RETAIN: A Board Game That Improves Neonatal Resuscitation Knowledge Retention

Background: The current resuscitation guidelines recommend frequent simulation based medical education (SBME). However, the current SBME approach is expensive, time-intensive, and requires a specialized lab and trained instructors. Hence, it is not offered routinely at all hospitals. We designed the board game “RETAIN” to train healthcare providers (HCPs) in neonatal resuscitation in a cost-friendly and accessible way.Objectives: To examine if a board game-based training simulator improves knowledge retention in HCPs.Methods: “RETAIN” consists of a board using an image of a baby, visual objects, adjustable timer, monitors, and action cards. Neonatal HCPs at the Royal Alexandra Hospital were invited to participate. Participants completed a written pre-test (resuscitation of a 24-week infant), then played the board game (starting with a tutorial followed by free playing of three evidence-based neonatal resuscitation scenarios). Afterwards, a post-test with the same resuscitation scenario and an opinion survey was completed. The answers from the pre- and post-test were compared to assess HCPs' knowledge retention.Results: Thirty HCPs (four doctors, 12 nurses, and 14 respiratory therapist) participated in the study. Overall, we observed a 10% increase in knowledge retention between the pre- and post-test (49–59%, respectively). Temperature management showed the most knowledge gain between the pre- and post-test (14–46%, respectively). Placement of a hat (10–43%), plastic wrap (27–67%), and temperature probe (7–30%) improved between the pre- and post-test.Conclusion: Knowledge retention increased by 12% between pre- and post-test (49–61%, respectively). The improvement in performance and knowledge supports the use of board game simulations for clinical training

Comparable rest-related promotion of spatial memory consolidation in younger and older adults

Flexible spatial navigation depends on cognitive mapping, a function that declines with increasing age. In young adults, a brief period of postnavigation rest promotes the consolidation and integration of spatial memories into accurate cognitive maps. We examined (1) whether rest promotes spatial memory consolidation and integration in older adults; and (2) whether the magnitude of the rest benefit changes with increasing age. Young and older adults learned a route through a virtual environment, followed by a 10-minute delay comprising either wakeful rest or a perceptual task, and a subsequent cognitive mapping task, requiring the pointing to landmarks from different locations. Pointing accuracy was lower in the older than younger adults. However, there was a comparable rest-related enhancement in pointing accuracy in the 2 age groups. Together our findings suggest that (1) the age-related decline in cognitive mapping cannot be explained by increased consolidation interference in older adults; and (2) as we grow older, rest continues to support the consolidation and integration of spatial memories

Biogenic gas nanostructures as ultrasonic molecular reporters

Ultrasound is among the most widely used non-invasive imaging modalities in biomedicine, but plays a surprisingly small role in molecular imaging due to a lack of suitable molecular reporters on the nanoscale. Here, we introduce a new class of reporters for ultrasound based on genetically encoded gas nanostructures from microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Gas vesicles are gas-filled protein-shelled compartments with typical widths of 45–250 nm and lengths of 100–600 nm that exclude water and are permeable to gas. We show that gas vesicles produce stable ultrasound contrast that is readily detected in vitro and in vivo, that their genetically encoded physical properties enable multiple modes of imaging, and that contrast enhancement through aggregation permits their use as molecular biosensors

Evidence for compositionally distinct upper mantle plumelets since the early history of the Tristan-Gough hotspot

Recent studies indicate that mantle plumes, which transfer material and heat from the earth’s interior to its surface, represent multifaceted upwellings. The Tristan-Gough hotspot track (South Atlantic), which formed above a mantle plume, documents spatial geochemical zonation in two distinct sub-tracks since ~70 Ma. The origin and the sudden appearance of two distinct geochemical flavors is enigmatic, but could provide insights into the structural evolution of mantle plumes. Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope data from the Late Cretaceous Rio Grande Rise and adjacent Jean Charcot Seamount Chain (South American Plate), which represent the counterpart of the older Tristan-Gough volcanic track (African Plate), extends the bilateral-zonation to ~100 Ma. Our results support recent numerical models, demonstrating that mantle plumes can split into distinct upper mantle conduits, and provide evidence that these plumelets formed at the plume head-to-plume tail transition. We attribute the plume zonation to sampling the geochemically-graded margin of the African Large Low-Shear-Velocity Province

Float or sink: modelling the taphonomic pathway of marine crocodiles (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia) during the death–burial interval

A taphonomic model is erected for a dataset of 19 Steneosaurus (Mesoeucrocodylia; Thalattosuchia) from the Toarcian Posidonienschiefer Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Germany. These were deposited in a quiet-water, marine, basin. Their taphonomy is compared with that of an additional seven thalattosuchians from other Jurassic localities (Peterborough and Yorkshire, UK; Nusplingen, Germany). The skeletal taphonomy of the specimens is assessed in terms of the articulation and completeness of nine skeletal units. Steneosaurus from the Posidonienschiefer Formation exhibit variable levels of articulation in the nine units. Completeness also varies but the head, neck and dorsal units are complete in all specimens. Carcasses reached the sediment–water interface shortly after death. Loss of fidelity occurred primarily as individuals lay on the sediment, and disarticulated elements tended to remain in the vicinity of the carcass. Those elements absent from specimens are the smaller, more distal, bones of the limbs and tail; these were removed preferentially by weak bottom currents. Smaller specimens are consistently less complete. Specimens from other localities broadly follow the same taphonomic pathway, suggesting a consistent pattern for the skeletal taphonomy of the carcasses of marine crocodiles. Loss of completeness in some specimens is more exacerbated, the result of stronger current activity at the sediment–water interface

Intergenerational impact of maternal obesity and postnatal feeding practices on pediatric obesity

The postnatal feeding practices of obese and overweight mothers may place their children at particular risk for the development of obesity through shared biology and family environments. This paper reviews the feeding practices of obese mothers, describes potential mechanisms linking maternal feeding behaviors to child obesity risk, and highlights potential avenues for intervention. This review documents that supporting breastfeeding, improving the food choices of obese women, and encouraging the development of feeding styles that are responsive to hunger and satiety cues are important for improving the quality of the eating environment and preventing the intergenerational transmission of obesity