Encouraging Revegetation in Australia with a Groundwater Recharge Credit Scheme

This paper describes a comprehensive method to design, test and then implement a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) framework to combat the environmental consequences of extensive native vegetation clearance in Australia. Clearing of vegetation, primarily due to the expansion of farming areas, has often resulted in regional dryland and irrigation salinity. The market based approach adopted ? a groundwater recharge credit trading scheme ? was designed using empirical data from a social survey and experimental economics. The objective of the trial is to test the cost effectiveness of an incentive based recharge credit trade scheme designed to engage landholders in establishing and managing deep rooted pasture and woody perennials to reduce these adverse salinity impacts. The scheme, based on a voluntary ?cap and trade? approach, allows farmers to meet recharge obligations by land management actions or by trading credits. Assessment of the scheme so far suggests that an incentive for aggregate group outcome achievement included in the design may have motivated higher enrollment rates than would have otherwise resulted. A schedule has been developed relating land management practices and recharge credits. The audited performance based payment system, has provided increased motivation to manage for environmental outcomes compared to the previous policy.Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), market based instrument, cap and trade, salinity credit, revegetation, experimental economics

Reinforcing outpatient medical student learning using brief computer tutorials: the Patient-Teacher-Tutorial sequence

Background:At present, what students read after an outpatient encounter is largely left up to them. Our objective was to evaluate the education efficacy of a clinical education model in which the student moves through a sequence that includes immediately reinforcing their learning using a specifically designed computer tutorial. Methods: Prior to a 14-day Pediatric Emergency rotation, medical students completed pre-tests for two common pediatric topics: Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) and Fever Without Source (FWS). After encountering a patient with either FWS or a patient needing ORS, the student logged into a computer that randomly assigned them to either a) completing a relevant computer tutorial (e.g. FWS patient + FWS tutorial = "in sequence") or b) completing the non-relevant tutorial (e.g. FWS patient + ORS tutorial = "out of sequence"). At the end of their rotation, they were tested again on both topics. Our main outcome was post-test scores on a given tutorial topic, contrasted by whether done in- or out-of-sequence Results:Ninety-two students completed the study protocol with 41 in the 'in sequence' group. Pre-test scores did not differ significantly. Overall, doing a computer tutorial in sequence resulted in significantly greater post-test scores (z-score 1.1 (SD 0.70) in sequence vs. 0.52 (1.1) out-of-sequence; 95% CI for difference +0.16, +0.93). Students spent longer on the tutorials when they were done in sequence (12.1 min (SD 7.3) vs. 10.5 (6.5)) though the difference was not statistically significant (95% CI diff: -1.2 min, +4.5). Conclusion: Outpatient learning frameworks could be structured to take best advantage of the heightened learning potential created by patient encounters. We propose the Patient-Teacher-Tutorial sequence as a framework for organizing learning in outpatient clinical settings

The COVID-19 pandemic and youth in recent, historical perspective: more pressure, more precarity

Young people have faced some of the hardest social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns. Taking a critical Youth Studies perspective, we draw on research with nearly 1,000 16-to-30-year olds in North East England in order to rectify the 'structured absence’ of young people’s viewpoints in national media and political commentary about the pandemic. Our findings contradict narratives about young people as lockdown 'rule breakers’ and demonstrated the immediate pressures that they faced vis-à-vis family and social life, well-being, and education and employment. Going further than most recent COVID-19 research – and in disagreement with the notion of a so-called 'COVID generation’ - we locate these pressures of the moment within the already hostile social-economic conditions that existed for young people in the UK pre-COVID and a discussion of the pressures to come, particularly in terms of longer-term labour market conditions and outcomes. Amidst very rapidly changing political and economic circumstances in the UK, continuing precarity for young people seems to be one certainty. We conclude by identifying some important priorities for youth research

