31 research outputs found
Intraprofessional Collaboration in Learning Evidence-Based Practice
Little is known about how collaborative curricular activities can help students learn about scientific evidence in occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) programs. We created and measured collaborative learning in evidence-based practice activities to enhance partnership building and intraprofessional collaboration among students in OT and OTA programs. Thirty-three OT students and 26 OTA students enrolled in a didactic course (Phase I) and an intraprofessional collaborative learning activity (Phase II) participated in this quasi-experimental repeated measure study. The studentsâ ability of how to read scholarly articles and their perceived importance and perceived ability to engage in intraprofessional collaboration were examined at three time points. Improvements were found in the OT studentsâ perceived importance of intraprofessional roles/responsibilities and the OTA studentsâ perceived ability to engage in intraprofessional communication after completing the Phase I didactic course. Both the OT and OTA studentsâ perceived ability to work as a team, identify their roles/responsibilities, communicate with peers, and their ability to read scholarly articles improved after the Phase II intraprofessional collaboration. Students valued the opportunity to gain collaboration experience and share different perspectives. They indicated they would have preferred to spend more time on the activities. The findings suggest that targeted learning activities can improve OT and OTA studentsâ ability to engage in evidence-based practice and their perceived importance and ability to engage in intraprofessional collaboration. Effective partnerships and intraprofessional collaboration are best introduced within academic programs
Reasons for continuing or discontinuing olanzapine in the treatment of schizophrenia from the perspectives of patients and clinicians
Reduction in renal ACE2 expression in subtotal nephrectomy in rats is ameliorated with ACE inhibition
Alterations within the RAS (reninâangiotensin system) are pivotal for the development of renal disease. ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) is expressed in the kidney and converts the vasoconstrictor AngII (angiotensin II) into Ang-(1â7), a peptide with vasodilatory and anti-fibrotic actions. Although the expression of ACE2 in the diabetic kidney has been well studied, little is known about its expression in non-diabetic renal disease. In the present study, we assessed ACE2 in rats with acute kidney injury induced by STNx (subtotal nephrectomy). STNx and Control rats received vehicle or ramipril (1 mg·kgâ1 of body weight·dayâ1), and renal ACE, ACE2 and mas receptor gene and protein expression were measured 10 days later. STNx rats were characterized by polyuria, proteinuria, hypertension and elevated plasma ACE2 activity (all P<0.01) and plasma Ang-(1â7) (P<0.05) compared with Control rats. There was increased cortical ACE binding and medullary mas receptor expression (P<0.05), but reduced cortical and medullary ACE2 activity in the remnant kidney (P<0.05 and P<0.001 respectively) compared with Control rats. In STNx rats, ramipril reduced blood pressure (P<0.01), polyuria (P<0.05) and plasma ACE2 (P<0.01), increased plasma Ang-(1â7) (P<0.001), and inhibited renal ACE (P<0.001). Ramipril increased both cortical and medullary ACE2 activity (P<0.01), but reduced medullary mas receptor expression (P<0.05). In conclusion, our results show that ACE2 activity is reduced in kidney injury and that ACE inhibition produced beneficial effects in association with increased renal ACE2 activity. As ACE2 both degrades AngII and generates the vasodilator Ang-(1â7), a decrease in renal ACE2 activity, as observed in the present study, has the potential to contribute to the progression of kidney disease
The potential role of appetite in predicting weight changes during treatment with olanzapine
Background
Clinically significant weight gain has been reported during treatment with atypical antipsychotics. It has been suggested that weight changes in patients treated with olanzapine may be associated with increased appetite.
Methods
Data were used from adult patients for whom both appetite and weight data were available from 4 prospective, 12- to 24-week clinical trials. Patients' appetites were assessed with Eating Behavior Assessment (EBA, Study 1), Platypus Appetite Rating Scale (PARS, Study 2), Eating Inventory (EI, Study 3), Food Craving Inventory (FCI, Study 3), and Eating Attitude Scale (EAS, Study 4).
Results
In Studies 1 (EBA) and 4 (EAS), patients who reported overall score increases on appetite scales, indicating an increase in appetite, experienced the greatest overall weight gains. However, in Studies 2 (PARS) and 3 (EI, FCI), patients who reported overall score increases on appetite scales did not experience greater weight changes than patients not reporting score increases. Early weight changes (2-4 weeks) were more positively correlated with overall weight changes than early or overall score changes on any utilized appetite assessment scale. No additional information was gained by adding early appetite change to early weight change in correlation to overall weight change.
Conclusions
Early weight changes may be a more useful predictor for long-term weight changes than early score changes on appetite assessment scales
The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning
This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb
Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period.
We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments,
and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch
expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of
achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the
board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases,
JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite
have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range
that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through
observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures;
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29
The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies,
expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling
for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least .
With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000
people realized that vision as the James Webb Space Telescope. A
generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of
the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the
scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000
team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image
quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief
history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing
program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite
detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space
Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure