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Literature indicating a correlation between age/grade of students and spurt and plateau periods of brain growth is reviewed. Suggestions for teachers based on the review are provided. These include indexing learning and behavior events to brain growth spurt/plateau periods, using spurt times to introduce novel intellectual materials, and others. (JN)

Objective: Most community colleges receiving the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation have no specific mission to serve Hispanic students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how receiving an HSI designation affects the identity and practices of a community college. Method: Ten years of institutional documents covering the HSI transition period and 40 individual interviews were analyzed for common identity themes and indicators of a commitment to serving Hispanic students. Results: Participants attributed no meaning to the HSI designation; however, the identity labels did have meanings associated with being Hispanic-serving. A "serving all students" ideology combined with a color-blind approach and fear of external stakeholder reaction to the HSI designation were barriers to adopting an HSI identity. Contributions: Previous studies have relied on evidence of planned change as an indicator of an HSI identity. Unplanned change, however, has received very little attention. Our study demonstrates that unplanned changes in some practices and structures did result in movement toward being more Hispanic-serving as the college attempted to serve all students. As many HSIs have chosen not to address a formal change in identity, the unplanned change construct provides valuable data that might otherwise be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anecdotal evidence suggests midwives recognise that pregnancy and birth may be affected by cervical scarring caused by excisional procedures in the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2 and 3). Affected women seeking information about the effect on their pregnancy and labour must rely on the knowledge of maternity care providers or take guidance from consumer publications. A literature review was undertaken with the objective of exploring pregnancy and birth outcomes following cervical excisional procedures. Method: CINAHL, ProQuest, Pubmed, Google Scholar and Cochrane databases were searched for full text, peer-reviewed articles discussing either original research or systematic reviews, published from 2001-2016. Inclusion criteria were applied and comparative analysis was used to identify and compare outcomes. Findings: Seventeen articles were included for review. Fifteen articles discuss the relationship of cervical excisional procedures to an increased incidence of preterm birth. Other outcomes include the increased incidence of preterm, pre-labour rupture of membranes, or consideration of associated low birthweight related to the method or depth of excision. No articles were found which considered the provision of intrapartum care to women with a history of cervical excision procedures. Conclusion: Current research regarding the effect of cervical excision procedure history on pregnancy and birth is largely limited to quantifying the incidence of preterm birth and preterm, pre-labour rupture of membranes, or in discussing the impact of the method and depth of excision. Research to identify, describe, or best clinically manage the experience of birthing at term with cervical scarring appears to be absent. Further research is needed to extend midwifery knowledge regarding the provision of care during pregnancy and labour to affected women at term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated immune responses induced by purified Ebola virus (EBOV) soluble glycoprotein (sGP) subunit vaccines via intradermal immunization with microneedle (MN) patches in comparison with intramuscular (IM) injection in mice. Our results showed that MN delivery of EBOV sGP was superior to IM injection in eliciting higher levels and longer lasting antibody responses against EBOV sGP and GP antigens. Moreover, sGP-specific immune responses induced by MN or IM immunizations were effectively augmented by formulating sGP with a saponin-based adjuvant, and they were shown to confer complete protection of mice against lethal mouse-adapted EBOV (MA-EBOV) challenge. In comparison, mice that received sGP without adjuvant by MN or IM immunizations succumbed to lethal MA-EBOV challenge. These results show that immunization with EBOV sGP subunit vaccines with adjuvant by MN patches, which have been shown to provide improved safety and thermal stability, is a promising approach to protect against EBOV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, El-Khartoum Square, Alexandria, 21521, Egypt. Correction to: I Scientific Reports i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29135-w, published online 25 July 2018 This Article and the accompanying Supplementary Data file contain an error in the affiliations, where an affiliation was inadvertently omitted for author Yasmine Gomaa. [Extracted from the article]

