Alterations of Ion Homeostasis in Cancer Metastasis: Implications for Treatment

We have previously reported that metastases from all malignancies are characterized by a core program of gene expression that suppresses extracellular matrix interactions, induces vascularization/tissue remodeling, activates the oxidative metabolism, and alters ion homeostasis. Among these features, the least elucidated component is ion homeostasis. Here we review the literature with the goal to infer a better mechanistic understanding of the progression-associated ionic alterations and identify the most promising drugs for treatment. Cancer metastasis is accompanied by skewing in calcium, zinc, copper, potassium, sodium and chloride homeostasis. Membrane potential changes and water uptake through Aquaporins may also play roles. Drug candidates to reverse these alterations are at various stages of testing, with some having entered clinical trials. Challenges to their utilization comprise differences among tumor types and the involvement of multiple ions in each case. Further, adverse effects may become a concern, as channel blockers, chelators, or supplemented ions will affect healthy and transformed cells alike.

Key Factors in Intervention Implementation, Fidelity, and Sustainability

As part of an NIA-supported effort to develop an online course to train individuals to lead the evidence-based Savvy Caregiver program and to orient sponsoring organizations to the program, we conducted semi-structured interviews to assess success and sustainability “best practices”. Interviews were conducted with 17 leaders and trainers from eleven Savvy-providing organizations. Analysis of these interviews identified two main themes associated with successful program implementation: leadership commitment and trainer ownership. Paramount to success appears to be leaders’ clear understanding of and enthusiastic commitment to the value of the Savvy program to the organization’s constituents. This translated to careful selection, training, management and on-going development of Savvy program trainers. It contributed to leaders’ appreciation of Savvy as a gateway for clients to seek out other programs and services from the organization, while the gathering of meaningful evaluation data (using established outcome-assessment instruments) contributed, in several cases, to garnering more lasting support to deliver the program. Organizations’ commitment to the program was demonstrated by securing the kinds of adequate and appropriate training, typically involving both instruction and modeling, for Savvy program leaders. These efforts fostered a sense of ownership among the leaders – the sense that the program had positive value for the caregivers served. These findings should be of interest both to scholars engaged in the development of interventions and for organizations implementing them. Taken together, the themes highlight several factors for program implementation that maximize the chances of maintaining fidelity to core program principles and ensuring its sustainability.

Strengthened family planning is critical to help accelerate the reduction of maternal mortality in Indonesia

The still stubbornly high maternal mortality ratio challenges Indonesia to improve health program strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.1 target of a maternal mortality ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. Indonesia has already adopted maternal-neonatal health experts’ recommendation of four core program strategies to reduce maternal mortality: (1) family planning with related reproductive health services; (2) skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth; (3) timely emergency obstetric care; and (4) immediate postnatal care (WHO, 1996). These four core strategies would reduce maternal mortality through reduced high-risk births. To be effective, however, these four core program strategies require continued strong quality assurance and central and local government support to ensure program effectiveness yielded towards widely accessible, sustained, quality family planning and maternal and neonatal emergency services. This paper provides evidence for the importance of family planning to help health program strategies to accelerate maternal mortality reduction.

Implementation of the Comprehensive Operating Room Ergonomics Program for Surgeons Through an OT Approach: A Feasibility Study

Date Presented 04/22/21 The Comprehensive Operating Room Ergonomics (CORE) program was developed to address the physical and environmental demands among surgeons. This feasibility study examined the design and implementation process of an evidence-based OT ergonomics intervention using a mixed-methods research design. The CORE program supports the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Vision 2025 of promoting population health and wellness, especially among surgeons who are essential to our health care system. Primary Author and Speaker: Pamela Hess Additional Authors and Speakers: Elena Donoso Brown

Kajian Komparasi Profil Pendidikan Kewarganegaran Sekolah Dasar Di Singapura Dan Indonesia

The purpose of the study is to describe the profile of primary school citizenship education in Singapore and Indonesia. This study is literature research. The primary data of this study is a document of the primary school-level citizenship education curriculum that applies in Singapore and Indonesia, while secondary data is another source of literature that fits the focus of this study. The research data is collected through documentation techniques, then analyzed by content analysis method. The findings of this study are programmatically citizenship education of elementary schools in Singapore and Indonesia included in the separated approach and used as a core program of compulsory subjects and has its own uniqueness.

