Exploring Fieldwork Educator Development: Preparation Methods and Support Tools

Fieldwork education is a critical piece to professional development and competency in occupational therapy. As part of their core curriculum, all students enrolled in accredited occupational therapy programs must complete full-time fieldwork experiences under the direct supervision of a licensed occupational therapy practitioner. This component of the student’s education relies on the skills and training of the fieldwork educator. Academic programs are expected to support occupational therapy practitioners in their role as fieldwork educators in the form of resource provisions to enhance supervisory skills. However, there are no clear standards that describe how to vet, effectively disseminate, or implement the use of fieldwork educator resources. This study sought to identify and explore how occupational therapy practitioners prepare for the role of fieldwork educator, and how they maintain professional competence in that role through the use and effectiveness of available support tools for fieldwork educators. Results of the study highlight underutilization of readily available materials, effective programs that may not be readily accessed due to cost, and the need to establish more structured educational experiences that would serve to support the role of the fieldwork educator. These findings point to potential areas of fieldwork educator development that may be designed and addressed by Academic Fieldwork Coordinators through both continued research and program development. Future research examining pre and post tool use assessment would provide further insight on effectiveness and progression of growth in the fieldwork educator role

Rivers of the Anthropocene, Phase 1: A Comparative Study of the Ohio and Tyne River Systems

poster abstractRivers of the Anthropocene” addresses a fundamental problem facing scholars and policy makers alike: despite important advances in our understanding of the earth as a system — one in which humans and human systems have become recognized as prime agents in effecting changes to the earth — we have yet to create an approach that brings together scholars of earth systems with scholars of human systems. This is to the detriment of our overall understanding of global ecological change and limits our ability to respond to escalating crises. Without integrating methods from the earth sciences, social sciences, and humanities, scholars of the environment lose important tools in tackling some of the biggest issues facing humanity in the 21st century. As humans continue to play an increasingly significant role in altering their planet, it is incumbent upon environmental scholars to understand the human-environment interface in all its complexities. It is not enough that scientists measure what humans have done or what they can do to shift environmental systems; it is necessary that they work hand-in-hand with specialists in human systems to understand the limits and feedback mechanisms that beliefs, practices, ideologies, social structures, and cultural norms impose on human action. A comparative study of international river systems is a good place to begin building more meaningful bridges across the science-humanities divide, and it addresses the pressing issue of global water insecurity, which 80% of the earth’s population faces. The first stage of “Rivers of the Anthropocene” will create a flexible, interdisciplinary methodological and conceptual framework for examining the human-environment interface, one in which specialists in the earth sciences can learn from the approaches of the humanities and human sciences and vice versa

Relationships of Native and Exotic Strains of Phragmites australis to Wetland Ecosystem Properties

Invasions by exotic plant species like Phragmites australis can affect wetlands and the services they provide, including denitrification. Native and exotic Phragmites strains were genetically verified in 2002 but few studies have compared their ecosystem effects. We compared relationships between native and exotic Phragmites and environmental attributes, soil nutrient concentrations, and abundance and activity of soil denitrifying bacteria. There were no significant differences for any measured variables between sites with exotic and native strains. However, there were significant positive correlations between native Phragmites stem density and soil nutrient concentrations and denitrification rates. Furthermore, denitrifying bacterial abundance was positively correlated with nitrate concentration and denitrification rates. Additionally, there were significant negative correlations between water levels in native Phragmites sites and native stem density, nutrient concentrations, and denitrification rates. Surprisingly, we found no significant relationships between exotic stem density or water level and measured variables. These results suggest 1) the native strain may have important ecosystem effects that had only been documented for exotic Phragmites, and 2) abiotic drivers such as water level may have mediated this outcome. Further work is needed to determine if the stem density gradients were a consequence, rather than a cause, of pre-existing gradients of abiotic factors

Early Cenozoic Fluvial Deposits of the Renova Formation in SW Montana: Links to Southern Nevada and Utah?

