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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. When IBD patients develop a rectal cancer, this should be treated with the same oncological principles and guidelines as the general population. Rectal cancer treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy (RT). Many IBD patients will require a total proctocolectomy with an ileal-pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) and others, restoration of intestinal continuity may not be feasible or advisable. The literature is scarce regarding outcomes of IPAA after RT. In the present review, we will summarize the evidence regarding RT toxicity in IBD patients and review surgical strategies and outcomes of IPAA after RT.

This article traces the emergence of Equity Unbound, originally founded as “equity-focused, open, connected, intercultural learning curriculum” (Equity Unbound, n.d.) and designed with a critical curriculum approach. We outline how our design and praxis centers on social justice and how our activities and purpose have continued to evolve to respond, with care, to the needs of our networks. We then offer a critical autoethnographic account from an educator who started on the margins of Equity Unbound and later became a key co-facilitator.

Importance Severe acute esophagitis occurs in up to 20% of patients with locally advanced lung cancer treated with chemoradiation therapy to at least 60 Gy once daily and represents a dose-limiting toxic event associated with poor outcomes. Objective To assess whether formalized sparing of the contralateral esophagus (CE) is associated with reduced risk of severe acute esophagitis. Design, setting, and participants This single-center phase 1 nonrandomized clinical trial assessing an empirical CE-sparing technique enrolled patients from July 2015 to January 2019. In total, 27 patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (with or without solitary brain metastasis) or limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma with gross tumor within 1 cm of the esophagus were eligible. Interventions Intensity-modulated radiation therapy to 70 Gy at 2 Gy/fraction concurrent with standard chemotherapy with or without adjuvant durvalumab. The esophageal wall contralateral to gross tumor was contoured as an avoidance structure to guide a steep dose falloff gradient. Target coverage was prioritized over CE sparing, and 99% of internal and planning target volumes had to be covered by 70 Gy and at least 63 Gy, respectively. Main outcomes and measures The primary end point was the rate of at least grade 3 acute esophagitis as assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4. Results Of 27 patients enrolled, 25 completed chemoradiation therapy. Nineteen patients had non-small cell lung carcinoma, and 6 had small cell lung carcinoma. The median age at diagnosis was 67 years (range, 51-81 years), and 15 patients (60%) were men. Thirteen patients (52%) had stage IIIA cancer, 10 (40%) had stage IIIB cancer, and 2 (8%) had stage IV cancer. The median CE maximum dose was 66 Gy (range, 44-71 Gy); the median volume of CE receiving at least 55 Gy was 1.4 cm3 (range, 0-5.3 cm3), and the median volume of CE receiving at least 45 Gy was 2.7 cm3 (range, 0-9.2 cm3). The median combined percentage of lung receiving at least 20 Gy was 25% (range, 11%-37%). The median follow-up was 33.3 months (range, 11.1-52.2 months). Among the 20 patients who had treatment breaks of 0 to 3 days and were thus evaluable for the primary end point, the rate of at least grade 3 esophagitis was 0%. Other toxic events observed among all 25 patients included 7 (28%) with grade 2 esophagitis, 3 (12%) with at least grade 2 pneumonitis (including 1 with grade 5), and 2 (8%) with at least grade 3 cardiac toxic event (including 1 with grade 5). There was no isolated local tumor failure. The 2-year progression-free survival rate was 57% (95% CI, 33%-75%), and the 2-year overall survival rate was 67% (95% CI, 45%-82%). Conclusions and relevance This phase 1 nonrandomized clinical trial found that the CE-sparing technique was associated with reduced risk of esophagitis among patients treated uniformly with chemoradiation therapy (to 70 Gy), with no grade 3 or higher esophagitis despite tumor within 1 cm of the esophagus. This technique may be translated into clinical practice. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02394548.

OEP (open educational practices), inclusive of open pedagogy, is often understood with respect to the use of OER (open educational resources) but can be conceived with more expansive conceptualisations (see Cronin & McLaren 2018; DeRosa & Jhangiani 2017; Koseoglu & Bozkurt 2018). This article attempts to build on existing OEP research and practice in two ways. First, we provide a typology of OEP, giving examples of practices across a continuum of openness and along three axes: from content-centric to process-centric, teacher-centric to learner-centric, and practices that are primarily for pedagogical purposes to primarily for social justice (Bali 2017). Second, we employ Hodgkinson-Williams and Trotter’s (2018) conceptual framework, which builds on Fraser’s model of social justice, to critically analyse the ways in which the use/impact of OEP might be considered socially just, with a particular focus on expansive, process-centric OEP. We analyze for whom and in which contexts OEP can (i) support social justice along economic, cultural and political dimensions, and (ii) do so in transformative, ameliorative, neutral or even negative ways. We use the typology and framework to analyse specific process-centric forms of OEP including collaborative annotation, Wikipedia editing, open networked courses, Virtually Connecting, public scholarship, and learner-created OER. Analysing specific practices highlights diversity across the axes and subtle differences among them, such as when a particular practice is considered good pedagogy and how it can be modified to be more oriented towards social justice. We discuss limitations of each practice not just from its discourse and design, but also how it works in practice.

