Developing a clinical research infrastructure embedded in an academic medicine center that equitably supports future clinician scientists.

Clinical research in academic medical centers can be difficult to conduct and meet enrollment goals. Students under-represented in medicine (URiM) are also under-represented in academic leadership positions and as physician-scientists but are critical to help solve health disparities. Barriers in pursuing medicine as a career may be high for URiM students, therefore it is important to create pre-medicine opportunities accessible to all students interested in healthcare careers. We describe an undergraduate clinical research platform, the Academic Associate (AcA) program, embedded in the medical system that supports clinical research for academic physician scientists and provides students equitable access to experiences and mentoring opportunities. Students have the opportunity of completing a Pediatric Clinical Research Minor (PCRM) degree. This program satisfies many pre-medicine opportunities for undergraduate students, including those URiM, and allows access to physician mentors and unique educational experiences for graduate school or employment. Since 2009, 820 students participated in the AcA program (17.5% URiM) and 235 students (18% URiM) completed the PCRM. Of the 820 students, 126 (10% URiM) students matriculated to medical school, 128 (11%URiM) to graduate school, and 85 (16.5% URiM) gained employment in biomedical research fields. Students in our program supported 57 publications and were top-enrollers for several multicentered studies. The AcA program is cost-effective and achieves a high level of success enrolling patients into clinical research. Additionally, the AcA program provides equitable access for students URiM to physician mentorship, pre-medical experiences, and an avenue to early immersion in academic medicine.

Peru's national folic acid fortification program and its effect on neural tube defects in Lima.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of Peru's national folic acid fortification program on folic acid content in wheat flour, and the effect on birth prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) in Lima, and to compare the program's legislative requirements with international standards. METHODS: Bread was sampled from six sites across Peru and tested for folic acid. Data were obtained from the largest obstetric hospital in Lima on the prevalence of births (live and still) with NTDs during both the pre-fortification period (2004-2005) and post-fortification years (2007-2008). RESULTS: Folic acid content in the sampled bread met national legislative requirements but was less than one-half of the level recommended for Peru by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2.6 mg/kg wheat flour). Birth prevalence of NTDs was 18.4/10 000 in the pre-fortification period and 20.0/10 000 during post-fortification years. Relative risk for NTDs after fortification was 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.77-1.35, P = 0.90). CONCLUSIONS: Peruvian legislative requirements for folic acid fortification are below international (WHO) recommendations; birth prevalence of NTDs in Lima is higher than international benchmarks; and no decrease in NTDs following fortification of flour with folic acid (according to Peruvian national standards) was observed. As increasing the level of folic acid in flour remains the most sustainable way of preventing NTDs, it is recommended that Peru increase its folic acid fortification requirements to meet those recommended by WHO (2.6 mg/kg).

Effectiveness of a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Curriculum in a Public Tanzanian Referral Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization recently recognized the importance of emergency and trauma care in reducing morbidity and mortality. Training programs are essential to improving emergency care in low-resource settings; however, a paucity of comprehensive curricula focusing specifically on pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) currently exists. The African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM) developed a PEM curriculum that was pilot-tested in a non-randomized, controlled study to evaluate its effectiveness in nurses working in a public Tanzanian referral hospital. METHODS: Fifteen nurses were recruited to participate in a two-and-a-half-day curriculum of lectures, skill sessions, and simulation scenarios covering nine topics; they were matched with controls. Both groups completed pre- and post-training assessments of their knowledge (multiple-choice test), self-efficacy (Likert surveys), and behavior. Changes in behavior were assessed using a binary checklist of critical actions during observations of live pediatric resuscitations. RESULTS: Participant-rated pre-training self-efficacy and knowledge test scores were similar in both control and intervention groups. However, post-training, self-efficacy ratings in the intervention group increased by a median of 11.5 points (interquartile range [IQR]: 6-16) while unchanged in the control group. Knowledge test scores also increased by a median of three points (IQR: 0-4) in the nurses who received the training while the control group's results did not differ in the two periods. A total of 1192 pediatric resuscitation cases were observed post-training, with the intervention group demonstrating higher rates of performance of three of 27 critical actions. CONCLUSION: This pilot study of the AFEM PEM curriculum for nurses has shown it to be an effective tool in knowledge acquisition and improved self-efficacy of pediatric emergencies. Further evaluation will be needed to assess whether it is currently effective in changing nurse behavior and patient outcomes or whether curricular modifications are needed.

