Critical Inquiry and the First-Year Experience

Though the perception is that they “know how to navigate the online information world,” research shows even students who might be labeled “digital natives” struggle with what critical inquiry is and how to do it. This workshop examines the current state of undergraduate students’ critical inquiry skills as demonstrated by the Albertsons Library micro-credential taken by all University Foundations students since Fall 2018. It will also include practical solutions for reinforcing these foundational critical inquiry skills in other first-year student classrooms. Participants are encouraged to have a syllabus or course assignment available to use with the accompanying worksheet to brainstorm critical inquiry integrations that create a coherent and connected flow to this essential aspect of student learning

Pragmatic application of the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the implementation of tobacco cessation programs within NCI-Designated Cancer Centers

Tobacco cessation after cancer diagnosis leads to better patient outcomes. However, tobacco treatment services are frequently unavailable in cancer care settings, and multilevel implementation challenges can impede uptake of new programs. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) dedicated Cancer Moonshot funding through the Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I) for NCI-Designated Cancer Centers to implement or enhance the implementation of tobacco treatment services. We examined a pragmatic application of the RE-AIM framework (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) to evaluate tobacco treatment programs implemented within Cancer Centers funded through C3I. Using three C3I-funded Centers as examples, we describe how each RE-AIM construct was operationalized to evaluate the implementation of a wide range of cessation services (e.g., tobacco use screening, counseling, Quitline referral, pharmacotherapy) in this heterogeneous group of cancer care settings. We discuss the practical challenges encountered in assessing RE-AIM constructs in real world situations, including using the electronic health record (EHR) to aid in assessment. Reach and effectiveness evaluation required that Centers define the setting(s) where cessation services were implemented (to determine the denominator ), enumerate the patient population, report current patient tobacco use, patient engagement in tobacco treatment, and 6-month cessation outcomes. To reduce site heterogeneity, increase data accuracy, and reduce burden, reach was frequently captured via standardized EHR enhancements that improved the identification of current smokers and tobacco treatment referrals. Effectiveness was determined by cessation outcomes (30-day point prevalence abstinence at 6-months post-engagement) assessed through a variety of data collection approaches. Adoption was measured by the characteristics and proportion of targeted cancer care settings and clinicians engaged in cessation service delivery. Implementation was assessed by examining the delivery of tobacco screening assessments and intervention components across sites, and provider-level implementation consistency. Maintenance assessments identified whether tobacco treatment services continued in the setting after implementation and documented the sustainability plan and organizational commitment to continued delivery. In sum, this paper demonstrates a pragmatic approach to using RE-AIM as an evaluation framework that yields relevant outcomes on common implementation metrics across widely differing tobacco treatment approaches and settings

Longitudinal Patterns of Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use Following Incident Dementia Diagnosis

Introduction: Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in older adults with dementia is an understudied area. We assessed longitudinal changes in PIM exposure by dementia type following dementia diagnosis. Methods: We followed 2448 participants aged ≥ 65 years (52% women, 85.5% Caucasian, mean age 80.9 ± 7.5 years) diagnosed with dementia after enrollment in the National Alzheimer\u27s Coordinating Center (2005-2014). We estimated the association between dementia type and PIM annually for 2 years after diagnosis, using Generalized Estimating Equations. Results:Participants with Lewy body dementia had more PIM use, and participants with frontotemporal dementia had less PIM use than participants with Alzheimer\u27s disease. In the first year following diagnosis, total number of medications increased, on average, by 10% for Alzheimer\u27s disease and 15% for Lewy body dementia (P \u3c .05 for both). Discussion: A tailored approach aimed at optimizing drug therapy is needed to mitigate PIM exposure to improve medical care for individuals with dementia

CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells confer infectious tolerance in a TGF-β–dependent manner

CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T (T reg) cells comprise a separate lineage of T cells that are essential for maintaining immunological tolerance to self. The molecular mechanism(s) by which T reg cells mediate their suppressive effects remains poorly understood. One molecule that has been extensively studied in T reg cell suppression is transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, but its importance remains controversial. We found that TGF-β complexed to latency-associated peptide (LAP) is expressed on the cell surface of activated but not resting T reg cells. T reg cell LAP–TGF-β plays an important role in the suppression of the proliferation of activated T cells, but it is not required for the suppression of naive T cell activation. More importantly, T reg cell–derived TGF-β could generate de novo CD4+FoxP3+ T cells in vitro from naive precursors in a cell contact–dependent, antigen-presenting cell–independent and αV integrin–independent manner. The newly induced CD4+FoxP3+ T cells are suppressive both in vitro and in vivo. Transfer of activated antigen-specific T reg cells with naive antigen-specific responder T cells to normal recipients, followed by immunization, also results in induction of FoxP3 expression in the responder cells. T reg cell–mediated generation of functional CD4+FoxP3+ cells via this TGF-β–dependent pathway may represent a major mechanism as to how T reg cells maintain tolerance and expand their suppressive abilities

The Deep Water Dispersion Experiment: RAFOS float data report June 2016 - January 2019

This is the final data report for all acoustically-tracked subsurface RAFOS floats deployed for the “Deep Water Dispersion Experiment: RAFOS Float Study in Support of Analysis of Possible Consequences of Large Scale Oil-Spills under Various Scenarios” (DWDE). This study is part of the larger program “Deep and Shallow Particle Dispersion and Biological Connectivity over the Continental Slope in the Western Gulf of Mexico”, of the Gulf of Mexico Research Consortium (CIGoM). The objective of the DWDE project was to measure and evaluate the ocean circulation at various depths in order to estimate the rates and pathways by which a passive tracer (e.g. pollutant, nutrients, etc.) would spread. The experiment consisted of the deployment 93 RAFOS floats and five sound source moorings (needed for tracking the floats underwater) over the course of five cruises, between June 2016 and January 2019, in the Perdido region of the Gulf of Mexico. The floats were deployed nearly simultaneously at stacked depths of 300 and 1500 dbar, in sets of 2-4 instruments per station, for calculating dispersion statistics. Mission lengths for the floats were set to ~12 to 18 months. Included in this report are cruise summaries, statistics and notes on sound source and float performance, sound source drift calculations, description of the RAFOS float data processing steps, and figures.Funding was provided by the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology - Mexican Ministry of Energy - Hydrocarbon Fund, project 201441. This work was completed through a contract by the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education at Ensenada (CICESE) under Grant No. 188355 to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Grizzly, September 28, 1999

Cheer on UC at Family Day! • Taking to the Ballots • Change in Ursinus Security: Good or Bad? • Family Day Has Arrived • Living Off Campus Just Like Home • Campus Unable to Check Messages on Voice Mail • Bon Appetite at Back Porch Cafe • Letter to the Editor: Censorship in the Grizzly • Editors\u27 Response to Censorship Allegations • Volleyball Continues its Winning Ways • A Weekend of Success in U.C. Field Hockey • Bears Football Suffers 1st Loss of Season to #1 W. Marylandhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1446/thumbnail.jp

Feasibility and safety of a 6-month exercise program to increase bone and muscle strength in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Background: Arthritis in childhood can be associated with muscle weakness around affected joints, low bone mass and low bone strength. Exercise is recognized as an important part of management of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) but the exercise prescription to best promote bone and muscle health is unknown. We therefore aimed to: 1. assess feasibility and safety of a 6-month home- and group-based exercise program for children with JIA; 2. estimate the effect of program participation on bone mass and strength, muscle function and clinical outcomes and 3. determine if any positive changes in bone and muscle outcomes are maintained 6 months later. Methods: We recruited 24 children with JIA who were part of the Linking Exercise, Physical Activity and Pathophysiology in Childhood Arthritis (LEAP) study to participate in a 6-month home-based exercise program involving jumping and handgrip exercises, resistance training and one group exercise session per month. We assessed lumbar spine bone mass (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), distal tibia and radius bone microarchitecture and strength (high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography), muscle function (jumping mechanography, dynamometry) and clinical outcomes (joint assessment, function, health-related quality of life) at baseline, 6- and 12-months. Adherence was assessed using weekly activity logs. Results: Thirteen children completed the 6-month intervention. Participants reported 9 adverse events and post-exercise pain was rare (0.4%). Fatigue improved, but there were no other sustained improvements in muscle, bone or clinical outcomes. Adherence to the exercise program was low (47%) and decreased over time. Conclusion: Children with JIA safely participated in a home-based exercise program designed to enhance muscle and bone strength. Fatigue improved, which may in turn facilitate physical activity participation. Prescribed exercise posed adherence challenges and efforts are needed to address facilitators and barriers to participation in and adherence to exercise programs among children with JIA. Trial registration: Data of the children with JIA are from the LEAP study (Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; GRANT# 107535). http://www.leapjia.com/

