Tenofovir Induced Nephrotoxicity: A Mechanistic Study

Tenofovir (TFV) is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat HIV and chronic Hepatitis B. It has a long half-life, allowing for once a day dosing and is effective in treatment of both naive and experienced patients. It is administered orally as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and is deesterified in plasma to the active drug TFV. However, renal impairment is associated with its use; TFV can induce decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and free calcitriol, renal failure, and Fanconi Syndrome. The exact mechanism of toxicity currently remains unknown, largely due to limited experimental models. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of cytotoxicity and oxidative damage observed in HK-2 cells following treatment with TFV and to determine if managing oxidative damage mitigates toxicity. TFV is the active form of TDF and was used for all studies. HK-2 cells were grown to confluency for 48 h and then exposed to 0- 28.8 µM TFV for 24, 48, or 72 h. The vehicle used for all studies was phosphate buffered saline (PBS). TFV induces a loss of cell viability compared to the control within 24 h as shown by an MTT assay, Trypan Blue Exclusion cell counts, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage were assessed in whole cell lysate and different cell fractions using OxyBlot and western blot for 4-hydroxynonenol (4-HNE), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), caspase 3, 8, and 9, MnSOD, ATP Synthase, and cytochrome c and showed an increase in protein carbonylation and loss of mitochondrial membrane integrity following 72 h exposure to 28.8 µM TFV. TFV induces apoptosis at 72 h exposure as shown by western blot analysis of cytochrome c leakage and activation of caspase 3 and 9. Studies conducted using Seahorse XFp technology determined that TFV alters mitochondrial function. Studies were conducted using a 1 h pretreatment with antioxidants resveratrol, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, or ascorbic acid, and results showed protection of cell viability following 24 h exposure to 3 and 14.5 μM TFV. These studies suggest that mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress occur in HK-2 cells treated with TFV and that controlling oxidative damage may help prevent toxicity from developing. Additional knowledge of subcellular events associated with tenofovir nephrotoxicity can be used to develop clinical methods to mitigate toxicity

Quality as a Component of Value: Using Resources for College Libraries to Assess Course Assigned Texts

Although potential student savings is perhaps the most meaningful measure of the success of any textbook affordability initiative, as librarians we are nonetheless interested in considering how a significant shift in collections strategy might impact our collections. We demonstrated in the first semester of the project that usage of ebooks assigned in courses is much higher than those that are not currently assigned. We also confirmed that usage is greatly increased when faculty members notify their students that an assigned text is available to them through the library. But beyond savings to students and demonstrated high usage, we wanted information on how licensing course assigned texts impacts the quality of library collections. Many libraries have had policies or guidelines that prevented or discouraged the acquisition of textbooks for a variety of valid reasons and our library was one of them. Textbooks have been thought to be too frequently updated, too expensive, too general in appeal, and not lasting in their significance. With the perceived quality of these texts in question, we wanted to see if the texts assigned in courses at Illinois State University would make strong additions to the permanent collections at our undergraduate-focused university. Resources for College Libraries was the perfect tool for the job

Effects of frequency and idiomaticity on second language reading comprehension in children with English as an additional language

Vocabulary plays an important role in reading comprehension in both the L1 and the L2 (Murphy, 2018). In measuring vocabulary knowledge, however, researchers typically focus on mono-lexical units where vocabulary assessments tend not to take into account multi-word expressions which include phrasal verbs, collocations, and idioms. Omitting these multi-word lexical items can lead to an over-estimation of comprehension skills, particularly in reading. Indeed, adult learners of English comprehend texts containing a larger number of multi-word expressions less well compared to texts containing fewer of these expressions, even when the same words are used in each text (Martinez & Murphy, 2011). To investigate whether children learning English as an additional language (EAL) face a similar challenge, two reading comprehension tests were administered to EAL and monolingual (non-EAL) English-speaking children in primary school. Both tests contained the same common words, but whereas in one test some of the words occurred in multi-word expressions, in the other test they did not. Reading comprehension was significantly reduced for both groups of children when multi-word expressions were included. Monolingual participants generally performed better than children with EAL on both tests further suggesting that children with EAL may face a particular disadvantage in English reading comprehension. These results are discussed within the context of the importance of developing rich vocabulary knowledge in all children, and especially emergent bilingual children, within primary school and beyond

On the Same Team: Technical Services and Student Success Tackle Textbook Affordability

