Recruitment, Preparation, Retention: A case study of computing culture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Computer science is seeing a decline in enrollment at all levels of education, including undergraduate and graduate study. This paper reports on the results of a study conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which evaluated students attitudes regarding three areas which can contribute to improved enrollment in the Department of Computer Science: Recruitment, preparation and retention. The results of our study saw two themes. First, the department's tight research focus appears to draw significant attention from other activities -- such as teaching, service, and other community-building activities -- that are necessary for a department's excellence. Yet, as demonstrated by our second theme, one partial solution is to better promote such activities already employed by the department to its students and faculty. Based on our results, we make recommendations for improvements and enhancements based on the current state of practice at peer institutions.Comment: 37 pages, 13 figures. For better quality figures, please download the .pdf from http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/research/techreports.php?report=UIUCDCS-R-2007-281

Early Introduction of Trauma-Informed Care in a Medical School Curriculum

The long-term effects of trauma are pervasive among patients, manifesting as chronic conditions, maladaptive behaviors, and non-adherence to care. One way to improve health outcomes is through implementation of universal trauma-informed care (TIC). TIC is a strengths-based care delivery approach focused on recovery and healing through safe, collaborative relationships between patients and healthcare providers. Awareness of TIC is essential for practicing clinicians. TIC is often incorporated into discussions related to OB/GYN; however, all specialties care for patients who have experienced trauma. The UNM medical school curriculum does not include focused TIC content for Phase I students. Medical students should develop the communication and physical exam skills early in their education to identify and more effectively respond to patients who have experienced trauma. We designed a case-based session for second-year medical students consisting of a narrated PowerPoint overview of TIC as prework, two cases, and one short-answer question on their Doctoring final exam. Cases described two patient scenarios with questions assessing the definition of TIC, the importance of using a TIC-informed approach with patients, and describing how TIC can be used in a patient encounter. On the exam, students indicated this session helped them understand parallels between the RESPECT model and TIC, how TIC can be used to improve their skills, and further empower patients. We plan to develop a longitudinal TIC curriculum that spans Phases I-III and involves the use of standardized patients to practice skill-learning in a more realistic setting. Early practice of these skills will help medical students feel more comfortable caring for patients with a history of trauma, improve patient experiences in the clinical setting, and ultimately help patients have better health outcomes

Expression of frog virus 3 genes is impaired in mammalian cell lines

Frog virus 3 (FV3) is a large DNA virus that is the prototypic member of the family Iridoviridae. To examine levels of FV3 gene expression we generated a polyclonal antibody against the FV3 protein 75L. Following a FV3 infection in fathead minnow (FHM) cells 75L was found in vesicles throughout the cytoplasm as early as 3 hours post-infection. While 75L expressed strongly in FHM cells, our findings revealed no 75L expression in mammalian cells lines despite evidence of a FV3 infection. One explanation for the lack of gene expression in mammalian cell lines may be inefficient codon usage. As a result, 75L was codon optimized and transfection of the codon optimized construct resulted in detectable expression in mammalian cells. Therefore, although FV3 can infect and replicate in mammalian cell lines, the virus may not express its full complement of genes due to inefficient codon usage in mammalian species

Comparative genomic analysis of the family Iridoviridae: re-annotating and defining the core set of iridovirus genes

BACKGROUND: Members of the family Iridoviridae can cause severe diseases resulting in significant economic and environmental losses. Very little is known about how iridoviruses cause disease in their host. In the present study, we describe the re-analysis of the Iridoviridae family of complex DNA viruses using a variety of comparative genomic tools to yield a greater consensus among the annotated sequences of its members. RESULTS: A series of genomic sequence comparisons were made among, and between the Ranavirus and Megalocytivirus genera in order to identify novel conserved ORFs. Of these two genera, the Megalocytivirus genomes required the greatest number of altered annotations. Prior to our re-analysis, the Megalocytivirus species orange-spotted grouper iridovirus and rock bream iridovirus shared 99% sequence identity, but only 82 out of 118 potential ORFs were annotated; in contrast, we predict that these species share an identical complement of genes. These annotation changes allowed the redefinition of the group of core genes shared by all iridoviruses. Seven new core genes were identified, bringing the total number to 26. CONCLUSION: Our re-analysis of genomes within the Iridoviridae family provides a unifying framework to understand the biology of these viruses. Further re-defining the core set of iridovirus genes will continue to lead us to a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships between individual iridoviruses as well as giving us a much deeper understanding of iridovirus replication. In addition, this analysis will provide a better framework for characterizing and annotating currently unclassified iridoviruses

