Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Resource Pack On Curriculum Design And Assessment To Promote Effective Learning., Christine O'Connor

Other resources

This resource pack is an overview of current considerations for academics designing programmes for third level education. The changing demographic of third level students along with employers’ demands has resulted in programme development with a focus on skills basis (Hyslop-Margison, 2001) to support a knowledge based society. The rationale behind the changes in curriculum design is introduced and further focus is emphasised in the areas of curriculum design models, assessment models and evaluation models. Examples of innovative curricula and assessment models in third level chemistry education will be incorporated during the pack which may be applied across other disciplines.

Towards Measuring Continuous Acoustic Feature Convergence In Unconstrained Spoken Dialogues, Spyros Kousidis, David Dorran, Yi Wang, Brian Vaughan, Charlie Cullen, Dermot Campbell, Ciaran Mcdonnell, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

Acoustic/prosodic feature (a/p) convergence has been known to occur both in dialogues between humans, as well as in human-computer interactions. Understanding the form and function of convergence is desirable for developing next generation conversational agents, as this will help increase speech recognition performance and naturalness of synthesized speech. Currently, the underlying mechanisms by which continuous and bi-directional convergence occurs are not well understood. In this study, a direct comparison between time-aligned frames shows significant similarity in acoustic feature variation between the two speakers. The method described (TAMA) constitutes a first step towards a quantitative analysis of a/p convergence.

Evaluation Of In Vitro Virulence Characteristics Of The Genus Pandoraea In Lung Epithelial Cells, Emma M. Caraher, Jonathan Collins, Jonathan Collins,, Gillian Herbert, Philip G. Murphy Philip G. Murphy, Charles G. Gallagher, Mary J. Crowe, Máire Callaghan, Siobhan Mcclean

Articles

Pandoraea species are emerging opportunistic pathogens capable of causing chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. This study examined the interactions of 17 Pandoraea isolates from the five identified species (Pandoraea apista, Pandoraea norimbergensis, Pandoraea pulmonicula, Pandoraea sputorum and Pandoraea pnomenusa) plus two Pandoraea genomospecies isolates with lung epithelial cells and their ability to form biofilms in vitro. Only three isolates showed an ability to invade A549 lung epithelial cells, and only one isolate was able to form biofilms. In contrast, all isolates triggered a pronounced pro-inflammatory response, with elevation of both interleukin (IL)-6 (two- to 19-fold) and IL-8 (10- …

An Hsus Report: Human Health Implications Of Non-Therapeutic Antibiotic Use In Animal Agriculture, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

For decades, the U.S. meat industry has fed medically important antibiotics to chickens, pigs, and cattle to accelerate their weight gain and prevent disease in the stressful and unhygienic conditions that typify industrialized animal agriculture production facilities. A strong scientific consensus exists, asserting that this practice fosters antibiotic resistance in bacteria to the detriment of human health. In response to this public health threat, the European Union has banned the non-therapeutic feeding of a number of antibiotics of human importance to farm animals. Given these serious concerns as well as recent data that suggest an overall lack of financial benefit, …

An Hsus Report: Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

The high stocking density, stress, unhygienic conditions, lack of sunlight, and breeding practices typical of industrial poultry and egg production systems may facilitate the emergence and spread of diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with public health implications such as H5N1.

An Hsi Report: Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza, Humane Society International

HSI REPORTS

The high stocking density, stress, unhygienic conditions, lack of sunlight, and breeding practices typical of industrial poultry and egg production systems may facilitate the emergence and spread of diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with public health implications such as H5N1.

Amyloid Fibrils: Potential Food Safety Implications, Michael Greger

Human Health Collection

The demonstration of oral Amyloid-A (AA) fibril transmissibility has raised food safety questions about the consumption of amyloidotic viscera. In a presumed prion-like mechanism, amyloid fibrils have been shown to trigger and accelerate the development of AA amyloidosis in rodent models. The finding of amyloid fibrils in edible avian and mammalian food animal tissues, combined with the inability of cooking temperatures to eliminate their amyloidogenic potential, has led to concerns that products such as pâté de foie gras may activate a reactive systemic amyloidosis in susceptible consumers. Given the ability of amyloid fibrils to cross-seed the formation of chemically heterologous …

Non-Animal Methodologies Within Biomedical Research And Toxicity Testing, Andrew Knight

Experimentation Collection

Laboratory animal models are limited by scientific constraints on human applicability, and increasing regulatory restrictions, driven by social concerns. Reliance on laboratory animals also incurs marked – and in some cases, prohibitive – logistical challenges, within high-throughput chemical testing programmes, such as those currently underway within Europe and the US. However, a range of non-animal methodologies is available within biomedical research and toxicity testing. These include: mechanisms to enhance the sharing and assessment of existing data prior to conducting further studies, and physicochemical evaluation and computerised modelling, including the use of structure-activity relationships and expert systems. Minimally-sentient animals from lower …

