Building Interdisciplinary Learning Partnerships

Capital University Law School & Grant Medical Center partnered to provide training on medical malpractice to law students and medical residents. The course utilized a unique, interdisciplinary approach to skills training & professional development. The course attempts to meet several needs: (1) Increase experiential learning opportunities to develop professional skills and judgment; (2) Provide authentic, experiential learning that is cost-effective and accessible to all law students, including non-traditional and part­time students; and (3) Promote interdisciplinary education.https://fuse.franklin.edu/ss2016/1066/thumbnail.jp

Biofortification of Sodium Selenate Improves Dietary Mineral Contents and Antioxidant Capacity of Culinary Herb Microgreens

Selenium biofortification of plants has been suggested as a method of enhancing dietary seleniumintake to prevent deficiency and chronic disease in humans, while avoiding toxic levels of intake. Popular herbs such as basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.), and scallions (Allium fistulosum L.) present an opportunity for biofortification as these plants are used for added flavors to meals and are available as microgreens, young plants with increasing popularity in the consumer marketplace. In this study, basil, cilantro, and scallion microgreens were biofortified with sodium selenate under hydroponic conditions at various selenium concentrations to investigate the effects on yield, selenium content, other mineral contents (i.e., sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, sulfur, and boron), total phenol content, and antioxidant capacity [oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)]. The results showed that the selenium content increased significantly at all concentrations, with scallions demonstrating the largest increase. The effects on other minerals varied among herb species. Antioxidant capacity and total phenol content increased in all herbs at the highest selenium treatments, but basil and scallions demonstrated a decreased crop yield. Overall, these biofortified culinary herbmicrogreens are an ideal functional food for enhancing selenium, other dietary minerals, and antioxidants to benefit human health

The Impact of Austerity Measures on People with Intellectual Disabilities in England

Context. UK austerity measures following the 2008 financial crisis included budget reductions for health and social care. We aimed to investigate the extent to which austerity-measures had impacted the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in England, and whether their support costs were associated with their characteristics, needs and outcomes. Objectives. We report on what services people with intellectual disabilities were using, whether they had lost care, the costs of their support, and what impact any loss of benefits and services had on individuals’ lives. Methods. 150 participants with intellectual disabilities across England were interviewed about their services and their well-being. Service and individual support costs were calculated. Statistical and thematic analyses were employed. Results. The largest proportion (42%) of our sample had lost care. 14% had experienced changed care, and care had remained the same for 36%. Only 7% said their care had improved. No associations were found between costs and characteristics and needs except for whether the person had mild or severe intellectual disabilities. Those who had lost care engaged in fewer activities and had significantly lower self-esteem and quality-of-life scores compared with those who had not lost care. Loss of care impacted on individuals’ independence and future aspirations. Limitations. A comparative study of austerity impacts across the whole of England was not possible. Our costs data may be underestimated because full information on support from home, key, or support workers was unavailable. Implications. In attempting to mitigate against COVID-19 impacts on people with intellectual disabilities, policy-decisions will need to consider the backlog of a decade of cuts

Preparing for Storms in Louisiana

Louisiana is at risk from natural and man-made disasters. Flooding, tropical storms, and hurricanes happen. To stay safe, sometimes you and your family will need to leave home before a storm comes. People in Louisiana need to be ready for emergencies. This guide will help you get prepared

Preparing for Storms in Louisiana

Louisiana is at risk from natural and man-made disasters. Flooding, tropical storms, and hurricanes happen. To stay safe, sometimes you and your family will need to leave home before a storm comes. People in Louisiana need to be ready for emergencies. This guide will help you get prepared

Austerity and the lives of people with learning disabilities. A thematic synthesis of current literature

The Financial Crisis of 2008 resulted in many western economies implementing cuts in health and social care. This systematic review provides a holistic picture of the impact of austerity policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities (LD) and the collateral effects on the people who support them. Our review suggests that in the current climate of economic austerity, available funding to support people with LD is no longer aligned to their care needs. Cuts in disability services have adversely affected the well-being both of people with LD and their informal carers. Individuals with LD have lost social support and are experiencing increased social isolation. Heightened demands on family carers’ time have negatively influenced their wider roles, including parental functioning, and labour market participation. Our review provides the foundations for further discourse and research on the effects of austerity on people with LD and their family carers

Fecal Indicators in Sand, Sand Contact, and Risk of Enteric Illness Among Beachgoers

Beach sand can harbor fecal indicator organisms and pathogens, but enteric illness risk associated with sand contact remains unclear

Rapidly measured indicators of recreational water quality and swimming-associated illness at marine beaches: a prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>In the United States and elsewhere, recreational water quality is monitored for fecal indicator bacteria to help prevent swimming-associated illnesses. Standard methods to measure these bacteria take at least 24 hours to obtain results. Molecular approaches such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) can estimate these bacteria faster, in under 3 hours. Previously, we demonstrated that measurements of the fecal indicator bacteria <it>Enterococcus </it>using qPCR were associated with gastrointestinal (GI) illness among swimmers at freshwater beaches. In this paper, we report on results from three marine beach sites.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We interviewed beach-goers and collected water samples at marine beaches affected by treated sewage discharges in Mississippi in 2005, and Rhode Island and Alabama in 2007. Ten to twelve days later, we obtained information about gastrointestinal, respiratory, eye, ear and skin symptoms by telephone. We tested water samples for fecal indicator organisms using qPCR and other methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We enrolled 6,350 beach-goers. The occurrence of GI illness among swimmers was associated with a log₁₀-increase in exposure to qPCR-determined estimates of fecal indicator organisms in the genus <it>Enterococcus </it>(AOR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.3-5.1) and order <it>Bacteroidales </it>(AOR = 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.9). Estimates of organisms related to <it>Clostridium perfringens </it>and a subgroup of organisms in the genus <it>Bacteroides </it>were also determined by qPCR in 2007, as was F+ coliphage, but relationships between these indicators and illness were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study provides the first evidence of a relationship between gastrointestinal illness and estimates of fecal indicator organisms determined by qPCR at marine beaches.</p

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival