Effects of exercise and sport in solid organ transplant recipients: a review

Solid organ transplantation is the gold-standard treatment for many with end-organ failure and can offer a new independence from the burden of disease. However solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) remain at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), poor quality of life and physical functioning. Increasing physical activity and exercise can improve the health of the general population, however the effects on those with a transplant remain unclear. Intensive exercise and sporting activity has the potential to be beneficial, although there remain concerns particularly around the effects on immune function and the CV system. This review summarises what is known about the effects of exercise on determinants of health in SOTR and then collates the available literature investigating the consequences of intensive exercise and sport on the health of SOTR. There is a paucity of high-quality research, with most evidence being case-studies or anecdotal; this is understandable given the relatively few numbers of SOTR who are performing sport and exercise at a high level. However if suitable evidence-based guidelines are to be formed and SOTR are to be given reassurances that their activity levels are not detrimental to their transplanted organ and overall health, then more high-quality studies are required

Crafting resilient futures by looking to the past: 25 years of online learning at FSU and Illinois

For 25 years, the iSchools at Florida State University (FSU) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been leaders in online learning, providing education to students who might not otherwise have had access to a master’s-level degree. This panel, made up of faculty and staff from FSU and Illinois, will discuss the history of online learning at these schools, the challenges faced and lessons learned, and the positive impact their online programs have had on access, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The landscape of higher education and of the information professions has changed significantly over the past quarter century. The rise of the Internet, organizational realignment and mergers in higher education, and the iSchool movement have all had an impact on the information professions and the ways we educate students to become information professionals. In the mid-90s, FSU and Illinois began offering online programs as a way of contributing to the resilience of the information professions, especially librarianship, and ensuring the resilience of their own programs. Both programs were pioneers in offering online learning, and from the outset they employed unique strategies: both use a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning, while Illinois also uses a cohort model. Online learning at both institutions has fostered resilience by increasing access for students; promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion; encouraging innovative uses of technology; and inspiring scholarship that bridges online learning research and practice. This panel will consist of four 10-minute presentations by faculty and staff from FSU and Illinois (see below for specific presentation titles and descriptions). The session will also feature a discussion with the audience organized around three questions: 1. What have been your best successes with online learning? 2. What have been your greatest challenges, and how have you dealt with them? 3. What is the future of online learning—both at your institution and in general? Presentations “Crafting Resilience Through Engagement: Synchronous Online Learning” – Kathleen Burnett (FSU): Today, there are numerous options for learning management systems and applications to support interaction online, but in 1996 when FSU and Illinois began their programs, these simply did not exist. At FSU, what became one of the earliest research progams to investigate interaction in online learning, began as a collaborative effort to construct the best environment we could to meet our goal of serving the geographically and socio-economically diverse population of Florida, without uprooting them from the communities they called home. “Crafting Resilience Through Community: The Cohort Model in Online Learning” – Linda C. Smith (Illinois): A distinguishing feature of the Illinois Leep online option for the MS/LIS degree has been the emphasis on shaping a cohort identity as a means of building community and enhancing retention and student success. The program provides students flexibility both with courses they take and the pace at which they move through the program. Cohort identity is not defined by taking a large number of courses together, but instead by forming relationships that remain a strong source of support throughout the program and beyond. The collaborative spirit that infused cohort 1 in 1996 continues to characterize cohorts today. “Crafting Resilience Through Access: The Role of Technology” – Jill Gengler (Illinois): Technology can be a tool that enables access for anyone who wants further education. Early on in the Illinois Leep program, the support staff chose solutions that allowed students to overcome barriers to earn their degrees. Staff worked with campus partners to make the program accessible to individuals with disabilities. Our program remained committed to a caring approach to ensure all students felt supported in order to overcome feelings of isolation in a distance education program. The goal was to make technology as simple as possible to enable our outstanding faculty and students to collaborate effectively. “Crafting Resilience By Connecting Research and Practice in Online Learning” – Michelle Kazmer (FSU): Early research about knowledge- and community-building through synchronous classes and residency requirements at Illinois demonstrated the importance of the residency to student success. Ongoing research in FSU’s program, which avoided an on-campus requirement, showed how community could be supported for entirely-remote students. Simultaneously, scholars throughout the discipline generated a robust body of research about online learning in LIS. This research helped promulgate the open-minded approaches to evidence-based technology experimentation and implementation that were fostered by the early-adopter programs and have shaped 25 years of resilience in LIS online education. Panel Participants Don Latham (moderator), Professor, School of Information, FSU. Don was a student in the master’s program at FSU when the online learning program began. Since joining the faculty, he has taught a number of graduate-level online courses using a variety of platforms. Kathleen Burnett, F. William Summers Professor and Director, School of Information, FSU. Kathy’s first faculty meeting at FSU was held in July 1996, following the announcement that the then School of Library and Information Studies would offer the first comprehensive distance learning degree program at FSU. Although her contract had not yet started, she eagerly darted down the rabbit hole of online learning, where she can still be found teaching and problem-solving 25 years later. Linda C. Smith, Professor Emerita and Interim Executive Associate Dean, Illinois. Linda taught online from fall 1997 through spring 2019 and coordinated the Leep online option for the MS/LIS degree. With Bruce Kingma of Syracuse, she co-founded the WISE (Web-based Information Science Education) consortium. Jill Gengler, Director of Alumni Affairs, Illinois. After earning her MS from the School of Information Sciences, Jill spent 10 years supporting the technology for the Leep program followed by 10 years managing the iSchool’s Help Desk. She is currently the Director of Alumni Affairs for the iSchool since her favorite aspect of her technology jobs was always talking to the students. Michelle Kazmer, Professor and Associate Dean, School of Information, FSU. Michelle was the first online TA in the Illinois “LEEP3” program in 1997, and joined the faculty at FSU in 2002. She has conducted research in community processes in online learning, and continues to relish teaching online after (almost!) 25 years