Caring Minds, University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston School Of Nursing

Caring Minds

• DEAN’S MESSAGE
• CELEBRATING 35 YEARS
• AKERS SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT
• NANCY B. WILLERSON ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP
• PARTNERS LUNCHEON
• UT PARTNERS WITH ALDINE ISD
• THE FUTURE IS HERE
• RETIRED PHYSICIANS SHARE YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE
• CARING FOR BABIES
• RESEARCH STARS
• CENTER ON AGING VIDEOS/ALUMNI NEWS
• FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

What Is Rti And How Do I Fit In?, Sandra Laing Gillam

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Since 1977, most children with LD have been identified for services on the basis of an IQ-achievement discrepancy criterion. That is, children must be failing in one or two areas, significantly, even though they score well on an IQ measure in order to qualify for special education services. There are a number of problems with this practice, not the least of which being that many children with serious learning difficulties do not perform well on verbally loaded measures of IQ and do not qualify for comprehensive services designed for children who meet the discrepancy criteria. In addition, discrepancy criteria and …

Electroconvulsive Therapy : A Brief Overview, Adam A. Sauceda

Graduate Research Papers

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been increasing in popularity for treating various types of mental health disorders. Although a notably controversial medical procedure, ECT continues to be an option when intense therapy and psychopharmacology fails. This research project will review the recent literature on ECT and provide useful information specific to mental health professionals. A definition, administration procedures, effectiveness, side effects, and specific disorders that have been targeted and most and least receptive for ECT treatment will be the focus of attention

The Search, The Jackson Laboratory

Search Magazine

No abstract provided.

Amphetamine Selectively Enhances Avoidance Responding To A Less Salient Stimulus In Rats, Ming Li, Wei He, Rebecca Munro

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This preclinical study examined the psychological processes affected by amphetamine that contribute to human psychosis. Using a novel avoidance conditioning paradigm involving two conditioned stimuli (CS) with varied salience, we found that acute amphetamine (1.5 mg/ kg, i.p.) selectively enhanced avoidance responding to a less salient stimulus, but not to a salient one. These findings suggest that elevated dopaminergic activity selectively enhances the attributions of motivational salience to a less salient stimulus, a process that may bear relevance to the development of human delusional thoughts.

Signs For The Future Of Civil Justice Research, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The chapters in the present volume [Civil Juries and Civil Justice (New York: Springer, 2008)] provide a number of signs for the future of civil justice research. Many of the signs are favorable and point to continued fruitful collaborations between legal and psychological researchers on pressing topics in the justice arena with important policy implications; yet the contributions also highlight several gaps in the literature, data limitations, and false steps. In other words, some of the signs are not-so-favorable, and there is still much work to be done. In this concluding commentary, I identify the major portents for the …

Ecological Factors Associated With West Nile Virus Transmission, Northeastern United States, Heidi E. Brown, James E. Childs, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Durland Fish

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Since 1999, West Nile virus (WNV) disease has affected the northeastern United States. To describe the spatial epidemiology and identify risk factors for disease incidence, we analyzed 8 years (1999–2006) of county-based human WNV disease surveillance data. Among the 56.6 million residents in 8 northeastern states sharing primary enzootic vectors, we found 977 cases. We controlled for population density and potential bias from surveillance and spatial proximity. Analyses demonstrated significant spatial spreading from 1999 through 2004 (p2 = 0.16). A significant trend was apparent among increasingly urban counties; county quartiles with the least (0.75 cases/100,000 residents) than counties with the …

Myenteric Neurons Of The Ileum That Express Somatostatin Are A Target Of Prion Neuroinvasion In An Alimentary Model Of Sheep Scrapie, David A. Schneider, Huijun Yan, Lindsay M. Fry, Janet Alverson, Stephen N. White, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Neuroinvasion of the enteric nervous system by prions is an important step in dissemination to the brain, yet very little is known about the basic process of enteric neuroinvasion. Using an alimentary model of neonatal disease transmission, neuroinvasion by scrapie prions in the ileum of lambs was detected by immunohistochemical staining for the disease-associated form of the prion protein, PrP^Sc. Odds ratios (OR) were determined for the frequency of PrP^Sc staining within enteric somata categorized by plexus location (myenteric, submucosal) and neurochemical staining (PGP 9.5, neural nitric oxide synthase, somatostatin, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide). PrP …

Prion Gene (Prnp) Haplotype Variation In United States Goat Breeds, Stephen N. White, Lynn Herrmann-Hoesing, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Daniel Waldron, Joan Rowe, Janet Alverson

