Uganda and Malawi field pilots of proposed LSMS fisheries module: summary report

While an overwhelming majority of sub-Saharan African countries exhibit serious weaknesses in statistics pertaining to crop and livestock sectors, the deficiencies in terms of nationally representative data on the fishery sector are even more acute. The very little data available on the sector are essentially derived from case studies of selected fisheries, and the limited nationally representative data available are generally derived from a few questions included in the livestock section of household surveys. These do not permit the detailed characterization of the fishery production systems. As a consequence in many countries the decision-makers and planners lack the most basic information about the role and importance of the fisheries sector to their national economy. As part of an initiative called the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) project, a collaboration was developed between the World Bank and the WorldFish Center to address this situation. This report provides detail on pilot testing of a fisheries module for living standards measurement surveys

“Epic-Genetics”: An exploration of preservice helping professionals’ (mis)understanding of epigenetic influences on human development

Mental health researchers emphasize the importance of practitioner understanding of biology-environment interplay. Accordingly, our goal of the study described in this article was to understand students’ preconceptions and misconceptions about biological and environmental influences on development through investigating their conceptions of epigenetics. Using a short-term longitudinal design, we explored preservice helping professionals’ conceptions and misconceptions pertaining to epigenetics within the framework of a graduate level human development course. Baseline knowledge about epigenetics was low. Students developed multiple misconceptions about epigenetics and how the phenomenon relates to biological and environmental influences on human development. Students reported feeling highly efficacious for detecting and resolving misconceptions related to biology-environment interactions but varied in their perceptions of interest for learning about the content. Findings support the use of open-ended questions to detect misconceptions about epigenetics and are discussed in light of how to teach students about this phenomenon. Overall, this research speaks to the importance of understanding the misconceptions students believe and instructional strategies that may assist in correcting them

Bacteriophages: The Answer to Antibiotic Resistance?

Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, have numerous applications in the medical, agricultural, and research fields, especially as an alternative to antibiotics in the age of antibiotic resistance. Phages are able to lyse, or break apart, bacterial cells with fewer side effects, more specificity, and less likelihood of resistance than antibiotics. The acceptance of phages in medicine and agriculture around the world today is not universal, and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been slow to recognize phage therapy as a legitimate treatment. However, the successful use of phages in the past, as well as promising trial results in fields ranging from chronic disease treatment to food preservation, present opportunities for consideration of phage-based applications in the future. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the history, uses, and regulation of phage therapy

First-Year Engineering Program: Student Instructional Leadership Team - Expanded and Restructured

Since its initial creation, the Student Instructional Leadership Team (SILT) within the First-Year Engineering Program (FEP) at The Ohio State University (OSU) has been responsible for training and supporting students and instructional staff. In recent years, SILT has been expanded and restructured to meet the needs of a growing student body and ever-changing program. SILT currently has 13 members working across all 4 tracks of FEP. This team helps manage over 2,000 students and 200 teaching assistants (TAs). SILT assists with various FEP resources such as its computer lab and laboratories. SILT also provides professional development opportunities for student employees. Furthermore, the leadership team strives to enhance the program’s learning objectives, support curriculum enhancements, and create consistency. Through continued change and improvement, SILT has become a model for involving TAs in the management of a large scale educational unit such as FEP

Immune cell counts in cerebrospinal fluid predict cognitive function in aging and neurodegenerative disease

IntroductionImmune dysfunction is important in aging and neurodegeneration; lacking clinically available tools limits research translation. We tested associations of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR)-innate immune activation surrogate-with cognition in an aging and dementia cohort, hypothesizing that elevated MLR is associated with poorer executive functioning.MethodsCSF MLR was calculated in well-characterized, genotyped participants enrolled in studies of aging and dementia at University of California, San Francisco Memory and Aging Center (n = 199, mean age 57.5 years, SD 11.9). Linear models tested associations with episodic memory and executive function (verbal fluency, speeded set-shifting).ResultsAging was associated with higher CSF monocyte, lower lymphocyte counts, and higher MLRs (p < 0.001). MLR was associated with verbal fluency (p < 0.05) only.DiscussionUsing clinical labs, we show an inverse association between CSF MLR and executive function in aging and dementia, supporting the utility of clinical labs in capturing associations between innate immune dysfunction and neurodegeneration

