Technical note: Capturing shape-Linear measurements and geometric morphometrics of the immature femora.

OBJECTIVES: Growth and developmental studies have been a prominent theme in bioarchaeology. These works traditionally focus on metric measurements of long bone length and age-at-death or cross-sectional geometric studies with the use of computed tomography scans for questions on growth and mobility. However, teasing apart aspects of size and shape have been difficult due to the cylindrical nature of immature long bones. This research investigates the methodological use of surface geometries from linear measurements and geometric morphometric methods (GMM) to answer questions on mobility and allometry during childhood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Left femora were selected from 42 individuals ranging from fetal to 12 years of age from medieval St Gregory's Priory, Canterbury, UK. Femora were digitized with structured-light-scanning for auto3dgm analysis and measurements were obtained from physical caliper measurements. Individuals were put into age groups based on biomechanical milestones during this age range. RESULTS: Ratio and GMM confirm hypotheses of allometry and biomechanical milestones. Geometric morphometrics, however, detects more subtle differences in mobility at each age group. DISCUSSION: The findings of this preliminary study support the potential use of GMM of immature femora, while indicating that the extent in range of mobility that can occur varies at different biological milestones.

A Nurse Shadowing Program for Physicians: Bridging the Gap in Understanding Nursing Roles.

OBJECTIVE: A physician-nurse shadow program was established to improve interdisciplinary collaboration. BACKGROUND: Ineffective communication between physicians and nurses leads to poor outcomes in patient satisfaction, safety, and associate engagement. Physician unfamiliarity of the nursing process is identified as a root cause. METHODS: First-year resident physicians shadowed nurses for a 4-hour shift. Residents did not function as a physician during the shadowing experience but participated in nursing workflow and tasks. Participants completed a Likert-scale rating and qualitative survey before and after the shift. RESULTS: The survey measured confidence in communication and perception of workflow. Confidence levels increased in all areas by 29% for residents and 34% for nurses. Data demonstrated improved physician understanding of nursing workflow and inspired recommendations to enhance communication. CONCLUSIONS: First-year resident physicians practiced direct communication skills and experienced hands-on nursing care during the shadow program. The initiative provided an environment for mutual learning and interdisciplinary relationship-building.

A simple microscopy assay to teach the processes of phagocytosis and exocytosis.

Phagocytosis and exocytosis are two cellular processes involving membrane dynamics. While it is easy to understand the purpose of these processes, it can be extremely difficult for students to comprehend the actual mechanisms. As membrane dynamics play a significant role in many cellular processes ranging from cell signaling to cell division to organelle renewal and maintenance, we felt that we needed to do a better job of teaching these types of processes. Thus, we developed a classroom-based protocol to simultaneously study phagocytosis and exocytosis in Tetrahymena pyriformis. In this paper, we present our results demonstrating that our undergraduate classroom experiment delivers results comparable with those acquired in a professional research laboratory. In addition, students performing the experiment do learn the mechanisms of phagocytosis and exocytosis. Finally, we demonstrate a mathematical exercise to help the students apply their data to the cell. Ultimately, this assay sets the stage for future inquiry-based experiments, in which the students develop their own experimental questions and delve deeper into the mechanisms of phagocytosis and exocytosis.

Neighborhood characteristics and mental health among African Americans and whites living in a racially integrated urban community.

Aspects of the environment in which one lives are increasingly being recognized as major contributors to health, yet few empirical studies have focused on mental health. Therefore, we sought to determine if neighborhood characteristics were associated with mental health outcomes among 1408 African-American (59.3%) and white (40.7%) adults living in a socio-economically homogeneous, racially integrated, urban community in Baltimore, MD. Among African Americans and whites, the perception of severe problems in the community was associated with higher levels of stress (approximately 1.8 units higher), anxiety (approximately 1.8 units higher), and depression (OR= approximately 2.0) compared to those who perceived no or few problems (all p<0.05). Community cohesion, the perception that people generally work together, was associated with better mental health among whites only. These findings give further insight into the complex environment of inner-city communities.

A multidonor ELISPOT study of IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha release by cryopreserved human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Utilization of cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), rather than fresh ones collected from the same donor on different dates, overcomes the variability in sensitivity of these cells to activation agents. To understand the effect of cryopreservation, frozen PBMCs from eight healthy donors were studied to release T(H)1 or T(H)2 cytokines including IL- 1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma using ELISPOT assay. The number of spot-forming cells (SFC) was determined using three concentrations of PBMCs (5 x 10(6), 5 x 10(5) and 5 x 10(4) cells/ml). PBMCs from all eight donors were found to retain their functional capacity to release T(H)1 or T(H)2 cytokines after freezing and thawing. When PBMCs were taken in concentrations 5 x 10(6) or 5 x 10(5) cells/ml, the density of IL-1 beta-, IL-2-, IL-6- and TNF-alpha-related spots in a well for most of the donors appeared to be overly high, making SFC quantification either difficult or impossible. To the contrary, PBMCs in concentration 5 x 10(4) produced distinct and quantifiable spots. The density of spots related to IL-4 and IL-13 release appeared to be optimal for SFC quantification when PBMCs were taken in concentration 5 x 10(6) whereas in 5 x 10(5) cells/ml the spot density was very low and absent in 5 x 10(4) cells/ml concentration group. No relationship between release levels of different cytokines was found, except IFN-gamma and IL-2 cytokine indicating that cryopreserved PBMCs with a high IFN-gamma response will likely have a high IL-2 response as well. Our results indicate that a release level of one cytokine may not be reliably predicted by knowing the level of the other. This implies that it is necessary to test cryopreserved PBMCs in a broad range of concentrations to determine one, which will be optimal for producing distinct and quantifiable spots.