18 research outputs found
Meeting Faculty Development Needs via Inclusive Processes in a Newly Established College of Pharmacy
Objectives: Professional faculty development is essential in establishing the skills necessary to become both leaders in education and research. Changes were necessary for our College in this area. This study describes the development of a comprehensive faculty development program that is in compliance with the new ACPE Standards 2016.
Methods: In fall 2013, the College reappointed a new chair of the faculty development committee (FDC). A needs assessment survey was created and circulated amongst the faculty members requesting prioritization of several key focus areas and measureable ACPE standard outcomes that were lacking and required immediate attention.
Results: The FDC has updated and solidified many fundamental College policies and procedures surrounding the academic plan, performance appraisals and contract renewal processes. A peer evaluation procedure and tool were created to provide non âpunitive feedback to faculty in an attempt to identify strengths and weaknesses. For new hires, a faculty orientation program was created for chairs and a mentoring plan was developed to identify and address obstacles in challenges early in their role. Over fifteen workshops were also offered to assist in personal and professional development within the last 18 months. Administration is currently devising a plan to alleviate teaching loads to allow faculty additional time to pursue scholarship. Faculty perception of the FDC effectiveness improved from 37.7% to 97% based on AACP/ACPE survey results.
Implications: It is essential to the growth of any institution to make a concerted effort to incorporate inclusive processes amongst faculty for successful decision making strategies
Triggered Star Formation in Galaxy Pairs at z=0.08-0.38
We measure the strength, frequency, and timescale of tidally triggered star
formation at redshift z=0.08-0.38 in a spectroscopically complete sample of
galaxy pairs drawn from the magnitude-limited redshift survey of 9,825
Smithsonian Hectospec Lensing Survey (SHELS) galaxies with R<20.3. To examine
the evidence for tidal triggering, we identify a volume-limited sample of major
(|\Delta M_R|1/5) pair galaxies with $M_R <
-20.8 in the redshift range z=0.08-0.31. The size and completeness of the
spectroscopic survey allows us to focus on regions of low local density. The
spectrophotometric calibration enables the use of the 4000 Ang break (D_n4000),
the H\alpha specific star formation rate (SSFR_{H\alpha}), and population
models to characterize the galaxies. We show that D_n4000 is a useful
population classification tool; it closely tracks the identification of
emission line galaxies. The sample of major pair galaxies in regions of low
local density with low D_n4000 demonstrates the expected anti-correlation
between pair-wise projected separation and a set of star formation indicators
explored in previous studies. We measure the frequency of triggered star
formation by comparing the SSFR_{H\alpha} in the volume-limited sample in
regions of low local density: 32 +/-7% of the major pair galaxies have
SSFR_{H\alpha} at least double the median rate of the unpaired field galaxies.
Comparison of stellar population models for pair and for unpaired field
galaxies implies a timescale for triggered star formation of ~300-400 Myr.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to A
Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-7 in Barrettâs esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma : expression, metabolism and functional significance
Supported by grants from North West Cancer Research (Grant number: CR945), The Wellcome Trust (Grant number: 074287/Z/03/Z) and a research studentship (HG) from the Libyan Government.Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)â7, unlike many MMPs, is typically expressed in epithelial cells. It has been linked to epithelial responses to infection, injury, and tissue remodeling including the progression of a number of cancers. We have now examined how MMPâ7 expression changes in the progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), and have studied mechanisms regulating its expression and its functional significance. Immunohistochemistry revealed that MMPâ7 was weakly expressed in normal squamous epithelium adjacent to EAC but was abundant in epithelial cells in both preneoplastic lesions of Barrett's esophagus and EAC particularly at the invasive front. In the stroma, putative myofibroblasts expressing MMPâ7 were abundant at the invasive front but were scarce or absent in adjacent tissue. Western blot and ELISA revealed high constitutive secretion of proMMPâ7 in an EAC cell line (OE33) that was inhibited by the phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3âkinase inhibitor LY294002 but not by inhibitors of protein kinase C, or MAP kinase activation. There was detectable proMMPâ7 in cultured esophageal myofibroblasts but it was undetectable in media. Possible metabolism of MMPâ7 by myofibroblasts studied by proteomic analysis indicated degradation via extensive endopeptidase, followed by aminoâ and carboxpeptidase, cleavages. Myofibroblasts exhibited increased migration and invasion in response to conditioned media from OE33 cells that was reduced by MMPâ7 knockdown and immunoneutralization. Thus, MMPâ7 expression increases at the invasive front in EAC which may be partly attributable to activation of PI 3âkinase. Secreted MMPâ7 may modify the tumor microenvironment by stimulating stromal cell migration and invasion.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products
(Abridged) We describe here the most ambitious survey currently planned in
the optical, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). A vast array of
science will be enabled by a single wide-deep-fast sky survey, and LSST will
have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is
driven by four main science themes: probing dark energy and dark matter, taking
an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and
mapping the Milky Way. LSST will be a wide-field ground-based system sited at
Cerro Pach\'{o}n in northern Chile. The telescope will have an 8.4 m (6.5 m
effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg field of view, and a 3.2 Gigapixel
camera. The standard observing sequence will consist of pairs of 15-second
exposures in a given field, with two such visits in each pointing in a given
night. With these repeats, the LSST system is capable of imaging about 10,000
square degrees of sky in a single filter in three nights. The typical 5
point-source depth in a single visit in will be (AB). The
project is in the construction phase and will begin regular survey operations
by 2022. The survey area will be contained within 30,000 deg with
, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ,
covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\% of the observing time
will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will uniformly observe a
18,000 deg region about 800 times (summed over all six bands) during the
anticipated 10 years of operations, and yield a coadded map to . The
remaining 10\% of the observing time will be allocated to projects such as a
Very Deep and Fast time domain survey. The goal is to make LSST data products,
including a relational database of about 32 trillion observations of 40 billion
objects, available to the public and scientists around the world.Comment: 57 pages, 32 color figures, version with high-resolution figures
available from https://www.lsst.org/overvie
Effect of Pharmacist Discharge Counselling on Medication Adherence in Elderly Heart Failure Patients: A Pilot Study
Incorporating a Drug Information Consult into a Pharmacy Practice Course to Build Literature Search and Evaluation Skills Through a 3-Stage Model
Meeting Faculty Development Needs via Inclusive Processes in a Newly Established College of Pharmacy
Objectives: Professional faculty development is essential in establishing the skills necessary to become both leaders in education and research. Changes were necessary for our College in this area. This study describes the development of a comprehensive faculty development program that is in compliance with the new ACPE Standards 2016.
Methods: In fall 2013, the College reappointed a new chair of the faculty development committee (FDC). A needs assessment survey was created and circulated amongst the faculty members requesting prioritization of several key focus areas and measureable ACPE standard outcomes that were lacking and required immediate attention.
Results: The FDC has updated and solidified many fundamental College policies and procedures surrounding the academic plan, performance appraisals and contract renewal processes. A peer evaluation procedure and tool were created to provide non âpunitive feedback to faculty in an attempt to identify strengths and weaknesses. For new hires, a faculty orientation program was created for chairs and a mentoring plan was developed to identify and address obstacles in challenges early in their role. Over fifteen workshops were also offered to assist in personal and professional development within the last 18 months. Administration is currently devising a plan to alleviate teaching loads to allow faculty additional time to pursue scholarship. Faculty perception of the FDC effectiveness improved from 37.7% to 97% based on AACP/ACPE survey results.
Implications: It is essential to the growth of any institution to make a concerted effort to incorporate inclusive processes amongst faculty for successful decision making strategies