Kindliness, Like the Forest Tree

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in their Oregon Province observed the centenary of their founding in 1959. Mother Mary Mark, Provincial Superior, was asked to address the physicians to whom the Community owes a full measure of gratitude for medical care given to the Sisters during the many years of their labors in the Northwest. Her expression of thanks is recorded here as an echo of the sentiments of others who cherish the solicitude of physicians for those who come to them in need

A Pronounced Inflammatory Activity Characterizes the Early Fracture Healing Phase in Immunologically Restricted Patients

Immunologically restricted patients such as those with autoimmune diseases or malignancies often suffer from delayed or insufficient fracture healing. In human fracture hematomas and the surrounding bone marrow obtained from immunologically restricted patients, we analyzed the initial inflammatory phase on cellular and humoral level via flow cytometry and multiplex suspension array. Compared with controls, we demonstrated higher numbers of immune cells like monocytes/macrophages, natural killer T (NKT) cells, and activated T helper cells within the fracture hematomas and/or the surrounding bone marrow. Also, several pro-inflammatory cytokines such as Interleukin (IL)-6 and Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), chemokines (e.g., Eotaxin and RANTES), pro-angiogenic factors (e.g., IL-8 and Macrophage migration inhibitory factor: MIF), and regulatory cytokines (e.g., IL-10) were found at higher levels within the fracture hematomas and/or the surrounding bone marrow of immunologically restricted patients when compared to controls. We conclude here that the inflammatory activity on cellular and humoral levels at fracture sites of immunologically restricted patients considerably exceeds that of control patients. The initial inflammatory phase profoundly differs between these patient groups and is probably one of the reasons for prolonged or insufficient fracture healing often occurring within immunologically restricted patients. View Full-Tex

Sexual harassment is not a laughing matter

Two letters to the Editor of The Daily Maine Campus from two female undergraduate students requesting to remain anonymous. The students report on a off-campus party where they allegedly experienced multiple incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault

Tweeting the Meeting: An In-Depth Analysis of Twitter Activity at Kidney Week 2011

In recent years, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) has increased its efforts to use its annual conference to inform and educate the public about kidney disease. Social media, including Twitter, has been one method used by the Society to accomplish this goal. Twitter is a popular microblogging service that serves as a potent tool for disseminating information. It allows for short messages (140 characters) to be composed by any author and distributes those messages globally and quickly. The dissemination of information is necessary if Twitter is to be considered a tool that can increase public awareness of kidney disease. We hypothesized that content, citation, and sentiment analyses of tweets generated from Kidney Week 2011 would reveal a large number of educational tweets that were disseminated to the public. An ideal tweet for accomplishing this goal would include three key features: 1) informative content, 2) internal citations, and 3) positive sentiment score. Informative content was found in 29% of messages, greater than that found in a similarly sized medical conference (2011 ADA Conference, 16%). Informative tweets were more likely to be internally, rather than externally, cited (38% versus 22%, p<0.0001), thereby amplifying the original information to an even larger audience. Informative tweets had more negative sentiment scores than uninformative tweets (means −0.162 versus 0.199 respectively, p<0.0001), therefore amplifying a tweet whose content had a negative tone. Our investigation highlights significant areas of promise and improvement in using Twitter to disseminate medical information in nephrology from a scientific conference. This goal is pertinent to many nephrology-focused conferences that wish to increase public awareness of kidney disease

Horses – A Natural Fit for Camp Programs

A 4-H Member’s Horse Camp allows horse project members to enjoy their equine partner in a non-competitive, outdoor setting. Campers learn about leave-no-trace outdoor ethics, trail riding, maneuvering trail obstacles, equine emergency first aid, and low impact camping. 4‐H has long understood that providing opportunities for youth to learn about things that interest them is just one aspect of the program. Project specific content, in this case horses, helps youth in 4‐H programs to develop important life skills. In the positive atmosphere at 4‐H horse camp, youth may feel a sense of belonging, and are provided opportunities to develop mastery, independence, and a spirit of generosity‐ which are all essential elements in high quality youth development programs. Horse camps are a natural extension of opportunities for horse project members, and they can be added to existing camps, or create new camping lesson