Engaging Novice Scholars with the Lure of Publication: Embedding Research, Writing and Analytical Skills into the Curriculum through an Electronic-Journal Project

This presentation showcases an electronic-journal project that embeds information literacy, analytical thinking, and writing into the first year nanoscience curriculum. The speaker will showcase a suite of pedagogical tools that provides first year, first semester students with a true-to-life experience of writing for publication. The central component of this project is da Vinci’s Notebook, an electronic, open-access, writing-in-the sciences journal developed at the University of Guelph that offers full journal functionality (e.g. document management, version control; double blind peer review). Custom-designed learning activities, assessment rubrics, and just-in-time skill development tutorials provide intentional support for student learning and the development of academic literacies such as information literacy, academic writing, and analytical thinking.Learning outcomes. At the end of this session participants will:1) recognize the potential of “Open Journal Systems (OJS)” as a pedagogical tool for improving scientific writing;2) be able to describe an approach to embedding information literacy, analytical thinking and writing into the curriculum that parallels the scholarly communication process;3) understand how to develop resources that will scaffold student learning and academic literacies development

Struggling first-year science students – who’s gonna fix them?

Research examining the first-year transition experience demonstrates that students struggle in finding a balance between academic, social and personal demands on their time (McInnis, 2001). This results in a misperception of the amount of work and time required to accomplish academic tasks (Watson et al., 2002). Most institutions attempt to ease this transition by offering a variety of academic and non-academic supplemental programs and services. When it comes to improving academic skills, another approach that is commonly used is to intentionally integrate these skills into the first-year curriculum. However, these efforts still occur during the period when students are struggling to adapt to their new social and physical environments, and to cope with the psychological and cognitive demands of higher education. Since there is limited time available in the university semester, a third approach to easing the first-year academic transition is to allow for more practice time between the introduction and the use of a particular academic skill. We will present our SPOT (Science Portal for Ontario Teachers) online module as an example of this third approach to facilitate the introduction of university-level academic skills within the high school curriculum. In this session, participants will identify key skill areas for development among first year students. This will provide the basis for the exploration of mechanisms through which university faculty and staff can work together with high school instructors to communicate the post-secondary academic skill expectations of students prior to their entering university. As a group, we will brainstorm “How can we introduce university-level academic skills into the high school setting?” and “Who is responsible?” McInnis, C. (2001). Researching the first year experience: Where to from here? Higher Education Research and Development, 20(2), 105-114. Watson, G., Johnson, G., & Billett, S. (2002). Ready or not? Results of an orientation week survey of education students. Paper presented at 6th Pacific Rim Conference on First Year in Higher Education, Christchurch NZ, July

Actionable, Pathogenic Incidental Findings in 1,000 Participants’ Exomes

The incorporation of genomics into medicine is stimulating interest on the return of incidental findings (IFs) from exome and genome sequencing. However, no large-scale study has yet estimated the number of expected actionable findings per individual; therefore, we classified actionable pathogenic single-nucleotide variants in 500 European- and 500 African-descent participants randomly selected from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Exome Sequencing Project. The 1,000 individuals were screened for variants in 114 genes selected by an expert panel for their association with medically actionable genetic conditions possibly undiagnosed in adults. Among the 1,000 participants, 585 instances of 239 unique variants were identified as disease causing in the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD). The primary literature supporting the variants’ pathogenicity was reviewed. Of the identified IFs, only 16 unique autosomal-dominant variants in 17 individuals were assessed to be pathogenic or likely pathogenic, and one participant had two pathogenic variants for an autosomal-recessive disease. Furthermore, one pathogenic and four likely pathogenic variants not listed as disease causing in HGMD were identified. These data can provide an estimate of the frequency (∼3.4% for European descent and ∼1.2% for African descent) of the high-penetrance actionable pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in adults. The 23 participants with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were disproportionately of European (17) versus African (6) descent. The process of classifying these variants underscores the need for a more comprehensive and diverse centralized resource to provide curated information on pathogenicity for clinical use to minimize health disparities in genomic medicine

Prediction of Late Disease Recurrence and Extended Adjuvant Letrozole Benefit by the HOXB13/IL17BR Biomarker

