Faculty Development Program Models to Advance Teaching and Learning Within Health Science Programs

Within health science programs there has been a call for more faculty development, particularly for teaching and learning. The primary objectives of this review were to describe the current landscape for faculty development programs for teaching and learning and make recommendations for the implementation of new faculty development programs. A thorough search of the pertinent health science databases was conducted, including the Education Resource Information Center (ERIC), MEDLINE, and EMBASE, and faculty development books and relevant information found were reviewed in order to provide recommendations for best practices. Faculty development for teaching and learning comes in a variety of forms, from individuals charged to initiate activities to committees and centers. Faculty development has been effective in improving faculty perceptions on the value of teaching, increasing motivation and enthusiasm for teaching, increasing knowledge and behaviors, and disseminating skills. Several models exist that can be implemented to support faculty teaching development. Institutions need to make informed decisions about which plan could be most successfully implemented in their college or school.     

The effect of low volume sprint interval training in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objectives: Exercise is an important part of disease management in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but adherence to current exercise recommendations is poor. Novel low-volume sprint interval training (SIT) protocols with total training time commitments of ≤30 min per week have been shown to improve cardiometabolic risk and functional capacity in healthy sedentary participants, but the efficacy of such protocols in the management of NAFLD remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a low-volume SIT protocol can be used to improve liver function, insulin resistance, body composition, physical fitness, cognitive function and general well-being in patients with NAFLD.

Methods: In the present study, 7 men and 2 women with NAFLD (age: 45 ± 8 y, BMI: 28.7 ± 4.1 kg·m^?2) completed a 6-week control period followed by 6 weeks of twice-weekly SIT sessions (5–10 × 6-s ‘all-out’ cycle sprints). Body composition, blood pressure, liver function, metabolic function, functional capacity, cognitive function and quality of life were assessed at baseline, following the control period, and following the SIT intervention.

Results: Walking speed during the walk test (+12%), estimated V?O₂max (+8%), verbal fluency (+44%), and blood platelet count (+12%; all p < 0.05) significantly increased during the control period. These measures remained significantly raised compared to baseline following the SIT intervention, but did not significantly change any further compared to the post-control time-point. Diastolic blood pressure decreased from 87 ± 10 to 77 ± 8 mm Hg from the end of the control period to the end of the SIT intervention (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study does not support the use of 6 weeks of a low volume SIT protocol involving twice-weekly sessions with 5–10 × 6-s ‘all-out’ cycle sprints as an intervention for NAFLD disease management.     

Therapist Self-Report of Fidelity to Core Elements of Family Therapy for Adolescent Behavior Problems: Psychometrics of a Pragmatic Quality Indicator Tool

Therapist-report measures of evidence-based interventions have enormous potential utility as quality indicators in routine care; yet, few such tools have shown strong psychometric properties. This study describes reliability and validity characteristics of a therapist-report measure of family therapy techniques for treating adolescent conduct and substance use problems: Inventory of Therapy Techniques for Core Elements of Family Therapy (ITT-CEFT). Study participants included 31 staff therapists treating 68 adolescent clients in eight community-based mental health and substance use clinics. Therapists submitted ITT-CEFT checklists and companion audio recordings for 189 sessions. The ITT-CEFT contains 13 techniques identified as core elements of three manualized family therapy models that are empirically supported for the target group. Therapists also reported on their use of three motivational interventions, and independent observers coded the submitted recordings. ITT-CEFT factor validity was shown via confirmatory factor analyses of the tool’s theoretical structure. Derived modules were: Family Engagement (four items; Cronbach’s α?=?.72); Relational Orientation (five items; α?=?.74); and Interactional Change (four items; α?=?.66). Concurrent validity analyses showed fair-to-excellent therapist reliability compared to observer ratings (ICCs range .64–.75); they showed moderate therapist accuracy compared to observer mean scores, reflecting a tendency to overestimate delivery of the techniques. Discriminant validity analyses showed tool differentiation from motivational interventions. Results offer provisional evidence for the feasibility of using the therapist-report ITT-CEFT to anchor quality procedures for family therapy interventions in real-world settings.

Trial Registration: The parent clinical trial is registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03342872 (registration date: 11.10.17).

