Predicting international students' clinical and academic grades using two language tests (IELTS and C-test): a correlational research study

Academic English tests are used to ascertain if international English as a Second Language nursing students have sufficient language skills to commence their nursing degrees, and later, if they have sufficient English for nursing registration. However, an academic English test may not be appropriate for clinical contexts. This study examines the relationship between two types of English test and the performance of forty-nine undergraduate international nursing students in both their first year of theory-centred academic topics and practice-centred clinical topics. An academic English test, called the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), anda general English proficiency/processing speed test using a variation of the cloze-test (C-test) format were administered at the commencement of the students' course of study. At the end of one year, grade percentages were collected. It was found that both the IELTS test and the C-test were significantly correlated to both types of topic, albeit with different patterns. The two English tests were also tested for similarities in the constructs they measured, with a significant overlap found. The implications are to rethink the way English tests are applied to entry in university degrees involving a clinical component and, by extension, to direct universities to rethink how nursing students are supported during their degree. The question is also raised about the practice of using academic English tests for professional nursing registration purposes. The benefits of the two testing approaches are also considered, particularly the large differences in monetary outlay and time found between the two tests, given their performance in explaining the variance in grade outcomes

The Magnetic Field of the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4214

We examine the magnetic field in NGC 4214, a nearby irregular galaxy, using multi-wavelength radio continuum polarization data from the Very Large Array. We find that the global radio continuum spectrum shows signs that free-free absorption and/or synchrotron losses may be important. The 3cm radio continuum morphology is similar to that of the Halpha, while the 20cm emission is more diffuse. We estimate that 50% of the radio continuum emission in the center of the galaxy is thermal. Our estimate of the magnetic field strength is $30\pm 9.5$ \uG\ in the center and $10\pm3$ \uG\ at the edges. We find that the hot gas, magnetic, and the gravitational pressures are all the same order of magnitude. Inside the central star forming regions, we find that the thermal and turbulent pressures of the HII regions dominate the pressure balance. We do not detect any significant polarization on size scales greater than 200 pc. We place an upper limit of 8 \uG\ on the uniform field strength in this galaxy. We suggest that the diffuse synchrotron region, seen to the north of the main body of emission at 20cm, is elongated due to a uniform magnetic field with a maximum field strength of 7.6 \uG. We find that, while the shear in NGC 4214 is comparable to that of the Milky Way, the supernova rate is half that of the Milky Way and suggest that the star formation episode in NGC 4214 needs additional time to build up enough turbulence to drive an $\alpha-\omega$ dynamo.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. Version with high resolution figures at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~aak8t/data/n4214/ms.pd

Palmitoyl transferases have critical roles in the development of mosquito and liver stages of Plasmodium.

As the Plasmodium parasite transitions between mammalian and mosquito host, it has to adjust quickly to new environments. Palmitoylation, a reversible and dynamic lipid post-translational modification, plays a central role in regulating this process and has been implicated with functions for parasite morphology, motility and host cell invasion. While proteins associated with the gliding motility machinery have been described to be palmitoylated, no palmitoyl transferase responsible for regulating gliding motility has previously been identified. Here, we characterize two palmityol transferases with gene tagging and gene deletion approaches. We identify DHHC3, a palmitoyl transferase, as a mediator of ookinete development, with a crucial role for gliding motility in ookinetes and sporozoites, and we co-localize the protein with a marker for the inner membrane complex in the ookinete stage. Ookinetes and sporozoites lacking DHHC3 are impaired in gliding motility and exhibit a strong phenotype in vivo; with ookinetes being significantly less infectious to their mosquito host and sporozoites being non-infectious to mice. Importantly, genetic complementation of the DHHC3-ko parasite completely restored virulence. We generated parasites lacking both DHHC3, as well as the palmitoyl transferase DHHC9, and found an enhanced phenotype for these double knockout parasites, allowing insights into the functional overlap and compensational nature of the large family of PbDHHCs. These findings contribute to our understanding of the organization and mechanism of the gliding motility machinery, which as is becoming increasingly clear, is mediated by palmitoylation

Antibody-Mediated Protection against Plasmodium Sporozoites Begins at the Dermal Inoculation Site

Studies in experimental animal models and humans have shown that antibodies against Plasmodium sporozoites abolish parasite infectivity and provide sterile immunity. While it is well documented that these antibodies can be induced after immunization with attenuated parasites or subunit vaccines, the mechanisms by and location in which they neutralize parasites have not been fully elucidated. Here, we report studies indicating that these antibodies display a significant portion of their protective effect in the skin after injection of sporozoites and that one mechanism by which they work is by impairing sporozoite motility, thus diminishing their ability to reach blood vessels. These results suggest that immune protection against malaria begins at the earliest stages of parasite infection and emphasize the need of performing parasite challenge in the skin for the evaluation of protective immunity.Plasmodium sporozoites are injected into the skin as mosquitoes probe for blood. From here, they migrate through the dermis to find blood vessels which they enter in order to be rapidly carried to the liver, where they invade hepatocytes and develop into the next life cycle stage, the exoerythrocytic stage. Once sporozoites enter the blood circulation, they are found in hepatocytes within minutes. In contrast, sporozoite exit from the inoculation site resembles a slow trickle and occurs over several hours. Thus, sporozoites spend the majority of their extracellular time at the inoculation site, raising the hypothesis that this is when the malarial parasite is most vulnerable to antibody-mediated destruction. Here, we investigate this hypothesis and demonstrate that the neutralizing capacity of circulating antibodies is greater at the inoculation site than in the blood circulation. Furthermore, these antibodies are working, at least in part, by impacting sporozoite motility at the inoculation site. Using actively and passively immunized mice, we found that most parasites are either immobilized at the site of injection or display reduced motility, particularly in their net displacement. We also found that antibodies severely impair the entry of sporozoites into the bloodstream. Overall, our data suggest that antibodies targeting the migratory sporozoite exert a large proportion of their protective effect at the inoculation site

