Developing the social media presence of @NurseEducToday by using Twitter

The use of social media (SoMe) has increased significantly over the last ten years. Twitter, one example of the SoMe was developed in 2006 aimed to communicate with small groups. Since its inception Twitter has been embraced as an important professional communication platform by clinicians, academics, educators, students and researchers. Tweets are increasingly used to build collaborative relationships, showcase research and communicate innovative clinical and educational information

I want it all and I want it now. Challenging the traditional nursing academic paradigm

A recent Twitter chat facilitated by the @NurseEducToday socialmedia team provoked a particularly strong reaction among a range of contributors. The focus of the discussion – expectations of the nurse academic – resulted in a high level of engagement from several participants who clearly held strong views, which were surprisingly polarised. Here we explore aspects of this polarization; and what it might mean for nurses working in academia. Our aim is to reflect on what this dialogue might tell us about current thinking in the profession, specifically around how nurse academics see themselves, what they expect from self and others, and what they are prepared to do to meet these,often, self-generated expectations

Examing the Forces That Guide Teaching Decisions

This study of two successful first grade teachers examines the forces that guide their instructional decisions. Findings reveal the complexities of forces that influence the moment-to-moment decisions made by these teachers. Teachers repeatedly attempted to balance their desires to be student-centered while addressing state standards and implementing their schools’ adopted curricula, with varying levels of success. The teachers’ professional knowledge was the determining factor in that success. Levels of professional development and the professional learning communities of these two teachers and the contexts in which they were operating influenced their attention to certain forces. Findings from this study indicate that building teachers’ professional knowledge through coaching and long-term professional development can improve teacher decision making

Oxygen-rich dust production in IC 10

We report the detection of oxygen-rich circumstellar envelopes in stars of the nearby (700 kpc) starburst galaxy IC 10. The star formation history and the chemical environment of this galaxy makes it an ideal target to observe dust production by high-mass stars in a low-metallicity environment. The goal of this study is to identify oxygen-rich stars in IC 10 and to constrain their nature between asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs), red supergiants (RSGs), and other infrared bright sources. We examine the mass-loss rate of the stars and compare to results obtained for the Magellanic Clouds. Our objectives are to (1) assess whether RSGs can be significant dust producers in IC 10, and (2), solve the discrepancy between the star formation history of IC 10 and the relatively low number of RSGs detected in the optical. We search for silicate dust in emission by using the spectral map observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The optical (UBVRI) and infrared (JHK, Spitzer/IRAC and Spitzer/MIPS) photometry is used to assert the membership of the stars to IC 10 and disentangle between AGBs and RSGs. Radiative models are used to infer mass-loss rates and stellar luminosities. The luminosity and colors of at least 9 silicate emission sources are consistent with stars within IC 10. Furthermore, the photometry of 2 of these sources is consistent with RSGs. We derive dust mass-loss rates similar to the values found in the Magellanic Clouds. Accounting for the sample completeness, RSGs are not important contributors to the dust mass budget in IC 10.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Maternal feeding practices predict weight gain and obesogenic eating behaviours in young children : a prospective study

Background&nbsp;Maternal feeding practices have been proposed to play an important role in early child weight gain and obesogenic eating behariours. However, to date longitudinal investigations in young children exploring these relationships have been lacking. The aim of the present study was to explore prospective relationships between maternal feeding practices, child weight gain and obesogenic eating behaviours in 2-year-old children. The competing hypothesis that child eating behaviours predict changes in maternal feeding practices was also examined.Methods&nbsp;A sample of 323 mother (mean age = 35 years, + 0.37) and child dyads (mean age = 2.03 years, + 0.37 at recruitment) were participants. Mothers completed a questionnaire assessing parental feeding practices and child eating behaviours at baseline and again one year later. Child BMI (predominantly objectively measured) was obtained at both time points.Results&nbsp;Increases in child BMI z-scores over the follow-up period were predicted by maternal instrumental feeding practices. Furthermore, restriction, emotional feeding, encouragement to eat, weight-based restriction and fat restriction were associated prospectively with the development of obesogenic eating behaviours in children including emotional eating, tendency to overeat and food approach behaviours (such as enjoyment of food and good appetite). Maternal monitoring, however, predicted decreases in food approach eating behaviours. Partial support was also observed for child eating behaviours predicting maternal feeding practices.Conclusions&nbsp;Maternal feeding practices play an important role in the development of weight gain and obesogenic eating behaviours in young children and are potential targets for effective prevention interventions aiming to decrease child obesity.<br /

International nurse education leaders' experiences of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic:A qualitative study