High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun: Hard X-Ray Balloon-Borne Telescope

Set to fly in the Fall of 2013 from Ft. Sumner, NM, the High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) mission is a collaborative effort between the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the Goddard Space Flight Center to upgrade an existing payload, the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) balloon-borne telescope, to make unique scientific measurements of the Sun and astrophysical targets during the same flight. The HEROES science payload consists of 8 mirror modules, housing a total of 109 grazing-incidence optics. These modules are mounted on a carbon-fiber - and Aluminum optical bench 6 m from a matching array of high pressure xenon gas scintillation proportional counters, which serve as the focal-plane detectors. The HERO gondola utilizes a differential GPS system (backed by a magnetometer) for coarse pointing in the azimuth and a shaft angle encoder plus inclinometer provides the coarse elevation. The HEROES payload will incorporate a new solar aspect system to supplement the existing star camera, for fine pointing during both the day and night. A mechanical shutter will be added to the star camera to protect it during solar observations. HEROES will also implement two novel alignment monitoring system that will measure the alignment between the optical bench and the star camera and between the optics and detectors for improved pointing and post-flight data reconstruction. The overall payload will also be discussed. This mission is funded by the NASA HOPE (Hands On Project Experience) Training Opportunity awarded by the NASA Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership, in partnership with NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Office of the Chief Engineer and Office of the Chief Technologis

Motion-driven flow in an unusual piscine nasal region

Fishes have several means of moving water to effect odorant transport to their olfactory epithelium (‘olfactory flow’). Here we show that olfactory flow in the adult garpike Belone belone (Belonidae, Teleostei), a fish with an unusual nasal region, can be generated by its motion relative to water (swimming, or an external current, or both). We also show how the unusual features of the garpike’s nasal region influence olfactory flow. These features comprise a triangular nasal cavity in which the olfactory epithelium is exposed to the external environment, a papilla situated within the nasal cavity, and an elongated ventral apex. To perform our investigation we first generated life-like plastic models of garpike heads from X-ray scans of preserved specimens. We then suspended these models in a flume and flowed water over them to simulate swimming. By directing filaments of dye at the static models, we were able to visualise flow in the nasal regions at physiologically relevant Reynolds numbers (700–2,000). We found that flow of water over the heads did cause circulation in the nasal cavity. Vortices may assist in this circulation. The pattern of olfactory flow was influenced by morphological variations and the asymmetry of the nasal region. The unusual features of the nasal region may improve odorant sampling in the garpike, by dispersing flow over the olfactory epithelium and by creating favourable conditions for odorant transport (e.g. steep velocity gradients). Unexpectedly, we found that the mouth and the base of the garpike’s jaws may assist the sampling process. Thus, despite its apparent simplicity, the garpike’s nasal region is likely to act as an effective trap for odorant molecules

Outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis capsular group W among scouts returning from the World Scout Jamboree, Japan, 2015

The 23rd World Scout Jamboree was held in Japan from 28 July to 8 August 2015 and was attended by over 33,000 scouts from 162 countries. An outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease capsular group W was investigated among participants, with four confirmed cases identified in Scotland, who were all associated with one particular scout unit, and two confirmed cases in Sweden; molecular testing showed the same strain to be responsible for illness in both countries. The report describes the public health action taken to prevent further cases and the different decisions reached with respect to how wide to extend the offer of chemoprophylaxis in the two countries; in Scotland, chemoprophylaxis was offered to the unit of 40 participants to which the four cases belonged and to other close contacts of cases, while in Sweden chemoprophylaxis was offered to all those returning from the Jamboree. The report also describes the international collaboration and communication required to investigate and manage such multinational outbreaks in a timely manner