The Effects of an Experiential Learning and Mentorship Program Pairing Medical Students and Persons with Cognitive Impairment: A Qualitative Content Analysis

The United States population is aging rapidly and with it a tremendous rise in the number of people with dementia. In the future, as now, physicians and other health care professionals will likely provide the majority of health care for older people and those with dementia. The non-geriatric trained workforce must have the attitudes, knowledge and skills needed to provide high quality care for this aging and increasingly cognitively impaired population. There is evidence that prevailing stigma regarding older adults can be modified with experiential opportunities early in students\u27 career. Few of these programs are aimed at persons with dementia. The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of the impact of an experiential learning and mentorship program with persons diagnosed with early stage dementia on first year medical students. This study is a qualitative content analysis of medical students\u27 narrative reflections following their interaction and activity with a person with dementia over the course of an academic year. The study utilizes the theoretical frameworks of Gordon W. Allport\u27s (1954) contact hypothesis, theories of personhood, and the social constructionist view of the self within an interpretivist/constructivist paradigm. This study gives insights about what the students experienced over the course of the year; that is, (a) seeing the person with dementia as a mentor: (b) expressing a range of feelings regarding the relationship from discomfort to enjoyment, friendship and increasing comfort over time: (c) demonstrating perceptions of mood and development of empathy toward the person with dementia; (d) recognizing and learning the various symptoms manifested in persons with dementia; (e) developing an awareness of their preconceptions and changing attitudes, along with their own emotional response to the experience; and (f) understanding the family caregivers\u27 experience through interaction. It was ultimately concluded that this experiential program served to influence first-year medical students\u27 understanding of persons with dementia, providing them with a more holistic view of the person and family and challenging and altering students\u27 preconceptions of dementia and what it is like to live with it. Implications for social workers are discussed along with the study limitations and next steps for future research

Measurement of spark probability of GEM detector for CBM muon chamber (MUCH)

The stability of triple GEM detector setups in an environment of high energetic showers is studied. To this end the spark probability in a shower environment is compared to the spark probability in a pion beam.Comment: 5 pages, 10 figure

Functional redundancy of R7 RGS proteins in ON-bipolar cell dendrites

PURPOSE. In the G␤5 Ϫ/Ϫ mouse, the electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave is absent, and the R7 subfamily of regulators of G protein signaling (RGS), which includes RGS6, -7, -9, and -11, is downregulated. Mutant mouse strains deficient in RGS7 or -11 were characterized, and the SG711 strain which is deficient in both proteins was examined, to learn whether the loss of some of these RGS proteins causes the absence of the ERG b-wave. METHODS. Antibodies to RGS7 and -11 were generated to determine their expression levels and localizations in retinas with various genetic backgrounds by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The implicit times and amplitudes of ERG a-and b-waves were analyzed to examine photoreceptor and bipolar cell functions. RESULTS. RGS7 and -11 co-localized to the dendritic tips of the ON-bipolar cells. In the RGS11 Ϫ/Ϫ mouse, the level of RGS7 protein increased. However, the level of RGS11 protein remained unchanged in the RGS7 mutant mouse, where a truncated RGS7 protein was expressed due to the deletion of exon 10. In the SG711 mouse retina, the G␤5-S protein level was reduced. The ERG b-wave of SG711 mice was markedly delayed. In contrast, RGS11 Ϫ/Ϫ mice showed a moderately delayed b-wave, whereas the RGS7 mutant mice showed normal ERG responses. CONCLUSIONS. The data demonstrate the presence of a delayed ERG b-wave in SG711 mice and a functionally redundant role for RGS11 and -7 at the tips of ON-bipolar cell dendrites. These results suggest that RGS11 or -7 works as the major physiological GAP (GTPase acceleration protein) for G␣o1 in ON-bipolar cells. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010;51:686 -693) DOI: 10.1167/iovs.09-4084 V ision begins at retinal photoreceptors, and encoded information is relayed to bipolar cells at the retinal outer plexiform layer (OPL). The phototransduction cascade responsible for transducing light into neural signals in photoreceptors is G-protein mediated, 1 as is the metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 (mGluR6) signaling pathway responsible for relaying visual information in the depolarizing bipolar cells (DBCs). 6 Akin to the knockout mouse deficient in mGluR6 or G␣o, 4,7 the TRPM1-knockout mouse lacks the ERG b-wave. Recently, several RGS proteins, including RGS7, RGS11, and Ret-RGS1, were postulated to participate in the mGluR6 signaling pathway. 8 -10 RGS functions inside a cell as a negative regulator of a subset of heterotrimeric G-proteins. 11 Members of the RGS protein family contain a conserved RGS domain roughly 120 amino acids in length and can be further classified into subgroups by their sizes as well as sequences outside the RGS domain. RGS9-1 was the first mammalian RGS protein identified to have a physiological function. It is essential for timely deactivation of transducin in photoreceptors in mice and humans. 12,13 RGS9-1 exists in complex with two other proteins: G␤5-L (long-splice form of the fifth member of the G-protein ␤ subunit) and RGS9 anchoring protein (R9AP). 12,17 Three additional RGS proteins contain the hallmark GGL domain: RGS6, -7, and -11. Together with RGS9, they constitute the R7 subfamily of RGS proteins. 11 Unlike RGS9-1, however, these three R7 RGS proteins interact with the short-splice form of G␤5 (G␤5-S), which is more broadly expressed in the nervous system. From th

