The Deans\u27 Roundtable

The Deans\u27 Roundtable

Understanding the extent of polypharmacy and its impact on outcomes among persons with cancer and multimorbidity

Cancer often co-occurs with other chronic conditions, and despite the high prevalence of multimorbidity (MMB) in this group, conditions are often treated individually, resulting in multiple prescriptions. Polypharmacy commonly defined as the use of five or more medications, is more common among people with MMB and is associated with a number of adverse outcomes (i.e., increased health service utilization and death). The literature sufficiently describes the occurrence and associated adverse outcomes among older adults; however, there are limited studies on this topic in younger adults. Objectives: The aim of this current study is to examine polypharmacy and its impact among adults 18 years or older with cancer and other chronic diseases. Specifically, it examines the prevalence of polypharmacy across age, sex, MMB level, and type of cancer. It also assesses the relationship between polypharmacy, high use of health services (i.e., emergency room visits, hospitalization) and death, while controlling for other factors

Examining Fully Online Degree Students\u27 Perceptions of Online Student Support Services: A Mixed Method Study Using Grounded Theory and Rasch Analysis

The higher education market is becoming much more competitive as more students are attracted to online courses and online degree programs. In order to remain competitive, higher education institutions must provide students access to online support services. However, an online student support services plan is an often overlooked component of an online initiative even though it is a critical factor in the overall success of an online program. This research specifically focuses on online student support services for students enrolled in fully online degree programs in an effort to identify the most important online student support services from students’ perspectives, students’ perceptions of quality of services offered and, correlations between perceptions of importance and satisfaction. This study employed a mixed method design. Data was collected through semi-structured phone interviews as well as through an online survey with Likert-type questions. Students’ perceived satisfaction and importance levels were explored by analyzing online survey items according to five areas. The five areas were: 1) Institutional Perceptions; 2) Academic Services; 3) Enrollment Services; 4) Student Services; and 5) Online Community. In total, 22 fully online degree students were interviewed and 206 fully online degree students completed and returned the online survey. Grounded Theory was used to analyze the interview data and the Rasch model was used to analyze the survey data. Pearson correlation results indicated that there were positive relationships between importance and satisfaction for each of the five scales analyzed in this study. However, despite the fact that there were small percentages of online survey participants that reported low satisfaction levels with services that were important to them, interview participants reported that they would like access to more online services that were not currently available to them, such as: internship programs, a writing center, professional tutors with content expertise, career services (expanded to include territories/regions of online students), and health services. Findings also indicated that online services could be improved by integrating more options for live interaction with online support services staff. Additionally, the results revealed that online degree student satisfaction is highly dependent on receiving timely responses from online services staff. This dissertation introduces the Importance, Quality and Satisfaction (IQS) Framework. This framework is formed by four domains: services, individuals, systems and environment. By implementing an IQS Framework, institutions have the opportunity to increase student satisfaction levels by providing higher quality and better delivery of their services, systems and environment

The importance of being informed: forecasting market risk measures for the Russian RTS index future using online data and implied volatility over two decades

This paper focuses on the forecasting of market risk measures for the Russian RTS index future, and examines whether augmenting a large class of volatility models with implied volatility and Google Trends data improves the quality of the estimated risk measures. We considered a time sample of daily data from 2006 till 2019, which includes several episodes of large-scale turbulence in the Russian future market. We found that the predictive power of several models did not increase if these two variables were added, but actually decreased. The worst results were obtained when these two variables were added jointly and during periods of high volatility, when parameters estimates became very unstable. Moreover, several models augmented with these variables did not reach numerical convergence. Our empirical evidence shows that, in the case of Russian future markets, T-GARCH models with implied volatility and student’s t errors are better choices if robust market risk measures are of concern

The importance of being informed: forecasting market risk measures for the Russian RTS index future using online data and implied volatility over two decades

This paper focuses on the forecasting of market risk measures for the Russian RTS index future, and examines whether augmenting a large class of volatility models with implied volatility and Google Trends data improves the quality of the estimated risk measures. We considered a time sample of daily data from 2006 till 2019, which includes several episodes of large-scale turbulence in the Russian future market. We found that the predictive power of several models did not increase if these two variables were added, but actually decreased. The worst results were obtained when these two variables were added jointly and during periods of high volatility, when parameters estimates became very unstable. Moreover, several models augmented with these variables did not reach numerical convergence. Our empirical evidence shows that, in the case of Russian future markets, T-GARCH models with implied volatility and student’s t errors are better choices if robust market risk measures are of concern

Dissipation Rate of Turbulent Kinetic Energy in Diel Vertical Migrations: Comparison of ANSYS Fluent Model to Measurements