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Scrapie eradication efforts cost 18 million dollars annually in the United States and rely heavily upon PRNP genotyping of sheep. Genetic resistance might reduce goat scrapie and limit the risk of goats serving as a scrapie reservoir, so PRNP coding sequences were examined from 446 goats of 10 breeds, 8 of which had not been previously examined at PRNP. The 10 observed alleles were all related to one of two central haplotypes by a single amino acid substitution. At least five of these alleles (M142, R143, S146, H154, and K222) have been associated with increased incubation time or decreased …

A Species Barrier Limits Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease To Mink (Mustela Vison), Robert D. Harrington, Timothy V. Baszler, Katherine I. O'Rourke, David A. Schneider, Terry R. Spraker, H. Denny Liggitt, Donald P. Knowles

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) occurs as sporadic outbreaks associated with ingestion of feed presumably contaminated with some type of prion disease. Mink lack a species barrier to primary oral challenge with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, whereas they have a barrier to such challenge with scrapie. We investigated whether mink have a species barrier to chronic wasting disease (CWD) by performing primary intracerebral (IC) and primary oral challenge with CWD-positive elk brain. Primary IC challenge resulted in clinical disease in two of eight mink at 31–33 months incubation. Affected mink had spongiform vacuolation and astrocytosis within the central nervous system and immunoreactivity …

Scrapie Resistance In Arq Sheep, W. W. Laegreid, M. L. Clawson, M. P. Heaton, B. T. Green, Katherine I. O'Rourke, D. P. Knowles

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Variation in the ovine prion protein amino acid sequence influences scrapie progression, with sheep homozygous for A¹³⁶R¹⁵⁴Q¹⁷¹ considered susceptible. This study examined the association of survival time of scrapie-exposed ARQ sheep with variation elsewhere in the ovine prion gene. Four single nucleotide polymorphism alleles were associated with prolonged survival. One nonsynonymous allele (T112) was associated with an additional 687 days of survival for scrapie-exposed sheep compared to M112 sheep (odds ratio, 42.5; P = 0.00014). The only two sheep homozygous for T112 (TARQ) did not develop scrapie, suggesting that the allelic effect may be additive. …

A Collaborative Canadian–United Kingdom Evaluation Of An Immunohistochemistry Protocol To Diagnose Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Lisa Manning, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Donald P. Knowles, Sarah A. Marsh, Yvonne I. Spencer, Estella Moffat, Gerald A. H. Wells, Stefanie Czub

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Collaboration was established in 2001 to evaluate a commercially available immunohistochemistry assay kit for the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) disease–associated prion protein in formic acid–treated formalin-fixed samples of bovine brain. The kit protocol was evaluated at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases (Winnipeg, Canada) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (Weybridge, U.K.). The U.K. laboratory provided paraffin-embedded blocks of brainstem (medulla oblongata at the level of the obex) from 100 positive cases defined by clinical signs and histopathology, and 100 clinically suspect but BSE-negative samples defined by histopathology and immunohistochemistry with anti-PrP monoclonal antibody R145. The Canadian laboratory …

Experimental Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease (Cwd) Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), And Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus Hemionus) To White-Tailed Deer By Intracerebral Route, A. N. Hamir, J. A. Richt, J. M. Miller, R. A. Kunkle, S. M. Hall, E. M. Nicholson, Katherine I. O'Rourke, J. J. Greenlee, E. S. Williams

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

To compare clinical and pathologic findings of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a natural host, 3 groups (n = 5) of white-tailed deer (WTD) fawns were intracerebrally inoculated with a CWD prion of WTD, mule deer, or elk origin. Three other uninoculated fawns served as controls. Approximately 10 months postinoculation (MPI), 1 deer from each of the 3 inoculated groups was necropsied and their tissues were examined for lesions of spongiform encephalopathy (SE) and for the presence of abnormal prion protein (PrP^d) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot (WB). The remaining deer were allowed to live until …

Gap Junction Coupling And Calcium Waves In The Pancreatic Islet, Richard K.P. Benninger, Min Zhang, W. Steven Head, Leslie S. Satin, David W. Piston

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Abstract

The pancreatic islet is a highly coupled, multicellular system that exhibits complex spatiotemporal electrical activity in response to elevated glucose levels. The emergent properties of islets, which differ from those arising in isolated islet cells, are believed to arise in part by gap junctional coupling, but the mechanisms through which this coupling occurs are poorly understood. To uncover these mechanisms, we have used both high-speed imaging and theoretical modeling of the electrical activity in pancreatic islets under a reduction in the gap junction mediated electrical coupling. Utilizing islets from a gap junction protein connexin 36 knockout mouse model together …

