Affective and Perceptual Responses During an 8-Week Resistance Training to Failure Intervention at Low vs. High Loads in Untrained Women.

ABSTRACT: Anderson, AlOK, Voskuil, CC, Byrd, MT, Garver, MJ, Rickard, AJ, Miller, WM, Bergstrom, HC, and Dinyer McNeely, TK. Affective and perceptual responses during an 8-week resistance training to failure intervention at low vs. high loads in untrained women. J Strength Cond Res 37(3): 546-554, 2023-This study examined the effects of resistance training (RT) to failure on the perceptual and affective responses, intent-to-continue RT to failure in a self-initiated session, and affect-intent relationship. Twenty-three untrained women (mean ± SD : age 21.2 ± 2.2 years; height 167 ± 5.7 cm; body mass, 62.3 ± 16.2 kg) completed an 8-week, full-body RT to failure intervention at a low (30% 1RM; n = 11) or high (80% 1RM; n = 12) load. The Borg's rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale was used to assess the acute (aRPE) and session (sRPE) RPE immediately after repetition failure and each training session, respectively. Immediately, 15-minute, and 60-minute postsession affective responses were assessed using the feeling scale (FS; -5 to +5), and intent to continue to RT was assessed on a scale of 0-100% intention. During week 4 (W4) and week 8 (W8), aRPE (W4: 18 ± 2, W8: 18 ± 2; p ≤ 0.032) and sRPE (W4: 17 ± 2, W8: 18 ± 1; p ≤ 0.018) were greater than that during week 1 (W1; aRPE: 17 ± 2; sRPE: 16 ± 2). The FS responses increased from immediately to 60-minute postsession during W4 ( p ≤ 0.019) and W8 ( p ≤ 0.049). The correlation between affect and intent-to-continue RT increased from W1 ( r = 0.416) to W8 ( r = 0.777). Regardless of load, untrained women reported similar perceptual, affective, and intention responses. These variables should be considered to improve RT program adoption and adherence in women.

Effects of Nitrate Supplementation on Muscle Strength and Mass: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT: Anderson, OK, Martinez-Ferran, M, Lorenzo-Calvo, J, Jiménez, SL, and Pareja-Galeano, H. Effects of nitrate supplementation on muscle strength and mass: a systematic review. J Strength Cond Res 36(12): 3562-3570, 2022-This systematic review examines the effect of dietary nitrate supplementation (SUP) on muscle strength and hypertrophy when combined with physical exercise. The databases PubMed, Web of Science, and MEDLINE were searched for full-text articles published between January 2000 and June 2020. For inclusion, studies had to report on the effects of SUP administered as acute or chronic doses together with a standardized exercise protocol on muscle strength and hypertrophy compared with placebo in healthy adults who were sedentary, physically active, or professional athletes. Twelve studies (1,571 subjects) were finally selected. In 5 studies, the SUP regime was acute, and in 7, it was chronic. SUP was nitrate-rich beetroot juice in 9 studies, a potassium nitrate capsule in 1, and increased dietary nitrate in 2. Ingested nitrate was 64-1,200 mg. Of the 12 studies, 6 observed an ergogenic effect of SUP compared with placebo. These findings indicate that muscle strength gains are possible provided the dose, format, frequency, period, and exercise test are appropriate. Best results were observed with a minimum acute dose of 400 mg of nitrate provided as beetroot juice/shot taken 2-2.5 hours before exercise involving low- and high-intensity muscle contractions. This SUP regime seems to improve muscle efficiency in terms of reduced phosphocreatine and energy costs (P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and improved time to exhaustion.

A disconnect between classroom and professional writing: we are not teaching public health students to write effective titles.

Titles are considered a crucial element of grant applications, journal articles, reports and other public health documents, but they are often overlooked in student writing assignments. In this article, we argue that public health instructors should teach students how to write compelling document titles. Our argument about titles is part of a broader assertion that public health students should be asked to write in professional formats such as grant applications, reports and journal articles. Requiring students to engage with important writing conventions like titles that are used in the professional workplace helps them make connections between the content they are writing about and the activities, roles, values and context of public health practice. We recommend that instructors explicitly incorporate titles into their assigned writing in three ways: first, instructors should require titles; second, instructors should provide criteria for a good title that are appropriate to the document type and finally, instructors should award points for a good title.

A peer evaluation training results in high-quality feedback, as measured over time in nutritional sciences graduate students.