Peningkatan Implementasi Sanitasi Lingkungan melalui Pelatihan bagi Siswa Sekolah Dasar di Bogor

Clean and healthy life behavior (PHBS) in schools is an activity to empower students, teachers, and the community to run a healthy lifestyle and create healthy schools. The activity aims to socialize the importance of environmental sanitation in schools and raise awareness about the importance of environmental health in schools, through socialization and implementation training conducted in September 2020 in Bantarjati District, Bogor City, West Java. The activity was followed by students in grade 4 (four) elementary school totaling 35 students with implementation activities consisting of the preparation, core program and evaluation stages, then analyzed qualitatively through field observations and participant understanding interviews. The implementation of sanitation that has been carried out on students is one of the basic sanitation, which is washing hands and sorting waste by type. Minister of Health Regulation No. 3 of 2014 concerning STBM explains that washing hands with soap is the behavior of washing hands using clean running water and soap. Waste in general is divided into two, namely organic and inorganic waste. Both of these wastes have benefits for us, but they also have an impact on the environment. The results showed that the students' level of understanding at SDN 6 Bantarjati Bogor had a fairly good level. However, periodic socialization needs to be carried out as a process of forming student character and becomes a habit that is carried out so that it can be applied in everyday life through implementation training (practice).

Fractional Choice-Based Credit System

The key change brought by fractional choice-based credit system (F-CBCS) is making the learning process ‘learner-centric'. It allows learners to choose inter- and intra-disciplinary courses and provides more flexibility for students to study at different times and at different institutions to complete a course, thereby providing ease of mobility to students. It allows students to choose courses from group, namely program core, program elective, institute core, institute elective, and ability enhancement courses. It gives learner to opt for honors and minors and provides flexibility to complete degree programme at accelerated space. Designing a learning assessment framework is one critical criteria for educational institutions trying to seek NAAC or NBA accreditation. Many of the organizations lack in formalizing the process whose end results are key input to mapping process of learning outcomes assessments. This chapter will provide a comprehensive architecture, strategies, and design approach towards effective implementation of F-CBCS and learning outcomes assessments.

Biosciences Proposal Bootcamp: Structured peer and faculty feedback improves trainees’ proposals and grantsmanship self-efficacy

Grant writing is an essential skill to develop for academic and other career success but providing individual feedback to large numbers of trainees is challenging. In 2014, we launched the Stanford Biosciences Grant Writing Academy to support graduate students and postdocs in writing research proposals. Its core program is a multi-week Proposal Bootcamp designed to increase the feedback writers receive as they develop and refine their proposals. The Proposal Bootcamp consisted of two-hour weekly meetings that included mini lectures and peer review. Bootcamp participants also attended faculty review workshops to obtain faculty feedback. Postdoctoral trainees were trained and hired as course teaching assistants and facilitated weekly meetings and review workshops. Over the last six years, the annual Bootcamp has provided 525 doctoral students and postdocs with multi-level feedback (peer and faculty). Proposals from Bootcamp participants were almost twice as likely to be funded than proposals from non-Bootcamp trainees. Overall, this structured program provided opportunities for feedback from multiple peer and faculty reviewers, increased the participants’ confidence in developing and submitting research proposals, while accommodating a large number of participants.

Hardware Architecture and Implementation of an AI Pet Robot

The concept of AI companionship is gaining popularity in recent times. Our project is an attempt to create a robotic companion that can act just like a pet. We created a Pet Robot that can perform various functions like recognise people, recognise objects, recognise emotions, play games, follow a person around, listen to voice commands, dance and so on. This paper focuses on the hardware aspect of the robot and the working of the Core program (Kernel). It further discusses the algorithm that was implemented in this architecture and compares the final version with other variations. Our work was able to create a fully functioning AI pet robot by using just cheap commercially available development boards, motors and a Desktop PC.