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is regarded as an autoimmune disease characterized by insulin deficiency resulting from destruction of pancreatic beta-cells. The incidence rates of T1D have increased worldwide. Over the past decades, progress has been made in understanding the complexity of the immune response and its role in T1D pathogenesis, however, the trigger of T1D autoimmunity remains unclear. The increasing incidence rates, immigrant studies, and twin studies suggest that environmental factors play an important role and the trigger cannot simply be explained by genetic predisposition. Several research initiatives have identified environmental factors that potentially contribute to the onset of T1D autoimmunity and the progression of disease in children/young adults. More recently, the interplay between gut microbiota and the immune system has been implicated as an important factor in T1D pathogenesis. Although results often vary between studies, broad compositional and diversity patterns have emerged from both longitudinal and cross-sectional human studies. T1D patients have a less diverse gut microbiota, an increased prevalence of Bacteriodetes taxa and an aberrant metabolomic profile compared to healthy controls. In this comprehensive review, we present the data obtained from both animal and human studies focusing on the large longitudinal human studies. These studies are particularly valuable in elucidating the environmental factors that lead to aberrant gut microbiota composition and potentially contribute to T1D. We also discuss how environmental factors, such as birth mode, diet, and antibiotic use modulate gut microbiota and how this potentially contributes to T1D. In the final section, we focus on existing recent literature on microbiota-produced metabolites, proteins, and gut virome function as potential protectants or triggers of T1D onset. Overall, current results indicate that higher levels of diversity along with the presence of beneficial microbes and the resulting microbial-produced metabolites can act as protectors against T1D onset. However, the specifics of the interplay between host and microbes are yet to be discovered. Funding Agencies|NIH NIDDKUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) [1K01DK117967-01]; G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation

Catherine Cronin is an open educator, open researcher, and Strategic Education Developer at the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Ireland. Her work focuses on digital and open education, critical approaches to openness, digital identity practices, and exploring the interplay between formal and informal learning. She began her career as a Systems Engineer in the 1980’s, eventually changing paths to pursue a master’s degree in Women’s Studies completing her dissertation in gender and technology. Catherine has achieved over 25 years working in higher education. In her PhD research (2018), She explored the use of open educational practices (OEP) in higher education.

This paper focuses on the ADVANCE project, “Advancing the Careers of Women in STEM at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (ASAP),” undertaken to support women STEM faculty by understanding and responding to the multi-level effects of gender on their careers in academic science. The goal of the project was to create an environment of formal and informal interactions that allowed participants to explore the social, institutional, and individual contexts that both advance and hinder their careers, in part through building a framework for peer support and mentoring that was embedded in career-level and discipline-focused networks. The professional development opportunities provided were relevant because they emerged from the information that participants identified as important through their responses to surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Through ASAP, participants generated knowledge about the experiences of women in academic science at predominantly undergraduate institutions and improved their own careers and engaged more deeply with their professions.

We consider the principles of communities of practice (CoP) and networked learning in higher education, illustrated with a case study. iCollab has grown from an international community of practice connecting students and lecturers in seven modules across seven higher education institutions in six countries, to a global network supporting the exploration and evaluation of mobile web tools to engage in participatory curriculum development and supporting students in developing international collaboration and cooperation skills. This article explores the interplay of collaboration and cooperation, CoP and networked learning; describes how this interplay has operated in iCollab; and highlights opportunities and challenges of learning, teaching and interacting with students in networked publics in higher education. Keywords: communities of practice; networked learning; collaboration; cooperation; social media; mobile social media (Published: 1 March 2016) Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2016, 24 : 26497 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v24.26497