Peer evaluation skills are not typically taught to students, yet they are expected to provide high-quality feedback to their peers. Gameful learning, a pedagogy supporting student-driven learning, can further reinforce the development of peer evaluation skills, if students are motivated to improve upon them. To better understand the effects of a peer evaluation training on the quality of student-generated peer evaluations, we scored peer evaluations from two cohorts taking a graduate-level nutritional sciences class using gameful learning pedagogy. The intervention group completed a peer evaluation training before engaging in peer reviews, while the control group did not. The training included two readings, a video, and reflection questions. The peer evaluations submitted by both the intervention and control groups were assessed on a validated rubric. The peer evaluation training had a positive effect on the quality of the submitted peer evaluations. The intervention group had a 10.8% higher score on its first submitted peer evaluation compared with controls (P = 0.003). The intervention group improved the quality of its future submissions by a further 8.9%, whereas the controls did not continue to improve substantially (P < 0.001). Overall, peer review training enhanced the quality of peer evaluations and allowed students to develop professional skills that they can utilize in any biomedical profession. Our results highlight the importance of peer evaluation training in combination with repeated practice and student-driven learning brought forth by gameful learning pedagogy in improving the quality of evaluations and developing professional skills.

Are we teaching our students visual communication? Evaluation of writing assignments in public health.

Visuals are an important means through which public health data can be communicated to diverse audiences, yet many public health students are not trained to develop effective visuals. We evaluated writing assignments from courses taught in public health schools and programmes accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health during the 2016-2017 academic year to identify whether they mentioned a visual element, whether the assignment explained how to create the visual, and if the visual element was worth points. Only 13 of 44 writing assignments mentioned a visual element and only two provided some instructions about how to create the visual element(s). Five assignments awarded points for visual elements. The lack of emphasis on visual elements in writing assignments is significant since visual communication is a key skill needed by practitioners to accompany writing to convey important public health information. Visual communication requires a critical thinking process and therefore time to develop the skills to create effective visuals is necessary. Thus, there is a crucial need for dedicated instruction for public health students to establish competence in visual communication.

Streamlined, PCR-based testing for pfhrp2- and pfhrp3-negative Plasmodium falciparum.

BACKGROUND: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that detect histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) are used throughout Africa for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. However, recent reports indicate that parasites lacking the pfhrp2 and/or histidine-rich protein 3 (pfhrp3) genes, which produce antigens detected by these RDTs, are common in select regions of South America, Asia, and Africa. Proving the absence of a gene is challenging, and multiple PCR assays targeting these genes have been described. A detailed characterization and comparison of published assays is needed to facilitate robust and streamlined testing approaches. RESULTS: Among six pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 PCR assays tested, the lower limit of detection ranged from 0.01 pg/µL to 0.1 ng/µL of P. falciparum 3D7 strain DNA, or approximately 0.4-4000 parasite genomes/µL. By lowering the elongation temperature to 60 °C, a tenfold improvement in the limit of detection and/or darker bands for all exon 1 targets and for the first-round reaction of a single exon 2 target was achieved. Additionally, assays targeting exon 1 of either gene yielded spurious amplification of the paralogous gene. Using these data, an optimized testing algorithm for the detection of pfhrp2- and pfhrp3-negative P. falciparum is proposed. CONCLUSIONS: Surveillance of pfhrp2- and pfhrp3-negative P. falciparum requires careful laboratory workflows. PCR-based testing methods coupled with microscopy and/or antigen testing serve as useful tools to support policy development. Standardized approaches to the detection of pfhrp2- and pfhrp3-negative P. falciparum should inform efforts to define the impact of these parasites.

Low prevalence of Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale mono-infections among children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a population-based, cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: In an effort to improve surveillance for epidemiological and clinical outcomes, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have become increasingly widespread as cost-effective and field-ready methods of malaria diagnosis. However, there are concerns that using RDTs specific to Plasmodium falciparum may lead to missed detection of other malaria species such as Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale. METHODS: Four hundred and sixty six samples were selected from children under 5 years old in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who took part in a Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in 2013-14. These samples were first tested for all Plasmodium species using an 18S ribosomal RNA-targeted real-time PCR; malaria-positive samples were then tested for P. falciparum, P. malariae and P. ovale using a highly sensitive nested PCR. RESULTS: The prevalence of P. falciparum, P. malariae and P. ovale were 46.6, 12.9 and 8.3 %, respectively. Most P. malariae and P. ovale infections were co-infected with P. falciparum-the prevalence of mono-infections of these species were only 1.0 and 0.6 %, respectively. Six out of these eight mono-infections were negative by RDT. The prevalence of P. falciparum by the more sensitive nested PCR was higher than that found previously by real-time PCR. CONCLUSIONS: Plasmodium malariae and P. ovale remain endemic at a low rate in the DRC, but the risk of missing malarial infections of these species due to falciparum-specific RDT use is low. The observed prevalence of P. falciparum is higher with a more sensitive PCR method.

