Parenting and digital media: from the early days of the web to contemporary digital society.

Parents have accessed websites, online discussion forums and blogs for advice, information and support since the early days of the World Wide Web. In this article, we review the literature in sociology and related social research addressing the ways in which digital media have been used for parenting-related purposes. We begin with the longer-established media of parenting websites, online discussion forums, blogs, email, mobile phones and message and video services and then move on to the newer technologies of social media and apps. This is followed by a section on data privacy and security issues. The concluding section summarises some major issues arising from the review and points to directions for further research

Preconditioning Involves Selective Mitophagy Mediated by Parkin and p62/SQSTM1

Autophagy-dependent mitochondrial turnover in response to cellular stress is necessary for maintaining cellular homeostasis. However, the mechanisms that govern the selective targeting of damaged mitochondria are poorly understood. Parkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, has been shown to be essential for the selective clearance of damaged mitochondria. Parkin is expressed in the heart, yet its function has not been investigated in the context of cardioprotection. We previously reported that autophagy is required for cardioprotection by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). In the present study, we used simulated ischemia (sI) in vitro and IPC of hearts to investigate the role of Parkin in mediating cardioprotection ex vivo and in vivo. In HL-1 cells, sI induced Parkin translocation to mitochondria and mitochondrial elimination. IPC induced Parkin translocation to mitochondria in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts and in vivo in mice subjected to regional IPC. Mitochondrial depolarization with an uncoupling agent similarly induced Parkin translocation to mitochondria in cells and Langendorff-perfused rat hearts. Mitochondrial loss was blunted in Atg5-deficient cells, revealing the requirement for autophagy in mitochondrial elimination. Consistent with previous reports indicating a role for p62/SQSTM1 in mitophagy, we found that depletion of p62 attenuated mitophagy and exacerbated cell death in HL-1 cardiomyocytes subjected to sI. While wild type mice showed p62 translocation to mitochondria and an increase in ubiquitination, Parkin knockout mice exhibited attenuated IPC-induced p62 translocation to the mitochondria. Importantly, ablation of Parkin in mice abolished the cardioprotective effects of IPC. These results reveal for the first time the crucial role of Parkin and mitophagy in cardioprotection

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

An Analysis of Pharmacists\u27 Workplace Patient Safety Perceptions Across Practice Setting and Role Characteristics

Background: Lay press investigations have been published that describe pharmacist errors and the workplace environment in the community pharmacy setting. However, recent studies that explore pharmacists\u27 perceptions of patient safety in the workplace are limited. Objectives: 1) To describe pharmacists\u27 perceptions of workplace patient safety; 2) To compare pharmacists\u27 perceptions of workplace patient safety across practice setting type, pharmacist roles, average hours worked per shift, and average hours worked per week. Methods: Actively licensed Tennessee pharmacists were recruited from January 1 and June 30, 2019 to complete a 13-item survey of workplace patient safety perceptions ( =1391). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and nonparametric statistical tests employed to compare differences in perceptions across practice setting type, pharmacist roles, and hours worked per shift and per week. Results: Statistically significant differences in workplace patient safety perceptions were noted across practice setting type (p values \u3c.001) and pharmacist roles (p values \u3c.001). The extent to which pharmacists agreed/strongly agreed that their employer provides a work environment that allows for safe patient care ranged from 29.7% of chain community pharmacists to 85% of compounding pharmacists. Fifty-two percent of staff pharmacists, 56.5% of relief pharmacists, and 58.5% of managers/pharmacists in charge agreed or strongly agreed that their employer provides a work environment that allows for safe patient care, whereas 89.3% of regional managers/directors/vice-presidents and 72.5% of clinical/specialty pharmacists indicated the same. Average hours per shift was inversely correlated with perceptions of workplace patient safety (p values \u3c.001). Conclusion: Tennessee pharmacists\u27 perceptions of workplace patient safety varied widely across practice setting type and pharmacist roles. Perceptions of safety were notably lower in the chain community pharmacy setting. Additional research is warranted to better understand the relationship between pharmacist perceptions and quantifiable patient safety metrics, particularly in the chain community pharmacy setting

Count It! Lock It! Drop It!: A Descriptive Analysis of the Intentions and Behaviors of College Students

Prescription drug misuse is growing among college students. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 559 full-time college students begin non-medically using prescription pain relievers every day. Within the last 12 months, nearly 12% of college students reported using prescription medications prescribed to a different person. Count It! Lock It! Drop It! is an initiative of the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition in Coffee County, Tennessee that educates the public on how prescription drug misuse can be prevented by counting, locking, and disposing of unused or expired medication. In collaboration with Count It! Lock It! Drop It! developers, a multi-pronged campaign using printed flyers and posters, residence hall door hangers, residence hall advisor t-shirts, campus yard signs, as well as digital and social media was developed and implemented in fall 2017 at East Tennessee State University. The objectives of this study were to: 1) assess exposure to the Count It! Lock It! Drop It! campaign among college students; and 2) examine perceptions and behaviors concerning medication storage and disposal among college students. A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted in November-December of 2017. Study participants were recruited from a series of listservs and included students 18 years of age and older currently enrolled at the University (n=274). Study variables included if and how students were exposed to the campaign, if they possessed expired or unused medications, if they counted, locked, or disposed of medication, and the likelihood of completing these tasks. Descriptive analyses were conducted using SPSS, version 24. Students reported print materials such as flyers as the most common channel of exposure. Among students reporting unused or expired medications in their household, a small percentage locked medication in a secure location in the past 30 days (13.7%), with a smaller percentage counting medication in the past 30 days (4.8%). The most common method of disposal was to discard of medication in the household trash, while the least common was to give to a friend or family member. Only 7.7% donated medications at a live take-back event, while 23.1% donated at a permanent disposal location. Students’ intentions for counting, locking, and disposing of medications varied. More students strongly disagreed than agreed that counting medications would become part of a two-week routine. More students disagreed than agreed with placing medications in a secure location, but results were more evenly dispersed relative to those for counting medications. Students generally agreed with disposing of expired or unused medications. Overall, this study suggests printed materials are a good way to reach college students for the Count It! Lock It! Drop It! initiative, that students do not commonly count or secure medications, and that students do not agree that counting or securing medications will be part of their standard routine