BackgroundBiomarkers to optimize extended adjuvant endocrine therapy for women with estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer are limited. The HOXB13/IL17BR (H/I) biomarker predicts recurrence risk in ER-positive, lymph node–negative breast cancer patients. H/I was evaluated in MA.17 trial for prognostic performance for late recurrence and treatment benefit from extended adjuvant letrozole.MethodsA prospective–retrospective, nested case-control design of 83 recurrences matched to 166 nonrecurrences from letrozole- and placebo-treated patients within MA.17 was conducted. Expression of H/I within primary tumors was determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction with a prespecified cutpoint. The predictive ability of H/I for ascertaining benefit from letrozole was determined using multivariable conditional logistic regression including standard clinicopathological factors as covariates. All statistical tests were two-sided.ResultsHigh H/I was statistically significantly associated with a decrease in late recurrence in patients receiving extended letrozole therapy (odds ratio [OR] = 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.16 to 0.75; P = .007). In an adjusted model with standard clinicopathological factors, high H/I remained statistically significantly associated with patient benefit from letrozole (OR = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.73; P = .006). Reduction in the absolute risk of recurrence at 5 years was 16.5% for patients with high H/I (P = .007). The interaction between H/I and letrozole treatment was statistically significant (P = .03).ConclusionsIn the absence of extended letrozole therapy, high H/I identifies a subgroup of ER-positive patients disease-free after 5 years of tamoxifen who are at risk for late recurrence. When extended endocrine therapy with letrozole is prescribed, high H/I predicts benefit from therapy and a decreased probability of late disease recurrence

A complex secretory program orchestrated by the inflammasome controls paracrine senescence

Oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) is crucial for tumour suppression. Senescent cells implement a complex pro-inflammatory response termed the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The SASP reinforces senescence, activates immune surveillance and paradoxically also has pro-tumorigenic properties. Here, we present evidence that the SASP can also induce paracrine senescence in normal cells both in culture and in human and mouse models of OIS in vivo. Coupling quantitative proteomics with small-molecule screens, we identified multiple SASP components mediating paracrine senescence, including TGF-β family ligands, VEGF, CCL2 and CCL20. Amongst them, TGF-β ligands play a major role by regulating p15INK4b and p21CIP1. Expression of the SASP is controlled by inflammasome-mediated IL-1 signalling. The inflammasome and IL-1 signalling are activated in senescent cells and IL-1α expression can reproduce SASP activation, resulting in senescence. Our results demonstrate that the SASP can cause paracrine senescence and impact on tumour suppression and senescence in vivo

Perceived Workplace Health Support Is Associated With Employee Productivity

Purpose. To examine the relationship between perceived workplace health support and employee productivity. Design. A quantitative cross-sectional study. Setting. Washington State agencies. Subjects. A total of 3528 employees from six state agencies were included in this analysis. Measures. Perceived workplace health support was assessed by two questions that queried respondents on how often they felt supported by the workplace for healthy living and physical activity. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire was used to measure health-related absenteeism and presenteeism in the past 7 days. Analysis. Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate the mean differences in productivity by levels of perceived health support. Results. Most participants were between 45 and 64 years of age and were predominantly non-Hispanic white. Presenteeism varied significantly by the level of perceived workplace health support, with those who felt least supported having higher presenteeism than those who felt most supported. The difference in presenteeism by perceived workplace support remained significant in models adjusting for sociodemographic and health characteristics (mean difference: 7.1% for support for healthy living, 95% confidence interval: 3.7%, 10.4%; 4.3% for support for physical activity, 95% confidence interval: 1.7%, 6.8%). Absenteeism was not associated with perceived workplace health support. Conclusion. Higher perceived workplace health support is independently associated with higher work productivity. Employers may see productivity benefit from wellness programs through improved perceptions of workplace health support

Decadal freshening of the Antarctic Bottom Water exported from the Weddell Sea

Recent decadal changes in Southern Hemisphere climate have driven strong responses from the cryosphere. Concurrently, there has been a marked freshening of the shelf and bottom waters across a wide sector of the Southern Ocean, hypothesised to be caused by accelerated glacial melt in response to a greater flux of warm waters from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current onto the shelves of West Antarctica. However, the circumpolar pattern of changes has been incomplete: no decadal freshening in the deep layers of the Atlantic sector had been observed. In this study, we document a significant freshening of the Antarctic Bottom Water exported from the Weddell Sea, which is the source for the abyssal layer of the Atlantic overturning circulation, and we trace its possible origin to atmospheric-forced changes in the ice shelves and sea ice on the eastern flank of the Antarctic Peninsula that include an anthropogenic component. These findings suggest that the expansive and relatively cool Weddell gyre does not insulate the bottom water formation regions in the Atlantic sector from the ongoing changes in climatic forcing over the Antarctic region