Perinatal bisphenol A exposure promotes dose-dependent alterations of the mouse methylome.

BACKGROUND: Environmental factors during perinatal development may influence developmental plasticity and disease susceptibility via alterations to the epigenome. Developmental exposure to the endocrine active compound, bisphenol A (BPA), has previously been associated with altered methylation at candidate gene loci. Here, we undertake the first genome-wide characterization of DNA methylation profiles in the liver of murine offspring exposed perinatally to multiple doses of BPA through the maternal diet. RESULTS: Using a tiered focusing approach, our strategy proceeds from unbiased broad DNA methylation analysis using methylation-based next generation sequencing technology to in-depth quantitative site-specific CpG methylation determination using the Sequenom EpiTYPER MassARRAY platform to profile liver DNA methylation patterns in offspring maternally exposed to BPA during gestation and lactation to doses ranging from 0 BPA/kg (Ctr), 50 µg BPA/kg (UG), or 50 mg BPA/kg (MG) diet (N = 4 per group). Genome-wide analyses indicate non-monotonic effects of DNA methylation patterns following perinatal exposure to BPA, corroborating previous studies using multiple doses of BPA with non-monotonic outcomes. We observed enrichment of regions of altered methylation (RAMs) within CpG island (CGI) shores, but little evidence of RAM enrichment in CGIs. An analysis of promoter regions identified several hundred novel BPA-associated methylation events, and methylation alterations in the Myh7b and Slc22a12 gene promoters were validated. Using the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, a number of candidate genes that have previously been associated with BPA-related gene expression changes were identified, and gene set enrichment testing identified epigenetically dysregulated pathways involved in metabolism and stimulus response. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, non-monotonic dose dependent alterations in DNA methylation among BPA-exposed mouse liver samples and their relevant pathways were identified and validated. The comprehensive methylome map presented here provides candidate loci underlying the role of early BPA exposure and later in life health and disease status.

Perinatal bisphenol A exposure promotes hyperactivity, lean body composition, and hormonal responses across the murine life course.

The development of adult-onset diseases is influenced by perinatal exposure to altered environmental conditions. One such exposure, bisphenol A (BPA), has been associated with obesity and diabetes, and consequently labeled an obesogen. Using an isogenic murine model, we examined the effects of perinatal exposure through maternal diet to 50 ng (n=20), 50 µg (n=21), or 50 mg (n=18) BPA/kg diet, as well as controls (n=20) on offspring energy expenditure, spontaneous activity, and body composition at 3, 6, and 9 mo of age, and hormone levels at 9 and 10 mo of age. Overall, exposed females and males exhibited increased energy expenditure (P<0.001 and 0.001, respectively) throughout the life course. In females, horizontal and vertical activity increased (P=0.07 and 0.06, respectively) throughout the life course. Generally, body composition measures were not different throughout the life course in exposed females or males (all P>0.44), although body fat and weight decreased in exposed females at particular ages (all P<0.08). Milligram-exposed females had improved glucose, insulin, adiponectin, and leptin profiles (all P<0.10). Thus, life-course analysis illustrates that BPA is associated with hyperactive and lean phenotypes. Variability across studies may be attributable to differential exposure duration and timing, dietary fat and phytoestrogen content, or lack of sophisticated phenotyping across the life course.

Perceptions of Breastfeeding Among Adolescents and Young Adults.