Lockdown, bottoms up? Changes in adolescent substance use across the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic notably altered adolescent substance use during the initial stage (Spring 2020) of the pandemic. The purpose of this longitudinal study is to examine trajectories of adolescent substance use across the pandemic and subsequent periods of stay-at-home orders and re-opening efforts. We further examined differences as a function of current high school student versus graduate status. Adolescents (n = 1068, 14–18 years, Mage = 16.95 years and 76.7% female at T1) completed 4 different self-report surveys, starting during the first stay-at-home order and ending approximately 14 months later. Negative binomial hurdle models predicted: (1) the likelihood of no substance use and (2) frequency of days of substance use. As hypothesized, results demonstrated significant increases in adolescents’ likelihood of alcohol use, binge drinking, and cannabis use once initial stay-at-home orders were lifted, yet few changes occurred as a result of a second stay-at-home order, with rates never lowering again to that of the first lockdown. Further, graduates (and particularly those who transitioned out of high school during the study) demonstrated a greater likelihood and frequency of substance use and were more stable in their trajectories across periods of stay-at-home orders than current high school students. Unexpectedly, however, there was a strong increase in current high school students’ likelihood of e-cigarette use and a significant linear increase in participants’ frequency of e-cigarette use over the study. Results suggest adolescent substance use, and in particular, e-cigarette use among current high school students, may be of increasing concern as the pandemic evolves

A Phase I study of an intravesically administered immunotoxin targeting EpCAM for the treatment of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer in BCGrefractory and BCG-intolerant patients

Mark Kowalski1, Joycelyn Entwistle2, Jeannick Cizeau2, Demi Niforos1, Shauna Loewen2, Wendy Chapman1, Glen C MacDonald21Viventia Biotechnologies Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada; 2Viventia Biotechnologies Inc., Winnipeg, MB, CanadaPurpose: A Phase I dose-escalation study was performed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the immunotoxin VB4-845 in patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) refractory to or intolerant of bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG). Secondary objectives included evaluation of the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and efficacy of VB4-845.Patients and methods: Sixty-four patients with Grade 2 or 3, stage Ta or T1 transitional cell carcinoma or in situ carcinoma, either refractory to or intolerant of BCG therapy, were enrolled. Treatment was administered in ascending dose cohorts ranging from 0.1 to 30.16 mg. After receiving weekly instillations of VB4-845 to the bladder via catheter for 6 consecutive weeks, patients were followed for 4–6 weeks post-therapy and assessed at week 12.Results: An MTD was not determined, as a dose-limiting toxicity was not identified over the dose range tested. VB4-845 therapy was safe and well tolerated with most adverse events reported as mild; as a result, no patients were removed from the study in response to toxicity. By the end of the study, the majority of patients had developed antibodies to the exotoxin portion of VB4-845. A complete response was achieved in 39% of patients at the 12-week time point.Conclusions: VB4-845 dosed on a weekly basis for 6 weeks was very well tolerated at all dose levels. Although an MTD was not determined at the doses administered, VB4-845 showed evidence of an antitumor effect that warrants further clinical investigation for the treatment of NMIBC in this patient population.Keywords: Pseudomonas exotoxin A, anti-EpCAM, fusion protein, targeted therap

Glycine transport inhibitors for the treatment of pain.

Opioids, local anesthetics, anticonvulsant drugs, antidepressants, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to provide pain relief but they do not provide adequate pain relief in a large proportion of chronic pain patients and are often associated with unacceptable side effects. Inhibitory glycinergic neurotransmission is impaired in chronic pain states, and this provides a novel target for drug development. Inhibitors of the glycine transporter 2 (GlyT2) enhance inhibitory neurotransmission and show particular promise for the treatment of neuropathic pain. N-arachidonyl-glycine (NAGly) is an endogenous lipid that inhibits glycine transport by GlyT2 and also shows potential as an analgesic, which may be further exploited in drug development. In this review we discuss the role of glycine neurotransmission in chronic pain and future prospects for the use of glycine transport inhibitors in the treatment of pain.NHMRC Grant: 104596

Effect of physical activity with family dog on gross motor skills of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Cerebral palsy is a permanent neurodevelopmental disorder that affects physical activity level as well as perception and cognition and is often accompanied by secondary disorders (Rosenbaum, 2006). In order to gain the most health benefits, research shows that meeting the physical activity requirements of strength and cardiorespiratory training should be combined with a focus on decreasing sedentary activity as well (Verschuren et al., 2014). As alternative therapies such as swimming and horseback riding can provide additional incentive for a child to follow a repetitive therapy routine, it is thought that therapy with a family dog could provide similar motivation (Bertoti, 1988). Since a child’s ability to perform normal activity affects their ability to socialize, a lifestyle with regular physical activity may increase overall quality of life for children with cerebral palsy (Neves dos Santos, 2013). The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effect of an exercise-based physical activity program with a family dog on gross motor skills of children with cerebral palsy