46 research outputs found
The Influence of the Emotional Intelligence Management Curriculum to Improve College Studentsâ Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills to Impact Leader Behavior and Team Performance Effectiveness
There is a growing emphasis in institutions of higher learning to produce sustainable and competitive graduates who possess relevant personal competencies for career success. Emotional intelligence skills can provide the competitive edge for graduates to be successful int heir industry of choice. Integrating emotional intelligence into higher education can potentially shift the learning environment and increase specific personal competencies. This study aims to investigate the influence of an emotional intelligence intervention to improve college studentsâ intrapersonal and interpersonal skills to impact leader behavior skills and team effectiveness. The research looked specifically at studentsâ skills from three dimensions (intrapersonal,interpersonal, and leadership) and their performance in two areas (leader behavior and team effectiveness). These competencies were viewed as critical skills employers seek when hiring graduates according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE, 2008) survey. NACE also report in (2012) that employers expressed that teamwork and collaboration were critical skills for the work environment, thus making teamwork the number one skill employers valued in a new hire for that year. More employers, boards, and accrediting agencies are recognizing the need to incorporate personal qualities, skills and behaviors of emotional intelligence into the formal curriculum. While it seems that more colleges and universities are trying to do this, there does not seem to be a coherent and systematic way to modify the curriculum to address this growing need. This study makes a direct connection with new requirements from AACSB and provides examples of curriculum to improve interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of leadership. The study is a quantitative quasi-experimental design that incorporated a pre-test and post-test, the Emotional Learning System (ELS) that was incorporated into the Emotional Intelligence Management Concept Curriculum Program intervention (EIMCCP) and provided a sequential systematic model that increased the experimental groupâs post Emotional Skills Assessment Process (ESAP) score along with a community service team project experience. This research used emotional intelligence as an integral part of the Management Concept course curriculum in the School of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The results indicated a significant positive impact on emotional intelligence scores and team effectiveness. The findings implied that emotional intelligence made a significant difference in the experimental groupsâ ability to perform in a team environment. Institutions of higher education should integrate emotional intelligence in course curricula to assist students in becoming sustainable and competitive graduates
The Influence Of The Emotional Intelligence Management Curriculum To Improve College StudentsĂąâŹâą Intrapersonal And Interpersonal Skills To Impact Leader Behavior And Team Performance Effectiveness
There is a growing emphasis in institutions of higher learning to produce sustainable andcompetitive graduates who possess relevant personal competencies for career success. Emotional intelligence skills can provide the competitive edge for graduates to be successful intheir industry of choice. Integrating emotional intelligence into higher education can potentially shift the learning environment and increase specific personal competencies. This study aims to investigate the influence of an emotional intelligence intervention to improve college studentsĂąâŹâą intrapersonal and interpersonal skills to impact leader behavior skills and team effectiveness
Portraying US-Mexico Border Environmental Health Concerns
\u27Objective: Create a Web-based illustrated view of a generic US-Mexico border scene that highlights common environmental health concerns along the border and links to selected web resources on those concerns and on toxic chemicals that might be found in the region. Methods: Work with librarians, public health workers, educators, and government contacts in the border states to ensure that the border scene accurately reflects the look of the area and comprehensively represents environmental health concerns in the region. Conclusions: When creating a graphical representation of a specific geographic area and the people who live there, it\\u27s crucial to work with local contacts to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness of content and determine usefulness in that region.\u27https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hslic-posters-presentations/1074/thumbnail.jp
Ătude de la rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques des entĂ©rocoques d'origine animale du QuĂ©bec
Les entĂ©rocoques font partie de la flore normale intestinale des animaux et des humains. Plusieurs Ă©tudes ont dĂ©montrĂ© que les entĂ©rocoques dâorigine animale pouvaient reprĂ©senter un rĂ©servoir de gĂšnes de rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques pour la communautĂ© humaine et animale. Les espĂšces Enterococcus faecalis et Enterococcus faecium sont importantes en santĂ© publique; elles sont responsables dâenviron 12% de toutes les infections nosocomiales aux Ătats-Unis. Au Canada, les cas de colonisation et/ou dâinfections Ă entĂ©rocoques rĂ©sistants Ă la vancomycine ont plus que triplĂ© de 2005 Ă 2009.
