Letter to Jean Holcomb regarding award of a SEAALL Scholarship, January 3, 1992

A letter from Deborah K. Webster to Jean Holcomb accepting a SEAALL Scholarship

Letter to Jean Holcomb reporting on use of SEAALL Scholarship funds, February 21, 1992

A letter from Deborah K. Webster to Jean Holcomb reporting on Webster\u27s use of Scholarship funds to attend the AALL Winter Institute

A Proposal for a Doctoral Dissertation

This is a proposal for a doctoral dissertaion in the Department of Comparative Literature of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This proposal was accepted 19 May 1970

eHealth and the use of individually tailored information:a systematic review

Tailored messages are those that specifically target individuals following an assessment of their unique characteristics. This systematic review assesses the evidence regarding the effectiveness of tailoring within eHealth interventions aimed at chronic disease management. OVID Medline/Embase databases were searched for randomised control trials, controlled clinical, trials, before -after studies, and time series analyses from inception - May 2014. Objectively measured clinical processes/outcomes were considered. Twenty-two papers were eligible for inclusion: 6/22 used fully tailored messaging and 16/22 used partially tailored messages. Two studies isolated tailoring as the active component. The remainder compared intervention with standard care. In all, 12/16 studies measuring clinical processes and 2/6 studies reporting clinical outcomes showed improvements, regardless of target group. Study quality was low and design did not allow for identification of interventions’ active component. Heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. This review has demonstrated that there is a lack of evidence to suggest that tailoring within an eHealth context confers benefit over non-tailored eHealth interventions. </jats:p

Silver nanoparticle toxicity in Drosophila: size does matter

Deborah J Gorth1, David M Rand2, Thomas J Webster11School of Engineering, 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USABackground: Consumer nanotechnology is a growing industry. Silver nanoparticles are the most common nanomaterial added to commercially available products, so understanding the influence that size has on toxicity is integral to the safe use of these new products. This study examined the influence of silver particle size on Drosophila egg development by comparing the toxicity of both nanoscale and conventional-sized silver particles.Methods: The toxicity assays were conducted by exposing Drosophila eggs to particle concentrations ranging from 10 ppm to 100 ppm of silver. Size, chemistry, and agglomeration of the silver particles were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering.Results: This analysis confirmed individual silver particle sizes in the ranges of 20&amp;ndash;30 nm, 100 nm, and 500&amp;ndash;1200 nm, with similar chemistry. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope data also indicated agglomeration in water, with the transmission electron microscopic images showing individual particles in the correct size range, but the dynamic light scattering z-average sizes of the silver nanoparticles were 782 &amp;plusmn; 379 nm for the 20&amp;ndash;30 nm silver nanoparticles, 693 &amp;plusmn; 114 nm for the 100 nm silver nanoparticles, and 508 &amp;plusmn; 32 nm for the 500&amp;ndash;1200 nm silver particles. Most importantly, here we show significantly more Drosophila egg toxicity when exposed to larger, nonnanometer silver particles. Upon exposure to silver nanoparticles sized 20&amp;ndash;30 nm, Drosophila eggs did not exhibit a statistically significant (P &amp;lt; 0.05) decrease in their likelihood to pupate, but eggs exposed to larger silver particles (500&amp;ndash;1200 nm) were 91% &amp;plusmn; 18% less likely to pupate. Exposure to silver nanoparticles reduced the percentage of pupae able to emerge as adults. At 10 ppm of silver particle exposure, only 57% &amp;plusmn; 48% of the pupae exposed to 20&amp;ndash;30 nm silver particles became adults, whereas 89% &amp;plusmn; 25% of the control group became adults, and 94% &amp;plusmn; 52% and 91% &amp;plusmn; 19% of the 500&amp;ndash;1200 nm and 100 nm group, respectively, reached adulthood.Conclusion: This research provides evidence that nanoscale silver particles (&amp;lt;100 nm) are less toxic to Drosophila eggs than silver particles of conventional (&amp;gt;100 nm) size.Keywords: Drosophila, silver, nanoparticle, toxicity&amp;nbsp

Provider and user acceptability of intermittent screening and treatment for the control of malaria in pregnancy in Malawi.

BACKGROUND: Malaria in pregnancy is a major cause of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is one of the control strategies promoted by WHO. In response to mounting resistance to SP, intermittent screening and treatment (ISTp) has been proposed as an alternative. The objective of this study was to explore the acceptability of ISTp for health workers and pregnant women. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews of ten health workers and five focus group discussions of 38 women enrolled in an ongoing trial comparing IPTp-SP and ISTp with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) were conducted at two antenatal clinics in rural Malawi. All transcripts were coded and themes were identified using a content analysis approach. RESULTS: Amongst health workers, there were contrasting opinions on the preference of blood sampling methods, and the influence of method on reliability of diagnosis. The perceived greater effectiveness of DP compared to SP was appreciated, however concerns of user compliance with the full dose of DP in non-trial settings were raised. Despite the discomfort of repeated finger pricks, pregnant women were generally accepting of ISTp, particularly the chance for regular blood tests to check for infections and the perceived greater effectiveness with fewer side effects of DP compared to SP. CONCLUSION: In the trial context, pregnant women tended to prefer ISTp-DP over IPTp-SP. Health workers were also accepting of ISTp-DP as an alternative to IPTp-SP in light of increasing SP resistance. However, reliability of stock, adherence to malaria test results and user adherence to the full course of DP may present barriers to successful routine implementation. Effective communication with health workers and between health workers, pregnant women and their communities will be essential for the acceptability of focused antenatal care, including the best malaria control measures available