Performing Internationalization of Higher Education in Canadian National Policy

Internationalization processes are at the fore of university strategic plans on a global scale. However, the work of internationalization is being performed through the connections between many actors at different policy levels. Our purpose here is to ask, what is happening with internationalization of higher education at the Canadian national policy level? To do so, we suggest that we must look at policies at the national level not as individual entities but rather as these policies exist in relation to each other. We examine three recent policy statements from different organizations at the national level in Canada: a federal governmental agency, a pan-Canadian provincial organization and a national educational association. Our approach involved mapping the actors, knowledges and spaces that are discursively produced through these texts and engaging a relational approach to policy analysis that questions what comes to be assembled as these policies co-exist in the national landscape.  À l’échelle mondiale, les processus d’internationalisation se trouvent à l’avant-centre des plans stratégiques universitaires. Toutefois, le travail d’internationalisation s’effectue par des relations entre de nombreux acteurs, à différents niveaux de politique générale. Nous étudions le statut d’internationalisation de l’enseignement supérieur à l’échelle des politiques nationales du Canada. Nous émettons la possibilité d’étudier les politiques à l’échelle nationale, plutôt qu’à une échelle individuelle. Nous analysons également comment ces politiques coexistent entre elles. Nous décortiquons trois récents énoncés de politique émis par différentes organisations de niveau national au Canada : une agence fédérale gouvernementale, une organisation provinciale pancanadienne et une association éducative nationale. Notre approche consistait à cartographier les acteurs, à analyser les connaissances et espaces produits de manière discursive par ces énoncés de politique, et à entreprendre une approche relationnelle d’analyse de politiques qui remet les énoncés en cause, tandis que ces politiques coexistent sur la scène nationale

Social Capital in Higher Education Partnerships: A Case Study of the Canada-Cuba University Partnership

This article reports on the findings of a case study about the Canada-Cuba University Partnership (CCUP), a teaching, research and service partnership between individuals associated with a Canadian and Cuban University. The research question guiding the study was: “How do the relationships among individuals in the CCUP shape the partnership?” Our review of existing literature on higher education partnerships reveals the lack of literature focusing on the relationships among individual partnership members. Our study is framed by social capital as our theoretical approach and social network analysis as our methodological approach. These approaches enable us to map out the connections between and among individuals and show the importance of their relationships. We analyze the partnership focusing on social capital, highlighting the mutually-beneficial activities and the role of central actors in the network who contributed to the formation of the partnership and the long-lasting relationships among academics in both countries. Relationships in the CCUP are characterized by mutuality, solidarity, strong and thick ties. The argument we advance is that understanding the collaborative relationships among members of higher education partnerships and the productive capacities of those relationships through the enactment of social capital provides insights into how sustainable and successful partnerships work

Construção e validação de um questionário para identificação de fatores associados ao desempenho escolar (FADE)

Se construyó una prueba psicológica para medir los Factores Asociados al Desempeño Escolar (FADE), siguiendo lineamientos de la Teoría Clásica de los Test y aspectos de medición y evaluación desde una estrategia multi-informante aplicada a los contextos escolares. La finalidad de la prueba es la identificación de debilidades y fortalezas asociadas al desempeño escolar en niños de primer grado de primaria del municipio de Pasto. La muestra utilizada fue de 277 participantes pertenecientes a instituciones públicas de carácter urbano y rural. La confiabilidad calculada a través del coeficiente KR20 fue de .92 para la prueba total. Se obtuvieron evidencias favorables para validez de contenido, criterio y constructo. Se establecieron normas de estandarización para la aplicación y calificación de la prueba. La evidencia encontrada da cuenta de que la prueba resulta útil para su aplicación práctica como herramienta en la evaluación clínica y su uso en investigación.Construiu-se um teste psicológico para medir os Fatores Associados ao Desempenho Escolar (FADE), seguindo as diretrizes da Teoría Clássica dos Testes e aspectos de medição e avaliação desde uma estratégia multi-informante aplicada aos contextos escolares. A finalidade do teste é a identificação de pontos fortes e pontos fracos associados ao desempenho escolar em crianças do primeiro ano do primário do município de Pasto. A mostra utilizada foi de 277 participantes pertencentes a instituições públicas de caráter urbano e rural. A confiabilidade calculada através do coeficiente KR20 foi de ,92 para a prova total. Obtiveram-se evidências favoráveis para validade de conteúdo, critério e constructo. Estabeleceram-se normas de padronização para a aplicação e qualificação da prova. A evidência encontrada mostra que a prova é útil para sua aplicação prática como ferramenta na avaliação clínica e seu uso em pesquisa.A psychological test was constructed to measure School Performance Associated Factors (FADE, by its Spanish acronym), following the guidelines of the Classical Theory of Tests and aspects of measuring and assessment from a multiple informant strategy applied to school settings. The purpose of the test is to identify weaknesses and strengths associated with school performance in first grade primary school children from the municipality of Pasto. The sample consisted of 277 participants from public institutions of urban and rural character. The reliability calculated by KR20 coefficient was 0.92 for the total test. Favorable evidence was obtained for content, criteria and construct validity. Standardized rules were established for the test administration and scoring. The evidence found shows that the test is useful for its practical application as a tool for clinical assessment and research

