"There's no money in community dissemination": A mixed methods analysis of researcher dissemination-as-usual.

Background: The field of dissemination and implementation science has the potential to narrow the translational research-to-practice gap and improve the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) within community-based settings. Yet, foundational research related to dissemination efforts, such as understanding researcher attitudes, practices, and the determinants to sharing research findings, is lacking within extant literature. Methods: A sequential explanatory (QUANqual) mixed methods design was used to examine 85 academic researchers' perspectives and self-reported dissemination methods used to share research outcomes with community stakeholders to better understand researcher's usual dissemination practices (referred to as dissemination-as-usual). Quantitative surveys collected researcher demographic data, attitudes toward dissemination efforts, and dissemination strategy use. Results: Multiple linear regression examined predictors of the quantity of dissemination strategies utilized by researchers, finding that years since earning their degree, time spent disseminating, and the number of reasons for engaging in dissemination efforts predicted greater numbers of dissemination strategies utilized by researchers. Individual, semi-structured interviews with a subset of researchers (n = 18) expanded upon quantitative findings, identifying barriers and facilitators to their dissemination efforts. Data strands were integrated using a joint display, and the Dissemination of Research model guided data interpretation. More established researchers experienced fewer barriers and more facilitators to support their use of a variety of dissemination strategies to share findings with community stakeholders. However, researchers reported needing specific training, institutional support, and/or dedicated time to plan and enact dissemination strategies. Conclusion: The necessary first step in research translation is the dissemination of research evidence, and understanding dissemination-as-usual can identify areas of need to advance translational science.

Sub-bandgap photoluminescence properties of multilayer h-BN-on-sapphire.

Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) materials have garnered increasing attention due to its ability of hosting intrinsic quantum point defects. This paper presents a photoluminescence (PL) mapping study related to sub-bandgap-level emission in bulk-like multilayer h-BN films. Spatial PL intensity distributions were carefully analyzed with 500 nm spatial resolution in terms of zero phonon line (ZPL) and phonon sideband (PSB) emission-peaks and their linewidths, thereby identifying the potential quantum point defects within the films. Two types of ZPL and PSB emissions were confirmed from the point defects located at the non-edge and edge of the films. Our statistical PL data from the non-edge- and edge-areas of the sample consistently reveal broad and narrow emissions, respectively. The measured optical properties of these defects and the associated ZPL peak shift and line broadening as a function of temperature between 77° and 300° K are qualitatively and quantitatively explained. Moreover, an enhancement of the photostable PL emission by at least a factor of ×3 is observed when our pristine h-BN was irradiated with a 532 nm laser.

The Podiatric Medical Profession: A Gender Comparison.

The number of women in podiatric medicine and surgery has increased steadily over the past 4 decades; however, there appears to be a large and continued gender gap with respect to representation in academic medicine and other positions of power. National and state level organizational data were obtained from multiple podiatry professional societies to evaluate the rate at which women achieved leadership roles within the podiatric profession over time. A secondary questionnaire was also developed and electronically mailed to 8684 doctors of podiatric medicine to help capture additional leadership information and to provide further insight into the trends observed. The response rate was 26% (2276/8684). Female representation in academia, research/publications, most leadership positions, and board certifications has increased over time, but at a slower rate than the number of women entering the profession. We observed a decreasing trend of females completing fellowships, speaking at national meetings, becoming residency directors, and receiving American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons- and American Podiatric Medical Association-sponsored grants/awards. Based on the survey results, female podiatric physicians were more likely to be single, have fewer children, spend more time in a clinical setting, be less satisfied with work, and experience higher work stress levels than their male colleagues. Of the female respondents, 73% described experiencing gender discrimination at some point in their career, and 42% reported experiencing sexual harassment, compared with only 6% and 5% of men, respectively. There continues to be a gender gap in leadership roles, which may be explained partially by work/life balance issues, gender discrimination, and other issues.

Opioid Crisis and Acute Pain Management After Foot and Ankle Surgery.

Opioid abuse has plagued the United States, with a resurgence since the early 2000s. Governmental agencies, pharmaceutical companies, patients, and physicians have all contributed to this crisis. Severe pain has been reported following foot and ankle surgery. There are current national guidelines for chronic opioid prescribing, but guidelines for acute pain have not been established. Prescribing fewer opioids, education on opioid risks, proper disposal of unused medication, and participating in prescription monitoring programs help reduce opioid abuse. Multimodal analgesia is paramount in managing pain while reducing opioid consumption after postoperative foot and ankle surgery.

