illumiNITE

The convergence of textiles and science has opened an incredible number of doors for the future. Sue Teixeira (president), Meg DeCubellis (creative director) and Michelle Brennan (design and development) take advantage of this trend by creating technologically advanced reflective clothing for runners and cyclists. Their stylish products look ordinary by day, but glow in the light at night. Instead of using stiff reflective tapes and trims, their brand IllumiNITE by BackAtcha Apparel LLC embeds microscopic beads into the weave of the fabric. IllumiNITE calls these beads “sataLITE™ Dish” beads because their mirror-like surfaces direct light back to the source. When these beads are put into ink form and printed onto the fabric, the reflection is in the shape of the human, rather than just strips or spots of light

Towards a strategy for workplace learning: Report to HEFCE by CHERI and KPMG

The study, undertaken between March and November 2005 aimed to inform HEFCE thinking on developing a strategy for workplace learning by: exploring the nature, purposes and outcomes of workplace learning; considering workplace learning within the broader relationships between the worlds of work and learning; exploring emerging changes in higher education which may impact on workplace learning in the future; identifying structural issues that currently enable or inhibit workplace learning, and identify future opportunities

Differentiation state-specific mitochondrial dynamic regulatory networks are revealed by global transcriptional analysis of the developing chicken lens.

The mature eye lens contains a surface layer of epithelial cells called the lens epithelium that requires a functional mitochondrial population to maintain the homeostasis and transparency of the entire lens. The lens epithelium overlies a core of terminally differentiated fiber cells that must degrade their mitochondria to achieve lens transparency. These distinct mitochondrial populations make the lens a useful model system to identify those genes that regulate the balance between mitochondrial homeostasis and elimination. Here we used an RNA sequencing and bioinformatics approach to identify the transcript levels of all genes expressed by distinct regions of the lens epithelium and maturing fiber cells of the embryonic Gallus gallus (chicken) lens. Our analysis detected more than 15,000 unique transcripts expressed by the embryonic chicken lens. Of these, more than 3000 transcripts exhibited significant differences in expression between lens epithelial cells and fiber cells. Multiple transcripts coding for separate mitochondrial homeostatic and degradation mechanisms were identified to exhibit preferred patterns of expression in lens epithelial cells that require mitochondria relative to lens fiber cells that require mitochondrial elimination. These included differences in the expression levels of metabolic (DUT, PDK1, SNPH), autophagy (ATG3, ATG4B, BECN1, FYCO1, WIPI1), and mitophagy (BNIP3L/NIX, BNIP3, PARK2, p62/SQSTM1) transcripts between lens epithelial cells and lens fiber cells. These data provide a comprehensive window into all genes transcribed by the lens and those mitochondrial regulatory and degradation pathways that function to maintain mitochondrial populations in the lens epithelium and to eliminate mitochondria in maturing lens fiber cells

A research and evaluation capacity building model in Western Australia

Evaluation of public health programs, services and policies is increasingly required to demonstrate effectiveness. Funding constraints necessitate that existing programs, services and policies be evaluated and their findings disseminated. Evidence-informed practice and policy is also desirable to maximise investments in public health. Partnerships between public health researchers, service providers and policymakers can help address evaluation knowledge and skills gaps. The Western Australian Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Applied Research and Evaluation Network (SiREN) aims to build research and evaluation capacity in the sexual health and blood-borne virus sector in Western Australia (WA). Partners’ perspectives of the SiREN model after 2 years were explored. Qualitative written responses from service providers, policymakers and researchers about the SiREN model were analysed thematically. Service providers reported that participation in SiREN prompted them to consider evaluation earlier in the planning process and increased their appreciation of the value of evaluation. Policymakers noted benefits of the model in generating local evidence and highlighting local issues of importance for consideration at a national level. Researchers identified challenges communicating the services available through SiREN and the time investment needed to develop effective collaborative partnerships. Stronger engagement between public health researchers, service providers and policymakers through collaborative partnerships has the potential to improve evidence generation and evidence translation. These outcomes require long-term funding and commitment from all partners to develop and maintain partnerships. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation can ensure the partnership remains responsive to the needs of key stakeholders. The findings are applicable to many sectors

Evaluation of Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium training recommendations on modified Rodnan skin score assessment in scleroderma

AimThe modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) is a validated outcome measure for skin thickness in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Training has been shown to reduce variability in the measurement of mRSS. Our objective was to assess the interâ and intraâ observer variability of mRSS scoring using the proposed recommendations for training by the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) and World Scleroderma Foundation (WSF).MethodFiftyâ two trainees and eight adult SSc patients participated in the SSc skin scoring workshop that was conducted in two sessions by four teachers. Each session, attended by 26 trainees, had a teaching and evaluation phase. The teaching phase comprised of: (a) lecture on mRSS scoring; (b) video demonstration of mRSS scoring; and (c) live demonstration of mRSS on one SSc patient. In the evaluation phase, each trainee independently assessed the mRSS in four SSc patients. For intraâ observer reliability, 14 trainees reâ assessed the mRSS of two SSc patients whom they had previously examined. We computed the interâ and intraâ observer variability using a linear mixed model.ResultsFor the evaluation phase, 34 (65.4%) trainees were within five units of the established teachers’ score in 3 out of 4 patients. Overall, the whole group had acceptable interâ observer variability (intraâ class correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.71, mean = 8.64 and withinâ patient standard deviation [SD] = 4.25). The intraâ observer ICC was 0.85 and withinâ patient SD was 2.73.ConclusionThere was good interâ observer and excellent intraâ observer reliability. This is the first study examining the training of assessors using the SCTC/WSF recommendations and our results support the importance of standardized training for skin scoring.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149705/1/apl13523.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149705/2/apl13523_am.pd

Using micro-geography to understand the realisation of wellbeing: a qualitative GIS study of three social enterprises

Social enterprises are promoted as a method of welfare reform, to transition people out of disadvantage by addressing poverty, unfulfilled capabilities and social exclusion. This study explores how three Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) in Australia help to realise wellbeing for their employees by mapping their micro-geographical experience of wellbeing. By mapping the sites within a social enterprise where wellbeing is realised, we provide a practical, empirical and replicable methodology that is useful for gaining insights into where and how wellbeing realisation occurs. This situates wellbeing as an upstream place-based resource likely to influence downstream health outcomes