Medical Student Views of Healthcare Reform in the United States, 2009

PurposeTo assess the opinions of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Einstein) medical students about U.S. healthcare reformin the context of the 2008 U.S. presidential election through the use of an online survey. The study additionallyevaluates the influences on students’ healthcare opinions and whether there is sufficient instruction given to medicalstudents about healthcare systems.MethodDuring January and February 2009, first-year and second-year (classes of 2011 and 2012) Einstein medical students(n=362) were surveyed about U.S. healthcare using a web-based electronic survey. The survey included questionsabout students’ healthcare views and influences, political views, and education related to healthcare systems.ResultsWith a response rate of 56%, the survey showed that, among Einstein students, the most popular reform to the U.S.healthcare system would be a multipayer system (41%) in which all U.S. citizens would have access to healthcare paidfor by the U.S. government, but could also choose to obtain private insurance. More than 86% of the respondentsfelt that they had not received adequate education in medical school about the U.S. healthcare system. Seventy-fourpercent of respondents supported Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.ConclusionsEinstein students overwhelmingly recognize the need for reform in the U.S. healthcare system, and students are confidentthat, under Barack Obama’s leadership, the number of uninsured American citizens will decrease in the nextfour years. Survey findings also reveal the need for improved medical student education about the U.S. healthcaresystem

Information Competencies for Students in Design Disciplines

Information Competencies for Students in Design Disciplines, for the first time, compiles a list of core information literacy skills for students. Divided into basic, intermediate, and advanced skills in each design discipline, this set of competencies is an invaluable aid to librarians as they strive to define and delimit information literacy skills for students in design disciplines. These competencies are intended to facilitate a systematic means of integrating information literacy skills into the core curriculum of design students, as well as to open lines of communication with faculty as to how competencies can be integrated into specific course goals. The authors developed Information Competencies for Students in Design Disciplines with previously established information literacy standards at its foundation. The ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education as well as specific standards in other disciplines such as Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology were consulted in the creation of these standards

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Shells of Hollow Microcapsules Designed for Biomedical Applications

The functional hollow biodegradable microcapsules modified with the maghemite γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and the hollow spherical CoFe2O4/SiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized. Mössbauer spectroscopy data reveal that the main part maghemite nanoparticles have evident superparamagnetic behavior which is retained up to room temperature. This allows directing the microcapsules by an external magnetic field, which is very important for the problem of target drug delivery. On the other hand, the hollow spherical CoFe2O4/SiO2 nanocomposites with the small size particles do not show superparamagnetic behavior, but transit from magnetic to paramagnetic state by jump-like magnetic transition of the first order. This effect is a specific property of the magnetic nanoparticles isolated by an inert material. The method of synthesis can be modified with various bioligands on the silane surface, and such materials can have great prospects for use in diagnostics and bio-separation