Partnering Associate Degree Nursing Students and Community Health Worker Students in a Collaborative, Culturally Focused, Interprofessional Learning Experience

The purpose of this project is to provide nursing students in the final semester of their associate degree nursing program and community health worker students with a culturally focused, interactive, collaborative, interprofessional learning experience. Health care reform addresses health disparities in an increasingly diverse population with complex chronic health needs. The needs of this diverse population require health professionals to function as members of interprofessional teams providing culturally competent care. Published professional literature supports interprofessional education for students entering the health care field to prepare them to practice as members of interprofessional teams. Government studies and professional accrediting bodies overseeing educational programs mandate inclusion of cultural competence curriculum for health professional students. Malcolm Knowles\u27 principles of andragogy to enhance adult learning coincide with principles of interprofessional learning. Josepha Campinha- Bacote\u27s model of the process of cultural competence in the delivery of healthcare services provides support for nursing education to initiate the process of becoming culturally competent by developing cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, and cultural encounter motivated by cultural desire

Induction and repression of mammalian achaete-scute homologue (MASH) gene expression during neuronal differentiation of P19 embryonal carcinoma cells

MASH1 and MASH2, mammalian homologues of the Drosophila neural determination genes achaete-scute, are members of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family of transcription factors. We show here that murine P19 embryonal carcinoma cells can be used as a model system to study the regulation and function of these genes. MASH1 and MASH2 display complementary patterns of expression during the retinoic-acid-induced neuronal differentiation of P19 cells. MASH1 mRNA is undetectable in undifferentiated P19 cells but is induced to high levels by retinoic acid coincident with neuronal differentiation. In contrast, MASH2 mRNA is expressed in undifferentiated P19 cells and is repressed by retinoic acid treatment. These complementary expression patterns suggest distinct functions for MASH1 and MASH2 in development, despite their sequence homology. In retinoic-acid-treated P19 cells, MASH1 protein expression precedes and then overlaps expression of neuronal markers. However, MASH1 is expressed by a smaller proportion of cells than expresses such markers. MASH1 immunoreactivity is not detected in differentiated cells displaying a neuronal morphology, suggesting that its expression is transient. These features of MASH1 expression are similar to those observed in vivo, and suggest that P19 cells represent a good model system in which to study the regulation of this gene. Forced expression of MASH1 was achieved in undifferentiated P19 cells by transfection of a cDNA expression construct. The transfected cells expressing exogenous MASH1 protein contained E-box-binding activity that could be super-shifted by an anti-MASH1 antibody, but exhibited no detectable phenotypic changes. Thus, unlike myogenic bHLH genes, such as MyoD, which are sufficient to induce muscle differentiation, expression of MASH1 appears insufficient to promote neurogenesis

XATH-1,a Vertebrate Homolog ofDrosophila atonal,Induces Neuronal Differentiation within Ectodermal Progenitors

AbstractXATH-1,a basic/helix-loop-helix transcription factor and a homolog ofDrosophila atonaland mammalianMATH-1,is expressed specifically in the dorsal hindbrain duringXenopusneural development. In order to investigate the role ofXATH-1in the neuronal differentiation process, we have examined the effects ofXATH-1overexpression duringXenopusdevelopment.XATH-1induces the expression of neuronal differentiation markers, such asN-tubulin,within the neural plate as well as within nonneural ectodermal progenitor populations, resulting in the appearance of process-bearing neurons within the epidermis. The related basic/helix-loop-helix genesneurogenin-related-1andneuroDare not induced in response toXATH-1overexpression within the embryo, suggesting thatXATH-1may activate an alternate pathway of neuronal differentiation. In further contrast toneurogenin-related-1andneuroD,high-level expression of general neural markers expressed earlier in development, such asN-CAM,is not induced byXATH-1overexpression. Competent ectodermal progenitors therefore respond to ectopicXATH-1expression by initiating a distinct program of neuronal differentiation

Multiple Elements RegulateMash1Expression in the Developing CNS

AbstractMash1, a transcription factor of the basic helix–loop–helix class, is expressed during embryogenesis in restricted regions of the nervous system. An essential role for Mash1 in neural development was demonstrated previously in mice carrying a targeted disruption of theMash1gene. Regulation of the precise temporal and spatial expression ofMash1is thus likely to be important for proper neural development. In this study, sequences that regulateMash1expression in the central nervous system were characterized by assaying the expression oflacZreporter genes in transgenic embryos. A 1158-bp enhancer localized ∼7 kb upstream of theMash1coding region was identified. Deletions within this enhancer region reveal the presence of both positive and negativecis-acting elements. Analysis of multiple sequences within the enhancer demonstrate that different elements preferentially function in different regions within theMash1-specific CNS expression domain. In addition, a role for sequences 3′ of theMash1coding region is revealed, providing evidence for posttranscriptional control ofMash1expression in multiple CNS domains

