Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 37, Issue 01 - September

I can still remember how eager I was to come to college my first quarter at Western four years ago. I don\u27t think I slept more than a few hours the night before. Not because I was scared, and not because I was nervous. It was because I couldn\u27t wait to explore life through the eyes of a college student. I didn\u27t believe people when they said it would go by fast. Four years seems like a long time to an 18- year-old. Well it isn\u27t. I can\u27t help but feel excited when I think that the stories in this issue of Klipsun might help others live life a little more fully during their time in Bellingham. Sneak a peak at Northwest culture in Hop- Head Nation. Learn how some locals use Bellingham\u27s natural structures as their own personal jungle-gyms in Hard-Rock Getaway or discover what those barefoot people balancing on an inch or so of rope at Boulevard Park are up to in Walk the Slack Line. If you can\u27t find a story that grabs your attention in the magazine, then I encourage you to peruse the selection online at klipsun.wwu.edu. There, you might find longboarding is the mode of transportation for you in Kick, Push and Coast. Or you might decide that the multimedia presentation of one writer\u27s experience in «l Skydiving with Doctor Death is an experience worth having. I\u27ve graduated now, and I have one piece of advice for you. Live your life with no regrets. Appreciate the now and don\u27t look back. I hope you find something that catches your attention in this issue. Thanks for reading.https://cedar.wwu.edu/klipsun_magazine/1238/thumbnail.jp

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 36, Issue 06 - May

Change is scary. Staying in the comfort of the familiar is always easier than venturing into the unknown. That is why I am always inspired by people willing to innovate. It takes courage to look toward the new to amend the old. Stories such as Wave of the Future and Baker\u27s New Breakfast show how finding new ways to accomplish old goals can be a good thing. From the first bilingual school north of Seattle to an animal shelter that found an alternative to euthanizing, people are thinking outside of the box. I hope readers, when reading this issue of Klipsun, will find a story that helps them remember where they have been but more importantly inspire them to think about where they are going.https://cedar.wwu.edu/klipsun_magazine/1237/thumbnail.jp

Expanding Our Understanding of Adherence: The Role of Health Literacy and Cognitive Function in Adherence and Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer

Background: Health literacy is the degree to which a person has the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic information and services needed to make decisions about their health care. Poor health literacy has been associated with difficulties managing medications, assessing and evaluating health information, completing medical and financial forms, and comparing nutritional information of foods. As such, health literacy is closely related to adherence to medical treatment. Cognitive function contributes to one\u27s health literacy, though also independently contributes to adherence. Patients with head and neck cancers require complex, often multimodal care, and both health literacy and cognitive function have been found to be lower than the general population. However no study has examined the interaction between cognitive function and health literacy within treatment for head and neck cancer and outcomes. Objectives: To examine the role of cognitive function and health literacy in adherence to definitive and adjuvant radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy and disease-free and overall survival in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: 149 patients who received either definitive or adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and were assessed by psycho-oncology provider before initiating treatment were included. Patients between August 2017 through March 2020 were included. Patients were administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM-SF) by the psych-oncologist before starting treatment. Cancer and treatment related variables, including adherence, were obtained via chart review. Adherence was defined as having completed the treatment recommended by the Multi-disciplinary Tumor Board. Results: Patients were predominantly male (78%), white (73%), with an average age of 62 years (SD=9.1). The average years of education was 13.6 years (SD=2.6). The mean health literacy score was 6.3 out of 7 (SD=1.3, range 0-7), indicating reading at 7-8th grade level. The mean cognitive function score was 23.8 out of 30 (SD=3.6, range 10-30, scores less than 26 are indicative of cognitive impairment). Sixteen percent of patients were non-adherent to treatment recommendations and this was not associated with either health literacy or cognitive function (P=0.5 & 0.36, respectively). Lower health literacy was associated with later stage at presentation (P\u3c0.05). Health literacy was not associated with disease-free or overall survival (P=0.66 & 0.11, respectively). However, cognitive function was associated with overall survival (P\u3c0.0001) but not disease-free survival (P=0.22). Conclusions: Psychosocial variables such as health literacy and cognitive function are infrequently considered or studied in head and neck cancer. However, there exists significant evidence that patients with head and neck cancer tend to have higher rates of cognitive impairment and lower health literacy than the general population. Further, literacy and cognitive function are known to contribute to health outcomes in other populations. The current study found that cognitive impairment, but not health literacy, is associated with overall survival, while not being associated with treatment adherence. Further research is needed into the pathways that cognitive function interacts with cancer care and survival. This study highlights the need for assessment of cognitive function in patients with head and neck cancer, as identification and intervention with these patients can aid in survival outcomes and quality of life

The effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the osteogenic activity in osseointegration: a systematic review

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used in implant dentistry for management of post-operative pain. The objective of this systematic review was to analyse the effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the osteogenic activity of osteoblasts with an emphasis on its effect on osseointegration. A systematic literature search for in vitro, animal models, and clinical trials was conducted using Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Articles published since the introduction of selective COX-2 inhibitors, between January 1999 and July 2018, were selected. The integrated search followed the PRISMA statement with the following key terms: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug/s, titanium, osseointegration, and osteoblast. The review is registered at PROSPERO database: CRD42016051448. The titles and abstracts of each research article in the initial search (n = 875) were independently screened by two reviewers. A third independent reviewer reviewed the articles that were included by one but excluded by the other reviewer. This resulted in the cataloguing of 79 full-text manuscripts where the articles were assessed for the following criteria: the study investigates the effects of NSAIDs on osteoblasts, explores the COX pathway and its effect on osteogenic activity, and compares the effects of NSAIDs on osteoblasts with a control group. A total of 13 articles have been included for qualitative synthesis. There is a lack of consensus in the literature to explicitly conclude that there is a relationship between the use of post-operative NSAIDs and failed osseointegration; however, osseointegration does not appear to be negatively affected by NSAIDs in the human clinical studies

Building an interactive online textbook: a tool at our fingertips

BACKGROUND: Last year, we reported on the Health SciencesToolkit,which is an intensive bridging program that covers basic concepts in the disciplines of chemistry and biology, and then applies them to anatomy and physiology(Kapoor, Megaw, Harrison, Simcock & Miller 2018). We needed a resource that would lay the foundations for this diverse range of disciplines. As today's university students are often considered digital natives, we triedto source anE-book. Unable to finda commercially available text book pitched at an appropriate level, we decided to build our own, embracing Macknight's advice on creating online content to create ahealthylearning environment(2019).Here,we report on the development of a custom-made online textbook for ToolKit. PROCESS: The educational software company TopHat provided us access to online resources from which we could source and modify content. We produced a 10-chapter text book; each chapter matched a content module and explicitly linked with the learning outcomes of the subject. The modification included the insertion of links to interactive learning resources for student exploration. Each chapter concluded with a list of key words and concepts, a summary discussion, and selected multiple choice questions for knowledge consolidation and review; we were able to regulate the timing of the release of chapters.The textbook was hosted within the TopHatlearning platform and students were given access on payment of a minimal fee($11). REFLECTION: We found the development of the custom textbook a very efficient and effective process. We did not have to worry about copyright issues; or the time-consuming editing process for consistency, as the$6000 contract outlay to TopHat covered that. The resource can be edited, scaffolded and customised to future cohort needs(we can report on this process as we have also utilized this resource for an AQF-5 level diploma subject based on the ToolKit). Most importantly, the majority of students found the interactive text book useful for their understanding of the subject content, a finding supported by others (for example,Chen 2018) who have used custom-built online textbooks to create engaging digital learning environments

Characteristics of U.S. Agricultural Communications Undergraduate Programs

This study characterized agricultural communications undergraduate programs nationwide. A total of 40 undergraduate agricultural communications programs were identified via the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow database, Internet searches, and previous academic program research, and their existences were verified via multiple sources. Objectives included creating an accounting of existing programs, describing the programs’ demographics, and identifying top programs. This study employed a census approach and used a descriptive survey design, including both quantitative and structured qualitative questions. The quantitative data were analyzed via descriptive statistics. A total of 26 respondents — faculty representing U.S. undergraduate agricultural communications programs — participated in this study. An increase in the number of academic programs across the U.S. was observed, compared to the last similar study published in 2000, suggesting an increase in popularity and student demand, which is most likely a result of an increase in industry demand for agricultural communications graduates. While programs varied in size and age, most faculty respondents projected an increase in enrollment in their undergraduate programs. Future studies characterizing the discipline should be conducted on a more frequent, standardized schedule, and improved participation in the study should be a goal. National curriculum studies also should be conducted to tie program characteristics and instructional methodologies to program success and to correlate program characteristics and demographics

Contextualizing our Leadership Education Approach to Complex Problem Solving: Shifting Paradigms and Evolving Knowledge: Priority 5 of the National Leadership Education Research Agenda 2020–2025

