The social, political and legal aspects of Text and Data Mining (TDM)

The ideas of textual or data mining (TDM) and subsequent analysis go back hundreds if not thousands of years. Originally carried out manually, textual and data analysis has long been a tool which has enabled new insights to be drawn from text corpora. However, for the potential benefits of TDM to be unlocked, a number of non-technological barriers need to be overcome. These include legal uncertainty resulting from complicated copyright, database rights and licensing, the fact that some publishers are not currently embracing the opportunities TDM offers the academic community, and a lack of awareness of TDM among many academics, alongside a skills gap

The Role and Impact of Cooperative Extension in Diabetes Self-Management Education

Diabetes is increasing globally and nationally. Diabetes complications and costs can be reduced through modification of lifestyle risks and diabetes self-management education (DSME). The Cooperative Extension System (CES) is uniquely positioned to implement DSME. This study assessed the role and impact of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in DSME. A survey was sent to CES professionals throughout the U.S. a total of 43 participants provided information on 73 DSME programs. Most participants were from the South (n=22, 51.16%) and Midwest (n=12, 27.91%) and most programs targeted adults with and at risk for type 2 diabetes. Most programs were developed and taught by registered dietitians and family and consumer science agents and were focused on healthy eating and cooking techniques. Few programs addressed medications, mental and physical health, influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations. Implementation challenges were related to recruitment, attrition, and funding and most suggestions for the future of CES in DSME were related to funding. CES has a wide reach in terms of DSME with over 29 states. Future CES efforts should target children with type 2 diabetes and should form/continue partnerships with health care professionals

Reflections on a Teaching Commons Regarding Diversity and Inclusive Pedagogy

Recently, twenty-one instructors at a Midwestern university participated in a faculty development seminar entitled, “Developing Pedagogies to Enhance Excellence and Diversity.” They designed a pedagogical change for the following academic year based on the workshop. During the following year, we collected data on the workshop participants through surveys and interviews to discover if they had implemented the proposed changes and what they discovered in the process. Thirteen of the twenty-one participants responded to our request for information and nine implemented their proposed changes during our data collection. Reviewing the data, we found three areas where participants made changes: application of pedagogical innovations, equal access to learning and inclusive pedagogy, and assessment of power and position as teacher. Many continued to reflect on how to make these changes more effective and indicated a desire for collegiality to sustain them in their efforts to improve their teaching practices

The Role of Anaerobic Bacteria in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease.

Recurrent bacterial infections in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are the primary cause for morbidity and mortality in CF. Advancements in second generation sequencing and evolution of the lung microbiome has prompted greater interest in other bacteria present in the lung. Anaerobic bacteria have been one of the most common bacteria found on molecular sequencing, their cause and role is as of yet unknown. In our project, we recruited 450 patients prospectively and followed them at both stable and exacerbation timepoints. Their sputum and BAL was cultured and sequenced from both adults and children. The most prevalent bacteria found, Prevotella me/aninogenicawas found to produce proteases that inhibited naturally occurring defensins and anti-microbial peptides and the short chain acids produced by these bacteria were shown to have a pro-inflammatory effect. This provides evidence that certain anaerobic bacteria are pathogenic and these bacteria should be more directly targeted against during an exacerbation