4,642 research outputs found
Bridging Two Continents: Using Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) to Explore Healthcare Services
Intercultural competence is becoming necessary in all structures of life as our diversity grows and globalization continues to grow. Even in the field of business intercultural learning is equally vital domestically and internationally (Bennett, J. M. 2008). Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a methodology in teaching and learning that continues to grow in use and can aid in filling this intercultural gap. The methodological COIL approach aids to building cultural competency and partnerships in the higher education community. Throughout this collaborative manuscript between three instructors at two universities, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the United Kingdom and University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in the United States, discussions will be around the pedagogy of carrying out a COIL module and how COIL was completed in the Fall semester of 2021. Over the course of four weeks, NTU and UMD students worked together to complete key learning objectives of healthcare systems, alternative care, and COVID-19 response in the United Kingdom and the United States. NTU and UMD used technology such as Google My Maps, video recording presentations, and interview questions to further the learning around the key objectives. NTU and UMD each had separate final projects and grading rubrics for final grading and evaluation. Pre-and post-assessment data was collected to better understand student learning outcomes including, cultural learning and cross-cultural ambivalence within the COIL unit. The assessments also provided an overview of future considerations for the collaboration between future instructors in the COIL unit based on student feedback
Analysis of procainamide-derivatised heparan sulphate disaccharides in biological samples using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a family of linear heteropolysaccharides made up of repeating disaccharide units that are found on the surface and extracellular matrix of animal cells. They are known to play a critical role in a wide range of cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation and invasion. To elucidate the mechanism of action of these molecules, it is essential to quantify their disaccharide composition. Analytical methods that have been reported involve either chemical or enzymatic depolymerisation of GAGs followed by separation of non-derivatised (native) or derivatised disaccharide subunits and detection by either UV/fluorescence or MS. However, the measurement of these disaccharides is challenging due to their hydrophilic and labile nature. Here we report a pre-column LC-MS method for the quantification of GAG disaccharide subunits. Heparan sulphate (HS) was extracted from cell lines using a combination of molecular weight cutoff and anion exchange spin filters and digested using a mixture of heparinases I, II and III. The resulting subunits were derivatised with procainamide, separated using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and detected using electrospray ionisation operated in positive ion mode. Eight HS disaccharides were separated and detected together with an internal standard. The limit of detection was found to be in the range 0.6–4.9 ng/mL. Analysis of HS extracted from all cell lines tested in this study revealed a significant variation in their composition with the most abundant disaccharide being the non-sulphated ∆UA–GlcNAc. Some structural functional relationships are discussed demonstrating the viability of the pre-column method for studying GAG biolog
Microstructure and mechanical characterization of aluminum seamless tubes produced by friction stir back extrusion
Abstract: Friction stir back extrusion (FSBE) is emerging as a novel method to produce high strength fine grained metallic tubes. The objective of the present work is to produce aluminum seamless tubes from solid cylindrical bars using FSBE and to report the microstructure and mechanical characterization. A die, tool and fixture were designed to carry out FSBE. A conventional friction stir welding machine was utilized for FSBE. A cylindrical bar of aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 was kept inside the hole in the die and extruded by plunging the rotating tool. The microstructure of the produced tubes was studied using optical microscopy. The microstructure was found to be homogeneous along the tube. The microhardness and compressive strength of the tube are presented in this paper. The results indicate that FSBE process is capable of producing sound aluminum seamless tubes
Sulfurous Gases As Biological Messengers and Toxins: Comparative Genetics of Their Metabolism in Model Organisms
Gasotransmitters are biologically produced gaseous signalling molecules. As gases with potent biological activities, they are toxic as air pollutants, and the sulfurous compounds are used as fumigants. Most investigations focus on medical aspects of gasotransmitter biology rather than toxicity toward invertebrate pests of agriculture. In fact, the pathways for the metabolism of sulfur containing gases in lower organisms have not yet been described. To address this deficit, we use protein sequences from Homo sapiens to query Genbank for homologous proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In C. elegans, we find genes for all mammalian pathways for synthesis and catabolism of the three sulfur containing gasotransmitters, H2S, SO2 and COS. The genes for H2S synthesis have actually increased in number in C. elegans. Interestingly, D. melanogaster and Arthropoda in general, lack a gene for 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase, an enzym for H2S synthesis under reducing conditions
Six years survival on imatinib with no disease progression after diagnosis of metastatic duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumour: a case report
Introduction: A duodenal Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour (GIST) is a rare finding and until recently advanced disease had a poor prognosis. A PubMed search revealed no reports of more than five years survival of inoperable GIST on chemotherapy with WHO performance status zero.
Case Presentation: A 68 year old female was diagnosed with unresectable GIST in the duodenum with metastasis to liver, pancreas and omentum in November 2001. She was
commenced on imatinib mesylate (Glivec) chemotherapy. This case report was prepared from the medical records and radiology reports. She had good tolerance with stable disease. After six years her CT scan showed no disease progression and her WHO performance status was zero.