From graphene oxide to pristine graphene: revealing the inner workings of the full structural restoration

Producción CientíficaHigh temperature annealing is the only method known to date that allows the complete repair of a defective lattice of graphenes derived from graphite oxide, but most of the relevant aspects of such restoration processes are poorly understood. Here, we investigate both experimentally (scanning probe microscopy) and theoretically (molecular dynamics simulations) the thermal evolution of individual graphene oxide sheets, which is rationalized on the basis of the generation and the dynamics of atomic vacancies in the carbon lattice. For unreduced and mildly reduced graphene oxide sheets, the amount of generated vacancies was so large that they disintegrated at 1773–2073 K. By contrast, highly reduced sheets survived annealing and their structure could be completely restored at 2073 K. For the latter, a minor atomic-sized defect with six-fold symmetry was observed and ascribed to a stable cluster of nitrogen dopants. The thermal behavior of the sheets was significantly altered when they were supported on a vacancy-decorated graphite substrate, as well as for the overlapped/stacked sheets. In these cases, a net transfer of carbon atoms between neighboring sheets via atomic vacancies takes place, affording an additional healing process. Direct evidence of sheet coalescence with the step edge of the graphite substrate was also gathered from experiments and theory.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project AT2011-26399 and MAT2011-22781)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación - Ref. VA158A11-2

The impact of norepinephrine dose reporting heterogeneity on mortality prediction in septic shock patients

Background: Norepinephrine (NE) is a cornerstone drug in the management of septic shock, with its dose being used clinically as a marker of disease severity and as mortality predictor. However, variations in NE dose reporting either as salt formulations or base molecule may lead to misinterpretation of mortality risks and hinder the process of care. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the MIMIC-IV database to assess the impact of NE dose reporting heterogeneity on mortality prediction in a cohort of septic shock patients. NE doses were converted from the base molecule to equivalent salt doses, and their ability to predict 28-day mortality at common severity dose cut-offs was compared. Results: 4086 eligible patients with septic shock were identified, with a median age of 68 [57–78] years, an admission SOFA score of 7 [6–10], and lactate at diagnosis of 3.2 [2.4–5.1] mmol/L. Median peak NE dose at day 1 was 0.24 [0.12–0.42] μg/kg/min, with a 28-day mortality of 39.3%. The NE dose showed significant heterogeneity in mortality prediction depending on which formulation was reported, with doses reported as bitartrate and tartrate presenting 65 (95% CI 79–43)% and 67 (95% CI 80–47)% lower ORs than base molecule, respectively. This divergence in prediction widened at increasing NE doses. When using a 1 μg/kg/min threshold, predicted mortality was 54 (95% CI 52–56)% and 83 (95% CI 80–87)% for tartrate formulation and base molecule, respectively. Conclusions: Heterogeneous reporting of NE doses significantly affects mortality prediction in septic shock. Standardizing NE dose reporting as base molecule could enhance risk stratification and improve processes of care. These findings underscore the importance of consistent NE dose reporting practices in critical care settings.</p

A Comparison of Approaches to Estimate the Inbreeding Coefficient and Pairwise Relatedness Using Genomic and Pedigree Data in a Sheep Population

Genome-wide SNP data provide a powerful tool to estimate pairwise relatedness among individuals and individual inbreeding coefficient. The aim of this study was to compare methods for estimating the two parameters in a Finnsheep population based on genome-wide SNPs and genealogies, separately. This study included ninety-nine Finnsheep in Finland that differed in coat colours (white, black, brown, grey, and black/white spotted) and were from a large pedigree comprising 319 119 animals. All the individuals were genotyped with the Illumina Ovine SNP50K BeadChip by the International Sheep Genomics Consortium. We identified three genetic subpopulations that corresponded approximately with the coat colours (grey, white, and black and brown) of the sheep. We detected a significant subdivision among the colour types (FST = 5.4%, P<0.05). We applied robust algorithms for the genomic estimation of individual inbreeding (FSNP) and pairwise relatedness (ΦSNP) as implemented in the programs KING and PLINK, respectively. Estimates of the two parameters from pedigrees (FPED and ΦPED) were computed using the RelaX2 program. Values of the two parameters estimated from genomic and genealogical data were mostly consistent, in particular for the highly inbred animals (e.g. inbreeding coefficient F>0.0625) and pairs of closely related animals (e.g. the full- or half-sibs). Nevertheless, we also detected differences in the two parameters between the approaches, particularly with respect to the grey Finnsheep. This could be due to the smaller sample size and relative incompleteness of the pedigree for them

Electrochemical Exfoliation of Graphite in Aqueous Sodium Halide Electrolytes toward Low Oxygen Content Graphene for Energy and Environmental Applications