Analysis of the distal urinary tract in larval and adult zebrafish reveals homology to the human system

Little is known about the distal excretory component of the urinary tract in Danio rerio (zebrafish). This component is affected by many human diseases and disorders of development. Here, we have undertaken multi-level analyses to determine the structure and composition of the distal urinary tract in the zebrafish. In silico searches identified uroplakin 1a (ukp1a), uroplakin 2 (upk2) and uroplakin 3b (upk3b) genes in the zebrafish genome (orthologues to genes that encode urothelium-specific proteins in humans). In situ hybridization demonstrated ukp1a expression in the zebrafish pronephros and cloaca from 96 h post-fertilization. Haematoxylin and Eosin staining of adult zebrafish demonstrated two mesonephric ducts uniting into a urinary bladder that leads to a distinct urethral opening. Immunohistochemistry identified Uroplakin 1a, Uroplakin 2 and GATA3 expression in zebrafish urinary bladder cell layers that match human urothelial expression. Fluorescent dye injections demonstrated zebrafish urinary bladder function, including urine storage and intermittent micturition, and a urethral orifice separate from the larger anal canal and rectum. Our findings reveal homology between the urinary tracts of zebrafish and humans, and offer the former as a model system to study disease

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal

Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability Reporting Among the Fortune Global 250: Greenwashing or Green Supply Chain?

The sustainability reporting efforts of MNCs who are members of the Fortune Global 250 (FG250) was investigated. The focus was on sustainability reporting by MNCs of supply chain impacts. The reporting of FG250 MNCs was examined to determine if greenwashing was occurring or whether MNCs had committed to operating a green supply chain. A mixed methodology was used consisting of quantitative analysis of twenty-five MNC CSR/sustainability reports which were randomly selected from the FG250 listing. Qualitative analysis using content analysis was also conducted on the reports. Both methodologies concentrated on the sustainability reporting of the selected MNCs in regard to their supply chain. Findings were mixed as there were great variations among the MNCs in their level of sustainability reporting about their supply chains. Some MNCs did not report on the activities of their supply chain at all (20%), the majority of the MNCs reported on their supply chain impacts at the value and goal level (48%), while the rest reported at the management approach level (32%). A majority of the sampled MNCs could be accused of greenwashing due to the lack of detailed quantitative information provided by the MNCs on the environmental impacts of their supply chai

Gaps in clinical research in frontotemporal dementia: A call for diversity and disparities–focused research

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the leading causes of dementia before age 65 and often manifests as abnormal behavior (in behavioral variant FTD) or language impairment (in primary progressive aphasia). FTD's exact clinical presentation varies by culture, language, education, social norms, and other socioeconomic factors; current research and clinical practice, however, is mainly based on studies conducted in North America and Western Europe. Changes in diagnostic criteria and procedures as well as new or adapted cognitive tests are likely needed to take into consideration global diversity. This perspective paper by two professional interest areas of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment examines how increasing global diversity impacts the clinical presentation, screening, assessment, and diagnosis of FTD and its treatment and care. It subsequently provides recommendations to address immediate needs to advance global FTD research and clinical practice

Gaps in clinical research in frontotemporal dementia : A call for diversity and disparities-focused research

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the leading causes of dementia before age 65 and often manifests as abnormal behavior (in behavioral variant FTD) or language impairment (in primary progressive aphasia). FTD's exact clinical presentation varies by culture, language, education, social norms, and other socioeconomic factors; current research and clinical practice, however, is mainly based on studies conducted in North America and Western Europe. Changes in diagnostic criteria and procedures as well as new or adapted cognitive tests are likely needed to take into consideration global diversity. This perspective paper by two professional interest areas of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment examines how increasing global diversity impacts the clinical presentation, screening, assessment, and diagnosis of FTD and its treatment and care. It subsequently provides recommendations to address immediate needs to advance global FTD research and clinical practice