Purpose: We aimed to understand adolescents' and young adults' perceptions and the extent of their knowledge about breastfeeding. Methods: Participants (adolescents and young adults in the United States, 14-24 years of age) were texted five open-ended questions about their perceptions of various aspects of breastfeeding including their initial reaction to breastfeeding, the impact on the infant and parent, how it compares with formula, and whether they were breastfed. The responses were analyzed for themes using an inductive content analysis approach. Responses were compared using χ2 tests to assess if knowledge and education about breastfeeding differed according to gender identity and age. Results: Among 1,283 participants, 829 responded (response rate = 64.4%). The average age was 18.8 (standard deviation [SD] = 2.9), with 53% female and 10% Black. Most adolescents and young adults understand there are health benefits of breastfeeding for the breastfeeding dyad (n = 589; 78.8%), yet also indicate an awareness of negative aspects (n = 256; 36.1%). Participants who identified as female or gender-variant and those who were older were more likely to refer to the emotional and bonding connections breastfeeding creates (p = 0.0011 and p = 0.0002). Males were more likely to have less knowledge about breastfeeding effects on the breastfeeding person but have more negative attitudes toward formula (p = 0.0298 and p = 0.0543). Younger respondents tended to indicate that formula was better than breast milk (p = 0.0534). Conclusion: We found a mix of positive and negative perceptions of breastfeeding among adolescents and young adults. Understanding how youth view breastfeeding can inform targeted education for this population that includes all genders and can begin before pregnancy.

Does Box Height Matter? A Comparative Analysis of Box Height on Box Jump Performance in Men and Women.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of box height on box jump performance among recreationally active college students. Fourteen males (age = 20.8 ± 4.1 years, height = 178.3 ± 6.3 cm, weight = 82.3 ± 13.0 kg) and seventeen females (age = 20.8 ± 2.1 years, height = 167.1 ± 5.5 cm, weight = 64.5 ± 7.4 kg) completed box jumps at five different box heights that corresponded to 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80% of their maximal box jump height. Variables of interest included peak force, rate of force development, peak rate of force development, peak power, velocity at peak power, jump height, time to take-off, and reactive strength index modified. Peak force at 80% maximal box jump was significantly higher than 0% in the female cohort (p = 0.001). No significant differences for any of the other variables were observed in males, or at any other height lower than the 80% maximal box jump height for females (p > 0.05). Overall, variations in box height did not influence box jump performance in recreationally trained individuals when the intent to perform a maximal-effort jump was emphasized. This is important for strength and conditioning coaches and trainers, as they can utilize boxes of varied heights when teaching proper landing techniques to novice athletes with no decrements in propulsive performance.

Public Health Graduate Students' Longitudinal Perceptions of Remote Learning Challenges and Career Goals During an Ongoing Public Health Crisis.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic created a shift from traditional face-to-face learning toward remote learning, resulting in students experiencing unforeseen challenges and benefits through participation in a non-traditional mode of education. Little is known regarding the impact that a shift to remote learning may have had on the learning experiences and the career goals of Master of Public Health (MPH) students. A qualitative study was conducted among a convenience sample of MPH students in the US from January to April 2021. The primary aims were (1) to describe salient challenges or benefits of learning that persisted throughout a semester of remote learning and (2) to describe how being in graduate school during the pandemic impacted students' career goals in public health. A secondary aim was to describe students' general feelings regarding their public health education, given their lived experience of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study findings demonstrated that MPH students had mixed perceptions of how a shift to remote learning during a public health crisis impacted their learning experiences and career goals in public health over one semester. Understanding students' responses can guide public health instructors to best prepare trainees to join the workforce during ongoing and future unforeseen public health crises that continue or have the potential to disrupt learning modalities.

Training in Residency and Provision of Reproductive Health Services Among Family Medicine Physicians.

Importance: Contraception and abortion services are essential health care, and family medicine (FM) physicians are an important part of the workforce providing this care. Residency could inform the reproductive health services FM physicians provide. Objective: To determine which residency training factors are associated with FM physicians' provision of reproductive health services to Medicaid beneficiaries. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional, population-based observational study of inpatient and outpatient FM physicians who completed residency between 2008 and 2018 and treated at least 1 Medicaid beneficiary in 2019 was conducted from November 2022 to March 2023. The study used 2019 American Medical Association Masterfile and Historical Residency file, as well as the 2019 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System claims. Exposures: Residency training in community-based or reproductive health-focused programs. Main Outcomes and Measures: The outcomes were providing the following to at least 1 Medicaid beneficiary in 2019: prescription contraception (pill, patch, and/or ring), intrauterine device (IUD) and/or contraceptive implant, and dilation and curettage (D&C). Odds of providing each outcome were measured using correlated random-effects regression models adjusted for physician, residency program, and county characteristics. Results: In the sample of 21 904 FM physician graduates from 410 FM residency programs, 12 307 were female (56.3%). More than half prescribed contraception to Medicaid beneficiaries (13 373 physicians [61.1%]), with lower proportions providing IUD or implant (4059 physicians [18.5%]) and D&C (152 physicians [.7%]). FM physicians who graduated from a Reproductive Health Education in Family Medicine program, which fully integrates family planning into residency training, had significantly greater odds of providing prescription contraception (odds ratio [OR], 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07-1.42), IUD or implant (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.28-2.48), and D&C (OR, 3.61; 95% CI, 2.02-6.44). Physicians who completed residency at a Teaching Health Center, which emphasizes community-based care, had higher odds of providing an IUD or implant (OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.19-1.91). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of FM physicians providing Medicaid service, characteristics of residency training including community-based care and integration of family planning training are associated with greater odds of providing reproductive health services. With growing reproductive health policy restrictions, providing adequate training in reproductive health is critical to maintaining access to care, especially for underserved populations.