Un total de 387 isolats E. faecalis et E. faecium aviaires, et 124 isolats E. faecalis porcins ont Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©s et analysĂ©s pour leur susceptibilitĂ© aux antibiotiques. De hauts pourcentages de rĂ©sistance envers les macrolides et les tĂ©tracyclines ont Ă©tĂ© observĂ©s tant chez les isolats aviaires que porcins. Deux profils phĂ©notypiques prĂ©dominants ont Ă©tĂ© dĂ©terminĂ©s et analysĂ©s par PCR et sĂ©quençage pour la prĂ©sence de gĂšnes de rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques. DiffĂ©rentes combinaisons de gĂšnes de rĂ©sistance ont Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©es dont erm(B) et tet(M) Ă©tant les plus prĂ©valents. Des extractions plasmidiques et des analyses par hybridation ont permis de dĂ©terminer, pour la premiĂšre fois, la colocalisation des gĂšnes erm(B) et tet(M) sur un plasmide dâenviron 9 kb chez des isolats E. faecalis porcins, et des gĂšnes erm(B) et tet(O) sur un plasmide de faible poids molĂ©culaire dâenviron 11 kb chez des isolats E. faecalis aviaires. De plus, nous avons dĂ©montrĂ©, grĂące Ă des essais conjugatifs, que ces plasmides pouvaient ĂȘtre transfĂ©rĂ©s. Les rĂ©sultats ont rĂ©vĂ©lĂ© que les entĂ©rocoques intestinaux aviaires et porcins, lesquels peuvent contaminer la viande Ă lâabattoir, pouvaient reprĂ©senter un rĂ©servoir de gĂšnes de rĂ©sistance envers la quinupristine-dalfopristine, la bacitracine, la tĂ©tracycline et les macrolides.
Afin dâĂ©valuer lâutilisation dâun antisĂ©rum polyclonal SA dans lâinterfĂ©rence de la rĂ©sistance Ă de fortes concentrations de bacitracine (gĂšnes bcrRAB), lors dâun transfert conjugatif rĂ©pondant aux phĂ©romones, un isolat multirĂ©sistant E. faecalis aviaire a Ă©tĂ© sĂ©lectionnĂ©. AprĂšs induction avec des phĂ©romones produites par la souche rĂ©ceptrice E. faecalis JH2-2, lâagrĂ©gation de la souche donatrice E. faecalis 543 a Ă©tĂ© observĂ©e ainsi que des frĂ©quences de transfert Ă©levĂ©es en bouillon lors dâune courte pĂ©riode de conjugaison. Le transfert conjugatif des gĂšnes asa1, traB et bcrRAB ainsi que leur colocalisation a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©montrĂ© chez le donneur et un transconjugant T543-1 sur un plasmide de 115 kb par Ă©lectrophorĂšse Ă champs pulsĂ© (PFGE) et hybridation. Une CMI de > 2 048 ”g/ml envers la bacitracine a Ă©tĂ© obtenue tant chez le donneur que le transconjuguant tandis que la souche rĂ©ceptrice JH2-2 dĂ©montrait une CMI de 32 ”g/ml. Le sĂ©quençage des gĂšnes asa1, codant pour la substance agrĂ©gative, et traB, une protĂ©ine rĂ©gulant nĂ©gativement la rĂ©ponse aux phĂ©romones, a rĂ©vĂ©lĂ© une association de cet Ă©lĂ©ment gĂ©nĂ©tique avec le plasmide pJM01. De plus, cette Ă©tude prĂ©sente quâun antisĂ©rum polyclonal SA peut interfĂ©rer significativement dans le transfert horizontal dâun plasmide rĂ©pondant aux phĂ©romones codant pour de la rĂ©sistance Ă de fortes doses de bacitracine dâune souche E. faecalis aviaire multirĂ©sistante.
