The Iowa Homemaker vol.20, no.7

Hospitality on a Budget, Mary Ellen Brown, page 2 Plastics Equip the Home, Dorothy Anne Roost, page 4 Designed for Efficiency, Dorothy Gross, page 6 50,000 Words a Day, Betty Bice, page 7 Sally Leads Military Parade, Patricia Hayes, page 8 Self-Investment for Life, Dr. Richard C. Raines, page 10 Home Management Staff, Margaret Kumlien Read, page 11 What’s New in Home Economics, Helen Kubacky, page 12 Defense Challenges the Home Economics, Dr. P. M. Nelson, page 14 Letters from Sumatra and Alaska, page 15 Alums in the News, Bette Simpson, page 16 Vitamins Invade Army Rations, Genevieve Scott, page 17 Flashes from Bacteriology Field, Catherine Raymond, page 18 China on a Budget, Jane Willey, page 19 Behind Bright Jackets, Marjorie Thomas, page 20 Soldiers and Sailors Eat Well, Pat Garberson, page 22 Spindles, Helen Moeckly, page 2

Weight management across pregnancy and postpartum care: The need for interprofessional education and collaboration

The journey from pregnancy to caring for a new infant is a significant experience for many women and crucial period for obesity prevention. During this time, a large portion of care is allocated to midwives and maternal and child health nurses (MCHN). These professions have the potential to play a crucial role in supporting women with weight management across pregnancy and postpartum; however, both midwives and MCHNs report barriers to doing this. Upskilling achieved through midwifery and MCHN education that equips midwives and MCHNs with the skills and knowledge to provide evidence-based advice for weight management could assist in addressing some of these barriers. Interprofessional collaboration should be fostered so healthy lifestyle messages and support are reinforced consistently by midwives and MCHNs throughout pregnancy and postpartum

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Midwives’ experiences of facilitating informed decision-making – a narrative literature review

Background: Informed decision-making is a vital component of midwifery philosophy and a core recommendation of the global respectful maternity care charter; however, women and midwives report a lack of informed decision-making in actual practice. Research reveals informed decision-making improves physical and mental health outcomes for women, regardless of childbearing experience, and is a protective factor for midwives’ job satisfaction. There is currently little known about midwives’ experiences of facilitating informed decision-making, and associated barriers. Objective: To critically appraise and synthesize the best qualitative evidence exploring midwives’ experiences of facilitating women's informed decision-making. Methods: A systematic search of key databases and grey literature for qualitative research in English language published between 2010-2019. Quality assessment followed CASP guidelines and this review is reported in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Thirteen studies were included in the final review. Data were synthesised narratively. Results: Midwives were shown to have a strong desire to facilitate informed decision-making, yet reported a disparity between philosophy and practice due to multiple barriers. Barriers included; lack of specific knowledge and training, fear of blame and litigation, structural constraints including lack of time and fragmented models of midwifery care, and multidisciplinary philosophical disparities. Conclusion: Existing literature identifies informed decision-making is the gold-standard in providing safe and respectful maternity care, yet this review demonstrates that it is not well executed in actual practice. Midwives recognise this disparity and identify barriers which require urgent education, research, policy and practice solutions. © 202

Influx and accumulation of Cs+ by the akt1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. lacking a dominant K+ transport system

An extensive literature reports that Cs+, an environmental contaminant, enters plant cells through K+ transport systems. Several recently identified plant K+ transport systems are permeable to Cs+. Permeation models indicate that most Cs+ uptake into plant roots under typical soil ionic conditions will be mediated by voltage-insensitive cation (VIC) channels in the plasma membrane and not by the inward rectifying K+ (KIR) channels implicated in plant K nutrition. Cation fluxes through KIR channels are blocked by Cs+. This paper tests directly the hypothesis that the dominant KIR channel in plant roots (AKT1) does not contribute significantly to Cs+ uptake by comparing Cs+ uptake into wild-type and the akt1 knockout mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Wild-type and akt1 plants were grown to comparable size and K+ content on agar containing 10 mM K+. Both Cs+ influx to roots of intact plants and Cs+ accumulation in roots and shoots were identical in wild-type and akt1 plants. These data indicate that AKT1 is unlikely to contribute significantly to Cs+ uptake by wild-type Arabidopsis from 'single-salt' solutions. The influx of Cs+ to roots of intact wild-type and akt1 plants was inhibited by I mM Ba2+, Ca2+ and La3+, but not by 10 μM Br-cAMP. This pharmacology resembles that of VIC channels and is consistent with the hypothesis that VIC channels mediate most Cs+ influx under 'single-salt' conditions

Outbreak of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase–producing Klebsiella oxytoca Infections Associated with Contaminated Handwashing Sinks