The influence of extreme water levels on coastal wetland extent across the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCW) are ecological hotspots and their integrity depends upon dynamic hydrologic regimes of the Great Lakes. GLCW naturally adjust to changes in hydrologic regimes via migration, but Great Lakes water levels may be shifting faster than wetlands can manage: 2000-2015 marked an extended low water level period and was followed by record highs in 2017-2020. Our objective was to quantify how Great Lakes water levels impact GLCW linear extent (from the shoreline to open water). We calculated wetland extent and migration from 2011 to 2019 using data from 1538 vegetation transects at 342 sites across the U.S. shoreline of the Great Lakes. Mediated multiple linear regression with Bayesian hierarchical modeling investigated the relationship between water levels and wetland extent. We employed Bayesian hierarchical modeling because (1) the dataset was spatially nested, with sampling points within wetlands within Great Lakes and (2) Bayesian statistics offer flexibility for environmental modeling, such as the inclusion of mediation in models, where we can assess both direct influences of Great Lake water levels on wetland extent and indirect (i.e., mediated) influences of water levels via the presence of vegetation zones on thus wetland extent. Results showed that, overall, there was a landward migration from 2011 to 2019 (although 38 % of wetlands had lakeward migration of the wetland-upland border). Wetland length and inundation length decreased with increased water levels, as mediated by the presence of certain vegetation zones. This decrease in wetland extent is of concern because it likely relates to a decrease in wetland function and habitat. A better understanding of how GLCW migrate with shifts in water levels enables decision makers to better predict where Great Lakes coastal wetlands are at risk of being lost and thus where to prioritize management efforts.

Experiential Interprofessional Education Rooted in the Social Determinants of Health and Ecological Model Fosters Interprofessional Socialization.

OBJECTIVE: Experiential interprofessional education (IPE) fostering socialization to interprofessional teams is essential to clinical practice. Inclusion of authentic patient voices cultivates an understanding of social factors that patients face. We qualitatively assessed how experiential IPE framed around social determinants of health (SDH) and socioecological model (SEM) influenced early health profession students' development of interprofessional socialization while working with patients. Secondarily, we explored how students shifted their mindsets for future interactions. METHODS: Fifty-one health profession students participated in the Longitudinal Interprofessional Family-based Experience (LIFE), a virtual, 13-week experiential IPE opportunity during which students interacted with patients living with chronic illnesses through two interviews. Prompts representing aspects of working on an interprofessional team while interacting with a patient framed around social factors affecting healthcare were coded using the constant comparative method of analysis. Themes were derived and tallied for frequencies. RESULTS: Themes from prompt related to working with an interprofessional team included: 1) perspectives, 2) informative, and 3) collaboration. Themes related to patients as a team member included: 1) active listening, 2) patients of similar/dissimilar back¬grounds, 3) person-centered care, and 4) awareness. Themes derived from prompt about future collaborations included: 1) collaboration, 2) awareness, and 3) person-centered care. CONCLUSIONS: This SDH-focused experiential IPE advanced the understanding among early learners of how social factors that patients experience are barriers to how care is delivered and interprofessional teams must collaborate to consider factors to support patients.

Dipping Your Toes in the Water: An Experiential Strategy to Recruit and Engage New Faculty in Interprofessional Education.