Women in Podiatry and Medicine.

The role of female physicians has advanced among western medicine. Women now constitute a majority within medical schools, and the number of women in podiatric medicine and surgery has increased over the last 5 decades. Conversely, female physicians continue to face barriers to closing the gender gap. They have lower academic standings and fewer publications, receive less awards/grants, are underrepresented in leadership positions, have a lower incidence pursuing surgical specialties, and receive lower compensation. Women experience an increased rate of burnout, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment. Increasing awareness of the gender gap is vital to the enhancement of the medical community.

The development of the Older Person's Nurse Fellowship: Education concept to delivery.

BACKGROUND: Preparing the nursing workforce to meet the challenges of an ageing population is a priority for many countries. The development of an Older Person's Nurse Fellowship (OPNF) programme for senior clinical nurses is an important innovation. OBJECTIVES: This article describes the philosophical development, delivery and early evaluation of the OPNF. DESIGN: In 2014, Health Education England funded 24 senior clinical nurses to participate in the OPNF. The Fellowship was designed to build clinical leadership and innovation capability and develop a network of nurses to influence local and national strategy for older people's care. The Fellows selected were drawn from mental health (n=4), community/primary care (n=9) and acute care (n=11). The twelve month programme consisted of two Masters-level modules, delivered through study days and e-learning. The first cohort (n=12) commenced the course in November 2014 with a module designed to enhance clinical knowledge and skills. METHODS: Evaluation data were collected from the first cohort using anonymous surveys (n=11) and focus group interviews (n=9). Descriptive statistics are presented for the quantitative data and common themes are described in the qualitative data. RESULTS: The overall satisfaction with the clinical module was high with a median score of 18/20 (range 17-20). Topics such as comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty, pharmacology and cognitive assessment were regarded as highly relevant and most likely to result in a change to clinical practice. In the focus group interviews students discussed their learning experience in terms of: module specificity, peer-to-peer learning and using the OPNF as leverage for change. CONCLUSIONS: The OPNF is a timely innovation and a positive commitment to developing an academic pathway for senior nurses. It marks an important step in the future development of the older person's nursing workforce.

'This is a natural process': managing menstrual stigma in Nepal.

Menstrual stigma has been demonstrated in many societies. However, there is little research on menstrual attitudes in South Asia, despite religiously-based menstrual restrictions imposed on women. To understand menstrual stigma in this context, we conducted qualitative research with women in Nepal. Nepali Hinduism forbids menstruating women to enter a temple or kitchen, share a bed with a husband or touch a male relative. During menstruation, women are 'untouchable'. There has been virtually no research on how Nepali women make meaning of these practices. The current study employed focus groups and individual interviews to understand how some Nepali women experience menarche and menstrual stigma. We explored how women describe their experiences and the strategies they adopt to manage age-old stigma in a rapidly modernising society where they have multiple roles as workers, wives and mothers. Participants reported they experienced menarche with little preparation, which caused distress, and were subjected to ongoing stigmatisation as menstruating women. They described coping strategies to reduce the effects of this stigma. This study provides a unique perspective on coping with menstrual stigma in South Asia.

Lesbians in empirical psychological research: a new perspective for the twenty-first century?

Lesbians have been consistently ignored in empirical psychological research. The current research extends Lee and Crawford's ( 2007 ) comprehensive review, which used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyze the amount and kind of research on lesbians. Quantitative measures from 1975-2009 showed that the increase found in Lee and Crawford in 2001 has leveled off and the neglect of lesbians remains pronounced. Using cluster analysis of data derived from content analysis of abstracts published from 2003-2009, we identified six topic groups: Others' Attitudes, Sexual Orientation, Intimate Relationships, Coping and Coming Out, Lesbians' Problems, and Life in Heterosexual Society. In particular, transformative research was scarce and scattered across the identified clusters. Results are discussed in terms of what they reveal about the social construction of lesbianism in psychological research.

Sex trafficking in Nepal: a review of intervention and prevention programs.

Trafficking of girls and women for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a problem worldwide, particularly in South Asia. This review focuses on Nepal-to-India sex trafficking with an examination of current anti-trafficking intervention and prevention programs. The activities of both governmental agencies and nongovernment organizations are described and critically analyzed. Suggestions for evaluating and improving interventions, and thereby reducing the trafficking of girls and women, are discussed.

Optical performance of top-down fabricated InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diode arrays.

