Intercomparison of soil pore water extraction methods for stable isotope analysis

Funded by NSERC Discovery Grant U.S. Forest Service U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies OfficePeer reviewedPostprin

The role of interprofessional education within the medical undergraduate palliative care curriculum : a systematic review

INTRODUCTION:In the near future, population changes will impact on palliative care provision. We have to evolve to meet patients’ changing needs. Part of this evolution is to develop the role of the multidisciplinary team to provide patient-centred care. This highlights a learning need within medical education which can be achieved through the development of collaboration skills. Interprofessional education (IPE) has been utilised as a pedagogic tool by health professions in order to enhancing such skills. OBJECTIVES:To identify and synthesis evidence on the use of IPE as a method of delivering palliative care teaching to undergraduate medical students.METHOD:Primary studies were identified by searching bibliographic databases; MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL, ERIC, BEI, BNI, PsychINFO, CENTRAL and the index of thesis and dissertations (UK) from January 1993 to February 2015. This was augmented by searching references from the preliminary search and key conference proceedings. Studies were included if the educational initiative was attended by two or more professions, including undergraduate medical students. A narrative synthesis of identified studies was performed with Kirkpatrick’s hierarchy of evaluation as a framework to assess learning outcomes. Data-driven thematic analysis was performed and a thematic schema created to illustrate the factors underpinning IPE. RESULTS:Eleven studies were identified. Significant variability in study quality was observed. Overall IPE was generally well received by students and facilitators. A positive response to educational initiatives was influenced by the perceived relevance and benefit of content to later clinical practice. Recruitment and educational setting were found to influence student satisfaction and motivation. Barriers to the implementation of IPE included; cultural differences and participant background. The consideration of learning outcomes in accordance with kirkpatrick’s hierarchy highlighted a paucity of data relating to societal and patient impact, with a lack of longterm follow-up.CONCLUSION:There is potential value in the use of IPE within the medical undergraduate palliative care curriculum, however there is need for more robust research with longterm follow-up

Examination of Reticulocytosis among Chronically Transfused Children with Sickle Cell Anemia.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an inherited hemolytic anemia with compensatory reticulocytosis. Recent studies have shown that increased levels of reticulocytosis during infancy are associated with increased hospitalizations for SCA sequelae as well as cerebrovascular pathologies. In this study, absolute reticulocyte counts (ARC) measured prior to transfusion were analysed among a cohort of 29 pediatric SCA patients receiving chronic transfusion therapy (CTT) for primary and secondary stroke prevention. A cross-sectional flow cytometric analysis of the reticulocyte phenotype was also performed. Mean duration of CTT was 3.1 ± 2.6 years. Fifteen subjects with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) -vasculopathy had significantly higher mean ARC prior to initiating CTT compared to 14 subjects without MRA-vasculopathy (427.6 ± 109.0 K/μl vs. 324.8 ± 109.2 K/μl,

Examination of Reticulocytosis among Chronically Transfused Children with Sickle Cell Anemia.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an inherited hemolytic anemia with compensatory reticulocytosis. Recent studies have shown that increased levels of reticulocytosis during infancy are associated with increased hospitalizations for SCA sequelae as well as cerebrovascular pathologies. In this study, absolute reticulocyte counts (ARC) measured prior to transfusion were analysed among a cohort of 29 pediatric SCA patients receiving chronic transfusion therapy (CTT) for primary and secondary stroke prevention. A cross-sectional flow cytometric analysis of the reticulocyte phenotype was also performed. Mean duration of CTT was 3.1 ± 2.6 years. Fifteen subjects with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) -vasculopathy had significantly higher mean ARC prior to initiating CTT compared to 14 subjects without MRA-vasculopathy (427.6 ± 109.0 K/μl vs. 324.8 ± 109.2 K/μl,

The realities and expectations of community involvement in COVID-19 research: A Consumer Reference Group perspective

Background: Older adults have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 restrictions such as stay at home orders and physical distancing measures have been implemented to reduce older adults’ risk of infection, however, such measures can have negative effects on older adults’ mental health and social wellbeing. In 2020, the research team received funding as part of an Australian COVID-19 research grants program to investigate how services can better meet the mental health and social support needs of older adults during COVID-19. A Consumer Reference Group (CRG) was established to provide a community perspective on all research activities. Main body: The CRG comprised of eight older adults aged 65 years and older living in Western Australia. Two members of the CRG were involved in the initial grant proposal, and one member worked for a not-for-profit organisation that provides support and advocacy for older adults. The CRGs role was to provide consumer and community perspectives on the research design, advise on study materials, facilitate links between consumers, the community, and researchers, and advocate on behalf of consumers and the community. The CRG was encouraged to reflect on the research project, their contributions, and the outcomes obtained. In this commentary, we document the CRGs contributions to the project, and record their reflections, including what went well, what were some challenges, the realities of conducting research during COVID-19, and lessons learnt. Conclusion: The CRG were active participants in the research process. They shared their perspectives and made important contributions to the project. Through collaboration with the CRG, we were able to reach four key messages, underpinned by consumers lived experiences, that were used to co-develop knowledge translation products. These were disseminated to service providers and older adults

