Valuation of Scholarly Activities for Physical Therapy Faculty

Purpose/Hypothesis: Physical therapy (PT) faculty are required to participate in scholarly endeavors. Scholarly productivity is frequently evaluated based on quantity of production.1-3 This approach fails to account for quality (e.g. authorship order, presentation audience, or funding). Study aims: 1) compare PT program scholarly productivity valuations between programs of varying Carnegie Classification, 2) establish a scholarly activity measure which accounts for quality, and 3) provide an applied example of the new measure. Number of Subjects: PT Program Directors from CAPTE institutions (n=226) were surveyed using Dillman’s protocol.4 Materials/Methods: Respondents were asked to value (0 – 20) 30 scholarly activities (e.g., grants, publications, presentations, patents). A peer reviewed publication was the benchmark (score of 10) to which all options were compared. Nine additional questions asked about bonus value (0-100%) for impact factor, authorship order, role on a grant, and grant competitiveness. The mean for each component was the value that component contributed to the Scholar Score. Comparisons were performed via ANOVA models. Results: We received 59 responses (response rate 26%) from Professors (n=28), Associate Profs (n=28), and Assistant Profs (n=3) from institutions of Carnegie Classifications: Doctoral (n=26), Masters (n=22), and Special Focus (n=11). Significant effects of classification were observed for two of the bonus items: Last Author (p=.015) and Role as Co- PI/PI on a Grant (p=.03). Post hoc comparisons using the Bonferroni correction indicated Last Author and Grant Role assigned bonuses were less for Masters programs than for Doctoral programs [(M=25.9, SD=28.7 vs. M=53.5, SD=34.4, p=.02) and (M=49.0, SD=32.5 vs. M=77.3, SD=36.7, p=.03), respectively]. No other pairwise comparisons were significant. Responses were used to develop a Scholar Score based on perceived quality. Scholarly achievements from curriculum vitaes of two early-career PT faculty demonstrates the application of this new measure. While the numerical count of their scholarly products was identical, Scholar Scores differed by \u3e70%. Conclusions: The Scholar Score was developed from PT Program Director input. Directors from different Carnegie Classified institutions reported similar values for most components. This indicates the Scholar Score may be generalizable to PT faculty across all Carnegie Classifications. Our application example demonstrates how quantity and quality-based descriptions differ. Clinical Relevance : Scholarly activity plays an integral role in the career advancement of the PT faculty. A Scholar Score offers a clear and uniform, peer validated approach to the valuation of scholarly activities for PT educators. KEYWORDS: faculty development, research, early career. References Kaufman RR. Career factors help predict productivity in scholarship among faculty members in physical therapist education programs. Phys Ther. 03;89(3):204-216. Hinman MR, Brown T. Changing profile of the physical therapy professoriate--are we meeting CAPTE\u27s expectations? J Phys Ther Educ. 2017;31(4):95-104. Emerick, T., et al. (2013). Scholarly activity points: a new tool to evaluate resident scholarly productivity. British Journal Of Anaesthesia 111(3): 468-476. Dillman DA. Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2000. Tscharntke T. Author sequence and credit for contributions in multiauthored publications. PLoS biology. 01;5(1):e18. Richter RR. Journal publication productivity in academic physical therapy programs in the United States and Puerto Rico from 1998 to 2002. Phys Ther. 03;88(3):376-386

Prostate cancer risk related to foods, food groups, macronutrients and micronutrients derived from the UK Dietary Cohort Consortium food diaries.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The influence of dietary factors remains controversial for screen-detected prostate cancer and inconclusive for clinically detected disease. We aimed to examine these associations using prospectively collected food diaries. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 1,717 prostate cancer cases in middle-aged and older UK men were pooled from four prospective cohorts with clinically detected disease (n=663), with routine data follow-up (means 6.6-13.3 years) and a case-control study with screen-detected disease (n=1054), nested in a randomised trial of prostate cancer treatments (ISCTRN 20141297). Multiple-day food diaries (records) completed by men prior to diagnosis were used to estimate intakes of 37 selected nutrients, food groups and items, including carbohydrate, fat, protein, dairy products, fish, meat, fruit and vegetables, energy, fibre, alcohol, lycopene and selenium. Cases were matched on age and diary date to at least one control within study (n=3528). Prostate cancer risk was calculated, using conditional logistic regression (adjusted for baseline covariates) and expressed as odds ratios in each quintile of intake (±95% confidence intervals). Prostate cancer risk was also investigated by localised or advanced stage and by cancer detection method. RESULTS: There were no strong associations between prostate cancer risk and 37 dietary factors. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate cancer risk, including by disease stage, was not strongly associated with dietary factors measured by food diaries in middle-aged and older UK men.Medical Research Council (Grant ID: MC_UU_12019/1), Medical Research Council Population Health Sciences Research Network, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK (Grant ID: C8221/A19170), Department of Health, Food Standards Agency, Stroke Association, WCRF, National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (Project IDs: 96/20/06, 96/20/99), National Cancer Research Institute (formed by Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, Department of Health)This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.16

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Relationship between soy and isoflavone intake and periodontal disease: The Freshmen in Dietetic Courses Study II

