Planning and Urban Ecology: A New Elective in City and Regional Planning

Since recently joining the CRP department, Adrienne Greve has been using her background in the sciences to strengthen the relationship between the fields of planning and urban ecology with a particular emphasis on water systems. In this article, together with seniors Corbin Johnson and Kevin Waldron, she writes about her new elective and an important class project, which is monitoring the impacts of the new campus housing on the campus creek system

Analysis of publication trends and its relationship with academic success among dermatology residents and fellows

Background: Exposure to academic research is regarded as a meaningful component of medical training. Despite the importance placed on research activities, little is known regarding the extent to which dermatology residents and fellows participate in research. Thus, we sought to determine if research productivity during residency and fellowship training predicted future research and academic success.Methods: We assessed whether research productivity during residency predicted future research and academic success. We searched for names of graduates from a random sample of 50 reputable dermatology programs. For each of the 202 graduates included, we determined the number of peer-reviewed publications (published before, during, and after residency), the total number of first authored peer-reviewed publications, H-index score, fellowship program, and if the graduate is currently working in a private or academic setting.Results: One hundred dermatology residency programs were identified, for which 50 were included in our sample. Graduate rosters were available for 16 programs (32%) with a total 202 residents. The majority of graduates had 1-5 publications (94/202, 46.5%), with 28/202 (13.8%) having 0 publications and 8/202 (3.96%) having >30 publications. The average number of publications prior to residency was 0.98, 3.33 during residency, and 3.39 after residency. Overall, the average number of total publications per resident was 7.71. Greater than one-half of first-authored publications were completed during residency (347/635, 54.6%). Lastly, one-third of graduates (68/202, 33.6%) elected to pursue a fellowship, and 66 graduates (of 202, 32.6%) chose to pursue a career in academia after completion of residency training.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that graduates of dermatology residency and fellowship programs are actively involved in research opportunities throughout their medical training. The value placed on research during dermatology training appears to carry with graduates into their postgraduate career, accounting for the continued research productivity after residency. We emphasize the importance of active involvement in research during and after residency in an effort to equip training physicians with valuable skills in order to accurately interpret and apply research outcomes to better patient care

Publication trends among anesthesiology graduates and its relationship with future academic success

Purpose: Research during medical training is widely considered to be an integral component of residency and fellowship match success, with many residency programs encouraging residents to engage in scholastic activities, such as serving as authors on peer-reviewed publications. However, the degree to which these scholarly practices continue beyond residency is unknown. Here, we investigate publication trends among graduates of anesthesiology residency programs as part of a larger initiative to examine publication trends and academic achievement across medical specialties.Methods: We employed a cross-sectional study design analyzing research output by graduates of anesthesiology residencies in relation to future publications and academic accomplishments from a random sample of 50 anesthesiology residency rosters using Doximity. For each graduate, we extracted from Scopus the number publications, H-index score, fellowship attainment, and post-graduate practice setting.Results: We identified 153 anesthesiology residency programs, of which 50 were randomly selected. Fifteen programs provided rosters, consisting of 390 graduates. The majority of graduates (197/390, 50.5%) had 1 or more publications, while 193 (49.5%) had zero publications, with an average of 2 publications per graduate and a median H-index score of 1.2. Most graduates pursued a fellowship (227/390, 58.2%), however, less than one-quarter (101/390, 25.9%) currently practice in an academic setting. Pearson correlation test demonstrated a positive correlation between the number of publications before residency and H-index (0.84), as well as during (0.33) and after residency (0.39). Graduates that had higher mean total publications were more likely to go into academic medicine (M = 3.8, SD 0.6) and pursue a fellowship after residency (M = 3.1, SD 0.4) than those that did not (M = 1.4, SD 0.3) (t390=-4.2, p <.001) and (M = 0.5, SD 0.1) (t390=-5.2, p <.001), respectively. Male graduates (M = 2.4, SD 0.4) had a higher mean publication total than female graduates (M = 1.3, SD 0.2) (t390=-2.0, p <.05).Conclusion: Despite scholastic activity being a requirement of graduate medical education, few graduates of anesthesiology residency programs are publishing research. We believe that promoting greater physician involvement in the research process will strengthen confidence in the interpretation and application of research findings

Analysis of publication trends in orthopedic residents in relations to academic achievement post-graduation

Background: Continuing Medical Education (CME) is an essential component of physician's careers. For many years the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has required residency programs to promote scholarly activity to obtain and retain accreditation. Many programs interpret this to mean promoting research amongst their members. Encouraging students to publish during residency is believed to promote research throughout their careers, but little information has been collected and analyzed to verify this assumption. This study was undertaken to determine if publishing in peer reviewed journals during orthopedic residencies was an indicator of continued academic achievement post-graduation.Methods: We examined whether research outcomes during orthopedic residencies indicated academic advancement and continual research. We identified 201 orthopedic residency programs and randomly selected 50 credible programs to include. Of the 298 graduates, we recorded the number of peer-reviewed publications, H-index score, fellowship program and if the graduate is currently working in private practice or an academic setting.Results: We included 201 orthopedic residency programs in our sample, of those 50 programs were included. A total of 25 (50%) programs provided graduate rosters for 298 residents. Thirty-seven residents (12.5%) had zero publications, 213 residents (80.0%) had 1-5 publications, 36 residents (12.2%) had 6-10 publications, 5 residents (1.7%) had 11-15 publications, 2 residents (0.66%) had 21-25 publications and 3 residents (1.0%) had 26-30 publications. Sixty-eight graduates (of 298, 22.8%) pursued academia and 276 (of 298, 92.6%) pursued a fellowship.Summary: The results indicate the vast majority of orthopedic residents published in peer reviewed journals complete fellowships. Though over 90% of residents actively pursued research during their medical instruction, less than a quarter chose to pursue academic medicine after completing their residencies. While not many students continued on to teach, nearly three quarters published after completing their programs. Encouraging publications during medical education does appear to promote further academic achievement after graduation, though more commonly as continued research not necessarily institutional academia