Limit-periodic (LP) structures exhibit a type of nonperiodic order yet to be found in a natural material. A recent result in tiling theory, however, has shown that LP order can spontaneously emerge in a two-dimensional (2D) lattice model with nearest-and next-nearest-neighbor interactions. In this dissertation, we explore the question of what types of interactions can lead to a LP state and address the issue of whether the formation of a LP structure in experiments is possible. We study emergence of LP order in three-dimensional (3D) tiling models and bring the subject into the physical realm by investigating systems with realistic Hamiltonians and low energy LP states. Finally, we present studies of the vibrational modes of a simple LP ball and spring model whose results indicate that LP materials would exhibit novel physical properties.A 2D lattice model defined on a triangular lattice with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor interactions based on the Taylor-Socolar (TS) monotile is known to have a LP ground state. The system reaches that state during a slow quench through an infinite sequence of phase transitions. Surprisingly, even when the strength of the next-nearest-neighbor interactions is zero, in which case there is a large degenerate class of both crystalline and LP ground states, a slow quench yields the LP state. The first study in this dissertation introduces 3D models closely related to the 2D models that exhibit LP phases. The particular 3D models were designed such that next-nearest-neighbor interactions of the TS type are implemented using only nearest-neighbor interactions. For one of the 3D models, we show that the phase transitions are first order, with equilibrium structures that can be more complex than in the 2D case. In the second study, we investigate systems with physical Hamiltonians based on one of the 2D tiling models with the goal of stimulating attempts to create a LP structure in experiments. We explore physically realizable particle designs while being mindful of particular features that may make the assembly of a LP structure in an experimental system difficult. Through Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, we have found that one particle design in particular is a promising template for a physical particle; a 2D system of identical disks with embedded dipoles is observed to undergo the series of phase transitions which leads to the LP state. LP structures are well ordered but nonperiodic, and hence have nontrivial vibrational modes. In the third section of this dissertation, we study a ball and spring model with a LP pattern of spring stiffnesses and identify a set of extended modes with arbitrarily low participation ratios, a situation that appears to be unique to LP systems. The balls that oscillate with large amplitude in these modes live on periodic nets with arbitrarily large lattice constants. By studying periodic approximants to the LP structure, we present numerical evidence for the existence of such modes, and we give a heuristic explanation of their structure.

A conceptual framework of positions on women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) was developed, showing a chronological progression of the main approaches to women’s underrepresentation in SET during the past 20 years. Numerous initiatives have been advocated to address women’s underrepresentation in SET in higher education. This article arose out of one such initiative, Winning Women, which was intended to help higher education in Scotland move toward good practice in this field. Two members of the project team describe their key findings and experiences. They illustrate how the underrepresentation of women in SET continues to be both progressive and persistent (using a SET parity index). The conceptual framework was conceived and developed from a metaanalysis of feminist theories of the gendered politics of science and technology.

‘SET for the Future˚s was a research/action project undertaken at Heriot-Watt University in 1996–97, funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC). The SET acronym in the title refers to Science, Engineering and Technology curricula in higher education. The goals of the project were to survey SET students' education experiences, to compare this information with previous research, and to use the results to modify two existing SET modules—specifically to increase the participation of women SET students and improve their experiences. In this article the following are described: first, the project design and overall findings and, second, the project team's reflections on the process. The latter are described in detail, because specific aspects of the process of change are likely to be of most interest to others working towards building inclusive learning environments in their own departments and institutions.

In July 1995 the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) announced an initiative aimed at redressing the underrepresentation of women in science, engineering, and technology in higher education in Scotland. The first step in the initiative was to support a research and development project that would investigate good practice in women's access to, participation in, and progression through courses and careers in science, engineering, and technology (SET) in higher education. The initiative had its roots in the growing awareness of the problem of the underrepresentation of women in these disciplines that had been communicated through such pressure groups as "Women Scientists and Engineers in Scotland" (WSES) and "Women into Science and Engineering" (WISE) among others. The recruitment problem in SET is not confined to women; it is much more general and a cause of concern across the United Kingdom, but it is clear that women experience particular obstacles and barriers in their pursuit of studies an...

This article outlines the findings of a SHEFC‐funded project aimed at redressing the gender imbalance within science, engineering and technology (SET) subjects in higher education (HE). A review is...

Within the background where education is increasingly driven by the economies of scale and research funding, we propose an alternative online open and connected framework (OOC) for building global learning communities using mobile social media. We critique a three year action research case study involving building collaborative global learning communities around a community of practice of learning researchers and practitioners. The results include the development of a framework for utilising mobile social media to support collaborative curriculum development across international boundaries. We conclude that this framework is potentially transferrable to a range of educational contexts where the focus is upon student-generated mobile social media projects.Keywords: community of practice; mlearning; global collaboration framework(Published: 6 September 2013)Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2013, 21: 21955 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21i0.21955

The paper describes the analytical process and simulation-based tools that were used to perform a study of alternatives for an automated transit system (ATS) that would serve as an airport circulator system for possible future conditions at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. The paper describes the alternative ATS configurations that would provide non-secure landside connections between the three terminals and remote landside facilities, and in some case studies include a separate additional automated people mover (APM) circulator system to provide secure airside connections. The analysis was primarily performed utilizing the Advanced Land-Transportation Performance Simulation T M (ALPS T M ) software, which is described in the paper to include the flight schedule processing and the integrated pedestrian and transit system simulations.

