THAT, THAT, BUT NOT THAT… USING A CAFETERIA PLAN TO ENHANCE WRITING SKILLS

College students have difficulty in written communication, despite attempts by universities to place English courses in the “core curriculum.” Although many companies indicate that writing is an expected competency, and many companies consider writing when they promote, students still enter the workforce with poor grammar skills. Clear and concise communication is especially important in the health professions, where life-and-death decisions may be made based on written communication. Instructors in a large southwestern university used the concept of “selection” to provide more opportunities for students to practice their writing skills. Students could self-select up to 19 written assignments throughout the semester, with papers being 1-3 pages in length. An assignment was due each week, which required more student planning. From a grading perspective, the pilot project seemed to indicate that the more assignments that students submitted, the better their writing became. Despite this, students gave negative feedback about the assignments. In addition, the instructors found the pilot to be labor-intensive, averaging 20 hours per week for grading, and does not recommend the activity for tenure-track faculty

Perceptions of Preceptors and Students on the Importance of Writing

Health administration programs vary from other administrative programs based on emphasis in writing. Prior studies about writing skills in professional degree programs show student writing skills are not at a professional level. There is no literature at present that identifies important and essential writing skills related specifically to undergraduate or graduate health administration programs. This pilot study surveys graduate and undergraduate programs’ residency preceptors to identify the important skills and forms of written communication used in the workplace and surveys students to discover their perceptions of what skills and written work they will perform in their initial job. Results show that preceptor and students differ in their perceptions of forms of written communication deemed essential, but they do not differ in their perceptions of what is an essential writing skill. Further research is needed to obtain more in-depth insight into adequate preparation for program graduates’ initial job

Recent Data to the Distribution of Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) in Hungary

The Hungarian plant protection organization has been performing western corn rootworm moni- toring over the past four years.In 1998 three different trapping activities were carried out at 150 monitoring sites.Hungarian pheromone traps and Multigard ®(yellow sticky)traps were used from July 1 to September 30.The number of catches and the average catches/trap in 1998 were lower than the catch numbers in 1997. In 1998,the pest spread to a lesser degree than in 1997

Long-term clinical effects of ventricular pacing reduction with a changeover mode to minimize ventricular pacing in a general pacemaker population

AIM: Right ventricular pacing (VP) has been hypothesized to increase the risk in heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). The ANSWER study evaluated, whether an AAI-DDD changeover mode to minimize VP (SafeR) improves outcome compared with DDD in a general dual-chamber pacemaker population. METHODS AND RESULTS: ANSWER was a randomized controlled multicentre trial assessing SafeR vs. standard DDD in sinus node disease (SND) or AV block (AVB) patients. After a 1-month run-in period, they were randomized (1 : 1) and followed for 3 years. Pre-specified co-primary end-points were VP and the composite of hospitalization for HF, AF, or cardioversion. Pre-specified secondary end-points were cardiac death or HF hospitalizations and cardiovascular hospitalizations. ANSWER enrolled 650 patients (52.0% SND, 48% AVB) at 43 European centres and randomized in SafeR (n = 314) or DDD (n = 318). The SafeR mode showed a significant decrease in VP compared with DDD (11.5 vs. 93.6%, P < 0.0001 at 3 years). Deaths and syncope did not differ between randomization arms. No significant difference between groups [HR = 0.78; 95% CI (0.48-1.25); P = 0.30] was found in the time to event of the co-primary composite of hospitalization for HF, AF, or cardioversion, nor in the individual components. SafeR showed a 51% risk reduction (RR) in experiencing cardiac death or HF hospitalization [HR = 0.49; 95% CI (0.27-0.90); P = 0.02] and 30% RR in experiencing cardiovascular hospitalizations [HR = 0.70; 95% CI (0.49-1.00); P = 0.05]. CONCLUSION: SafeR safely and significantly reduced VP in a general pacemaker population though had no effect on hospitalization for HF, AF, or cardioversion, when compared with DDD

Defoliation severity is positively related to soil solution nitrogen availability and negatively related to soil nitrogen concentrations following a multi-year invasive insect irruption

Understanding connections between ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling and invasive insect defoliation could facilitate the prediction of disturbance impacts across a range of spatial scales. In this study we investigated relationships between ecosystem N cycling and tree defoliation during a recent 2015–18 irruption of invasive gypsy moth caterpillars (Lymantria dispar), which can cause tree stress and sometimes mortality following multiple years of defoliation. Nitrogen is a critical nutrient that limits the growth of caterpillars and plants in temperate forests. In this study, we assessed the associations among N concentrations, soil solution N availability and defoliation intensity by L. dispar at the scale of individual trees and forest plots. We measured leaf and soil N concentrations and soil solution inorganic N availability among individual red oak trees (Quercus rubra) in Amherst, MA and across a network of forest plots in Central Massachusetts. We combined these field data with estimated defoliation severity derived from Landsat imagery to assess relationships between plot-scale defoliation and ecosystem N cycling. We found that trees in soil with lower N concentrations experienced more herbivory than trees in soil with higher N concentrations. Additionally, forest plots with lower N soil were correlated with more severe L. dispar defoliation, which matched the tree-level relationship. The amount of inorganic N in soil solution was strongly positively correlated with defoliation intensity and the number of sequential years of defoliation. These results suggested that higher ecosystem N pools might promote the resistance of oak trees to L. dispar defoliation and that defoliation severity across multiple years is associated with a linear increase in soil solution inorganic N

Faculty Seminar and Workshop Letter with Agenda

Letter to Madeleine Giguère with information regarding peer evaluation and related seminar workshops for faculty.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/giguere-usm-career/1031/thumbnail.jp

Measuring of roundness of WPC materials after turning

Natural fibers offer several advantages. They are renewable, inexpensive, can be used to isolate a sound and have got a low density. The disadvantages of these materials are: susceptibility to moisture, low fire resistance, and sensitivity to biodegradation. Their disadvantages are possible to eliminate by using of thermosetting and thermoplastic matrixes obtaining the plastics filled by organic fillers. Nowadays is preferred a usage of thermoplastic matrixes (especially in WPC product)

Practical use of dabigatran etexilate for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism, and is the most prevalent factor for cardioembolic stroke. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) have been the standard of care for stroke prevention in patients with AF since the early 1990s. They are very effective for the prevention of cardioembolic stroke, but are limited by factors such as drug-drug interactions, food interactions, slow onset and offset of action, haemorrhage and need for routine anticoagulation monitoring to maintain a therapeutic international normalised ratio (INR). Multiple new oral anticoagulants have been developed as potential replacements for VKAs for stroke prevention in AF. Most are small synthetic molecules that target thrombin (e.g. dabigatran etexilate) or factor Xa (e.g. rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban, betrixaban, YM150). These drugs have predictable pharmacokinetics that allow fixed dosing without routine laboratory monitoring. Dabigatran etexilate, the first of these new oral anticoagulants to be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular AF, represents an effective and safe alternative to VKAs. Under the auspices of the Regional Anticoagulation Working Group, a multidisciplinary group of experts in thrombosis and haemostasis from Central and Eastern Europe, an expert panel with expertise in AF convened to discuss practical, clinically important issues related to the long-term use of dabigatran for stroke prevention in non-valvular AF. The practical information reviewed in this article will help clinicians make appropriate use of this new therapeutic option in daily clinical practice