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In Ontario, Canada, several training programs have been created to improve home-based palliative care in First Nations communities, though they primarily focus on meeting needs at end-of-life. Therefore, education focused on incorporating an early palliative care approach for community health-related workers is necessary. To address this gap, we tested the CAPACITI curriculum with 12 health care providers working in First Nations communities across Ontario, 11 of whom were members of a First Nations community, and engaged them in a collaborative process to codesign an education program that they felt was representative of First Nations values and culture. The co-designers were trained as nurses (n = 8), personal support workers (n = 2), a social worker (n = 1), and a physician (n = 1). We met with them for 12 weekly one-hour sessions. They completed a workbook of questions and recommendations to tailor the education program to a First Nations community context. We incorporated these recommendations into the new education program by reviewing existing material, making notes of suggested changes, and adding new content. We redesigned the education program according to several themes: incorporating culture, recognizing First Nations health care workers and knowledge, and approaching education wholistically. The resulting program, Supporting the Journey Home: Growing the Community Bundle to Care for Those with Serious Illness, gives First Nations health care providers practical resources to operationalize an early palliative care approach with community members. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the process of redesigning an existing program to create a co-designed palliative care education program with First Nations health care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CAPACITI is a virtual education program that teaches primary care teams how to provide an early palliative approach to care. After piloting its implementation, we conducted an in-depth qualitative study with CAPACITI participants to assess the effectiveness of the components and to understand the challenges and enablers to virtual palliative care education. Methods: We applied a qualitative case study approach to assess and synthesize three sources of data collected from the teams that participated in CAPACITI: reflection survey data, open text survey data, and focus group transcriptions. We completed a thematic analysis of these responses to gain an understanding of participant experiences with the intervention and its application in practice. Results: The CAPACITI program was completed by 22 primary care teams consisting of 159 participants across Ontario, Canada. Qualitative data was obtained from all teams, including 15 teams that participated in focus groups and 21 teams that provided reflection survey data on CAPACITI content and how it translated into practice. Three major themes arose from cross-analysis of the data: changes in practice derived from involvement in CAPACITI, utility of specific elements of the program, and barriers and challenges to enacting CAPACITI in practice. Importantly, participants reported that the multifaceted approach of CAPACITI was helpful to them building their confidence and competence in applying a palliative approach to care. Conclusions: Primary care teams perceived the CAPACITI facilitated program as effective towards incorporating palliative care into their practices. CAPACITI warrants further study on a national scale using a randomized trial methodology. Future iterations of CAPACITI need to help mitigate barriers identified by respondents, including team fragmentation and system-based challenges to encourage interprofessional collaboration and knowledge translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medically uninsured groups, many of them migrants, reportedly delay using healthcare services due to costs and often face preventable health consequences. This systematic review sought to assess quantitative evidence on health outcomes, health services use, and health care costs among uninsured migrant populations in Canada. Methods: OVID MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, EconLit, and grey literature were searched to identify relevant literature published up until March 2021. The Cochrane Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies – of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool was used to assess the quality of studies. Results: Ten studies were included. Data showed that there are differences among insured and uninsured groups in reported health outcomes and health services use. No quantitative studies on economic costs were captured. Conclusions: Our findings indicate a need to review policies regarding accessible and affordable health care for migrants. Increasing funding to community health centers may improve service utilization and health outcomes among this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Palliative care (PC) training initiatives have proliferated to assist generalist health care providers (HCPs) develop skills for applying an early PC approach. To date, there is little synthesis of high-level evidence to review the content and effectiveness of these programs. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a systematic review of trials of training inventions to build PC competency in HCPs, according to PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO registration no. 271741). Materials and Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Clinical Trials for studies published since 2000. Eligible studies were trials assessing PC training for HCPs. Interventions had to address at least two of six PC-related components, adapted from the National Consensus Project: identification or assessment; illness understanding; symptom management; decision making; coping; and referral. Two reviewers independently assessed articles for inclusion, using Rayyan, and extracted relevant data. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane ROB2 or ROBINS-I tools. Results: Of 1209 articles reviewed, 22 studies met the inclusion criteria, with the majority being conducted in the United States (n = 9) or Europe (n = 8). Nearly all studies (n = 19) collected data through self-reported surveys; administrative (n = 4), clinical outcomes (n = 4), or interaction analysis (n = 6) data were also or solely used. Interventions featured didactic, skill-based training followed by role-play and/or individual coaching. Communication around illness understanding was the most taught PC component. Few interventions involved comprehensive PC training, with 12 studies representing 3 or less of the 6 framework components. Most studies (n = 16) reported a significant positive impact on at least one outcome, most often HCP self-reported outcomes. Conclusions: While many of these interventions demonstrated improved confidence among HCPs in the PC components taught, findings were mixed on more objective outcome measures. Further trial-based evidence is required on comprehensive PC training to help inform these interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic, such as business restrictions, social distancing and lockdowns, had social and economic impacts on individuals and communities. Caremongering Facebook groups spread across Canada to support vulnerable individuals by providing a forum for sharing information and offering assistance. We sought to understand the specific impacts of Caremongering groups on individuals 1 year after the pandemic began. We used a convergent parallel mixed‐methods approach that included semi‐structured interviews with group moderators from 16 Caremongering groups and survey data from 165 group members. We used a constant comparative approach for thematic analysis of interview transcripts and open‐ended text responses to the survey. We used source theme tables as joint displays to integrate interview and survey findings. Our results revealed five major themes: providing food, sharing information, supporting health and wellness, acquiring goods and services (non‐food), and connecting communities. Respondents of our survey tended to be 35–65 years of age range, but reported helping adults of all ages. Our findings illustrate the potential of using a social media platform to connect with others and provide and access support. The Caremongering initiative demonstrates a community‐driven, social media solution to issues such as isolation, loneliness and community health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating sex steroid concentrations vary dramatically across the year in seasonally breeding animals. The ability of circulating sex steroids to effect muscle function can be modulated by changes in intracellular expression of steroid metabolizing enzymes (e.g., 5α-reductase type 2 and aromatase) and receptors. Together, these combined changes in plasma hormones, metabolizing enzymes and receptors allow for seasonally appropriate changes in skeletal muscle function. We tested the hypothesis that gene expression of sex steroid metabolizing enzymes and receptors would vary seasonally in skeletal muscle and these changes would differ between a migrant and resident life history strategy. We quantified annual changes in plasma testosterone and gene expression in pectoralis and gastrocnemius skeletal muscles using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in free-living migrant (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) and resident (Z. l. nuttalli) subspecies of white-crowned sparrow during breeding, pre-basic molt, and wintering life history stages. Pectoralis muscle profile was largest in migrants during breeding, while residents maintained large muscle profiles year-round. Circulating testosterone peaked during breeding in both subspecies. Pectoralis muscle androgen receptor mRNA expression was lower in females of both subspecies during breeding. Estrogen receptor-α expression was higher in the pectoralis muscle, but not gastrocnemius, of residents throughout the annual cycle when compared to migrants. Pectoralis aromatase expression was higher in resident males compared to migrant males. No differences were observed for 5α-reductase 2. Between these two subspecies, patterns of plasma testosterone and androgen receptors appear to be conserved, however estrogen receptor gene expression appears to have diverged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of maternal investment in avian offspring has considerable life history implications on production traits and therefore potential for the poultry industry. A first generation (G1) of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were bred from a 2 × 2 factorial design. Parents were fed either a control or methyl-enhanced (HiBET) diet, and their eggs were treated with a vehicle or corticosterone injection during day 5 of incubation. A subset of G1 birds were subjected to an open field trial (OFT) and capture-restraint stress protocol. Significant effects of HiBET diet were found on parental egg and liver weights, G1 hatch, liver and female reproductive tract weights, egg productivity, latency to leave the OFT central zone, male baseline 11-dehydrocorticosterone, and female androstenedione plasma concentrations. In ovo treatment significantly affected latency to return to the OFT, male baseline testosterone and androstenedione, and change in androstenedione plasma concentration. Diet by treatment interactions were significant for G1 liver weight and male baseline plasma concentrations of corticosterone. These novel findings suggest significant positive effects on reproduction, growth, precociousness, and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function from enhanced methyl diets, and are important in understanding how in ovo stressors (representing maternal stress), affect the first offspring generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across taxa, the seasonal transition between non‐breeding and