Increasing DEA-X Waiver Trained Providers through Quality Improvement

Introduction New Mexico has long experienced challenges associated with opioid use disorder (OUD). In 2017, New Mexico had the seventeenth highest drug overdose death rate in the United States. Although this ranking has decreased since prior years, New Mexico experienced 16.7 overdose deaths involving opioids per 100,000 persons in 2017, compared to the national average of 14.6 per 100,000 persons. Additionally, New Mexico saw an 82% increase in opioid overdose related emergency department visits between 2013-2015, and this rate has stayed consistent since 2015.1 In 2017, of the 332 overdose deaths in New Mexico, the most common drugs causing overdose deaths were prescription opioids (51.5% - 171 deaths) followed by heroin (43.4% - 144 deaths).2 According to the New Mexico Department of Health Syringe Services Program, in 2016 6,976 of 9,649 enrollees (72%) indicated heroin use. Additionally, using data from the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy Prescription Monitoring Program it was estimated in 2017 that 12,400 patients (22%) with chronic opioid prescriptions were in need of treatment for OUD.3 Given that these estimates are limited to individuals captured by these two data sources, the estimate of 19,376 individuals in New Mexico experiencing OUD is a gross underestimate. Given the negative outcomes associated with OUD and the size of the population in need of treatment in New Mexico, there is a demand for more providers to offer OUD treatment. Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), including buprenorphine, is the mainstay maintenance therapy for OUD. In order to prescribe buprenorphine, providers must complete an 8 hour DEA-X waiver training. Given the heavy burden of OUD in New Mexico, our aim was to increase the number of General Internal Medicine (GIM) attending physicians at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) who have completed DEA-X waiver training to 50% by January 1st, 2020. Methods We identified the number of GIM attendings at UNMH who had already completed a DEA-X waiver training. In order to analyze the barriers to completing a DEA-X waiver training, we attended a monthly departmental GIM meeting where we explained the current need for more providers to prescribe buprenorphine in New Mexico and the process of our quality improvement project. Following the presentation, we surveyed 13 out of 20 GIM attendings via RedCap. The survey was comprised of 21 questions assessing attitudes toward OUD and buprenorphine, reservations about prescribing buprenorphine, and interest in obtaining a DEA-X waiver. Survey questions were designed on a five response Likert scale. Participants were asked to include their schedule availability for future DEA-X waiver trainings. Upon completion of the survey, we analyzed participant attitudes and barriers using a five-point Likert scale, by assigning 1 to strongly agree through 5 to strongly disagree. Common barriers were identified by grouping and summing the agreed and strongly agreed responses. Based on the provider availability submitted in the survey, we sent out a list of training dates to the GIM attendings. Results Of the 13 UNM GIM attendings surveyed, 12 (92%) thought OUD is a chronic disease. Thirteen (100%) thought increasing buprenorphine availability is important. Six (46%) expressed interest in getting DEA-X waiver trained. The top reservation classified by survey respondents who selected either Agree or Strongly Agree to completing the training was insufficient time available in the provider’s current patient schedule (10/13), followed by insufficient work time dedicated to complete the training (7/13). Office staff stigma was the least concerning reservation (3/13). Based on our interventions, the number of GIM attending physicians at UNMH with DEA X-waiver training increased from 3 to 6, which corresponds with a 100% increase. Conclusions Although 100% of GIM attendings surveyed thought increasing the availability of buprenorphine was important, only 45% were interested in getting DEA-X waiver training themselves. One of the major barriers identified was insufficient time to complete the training. One possible solution is to have clinic managers set aside time during normal work hours for this purpose. Our intervention for the first PDSA cycle was to educate the attendings on the importance of having a DEA-X waiver and to send participants information about local DEA-X waiver trainings. With this intervention, we exceeded our goal by achieving a 100% increase in GIM attendings with DEA-X waiver training. For our next PDSA cycle we plan to work with clinics to host a DEA-X waiver training on-site and during normal work hours or during a division faculty meeting to decrease some of the burden and increase the number of physicians trained. Furthermore, residents need to work with a supervising attending with a DEA-X waiver in order to prescribe Suboxone. 54% of attendings said that having residents who are DEA-X waiver trained would encourage them to become trained too. Therefore, increasing the number of resident physicians who have completed the DEA-X waiver training will in turn increase the amount of GIM attendings who become DEA-X waiver trained