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Much research has shown that soy products inhibited various diseases. However, no published studies have examined the effects of consumption of soy and isoflavones on periodontal disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether soy and isoflavone intake is associated with the prevalence of periodontal disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects were 3956 Japanese female students, aged 18 to 22 years, who were taking a dietetic course. Periodontal disease was defined as present when a subject reported diagnosis of the disorder by a dentist. Information on dietary factors was collected using a validated diet history questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios and their confidence intervals of periodontal disease. Adjustment was made for cigarette smoking, toothbrushing frequency, region of residence, and body mass index.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of periodontal disease was 8.0%. Intake of total soy product and tofu was independently associated with a decreased prevalence of periodontal disease; multivariate odds ratios in comparison of the highest with the lowest quintile were 0.68 and 0.68, respectively (95% confidence intervals = 0.47–0.97 and 0.47–0.98, <it>P </it>for trend = 0.01 and 0.004, respectively). A significant inverse dose-response relationship between the intake of isoflavones and the prevalence of periodontal disease was observed, although the difference in the adjusted odds ratio between the extreme quintiles was of borderline significance (<it>P </it>for trend = 0.04). There were no measurable dose-response relationships between consumption of tofu products, fermented soybeans, boiled soybeans, miso, or miso soup and the prevalence of periodontal disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that soy and isoflavone intake may decrease the likelihood of periodontal disease. Further investigations with objective measures for periodontal disease are needed to confirm our findings.</p

A prospective cohort study of dietary patterns of non-western migrants in the Netherlands in relation to risk factors for cardiovascular diseases: HELIUS-Dietary Patterns

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Western countries the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is often higher in non-Western migrants as compared to the host population. Diet is an important modifiable determinant of CVD. Increasingly, dietary patterns rather than single nutrients are the focus of research in an attempt to account for the complexity of nutrient interactions in foods. Research on dietary patterns in non-Western migrants is limited and may be hampered by a lack of validated instruments that can be used to assess the habitual diet of non-western migrants in large scale epidemiological studies. The ultimate aims of this study are to (1) understand whether differences in dietary patterns explain differences in CVD risk between ethnic groups, by developing and validating ethnic-specific Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs), and (2) to investigate the determinants of these dietary patterns. This paper outlines the design and methods used in the HELIUS-Dietary Patterns study and describes a systematic approach to overcome difficulties in the assessment and analysis of dietary intake data in ethnically diverse populations.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The HELIUS-Dietary Patterns study is embedded in the HELIUS study, a Dutch multi-ethnic cohort study. After developing ethnic-specific FFQs, we will gather data on the habitual intake of 5000 participants (18-70 years old) of ethnic Dutch, Surinamese of African and of South Asian origin, Turkish or Moroccan origin. Dietary patterns will be derived using factor analysis, but we will also evaluate diet quality using hypothesis-driven approaches. The relation between dietary patterns and CVD risk factors will be analysed using multiple linear regression analysis. Potential underlying determinants of dietary patterns like migration history, acculturation, socio-economic factors and lifestyle, will be considered.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will allow us to investigate the contribution of the dietary patterns on CVD risk factors in a multi-ethnic population. Inclusion of five ethnic groups residing in one setting makes this study highly innovative as confounding by local environment characteristics is limited. Heterogeneity in the study population will provide variance in dietary patterns which is a great advantage when studying the link between diet and disease.</p

Imaging biomarker roadmap for cancer studies.

Imaging biomarkers (IBs) are integral to the routine management of patients with cancer. IBs used daily in oncology include clinical TNM stage, objective response and left ventricular ejection fraction. Other CT, MRI, PET and ultrasonography biomarkers are used extensively in cancer research and drug development. New IBs need to be established either as useful tools for testing research hypotheses in clinical trials and research studies, or as clinical decision-making tools for use in healthcare, by crossing 'translational gaps' through validation and qualification. Important differences exist between IBs and biospecimen-derived biomarkers and, therefore, the development of IBs requires a tailored 'roadmap'. Recognizing this need, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) assembled experts to review, debate and summarize the challenges of IB validation and qualification. This consensus group has produced 14 key recommendations for accelerating the clinical translation of IBs, which highlight the role of parallel (rather than sequential) tracks of technical (assay) validation, biological/clinical validation and assessment of cost-effectiveness; the need for IB standardization and accreditation systems; the need to continually revisit IB precision; an alternative framework for biological/clinical validation of IBs; and the essential requirements for multicentre studies to qualify IBs for clinical use.Development of this roadmap received support from Cancer Research UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant references A/15267, A/16463, A/16464, A/16465, A/16466 and A/18097), the EORTC Cancer Research Fund, and the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (grant agreement number 115151), resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) companies' in kind contribution

Field calibration of sediment flux dependent river incision

Bed erosion and sediment transport are ubiquitous and linked processes in rivers. Erosion can either be modeled as a “detachment limited” function of the shear stress exerted by the flow on the bed, or as a “transport limited” function of the sediment flux capacity of the flow. These two models predict similar channel profiles when erosion rates are constant in space in time, but starkly contrasting behavior in transient settings. Traditionally detachment limited models have been used for bedrock rivers, whereas transport limited models have been used in alluvial settings. In this study we demonstrate that rivers incising into a substrate of loose, but very poorly sorted relict glacial sediment behave in a detachment limited manner. We then develop a methodology by which to both test the appropriate incision model and constrain its form. Specifically we are able to tightly constrain how incision rates vary as a function of the ratio between sediment flux and sediment transport capacity in three rivers responding to deglaciation in the Ladakh Himalaya, northwest India. This represents the first field test of the so-called “tools and cover” effect along individual rivers

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)