Population genomics of speciation and admixture

The application of population genomics to the understanding of speciation has led to the emerging field of speciation genomics. This has brought new insight into how divergence builds up within the genome during speciation and is also revealing the extent to which species can continue to exchange genetic material despite reproductive barriers. It is also providing powerful new approaches for linking genotype to phenotype in admixed populations. In this chapter, we give an overview of some of the methods that have been used and some of the novel insights gained. We also outline some of the pitfalls of the most commonly used methods and possible problems with interpretation of the results

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

Early Progressive Mobility in the ICU

https://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nursing_artof_answering/1000/thumbnail.jp

Effectiveness of a Multimodal Educational Program to Improve Mobility Practices in the Intensive Care Unit

Research findings support the institution of standardized Early Mobility programs to improve patient outcomes and to reduce costs. The goals of this project were to improve nurses’ knowledge about the impact of progressive mobility and to increase the number of mobility-related activities and events among critically ill patients. Our research question was: Does a multimodal, educational approach increase the ICU RN’s knowledge of and compliance with an Early Progressive Mobility Protocol? An interdisciplinary mobility team organized a plan addressing the barriers and learning needs of our unit. After conducting an extensive literature review, an evidence-based Early Progressive Mobility Protocol was developed. A multimodal educational program based on Malcolm Knowles Adult Theory of Learning was designed to present this information to ICU nurses. Educational and training sessions in conjunction with simulation were utilized in collaboration with physical therapy, to cover: physiological effects of prolonged immobility and bed rest, benefits of early progressive mobility, use of the mobility protocol with safety guidelines, proper mobility techniques, use of equipment, and finally care documentation. Real time coaching with the interdisciplinary team during morning rounds was also utilized. Early Progressive Mobility was presented relative to the ABCDEF Bundle throughout the course. A pre and post-test were administered to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational intervention and real-time audits with chart reviews were conducted to measure bed-side compliance with the use of the protocol and percentage of patients mobilized according to the protocol. Knowledge of 60 nurses was measured with a test conducted before and after the education. The test included a 5 point Likert Scale rating the importance of mobility to individual nursing practice. The p-value of 0.0001 attained suggested that the education provided significantly increased knowledge scores and nurses’ perception on the importance of mobility. Compliance with the protocol utilization was measured via pre and post audits. Pre education audits revealed that 59% of eligible patients were mobilized compared to 94% post education. We are currently moving towards identifying patient sensitive outcomes and collecting data accordingly.https://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nursing_artof_innovation/1020/thumbnail.jp

Early Progressive Mobility

https://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nursing_artof_questioning/1005/thumbnail.jp

A New Era in Pathology Consultation

Pathologists and laboratory scientists provide valuable guidance on laboratory utilization, test ordering, interpretation, and quality control provided that clinical staff can easily access the laboratory team. To encourage consultation between clinicians with laboratory scientists and pathologists, we developed an easily accessible electronic tool termed “MyPathologist,” placed on the homepage of our electronic health record system. Over its 2-year pilot, utilization of this consultation tool climbed as we continued to publicize it and incorporated education into housestaff onboarding and electronic health record training. Physician satisfaction with the tool was high. Additionally, this became the primary source of consults to our residency call service. Evaluation of MyPathologist questions received during its pilot period showed that more than half the questions were of significant educational value to the residents, often focusing on results interpretation, appropriate test ordering, and quality control. MyPathologist is a novel electronic tool for pathology consultation within our electronic health record and also represents an avenue for educating residents, improving utilization of the laboratory, and improving patient care

Calculation Scheme Based on a Weighted Primitive: Application to Image Processing Transforms

This paper presents a method to improve the calculation of functions which specially demand a great amount of computing resources. The method is based on the choice of a weighted primitive which enables the calculation of function values under the scope of a recursive operation. When tackling the design level, the method shows suitable for developing a processor which achieves a satisfying trade-off between time delay, area costs, and stability. The method is particularly suitable for the mathematical transforms used in signal processing applications. A generic calculation scheme is developed for the discrete fast Fourier transform (DFT) and then applied to other integral transforms such as the discrete Hartley transform (DHT), the discrete cosine transform (DCT), and the discrete sine transform (DST). Some comparisons with other well-known proposals are also provided