Studying undergraduate midwifery at a distance has advantages in terms of accessibility and community support but presents challenges for practice based competence assessment. Student -recorded videos provide opportunities for completing the assigned skills, self-reflection, and assessment by a lecturer. This research asked how midwifery students experienced the process of completing the Video Assessment of Midwifery Practice Skills (VAMPS) in 2014 and 2015. The aim of the survey was to identify the benefits and challenges of the VAMPS assessment and to identify opportunities for improvement from the students’ perspective. All students who had participated in the VAMPS assessment during 2014 and 2015 were invited to complete an online survey. To maintain confidentiality for the students, the Qualtrics survey was administered and the data downloaded by the Organisational Research Officer. Ethical approval was granted by the organisational ethics committee. Descriptive statistics were generated and students' comments were collated. The VAMPS provided an accessible option for the competence assessment and the opportunity for self-reflection and re-recording to perfect their skill which the students appreciated. The main challenges related to the technical aspects of recording and uploading the assessment. This study highlighted some of the benefits and challenges experienced by the midwifery students and showed that practice skills can be successfully assessed at distance. The additional benefit of accessibility afforded by video assessment is a new and unique finding for undergraduate midwifery education and may resonate with other educators seeking ways to assess similar skill sets with cohorts of students studying at distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The New Zealand Māori population is predicted to increase to 16.6% of the total population by 2021 and more Māori midwives are needed. Aim: The aim of this research was to ask Māori students about their experiences in the Bachelor of Midwifery programme and to identify strategies to optimise success for Māori students in becoming midwives. Method: A participant research project was designed and undertaken, on behalf of the Midwifery School at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand, by a Māori researcher, who was guided by Tuhiwai-Smith’s seven codes of conduct. Nine of a possible 22 students who self-identified as Māori consented to participate. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the Otago Polytechnic Ethics Committee, following consultation with the Kaitohutohu’s (Māori advisor) office which provided support for the Māori researcher. Findings: The Māori students appreciated the opportunities afforded by the blended midwifery programme model, such as the range of learning modes and being able to study in their home areas. The students were challenged by aspects of the programme organisation, the learning environment, student placements and assessments, the lack of Māori visibility, and aspects of the support for Māori students. Recommendations were offered by the students for changes that would improve the learning experience for Māori. Conclusion: Incorporation of the recommended changes has the potential to improve the learning culture for Māori students in this midwifery programme. This includes changes to the programme organisation and developing a learning environment that more visibly celebrates bicultural identity; thereby decreasing the attrition rate for Māori students in the programme, increasing the number of Māori midwives registering, and contributing to the richness, success and enjoyment of the programme by all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Women worldwide are having their babies later than in previous generations. Advanced maternal age (AMA) has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, the most severe being increased risk of stillbirth. This literature review examines the evidence for risk of stillbirth at term for women aged 40 or over in high income countries, and outlines factors found in the literature that amplify or mitigate the risk. The aim is to assist New Zealand (NZ) AMA women to make informed choices around induction of labour (IOL) which is frequently recommended at 39 weeks gestation as a general district health board (DHB) guideline for women of AMA. Methods: Databases searched included Google Scholar, CINAHL, Science Direct, PubMed, ProQuest, and Cochrane. Seven papers met the inclusion criteria. Stillbirth risk was assessed against the exacerbating or mitigating factors within the individual papers and compared, if appropriate. Guideline documents regarding NZ obstetric recommendations for AMA were also hand searched. Findings: The risk of stillbirth is associated with increasing maternal age beyond age 40 with the range of adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of 1.43 to 3.04. However, absolute risk of stillbirth for Australian and NZ women over age 40 remains very low at 4.05 stillbirths/1000 undelivered pregnancies, or an absolute risk factor above a baseline rate of 3.4/1000 for stillbirths (>24wks). Further, the stillbirth risk for women of AMA may be modified by parity and general health. Conclusion: AMA is associated with increasing stillbirth rates, although the absolute rate remains low and can potentially be modified by parity and general health. Therefore, women of AMA in the NZ context have the opportunity to assess their overall risk in consultation with their maternity carer, including these factors, when making a decision about early term IOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]