Des isolats cliniques E. faecium dâorigine humaine et canine ont Ă©tĂ© analysĂ©s et comparĂ©s. Cette Ă©tude rapporte, pour la premiĂšre fois, la caractĂ©risation dâisolats cliniques E. faecium rĂ©sistants Ă lâampicilline (EFRA) dâorigine canine associĂ©s Ă CC17 (ST17) au Canada. Ces isolats Ă©taient rĂ©sistants Ă la ciprofloxacine et Ă la lincomycine. Leur rĂ©sistance envers la ciprofloxacine a Ă©tĂ© confirmĂ©e par la prĂ©sence de substitutions dans la sĂ©quence en acides aminĂ©s des gĂšnes de lâADN gyrase (gyrA/gyrB) et de la topoisomĂ©rase IV (parC/parE). Des rĂ©sistances Ă©levĂ©es envers la gentamicine, la kanamycine et la streptomycine, et de la rĂ©sistance envers les macrolides et les lincosamides a Ă©galement Ă©tĂ© observĂ©es. La frĂ©quence de rĂ©sistance envers la tĂ©tracycline Ă©tait Ă©levĂ©e tandis que celle envers la vancomycine nâa pas Ă©tĂ© dĂ©tectĂ©e. De plus, aucune rĂ©sistance nâa Ă©tĂ© observĂ©e envers le linĂ©zolide et la quinupristine-dalfopristine. Les donnĂ©es ont dĂ©montrĂ© une absence complĂšte des gĂšnes esp (protĂ©ine de surface des entĂ©rocoques) et hyl (hyaluronidase) chez les isolats canins EFRA testĂ©s tandis quâils possĂ©daient tous le gĂšne acm (adhĂ©sine de liaison au collagĂšne dâE. faecium). Aucune activitĂ© reliĂ©e Ă la formation de biofilm ou la prĂ©sence dâĂ©lĂ©ments CRISPR (loci de courtes rĂ©pĂ©titions palindromiques Ă interespaces rĂ©guliers) nâa Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©e chez les isolats canins EFRA. Les familles de plasmide rep6 and rep11 ont significativement Ă©tĂ© associĂ©es aux isolats dâorigine canine. Les profils PFGE des isolats dâorigine humaine et canine n'ont rĂ©vĂ©lĂ© aucune relation (†80%). Ces rĂ©sultats illustrent l'importance d'une utilisation judicieuse des antibiotiques en mĂ©decine vĂ©tĂ©rinaire afin dâĂ©viter la dissĂ©mination zoonotique des isolats EFRA canins.
Nous pensons que ces rĂ©sultats contribueront Ă une meilleure comprĂ©hension des mĂ©canismes de rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques et de leurs Ă©lĂ©ments mobiles ainsi quâĂ de nouvelles stratĂ©gies afin de rĂ©duire le transfert horizontal de la rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques et des facteurs de virulence.Enterococci are part of normal intestinal gut flora of animals and humans. Many studies have shown that enterococci from animal origin could represent an antimicrobial resistance genes reservoir for the human community. The two species Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are important in public health; they are responsible for approximately 12% of all nosocomial infections in the United States. In Canada, cases of colonization and/or infections to vancomycin resistant enterococci have more than tripled from 2005 to 2009.
A total of 387 poultry E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates, and 124 porcine E. faecalis isolates were identified and analyzed for their antibiotic susceptibilities. High percentages of resistance to macrolides and tetracyclines were found in both avian and porcine isolates. Two predominant phenotypic profiles were determined and analyzed by PCR and sequencing for the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes. Various combinations of antibiotic resistance genes were detected; erm(B) and tet(M) were the most common genes. For the first time, plasmid extraction and hybridization revealed colocalization of erm(B) and tet(M) on a plasmid of ~9 kb in porcine E. faecalis isolates, and of erm(B) and tet(O) on a low-molecular-weight plasmid of ~11 kb in poultry E. faecalis isolates. Furthermore, we demonstrated, through mating experiments, these plasmids could be transferred. Results indicate that the intestinal enterococci of healthy pigs and poultry, which can contaminate meat at slaughter, could be a reservoir for quinupristin-dalfopristin, bacitracin, tetracycline, and macrolide resistance genes.
