Rising Student Burnout: A Distributive Leadership Approach to Creating Student Well-Being

Most higher education institutions have focused on personal characteristics when evaluating student engagement on their campuses. However, the multidimensional theory of burnout, suggests that a student\u27s level of participation is far more dependent on the context in which they interact. This project investigates the perspectives of modern students, their expectations of higher education institutions in a global society, and the ways in which the education sector has modeled capitalistic structures and values of big corporations, cultivating conditions conducive to student burnout. An implementation of distributive leadership is offered to bridge the gap between existing student needs and senior leaderships’ view of those needs. Many committees are included in the leadership model to enable all levels of university stakeholders to contribute their knowledge to decision-making processes

Delivery System Reform Tracking: A Framework for Understanding Change

Proposes a framework for tracking progress on delivery system reforms such as patient-centered medical homes and accountable care organizations by assessing structures, capabilities, incentives, and outcomes. Outlines challenges for data collection

Sam68 exerts separable effects on cell cycle progression and apoptosis

BACKGROUND: The RNA-binding protein Sam68 has been implicated in a number of cellular processes, including transcription, RNA splicing and export, translation, signal transduction, cell cycle progression and replication of the human immunodeficiency virus and poliovirus. However, the precise impact it has on essential cellular functions remains largely obscure. RESULTS: In this report we show that conditional overexpression of Sam68 in fibroblasts results in both cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Arrest in G1 phase of the cell cycle is associated with decreased levels of cyclins D1 and E RNA and protein, resulting in dramatically reduced Rb phosphorylation. Interestingly, cell cycle arrest does not require the specific RNA binding ability of Sam68. In marked contrast, induction of apoptosis by Sam68 absolutely requires a fully-functional RNA binding domain. Moreover, the anti-cancer agent trichostatin A potentiates Sam68-driven apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time we have shown that Sam68, an RNA binding protein with multiple apparent functions, exerts functionally separable effects on cell proliferation and survival, dependent on its ability to bind specifically to RNA. These findings shed new light on the ability of signal transducing RNA binding proteins to influence essential cell function. Moreover, the ability of a class of anti-cancer therapeutics to modulate its ability to promote apoptosis suggests that Sam68 status may impact some cancer treatments

Post-Chernobyl 134Cs and 137Cs Levels at Some Localities in Northern Canada

Samples of lichen, moss and caribou meat from the high and central arctic regions of Canada were measured for 137Cs due to the Chernobyl accident of April 1986. They were compared to lichen samples from the boreal area of Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, and to moss samples from the temperate Niagara Escarpment of southern Ontario. Lichens from Ellesmere Island and mosses from the Niagara Escarpment had no detectable Chernobyl 137Cs. Lichens from the central Arctic showed a 137Cs increase of about 14% above the persistent burden from the past atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Mosses and lichens from Wood Buffalo National Park showed an average 137Cs increase of 19% due to Chernobyl fallout. In absolute terms, the contribution of Chernobyl fallout over Canadian northern regions was non-significant compared to the depositions experienced by countries such as the U.S.S.R., Sweden, Norway and some Central European countries.Key words: Chernobyl, 134.137Cesium, fallout radionuclides in northern Canada, lichen samples, caribou samplesMots clés: Chernobyl, 1343137Césium, retombées de radionucléides dans le Nord canadien, échantillons de lichens, échantillons de caribo

Women playwrights in post-apartheid South Africa : Yael Farber, Lara Foot-Newton, and the call for Ubuntu

This chapter explores how these two contemporary South African female playwrights are using specific aesthetics to address legacies of apartheid violence in the post-apartheid context. It analyses Yael Farber's post TRC plays 'A Woman in Waiting' (1999), 'Amajuba' (2002), 'He left Quietly' (2003) and 'Molora' (2007); and Lara Foot-Newton's 'Tshepang: The Third testament' (2003), 'Karoo Moose' (2007) and 'Reach!' (2007)

Protocol for an HTA report: Does therapeutic writing help people with long-term conditions? Systematic review, realist synthesis and economic modelling