     

Interleukin-10 promoter polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis and Felty's syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether promoter polymorphisms associated with variation in interleukin-10 (IL-10) production are relevant to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or Felty's syndrome (FS). METHODS: DNA was obtained from 44 FS patients, 117 RA patients and 295 controls. The promoter region between -533 and - 1120 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and polymorphisms detected by restriction enzyme digest or sequence-specific oligonucleotide probing. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in allele or haplotype frequencies between the groups. CONCLUSION: There is no association between FS or RA and these recently identified IL-10 promoter polymorphisms. Other genetic or environmental factors could explain the alterations in IL-10 levels seen in these conditions.      

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty after intracoronary streptokinase in evolving acute myocardial infarction

To achieve optimal myocardial revascularization and prevent rethrombosis of the infarct-related coronary artery, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was attempted in 18 patients with evolving acute myocardial infarction (9 anterior and 9 inferior) after administration of intracoronary streptokinase. PTCA was attempted 338 +/- 151 minutes after the onset of symptoms. After thrombolytic therapy, 11 patients had a severe residual stenosis and 7 a persistent total occlusion of the infarct-related coronary artery. PTCA was successful in 13 of 18 patients: in 9 of 11 with coronary stenoses and in 4 of 7 with total coronary occlusions. PTCA reduced the severity of the coronary lesion from 91 +/- 2% to 27 +/- 7% (p less than 0.001), and the transstenotic pressure gradient from 38 +/- 5 to 6 +/- 2 mm Hg (p less than 0.01). One patient in cardiogenic shock died during urgent coronary surgery after unsuccessful PTCA. After PTCA, all patients received heparin and antiplatelet agents. One patient had reinfarction with reocclusion of the infarct-related artery 5 days after PTCA. The other 12 patients had an uneventful hospital course, and cardiac catheterization before hospital discharge (8 to 17 days) revealed reocclusion of the infarct-related coronary artery in 3 and persistent patency in 9. Persistent patency of the infarct-related artery was associated with preservation of left ventricular end-diastolic volume (initial 86 +/- 6 ml/m2, follow-up 91 +/- 6 ml/m2), and improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction in some patients.     

Relative impact of smoking and reduced pulmonary function on peptic ulcer risk. A prospective study of Japanese men in Hawaii

The aim of this study was to determine whether reduced pulmonary function is an independent risk factor for peptic ulcer. Among 5933 Japanese men studied in Hawaii, 243 developed gastric ulcers and 99 developed duodenal ulcers 20 yr after an examination completed in 1968. The examination included measurement of forced expiratory volume in 1 s and a detailed smoking history. The percent predicted forced expiratory volume was significantly and inversely related to ulcer incidence, but not after adjustment for smoking or among those who had never smoked. Cigarettes were associated with increased ulcer risk in both stomach and duodenum but showed a dose-response in pack years only for gastric ulcer. We conclude that the association of reduced pulmonary function with peptic ulcer in the Japanese in Hawaii is largely attributable to smoking and that smoking is more strongly related to gastric than duodenal ulcer. The especially strong link between cigarettes and gastric ulcer suggests that decreased smoking or synchronous decrease in cigarette tar content may have contributed to the recent unexplained decrease in male gastric ulcer.     

Purging of acute myeloid leukemic cells by ether lipids and hyperthermia

Ether lipids (EL) and hyperthermia have been shown to possess a relatively selective cytotoxicity to leukemic cells. In this study, the combined effects of EL (ET-18-OCH3, ET-16-NHCOCH3, or BM 41.440) and hyperthermia on the growth of hematopoietic progenitors, myeloid leukemic cell lines, and leukemic cells obtained from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were examined to determine if this combination resulted in a greater selective killing of leukemic cells than that achieved by either EL or heat alone. When the cells were treated simultaneously with EL (50 micrograms/mL) and hyperthermia (42 degrees C) for one hour, the killing of leukemic cell line cells was enhanced considerably. Among the three EL, however, the combination of ET-18-OCH3 and heat seemed to be the most cytotoxic to leukemic cell line cells with no effect on the growth of hematopoietic progenitors. An increase in the duration of treatment with ET-18-OCH3 to four hours with heat added during the last hour resulted in a further reduction of leukemic cell line cells while sparing 50% of hematopoietic progenitors after cryopreservation. The combined treatment with ET-18-OCH3 and heat also inhibited the growth of leukemic progenitors obtained from AML patients by 97% to 100%. These data indicate that the combined treatment with EL and hyperthermia might offer an efficient means to eliminate myeloid leukemic cells in vitro.