An XML DTD for Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is an electronic collection of documents and literature, the majority of which exist in ASCII format. While the ASCII format has been an almost universally accessible format since the Project started in 1971, the possibilities and advantages of marking up the texts with the Extensible Markup Language (XML) are compelling. Related efforts are detailed and analyzed for viability with the Gutenberg texts. This project presents a direction for the future of this effort and a DTD suitable for the collection. The prepared DTD provides the schema against which 5 test documents are marked up with XML. A tutorial based on my experiences marking up the text and an index of the available elements are included

The Influence of Professional Identity Formation on the Attitudes of HealthCare Professional Students toward Interprofessionalism

The objective of this study was to quantify first-year health professional students’ attitudes toward their own and other professions following an interprofessional education (IPE) course. Additionally, this study sought to investigate the relationship between strength of professional identity and attitudes toward other professions. Professional identity, along with the stereotypes that students hold of other professions, are key factors influencing IPE. Expectations are that attitudes towards other professions will improve following participation in an introductory IPE experience. However, theory surrounding professional identity formation suggests this expectation may be premature. In the Fall of 2011, using a pre/post-test design, researchers administered the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale to 864 first year healthcare students enrolled in an introductory IPE course at the University of Minnesota. The findings showed a decline in student attitudes toward their own and other professions and a positive correlation between a weakened professional identity and readiness for IPE. The findings of this study revealed a first-year IPE course did not positively affect student attitudes toward other professions. Additionally, the results suggest strength of professional identity is associated with readiness for interprofessional learning. Analysis of the findings supports the stages of professional identity formation postulated by Bebeau and Monson in an adaptation of Kegan’s Constructive-Developmental Theory of Self. The findings of this study support Kegan’s theory of identity development as a framework for understanding the phenomenon of declining attitudes of first-year healthcare professional students toward other professions following an introductory IPE course. Kegan’s theory may provide a constructivist-developmental framework for IPE by providing transitional periods of professional identity development for students. This study may also help to inform faculty of the stage of professional identity of their students and to set realistic expectations for introductory IPE. Learning objectives: 1 Explain the developmental stages of professional identity formation. 2 Discuss the application of Robert Kegan’s theory as a framework to construct progressing phases of interprofessional education. 3 Discuss the suggestion that unchanging or declining attitudes toward IPE may be a reflection of natural professional identity development in health care professions students

Exome sequencing identifies genetic variants in anophthalmia and microphthalmia.

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia (A/M) are rare birth defects affecting up to 2 per 10,000 live births. These conditions are manifested by the absence of an eye or reduced eye volumes within the orbit leading to vision loss. Although clinical case series suggest a strong genetic component in A/M, few systematic investigations have been conducted on potential genetic contributions owing to low population prevalence. To overcome this challenge, we utilized DNA samples and data collected as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS employed multi-center ascertainment of infants affected by A/M. We performed exome sequencing on 67 family trios and identified numerous genes affected by rare deleterious nonsense and missense variants in this cohort, including de novo variants. We identified 9 nonsense changes and 86 missense variants that are absent from the reference human population (Genome Aggregation Database), and we suggest that these are high priority candidate genes for A/M. We also performed literature curation, single cell transcriptome comparisons, and molecular pathway analysis on the candidate genes and performed protein structure modeling to determine the potential pathogenic variant consequences on PAX6 in this disease