The current study used a single trial bead discrimination task for the young chick to ascertain if inhibitors of P2 purinergic receptors would impair memory retention. Suramin and PPADS provided similar retention profiles. Loss of memory retention was evident by 60 min post-training. Both drugs caused persistent memory loss which was still evident 24 h post-training. These findings suggest that P2 receptors have a role in memory processing.

Reference ranges for cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were developed with sera from 39 healthy preterm infants less than 31 weeks of gestational age, collected weekly until 37 weeks of corrected age. (J P EDIATR 1995;126:985-7)

Open education seeks to improve educational access, effectiveness, and equality. The term ‘open educational practices’ (OEP) describes practices that include the creation, use and reuse of open educational resources (OER) as well as open pedagogies and open sharing of teaching practices. While open education at a macro level is regarded by many as a positive goal, complexity resides in determining and negotiating the value of open practice at an individual level, and structural and cultural barriers to openness persist within higher education. The goal of this research study was to understand whether, why, how, and to what extent individual educators used OEP, specifically with respect to teaching, and also to identify any shared characteristics among those who used OEP (i.e. ‘open educators’). The study was conducted at a medium-sized, research-focused university in Ireland, without explicit policies on OER or OEP. The empirical study used a qualitative, interpretive, and critical approach in order to focus on participants’ meaning-making and decision-making with respect to openness. Data was gathered from academic staff across a broad range of disciplines and all employment categories (i.e. permanent, non-permanent, full-time and part-time). Using constructivist grounded theory, a model of the concept ‘Using OEP for teaching’ was constructed to describe open educators’ digital identities and digital practices, and the values and motives associated with decisions about whether to use OEP. The results of the study indicated little intentional use of OER and relatively low use of OEP. The four dimensions shared by open educators were: (i) balancing privacy and openness, (ii) developing digital literacies, (iii) valuing social learning, and (iv) challenging traditional teaching role expectations. The use of OEP by academic staff was found to be complex, personal, contextual, and continually negotiated. The study adds to a growing body of work on open educational practices and also provides evidence for policy makers and practitioners arguing for critical and context-specific approaches to open education.

Background Worldwide, millions of people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers are experiencing physical and psychological distress. Psychosocial support and education can reduce distress and prevent avoidable healthcare resource use. To date, we lack knowledge from large-scale studies on which interventions generate positive outcomes for people with cancer and their informal caregivers’ quality of life. This protocol describes the DIAdIC study that will evaluate the effectiveness of two psychosocial and educational interventions aimed at improving patient-family caregiver dyads’ emotional functioning and self-efficacy. Methods We will conduct an international multicenter three-arm randomized controlled trial in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In each country, 156 dyads (936 in total) of people with advanced cancer and their family caregiver will be randomized to one of the study arms: 1) a nurse-led face-to-face intervention (FOCUS+), 2) a web-based intervention (iFOCUS) or 3) a control group (care as usual). The two interventions offer tailored psychoeducational support for patient-family caregiver dyads. The nurse-led face-to-face intervention consists of two home visits and one online video session and the web-based intervention is completed independently by the patient-family caregiver dyad in four online sessions. The interventions are based on the FOCUS intervention, developed in the USA, that addresses five core components: family involvement, optimistic outlook, coping effectiveness, uncertainty reduction, and symptom management. The FOCUS intervention will be adapted to the European context. The primary outcomes are emotional functioning and self-efficacy of the patient and the family caregiver, respectively. The secondary outcomes are quality of life, benefits of illness, coping, dyadic communication, and ways of giving support of the patient and family caregiver. Discussion DIAdIC aims to develop cost-effective interventions that integrate principles of early palliative care into standard care. The cross-country setup in six European countries allows for comparison of effectiveness of the interventions in different healthcare systems across Europe. By focusing on empowerment of the person with cancer and their family caregiver, the results of this RCT can contribute to the search for cost-effective novel interventions that can relieve constraints on professional healthcare. Trial registration Registration on ClinicalTrials.gov on 12/11/2020, identifier NCT04626349. Date and version identifier 20211209_DIAdIC_Protocol_Article.