Motivations And Reasons For Exercising In Water: Gender And Age Differences In A Sample Of Spanish Exercisers, Juan Antonio Moreno Murcia, Celestina Martínez Galindo, Pablo Marcos Pardo

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The purposes of this study were, on the one hand, to relate the reasons for exercising with self-determination and, on the other, to check gender and age differences with a sample of 311 exercisers in water. The data were collected using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire–2 and Motives for Physical Activities Measure–Revised. A positive and significant correlation was seen between self-determination and the reasons for exercise, with self-determination predicting 22% by enjoyment and 8% by fitness/health reasons. Similarly, the multivariate analysis showed that the women had more self-determination than the men and that they also rated fitness/health, social, enjoyment, …

Cost Of Medical Detoxification Among Drug And Alcohol Users In A Private Texas Hospital, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate the costs of medical detoxification among patients with alcohol and substance abuse disorders.

Design/methodology/approach – The study data was drawn from a medical detoxification program in a community hospital in Texas. Secondary data analysis of 1337 cases from three years was reviewed. Age, gender, race, alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, sedatives, opioids, financial classification, cost, length of stay (LOS) and cost by LOS were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U-test.

Findings – The sample comprised of 42.8 percent women and 57.2 percent males. The mean cost and cost by LOS …

To The Bitter End: Disparities In End-Of-Life Care, Alberto Coustasse, Theresa Quiroz, Sue G. Lurie

Management Faculty Research

Although technological advancements have provided the means to sustain life and provide care regardless of whether the treatment is appropriate and compassionate given the condition of the patient, bioethical, legal, and moral concerns related to disparities in care still arise in the United States. These concerns call into question the necessity to continue life-sustaining or palliative care treatments when patients and/or families are faced with end-of-life decisions. This study will focus on various historical, clinical cultural, and ethical issues that have placed this dilemma into a controversial public spectrum, by using case studies retrieved from referenced literature, which illustrate disparities …

Organizational Culture In A Terminally Ill Hospital, Alberto Coustasse, Douglas A. Mains, Kristine Lykens, Sue G. Lurie, Fernando Trevino

Management Faculty Research

This study analyzed an organizational culture in a community hospital in Texas to measure organizational culture change and its impact on Patient Satisfaction (PS). The study employed primary and secondary data, combining quantitative and qualitative methods for a case study. Participant observation was used and archival data were collected to provide a better understanding of the organizational culture and the context in which change was taking place. This study also applied a “Shared Vision” of the organization as the central process in bringing forth the knowledge shared by members of the community hospital who were both subjects and research participants. …

Hospital Costs And Clinical Characteristics Of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Patients: A Continuous Ethical Dilemma, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

This study describes the clinical characteristics and examines hospital costs involved in the care of 117 patients undergoing Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) between January 1999 and August 2002. The majority (70.9%) of the patients undergoing CRRT expired in the hospital. Statistically significant differences were found with respect to the length of stay for discharge status and gender; and with respect to costs for surgery versus no surgery and gender. Significant differences were also found between discharge status and gender, age, and cardiovascular surgery. The results of this study raise economic and ethical questions related to the cost/benefit of CRRT …

Case Studies In Medical Futility, Douglas A. Mains, Alberto Coustasse, Sue G. Lurie

Management Faculty Research

Technology has provided means to sustain life and provide care regardless of whether the treatment is appropriate and compassionate given the condition of the patient. This study presents two case histories, compiled from historical patient charts, staff notes and observations, that illustrate the variety of ethical issues involved and the role culture plays in the decision making process related to possible futile medical treatment. Ethical and cultural issues related to the cases are discussed and processes are presented that can help hospitals to avoid, or decrease the level of, medically futile care, and improve the cultural appropriateness of medical care …

Racial/Ethnic Differences In Exposure To Environmental Volatile Organic Compounds In The U.S. General Population: The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2000, Y. S. Lin, Alberto Coustasse, W. H. Ho, K. Singh, A. Arif

Management Faculty Research

Background: Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been associated with many health disorders. A better understanding of unequal health risk from exposure to environmental VOCs is critical to the elimination of health disparities.

Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate racial/ethnic differentials in exposure to airborne VOCs within a national sample of the U.S. population and assessed socio-demographic determinants that may contribute to these racial differences.

Methods: We used data from a stratified sample of 576 participants (aged 20–59 years) who provided personal air samples for VOC measurements in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) …

Suicidal Ideation And Problem Alcohol Use In Young Women: Findings From A Female Twin Sample, Carolyn E. Sartor, Michael T. Lynskey, Kathleen K. Bucholz, Andrew C. Heath

Posters

No abstract provided.