Vertically aligned InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diode (LED) arrays were created from planar LED structures using a new top-down fabrication technique consisting of a plasma etch followed by an anisotropic wet etch. The wet etch results in straight, smooth, well-faceted nanorods with controllable diameters and removes the plasma etch damage. 94% of the nanorod LEDs are dislocation-free and a reduced quantum confined Stark effect is observed due to reduced piezoelectric fields. Despite these advantages, the IQE of the nanorod LEDs measured by photoluminescence is comparable to the planar LED, perhaps due to inefficient thermal transport and enhanced nonradiative surface recombination.

Lipocalin-7 is a matricellular regulator of angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Matricellular proteins are extracellular regulators of cellular adhesion, signaling and performing a variety of physiological behaviors such as proliferation, migration and differentiation. Within vascular microenvironments, matricellular proteins exert both positive and negative regulatory cues to vascular endothelium. The relative balance of these matricellular cues is believed to be critical for vascular homeostasis, angiogenesis activation or angiogenesis resolution. However, our knowledge of matricellular proteins within vascular microenvironments and the mechanisms by which these proteins impact vascular function remain largely undefined. The matricellular protein lipocalin-7 (LCN7) is found throughout vascular microenvironments, and circumstantial evidence suggests that LCN7 may be an important regulator of angiogenesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that LCN7 may be an important regulator of vascular function. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of LCN7 overexpression, recombinant protein and gene knockdown in a series of in vitro and in vivo models of angiogenesis. We found that overexpression of LCN7 in MB114 and SVEC murine endothelial cell lines or administration of highly purified recombinant LCN7 protein increased endothelial cell invasion. Similarly, LCN7 increased angiogenic sprouting from quiescent endothelial cell monolayers and ex vivo aortic rings. Moreover, LCN7 increased endothelial cell sensitivity to TGF-ß but did not affect sensitivity to other pro-angiogenic growth factors including bFGF and VEGF. Finally, morpholino based knockdown of LCN7 in zebrafish embryos specifically inhibited angiogenic sprouting but did not affect vasculogenesis within injected embryos. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: No functional analysis has previously been performed to elucidate the function of LCN7 in vascular or other cellular processes. Collectively, our results show for the first time that LCN7 is an important pro-angiogenic matricellular protein of vascular microenvironments.

Integrated gender-based violence and HIV Risk reduction intervention for South African men: results of a quasi-experimental field trial.

South Africa is in the midst of one of the world's most devastating HIV/AIDS epidemics and there is a well-documented association between violence against women and HIV transmission. Interventions that target men and integrate HIV prevention with gender-based violence prevention may demonstrate synergistic effects. A quasi-experimental field intervention trial was conducted with two communities randomly assigned to receive either: (a) a five session integrated intervention designed to simultaneously reduce gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV risk behaviors (N = 242) or (b) a single 3-hour alcohol and HIV risk reduction session (N = 233). Men were followed for 1-, 3-, and 6-months post intervention with 90% retention. Results indicated that the GBV/HIV intervention reduced negative attitudes toward women in the short term and reduced violence against women in the longer term. Men in the GBV/HIV intervention also increased their talking with sex partners about condoms and were more likely to have been tested for HIV at the follow-ups. There were few differences between conditions on any HIV transmission risk reduction behavioral outcomes. Further research is needed to examine the potential synergistic effects of alcohol use, gender violence, and HIV prevention interventions.

Distractions, distractions: does instant messaging affect college students' performance on a concurrent reading comprehension task?

Instant messaging (IM) has become one of the most popular forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and is especially prevalent on college campuses. Previous research suggests that IM users often multitask while conversing online. To date, no one has yet examined the cognitive effect of concurrent IM use. Participants in the present study (N = 69) completed a reading comprehension task uninterrupted or while concurrently holding an IM conversation. Participants who IMed while performing the reading task took significantly longer to complete the task, indicating that concurrent IM use negatively affects efficiency. Concurrent IM use did not affect reading comprehension scores. Additional analyses revealed that the more time participants reported spending on IM, the lower their reading comprehension scores. Finally, we found that the more time participants reported spending on IM, the lower their self-reported GPA. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Choosing from a wider pool of talent.

Spotting the qualities needed in the nursing workforce is complex. Moves to more costly graduate pre-registration programmes make it important to identify predictors of good nurses and potential leaders of the profession. Recent reports of poor care confirm that selectors need to do better.

Sex trafficking in Nepal: survivor characteristics and long-term outcomes.