Lessons Learned in the Early Stages of a Community-Academic Partnership to Address Health Disparities in a Rural Community

In rural Georgia, African American men are burdened by chronic health diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Community-academic partnerships that leverage community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles can facilitate the adaptation and translation of multilevel programs to address chronic disease prevention and management in rural areas. The objective of this study was to explore key components of the CBPR process that bolstered the early stages of a partnership established between rural-residing community leaders and academic partners in Georgia. Qualitative methodology was used to collect and assess data regarding the initial engagement between the community and academic partners. Findings indicate that five components supported initial engagement: utilizing the public service and outreach arm of the university to connect with rural communities; creating synergy around identified community health needs; encouraging community members to provide input into the research design to ensure the research goals reflect community values; enhancing the capacity of community partners; and following the lead of the community. Findings provide insights into how to begin engaging rural communities in the southeast in order to strengthen the adaptation and translation of initiatives to improve cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease outcomes

Analyzing white dwarf + white dwarf binaries with Gaia trigonometric parallaxes

White dwarfs (WDs) have been used as chronometers to age date the solar neighborhood, open clusters, globular clusters, and even the Galactic halo field population. The availability of highly accurate and precise Gaia trigonometric parallaxes along with nearly all-sky, homogenous photometric surveys (SDSS, Pan-STARRS) now allows us to improve the precision in WD ages. We report on the consistency of ages among seven WD+WD binaries, run through BASE-9 individually and in pairs. BASE-9 uses Bayesian analysis to estimate the values for stellar parameters, such as age, distance, and metallicity. We found that using Gaia\u27s parallaxes with binary systems constrains the errors in these estimations, by lowering uncertainties and constraining the ages and distances of the systems

Improving White Dwarfs as Chronometers with Gaia Parallaxes and Spectroscopic Metallicities

White dwarfs (WDs) offer unrealized potential in solving two problems in astrophysics: stellar age accuracy and precision. WD cooling ages can be inferred from surface temperatures and radii, which can be constrained with precision by high-quality photometry and parallaxes. Accurate and precise Gaia parallaxes along with photometric surveys provide information to derive cooling and total ages for vast numbers of WDs. Here we analyze 1372 WDs found in wide binaries with main-sequence (MS) companions and report on the cooling and total age precision attainable in these WD+MS systems. The total age of a WD can be further constrained if its original metallicity is known because the MS lifetime depends on metallicity at fixed mass, yet metallicity is unavailable via spectroscopy of the WD. We show that incorporating spectroscopic metallicity constraints from 38 wide binary MS companions substantially decreases internal uncertainties in WD total ages compared to a uniform constraint. Averaged over the 38 stars in our sample, the total (internal) age uncertainty improves from 21.04% to 16.77% when incorporating the spectroscopic constraint. Higher mass WDs yield better total age precision; for eight WDs with zero-age MS masses \u3e= 2.0 M, the mean uncertainty in total ages improves from 8.61% to 4.54% when incorporating spectroscopic metallicities. We find that it is often possible to achieve 5% total age precision for WDs with progenitor masses above 2.0 M if parallaxes wit

Targeting and Blocking B7 Costimulatory Molecules on Antigen-Presenting Cells Using CTLA4Ig-Conjugated Liposomes: In Vitro Characterization and in Vivo Factors Affecting Biodistribution

Purpose. CTLA4Ig, a fusion protein of CTLA-4 and Fc of immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain, inhibits the essential costimulatory signal for full T cell activation via blocking the interaction between CD28 and B7 molecules and renders T cell nonresponsiveness. CTLA4Ig has been used to control deleterious T cell activation in many experimental systems. We hypothesized that by conjugating CTLA4Ig to liposomes the efficacy of CTLA4Ig could be enhanced through multivalent ligand effect, superior targetability, and modification of the fate of ligated costimulatory molecules.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41500/1/11095_2004_Article_468685.pd