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, student textbook access and affordability have emerged as areas of focus for academic libraries to support student success. Librarians across departments at a public four-year institution developed a program to leverage campus information about textbook selection to inform library e-book purchases. The resulting eTextbook collection became an invaluable resource for students during the pandemic and created a direct connection between the work of Technical Services and Student Success. This presentation provides an overview of the project, discusses assessment elements, and highlights the vital aspects of collaboration within an academic library for student success

Exploring Faculty Perspectives on Text Selection and Textbook Affordability

This paper reports the results of a pilot project conducted Spring 2021 in which Milner Library licensed 75 assigned texts to 52 courses at Illinois State University. The authors used the pilot as a springboard to explore faculty perspectives on textbook selection, textbook affordability, and the role of the academic library in addressing the rising cost of textbooks. The results highlight the strong, and often deeply personal, beliefs faculty hold about textbook selection and textbook affordability, reveal several obstacles to achieving affordable access to course readings, and demonstrate the willingness of some faculty to partner with librarians and other institutional stakeholders to explore more affordable access to assigned resources

Incorporating Student Voices: Assessing Library Collections to Support Student Success

Several studies have noted that students who engage with library collections also demonstrate high indicators of success, but these studies do not frequently highlight student voices in their assessment. Can librarians impact student success through strategic collection development, and if so, how can they measure it? This presentation outlines a project that leveraged quantitative and qualitative methods to study the effect of library-provided course texts on students and their success. In spring 2021, librarians across multiple library units piloted a program to license assigned e-books. The primary goal was to reduce textbook costs and support student success, however, the project team built in additional assessments to better understand the full impact. Student and faculty participants were separately invited to share their feedback through both surveys and focus groups, which featured questions about their perceived benefits, challenges, and preferences for using the library-provided e-books in place of a traditional textbook. Usage statistics provided insight into how students used the e-books compared to other library-licensed e-books purchased in the same period. Both the qualitative and quantitative data provide evidence to support the expansion of this project moving forward. This poster shares results from our assessments and provides ideas for participants trying to draw a connection between their library collections and student success

Library-Provided e-Textbooks Boost Student Success: Summer 2021 Campus Report

This report describes the first year of a textbook affordability project by several Milner librarians in which the library purchased electronic copies of assigned textbooks for the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. The report provides an overview of the project and includes key findings related to student savings, enhancing equity in access to course materials, implications for student success, and the library\u27s return on investment.https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/mlp/1029/thumbnail.jp

Workflow and Timelines for eTextbook Project

This document was created in 2021 as part of a textbook affordability project at Illinois State University’s Milner Library, in which the project team licensed available e-book copies of course textbooks. This modified version of our workflow and timeline has been generalized so library personnel at other institutions might easily adapt it for their own use. This timeline is built in part around when the textbook list for the upcoming semester is made available (at Illinois State University, our Office of the University Registrar makes textbook information publicly available online midway through the previous semester). The timings listed do not account for semester breaks. The target end date for the timeline is one week prior to the start of the semester.https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/mlp/1031/thumbnail.jp

Supporting an Inclusive and Equitable Classroom: Student Perspectives on a Textbook Affordability Initiative

As academic librarians become aware of the challenges expensive textbooks pose to student success, they increasingly collaborate to provide zero-cost access to required course materials. Librarians at Illinois State University initiated a program to license e-books assigned in courses, surveying students and faculty in participating courses regarding their perspectives on textbook affordability and their experiences with the provided e-books. Student participants reported overwhelmingly positive responses and identified several ways in which the e-books enhanced their experience in the course. The findings suggest that providing assigned materials as e-books contributes to students’ engagement as learners and their academic success within courses

Inter-rater reliability of treatment fidelity and therapeutic alliance measures for psychological therapies for anxiety in young people with autism spectrum disorders

Objectives: This article presents work undertaken to establish inter-rater reliability for a measure of treatment fidelity and a measure of therapeutic alliance for therapies for anxiety for young people with autism spectrum disorders. The discussion and decision-making processes behind achieving consensus of raters are rarely published. Margolin et al. (1998) have highlighted this issue and called for researchers to communicate the details of their observational and rating procedures. This article is a response to their call for greater transparency so that these methods are readily accessible for comparison with other studies. Methods: Participants were young people with autism spectrum disorders receiving treatment for anxiety, clinical staff treating these young people and the independent raters assessing the treatment sessions. We report: (i) the processes involved in establishing inter-rater reliability for two instruments, (ii) the results obtained with a sample of young people with autism spectrum disorders using these instruments. Results and conclusions: Results demonstrate that it was possible to attain satisfactory inter-rater reliability with each of these two instruments with a client group with autism spectrum disorders, even though the instruments were originally designed for typically-developing populations