Examining the Role of Environment in a Comprehensive Sample of Compact Groups

(Abridged) Compact groups, with their high number densities, small velocity dispersions, and an interstellar medium that has not been fully processed, provide a local analog to conditions of galaxy interactions in the earlier universe. The frequent and prolonged gravitational encounters that occur in compact groups affect the evolution of the constituent galaxies in a myriad of ways, for example gas processing and star formation. Recently, a statistically significant "gap" has been discovered mid-infrared IRAC colorspace of compact group galaxies. This gap is not seen in field samples and is a new example of how the compact group environment may affect the evolution of member galaxies. In order to investigate the origin and nature of this gap, we have compiled a sample of 49 compact groups. We find that a statistically significant deficit of galaxies in this gap region of IRAC colorspace is persistant in this sample, lending support to the hypothesis that the compact group environment inhibits moderate SSFRs. We note a curvature in the colorspace distribution, which is fully consistent with increasing dust temperature as the activity in a galaxy increases. This full sample of 49 compact groups allows us to subdivide the data according to physical properties of the groups. An analysis of these subsamples indicates that neither projected physical diameter nor density show a trend in colorspace within the values represented by this sample. We hypothesize that the apparent lack of a trend is due to the relatively small range of properties in this sample. Thus, the relative influence of stochastic effects becomes dominant. We analyze spectral energy distributions of member galaxies as a function of their location in colorspace and find that galaxies in different regions of MIR colorspace contain dust with varying temperatures and/or PAH emission.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Enabling Performance-Based Navigation Arrivals: Development and Simulation Testing of the Terminal Sequencing and Spacing System

NASA has developed an advanced arrival management capability for terminal controllers, known as Terminal Sequencing and Spacing (TSS). TSS increases use of performance-based navigation (PBN) arrival procedures during periods of high traffic demand. It extends two Federal Aviation Administration's operational systems with terminal metering and controller spacing tools. Sixteen high-fidelity human-in-the-loop simulations, involving more than five hundred hours of evaluation time, were conducted to mature TSS from proof-of- concept design to fully functional prototype. These simulations modeled arrival procedures at several U.S. airports, incorporated a broad range of traffic demand profiles and wind conditions, and used controllers with extensive operational experience. Two fundamental metrics are evaluated for these simulations: PBN Success Rate and Inter-Arrival Spacing Error. The PBN Success Rate shows a definitive trend when TSS is used. It increases from 42 percent for today's operations to 68 percent for terminal metering only and 92 percent for terminal metering with controller-managed spacing tools. Meanwhile, the Inter-Arrival Spacing Error improves 25 to 35 percent when TSS is used compared to not used. The TSS technology was transferred to the FAA and, and it is targeted for deployment to several busy airports in the U.S. starting in 2018

Some Like It Hot: Linking Diffuse X-ray Luminosity, Baryonic Mass, and Star Formation Rate in Compact Groups of Galaxies

We present an analysis of the diffuse X-ray emission in 19 compact groups of galaxies (CGs) observed with Chandra. The hottest, most X-ray luminous CGs agree well with the galaxy cluster X-ray scaling relations in $L_X-T$ and $L_X-\sigma$, even in CGs where the hot gas is associated with only the brightest galaxy. Using Spitzer photometry, we compute stellar masses and classify HCGs 19, 22, 40, and 42 and RSCGs 32, 44, and 86 as fossil groups using a new definition for fossil systems that includes a broader range of masses. We find that CGs with total stellar and HI masses $\gtrsim10^{11.3}$ M$_\odot$ are often X-ray luminous, while lower-mass CGs only sometimes exhibit faint, localized X-ray emission. Additionally, we compare the diffuse X-ray luminosity against both the total UV and 24 $\mu$m star formation rates of each CG and optical colors of the most massive galaxy in each of the CGs. The most X-ray luminous CGs have the lowest star formation rates, likely because there is no cold gas available for star formation, either because the majority of the baryons in these CGs are in stars or the X-ray halo, or due to gas stripping from the galaxies in CGs with hot halos. Finally, the optical colors that trace recent star formation histories of the most massive group galaxies do not correlate with the X-ray luminosities of the CGs, indicating that perhaps the current state of the X-ray halos is independent of the recent history of stellar mass assembly in the most massive galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Neurogenin2 Expression in Ventral and Dorsal Spinal Neural Tube Progenitor Cells Is Regulated by Distinct Enhancers

AbstractThe basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Neurogenin2 (NGN2) is expressed in distinct populations of neural progenitor cells within the developing central and peripheral nervous systems. Transgenic mice containing ngn2/lacZ reporter constructs were used to study the regulation of ngn2 in the developing spinal cord. ngn2/lacZ transgenic embryos containing sequence found 5′ or 3′ to the ngn2 coding region express lacZ in domains that reflect the spatial and temporal expression profile of endogenous ngn2. A 4.4-kb fragment 5′ of ngn2 was sufficient to drive lacZ expression in the ventral neural tube, whereas a 1.0-kb fragment located 3′ of ngn2 directed expression to both dorsal and ventral domains. Persistent β-gal activity revealed that the NGN2 progenitor cells in the dorsal domain give rise to a subset of interneurons that send their axons to the floor plate, and the NGN2 progenitors in the ventral domain give rise to a subset of motor neurons. We identified a discrete element that is required for the activity of the ngn2 enhancer specifically in the ventral neural tube. Thus, separable regulatory elements that direct ngn2 expression to distinct neural progenitor populations have been defined

The parenting task: parent's concerns and where they would seek help

Governments are concerned to promote positive parenting but it is difficult to know how and where to target the necessary support. How should we listen to the concerns expressed by parents themselves? Social work and health care professionals and those involved in developing parenting programmes tend to base their interventions on their experiences with families already in crisis. This paper reports on a survey of the views of two groups of parents: a community sample and a small group of parents involved in a young parent's project. Issues, which concern the parents, are identified as well as consideration of which agencies might be best placed to address these. Parents were most likely to approach their children's school or doctor for information, advice, or support. Parents were found to be reluctant to approach social work agencies