Head-to-Tail Intramolecular Interaction of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Regulatory Protein ICP27 Is Important for Its Interaction with Cellular mRNA Export Receptor TAP/NXF1

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) protein ICP27 has many important functions during infection that are achieved through interactions with a number of cellular proteins. In its role as a viral RNA export protein, ICP27 interacts with TAP/NXF1, the cellular mRNA export receptor, and both the N and C termini of ICP27 must be intact for this interaction to take place. Here we show by bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) that ICP27 interacts directly with TAP/NXF1 during infection, and this interaction failed to occur with an ICP27 mutant bearing substitutions of serines for cysteines at positions 483 and 488 in the C-terminal zinc finger. Recently, we showed that ICP27 undergoes a head-to-tail intramolecular interaction, which could make the N- and C-terminal regions accessible for binding to TAP/NXF1. To determine the importance of intramolecular association of ICP27 to its interaction with TAP/NXF1, we performed BiFC-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) by acceptor photobleaching. BiFC-based FRET showed that the interaction between ICP27 and TAP/NXF1 occurred in living cells upon head-to-tail intramolecular association of ICP27, further establishing that TAP/NXF1 interacts with both the N and C termini of ICP27

Does implementation matter if comprehension is lacking? A qualitative investigation into perceptions of advance care planning in people with cancer

Purpose: While advance care planning holds promise, uptake is variable and it is unclear how well people engage with or comprehend advance care planning. The objective of this study was to explore how people with cancer comprehended Advance Care Plans and examine how accurately advance care planning documentation represented patient wishes. Methods: This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Data collection comprised interviews and an examination of participants’ existing advance care planning documentation. Participants included those who had any diagnosis of cancer with an advance care plan recorded: Refusal of Treatment Certificate; Statement of Choices; and/or Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment) at one cancer treatment centre. Results: Fourteen participants were involved in the study. Twelve participants were female (86%). The mean age was 77 (range: 61-91) and participants had completed their advance care planning documentation between 8 and 72 weeks prior to the interview (mean 33 weeks). Three themes were evident from the data: Incomplete advance care planning understanding and confidence; Limited congruence for attitude and documentation; Advance care planning can enable peace of mind. Complete advance care planning understanding was unusual; most participants demonstrated partial comprehension of their own advance care plan, and some indicated very limited understanding. Participants’ attitudes and their written document congruence was limited, but advance care planning was seen as helpful. Conclusions: This study highlighted advance care planning was not a completely accurate representation of patient wishes. There is opportunity to improve how patients comprehend their own advance care planning documentation

Particle emission characteristics of a gas turbine with a double annular combustor

The total climate, air quality and health impact of aircraft black carbon (BC) emissions depends on quantity (mass and number concentration), as well as morphology (fractal dimension and surface area) of emitted BC aggregates. This study examines multiple BC emission metrics from a gas turbine with a double annular combustor, CFM56-5B4-2P. As a part of the SAMPLE III.2 campaign, concurrent measurements of particle mobility, particle mass, particle number concentration and mass concentration, as well as collection of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples, allowed for characterization of the BC emissions. Mass- and number-based emission indices were strongly influenced by thrust setting during pilot combustion and ranged from <1 to 208 mg/kg-fuel and 3×1012 to 3×1016 particles/kg-fuel, respectively. Mobility measurements indicated that mean diameters ranged from 7-44 nm with a strong dependence on thrust during pilot-only combustion. Using aggregation and sintering theory with empirical effective density relationships, a power law relationship between primary particle diameter and mobility diameter is presented. Mean primary particle diameter ranged from 6-19 nm, however, laser induced incandescence (LII) and mass-mobility calculated primary particle diameters demonstrated opposite trends with thrust setting. Similarly, mass-mobility-calculated aggregate mass specific surface area and LII-measured surface area were not in agreement, indicating both methods need further development and validation before use as quantitative indicators of primary particle diameter and mass-specific surface area.The authors express their gratitude to a number of people and organizations in helping to plan, conduct, finance and provide instruments for this measurement campaign. The 537 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) funded the SAMPLE III SC02 campaign (EASA.2010.FC.10, Specific Contract No: SC02). The Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Switzerland (FOCA) was critical in for providing additional financial support and arranging facilities which made this study possible. We also thank the SR Technics test bed staff, including Frithjof Siegerist, for operating the engines and enabling access to the test facility. We thank AVL, Cambustion, Grimm & TSI supplying both instruments and expertise.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2015.107845

"Making my own luck": Serendipity strategies and how to support them in digital information environments

Serendipity occurs when unexpected circumstances and an 'aha' moment of insight result in a valuable, unanticipated outcome. Designing digital information environments to support serendipity can not only provide users with new knowledge, but also propel them in exciting directions they might not otherwise have travelled in - surprising and delighting them along the way. As serendipity involves unexpected circumstances it cannot be directly controlled, but it can potentially be influenced. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous work has focused on providing a rich empirical understanding of how it might be influenced. We interviewed 14 creative professionals to identify their self-reported strategies aimed at increasing the likelihood of serendipity. These strategies form a framework for examining ways existing digital environments support serendipity and for considering how future environments can create opportunities for it. This is a new way of thinking about how to design for serendipity; by supporting the strategies found to increase its likelihood rather than attempting to support serendipity as a discrete phenomenon, digital environments not only have the potential to help users experience serendipity but also encourage them to adopt the strategies necessary to experience it more often