Accessibility for All: New Laws and Strategies for Diverse Learners

The number of students with disabilities in the United States is steadily increasing. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2012, 11.3 percent of undergraduates reported some type of disability. The laws under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act regarding electronic and information technology (EIT) dictate changes that institutions must make to ensure accessibility for these students and the public at large. All individuals, including those with disabilities, must have the tools for a world-class education offering them opportunities for success as a student and in the workplace. Due to rapid changes in information technology, this presents challenges that may be compounded when a student must use adaptive technology or has a learning disability. While accessibility guidelines stipulate equal opportunity to the educational benefits afforded by instructional materials and technology, educators and librarians are often uncertain about the requirements for websites, documents (tests, class handouts, forms) and videos shown in class or posted online. During this interactive workshop, a librarian and Disability Support coordinator will share how they developed a training program for faculty and staff and will provide guidance for some of the most frequently asked questions about accessibility: What are the laws or guidelines? What are the requirements for instructional materials? Attendees will receive step-by step instructions to check existing materials for accessibility issues and create new materials that are ADA compliant

The Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Intrinsic Religiosity in Southern Appalachia

The present exploratory study examined adverse childhood experiences and religiosity in a sample of individuals from Southern Appalachia. Self-reports of childhood adversity and intrinsic religion were obtained from 167 individuals. Results showed that fifty-five percent had not experienced a childhood adversity while forty-three percent had experienced one to five episodes. Although a little under half the sample had one or more adverse experiences, there was no significant relationship between ACEs and intrinsic religion (r= -.037, p= .631). Sex and intrinsic religion were significantly related in that men endorsed the use of intrinsic religiosity more than women (t(165)= -2.28, p= .005)

Decellularized Pancreatic Tissue

Diabetes mellitus is a pancreatic condition caused by either an autoimmune destruction of insulin producing beta cells or failing pancreatic beta cells. Current treatments address symptoms but do not successfully replace these malfunctioning tissues. Pancreas and islet transplantation are very limited due to the shortage of donors. The decellularization of pancreatic tissue provides a native tissue matrix, applicable for various tissue engineering investigations. Through the process of decellularization, it is possible for the extracellular matrix (ECM) to maintain the chemical and structural integrity of the original tissue. It can then be used as a scaffold material through the additions of different cell populations, including stem cells, allowing them to differentiate. Other methods include fabricating a native ECM powder from the decellularized tissue from which hydrogels can be constructed. This project involves the decellularization of an isolated rat pancreas. Using a static rocker and later a perfusion system set up, the pancreas sections will be decellularized using 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 1% Triton X-100 buffers in order to remove all the cellular components from the pancreatic tissue. After decellularization, the pancreas tissue will be lyophilized and prepared into pancreas extracellular matrix powder. The powder can be used to form hydrogels, mimicking the pancreatic tissue. I have successfully decellularized pancreas sections and am currently quantifying decellularization efficiency by counting the remaining cellular nuclei using DAPI staining and ImageJ software. It is predicted that the native tissue matrix of the pancreas can serve as promising material in developing engineered pancreatic tissue

Assessment of IPE Core Competencies During Advanced Pharmacy Practice Clinical Experiences

Purpose: To illustrate incorporation of select interprofessional education collaborative (IPEC) competencies into preceptor evaluations of students for advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). To describe the tool and evaluate the results obtained. Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) is a necessary component of pharmacy curricula. Pharmacy students at this health sciences university participate in a required two-year, longitudinal IPE program during their first two program years; some students participate in additional IPE programming throughout the final two program years. To evaluate the success of these experiences, student achievement of IPEC competencies during their APPEs in the curriculum’s final year was measured. Description of Intervention: During 2014-2015, the curriculum committee updated preceptor evaluations of students by including select IPEC competencies. These applied to core APPE environments: acute care (AC), ambulatory care (AMC), hospital and community pharmacy. The annual 2015 preceptor development program focused on IPE. The updated preceptor evaluations of students were instituted in the 2015-2016 academic year. Results: Student achievement of the competencies was evaluated. Among the three values/ethics IPEC competencies achievement was reached by ≥98.2% of students. Among roles/responsibilities competencies, 81.8% of students accomplished one of these in the AMC environment; ≥98% of students achieved the other roles/responsibility competencies in other APPE environments. Among communication competencies, ≤64% of students accomplished one of these in the AC and AMC environments. Greater than 93% of students achieved the team/teamwork competencies in the AC and AMC environments. Conclusion: Measuring achievement of IPEC competencies during APPEs has confirmed that, overall, pharmacy students appear prepared for interprofessional, collaborative practice. Interprofessional communication is an area for increased focus in IPE activities during years 1-3 of the curriculum. Relevance to Interprofessional Education: This process may be replicable by other health professions. Assessing student achievement of the IPEC competencies during the clinical components of curricula provides valuable information. Two to Three Learning Objectives Identify a process for incorporating IPE competency measurement into preceptor evaluations of students on clinical rotations. Describe the process for evaluating the obtained outcomes in contributing to continuous quality improvement of IPE programming

