Search

Universities worldwide are facing a number of contradictory and competing pressures that range from under-funding to the very nature of universities and their roles in society. Pressures of the information explosion, the democratization of information through access to the Internet, and the advent of the knowledge-based economies have changed the educational landscape and universities are under threat. To survive universities need to reform. We must graduate citizens with a broader, interdisciplinary knowledge and an ability to take responsibility for their own learning. At the University of Guelph, we have turned the telescope around and are offering small group introductory courses during the first year of university. Through interdisciplinary, enquiry-based courses we help students develop critical thinking and research skills at the start of their university careers. We have charted the impact of this approach and document significant improvements in motivation, academic achievement, critical thinking, library and other resources use, and personal development. Contact time with faculty is reduced and students have a deeper and more sophisticated approach to learning. The presentation will explore how this approach can be used to create a different type of university education that is more relevant to our complex world.

In Cambodia, both anaemia and vitamin A deficiency are serious health problems. Despite this, few comprehensive nutritional surveys have been completed to date. This study evaluates the adequacy of iron and vitamin A intakes, as well as women's nutritional knowledge in rural Kandal province. Twenty-four hour recalls, pile sort activities, socioeconomic surveys, focus groups, and market surveys were carried out with 67 women from 5 villages in rural Kandal Province. Ninety seven percent of women did not meet their daily-recommended intake of iron, while 70% did not meet their daily-recommended intake of vitamin A. Although many women consume vitamin A-rich and iron rich-foods daily, they do not consume large enough quantities of these foods. Results suggest that both the cost of foods as well as the extent of health knowledge is linked to nutritional practice. Most animal-source iron and vitamin A-rich foods are considered expensive; however, small fish, and several plant-source vitamin A-rich foods are inexpensive and easy to access. Despite health education, food restrictions lead some healthy foods to be considered to be harmful to women. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the importance of developing comprehensive nutritional interventions in Cambodia. Health programming must provide women with not only suggestions to include low-cost nutrient-rich foods, but also advise them about the quantities that are likely to have an impact on nutritional status. Programs should take a community-based, inter-sectoral approach that simultaneously combines culturally informed health education with initiatives that combat poverty and increase access to nutrient rich foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peptide relaxin has recently been shown to protect brain tissues from the detrimental effects of ischemia. To date, the mechanisms for this remain unclear. In order to investigate the neuroprotective mechanisms by which relaxin may protect the brain, we investigated the possibility that relaxin protects astrocytes from hypoxia or oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD). Cultured astrocytes were pre-treated with either relaxin-2 or relaxin-3 and exposed to OGD for 24 or 48 hours. Following OGD exposure, viability assays showed that relaxin-treated cells exhibited a higher viability when compared to astrocytes that experienced OGD-alone. Next, to test whether relaxin reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) astrocytes were exposed to the same conditions as the previous experiment and a commercially available ROS detection kit was used to detect ROS production. Astrocytes that were treated with relaxin-2 and relaxin-3 showed a marked decrease in ROS production when compared to control astrocytes that were exposed only to OGD. Finally, experiments were performed to determine whether or not the mitochondrial membrane potential was affected by relaxin treatment during 24 hour OGD. Mitochondrial membrane potential was higher in astrocytes that were treated with relaxin-2 and relaxin-3 compared to untreated OGD-alone astrocytes. Taken together, these data present novel findings that show relaxin protects astrocytes from ischemic conditions through the reduction of ROS production and the maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peptide relaxin has recently been shown to protect brain tissues from the detrimental effects of ischemia. To date, the mechanisms for this remain unclear. In order to investigate the neuroprotective mechanisms by which relaxin may protect the brain, we investigated the possibility that relaxin protects astrocytes from hypoxia or oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD). Cultured astrocytes were pre-treated with either relaxin-2 or relaxin-3 and exposed to OGD for 24 or 48 hours. Following OGD exposure, viability assays showed that relaxin-treated cells exhibited a higher viability when compared to astrocytes that experienced OGD-alone. Next, to test whether relaxin reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) astrocytes were exposed to the same conditions as the previous experiment and a commercially available ROS detection kit was used to detect ROS production. Astrocytes that were treated with relaxin-2 and relaxin-3 showed a marked decrease in ROS production when compared to control astrocytes that were exposed only to OGD. Finally, experiments were performed to determine whether or not the mitochondrial membrane potential was affected by relaxin treatment during 24 hour OGD. Mitochondrial membrane potential was higher in astrocytes that were treated with relaxin-2 and relaxin-3 compared to untreated OGD-alone astrocytes. Taken together, these data present novel findings that show relaxin protects astrocytes from ischemic conditions through the reduction of ROS production and the maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors reflect on their experience working at the Dadaab Somali refugee camp in Kenya for the World University Service of Canada educational organization (WUSC) during the 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa. They comment on the callousness of the international media film crews that sought to record the famine, as well as the difficulties the camp's doctor faced in examining and providing medical attention to new malnourished arrivals. The authors are also criticize the international political delegations that inspected the camp while praising the work of aid agency workers. They argue that the camp needs more primary and secondary schools for refugee children, some of which have been established by the Windle Trust.

