Thinking Practice: The Social Work Integral Model

Social workers are bound by the mission, values, and ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Yet a broad, transtheoretical model accounting for these core principles and guiding identification of clinically and ethically sound daily praxis decisions is lacking in the field\u27s literature and practice wisdom. Such a model could aid in assuring dependably sound social worker actions; socialization of colleagues; clearer guidelines for teaching, supervision, and ethical review of peers; and accreditation of educational programs. The Social Work Integral Model (SWIM) emerged from field practice and scholarship for instructional use and addresses this conceptual gap. Further, congruence of the SWIM with Ken Wilber\u27s model of Integral Science suggests SWIM is a theoretical, as well as a practical, advance for the field

Hannah Michelle Garner in a Senior Soprano Recital

This is the program for the senior soprano recital of Hannah Michelle Garner. Ms. Garner was accompanied on the piano by Susan Monroe. This recital took place on February 28, 2013, in the McBeth Recital Hall in the Mabee Fine Arts Center

Advancing Discussion of Federal Faith-based Social Service Policies through Overview and Application of Established Health Services Research Models

Since the 1990s, federal policies have allowed public funds to support social services provided through pervasively faith-based organizations (FBOs). Public and academic discourse on these policies tends to be marked by limited data, narrow scope, and the lack of an appropriate analytic framework to adequately consider and critique the merits of the policies, as social workers are compelled to do. The goals of this study are to identify, and preliminarily apply, an established policy analysis model appropriate for use with FBO policy in order to progress discussion. Health service researchers Aday, Begley, Lairson, and Balkrishnan (2004) provide a theoretically based policy analysis framework, which is appropriate for this task and for use by social workers. Their effectiveness, efficiency, and equity policy analysis model is presented along with data and analysis intended to help frame and progress productive discussions on FBO policies within and beyond the profession

Reflections on being regulated: the value of preparing for inspection on enhancing the staff and student experience

Michelle Garner discusses the Assistant Practitioner in Health & Social Care Level 5 Higher Level Apprenticeships at the University of Cumbria and the recent OFSTED inspection the apprenticeships underwent. Presented in the 'Excellence in Learning & Teaching' theme at this conference

The challenge of conducting qualitative research to understand the factors that influence equity in medical education: A scoping review

Introduction There are national and international concerns about equity in basic and postgraduate medical education, especially about differential rates of access and attainment across groups of learners. Qualitative research has been increasingly used to understand the factors that influence equity but there are potential limitations to this understanding related to how the research has been conducted. The aim of the scoping review was to identify how qualitative research exploring the factors that influence equity in basic and postgraduate medical education has been conducted. The intention was to inform future research. Methods The electronic databases British Education Index, Campbell Library, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ERIC, Google Scholar, Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC), MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and medical education journals were searched to identify relevant published articles between 2008 and April 2019. Results Among 19,523 articles identified from the literature search, 72 full text articles were included in the review. Most studies had a focus on only one background characteristic and only two studies had a strengths-based focus on individuals. Recommendations for change was at the ‘policy level’ in ten studies and four studies had learner recommendations for change. No studies with a participatory approach were identified. Conclusion The approach to conducting previous qualitative research appears to limit greater understanding of the complexity of factors that influence equity. In response to this challenge, we recommend that future research widen the focus to consider the experiences and strengths of individual learners in addition to those identified by background characteristics. Future qualitative research is recommended to have a broad focus on both the ‘policy level’ and ‘local level’, especially from multiple perspectives. We also recommend greater collaboration of participants with researchers throughout the research process.</p

Phosphatidylinositol Transfer Protein, Cytoplasmic 1 (PITPNC1) Binds and Transfers Phosphatidic Acid

Phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins (PITPs) are versatile proteins required for signal transduction and membrane traffic. The best characterized mammalian PITPs are the Class I PITPs, PITPα (PITPNA) and PITPβ (PITPNB), which are single domain proteins with a hydrophobic cavity that binds a phosphatidylinositol (PI) or phosphatidylcholine molecule. In this study, we report the lipid binding properties of an uncharacterized soluble PITP, phosphatidylinositol transfer protein, cytoplasmic 1 (PITPNC1) (alternative name, RdgBβ), of the Class II family. We show that the lipid binding properties of this protein are distinct to Class I PITPs because, besides PI, RdgBβ binds and transfers phosphatidic acid (PA) but hardly binds phosphatidylcholine. RdgBβ when purified from Escherichia coli is preloaded with PA and phosphatidylglycerol. When RdgBβ was incubated with permeabilized HL60 cells, phosphatidylglycerol was released, and PA and PI were now incorporated into RdgBβ. After an increase in PA levels following activation of endogenous phospholipase D or after addition of bacterial phospholipase D, binding of PA to RdgBβ was greater at the expense of PI binding. We propose that RdgBβ, when containing PA, regulates an effector protein or can facilitate lipid transfer between membrane compartments

Microscopic Aquatic Predators Strongly Affect Infection Dynamics of a Globally Emerged Pathogen

Research on emerging infectious wildlife diseases has placed particular emphasis on host-derived barriers to infection and disease. This focus neglects important extrinsic determinants of the host/pathogen dynamic, where all barriers to infection should be considered when ascertaining the determinants of infectivity and pathogenicity of wildlife pathogens [1–3]. Those pathogens with free-living stages, such as fungi causing catastrophic wildlife declines on a global scale [4], must confront lengthy exposure to environmental barriers before contact with an uninfected host [5–8]. Hostile environmental conditions therefore have the ability to decrease the density of infectious particles, reducing the force of infection and ameliorating the impact as well as the probability of establishing an infection [9]. Here we show that, in nature, the risk of infection and infectious burden of amphibians infected by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) have a significant, site-specific component, and that these correlate with the microfauna present at a site. Experimental infections show that aquatic microfauna can rapidly lower the abundance and density of infectious stages by consuming Bd zoospores, resulting in a significantly reduced probability of infection in anuran tadpoles. Our findings offer new perspectives for explaining the divergent impacts of Bd infection in amphibian assemblages and contribute to our understanding of ecosystem resilience to colonization by novel pathogens

Comparative Global Gene Expression Profiles of Wild-Type Yersinia pestis CO92 and Its Braun Lipoprotein Mutant at Flea and Human Body Temperatures

Braun/murein lipoprotein (Lpp) is involved in inflammatory responses and septic shock. We previously characterized a Δlpp mutant of Yersinia pestis CO92 and found that this mutant was defective in surviving in macrophages and was attenuated in a mouse inhalation model of plague when compared to the highly virulent wild-type (WT) bacterium. We performed global transcriptional profiling of WT Y. pestis and its Δlpp mutant using microarrays. The organisms were cultured at 26 and 37 degrees Celsius to simulate the flea vector and mammalian host environments, respectively. Our data revealed vastly different effects of lpp mutation on the transcriptomes of Y. pestis grown at 37 versus 26°C. While the absence of Lpp resulted mainly in the downregulation of metabolic genes at 26°C, the Y. pestis Δlpp mutant cultured at 37°C exhibited profound alterations in stress response and virulence genes, compared to WT bacteria. We investigated one of the stress-related genes (htrA) downregulated in the Δlpp mutant relative to WT Y. pestis. Indeed, complementation of the Δlpp mutant with the htrA gene restored intracellular survival of the Y. pestis Δlpp mutant. Our results support a role for Lpp in Y. pestis adaptation to the host environment, possibly via transcriptional activation of htrA

Psychosocial mechanisms for the transmission of somatic symptoms from parents to children

AIM: To examine familial aggregation of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) via parental reinforcement/modeling of symptoms, coping, psychological distress, and exposure to stress