Brown Dwarfs in Young Moving Groups from Pan-STARRS1. I. AB Doradus

Substellar members of young ($\lesssim$150 Myr) moving groups are valuable benchmarks to empirically define brown dwarf evolution with age and to study the low-mass end of the initial mass function. We have combined Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) proper motions with optical$-$IR photometry from PS1, 2MASS and $\textit{WISE}$ to search for substellar members of the AB Dor Moving Group within $\approx$50 pc and with spectral types of late-M to early-L, corresponding to masses down to $\approx$30 M$_{Jup}$ at the age of the group ($\approx$125 Myr). Including both photometry and proper motions allows us to better select candidates by excluding field dwarfs whose colors are similar to young AB~Dor Moving Group members. Our near-IR spectroscopy has identified six ultracool dwarfs (M6$-$L4; $\approx$30$-$100 M$_{Jup}$) with intermediate surface gravities (INT-G) as candidate members of the AB Dor Moving Group. We find another two candidate members with spectra showing hints of youth but consistent with field gravities. We also find four field brown dwarfs unassociated with the AB Dor Moving Group, three of which have INT-G gravity classification. While signatures of youth are present in the spectra of our $\approx$125 Myr objects, neither their $J-K$ nor $W1-W2$ colors are significantly redder than field dwarfs with the same spectral types, unlike younger ultracool dwarfs. We also determined PS1 parallaxes for eight of our candidates and one previously identified AB Dor Moving Group candidate. Although radial velocities (and parallaxes, for some) are still needed to fully assess membership, these new objects provide valuable insight into the spectral characteristics and evolution of young brown dwarfs.Comment: ApJ, accepte

The Vehicle, Spring 1970, Vol. 12 no. 2

Vol. 12, No. 2 Table of Contents Prose short storyCarol Jean Baumgartepage 5 essayDan Franklinpage 8 short storyMary Yarbroughpage 21 Poetry Sara Brinkerhoffpage 20 Nick Dagerpage 18 E.S.page 17 Harry Fordpage 20 Melinda Gimbutpage 19 Ann Graffpage 20 Heather Hoebelpage 7 Becky McIntoshpage 20 John Metcalfpage 17 Mary Pipekpage 19 Cynthia C. Yohopage 17 Photography Dennis Hoaglundpages 5, 10, 21 Dale Huberpage 23 Scott Redfieldpages 7, 19 Tribute to the Ordinary Studentpage 11artMike DorseystoryNick Dagerhttps://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1022/thumbnail.jp

Synthesis of methylphosphonic acid by marine microbes: a source for methane in the aerobic ocean

Relative to the atmosphere, much of the aerobic ocean is supersaturated with methane; however, the source of this important greenhouse gas remains enigmatic. Catabolism of methylphosphonic acid by phosphorus-starved marine microbes, with concomitant release of methane, has been suggested to explain this phenomenon, yet methylphosphonate is not a known natural product, nor has it been detected in natural systems. Further, its synthesis from known natural products would require unknown biochemistry. Here we show that the marine archaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus encodes a pathway for methylphosphonate biosynthesis and that it produces cell-associated methylphosphonate esters. The abundance of a key gene in this pathway in metagenomic data sets suggests that methylphosphonate biosynthesis is relatively common in marine microbes, providing a plausible explanation for the methane paradox

Somatic Pairing of Chromosome 19 in Renal Oncocytoma Is Associated with Deregulated ELGN2-Mediated Oxygen-Sensing Response

Chromosomal abnormalities, such as structural and numerical abnormalities, are a common occurrence in cancer. The close association of homologous chromosomes during interphase, a phenomenon termed somatic chromosome pairing, has been observed in cancerous cells, but the functional consequences of somatic pairing have not been established. Gene expression profiling studies revealed that somatic pairing of chromosome 19 is a recurrent chromosomal abnormality in renal oncocytoma, a neoplasia of the adult kidney. Somatic pairing was associated with significant disruption of gene expression within the paired regions and resulted in the deregulation of the prolyl-hydroxylase ELGN2, a key protein that regulates the oxygen-dependent degradation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). Overexpression of ELGN2 in renal oncocytoma increased ubiquitin-mediated destruction of HIF and concomitantly suppressed the expression of several HIF-target genes, including the pro-death BNIP3L gene. The transcriptional changes that are associated with somatic pairing of chromosome 19 mimic the transcriptional changes that occur following DNA amplification. Therefore, in addition to numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities, alterations in chromosomal spatial dynamics should be considered as genomic events that are associated with tumorigenesis. The identification of EGLN2 as a significantly deregulated gene that maps within the paired chromosome region directly implicates defects in the oxygen-sensing network to the biology of renal oncocytoma

Women\u27s experiences on the path to a career in game development

This chapter seeks to identify whether there is a dominant, presupposed career pipeline to a career in game development and then looks for women and women’s experiences at each stage of that pipeline. It concludes that a dominant pipeline does exist and that this pathway both disadvantages women who attempt it and marginalizes other pathways. Along the way women deal with obstacles that can delegitimize their choices and experiences and/or make the assumed pathway inhospitable. This chapter relies on published literature as well as data from the 2014 and 2015 Developer Satisfaction Surveys (DSS) conducted by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) in partnership with the authors