTGF. A collagenolytic gelatinase, MMP2, increased by week 18 in serum, tendons and muscles of HRLF rats. Grip strength correlated inversely with TGFB1 in muscles, tendons and serum; with CTGF-immunoreactive fibroblasts in tendons; and with MMP2 in tendons and serum. Thus, motor declines correlated with low-grade systemic and musculotendinous inflammation throughout task performance, and increased fibrogenic and degradative proteins with prolonged task performance. Serum TNF-α, IL-6, TGFB1, CTGF and MMP2 may serve as serum biomarkers of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, although further studies in humans are needed

Exposure Assessment in the National Children’s Study: Introduction

The science of exposure assessment is relatively new and evolving rapidly with the advancement of sophisticated methods for specific measurements at the picogram per gram level or lower in a variety of environmental and biologic matrices. Without this measurement capability, environmental health studies rely on questionnaires or other indirect means as the primary method to assess individual exposures. Although we use indirect methods, they are seldom used as stand-alone tools. Analyses of environmental and biologic samples have allowed us to get more precise data on exposure pathways, from sources to concentrations, to routes, to exposure, to doses. They also often allow a better estimation of the absorbed dose and its relation to potential adverse health outcomes in individuals and in populations. Here, we make note of various environmental agents and how best to assess exposure to them in the National Children’s Study—a longitudinal epidemiologic study of children’s health. Criteria for the analytical method of choice are discussed with particular emphasis on the need for long-term quality control and quality assurance measures