Recent studies suggest that diel vertical migrations of zooplankton may have an impact on ocean mixing, though details are not completely clear. A strong sound scattering layer of zooplankton undergoing diel vertical migrations was observed in Saanich Inlet, British Colombia, Canada by Kunze et al. (2006). In this study, a shipboard 200- kHz echosounder was used to track vertical motion of the sound scattering layer, and microstructure profiles were collected to observe turbulence. An increase of dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy by four to five orders of magnitude was measured during diel vertical migrations of zooplankton in one case (but not observed during other cases). A strong sound scattering layer undergoing diel vertical migration was also observed in the Straits of Florida via a bottom mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler at 244 m isobath. A 3-D non-hydrostatic computational fluid dynamics model with Lagrangian particle injections (a proxy for migrating zooplankton) via a discrete phase model was used to simulate the effect of diel vertical migrations on the turbulence for both Saanich Inlet and the Straits of Florida. The model was initialized with idealized (but based on observation) density and velocity profiles. Particles, with buoyancy adjusted to serve as a proxy for vertically swimming zooplankton, were injected to simulate diel vertical migration cycles. Results of models run with extreme concentrations of particles showed an increase in dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy of approximately five orders of magnitude over background turbulence during migration of particles in both Saanich Inlet and the Straits of Florida cases (though direct relation of the turbulence produced by buoyant particles and swimming organisms isn’t straightforward). This increase was quantitatively consistent, with turbulence measurements by Kunze et al. (2006). When 10 times fewer particles were injected into the model, the effect on dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy was an order of magnitude smaller than that from the extreme concentration. At a concentration of particles 100 times smaller than the extreme concentration, there was no longer an observable effect. In the Straits of Florida, direct turbulence measurements were not available to make a quantitative comparison. However, a small, but statistically significant decrease in northward current velocity profiles during migration times were observed after averaging these profiles over 11 months. A small decrease of current velocity connected to the vertical migrations of particles was reproduced in the Straits of Florida model case. The deviations in the velocity profiles can be explained by the increase in turbulent mixing during vertical migration periods

SIMPLY ONLINE SHOP PENJUALAN BAJU ONLINE MURAH DAN BERKUALITAS

Kegiatan Kewirausahaan ini di latarbelakangi oleh semakin meningkatnya permintaan akan berbagai macam model pakaian. Akhir-akhir ini masyarakat Indonesia lebih senang untuk memilih berbelanja secara online. Hal ini terlihat dari semakin banyaknya situs jual beli online yang beredar di dunia maya. Keadaan ini membuat peluang usaha jual beli online terbuka lebar. Usaha jual beli online khususnya pakaian yang di design menarik dan menawarkan harga yang murah menjadi usaha yang menjanjikan. Selain peluang usaha yang terbuka lebar, bisnis jual beli online juga sebagai sebuah sarana untuk memperluas ruang lingkup perdagangan di Indonesia. Adapun tujuan dari kegiatan ini adalah menumbuhkan jiwa kewirausahaan di kalangan mahasiswa untuk mendorong terciptanya wirausahawan muda yang memiliki tanggungjawab dalam mengelola usahanya, dapat memanfaatkan sosial media untuk hal yang bermanfaat khususnya di bidang bisnis, mengajarkan mahasiswa untuk terjun langsung dalam dunia perdagangan Indonesia. Target khusus dari kegiatan ini adalah menjual barang kualitas yang baik dengan harga yang terjangkau bagi masyarakat dari berbagai kalangan sebagai sebuah upaya peningkatan kesejahteraan serta menjadi salah satu usaha kreatif mahasiswa yang nantinya dapat membuka lapangan kerja baru serta memperoleh profit yang sebesar-besarnya

DNA, spectroscopic and geochemical analyses of bone fragments and associated speleothems in Postojna cave, Slovenia