To assess the use of a polyclonal antiserum AS on the contact interference of a high level bacitracin resistant (bcrRAB genes) pheromone-responsive plasmid, a multiresistant E. faecalis isolate of poultry origin was selected. After induction with pheromones produced by the recipient strain E. faecalis JH2-2, clumping of the donor E. faecalis strain 543 was demonstrated as well as high transfer frequencies in short time broth mating. Conjugative transfer of asa1, traB and bcrRAB genes and their co-localization were also demonstrated in the donor strain and a transconjugant T543-1 on a plasmid band of 115 kb by PFGE and Southern blotting. A MIC to bacitracin of > 2 048 ”g/ml was obtained for both strains 543 and T543-1 whereas the recipient strain JH2-2 demonstrated a MIC of 32 ”g/ml. Sequencing of the asa1 gene encoding for an AS, and traB for a pheromone shutdown protein, confirmed the association of this genetic element to the pheromone-responsive plasmid related to pJM01. More significantly, this study presents the evidence that a polyclonal antiserum AS can significantly interfere with the horizontal transfer of a pheromone-responsive plasmid encoding high-level bacitracin resistance of a poultry multidrug resistant E. faecalis strain.
Clinical isolates of E. faecium of human and canine origin were analyzed and compared. This report describes for the first time the characterization of canine clinical ampicillin-resistant E. faecium (AREF) isolates related to CC17 (ST17) in Canada. These isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and lincomycin. Resistance to ciprofloxacin was confirmed by amino acid substitutions in DNA gyrase (gyrA/gyrB) and topoisomerase IV (parC/parE) genes. High-level gentamicin, -kanamycin and -streptomycin resistances and macrolides resistance were also observed. The frequency of tetracycline resistance was high whereas vancomycin resistance was not detected. Also, no resistance was observed to linezolid and quinupristin-dalfopristin antibiotics. Data demonstrated the complete absence of enterococcal surface protein (esp) and hyaluronidase (hyl) genes among the canine AREF isolates tested while all were acm (collagen adhesin from E. faecium) positive. However, most of them were shown to harbor efaAfm gene, encoding for a cell wall adhesin. No biofilm formation or clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) elements were identified in these canine AREF isolates. rep6 and rep11 families of plasmids were significantly associated with isolates from dogs. The PFGE patterns of human and dog isolates were considered unrelated (†80%). These findings also support the importance of prudent use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine to avoid zoonotic spread of canine AREF isolates.
We are confident that our results may help to better understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and mobile element carrying them as well as new strategies to reduce the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence traits
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) Prevention Strategy Using Education in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Purpose: To measure clinical impact of an evidence-based educational strategy on urinary tract infection (UTI) rates in a 900+ bed acute care facility located in a southwestern state in the United States (US). Clinical Question: Will a focu son staff education in the ICU on proper placement techniques, care, and early removal of urinary retention catheters reduce incidences of CAUTIs in an ICU setting
Single cells from human primary colorectal tumors exhibit polyfunctional heterogeneity in secretions of ELR+ CXC chemokines
Cancer is an inflammatory disease of tissue that is largely influenced by the interactions between multiple cell types, secreted factors, and signal transduction pathways. While single-cell sequencing continues to refine our understanding of the clonotypic heterogeneity within tumors, the complex interplay between genetic variations and non-genetic factors ultimately affects therapeutic outcome. Much has been learned through bulk studies of secreted factors in the tumor microenvironment, but the secretory behavior of single cells has been largely uncharacterized. Here we directly profiled the secretions of ELR+ CXC chemokines from thousands of single colorectal tumor and stromal cells, using an array of subnanoliter wells and a technique called microengraving to characterize both the rates of secretion of several factors at once and the numbers of cells secreting each chemokine. The ELR+ CXC chemokines are highly redundant, pro-angiogenic cytokines that signal via the CXCR1 and CXCR2 receptors, influencing tumor growth and progression. We find that human primary colorectal tumor and stromal cells exhibit polyfunctional heterogeneity in the combinations and magnitudes of secretions for these chemokines. In cell lines, we observe similar variance: phenotypes observed in bulk can be largely absent among the majority of single cells, and discordances exist between secretory states measured and gene expression for these chemokines among single cells. Together, these measures suggest secretory states among tumor cells are complex and can evolve dynamically. Most importantly, this study reveals new insight into the intratumoral phenotypic heterogeneity of human primary tumors.Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Cancer Center Support (Core) Grant P30-CA14051)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipSingapore. Agency for Science, Technology and ResearchSwiss National Science Foundation (Fellowship for Advanced Researchers PA00P3 139659