Graphene and graphene-based materials have shown great promise in many technological applications, but their large-scale production and processing by simple and cost-effective means still constitute significant issues in the path of their widespread implementation. Here, we investigate a straightforward method for the preparation of a ready-to-use and low oxygen content graphene material that is based on electrochemical (anodic) delamination of graphite in aqueous medium with sodium halides as the electrolyte. Contrary to previous conflicting reports on the ability of halide anions to act as efficient exfoliating electrolytes in electrochemical graphene exfoliation, we show that proper choice of both graphite electrode (e.g., graphite foil) and sodium halide concentration readily leads to the generation of large quantities of single-/few-layer graphene nanosheets possessing a degree of oxidation (O/C ratio down to ∼0.06) lower than that typical of anodically exfoliated graphenes obtained with commonly used electrolytes. The halide anions are thought to play a role in mitigating the oxidation of the graphene lattice during exfoliation, which is also discussed and rationalized. The as-exfoliated graphene materials exhibited a three-dimensional morphology that was suitable for their practical use without the need to resort to any kind of postproduction processing. When tested as dye adsorbents, they outperformed many previously reported graphene-based materials (e.g., they adsorbed ∼920 mg g-1 for methyl orange) and were useful sorbents for oils and nonpolar organic solvents. Supercapacitor cells assembled directly from the as-exfoliated products delivered energy and power density values (up to 15.3 Wh kg-1 and 3220 W kg-1, respectively) competitive with those of many other graphene-based devices but with the additional advantage of extreme simplicity of preparation.Financial support from both the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through grant MAT2015-69844-R is gratefully acknowledged. We also acknowledge partial funding by both Plan de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación 2013-2017 del Principado de Asturias and the ERDF through Project GRUPIN14-056. This work was also partially funded by project “AIProcMat@N2020 - Advanced Industrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and of Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 – Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM funded by ERDF through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) – and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. A.P. thanks her research contract partially supported (80%) by the ERDF/FEDER Operative Programme of the Region of Murcia (Project No. 14-20-01). J.M.M. is grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (MECD) for his pre-doctoral contract (FPU14/00792).Peer reviewe

Structural insight into the membrane targeting domain of the Legionella deAMPylase SidD

AMPylation, the post-translational modification with adenosine monophosphate (AMP), is catalyzed by effector proteins from a variety of pathogens. Legionella pneumophila is thus far the only known pathogen that, in addition to encoding an AMPylase (SidM/DrrA), also encodes a deAMPylase, called SidD, that reverses SidM-mediated AMPylation of the vesicle transport GTPase Rab1. DeAMPylation is catalyzed by the N-terminal phosphatase-like domain of SidD. Here, we determined the crystal structure of full length SidD including the uncharacterized C-terminal domain (CTD). A flexible loop rich in aromatic residues within the CTD was required to target SidD to model membranes in vitro and to the Golgi apparatus within mammalian cells. Deletion of the loop (??loop) or substitution of its aromatic phenylalanine residues rendered SidD cytosolic, showing that the hydrophobic loop is the primary membrane-targeting determinant of SidD. Notably, deletion of the two terminal alpha helices resulted in a CTD variant incapable of discriminating between membranes of different composition. Moreover, a L. pneumophila strain producing SidD??loop phenocopied a L. pneumophila ??sidD strain during growth in mouse macrophages and displayed prolonged co-localization of AMPylated Rab1 with LCVs, thus revealing that membrane targeting of SidD via its CTD is a critical prerequisite for its ability to catalyze Rab1 deAMPylation during L. pneumophila infection

Fluid challenges in intensive care: the FENICE study A global inception cohort study

Fluid challenges (FCs) are one of the most commonly used therapies in critically ill patients and represent the cornerstone of hemodynamic management in intensive care units. There are clear benefits and harms from fluid therapy. Limited data on the indication, type, amount and rate of an FC in critically ill patients exist in the literature. The primary aim was to evaluate how physicians conduct FCs in terms of type, volume, and rate of given fluid; the secondary aim was to evaluate variables used to trigger an FC and to compare the proportion of patients receiving further fluid administration based on the response to the FC.This was an observational study conducted in ICUs around the world. Each participating unit entered a maximum of 20 patients with one FC.2213 patients were enrolled and analyzed in the study. The median [interquartile range] amount of fluid given during an FC was 500 ml (500-1000). The median time was 24 min (40-60 min), and the median rate of FC was 1000 [500-1333] ml/h. The main indication for FC was hypotension in 1211 (59 %, CI 57-61 %). In 43 % (CI 41-45 %) of the cases no hemodynamic variable was used. Static markers of preload were used in 785 of 2213 cases (36 %, CI 34-37 %). Dynamic indices of preload responsiveness were used in 483 of 2213 cases (22 %, CI 20-24 %). No safety variable for the FC was used in 72 % (CI 70-74 %) of the cases. There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients who received further fluids after the FC between those with a positive, with an uncertain or with a negatively judged response.The current practice and evaluation of FC in critically ill patients are highly variable. Prediction of fluid responsiveness is not used routinely, safety limits are rarely used, and information from previous failed FCs is not always taken into account