The Kawa Model’s Value for Level II Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Students

Fieldwork (FW) plays a crucial role in occupational therapy (OT) education by fostering students to become competent entry-level practitioners. Reflective journaling promotes increased competence in OT FW students. The Kawa Model can be used as a journaling framework that uses metaphorical illustrations to self-reflect. It has been described as useful in multiple contexts. No study has yet investigated the use of the Kawa Model as a self-reflection tool with OT FW students. Video self-reflections of their Kawa Model drawings and audio recorded semi-structured interviews were used to explore Level II FW students’ perceptions of the usefulness of the Kawa Model. Seven themes emerged from the qualitative analysis, all pivoting around the concept of the usefulness of the Kawa model for self-reflection and the model’s ability to authentically represent the OT students’ Level II FW experience. Overall, the results suggest that Level II FW students find the Kawa Model useful for self-reflection. The students reported that the structure and metaphorical illustrations used in the Kawa model were true to their professional growth during their FW experience. The Kawa Model may be a unique way to foster OT students’ authentic view and appreciation of all relevant and meaningful aspects of their FW journey

An Evaluation of Prediction Equations for the 6 Minute Walk Test in Healthy European Adults Aged 50-85 Years

This study compared actual 6 minute walk test (6MWT) performance with predicted 6MWT using previously validated equations and then determined whether allometric modelling offers a sounder alternative to estimating 6MWT in adults aged 50-80 years.We compared actual 6MWT performance against predicted 6MWT in 125 adults aged 50-85 years (62 male, 63 female). In a second sample of 246 adults aged 50-85 years (74 male, 172 female), a new prediction equation for 6MWT performance was developed using allometric modelling. This equation was then cross validated using the same sample that the other prediction equations were compared with.Significant relationships were evident between 6MWT actual and 6MWT predicted using all of the commonly available prediction equations (all P<0.05 or better) with the exception of the Alameri et al prediction equation (P>0.05). A series of paired t-tests indicated significant differences between 6MWT actual and 6MWT predicted for all available prediction equations (all P<0.05 or better) with the exception of the Iwama et al equation (P = .540). The Iwama et al equation also had similar bias (79.8m) and a coefficient of variation of over 15%. Using sample 2, a log-linear model significantly predicted 6MWT from the log of body mass and height and age (P = 0.001, adjusted R2 = .526), predicting 52.6% of the variance in actual 6MWT. When this allometric equation was applied to the original sample, the relationship between 6MWT actual and 6MWT predicted was in excess of values reported for the other previously validated prediction equations (r = .706, P = 0.001). There was a significant difference between actual 6MWT and 6MWT predicted using this new equation (P = 0.001) but the bias, standard deviation of differences and coefficient of variation were all less than for the other equations.Where actual assessment of the 6MWT is not possible, the allometrically derived equation presented in the current study, offers a viable alternative which has been cross validated and has the least SD of differences and smallest coefficient of variation compared to any of the previously validated equations for the 6MWT

NONINVASIVE ESTIMATION OF CARDIAC PROPERTIES IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION USING SPECKLE TRACKING ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN GOOD AND POOR CONTROLLED HYPERTENSION

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Silencing Inhibits Cre-Mediated Recombination of the Z/AP and Z/EG Reporters in Adult Cells

BACKGROUND: The Cre-loxP system has been used to enable tissue specific activation, inactivation and mutation of many genes in vivo and has thereby greatly facilitated the genetic dissection of several cellular and developmental processes. In such studies, Cre-reporter strains, which carry a Cre-activated marker gene, are frequently utilized to validate the expression profile of Cre transgenes, to act as a surrogate marker for excision of a second allele, and to irreversibly label cells for lineage tracing experiments. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have studied three commonly used Cre-reporter strains, Z/AP, Z/EG and R26R-EYFP and have demonstrated that although each reporter can be reliably activated by Cre during early development, exposure to Cre in adult hematopoietic cells results in a much lower frequency of marker-positive cells in the Z/AP or Z/EG strains than in the R26R-EYFP strain. In marker negative cells derived from the Z/AP and Z/EG strains, the transgenic promoter is methylated and Cre-mediated recombination of the locus is inhibited. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the efficiency of Cre-mediated recombination is not only dependent on the genomic context of a given loxP-flanked sequence, but also on stochastic epigenetic mechanisms underlying transgene variegation. Furthermore, our data highlights the potential shortcomings of utilizing the Z/AP and Z/EG reporters as surrogate markers of excision or in lineage tracing experiments

