Top Tips for Running a Virtual Advisory Board [English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin versions]

Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin translations of this publication are available to download under Additional Files. In this tip sheet, the iSPARC Stakeholder Engagement Program offers advice on how to run an advisory council virtually. It also talks about some of the benefits of having your council meet virtually. Learn more about the iSPARC Stakeholder Engagement Program here

Why Engage Frontline Staff When Implementing a New Practice? Five Important Reasons [English, Chinese and Vietnamese versions]

Chinese and Vietnamese translations of this publication are available to download under Additional Files below. This tip sheet offers five critical reasons to integrate frontline providers throughout the process of implementing a new practice, program, or policy at your organization

Stakeholder Engagement through Participatory Action Research at iSPARC

The Implementation Science & Practice-based Advances Research Center (iSPARC) is a new DMH-funded collaborative effort between the former Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center, Quantitative Health Sciences and Boston University\u27s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. With 52 core and affiliate investigators, iSPARC features five interacting programs: Stakeholder Engagement, Public Mental Health and Implementation Research, Technical Assistance and Consultation, Workforce Development, and External Funding. The mission of the Stakeholder Engagement Program is to lead the mental health research community and beyond in working in partnership with individuals with lived mental health experience, their families, and the agencies that serve them. This program intersects with several of iSPARC\u27s activities. It includes three active advisory groups with more than 20 members representing youth, individuals with lived mental health experience, and family members. These advisory groups adopt a participatory action research (PAR) approach and seek to engage community stakeholders at every stage of research, from development through enrollment and dissemination. Starting in 2018, the Stakeholder Program will seek to increase engagement and diversity through several additional initiatives. A new community provider advisory group is currently being developed and the Program is working to assess and assure diversity across all advisory groups. The Program will use a structured assessment tool and continuous quality improvement approach to measure and facilitate participatory action research across all iSPARC\u27s projects. The Program will develop and disseminate products to assist other organizations in initiating and maintaining stakeholder engagement. The proposed poster will summarize these activities and include examples of products created

Severe Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Is Associated with Circulating Ultra-Large von Willebrand Multimers and ADAMTS13 Inhibition

Plasmodium falciparum infection results in adhesion of infected erythrocytes to blood vessel endothelium, and acute endothelial cell activation, together with sequestration of platelets and leucocytes. We have previously shown that patients with severe infection or fulminant cerebral malaria have significantly increased circulatory levels of the adhesive glycoprotein von Willebrand factor (VWF) and its propeptide, both of which are indices of endothelial cell activation. In this prospective study of patients from Ghana with severe (n = 20) and cerebral (n = 13) P. falciparum malaria, we demonstrate that increased plasma VWF antigen (VWF∶Ag) level is associated with disproportionately increased VWF function. VWF collagen binding (VWF∶CB) was significantly increased in patients with cerebral malaria and severe malaria (medians 7.6 and 7.0 IU/ml versus 1.9 IU/ml; p<0.005). This increased VWF∶CB correlated with the presence of abnormal ultra-large VWF multimers in patient rather than control plasmas. Concomitant with the increase in VWF∶Ag and VWF∶CB was a significant persistent reduction in the activity of the VWF-specific cleaving protease ADAMTS13 (∼55% of normal; p<0.005). Mixing studies were performed using P. falciparum patient plasma and normal pooled plasma, in the presence or absence of exogenous recombinant ADAMTS13. These studies demonstrated that in malarial plasma, ADAMTS13 function was persistently inhibited in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, this inhibitory effect was not associated with the presence of known inhibitors of ADAMTS13 enzymatic function (interleukin-6, free haemoglobin, factor VIII or thrombospondin-1). These novel findings suggest that severe P. falciparum infection is associated with acute endothelial cell activation, abnormal circulating ULVWF multimers, and a significant reduction in plasma ADAMTS13 function which is mediated at least in part by an unidentified inhibitor

Genome sequence of the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans):Vector of African trypanosomiasis

Tsetse flies are the sole vectors of human African trypanosomiasis throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Both sexes of adult tsetse feed exclusively on blood and contribute to disease transmission. Notable differences between tsetse and other disease vectors include obligate microbial symbioses, viviparous reproduction, and lactation. Here, we describe the sequence and annotation of the 366-megabase Glossina morsitans morsitans genome. Analysis of the genome and the 12,308 predicted protein-encoding genes led to multiple discoveries, including chromosomal integrations of bacterial (Wolbachia) genome sequences, a family of lactation-specific proteins, reduced complement of host pathogen recognition proteins, and reduced olfaction/chemosensory associated genes. These genome data provide a foundation for research into trypanosomiasis prevention and yield important insights with broad implications for multiple aspects of tsetse biology.IS

Plasma ADAMTS13 activity inhibition in <i>P. falciparum</i> malaria.

<p>(A&B) To investigate further the mechanisms responsible for the marked and discrepant increase in plasma VWF∶CB, and the significant reduction in ADAMTS13 activity, we investigated the effects of mixing malaria plasma with normal plasma. Plasma from four different children (□, ●, △, ◆) with SM (each with baseline ADAMTS13 activities of ∼0.4 U/dl) were mixed in various proportions with pooled normal plasma, and ADAMTS13 activity determined. No evidence of an immediate ADAMTS13 inhibitor effect was observed (<a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000349#ppat-1000349-g004" target="_blank">Fig 4A</a>). However following incubation at 37°C for 15 min or 30 min (<a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000349#ppat-1000349-g004" target="_blank">Fig 4B</a>), significant ADAMTS13 inhibition was observed in malaria plasmas at either 75%∶25% (▲), or 50%∶50% (●), but not in normal control plasma (□). All results represent mean±SEM. (C) To further investigate whether malarial plasma contained an ADAMTS13 inhibitor, individual malaria plasma samples (n = 4) and control plasmas (n = 4) were spiked with recombinant human ADAMTS13. Again, significant inhibition of rADAMTS13 activity (means±SEM) was observed only in malaria plasma (◆) but not in normal plasma (■).</p

Factors influencing decision-making for caesarean section in Sweden - a qualitative study

Background: Rising rates of caesarean section (CS) are a concern in many countries, yet Sweden has managed to maintain low CS rates. Exploring the multifactorial and complex reasons behind the rising trend in CS has become an important goal for health professionals. The aim of the study was to explore Swedish obstetricians' and midwives' perceptions of the factors influencing decision-making for CS in nulliparous women in Sweden. Methods: A qualitative design was chosen to gain in-depth understanding of the factors influencing the decision-making process for CS. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Four audio-recorded focus group interviews (FGIs), using an interview guide with open ended questions, were conducted with eleven midwives and five obstetricians from two selected Swedish maternity hospitals after obtaining written consent from each participant. Data were managed using NVivo (c) and thematically analysed. Ethical approval was granted by Trinity College Dublin. Results: The thematic analysis resulted in three main themes; 'Belief in normal birth - a cultural perspective'; 'Clarity and consistency - a system perspective' and 'Obstetrician makes the final decision, but ...', and each theme contained a number of subthemes. However, 'Belief in normal birth' emerged as the core central theme, overarching the other two themes. Conclusion: Findings suggest that believing that normal birth offers women and babies the best possible outcome contributes to having and maintaining a low CS rate. Both midwives and obstetricians agreed that having a shared belief (in normal birth), a common goal (of achieving normal birth) and providing mainly midwife-led care within a 'team approach' helped them achieve their goal and keep their CS rate low