Anemia is a severe global public health problem with serious consequences for both the human and socio-economic health. This paper presents a situation analysis of the burden of anemia in Cambodia, including a discussion of the country-specific etiologies and future research needs. All available literature on the prevalence and etiology of anemia in Cambodia was collected using standard search protocols. Prevalence data was readily identified for pre-school aged children and women of reproductive age, but there is a dearth of information for school-aged children, men and the elderly. Despite progress in nationwide programming over the past decade, anemia remains a significant public health problem in Cambodia, especially for women and children. Anemia is a multi-faceted disease and both nutritional and non-nutritional etiologies were identified, with iron deficiency accounting for the majority of the burden of disease. The current study highlights the need for a national nutrition survey, including collection of data on the iron status and prevalence of anemia in all population groups. It is impossible to develop effective intervention programs without a clear picture of the burden and cause of disease in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hormone antagonists can be effective tools to delineate receptor signaling pathways and their resulting downstream physiological actions. Mutation of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of human H2 relaxin (AH2) impaired its biological function as measured by cAMP signaling. In a competition assay, ΔH2 exhibited antagonistic activity by blocking recombinant H2 relaxin from binding to receptors on THP-1 cells. In a flow cytometry-based binding assay, ΔH2 demonstrated weak binding to 293T cells expressing the LGR7 receptor in the presence of biotinylated H2 relaxin. When human prostate cancer cell lines (PC-3 and LNCaP) were engineered to overexpress eGFP, wildtype (WT) H2, or ΔH2, and subsequently implanted into NOD/SCID mice, tumor xenografts overexpressing ΔH2 displayed smaller volumes compared to H2 and eGFP controls. Plasma osmolality readings and microvessel density and area assessment suggest that ΔH2 modulates physiological parameters in vivo. In a second murine model, intratumoral injections of lentivectors engineered to express ΔH2/eGFP led to suppressed tumor growth compared to controls. This study provides further evidence supporting a role for H2 relaxin in prostate tumor growth. More importantly, we report how mutation of the H2 relaxin RBD confers the hormone derivative with antagonistic properties, offering a novel reagent for relaxin research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding HIV testing behaviour is vital to developing evidence-based policy and programming that supports optimal HIV care, support, and prevention. This has not been investigated among younger gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM, aged 16-29) in New Zealand.Methods: National HIV sociobehavioural surveillance data from 2006, 2008, and 2011 was pooled to determine the prevalence of recent HIV testing (in the last 12 months) among YMSM. Factors associated with recent testing were determined using manual backward stepwise multivariate logistic regression.Results: Of 3,352 eligible YMSM, 1,338 (39.9%) reported a recent HIV test. In the final adjusted model, the odds of having a recent HIV test were higher for YMSM who were older, spent more time with other gay men, reported multiple sex partners, had a regular partner for 6-12 months, reported high condom use with casual partners, and disagreed that HIV is a less serious threat nowadays and that an HIV-positive man would disclose before sex. The odds of having a recent HIV test were lower for YMSM who were bisexual, recruited online, reported Pacific Islander or Asian ethnicities, reported no regular partner or one for >3 years, were insertive-only during anal intercourse with a regular partner, and who had less HIV-related knowledge.Conclusion: A priority for HIV management should be connecting YMSM at risk of infection, but unlikely to test with appropriate testing services. New generations of YMSM require targeted, culturally relevant health promotion that provides accurate understandings about HIV transmission and prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The principal objective was to explore in greater detail safety issues with regard to the use of the Lucky Iron Fish® (fish) as a treatment for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in women in rural Cambodia.Methods and Study Design: Experiments were done to determine: (1) purity of the iron in the fish by mass spectroscopy; (2) release of iron and contaminants released during boiling in water using inductive-ly-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy; (3) the impact of cooking time, acidity and number of fish in acidified water and two types of Khmer soups; and (4) drinkability of the water after boiling with different num-bers of fish.Results: The fish is composed primarily of ferrous iron with less than 12% non-ferrous iron. Contaminants were either not detectable or levels were below the acceptable standards set by the World Health Organization. The length of time boiling the fish and the acidity of the water increased iron release but even with 5 fish boiled for 60 minutes, iron levels only approached levels where side effects are observed. Boiling one fish in water did not affect the perception of colour, smell or taste of the water but boiling in water with two or more fish resulted in the water being unpalatable which further limits the potential for iron toxicity from using the fish.Conclusions: The results suggest that the Lucky Iron Fish™ may be a safe treatment for iron deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]