Science Communication Training Imparts Confidence and Influences Public Engagement Activity.

The impacts of science are felt across all socio-ecological levels, ranging from the individual to societal. In order to adapt or respond to scientific discoveries, novel technologies, or biomedical or environmental challenges, a fundamental understanding of science is necessary. However, antiscientific rhetoric, mistrust in science, and the dissemination of misinformation hinder the promotion of science as a necessary and beneficial component of our world.

More Than Metaphor: Online Resources for Teaching Cancer Biology.

Cancer biology can be a good hook to emotionally engage students with the life sciences. This highlights free online resources to teach cancer biology, including materials that accompany the film , lectures by experts hosted by the iBiology and HHMI websites, and a variety of other classroom resources.

A Systematic Review of End-of-Life Care Communication Skills Training for Generalist Palliative Care Providers: Research Quality and Reporting Guidance.

Context: End-of-life care (EoLC) communication skills training for generalist palliative care providers is recommended in policy guidance globally. Although many training programs now exist, there has been no comprehensive evidence synthesis to inform future training delivery and evaluation.

Objectives: To identify and appraise how EoLC communication skills training interventions for generalist palliative care providers are developed, delivered, evaluated, and reported.

The Effect of Communication Skills Training for Generalist Palliative Care Providers on Patient-Reported Outcomes and Clinician Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Context: As most end-of-life care is provided by health care providers who are generalists rather than specialists in palliative care, effective communication skills training for generalists is essential.

Objectives: To determine the effect of communication training interventions for generalist palliative care providers on patient-reported outcomes and trainee behaviors.

Methods: Systematic review from searches of 10 databases to December 2015 (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Web of Science, ICTRP, CORDIS, and OpenGrey) plus hand searching.

The Student-Teacher Relationship Quality of Abused Children.

Considering the association between children's quality of relationships with teachers and their academic adjustment, information pertaining to how abused children are functioning in their relationships with teachers could be useful in promoting their academic success- yet there has been limited research in this area. The purpose of this study was to use cluster analyses to explore within-group differences in relational schemas and quality of student-teacher relationships for 70 abused children. Two clusters of abused children emerged, and as hypothesized, there were significant differences in student-teacher relationships for the two clusters.

Sub-Regional Assessment of HPV Vaccination Among Female Adolescents in the Intermountain West and Implications for Intervention Opportunities.

Objectives We investigated the similarities and differences in the factors related to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of female adolescents in three sub-regions of the Intermountain West (IW). Methods We analyzed 2011-2012 National Immunization Survey-Teen data. Respondents (parents) who were living in the IW and who had daughters aged 13-17 years old with provider-verified immunization records were included in our analyses.

Factors associated with early adoption of the HPV vaccine in US male adolescents include Hispanic ethnicity and receipt of other vaccines.

Adolescent males' HPV vaccine initiation and completion in the United States is far below the Healthy People 2020 goal of 80% 3-dose completion among boys. In 2012, less than 7% of males ages 13-17 years had completed the 3-dose series. The Diffusion of Innovations framework guided this investigation of factors related to early adoption of HPV vaccination among male adolescents.

Bringing Climate Change into the Life Science Classroom: Essentials, Impacts on Life, and Addressing Misconceptions.

Most life science educators are unaware of the scientific consensus regarding climate change. This highlights free online resources to teach climate change, including research summaries, materials about the life science impacts of climate change, and resources that address common misconceptions and “skeptical” arguments.

Episodic medication adherence in adolescents and young adults with perinatally acquired HIV: a within-participants approach.

Due to the success of antiretroviral (ART) medications, young people living with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV+) are now surviving into adolescence and young adulthood. Understanding factors influencing ART non-adherence in this group is important in developing effective adherence interventions. Most studies of ART adherence in HIV-positive populations assess differences in adherence levels and adherence predictors between participants, over a period of time (global adherence).

Online Resources for Engaging Students in Bioethical Discussions.

This review highlights free online resources for teaching bioethics that will be useful for educators working with high school and undergraduate students. These materials provide frameworks of ethical analysis, curricula and lesson plans, case studies, and resources that have a special focus on protection of human research participants.

Genome Modeling System: A Knowledge Management Platform for Genomics.

In this work, we present the Genome Modeling System (GMS), an analysis information management system capable of executing automated genome analysis pipelines at a massive scale. The GMS framework provides detailed tracking of samples and data coupled with reliable and repeatable analysis pipelines. The GMS also serves as a platform for bioinformatics development, allowing a large team to collaborate on data analysis, or an individual researcher to leverage the work of others effectively within its data management system.

An extended assistantship for final-year students.

Background: Many students feel unprepared for clinical practice after completing their medical school training. There is evidence that a brief shadowing period improves student confidence and patient safety, but there is currently little evidence on the impact of a longer shadowing period. A 10-week student assistantship (SA) for final-year students was implemented for Year 5 undergraduates at the University of Bristol in 2011.

A role for the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier as a repressor of the Warburg effect and colon cancer cell growth.