AIMS: Engaged and trained faculty to support and role-model interprofessional education (IPE)-related concepts and behaviors are vital in the development, implementation, and sustainability of IPE academic teaching and training programs. Thus, recruitment of engaged faculty is essential for effective IPE expansion, scalability innovation, and sustainability across a variety of schools, programs, and students. The primary aim of this descriptive study was to implement a strategy to recruit and engage new IPE faculty and determine the strategy's effectiveness in increasing faculty's intent to participate in future IPE. A secondary aim was to identify implementation recommendations for this strategy as a first step of IPE faculty engagement. METHODS: An introductory experiential recruitment and engagement strategy for new Faculty Observers was developed. The project used a descriptive study design and data were gathered through pre- and post-program online self-administered surveys completed by Faculty Observer participants. The surveys included questions about demographics, rating usefulness of activities, engagement motivators, and willingness to facilitate in the future. RESULTS: Fifteen faculty with no or limited IPE experience participated. Post-survey results indicated that 85% of the participants expressed willingness to participate in this program in the future, and 100% would recommend using this experiential recruitment and engagement strategy. DISCUSSION: A "dip your toes in the water" experiential strategy for IPE faculty recruitment and engagement was effective in recruitment of new IPE faculty.

Analysis of spatiotemporal variation in dissolved organic carbon concentrations for streams with cropland-dominated watersheds.

It remains a challenge to understand how dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is cycled from farmlands to rivers due to the complex interaction between farming practices, the baseflow hydrology of predominantly flat lowlands, and seasonal environmental influences such as snowpack. To address this, field DOC concentrations were measured monthly throughout the year at sub-basin scales across the Chippewa River Watershed, which falls within the Corn Belt of the Midwestern United States. These DOC dynamics in stream water from croplands were benchmarked against the data sampled from hilly forested areas in the Connecticut River Watershed. The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) simulation was applied to provide potential predictive variables associated with daily baseflow. Our study outlines a framework using the combination of primary field data, hydrological modeling, and knowledge-based reclassification of Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) data to analyze the viability of modeling the spatial and temporal variations of cropland stream DOC concentrations. Calibration of the SWAT model resulted in the overall daily Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (NSE) of 0.67 and the corresponding R2 = 0.89. Our main results show: 1) baseflow DOC concentrations from croplands were substantially higher throughout the year relative to other landcover areas, especially for spring runoff/snowmelt scenarios, 2) an empirical analysis explained ~82 % of the spatial gradient of annual mean observed DOC concentrations, and 3) with the addition of hydrological simulated variables, a linear model explained ~81 % of monthly and 54 % of daily variations of observed DOC concentrations for cropland sub-basins. Our study identified key factors regulating the spatiotemporal DOC concentrations in cropland streamflow; the contribution here promotes to strengthen future analytical models that link watershed characteristics to carbon cycling processes in a large freshwater ecosystem.

Complete genome sequences of microbacterium phages Tedro and BAjuniper.

We purified two novel bacteriophages from soil collected in Sioux County, Iowa: BAjuniper and Tedro. These bacteriophages were isolated from the host, Microbacterium foliorum. BAjuniper was assigned to cluster EB, and Tedro was assigned to cluster EF. Both phages display genomes typical of other phages in their clusters.

A Description of Breast Models Used to Teach Clinical Skills.

Background: Health care trainees lack opportunities to practice breast assessment and clinical skills with patients, making breast models significant for hands-on training. Insufficient training leads to low competence across practitioners in breast health areas of practice, including clinical lactation. The aim of this review was to describe types of breast models used to teach clinical skills of the breast across breast health areas. The secondary aims were to describe education interventions that included each model and identify whether multiple skin tones were available in models. Methods: Authors conducted a scoping review to identify which types of breast models are used to teach clinical skills across breast health areas of practice and determine gaps in literature regarding how clinical lactation skills are taught. The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, MedLine, and ProQuest. Inclusion criteria were students/professionals engaging in breast model simulation. Eighteen studies were reviewed. Authors extracted data on participants, breast health area, breast model, intervention, evaluation, general outcomes, skin tone, and research design. Results: The most common skill area was clinical breast exam (n = 7), while least was breastfeeding education (n = 1). Most models were commercial (n = 12). Zero studies described skin tone. Generally, breast model simulations were correlated with increased clinical skills and confidence regardless of model used. Conclusions: Despite demonstrated gain of skills, this review reveals inconsistent use of breast models and evaluation, exclusion of diverse skin tones, and lack of breast models reported to teach clinical lactation skills.