AIMS: To explore the experiences of strategic leads for nurse education as they sought to respond to the COVID‐19 pandemic. DESIGN: We utilised a qualitative interpretative approach to explore education leaders’ experiences of leading during the early months of the pandemic. METHODS: Nineteen leaders with significant strategic responsibility for nurse education in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom were identified via purposive sampling and agreed to participate. Interviews were held between May and July 2020. RESULTS: Four overarching themes arose from the analysis: (1) Crisis driven adaptability & flexibility; (2) Responsive, complex and changing communication; (3) Making decisions for student and staff safety; (4) Looking to the future; stronger partnerships. CONCLUSION: Internationally, while nursing education leaders faced different problems, they shared a common goal amidst the crisis to remain student‐centred. They demonstrated they were able to face major challenges, respond to large scale logistical problems and make decisions under significant and ongoing pressure. IMPACT: In responding to the pandemic, nurse leaders shared knowledge and offered mutual support. This bodes well for future collaboration. The move to online learning accelerated an existing trend and it seems likely that this will continue. Given the pressures they experienced over an extended period, the sector may wish to consider how it prepares and supports existing and future leaders

Structural and functional characterisation of the fork head transcription factor-encoding gene, Hc-daf-16, from the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus (Strongylida)

Despite their phylogenetic diversity, parasitic nematodes share attributes of longevity and developmental arrest (=hypobiosis) with free-living nematodes at key points in their life cycles, particularly in larval stages responsible for establishing infection in the host. Insulin-like signalling plays crucial roles in the regulation of life span and arrest (=dauer formation) in the free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. Insulin-like signalling in C. elegans negatively regulates the fork head boxO (FoxO) transcription factor encoded by daf-16, which is linked to initiating a dauer-specific pattern of gene expression. Orthologues of daf-16 have been identified in several species of parasitic nematode. Although function has been demonstrated for an orthologue from the parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis (Rhabditida), the functional capabilities of homologues/orthologues in bursate nematodes (Strongylida) are unknown. In the present study, we used a genomic approach to determine the structures of two complete daf-16 orthologues (designated Hc-daf-16.1 and Hc-daf-16.2) and their transcripts in the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus, and assessed their function(s) using C. elegans as a genetic surrogate. Unlike the multiple isoforms of Ce-DAF-16 and Ss-DAF-16, which are encoded by a single gene and produced by alternative splicing, mRNAs encoding the proteins Hc-DAF-16.1 and Hc-DAF-16.2 are transcribed from separate and distinct loci. Both orthologues are transcribed in all developmental stages and both sexes of H. contortus, and the inferred proteins (603 and 556 amino acids) each contain a characteristic, highly conserved fork head domain. In spite of distinct differences in genomic organisation compared with orthologues in C. elegans and S. stercoralis, genetic complementation studies demonstrated here that Hc-daf-16.2, but not Hc-daf-16.1, could restore daf-16 function to a C. elegans strain carrying a null mutation at this locus. These findings are consistent with previous results for S. stercoralis and demonstrate functional conservation of the daf-16b orthologue between key parasitic nematodes from two different taxonomic orders and C. elegans. We conclude from these experiments that the fork head transcription factor DAF-16 and, by inference, other insulin-like signalling elements, are conserved in H. contortus, a parasitic nematode of paramount economic importance. We demonstrate that functionality is sufficiently conserved in Hc-DAF-16.2 that it can replace Ce-DAF-16 in promoting dauer arrest in C. elegans

Case Study of Resilient Baton Rouge: Applying Depression Collaborative Care and Community Planning to Disaster Recovery.

BackgroundAddressing behavioral health impacts of major disasters is a priority of increasing national attention, but there are limited examples of implementation strategies to guide new disaster responses. We provide a case study of an effort being applied in response to the 2016 Great Flood in Baton Rouge.MethodsResilient Baton Rouge was designed to support recovery after major flooding by building local capacity to implement an expanded model of depression collaborative care for adults, coupled with identifying and responding to local priorities and assets for recovery. For a descriptive, initial evaluation, we coupled analysis of documents and process notes with descriptive surveys of participants in initial training and orientation, including preliminary comparisons among licensed and non-licensed participants to identify training priorities.ResultsWe expanded local behavioral health service delivery capacity through subgrants to four agencies, provision of training tailored to licensed and non-licensed providers and development of advisory councils and partnerships with grassroots and government agencies. We also undertook initial efforts to enhance national collaboration around post-disaster resilience.ConclusionOur partnered processes and lessons learned may be applicable to other communities that aim to promote resilience, as well as planning for and responding to post-disaster behavioral health needs