Conclusion: This report supports the view that imatinib is a safe and effective drug in controlling
disease progression in advanced metastatic GIST and plays an important role in improving the patient's quality of life
Comparative analysis of haplotype association mapping algorithms
BACKGROUND: Finding the genetic causes of quantitative traits is a complex and difficult task. Classical methods for mapping quantitative trail loci (QTL) in miceuse an F2 cross between two strains with substantially different phenotype and an interval mapping method to compute confidence intervals at each position in the genome. This process requires significant resources for breeding and genotyping, and the data generated are usually only applicable to one phenotype of interest. Recently, we reported the application of a haplotype association mapping method which utilizes dense genotyping data across a diverse panel of inbred mouse strains and a marker association algorithm that is independent of any specific phenotype. As the availability of genotyping data grows in size and density, analysis of these haplotype association mapping methods should be of increasing value to the statistical genetics community. RESULTS: We describe a detailed comparative analysis of variations on our marker association method. In particular, we describe the use of inferred haplotypes from adjacent SNPs, parametric and nonparametric statistics, and control of multiple testing error. These results show that nonparametric methods are slightly better in the test cases we study, although the choice of test statistic may often be dependent on the specific phenotype and haplotype structure being studied. The use of multi-SNP windows to infer local haplotype structure is critical to the use of a diverse panel of inbred strains for QTL mapping. Finally, because the marginal effect of any single gene in a complex disease is often relatively small, these methods require the use of sensitive methods for controlling family-wise error. We also report our initial application of this method to phenotypes cataloged in the Mouse Phenome Database. CONCLUSION: The use of inbred strains of mice for QTL mapping has many advantages over traditional methods. However, there are also limitations in comparison to the traditional linkage analysis from F2 and RI lines. Application of these methods requires careful consideration of algorithmic choices based on both theoretical and practical factors. Our findings suggest general guidelines, though a complete evaluation of these methods can only be performed as more genetic data in complex diseases becomes available
In vivo investigation of the tissue response to commercial Teflon insulin infusion sets in large swine for 14 days: the effect of angle of insertion on tissue histology and insulin spread within the subcutaneous tissue.
Objective: This study investigated the effects of the inflammatory tissue response (ITR) to an insulin infusion set (IIS) on insulin bolus spread over wear time, as well as the effect of cannula insertion angle on the ITR, bolus shape, and pump tubing pressure.
Research design and methods: Angled or straight IISs were inserted every other day for 14 days into the subcutaneous tissue of 11 swine and insulin was delivered continuously. Prior to euthanasia, a 70 µL bolus of insulin/X-ray contrast agent was infused while recording a pressure profile (peak tubing pressure, pmax; area under the pressure curve, AUC), followed by the excision of the tissue-catheter specimen. Bolus surface area (SA) and volume (V) were assessed via micro-CT. Tissue was stained to analyze total area of inflammation (TAI) and inflammatory layer thickness (ILT) surrounding the cannula.
Results: A bolus delivered through an angled IIS had a larger mean SA than a bolus delivered through a straight cannula (314.0±84.2 mm2 vs 229.0±99.7 mm2, p\u3c0.001) and a larger volume (198.7±66.9 mm3 vs 145.0±65.9 mm3, p=0.001). Both decreased significantly over wear time, independent of angle. There was a significant difference in TAI (angled, 9.1±4.0 mm2 vs straight, 14.3±8.6 mm2, p\u3c0.001) and ILT (angled, 0.7±0.4 vs straight, 1.2±0.7 mm, p\u3c0.001). pmax (p=0.005) and AUC (p=0.014) were lower using angled IIS. As ILT increased, pmax increased, while SA and V decreased.
Conclusions: The progression of the ITR directly affected bolus shape and tubing pressure. Although straight insertion is clinically preferred, our data suggest that an angled IIS elicits lower grades of ITR and delivers a bolus with lower tubing pressure and greater SA and V. The subcutaneous environment plays a crucial role in IIS longevity, and the insertion angle needs to be considered in future IIS designs and clinical trials
Prevailing theoretical approaches predicting sustainable business models: a systematic review
Purpose: This study aims to map scientific publications, intellectual structure and research trends in the sustainable business model (SBM) field. Specifically, it attempts to (1) identify the fundamental contributions of research in this area of knowledge; and (2) determine the research lines that constitute the most prominent intellectual structure. We leverage these insights to formulate and propose a future research agenda for SBM. Design/methodology/approach: The authors made recourse to the bibliometric, co-citation and cluster analysis techniques. To evaluate potential patterns among articles, we analysed how articles are jointly cited. We further applied hierarchical cluster analysis to the articles and used co-citation analysis to group the interrelated articles into distinct sets. Findings: The results enable the identification and classification of the prevailing theoretical foci in the domain of SBM: (1) SBM implementation; (2) SBM challenges; (3) institutional SBM; (4) circular SBM; and (5) emerging SBM. Originality/value: This study identifies, explores, analyses and summarises the main theoretical approaches and themes surrounding SBM research to date, contributing to deepening the literature by identifying the priority areas concerning sustainable business models and encouraging future research of an internationally excellent standard.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
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