The Importance of University Traditions And Rituals in Building Alumni Brand Communities and Loyalty

The purpose of this study is to expand the literature and determine factors that impact alumni giving and loyalty at institutions of higher education. Specifically, this research aims to identify a relationship between university traditions and rituals, the relationships of an alumni brand community, and loyalty toward an institution of higher education. This research proposes that a university, as a branded institution, constitutes a brand community, and that traditions and rituals, an important component of brand communities, can serve as a means by which students engage on campus and participate in a university’s brand community and, in turn, become active and giving alumni of a university. We propose that the greater the perception of alumni that a university has valued, well-established traditions and rituals, the greater their brand community relationships and intended behaviors associated with loyalty. The research was conducted in the context of the “University,” a regional, comprehensive state university in the Midwest. A survey was conducted with alumni of the University to test a series of six hypotheses. Statistical analyses of MANOVA, ANOVA, and independent t-tests found support for all hypotheses; the mean scores for all four brand community relationships, overall brand community integration, and for four loyalty measures were all significantly different. Alumni who perceive that the University has valued, well established traditions and rituals perceive stronger alumni-product, alumni-brand, alumni institution, and alumni-alumni relationships, perceive a stronger overall integration within the alumni brand community, and exhibit stronger behaviors associated with loyalty than alumni who do not perceive that the University has valued, well-established traditions and rituals. The results from this analysis provide theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, the contribution of the research reported here is considering the importance of traditions and rituals in alumni brand communities and loyalty, a concept not addressed in previous research. Research has demonstrated that brand community integration is an influential contributor to desired marketing outcomes of institutions of higher education, both large and small. So, university initiatives that enhance and strengthen alumni brand community relationships are vital. Further, given the economic climate in higher education today, it is also vital that universities foster active and dedicated alumni as to garner financial support. Future research may incorporate the role and impact of additional constructs, such as nostalgia, on university traditions and rituals and alumni brand community relationships, expand the study beyond the University studied here, and expand the conceptualization and measurement of the four alumni brand community relationships. Practically, suggestions for universities’ marketing strategies and tactics are provided. Alumni associations, in particular, should be viewed as strategic, vital assets of universities and serve as keepers of traditions and rituals by supporting active student alumni groups and promoting the importance of traditions and rituals. Further, alumni associations should create new, cultivate existing, and revitalize old traditions and rituals. Finally, universities should develop and nurture brand communities with online students as well, create and foster traditions and rituals in which they may participate, and instill a sense that the university has valued, well-established traditions and rituals