Peru's national folic acid fortification program and its effect on neural tube defects in Lima / Programa nacional del Perú de fortificación con ácido fólico y su efecto sobre los defectos del tubo neural en Lima

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of Peru's national folic acid fortification program on folic acid content in wheat flour, and the effect on birth prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) in Lima, and to compare the program's legislative requirements with international standards. METHODS: Bread was sampled from six sites across Peru and tested for folic acid. Data were obtained from the largest obstetric hospital in Lima on the prevalence of births (live and still) with NTDs during both the pre-fortification period (2004-2005) and post-fortification years (2007-2008). RESULTS: Folic acid content in the sampled bread met national legislative requirements but was less than one-half of the level recommended for Peru by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2.6 mg/kg wheat flour). Birth prevalence of NTDs was 18.4/10 000 in the pre-fortification period and 20.0/10 000 during post-fortification years. Relative risk for NTDs after fortification was 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.77-1.35, P = 0.90). CONCLUSIONS: Peruvian legislative requirements for folic acid fortification are below international (WHO) recommendations; birth prevalence of NTDs in Lima is higher than international benchmarks; and no decrease in NTDs following fortification of flour with folic acid (according to Peruvian national standards) was observed. As increasing the level of folic acid in flour remains the most sustainable way of preventing NTDs, it is recommended that Peru increase its folic acid fortification requirements to meet those recommended by WHO (2.6 mg/kg).

OBJETIVO: Evaluar la repercusión que el programa nacional del Perú de fortificación con ácido fólico tiene en el contenido de ácido fólico de la harina de trigo y en la prevalencia de nacimientos de niños con defectos del tubo neural en Lima, así como comparar los requisitos legislativos del programa con las normas internacionales. MÉTODOS: Se hizo un muestreo del pan en seis zonas de Perú y se analizó su contenido de ácido fólico. Se obtuvieron datos del mayor hospital obstétrico de Lima referentes a la prevalencia de nacimientos de niños vivos o mortinatos con defectos del tubo neural durante el período anterior a la fortificación (2004-2005) y el posterior a la misma (2007-2008). RESULTADOS: El contenido de ácido fólico en las muestras de pan obtenidas satisfizo los requisitos legislativos nacionales, si bien fue inferior a la mitad de la concentración que la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) recomienda para el Perú (2,6 mg/kg de harina de trigo). La prevalencia de nacimientos de niños con defectos del tubo neural fue de 18,4/10 000 en el período anterior a la fortificación y de 20,0/10 000 en los años posteriores a la fortificación. El riesgo relativo de los defectos del tubo neural después de la fortificación fue de 1,02 (intervalo de confianza de 95%: 0,77-1,35; P = 0,90). CONCLUSIONES: Los valores que la legislación peruana exige en lo que respecta a la fortificación con ácido fólico son inferiores a los que se recomiendan internacionalmente (OMS). La prevalencia de nacimientos de niños con defectos del tubo neural en Lima es superior a las cifras de referencia internacionales. Por otra parte, no se observó ninguna disminución de los defectos del tubo neural después de fortificar la harina con ácido fólico (según los valores normalizados nacionales peruanos). Dado que el aumento de la concentración de ácido fólico en la harina sigue siendo la manera más sostenible de prevenir los defectos del tubo neural, se recomienda que el Perú haga más estrictos los requisitos relativos a la fortificación con ácido fólico para ajustarse a los valores recomendados por la OMS (2,6 mg/kg).

YKE4 (YIL023C) encodes a bidirectional zinc transporter in the endoplasmic reticulum of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

YIL023C encodes a member of the SLC39A, or ZIP, family, which we refer to as yeast KE4 (YKE4) after its mouse ortholog. Yke4p was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane using Yke4p-specific antiserum. YKE4 is not an essential gene; however, deletion of YKE4 resulted in a sensitivity to calcofluor white and poor growth at 36 degrees C on respiratory substrates containing high zinc. Overexpression of transition metal transporters Zrc1p and Cot1p or the mouse orthologue mKe4 in Deltayke4 suppressed the poor growth at 36 degrees C on respiratory substrates. We found that the role of Yke4p depends on the zinc status of the cells. In a zinc-adequate environment, Yke4p transports zinc into the secretory pathway, and the deletion of YKE4 leads to a zinc-suppressible cell wall defect. In high zinc medium, transport of zinc into the secretory pathway through Yke4p is a way to eliminate zinc from the cytosol, and deletion of YKE4 leads to toxic zinc accumulation in the cytosol. Under low cytosolic zinc conditions, however, Yke4p removes zinc from the secretory pathway, and deletion of YKE4 partially compensates for the loss of Msc2p, an ER zinc importer, and therefore helps to alleviate ER stress. In our model, Yke4p balances zinc levels between the cytosol and the secretory pathway, whereas the previously described Msc2p-Zrg17p ER zinc importer complex functions mainly in zinc-depleted conditions to ensure a ready supply of zinc essential for ER functions, such as phospholipid biosynthesis and unfolded protein response.