There has been little systematic research on therapy, rehabilitation, and social reintegration of women formerly trafficked into prostitution. This study examines characteristics and outcomes of Nepali sex trafficking survivors. Twenty case files of survivors rehabilitated in the shelter of an antitrafficking NGO were randomly selected. All individuals in the sample suffered somatic and behavioral sequelae. Three quarters of the survivors eventually returned to their villages to live. These results suggest that current rehabilitation and reintegration programs are producing positive results. However, there is need for more systematic diagnosis, record keeping, and outcome studies as well as education to reduce stigma and promote safe migration practices.

Gender attitudes, sexual power, HIV risk: a model for understanding HIV risk behavior of South African men.

The Gender Attitudes-Power-Risk (GAPR) model of HIV risk behavior was tested using survey data collected from among 309 men who were attending STI services in a primary health care clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. Results showed that negative attitudes towards women were significantly positively associated with a high level of HIV risk behavior, and that endorsement of traditional male roles was negatively associated with HIV risk behavior. Endorsement of traditional male gender roles was also inversely related to relationship control but positively to a high degree of decision-making dominance in one's relationship. Sexual relationship power did not significantly mediate the relationships between gender attitudes and HIV risk behavior. A better understanding of gender roles and ideologies in combination with one's power in sexual relationships as they relate to HIV risk behavior among men could better inform future HIV prevention interventions.

Optic nerve axon number in mouse is regulated by PAX2.

BACKGROUND: Papillorenal syndrome is an autosomal-dominant disease caused by mutations in the PAX2 transcription factor gene. Patients often exhibit congenital excavation of the optic nerve and a spectrum of congenital kidney abnormalities. Using a novel mouse model of this syndrome (C57BL/6J PAX2(A220G/+)), we investigated the effect of PAX2 haploinsufficiency on optic nerve axon number. Because PAX2 expression and retinal pigment epithelium pigmentation have a mutually exclusive relationship during development and because tyrosinase (Tyr) has been shown to modify the penetrance of other ocular development genes, we also investigated whether tyrosinase modified the mutant PAX2 phenotype. METHODS: C57BL/6J PAX2(A220G/+)Tyr(+/+) mice were crossed with mice of the same genetic background (C57BL/6J) that are homozygous for an effective null allele of tyrosinase (Tyr(c-2J/c-2J)) over two generations to create mice with four distinct genotypes: PAX2(A220G/+) Tyr(+/c-2J), PAX2(A220G/+) Tyr(c-2J/c-2J), PAX2(+/+) Tyr(c-2J/+), and PAX2(+/+)Tyr(c-2J/c-2J). Mouse optic nerves were examined clinically and histologically. Axon number was assessed in a masked fashion in optic nerves from mice of all four genotypes and compared with parental strains. RESULTS: Mice heterozygous for a PAX2 mutation show reduced optic nerve axon number compared with age-matched controls. Tyrosinase does not appear to modify this phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that PAX2 is important in determining axon number in mouse optic nerve. The developmental effects of tyrosinase and PAX2 mutation appear to act via different pathways.

Results of the veterinary enalapril trial to prove reduction in onset of heart failure in dogs chronically treated with enalapril alone for compensated, naturally occurring mitral valve insufficiency.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of long-term enalapril administration in delaying the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF). DESIGN: Placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter, randomized trial. ANIMALS: 124 dogs with compensated mitral valve regurgitation (MR). PROCEDURES: Dogs randomly assigned to receive enalapril or placebo were monitored for the primary endpoint of onset of CHF for < or = 58 months. Secondary endpoints included time from study entry to the combined endpoint of CHF-all-cause death; number of dogs free of CHF at 500, 1,000, and 1,500 days; and mean number of CHF-free days. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier estimates of the effect of enalapril on the primary endpoint did not reveal a significant treatment benefit. Chronic enalapril administration did have a significant benefit on the combined endpoint of CHF-all-cause death (benefit was 317 days [10.6 months]). Dogs receiving enalapril remained free of CHF for a significantly longer time than those receiving placebo and were significantly more likely to be free of CHF at day 500 and at study end. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Chronic enalapril treatment of dogs with naturally occurring, moderate to severe MR significantly delayed onset of CHF, compared with placebo, on the basis of number of CHF-free days, number of dogs free of CHF at days 500 and study end, and increased time to a combined secondary endpoint of CHF-all-cause death. Improvement in the primary endpoint, CHF-free survival, was not significant. Results suggest that enalapril modestly delays the onset of CHF in dogs with moderate to severe MR.