breeding states is controlled by localised thyroid hormone signalling in the deep brain via reciprocal switching of deiodinase enzyme expression from type 3 (DIO3) to type 2 (DIO2). This reciprocal switch is considered to be mediated by increasing thyroid‐stimulating hormone β (TSHβ) release from the pars tuberalis, which occurs in response to a change in photoperiod. Although well characterised in a handful of model organisms in controlled laboratory settings, this pathway remains largely unexplored in free‐living animals under natural environmental conditions. In this comparative gene expression study, we investigated hypothalamic thyroid hormone signalling in two seasonally breeding subspecies of white‐crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), across the entirety of their annual cycles. The migratory Gambel's (Z. l. gambelii) and resident Nuttall's (Z. l. nuttalii) subspecies differ with respect to timing of reproduction, as well as life history stage and migratory strategies. Although DIO3 mRNA expression was elevated and DIO2 mRNA expression was reduced in the wintering period in both subspecies, DIO2 peaked in both subspecies prior to the onset of reproduction. However, there was differential timing between subspecies in peak DIO2 expression. Intriguingly, seasonal modulation of TSHβ mRNA was only observed in migrants, where expression was elevated at the start of breeding, consistent with observations from other highly photoperiodic species. There was no correlation between TSHβ, DIO2 and gonadotropin‐releasing hormone‐I mRNA or reproductive metrics in residents. Based on these observed differences, we discuss potential implications for our understanding of how changes in medial basal hypothalamic gene expression mediates initiation of seasonal reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nest building consists of a series of motor actions, which are concomitant with activity in regions of the anterior motor pathway, the social behavior network, and the reward circuity in nest building adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). It is not clear, however, whether this activity is due to nest building, collection, and/or manipulation of nest material. To identify which areas of the brain are specifically involved, we used immunohistochemistry to quantify the immediate early gene c- Fos in male zebra finches that were nest building (Building), birds given a nest box but could interact only with tied down nest material (Fixed), and birds that were not given a nest box or nest material (Control). We investigated the following brain regions: the anterior motor pathway (anterior ventral mesopallium [AMV], AN, anterior striatum [ASt]), areas of the social behavior network (bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, dorsomedial subdivision [BSTmd], lateral septum [LS]), the dopaminergic reward circuitry (ventral tegmental area), and the cerebellum. We found that there was greater Fos immunoreactivity expression in the BSTmd, LS, and AMV with increased material deposition; in LS, AMV ASt, and Folium VI with increased material carrying; in LS, AMV, and ASt with increased nest material tucking; and in LS and all folia (except Folium VIII) with increased tugging at tied down material. These data confirm a functional role for areas of the anterior motor pathway, social behavior network, and the cerebellum in nest material collection and manipulation by birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive traits are predicted to be under intense selection in animals moving into new environments and may determine the success, or otherwise, of dispersal and invasions. In particular, spatial information related to resource distribution is an important determinant of neural development. Spatial information is predicted to vary for invasive species encountering novel environments. However, few studies have tested how cognition or neural development varies intraspecifically within an invasive species. In Australia, the non-native common starling Sturnus vulgaris inhabits a range of habitats that vary in seasonal resource availability and distribution. We aimed to identify variations in the brain mass and hippocampus volume of starlings in Australia related to environmental variation across two substantially different habitat types. Specifically, we predicted variation in brain mass and hippocampal volume in relation to environmental conditions, latitude, and climatic variables. To test this, brain mass and volumes of the hippocampus and two control brain regions (telencephalon and tractus septomesencephalicus) were quantified from starling brains gathered from across the species' range in south eastern Australia. When comparing across an environmental gradient, there was a significant interaction between sex and environment for overall brain mass, with greater sexual dimorphism in brain mass in inland populations compared to those at the coast. There was no significant difference in hippocampal volume in relation to environmental measures (hippocampus volume, n = 17) for either sex. While these data provide no evidence for intraspecific environmental drivers for changes in hippocampus volume in European starlings in Australia, they do suggest that environmental factors contribute to sex differences in brain mass. This study identifies associations between the brain volume of a non-native species and the environment; further work in this area is required to elucidate the mechanisms driving this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal domestication has resulted in changes in growth and size. It has been suggested that this may have involved selection for differences in appetite. Divergent growth between chickens selected for egg laying or meat production is one such example. The neurons expressing AGRP and POMC in the basal hypothalamus are important components of appetite regulation, as are the satiety feedback pathways that carry information from the intestine, including CCK and its receptor