On the infrared behaviour of 3d Chern-Simons theories in N=2 superspace

We discuss the problem of infrared divergences in the N=2 superspace approach to classically marginal three-dimensional Chern-Simons-matter theories. Considering the specific case of ABJM theory, we describe the origin of such divergences and offer a prescription to eliminate them by introducing non-trivial gauge-fixing terms in the action. We also comment on the extension of our procedure to higher loop order and to general three-dimensional Chern-Simons-matter models.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, JHEP3; v2: minor corrections and references added; v3: introduction expanded, presentation of section 3.3.1 improved, references added, version to appear in JHE

Effect of Socioeconomic Status and Comorbidities on Thyroid Cancer Survival Outcomes

Purpose/Objectives: Thyroid cancer ranks among the most common head and neck malignancies and makes up 3% of new cancer cases per year, having increased in overall incidence in the last several decades. This study investigates patient characteristics, socioeconomic status (SES), and medical comorbidities as independent predictors of survival in patients with thyroid cancer, treated at a tertiary care hospital with a diverse, primarily low SES patient population. Materials/Methods: The Henry Ford Health System’s Virtual Data Warehouse Tumor Registry was used to identify patients with thyroid cancers from 1997 to 2016. Socioeconomic data was obtained from 2010 US Census. Comorbidities were quantified using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Statistical analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: There were 1042 patients with thyroid cancer. 5- and 10-year survival probabilities decreased with age \u3e=60 years (p\u3c0.001), stage 3/4 (p\u3c0.001), clinical N stage 1-3 (p\u3c0.001), black race (p=0.001), CCI\u3e1 (p\u3c0.001), and lowest quartile median household income (p\u3c0.001). In multivariate analysis, age (1-year increase HR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.06-1.09), sex (female vs. male HR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48-0.95), and CCI (1-point increase HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.19-1.34) were significantly associated with survival outcomes. A CCI cutoff of \u3e1 was a reliable predictor of mortality (AUC: 0.759, 95% CI: 0.716-0.801). CCI was significantly correlated with stage (r=0.166, p=0.004) and median household income (r=-0.175, p\u3c0.001). Conclusion: Increased age, male sex, and medical comorbidities predicted significantly worse survival in thyroid cancer. Race and median household income were not independent significant prognostic indicators

Genome of Mycoplasma haemofelis, unraveling its strategies for survival and persistence

Mycoplasma haemofelis is a mycoplasmal pathogen (hemoplasma) that attaches to the host's erythrocytes. Distributed worldwide, it has a significant impact on the health of cats causing acute disease and, despite treatment, establishing chronic infection. It might also have a role as a zoonotic agent, especially in immunocompromised patients. Whole genome sequencing and analyses of M. haemofelis strain Ohio2 was undertaken as a step toward understanding its survival and persistence. Metabolic pathways are reduced, relying on the host to supply many of the nutrients and metabolites needed for survival. M. haemofelis must import glucose for ATP generation and ribose derivates for RNA/DNA synthesis. Hypoxanthine, adenine, guanine, uracil and CMP are scavenged from the environment to support purine and pyrimidine synthesis. In addition, nicotinamide, amino acids and any vitamins needed for growth, must be acquired from its environment. The core proteome of M. haemofelis contains an abundance of paralogous gene families, corresponding to 70.6% of all the CDSs. This "paralog pool" is a rich source of different antigenic epitopes that can be varied to elude the host's immune system and establish chronic infection. M. haemofelis also appears to be capable of phase variation, which is particularly relevant to the cyclic bacteremia and persistence, characteristics of the infection in the cat. The data generated herein should be of great use for understanding the mechanisms of M. haemofelis infection. Further, it will provide new insights into its pathogenicity and clues needed to formulate media to support the in vitro cultivation of M. haemofelis