a loose/broken stalagmite containing small fragments of cemented bones were collected from the Postojna Cave to investigate whether deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) can be determined. The study is complemented by the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy - attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) analysis in order to determine the alteration of the bones and to test whether this analysis can be used as an indicator of possible DNA preservation. In addition, geochemical analyses were conducted in order to determine whether the associated flowstone/stalagmite is suitable for elucidating the timing of bone thanatocoenosis and further palaeoenvironmental analyses. The organic matter (collagen) is poorly preserved. However, we succeeded in amplifying a 94 bp long fragment of the cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for one sample, and in sequencing the amto that of the Cyt b of the cave bear (Ursus deningeri or Ursus spelaeus sensu lato). The uranium-thorium dating of the speleothem covering the bones revealed its thanatocoenosis occurred prior to 55 ka, most likely in the late marine isotope stage 4 or early marine isotope stage 3. High porosity and recrystallisation of the flowstone/stalagmite at this part of the cave prevent high-resolution palaeoclimatic interpretation; however, low-resolution stable isotope geochemistry suggests a steppe-like environment during the subsequent growth of the speleothem.Iz Postojnske jame so bili vzeti delci kosti, prevlečeni s kalcitno skorjo, vključno z odlomljenim stalagmitom, v katerem so zacementirani drobci kosti, da bi se ugotovilo, ali je mogoče določiti deoksiribonukleinsko kislino (DNA). Študijo dopolnjuje analiza s Fourierevo transformacijsko infrardečo spektroskopijo z zmanjšanim popolnim odbojem (FTIR-ATR), ki je bila izvedena, da se ugotovijo biokemične spremembe v kosteh in se preveri, ali je mogoče to analizo uporabiti kot kazalnik morebitne ohranjenosti DNA. Izvedene so bile tudi geokemijske analize, da bi ugotovili, ali je pripadajoča siga primerna za razlago časa kostne tanatocenoze in nadaljnje paleookoljske analize. Organska snov (kolagen) je slabo ohranjena. Pri enem vzorcu nam je z verižno reakcijo s polimerazo (PCR) uspelo pomnožiti 94 bp dolg fragment gena za citokrom b (Cyt b) mitohondrijske DNA (mtDNA) in pomnožene produkte smo uspešno sekvencirali. Dobljeno zaporedje dolžine 70 bp ustreza zaporedju Cytb jamskega medveda (Ursus deningeri ali Ursus spelaeus sensu lato). U-Th datacija sige, ki pokriva kosti, nakazuje, da se je tanatocenoza pojavila pred 55 ka, najverjetneje v fazi MIS 4 ali MIS 3. Visoka poroznost in rekristalizacija sige v tem delu jame preprečujeta paleoklimatsko interpretacijo visoke ločljivosti, geokemija stabilnih izotopov z nizko ločljivostjo pa nakazuje na stepi podobno okolje

Expression of ABCA4 in the retinal pigment epithelium and its implications for Stargardt macular degeneration.

Recessive Stargardt disease (STGD1) is an inherited blinding disorder caused by mutations in the Abca4 gene. ABCA4 is a flippase in photoreceptor outer segments (OS) that translocates retinaldehyde conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine across OS disc membranes. Loss of ABCA4 in Abca4 -/- mice and STGD1 patients causes buildup of lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and degeneration of photoreceptors, leading to blindness. No effective treatment currently exists for STGD1. Here we show by several approaches that ABCA4 is additionally expressed in RPE cells. (i) By in situ hybridization analysis and by RNA-sequencing analysis, we show the Abca4 mRNA is expressed in human and mouse RPE cells. (ii) By quantitative immunoblotting, we show that the level of ABCA4 protein in homogenates of wild-type mouse RPE is about 1% of the level in neural retina homogenates. (iii) ABCA4 immunofluorescence is present in RPE cells of wild-type and Mertk -/- but not Abca4 -/- mouse retina sections, where it colocalizes with endolysosomal proteins. To elucidate the role of ABCA4 in RPE cells, we generated a line of genetically modified mice that express ABCA4 in RPE cells but not in photoreceptors. Mice from this line on the Abca4 -/- background showed partial rescue of photoreceptor degeneration and decreased lipofuscin accumulation compared with nontransgenic Abca4 -/- mice. We propose that ABCA4 functions to recycle retinaldehyde released during proteolysis of rhodopsin in RPE endolysosomes following daily phagocytosis of distal photoreceptor OS. ABCA4 deficiency in the RPE may play a role in the pathogenesis of STGD1

The Impact of Nutrition and Health Claims on Consumer Perceptions and Portion Size Selection: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey

Nutrition and health claims on foods can help consumers make healthier food choices. However, claims may have a ‘halo’ effect, influencing consumer perceptions of foods and increasing consumption. Evidence for these effects are typically demonstrated in experiments with small samples, limiting generalisability. The current study aimed to overcome this limitation through the use of a nationally representative survey. In a cross-sectional survey of 1039 adults across the island of Ireland, respondents were presented with three different claims (nutrition claim = “Low in fat”; health claim = “With plant sterols. Proven to lower cholesterol”; satiety claim = “Fuller for longer”) on four different foods (cereal, soup, lasagne, and yoghurt). Participants answered questions on perceived healthiness, tastiness, and fillingness of the products with different claims and also selected a portion size they would consume. Claims influenced fillingness perceptions of some of the foods. However, there was little influence of claims on tastiness or healthiness perceptions or the portion size selected. Psychological factors such as consumers’ familiarity with foods carrying claims and belief in the claims were the most consistent predictors of perceptions and portion size selection. Future research should identify additional consumer factors that may moderate the relationships between claims, perceptions, and consumption