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in risk of sudden infant death syndrome, other causes of infant mortality, and stillbirth in Scotland: population based study

Objectives To compare changes in inequalities in sudden infant death syndrome with other causes of infant mortality and stillbirth in Scotland, 1985-2008

Time of birth and risk of neonatal death at term: retrospective cohort study

Objective To determine the effect of time and day of birth on the risk of neonatal death at term

Development and testing of a measure designed to assess the quality of care transitions

BACKGROUND: To improve the quality of care delivered to older persons receiving care across multiple settings, interventions are needed. However, the absence of a patient-centred measure specifically designed to assess this care has constrained innovation. OBJECTIVE: To develop a rigorously designed and tested measure, the Care Transition Measure (CTM). SETTING: A large, integrated managed care organisation in Colorado with approximately 55,000 members over the age of 65 years. PARTICIPANTS: Patients 65 years and older who were recently discharged from hospital and received subsequent skilled nursing care in a facility or in the home. METHODS: Six focus groups of older persons and their caregivers (n=49) were established. Standard qualitative analytic techniques were applied to written transcripts and four key domains were identified: (1) information transfer; (2) patient and caregiver preparation; (3) self-management support; and (4) empowerment to assert preferences. Specific CTM items were developed, pilot tested, and refined. Psychometric testing, conducted in a different population but selected using the same entry criteria (n=60), included content and construct validity, intra-item variation, and floor/ceiling properties. RESULTS: Older patients and clinicians found the measure to be highly relevant and comprehensive (i.e. content validity). Construct validity was assessed by comparing items from the CTM to selected items from a measure developed by Hendriks and colleagues (Medical Care 2001; 39(3): 270–283). Inter-item Spearman correlations ranged 0.388–0.594. No significant floor or ceiling effects were detected. CONCLUSIONS: The CTM was developed with substantial input from older patients and their caregivers. Psychometric testing suggested that the measure was valid. The CTM may serve to fill an important gap in health system performance evaluation by measuring the quality of care delivered across settings

Pancreatitis-diabetes-pancreatic cancer: summary of an NIDDK-NCI workshop

A workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) on "Pancreatitis-Diabetes-Pancreatic Cancer" focused on the risk factors of chronic pancreatitis (CP) and diabetes mellitus (DM) on the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Sessions were held on (a) an overview of the problem of PDAC; (b) CP as a risk factor of PDAC; (c) DM as a risk factor of PDAC; (d) pancreatogenic, or type 3c, DM; (e) genomic associations of CP, DM, and PDAC; (f) surveillance of high-risk populations and early detection of PDAC; and (g) effects of DM treatment on PDAC. Recent data and current understandings of the mechanisms of CP- and DM-associated factors on PDAC development were discussed, and a detailed review of the possible risks of DM treatment on the development of PDAC was provided by representatives from academia, industry, and the Food and Drug Administration. The current status of possible biomarkers of PDAC and surveillance strategies for high-risk populations were discussed, and the gaps in knowledge and opportunities for further research were elucidated. A broad spectrum of expertise of the speakers and the discussants provided an unusually productive workshop, the highlights of which are summarized in the accompanying article

Implementation of environmentally compliant cleaning and insulation bonding for MNASA

Historically, many subscale and full-scale rocket motors have employed environmentally and physiologically harmful chemicals during the manufacturing process. This program examines the synergy and interdependency between environmentally acceptable materials for solid rocket motor insulation applications, bonding, corrosion inhibiting, painting, priming, and cleaning, and then implements new materials and processes in subscale motors. Tests have been conducted to eliminate or minimize hazardous chemicals used in the manufacture of modified-NASA materials test motor (MNASA) components and identify alternate materials and/or processes following NASA Operational Environmental Team (NOET) priorities. This presentation describes implementation of high pressure water refurbishment cleaning, aqueous precision cleaning using both Brulin 815 GD and Jettacin, and insulation case bonding using ozone depleting chemical (ODC) compliant primers and adhesives