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/Introduction: Long-term medical conditions (LTCs) cause reduced health-related quality of life and considerable health service expenditure. Writing therapy has potential to improve physical and mental health in people with LTCs, but its effectiveness is not established. This project aims to establish the clinical and cost-effectiveness of therapeutic writing in LTCs by systematic review and economic evaluation, and to evaluate context and mechanisms by which it might work, through realist synthesis. Methods: Included are any comparative study of therapeutic writing compared with no writing, waiting list, attention control or placebo writing in patients with any diagnosed LTCs that report at least one of the following: relevant clinical outcomes; quality of life; health service use; psychological, behavioural or social functioning; adherence or adverse events. Searches will be conducted in the main medical databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library and Science Citation Index. For the realist review, further purposive and iterative searches through snowballing techniques will be undertaken. Inclusions, data extraction and quality assessment will be in duplicate with disagreements resolved through discussion. Quality assessment will include using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Data synthesis will be narrative and tabular with meta-analysis where appropriate. De novo economic modelling will be attempted in one clinical area if sufficient evidence is available and performed according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reference case.National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programm

Early diagenetic vivianite [Fe-3(PO4)(2) center dot 8H(2)O] in a contaminated freshwater sediment and insights into zinc uptake: a mu-EXAFS, mu-XANES and Raman study

The sediments in the Salford Quays, a heavily-modified urban water body, contain high levels of organic matter, Fe, Zn and nutrients as a result of past contaminant inputs. Vivianite [Fe3(PO4)2 · 8H2O] has been observed to have precipitated within these sediments during early diagenesis as a result of the release of Fe and P to porewaters. These mineral grains are small (<100 μm) and micron-scale analysis techniques (SEM, electron microprobe, μ-EXAFS, μ-XANES and Raman) have been applied in this study to obtain information upon the structure of this vivianite and the nature of Zn uptake in the mineral. Petrographic observations, and elemental, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analysis confirms the presence of vivianite. EXAFS model fitting of the FeK-edge spectra for individual vivianite grains produces Fe–O and Fe–P co-ordination numbers and bond lengths consistent with previous structural studies of vivianite (4O atoms at 1.99–2.05 Å; 2P atoms at 3.17–3.25 Å). One analysed grain displays evidence of a significant Fe3+ component, which is interpreted to have resulted from oxidation during sample handling and/or analysis. EXAFS modelling of the Zn K-edge data, together with linear combination XANES fitting of model compounds, indicates that Zn may be incorporated into the crystal structure of vivianite (4O atoms at 1.97 Å; 2P atoms at 3.17 Å). Low levels of Zn sulphate or Zn-sorbed goethite are also indicated from linear combination XANES fitting and to a limited extent, the EXAFS fitting, the origin of which may either be an oxidation artifact or the inclusion of Zn sulphate into the vivianite grains during precipitation. This study confirms that early diagenetic vivianite may act as a sink for Zn, and potentially other contaminants (e.g. As) during its formation and, therefore, forms an important component of metal cycling in contaminated sediments and waters. Furthermore, for the case of Zn, the EXAFS fits for Zn phosphate suggest this uptake is structural and not via surface adsorption

Susceptibility to exertional heat illness and hospitalisation risk in UK military personnel.

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility to exertional heat illness (EHI) is considered multifactorial in nature. The aims of this study were to (1) review traditional susceptibility factors identified in cases of EHI and (2) determine how they are related to risk of hospitalisation. METHODS: Review of an electronic database of EHI reported in the British Army between 1 September 2007 and 31 December 2014. Cases were categorised by demographic, situational and susceptibility variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was performed for the OR for hospitalisation by risk factor. RESULTS: 361 reports were included in the analysis. 33.5% of cases occurred in hot climates, 34.6% in temperate climates during summer months and 31.9% in temperate climates outside of summer months. Traditional susceptibility factors were reported in 193 but entirely absent from 168 cases. 137 cases (38.0%) were admitted to hospital. Adjusted OR for hospitalisation was lower for recruits (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.99, p<0.05) and for personnel wearing occlusive dress (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.93, p<0.05) or unacclimatised to heat (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.66, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The global, year-round threat of EHI is highlighted. Absence of susceptibility factors in nearly half of reports highlights the challenge of identifying EHI-prone individuals. Paradoxical association of traditional susceptibility factors with reduced hospitalisation risk may reflect the contemporary contexts in which severe EHI occurs. These findings also suggest a need for better evidence to inform guidelines that aim to prevent severe EHI concurrent to reducing overall morbidity