Increased Expression of PcG Protein YY1 Negatively Regulates B Cell Development while Allowing Accumulation of Myeloid Cells and LT-HSC Cells

Ying Yang 1 (YY1) is a multifunctional Polycomb Group (PcG) transcription factor that binds to multiple enhancer binding sites in the immunoglobulin (Ig) loci and plays vital roles in early B cell development. PcG proteins have important functions in hematopoietic stem cell renewal and YY1 is the only mammalian PcG protein with DNA binding specificity. Conditional knock-out of YY1 in the mouse B cell lineage results in arrest at the pro-B cell stage, and dosage effects have been observed at various YY1 expression levels. To investigate the impact of elevated YY1 expression on hematopoetic development, we utilized a mouse in vivo bone marrow reconstitution system. We found that mouse bone marrow cells expressing elevated levels of YY1 exhibited a selective disadvantage as they progressed from hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells to pro-B, pre-B, immature B and re-circulating B cell stages, but no disadvantage of YY1 over-expression was observed in myeloid lineage cells. Furthermore, mouse bone marrow cells expressing elevated levels of YY1 displayed enrichment for cells with surface markers characteristic of long-term hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). YY1 expression induced apoptosis in mouse B cell lines in vitro, and resulted in down-regulated expression of anti-apoptotic genes Bcl-xl and NFκB2, while no impact was observed in a mouse myeloid line. B cell apoptosis and LT-HSC enrichment induced by YY1 suggest that novel strategies to induce YY1 expression could have beneficial effects in the treatment of B lineage malignancies while preserving normal HSCs

Interview with Michael Iwama

A life history interview with a qualitative approach was conducted with Michael Iwama, PhD, MSc, BScOT, BScHP by two student researchers and an advisor from the University of North Dakota Department of Occupational Therapy. The purpose of this study is to provide occupational therapists with a view of history and how occupational therapy practice has evolved from inception to current practice through the life history of Michael Iwama. The research was guided by the Kawa model to shape the interview schedule, and the view of the individual and their context (Iwama, Thomson, & Macdonald, 2009). The two-hour interview was recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded into 32 codes, and collapsed into 4 categories and corresponding themes. Trustworthiness was established through reflexive journals, member checking, multiple researchers, and multiple methods of data collection. The categories formed included the following: background, culture, model, and passion. From these categories emerged the assertion statement: Dr. Iwama’s diverse background and culture strongly influenced the lens in which he sees the world and profession of OT through. This led to his immeasurable passion for the unique value of OT and creation of the Kawa model

Factors relating to outcomes on the maximum voluntary effort test

The Maximum Voluntary Effort testA b(MstrVaEct) is an integral part of a battery of tests commonly referred to as the Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE). The MVE purportedly measures sincerity of effort by analyzing the degree of variation in repeated maximal handgrip strength trials. However not much is known about the performances of chronically disabled people on the MVE and the construct validity of the test is unclear. The first purpose of this study was to describe the performance of a chronically injured population and compare it with known performances, particularly Matheson, Carlton and Niemeyer's (1989) sample. The second purpose was to determine how certain factors of a chronically injured population related to MVE outcome measures. Descriptive and correlative statistical analyses were applied to data collected from the chart records of 100 consecutive injury claimants (female n= 69, male n=31) who had undergone an FCE at a private rehabilitation clinic in the lower mainland region of British Columbia. The performances of the total, female, and male samples on the MVE test were analyzed according to peak grip strength and variability. Maximum Voluntary Effort test outcomes (dependent variable) were examined according to their relationship to 5 demographic and 5 diagnostic independent variables. Expected patterns of grip-strength performance were generally observed. A curvilinear relationship between strength and age was evident with mean grip strength scores peaking at the 31-36 years of age cohort for both genders. Male and dominant hand measures were slightly greater than female and non-dominant hand, respectively. Generally, grip-strength was substantially diminuted suggesting decreased physical strength and fatigue tolerance trends among the sample. Compared with Matheson et al's sample, median grip scores were similar but variance was generally greater by as much as 5.5%. Three of the 10 independent variables showed statistically significant relationships with MVE outcomes; 'occupation' (demographic variable, Chi Square= 13.562, df=5, p=.019), 'referral source' (diagnostic variable, Chi Square= 23.306, df=l, p=.000) and number of injury 'episodes' (diagnostic variable, Chi Square=27.600, df=2, p=.000). The relationship of depression, measured by the BDI, with MVE outcomes remained unclear as 16 subjects with positive MVEs had not completed the BDI.Medicine, Faculty ofGraduat