Circadian and Metabolic Effects of Light: Implications in Weight Homeostasis and Health

Daily interactions between the hypothalamic circadian clock at the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and peripheral circadian oscillators regulate physiology and metabolism to set temporal variations in homeostatic regulation. Phase coherence of these circadian oscillators is achieved by the entrainment of the SCN to the environmental 24-h light:dark (LD) cycle, coupled through downstream neural, neuroendocrine, and autonomic outputs. The SCN coordinate activity and feeding rhythms, thus setting the timing of food intake, energy expenditure, thermogenesis, and active and basal metabolism. In this work, we will discuss evidences exploring the impact of different photic entrainment conditions on energy metabolism. The steady-state interaction between the LD cycle and the SCN is essential for health and wellbeing, as its chronic misalignment disrupts the circadian organization at different levels. For instance, in nocturnal rodents, non-24 h protocols (i.e., LD cycles of different durations, or chronic jet-lag simulations) might generate forced desynchronization of oscillators from the behavioral to the metabolic level. Even seemingly subtle photic manipulations, as the exposure to a "dim light" scotophase, might lead to similar alterations. The daily amount of light integrated by the clock (i.e., the photophase duration) strongly regulates energy metabolism in photoperiodic species. Removing LD cycles under either constant light or darkness, which are routine protocols in chronobiology, can also affect metabolism, and the same happens with disrupted LD cycles (like shiftwork of jetlag) and artificial light at night in humans. A profound knowledge of the photic and metabolic inputs to the clock, as well as its endocrine and autonomic outputs to peripheral oscillators driving energy metabolism, will help us to understand and alleviate circadian health alterations including cardiometabolic diseases, diabetes, and obesity.Fil: Plano, Santiago Andrés. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Casiraghi, Leandro Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Moro, Paula. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Paladino, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Golombek, Diego Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chiesa, Juan José. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Identifying and Enhancing Key Competencies for Emergency Nursing in Rural Alaska: A Quality Improvement Project

Identifying and Enhancing Key Competencies for Emergency Nursing in Rural Alaska: A Quality Improvement Project Denise Plano University of New Hampshire Faculty Mentor: Cathleen Colleran, DNP Practice Mentor: Lynn Van Vactor, RN CPHQ Content Expert: Marianne Murray, DNP Date of Submission: April 19, 2022 Abstract BACKGROUND: Rural nurses practice in challenging environments that include remote villages and towns. They are faced with providing emergency care to patients without the resources that are available at larger tertiary hospitals. Low volume and high-risk scenarios challenge the nurse\u27s ability to maintain competencies and respond to emergent patient needs. Identifying the most critical competencies to maintain and evaluating rural nurses\u27 perception of those competencies is the purpose of the project. The setting for identifying and educating rural emergency nurses is in the state of Alaska, where access to healthcare is further encumbered by topography and vast expanses of ice fields, mountains, and inclement weather. If life flight services is unable to fly due to weather restrictions, it is up to the rural nurse to stabilize and provide a higher level of care with less resources. METHODS: Expert emergency nurses (RNs) with 5 years or more experience working in a tertiary hospital in Alaska were surveyed to understand what they believed the top competencies are for rural emergency nurses. They rated 12 Rural Nurse Organization (RNO) context-based competencies and 12 National Emergency Nursing Association (NENA) skills-based competencies and narrowed them to the top 6. From this information, a gap analysis was prepared and sent to Critical Access Hospital (CAH) nurses and nurses practicing in standalone rural clinics. These rural emergency nurses scored their perception of competency in these areas on a 5-point Likert scale. Additionally, the nurses were asked to score their perception of competency regarding critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment. INTERVENTIONS: Several educational interventions were designed based on the gap analysis outcomes. The first educational intervention is a system learning platform module that will allow all hospitals in Alaska to address competencies related to the uniqueness of rural practice and the integration of critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment. Further, a statewide initiative in partnership with the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association and Providence Alaska Medical Center will provide additional venue options to continue with competency training to address the findings from the gap analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Rural nursing practice and competencies are unique. The rural emergency nurse must understand how the complexities of the rural healthcare setting impacts the ability to perform in an emergency setting. Clinical judgment is essential and supports the rural nurse in attaining and maintaining competency. Keywords: Rural Nursing, Emergency Nursing, Competencies, Clinical Judgemen

Spaceport Command and Control System Automation Testing

The goal of automated testing is to create and maintain a cohesive infrastructure of robust tests that could be run independently on a software package in its entirety. To that end, the Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) project at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has brought in a large group of interns to work side-by-side with full time employees to do just this work. Thus, our job is to implement the tests that will put SCCS through its paces

Reconstructions of diamond (100) and (111) surfaces: Accuracy of the Brenner potential

We present a detailed comparison of the structural predictions of the effective many-body Brenner potential with those of ab-initio studies for known reconstructions of diamond (100) and (111) surfaces. These results suggest high reliability of the Brenner potential for dealing with carbon-based structures where different types of bonding are present at the same time.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, conference paper to appear in Physica Status Solidi (a), we give a support of our recent predictions for diamond(111), [see Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Comm.), in press, cond-mat/0001397 and http://www.sci.kun.nl/tvs/carbon/meta.html

The use of mixed methods to advance positive psychology: A methodological review

A call for diverse research approaches in positive psychology by the International Positive Psychology Association (2015) and the Journal of Positive Psychology (2017) challenged psychology researchers to consider methodology outside traditional quantitative methods. The purpose of this methodological review was to examine the use of mixed methods approaches in empirical studies in positive psychology. The review identified 56 positive psychology articles published between 2010 and 2019 that used a mixed methods approach. To our knowledge, this is the first review of mixed methods methodology in the field of positive psychology. The small number of published articles in that period indicate mixed methods is either not currently a widely used methodology in the field or it is being used without identifying terminology. Those studies using mixed methods often used positive psychology to inform an intervention in the quantitative strand and gathered interviews within the qualitative strand. Opportunities for growth for positive psychology researchers include interpreting data in mixed methods style and strengthening the identification of key features of the approach in the text

Psychological adaptation to extreme environments: Antarctica as a space analogue

Space analogues are settings where particular conditions can be reproduced to study physiological and psychological variables experienced in space. Antarctica is one of the most reliable analogues to assess the effects of isolation, confinement, light-dark cycle and extreme environmental conditions in human being. In the present review we describe some of the aspects of psychological adaptation to extreme latitudes. Most of the studies found some evidence about changes in emotional states during Antarctica expeditions. However, these changes are highly variable, and beneficial as well as detrimental aspects of adaptation have been described. Adaptation to extreme environments is a complex phenomenon that needs multidimensional studies to be fully understood, comprising aspects such as seasonality, psychological traits, isolation conditions and social interactions.Fil: Tortello, Camila. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Barbarito, Marta. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Interno y Culto. Dirección Nacional del Antártico. Instituto Antártico Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Cuiuli, Juan Manuel. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Interno y Culto. Dirección Nacional del Antártico. Instituto Antártico Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Golombek, Diego Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vigo, Daniel Eduardo. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Plano, Santiago Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Argentin