Klebsiella oxytoca is primarily a health care–associated pathogen acquired from environmental sources. During October 2006–March 2011, a total of 66 patients in a hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, acquired class A extended-spectrum β-lactamase–producing K. oxytoca with 1 of 2 related pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. New cases continued to occur despite reinforcement of infection control practices, prevalence screening, and contact precautions for colonized/infected patients. Cultures from handwashing sinks in the intensive care unit yielded K. oxytoca with identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns to cultures from the clinical cases. No infections occurred after implementation of sink cleaning 3×/day, sink drain modifications, and an antimicrobial stewardship program. In contrast, a cluster of 4 patients infected with K. oxytoca in a geographically distant medical ward without contaminated sinks was contained with implementation of active screening and contact precautions. Sinks should be considered potential reservoirs for clusters of infection caused by K. oxytoca

The Iowa Homemaker vol.20, no.7

Hospitality on a Budget, Mary Ellen Brown, page 2 Plastics Equip the Home, Dorothy Anne Roost, page 4 Designed for Efficiency, Dorothy Gross, page 6 50,000 Words a Day, Betty Bice, page 7 Sally Leads Military Parade, Patricia Hayes, page 8 Self-Investment for Life, Dr. Richard C. Raines, page 10 Home Management Staff, Margaret Kumlien Read, page 11 What’s New in Home Economics, Helen Kubacky, page 12 Defense Challenges the Home Economics, Dr. P. M. Nelson, page 14 Letters from Sumatra and Alaska, page 15 Alums in the News, Bette Simpson, page 16 Vitamins Invade Army Rations, Genevieve Scott, page 17 Flashes from Bacteriology Field, Catherine Raymond, page 18 China on a Budget, Jane Willey, page 19 Behind Bright Jackets, Marjorie Thomas, page 20 Soldiers and Sailors Eat Well, Pat Garberson, page 22 Spindles, Helen Moeckly, page 24</p

Identifying and dismantling racism in Australian perinatal settings : reframing the narrative from a risk lens to intentionally prioritise connectedness and strengths in providing care to First Nations families

The perinatal period is a time when provision of responsive care offers a life course opportunity for positive change to improve health outcomes for mothers, infants and families. Australian perinatal systems carry the legacy of settler-colonialism, manifesting in racist events and interactions that First Nations parents encounter daily. The dominance of a western risk lens, and conscious and unconscious bias in the child protection workforce, sustains disproportionately high numbers of First Nations infants being removed from their parents' care. Cascading medical interventions compound existing stressors and magnify health inequities for First Nations women. Critical discourse was informed by Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing via targeted dialogue with a group of First Nations and non-Indigenous experts in Australian perinatal care who are co-authors on this paper. Dynamic discussion evolved from a series of yarning circles, supplemented by written exchanges and individual yarns as themes were consolidated. First Nations maternity services prioritise self-determination, partnership, strengths and communication and have demonstrated positive outcomes with, and high satisfaction from First Nations women. Mainstream perinatal settings could be significantly enhanced by embracing similar principles and models of care. The Australian Anti-racism in Perinatal Practice (AAPP) Alliance calls for urgent transformations to Australian perinatal models of care whereby non-Indigenous health policy makers, managers and clinicians take a proactive role in identifying and redressing ethnocentrism, judgemental and culturally blind practices, reframing the risk narrative, embedding strength-based approaches and intentionally prioritising engagement and connectedness within service delivery. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

MicroRNA profiling identifies a novel compound with antidepressant properties.

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are frequently diagnosed with depression. Together, these two leading causes of death and disability significantly contribute to the global burden of healthcare costs. However, there are no drug treatments for TBI and antidepressants are considered off-label for depression in patients with TBI. In molecular profiling studies of rat hippocampus after experimental TBI, we found that TBI altered the expression of a subset of small, non-coding, microRNAs (miRNAs). One known neuroprotective compound (17β-estradiol, E2), and two experimental neuroprotective compounds (JM6 and PMI-006), reversed the effects of TBI on miRNAs. Subsequent in silico analyses revealed that the injury-altered miRNAs were predicted to regulate genes involved in depression. Thus, we hypothesized that drug-induced miRNA profiles can be used to identify compounds with antidepressant properties. To confirm this hypothesis, we examined miRNA expression in hippocampi of injured rats treated with one of three known antidepressants (imipramine, fluoxetine and sertraline). Bioinformatic analyses revealed that TBI, potentially via its effects on multiple regulatory miRNAs, dysregulated transcriptional networks involved in neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and circadian rhythms- networks known to adversely affect mood, cognition and memory. As did E2, JM6, and PMI-006, all three antidepressants reversed the effects of TBI on multiple injury-altered miRNAs. Furthermore, JM6 reduced TBI-induced inflammation in the hippocampus and depression-like behavior in the forced swim test; these are both properties of classic antidepressant drugs. Our results support the hypothesis that miRNA expression signatures can identify neuroprotective and antidepressant properties of novel compounds and that there is substantial overlap between neuroprotection and antidepressant properties