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of clofazimine for treatment of cryptosporidiosis
Infection with Cryptosporidium spp. can cause severe diarrhea leading to long-term adverse impacts and even death in malnourished children and immunocompromised patients. The only FDA-approved drug for treating cryptosporidiosis, nitazoxanide, has limited efficacy in the populations impacted the most by the diarrheal disease, and safe, effective treatment options are urgently needed. Initially identified by a large-scale phenotypic screening campaign, the antimycobacterial therapeutic clofazimine demonstrated great promise in both in vitro and in vivo preclinical models of Cryptosporidium infection. Unfortunately, a Phase 2a clinical trial in HIV infected adults with cryptosporidiosis did not identify any clofazimine treatment effect on Cryptosporidium infection burden or clinical outcomes. To explore whether clofazimine's lack of efficacy in the Phase 2a trial may have been due to subtherapeutic clofazimine concentrations, a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling approach was undertaken to determine the relationship between clofazimine in vivo concentrations and treatment effects in multiple preclinical infection models. Exposure-response relationships were characterized using Emax and logistic models which allowed predictions of efficacious clofazimine concentrations for the control and reduction of disease burden. After establishing exposure-response relationships for clofazimine treatment of Cryptosporidium infection in our preclinical model studies, it was unmistakable that the clofazimine levels observed in the Phase 2a study participants were well below concentrations associated with anti-Cryptosporidium efficacy. Thus, despite a dosing regimen above the highest doses recommended for mycobacterial therapy, it is very likely the lack of treatment effect in the Phase 2a trial was at least partially due to clofazimine concentrations below those required for efficacy against cryptosporidiosis. It is unlikely that clofazimine will provide a remedy for the large number of cryptosporidiosis patients currently without a viable treatment option unless alternative, safe clofazimine formulations with improved oral absorption are developed
A Pilot Study of Lay Health Worker Outreach and Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Chinese Americans
The research team recruited eight Chinese American (seven females, one male) lay health workers (LHWs). They received 12Â h of training about colorectal cancer (CRC), its screening, and basic health education techniques. Each LHW were asked to recruit ten participants and conduct two educational sessions. Of the 81 participants recruited, 73 had not received colorectal cancer screening. Their mean age was 63.0Â years, and 72.6% were women. Knowledge of colorectal cancer, its causes, and its screening increased significantly. Receipt of first colorectal cancer screening test increased from 0.0% at baseline to 55.7% for fecal occult blood tests, 7.1% for sigmoidoscopy, and 7.1% for colonoscopy. LHW outreach is feasible and may be effective in promoting CRC screening among Chinese Americans
Mesenchymal inflammation drives genotoxic stress in hematopoietic stem cells and predicts disease evolution in human pre-leukemia
Mesenchymal niche cells may drive tissue failure and malignant transformation in the hematopoietic system but the molecular mechanisms and their relevance to human disease remain poorly defined. Here, we show that perturbation of mesenchymal cells in a mouse model of the preleukemic disorder Shwachman-Diamond syndrome induces mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and activation of DNA damage responses in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Massive parallel RNA sequencing of highly purified mesenchymal cells in the mouse model and a range of human preleukemic syndromes identified p53-S100A8/9-TLR inflammatory signaling as a common driving mechanism of genotoxic stress.
Transcriptional activation of this signaling axis in the mesenchymal niche predicted leukemic evolution and progression-free survival in myelodysplastic syndrome, the principal leukemia predisposition syndrome. Collectively, our findings reveal a concept of mesenchymal niche-induced genotoxic stress in heterotypic stem and progenitor cells through inflammatory signaling as an actionable determinant of disease outcome in human preleukemia
The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies,
expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling
for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least .
With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000
people realized that vision as the James Webb Space Telescope. A
generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of
the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the
scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000
team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image
quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief
history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing
program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite
detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space
Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure