Tissue mechanics and fibrosis

AbstractMechanical forces are essential to the development and progression of fibrosis, and are likely to be as important as soluble factors. These forces regulate the phenotype and proliferation of myofibroblasts and other cells in damaged tissues, the activation of growth factors, the structure and mechanics of the matrix, and, potentially, tissue patterning. Better understanding of the variety and magnitude of forces, the characteristics of those forces in biological tissues, and their impact on fibrosis in multiple tissues is needed and may lead to identification of important new therapeutic targets. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Fibrosis: Translation of basic research to human disease

Settlement in the Diyala and Southern Mesopotamia: A Reassessment of Robert McCormick Adams' Sasanian and Early Islamic Ceramic 'Type Fossils'

Robert McCormick Adams', considered to be a pioneer in Near Eastern archaeology, has been extremely influential in his surveys and hypotheses concerning the settlement, population and agricultural patterns of Mesopotamia. It is the aim of this discussion to examine his views concerning the Sasanian and Early Islamic periods by means of reassessing his correspondingly dated ceramic 'type fossils' (outlined in Adams' publication Land Behind Baghdad (1965)). More recent excavations in the area have suggested that some of these 'type fossils' should be dated later than originally considered. Therefore Adams' 'type fossils' and conclusions concerning the Mesopotamian region are in need of reviewing. What follows is a reassessment and examination of Adams' surveys and excavations in the Diyala (Land Behind Baghdad (1965)) and at the site of Tell Abu Sarifa (1970). By reassessing his dating for the 'type fossils' it has been possible to reclassify some of his archaeological phases. In applying the new dating to Adams' survey data from Land Behind Baghdad, it has also been feasible to critically review how the settlement and economy changed in the Sasanian and Early Islamic periods in the Diyala and Southern Mesopotamia. In this work, it has been concluded that some of Adams' 'type fossils' do need re-dating, the effects of which being that the dating of the site of Tell Abu Sarifa probably needs to shift by 100-150 years. In the application of this new dating to the settlement data collected by Adams in his surveys of the Diyala Plain, it is suggested that there was a massive boom in settlement in Early Islamic times. This therefore has implications for our current understanding of the history and development of that period, calling for a re-evaluation of how it is viewed

Medical student confidence to care for a dying patient and their family: a systematic review

Background: The General Medical Council expects medical graduates to care for dying patients with skill, clinical judgement and compassion. UK surveys continually demonstrate low confidence and increasing distress amongst junior doctors when providing care to the dying. Aim: This systematic review aims to determine what has been evidenced within worldwide literature regarding medical undergraduate confidence to care for dying patients. Design: A systematic electronic search was undertaken. Data extraction included measurements of baseline confidence, associated assessment tools, and details of applied educational interventions. Pre/post-intervention confidence comparisons were made. Factors influencing confidence levels were explored. The review was prospectively registered via PROSPERO (CRD42019119057). Data sources: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, ERIC, PsychINFO, British Education Index and Cochrane Review databases were accessed, with no restrictions on publication year. Eligible studies included the terms ‘medical student’, ‘confidence’, and ‘dying’, alongside appropriate MeSH headings. Study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: Fifteen eligible studies were included, demonstrating a diversity of assessment tools. Student confidence was low in provision of symptom management, family support, and psycho-spiritual support to dying patients. Eight interventional studies demonstrated increased post-interventional confidence. Lack of undergraduate exposure to dying patients and lack of structure within undergraduate palliative care curricula were cited as factors responsible for low confidence. Conclusion: This review clarifies the objective documentation of medical undergraduate confidence to care for the dying. Identifying where teaching fails to prepare graduates for realities in clinical practice will help inform future undergraduate palliative care curriculum planning

Effective communication to 4th graders about vector borne diseases

This summer I have worked on a vital research project that is important to overall public health. This project has also afforded me the opportunity to develop a lesson plan around this research to be used in an elementary classroom setting. The first part of this research experience has centered around studying how the general public learns best through classroom activities and exhibits. I have expanded my understanding of how people learn by reading several books, articles, and shadowing teachers educators here at NCAR. This preliminary research was important so that I can communicate effectively with 4th grade students. The second part of this research has focused on learning about the vector mosquito Aedes Aegypti and vector borne diseases like zika, yellow fever, and dengue through fieldwork. In addition, to the vector mosquito, this project also looked at the environments that it can survive in as well as the habitats that it chooses to live in. People should care for their health through prevention by learning about what contributes to such vectors and vector borne diseases. It is important that the public including children learn about the dangers of vector borne diseases to the public. After conducting fieldwork this project has now focused on strengthening my writing and speaking skills to be better prepared to inform the public with a focus on 4th grade learners. This research complied from fieldwork and in the classroom inspired the creation of a short book and activity about the vector mosquito Aedes Aegypti. In the end, I have been able to translate my research and fieldwork into the classroom where numerous people/students can learn about the vector and vector borne diseases

A human factors approach to analysing military command and control

This paper applies the Event Analysis for Systemic Teamwork (EAST) method to an example of military command and control. EAST offers a way to describe system level 'emergent properties' that arise from the complex interactions of system components (human and technical). These are described using an integrated methods approach and modelled using Task, Social and Knowledge networks. The current article is divided into three parts: a brief description of the military command and control context, a brief description of the EAST method, and a more in depth presentation of the analysis outcomes. Numerous findings emerge from the application of the method. These findings are compared with similar analyses undertaken in civilian domains, where Network Enabled Capability (NEC) is already in place. The emergent properties of the military scenario relate to the degree of system reconfigurability, systems level Situational Awareness (SA), team-working and the role of mediating technology. It is argued that the EAST method can be used to offer several interesting perspectives on designing and specifying NEC capability in military context

Attitudes Toward and Behavioral Intentions to Adopt Mobile Marketing: Comparisons of Gen Y in the United States, France And China

The rapid global diffusion of mobile marketing makes it increasingly important to understand cross-­‐cultural consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward mobile marketing as a promotional channel. By building on the previously published research of Altuna and Konuk (2009), this work investigates the attitudes and behavioral intentions toward mobile marketing of Generation Y consumers in the United States, France, and China. Based on this analysis, Chinese Gen Y have the most positive attitude toward mobile marketing, and their overall attitude is significantly more positive than the attitudes of French and American Gen Y groups. While American Gen Y\u27s behavioral intentions are more favorable, their intentions to adopt mobile marketing are not significantly different from the other two groups. For American and French Gen Y, although not for Chinese Gen Y, it appears that positive attitudes toward mobile marketing relate to positive behavioral intentions to adopt mobile marketing

A Multi-Method Study of the Role of Alexithymia and Emotion Self-Awareness in Couples’ Social Support

The overarching goal of the present study was to examine associations between measures of alexithymia (i.e., difficulty identify and describing one’s feelings) and perceptions of social support receipt and provision in a romantic context. The sample consisted of 69 heterosexual couples in long-term committed relationships. Both partners completed self-report and performance-based measures of alexithymia as well as self-report measures of received, provided and expected social support from their romantic partners. The self-report (TAS-20) and performance-based (CEAS) alexithymia measures were weakly correlated and did not demonstrate similar patterns in association with social support variables. TAS-20 scores were associated with self- and partner-reported received and provided supports, as well as self-reported satisfaction with support, but these associations were not replicated with the CEAS. Partners’ scores on the CEAS interacted to predict expected support in a given interaction such that individuals high in emotion self-awareness reported expecting less emotional support from partners who were low in emotion self-awareness than from partners high in emotion self-awareness. There was a similar trend for TAS-20 scores. Overall, the results suggest that the TAS-20 is better conceptualized as a measure of alexithymic self-schema rather than of skill deficits and that perceived deficits in emotional functioning are associated with perceptions of social support. The results also have implications for understanding the role of alexithymia in social support and suggest that it warrants attention in couples’ therapy focused on support related issues. Future research should examine how an alexithymic self-schema develops and investigate the role of motivation in emotion self-awareness

The Effect Of Diversity Mandates: The Case Of Mississippi Institutions Of Higher Learning

After more than 40 years since the University of Mississippi integrated its student body and the passage of civil rights and affirmative action legislation throughout the United States, universities are confronting the issue of developing not only a diverse student body, but also a diverse faculty, staff, and administration.  In the intervening years, much research has been conducted in the area of diversity within universities.  Past research focused on the attitudes towards diversity, necessity and benefits of diversity, and student initiatives to address these issues.  However, the vast majority of diversity research centers on human resources issues.  In 2006, Commissioner Tom Meredith of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) charged the Mississippi higher education institutions with increasing the diversity of faculty, staff, and students.  The purpose of this study is to investigate the diversity among these institutions and to determine the effect of the mandate by the IHL on the diversity of employees and students at these universities.  Data analysis includes a report of the current diversity status and analysis of change based on the mandate.  This study concludes with a discussion of the results, implications of these results, and directions for future research

TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM AND TEAM PERFORMANCE PAY: A MIXED METHODS STUDY

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of their professional behaviors when they worked in schools that awarded team performance pay. Teachers’ archival responses from two questionnaires were analyzed using mixed methods data analysis techniques (Year 1, n = 368; Year 2, n = 649). Most teachers had positive views of the team performance pay system. Lack of collaboration has been a criticism of some individual performance pay systems; however, teachers in this study believed that the team performance pay encouraged collaboration and attendance at staff development. Findings were interpreted using the framework of collective teacher efficacy. Additional studies are needed to explore the potential impact of various performance pay systems on professional behaviors of teachers

Are citizen juries and assemblies on climate change driving democratic climate policymaking? An exploration of two case studies in the UK

In light of increasing pressure to deliver climate action targets and the growing role of citizens in raising the importance of the issue, deliberative democratic processes (e.g. citizen juries and citizen assemblies) on climate change are increasingly being used to provide a voice to citizens in climate change decision-making. Through a comparative case study of two processes that ran in the UK in 2019 (the Leeds Climate Change Citizens’ Jury and the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change), this paper investigates how far citizen assemblies and juries are increasing citizen engagement on climate change and creating more citizen-centred climate policymaking. Interviews were conducted with policymakers, councillors, professional facilitators and others involved in running these processes to assess motivations for conducting these, their structure and the impact and influence they had. The findings suggest the impact of these processes is not uniform: they have an indirect impact on policy making by creating momentum around climate action and supporting the introduction of pre-planned or pre-existing policies rather than a direct impact by truly being citizen-centred policy making processes or conducive to new climate policy. We conclude with reflections on how these processes give elected representatives a public mandate on climate change, that they help to identify more nuanced and in-depth public opinions in a fair and informed way, yet it can be challenging to embed citizen juries and assemblies in wider democratic processes