CCKAR (CCK1 receptor). Using 16 generations of a cross between a fast and a relatively slow growing strain of chicken has identified a region on chromosome 4 downstream of the CCKAR gene, which is responsible for up to a 19% difference in body weight at 12 wk of age. Animals possessing the high-growth haplotype at the locus have lower expression of mRNA and immunoreactive CCKAR in the brain, intestine, and exocrine organs, which is correlated with increased levels of orexigenic AGRP in the hypothalamus. Animals with the high-growth haplotype are resistant to the anorectic effect of exogenously administered CCK, suggesting that their satiety set point has been altered. Comparison with traditional breeds shows that the high-growth haplotype has been present in the founders of modern meat-type strains and may have been selected early in domestication. This is the first dissection of the physiological consequences of a genetic locus for a quantitative trait that alters appetite and gives us an insight into the domestication of animals. This will allow elucidation of how differences in appetite occur in birds and also mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), a component of the main olfactory system, is a cortical region that processes olfactory information and acts as a relay between the main olfactory bulbs and higher brain regions such as the piriform cortex. Utilizing a transgenic rat in which an enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter gene is expressed in vasopressin neurones (eGFP-vasopressin), we have discovered a population of vasopressin neurones in the AON. These vasopressin neurones co-express vasopressin V1 receptors. They also co-express GABA and calbinin-D28k indicating that they are neurochemically different from the newly described vasopressin neurons in the main olfactory bulb. We utilized the immediate early gene product, early growth response protein 1 (Egr-1), to examine the functional role of these vasopressin neurons in processing social and non-social odours in the AON. Exposure of adult rats to a conspecific juvenile or a heterospecific predator odour leads to increases in Egr-1 expression in the AON in a subregion specific manner. However, only exposure to a juvenile increases Egr-1 expression in AON vasopressin neurons. These data suggest that vasopressin neurones in the AON may be selectively involved in the coding of social odour information. In addition to its well-known peripheral functions, the neurohormone vasopressin modulates social behaviours in mammals, including humans. The anterior olfactory nucleus (AON) is a brain region involved in processing odours. We have discovered a new population of vasopressin neurones in the AON. These vasopressin cells also express other neurochemicals, such as GABA. Here we demonstrate that vasopressin cells in particular subregions of the AON are activated in response to the same species smells. Predator odours, like fox and cat, do not activate vasopressin cells in the AON indicating a role of this brain region in the coding of same species odour information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehydration increases vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) secretion from the posterior pituitary gland to reduce water loss in the urine. Vasopressin secretion is determined by action potential firing in vasopressin neurones, which can exhibit continuous, phasic (alternating periods of activity and silence), or irregular activity. Autocrine κ-opioid inhibition contributes to the generation of activity patterning of vasopressin neurones under basal conditions and so we used in vivo extracellular single unit recording to test the hypothesis that changes in autocrine κ-opioid inhibition drive changes in activity patterning of vasopressin neurones during dehydration. Dehydration increased the firing rate of rat vasopressin neurones displaying continuous activity (from 7.1 ± 0.5 to 9.0 ± 0.6 spikes s−1) and phasic activity (from 4.2 ± 0.7 to 7.8 ± 0.9 spikes s−1), but not those displaying irregular activity. The dehydration-induced increase in phasic activity was via an increase in intraburst firing rate. The selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist nor-binaltorphimine increased the firing rate of phasic neurones in non-dehydrated rats (from 3.4 ± 0.8 to 5.3 ± 0.6 spikes s−1) and dehydrated rats (from 6.4 ± 0.5 to 9.1 ± 1.2 spikes s−1), indicating that κ-opioid feedback inhibition of phasic bursts is maintained during dehydration. In a separate series of experiments, prodynorphin mRNA expression was increased in vasopressin neurones of hyperosmotic rats, compared to hypo-osmotic rats. Hence, it appears that dynorphin expression in vasopressin neurones undergoes dynamic changes in proportion to the required secretion of vasopressin so that, even under stimulated conditions, autocrine feedback inhibition of vasopressin neurones prevents over-excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses language as a form of social differentiation and the importance of its recognition as such within social work. Structural and ideological barriers to the recognition of linguistic identity within the UK context are explored, before focusing on additional language tuition and the benefits of its use as an awareness raising tool, drawing from socio-linguistics literature and applying it to social work education. Research points to the necessity of the development of a 'third place' between a native and target linguistic culture to permit a greater depth of understanding of multicultural and multilingual contexts. It is argued that culturally competent language tuition, when used beyond an exercise in communicative competence or bilingual resource development, has great potential in terms of developing anti-discriminatory practice past a monolingual framework, and allowing monolingual practitioners to discover their own linguistic identities, and reach their own 'third place'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]