Designing open access, educational resources / Développer des ressources éducatives en libre accès

The recent bourgeoning of open educational resources has meant greater access to materials with open licenses in the public domain than ever before. Open educational resources are learning tools, such as textbooks, that are freely available and typically accessed online. Despite the expansion of open educational resources, many educators are still unacquainted with the nature and process of producing such resources. The purpose of this discussion paper is to share our experience in developing an open educational e-textbook for students in post-secondary programs for nursing and other health professions while highlighting practical tips for educators. The exemplar referenced in this paper focuses on vital signs’ measurement, a familiar concept for nurse educators, and a topic ubiquitous in healthcare. This paper is suited for any user curious about designing open educational resources with consideration of key elements to produce quality and educational resources that support excellence in nursing pedagogy. We begin by providing a background to our specific project followed by a discussion of the planning phase, the design phase, and other considerations. The e-textbook falls under a Creative Commons license and can be accessed for free by educators and learners. Résumé Le développement récent de ressources éducatives en libre accès a permis une accessibilité beaucoup plus grande, comme jamais auparavant, au matériel avec licences ouvertes dans le domaine public. Les ressources éducatives en libre accès sont des outils d’apprentissage, comme les manuels scolaires, qui sont offerts gratuitement et qui sont généralement accessibles en ligne. En dépit de la prolifération des ressources éducatives libres, bon nombre de professeurs sont toujours peu familiers avec la nature et le processus de production de telles ressources. L’objectif de ce texte de discussion est de partager notre expérience du développement d’un e-manuel de formation en libre accès, pour les étudiants inscrits dans les programmes postsecondaires pour la profession infirmière et les autres professions de la santé, tout en soulignant des conseils pratiques pour les professeurs. L’exemple, cité en référence dans ce texte, est axé sur la prise des signes vitaux, un concept familier aux infirmières enseignantes et un sujet omniprésent dans le domaine de la santé. Cet article convient à toute personne curieuse d’en apprendre davantage sur la conception des ressources éducatives en libre accès en tenant compte d’éléments clés afin de produire des ressources éducatives de qualité qui appuient l’excellence de la pédagogie en soins infirmiers. Nous établissons d’abord le contexte du projet particulier suivi d’une discussion sur la phase de planification, la phase de conception et sur d’autres éléments à considérer. Le e-manuel relève d’une licence Creative Commons et est accessible gratuitement pour les professeurs et les étudiants

Indicators of ‘critical’ outcomes in 941 horses seen ‘out-of-hours’ for colic

Background: This study aimed to describe the presentation and outcomes of horses with signs of colic (abdominal pain) seen ‘out-of-hours’ in equine practice. Methods: This was a retrospective study of horses seen ‘out-of-hours’ with colic by two equine veterinary practices between 2011-2013. Case outcomes were categorised as ‘critical’ or ‘not critical’. A critical outcome was defined as requiring medical or surgical hospital treatment, or resulting in euthanasia or death. A non-critical outcome was defined as resolving with simple medical treatment. A hierarchical generalised linear model was used to identify ‘red flag’ parameters (aspects of signalment, history and presenting clinical signs) associated with critical outcomes.Results: Data were retrieved from 941 cases that presented with colic; 23.9% (n=225/941) were critical. Variables significantly associated with the likelihood of a critical outcome in the final multivariable mode were: increased heart rate (p [less than] 0.001), age of the horse (p=0.013) and abnormal mucous membrane colour (p [less than] 0.001). Overall 18% of cases (n=168/941) were euthanased.Conclusions: This study highlights the mortality associated with colic. The ‘red flag’ parameters identified should be considered an essential component of the primary assessment of horses with colic

Retrospective case series to identify the most common conditions seen ‘out-of-hours’ by first-opinion equine veterinary practitioners

Background: The study aim was to describe conditions seen ‘out-of-hours’ in equine practice. Methods: This was a retrospective case series of first opinion ‘out-of-hours’ cases seen at two equine practices between 2011-2013. Data was retrieved on case presentation, diagnostic testing, treatment administered and outcome, and diseases categorised using a systems-based coding system. A hierarchical logistic regression, formulated using a Generalised Linear Model, was used to identify clinical variables associated with a binary outcome of ‘critical’ cases (required hospitalisation or euthanasia or died).Results: Data from 2,602 cases were analysed. The most common reasons for ‘out-of-hours’ visits were colic (35%, n=923/2,620), wounds (20%, n=511/2,620) and lameness (11%, n=288/2,620). The majority of cases required a single treatment (58%, n=1,475/2,550), 26% (n=656/2,550) needed multiple treatments, and 13% (n=339/2,550) were euthanased. Eighteen percent (n=480/2602) of cases had a critical outcome. Increased heart rate at primary presentation was associated with critical outcome in both practices (Practice A, OR 1.07 (95%CI 1.06-1.09), Practice B OR 1.08 (95%CI 1.07-1.09; p [less than] 0.001)).Conclusion: Colic, wounds and lameness were the most common equine ‘out-of-hours’ conditions; 13% of cases were euthanased. Further research is required into out-of-hours euthanasia decision-making

Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified and have shown that multiple variants exerting modest individual effects have a key role in disease susceptibility. Most of the genetic architecture underlying susceptibility to the disease remains to be defined and is anticipated to require the analysis of sample sizes that are beyond the numbers currently available to individual research groups. In a collaborative GWAS involving 9,772 cases of European descent collected by 23 research groups working in 15 different countries, we have replicated almost all of the previously suggested associations and identified at least a further 29 novel susceptibility loci. Within the MHC we have refined the identity of the HLA-DRB1 risk alleles and confirmed that variation in the HLA-A gene underlies the independent protective effect attributable to the class I region. Immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented among those mapping close to the identified loci and particularly implicate T-helper-cell differentiation in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Cephalopod genomics: a plan of strategies and organization

The Cephalopod Sequencing Consortium (CephSeq Consortium) was established at a NESCent Catalysis Group Meeting, "Paths to Cephalopod Genomics-Strategies, Choices, Organization," held in Durham, North Carolina, USA on May 24-27, 2012. Twenty-eight participants representing nine countries (Austria, Australia, China, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Spain and the USA) met to address the pressing need for genome sequencing of cephalopod mollusks. This group, drawn from cephalopod biologists, neuroscientists, developmental and evolutionary biologists, materials scientists, bioinformaticians and researchers active in sequencing, assembling and annotating genomes, agreed on a set of cephalopod species of particular importance for initial sequencing and developed strategies and an organization (CephSeq Consortium) to promote this sequencing. The conclusions and recommendations of this meeting are described in this white paper

Cephalopod genomics : a plan of strategies and organization

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Standards in Genomic Sciences 7 (2012): 175-188, doi:10.4056/sigs.3136559.The Cephalopod Sequencing Consortium (CephSeq Consortium) was established at a NESCent Catalysis Group Meeting, “Paths to Cephalopod Genomics- Strategies, Choices, Organization,” held in Durham, North Carolina, USA on May 24-27, 2012. Twenty-eight participants representing nine countries (Austria, Australia, China, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Spain and the USA) met to address the pressing need for genome sequencing of cephalopod molluscs. This group, drawn from cephalopod biologists, neuroscientists, developmental and evolutionary biologists, materials scientists, bioinformaticians and researchers active in sequencing, assembling and annotating genomes, agreed on a set of cephalopod species of particular importance for initial sequencing and developed strategies and an organization (CephSeq Consortium) to promote this sequencing. The conclusions and recommendations of this meeting are described in this White Paper.The Catalysis Group Meeting was supported by the National Science Foundation through the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) under grant number NSF #EF-0905606