Complex problems characterized by uncertainty, interconnectedness, poorly defined goals, and high risk are not new to the human experience. Yet humanity is increasingly faced with multifaceted and pervasive global challenges, and leadership education must adapt accordingly. These complex problems transcend borders and require a collective, adaptive, and iterative learning response. Complex problems such as failure to act on climate change, unemployment, food crises, governance failures, pandemics, cyberattacks, and involuntary migration are interrelated challenges that require paradigm shifts in responses and leadership (Global Risk Report, 2020)

An examination of writing pauses in the handwriting of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Difficulties with handwriting are reported as one of the main reasons for the referral of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) to healthcare professionals. In a recent study we found that children with DCD produced less text than their typically developing (TD) peers and paused for 60% of a free-writing task. However, little is known about the nature of the pausing; whether they are long pauses possibly due to higher level processes of text generation or fatigue, or shorter pauses related to the movements between letters. This gap in the knowledge-base creates barriers to understanding the handwriting difficulties in children with DCD. The aim of this study was to characterise the pauses observed in the handwriting of English children with and without DCD. Twenty-eight 8-14 year-old children with a diagnosis of DCD participated in the study, with 28 TD age and gender matched controls. Participants completed the 10 min free-writing task from the Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH) on a digitising writing tablet. The total overall percentage of pausing during the task was categorised into four pause time-frames, each derived from the literature on writing (250 ms to 2 s; 2-4 s; 4-10 s and >10 s). In addition, the location of the pauses was coded (within word/between word) to examine where the breakdown in the writing process occurred. The results indicated that the main group difference was driven by more pauses above 10 s in the DCD group. In addition, the DCD group paused more within words compared to TD peers, indicating a lack of automaticity in their handwriting. These findings may support the provision of additional time for children with DCD in written examinations. More importantly, they emphasise the need for intervention in children with DCD to promote the acquisition of efficient handwriting skill

The blood-brain barrier; protecting the developing fetal brain

While placental function is fundamental to normal fetal development, the blood-brain barrier provides a second checkpoint critical to protecting the fetal brain and ensuring healthy brain development. The placenta is considered the key barrier between the mother and fetus, regulating delivery of essential nutrients, removing waste as well as protecting the fetus from potentially noxious substances. However, disturbances to the maternal environment and subsequent adaptations to placental function may render the placenta ineffective for providing a suitable environment for the developing fetus and to providing sufficient protection from harmful substances. The developing brain is particularly vulnerable to changes in the maternal/fetal environment. Development of the blood-brain barrier and maturation of barrier transporter systems work to protect the fetal brain from exposure to drugs, excluding them from the fetal CNS. This review will focus on the role of the 'other' key barrier during gestation - the blood-brain barrier - which has been shown to be functional as early as 8 weeks' gestation

A longitudinal multi-site evaluation of community-based partnerships: implications for researchers, funders, and communities

Abstract Background Innovative Models Promoting Access to Care Transformation (IMPACT) was a five-year (2013–2018), Canadian-Australian research program that aimed to use a community-based partnership approach to transform primary health care (PHC) organizational structures to improve access to appropriate care for vulnerable populations. Local Innovation Partnerships (LIPs) were developed to support the IMPACT research program, and to be ongoing structures that would continue to drive local improvements to PHC. Methods A longitudinal development-focused evaluation explored the overall approach to governance, relationships and processes of the LIPs in the IMPACT program. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected participants including researchers with implementation roles and non-researchers who were members of LIPs at four time points: early in the development of the LIPs in 2014; during intervention development in 2015/2016; at the intervention implementation phase in 2017; and nearing completion of the research program in 2018.  A hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis approach was used. A Guide developed to support the program was used as the framework for designing questions and analysing data using a qualitative descriptive method initially. A visual representation was developed and refined after each round of data collection to illustrate emerging themes around governance, processes and relationship building that were demonstrated by IMPACT LIPs. After all rounds of data collection, an overarching cross-case analysis of narrative summaries of each site was conducted. Results Common components of the LIPs identified across all rounds of data collection related to governance structures, stakeholder relationships, collaborative processes, and contextual barriers.  LIPs were seen primarily as a structure to support implementation of a research project rather than an ongoing multisectoral community-based partnership.  LIPs had relationships with many and varied stakeholders although not necessarily in ways that reflected the intended purpose. Collaboration was valued, but multiple barriers impeded the ability of LIPs to enact real collaboration in daily operations over time. We learned that experience, history, and time matter, especially with respect to community-oriented collaborative skills, structures, and relationships. Conclusions This longitudinal multiple case study offers lessons and implications for researchers, funders, and potential stakeholders in community-based participatory research