First-Year Engineering Program: Student Instructional Leadership Team -Expanded and Restructured

Abstract Since its initial creation, the Student Instructional Leadership Team (SILT) within the First-Year Engineering Program (FEP) at The Ohio State University (OSU) has been responsible for training and supporting students and instructional staff

A wider Europe? The view from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

On the evidence of national surveys conducted between 2000 and 2006, there is a declining sense of European self-identity in the three Slavic post-Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Attitudes towards the European Union and the possibility of membership are broadly supportive, but with a substantial proportion who find it difficult to express a view, and substantial proportions are poorly informed in comparison with the general public in EU member or prospective member countries. Those who are better informed are more likely to favour EU membership and vice versa. Generally, socioeconomic characteristics (except for age and region) are relatively poor predictors of support for EU membership as compared with attitudinal variables. But ‘Europeanness’ should not be seen as a given, and much will depend on whether EU member countries emphasize what is common to east and west or establish ‘new dividing lines’ in place of those of the cold war

Stigma and Social Power: Expecting to Interact with an Obese Person Activates Power in the Self-concept

People's sense of power is often a more crucial determinant of their behavior than their actual level of power. In this paper, we suggest that individuals may perceive themselves as more powerful when anticipating interaction with a member of a stigmatized out-group than with a member of a nonstigmatized group. Normal weight participants (N = 77) expected to have an interaction with a target randomly identified as obese or thin. Participants were quicker to endorse words describing themselves in terms of traits associated with power when the target was obese than thin. They were also likely to expect greater interpersonal power, to endorse more negative attitudes towards obese people and to form more negative impressions, if the target was obese rather than thin. These findings suggest that a perception of empowerment is spontaneously activated prior to interaction with an obese person.http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a907123882~frm=titlelinkSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

FORCE-TJR: Innovative design for a national TJR comparative effectiveness research database

BACKGROUND: Joint replacement (TJR) registries have traditionnally focused on collecting implant data and analyzing time-to-revision. Sub-optimal outcomes short of revision are important to surgeons and patients. In 2010, the US federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funded Function and Outcomes Research for Comparative Effectiveness in TJR (FORCE-TJR), a research consortium and database to collect comprehensive TJR outcomes, including patient-reported pain and function and post-operative sequelae. This $12 million research award will provide new information about post-TJR adverse events, patient-reported functional gain, and implant longevity. We developed novel methods to assure critical data collection and sustainability. METHODS: FORCE-TJR developed methods to (1) assemble a research consortium that includes a national sample of diverse surgeons and practices who agree to invite all patients to participate, (2) implement a virtual model for patient consent and data entry of consistent, validated patient-reported surveys, (3) conduct efficient screening for post-TJR sequelae and validated chart review and adjudication, and (4) document implant details. RESULTS: In the first 8 months, FORCE-TJR enrolled more than 90 surgeons in urban and rural settings, across 21 states; with academic, private, and HMO ownership; performing varied annual volumes of TJR surgery. Across practices, 80-95% of patients enrolled and more than 3250 patients consented to complete standardized surveys. More than 150 patients are enrolled each week, and enrollment rates will grow as additional surgeons join. CONCLUSION: FORCE-TJR employs innovative strategies to collect comprehensive post-TJR data from a national cohort of more than 30,000 patients. Comparative effectiveness research emerging from these data will include patient, implant, health system predictors of post-TJR adverse events, pain relief, functional gain, and revision. These TJR analyses will offer novel and important new evidence to guide patient and surgeon decisions, and are possible only because of this comprehensive research design