Examination of the early Cenozoic fluvial deposits of the Renova Formation provides support for the hypothesis that a southern branch of the pre-ice age Bell River of Canada, a river thought to have been the size of the Amazon, may have originated in the southern Colorado Plateau and flowed northward through Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Montana. The Renova Formation mostly comprises fluvially-reworked and degraded volcanic ash. Radiometric ages of zircon grains from the Renova Formation, reported in the literature, correlate with the ages of zircons from ash-flow tuffs that erupted from mega-calderas in southern Nevada and Utah. There are also older zircons present in the Renova deposits which indicate recycling of zircon grains from Precambrian and Cambrian quartzites of Utah. These results provide evidence of river transport of ash and sand from Nevada and Utah into Montana. Previous research has been reviewed and assessed in the context of the Bell River hypothesis. A field trip was taken to physically observe the composition and depositional features of the Renova. Histograms generated by mass spectroscopy of Renova Formation zircon have been re-analyzed in light of the mega-caldera origin hypothesis. This new model suggests that a major, north-flowing Cenozoic drainage system was present in the western interior of North America before being segmented and destroyed by faulting and volcanism

Compound heterozygosity of predicted loss-of-function DES variants in a family with recessive desminopathy

Background: Variants in the desmin gene (DES) are associated with desminopathy; a myofibrillar myopathy mainly characterized by muscle weakness, conduction block, and dilated cardiomyopathy. To date, only ~50 disease-associated variants have been described, and the majority of these lead to dominant-negative effects. However, the complete genotypic spectrum of desminopathy is not well established. Case presentation: Next-generation sequencing was performed on 51 cardiac disease genes in a proband with profound skeletal myopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, and respiratory dysfunction. Our analyses revealed compound heterozygous DES variants, both of which are predicted to lead to a loss-of-function. Consistent with recessive inheritance, each variant was identified in an unaffected parent. Conclusions: This case report serves to broaden the variant spectrum of desminopathies and provides insight into the molecular mechanisms of desminopathy, supporting distinct dominant-negative and loss-of-function etiologies

Assessment Of The Impact Of Potential Tetracycline Exposure On The Phenotype Of Aedes Aegypti Ox513a: Implications For Field Use

Background Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue fever, a viral disease which has an estimated incidence of 390 million infections annually. Conventional vector control methods have been unable to curb the transmission of the disease. We have previously reported a novel method of vector control using a tetracycline repressible self-limiting strain of Ae. aegypti OX513A which has achieved > 90% suppression of wild populations. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the impact of tetracycline and its analogues on the phenotype of OX513A from the perspective of possible routes and levels of environmental exposure. We determined the minimum concentration of tetracycline and its analogues that will allow an increased survivorship and found these to be greater than the maximum concentration of tetracyclines found in known Ae. aegypti breeding sites and their surrounding areas. Furthermore, we determined that OX513A parents fed tetracycline are unable to pre-load their progeny with sufficient antidote to increase their survivorship. Finally, we studied the changes in concentration of tetracycline in the mass production rearing water of OX513A and the developing insect. Conclusion/Significance Together, these studies demonstrate that potential routes of exposure of OX513A individuals to tetracycline and its analogues in the environment are not expected to increase the survivorship of OX513A.98Oxitec's core investmen

Thermal Conductivity in Nanoporous Gold Films during Electron-Phonon Nonequilibrium

The reduction of nanodevices has given recent attention to nanoporous materials due to their structure and geometry. However, the thermophysical properties of these materials are relatively unknown. In this article, an expression for thermal conductivity of nanoporous structures is derived based on the assumption that the finite size of the ligaments leads to electron-ligament wall scattering. This expression is then used to analyze the thermal conductivity of nanoporous structures in the event of electron-phonon nonequilibrium

Gene expression analysis of Canine demodicosis; a milieu promoting immune tolerance

Canine demodicosis is a common skin disease seen in companion animal practice that results from an overpopulation of the commensal Demodex mite species. Common predisposing factors to the development of canine demodicosis include immunosuppressive diseases, such as neoplasia and hypothyroidism, and administration of immunosuppressive therapies, such as corticosteroids. Despite this, the pathogenesis of development of canine demodicosis remains unclear. Previous studies have implicated a role for increased expression of toll like receptor 2 (TLR2), increased production of interleukin (IL)-10) and T cell exhaustion. Here, we investigate gene expression of formalin fixed paraffin embedded skin samples from twelve cases of canine demodicosis in comparison to twelve healthy controls, using a 770 gene panel (NanoString Canine IO Panel). Results show an increase in the T cell population, specifically Th1 and Treg cells in dogs with demodicosis. In addition, while there is an upregulation of immunosuppressive cytokines such as IL-10 and IL-13, there is also an upregulation of immune check point molecules including PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4. These findings suggest that Demodex spp. mites are modulating the host immune system to their advantage through upregulation of several immune tolerance promoting pathways

Diagnostic accuracy of cervical cancer screening and screening–triage strategies among women living with HIV-1 in Burkina Faso and South Africa: A cohort study

Background: Cervical cancer screening strategies using visual inspection or cytology may have suboptimal diagnostic accuracy for detection of precancer in women living with HIV (WLHIV). The optimal screen and screen-triage strategy, age to initiate, and frequency of screening for WLHIV remain unclear. This study evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of different cervical cancer strategies in WLHIV in Africa. Methods and findings: WLHIV aged 25-50 years attending HIV treatment centres in Burkina Faso (BF) and South Africa (SA) from 5 December 2011 to 30 October 2012 were enrolled in a prospective evaluation study of visual inspection using acetic acid (VIA) or visual inspection using Lugol's iodine (VILI), high-risk human papillomavirus DNA test (Hybrid Capture 2 [HC2] or careHPV), and cytology for histology-verified high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+/CIN3+) at baseline and endline, a median 16 months later. Among 1,238 women (BF: 615; SA: 623), median age was 36 and 34 years (p < 0.001), 28.6% and 49.6% ever had prior cervical cancer screening (p < 0.001), and 69.9% and 64.2% were taking ART at enrolment (p = 0.045) in BF and SA, respectively. CIN2+ prevalence was 5.8% and 22.4% in BF and SA (p < 0.001), respectively. VIA had low sensitivity for CIN2+ (44.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 36.9%-52.7%) and CIN3+ (56.1%, 95% CI 43.3%-68.3%) in both countries, with specificity for ≤CIN1 of 78.7% (95% CI 76.0%-81.3%). HC2 had sensitivity of 88.8% (95% CI 82.9%-93.2%) for CIN2+ and 86.4% (95% CI 75.7%-93.6%) for CIN3+. Specificity for ≤CIN1 was 55.4% (95% CI 52.2%-58.6%), and screen positivity was 51.3%. Specificity was higher with a restricted genotype (HPV16/18/31/33/35/45/52/58) approach (73.5%, 95% CI 70.6%-76.2%), with lower screen positivity (33.7%), although there was lower sensitivity for CIN3+ (77.3%, 95% CI 65.3%-86.7%). In BF, HC2 was more sensitive for CIN2+/CIN3+ compared to VIA/VILI (relative sensitivity for CIN2+ = 1.72, 95% CI 1.28-2.32; CIN3+: 1.18, 95% CI 0.94-1.49). Triage of HC2-positive women with VIA/VILI reduced the number of colposcopy referrals, but with loss in sensitivity for CIN2+ (58.1%) but not for CIN3+ (84.6%). In SA, cytology high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or greater (HSIL+) had best combination of sensitivity (CIN2+: 70.1%, 95% CI 61.3%-77.9%; CIN3+: 80.8%, 95% CI 67.5%-90.4%) and specificity (81.6%, 95% CI 77.6%-85.1%). HC2 had similar sensitivity for CIN3+ (83.0%, 95% CI 70.2%-91.9%) but lower specificity compared to HSIL+ (42.7%, 95% CI 38.4%-47.1%; relative specificity = 0.57, 95% CI 0.52-0.63), resulting in almost twice as many referrals. Compared to HC2, triage of HC2-positive women with HSIL+ resulted in a 40% reduction in colposcopy referrals but was associated with some loss in sensitivity. CIN2+ incidence over a median 16 months was highest among VIA baseline screen-negative women (2.2%, 95% CI 1.3%-3.7%) and women who were baseline double-negative with HC2 and VIA (2.1%, 95% CI 1.3%-3.5%) and lowest among HC2 baseline screen-negative women (0.5%, 95% CI 0.1%-1.8%). Limitations of our study are that WLHIV included in the study may not reflect a contemporary cohort of WLHIV initiating ART in the universal ART era and that we did not evaluate HPV tests available in study settings today. Conclusions: In this cohort study among WLHIV in Africa, a human papillomavirus (HPV) test targeting 14 high-risk (HR) types had higher sensitivity to detect CIN2+ compared to visual inspection but had low specificity, although a restricted genotype approach targeting 8 HR types decreased the number of unnecessary colposcopy referrals. Cytology HSIL+ had optimal performance for CIN2+/CIN3+ detection in SA. Triage of HPV-positive women with HSIL+ maintained high specificity but with some loss in sensitivity compared to HC2 alone