Cancer cells are typically subject to profound metabolic alterations, including the Warburg effect wherein cancer cells oxidize a decreased fraction of the pyruvate generated from glycolysis. We show herein that the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC), composed of the products of the MPC1 and MPC2 genes, modulates fractional pyruvate oxidation. MPC1 is deleted or underexpressed in multiple cancers and correlates with poor prognosis.

A mentorship programme for final-year students.

Background: Current mentorship programmes in the UK tend to focus predominantly on junior medical students; however, final-year medical students may encounter significant academic and personal pressures. We established a mentoring scheme to provide individualised support for final-year students from a junior doctor mentor. The objectives of this study were to assess the benefits of the scheme and identify areas for future improvement.

Internal working models and adjustment of physically abused children: the mediating role of self-regulatory abilities.

Background: Abused children's internal working models (IWM) of relationships are known to relate to their socioemotional adjustment, but mechanisms through which negative representations increase vulnerability to maladjustment have not been explored. We sought to expand the understanding of individual differences in IWM of abused children and investigate the mediating role of self-regulation in links between IWM and adjustment.

Methods: Cluster analysis was used to subgroup 74 physically abused children based on their IWM.

DNA double-strand break - induced pro-survival signaling.

Radiation and other types of DNA damaging agents induce a plethora of signaling events simultaneously originating from the nucleus, cytoplasm, and plasma membrane. As a result, this presents a dilemma when seeking to determine causal relationships and better insight into the intricacies of stress signaling. ATM plays critical roles in both nuclear and cytoplasmic signaling, of which, the DNA damage response (DDR) is the best characterized.

SRSF1 regulates the alternative splicing of caspase 9 via a novel intronic splicing enhancer affecting the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Increasing evidence points to the functional importance of alternative splice variations in cancer pathophysiology with the alternative pre-mRNA processing of caspase 9 as one example. In this study, we delve into the underlying molecular mechanisms that regulate the alternative splicing of caspase 9. Specifically, the pre-mRNA sequence of caspase 9 was analyzed for RNA cis-elements known to interact with SRSF1, a required enhancer for caspase 9 RNA splicing.

Management of pulmonary hypertension in Down syndrome.

Unlabelled: Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at greater risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) than the general population, partly due to upper airway obstruction and congenital heart disease. We wished to review our management of PAH and suggest a protocol for the systematic management of these children. Children with DS and PAH were included as referred for assessment from March 2005 to May 2010.

Alternative splicing of caspase 9 is modulated by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway via phosphorylation of SRp30a.

Increasing evidence points to the functional importance of alternative splice variations in cancer pathophysiology. Two splice variants are derived from the CASP9 gene via the inclusion (Casp9a) or exclusion (Casp9b) of a four-exon cassette. Here we show that alternative splicing of Casp9 is dysregulated in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) regardless of their pathologic classification.

ATM-independent, high-fidelity nonhomologous end joining predominates in human embryonic stem cells.

We recently demonstrated that human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) utilize homologous recombination repair (HRR) as primary means of double-strand break (DSB) repair. We now show that hESCs also use nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). NHEJ kinetics were several-fold slower in hESCs and neural progenitors (NPs) than in astrocytes derived from hESCs.

Can you feel the beat? Interoceptive awareness is an interactive function of anxiety- and depression-specific symptom dimensions.

Delineating the differential effects of anxiety versus depression on patterns of information processing has proved challenging. The tripartite model of mood disorders (Clark & Watson, 1991) suggests that one way forward is to adopt a dimensional rather than categorical approach, making it possible to explore the main and interaction effects of depression- and anxiety-specific symptoms on a given cognitive-affective process. Here we examined how the interplay of anxiety-specific arousal and depression-specific anhedonia symptoms in the same individuals relate to interoceptive (bodily) awareness.

Genome remodelling in a basal-like breast cancer metastasis and xenograft.

Massively parallel DNA sequencing technologies provide an unprecedented ability to screen entire genomes for genetic changes associated with tumour progression. Here we describe the genomic analyses of four DNA samples from an African-American patient with basal-like breast cancer: peripheral blood, the primary tumour, a brain metastasis and a xenograft derived from the primary tumour. The metastasis contained two de novo mutations and a large deletion not present in the primary tumour, and was significantly enriched for 20 shared mutations.

Treatment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension was once thought to be a rare condition and only managed in specialized centers. Now however, with the advent of echocardiography, it is found in many clinical scenarios, in the neonate with chronic lung disease, in the acute setting in the intensive care unit, in connective tissue disease and in cardiology pre- and postoperatively. We have a better understanding of the pathological process and have a range of medication which is starting to be able to palliate this previously fatal condition.

Pro-survival AKT and ERK signaling from EGFR and mutant EGFRvIII enhances DNA double-strand break repair in human glioma cells.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently dysregulated in malignant glioma that leads to increased resistance to cancer therapy. Upregulation of wild type or expression of mutant EGFR is associated with tumor radioresistance and poor clinical outcome. EGFR variant III (EGFRvIII) is the most common EGFR mutation in malignant glioma.