Injectable Macroporous Hydrogels by Combining the Rapid Evaporation of Perfluorocarbon Emulsions with Dynamic Covalent Cross-Linking Chemistry

While injectable hydrogels are significantly less invasive than other available delivery vehicles for cell therapies, the lack of macroporosity in typical injectable hydrogels (and thus the limited free volume available for cell proliferation and nutrient/waste transport) limits the effectiveness of such therapies. Herein, noncytotoxic and rapidly evaporating perfluorocarbon emulsions are combined with in situ gelling dynamic covalently cross-linked hydrogels to create an injectable hydrogel in which macropore generation can occur simultaneously to gelation as the perfluorocarbon component evaporates upon heating to physiological temperature. Macropores can be generated at different densities dependent on the perfluorocarbon concentration both in vitro and in vivo without inducing any significant cytotoxicity or local or systemic inflammatory responses. Furthermore, live/dead imaging showed a significant improvement in the viability of encapsulated cells in porous hydrogels in comparison to nonporous controls, attributed to the improved mass transport achievable in the presence of macropores. The combination of controllable porosity, noncytotoxicity, and ability to incorporate cells into the porous structure via a single injection offers a unique platform that could be adapted for use in cell therapy and/or tissue engineering applications

Injectable Macroporous Hydrogels by Combining the Rapid Evaporation of Perfluorocarbon Emulsions with Dynamic Covalent Cross-Linking Chemistry

While injectable hydrogels are significantly less invasive than other available delivery vehicles for cell therapies, the lack of macroporosity in typical injectable hydrogels (and thus the limited free volume available for cell proliferation and nutrient/waste transport) limits the effectiveness of such therapies. Herein, noncytotoxic and rapidly evaporating perfluorocarbon emulsions are combined with in situ gelling dynamic covalently cross-linked hydrogels to create an injectable hydrogel in which macropore generation can occur simultaneously to gelation as the perfluorocarbon component evaporates upon heating to physiological temperature. Macropores can be generated at different densities dependent on the perfluorocarbon concentration both in vitro and in vivo without inducing any significant cytotoxicity or local or systemic inflammatory responses. Furthermore, live/dead imaging showed a significant improvement in the viability of encapsulated cells in porous hydrogels in comparison to nonporous controls, attributed to the improved mass transport achievable in the presence of macropores. The combination of controllable porosity, noncytotoxicity, and ability to incorporate cells into the porous structure via a single injection offers a unique platform that could be adapted for use in cell therapy and/or tissue engineering applications

Injectable Macroporous Hydrogels by Combining the Rapid Evaporation of Perfluorocarbon Emulsions with Dynamic Covalent Cross-Linking Chemistry

While injectable hydrogels are significantly less invasive than other available delivery vehicles for cell therapies, the lack of macroporosity in typical injectable hydrogels (and thus the limited free volume available for cell proliferation and nutrient/waste transport) limits the effectiveness of such therapies. Herein, noncytotoxic and rapidly evaporating perfluorocarbon emulsions are combined with in situ gelling dynamic covalently cross-linked hydrogels to create an injectable hydrogel in which macropore generation can occur simultaneously to gelation as the perfluorocarbon component evaporates upon heating to physiological temperature. Macropores can be generated at different densities dependent on the perfluorocarbon concentration both in vitro and in vivo without inducing any significant cytotoxicity or local or systemic inflammatory responses. Furthermore, live/dead imaging showed a significant improvement in the viability of encapsulated cells in porous hydrogels in comparison to nonporous controls, attributed to the improved mass transport achievable in the presence of macropores. The combination of controllable porosity, noncytotoxicity, and ability to incorporate cells into the porous structure via a single injection offers a unique platform that could be adapted for use in cell therapy and/or tissue engineering applications

Practical Comparison of the BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia Panel to Routine Diagnostic Methods and Potential Impact on Antimicrobial Stewardship in Adult Hospitalized Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections.

Lower respiratory tract infections, including hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia, are common in hospitalized patient populations. Standard methods frequently fail to identify the infectious etiology due to the polymicrobial nature of respiratory specimens and the necessity of ordering specific tests to identify viral agents. The potential severity of these infections combined with a failure to clearly identify the causative pathogen results in administration of empirical antibiotic agents based on clinical presentation and other risk factors. We examined the impact of the multiplexed, semiquantitative BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia panel (PN panel) test on laboratory reporting for 259 adult inpatients submitting bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens for laboratory analysis. The PN panel demonstrated a combined 96.2% positive percent agreement (PPA) and 98.1% negative percent agreement (NPA) for the qualitative identification of 15 bacterial targets compared to routine bacterial culture. Semiquantitative values reported by the PN panel were frequently higher than values reported by culture, resulting in semiquantitative agreement (within the same lo