Impacts of Wildfire Smoke and Air Pollution on a Pediatric Population with Asthma: A Population-Based Study.

Wildfires are increasing yearly in number and severity as a part of the evolving climate crisis. These fires are a significant source of air pollution, a common driver of flares in cardiorespiratory disease, including asthma, which is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Poorly controlled asthma leads to significant societal costs through morbidity, mortality, lost school and work time and healthcare utilization. This retrospective cohort study set in Calgary, Canada evaluates the relationship between asthma exacerbations during wildfire smoke events and equivalent low-pollution periods in a pediatric asthma population. Air pollution was based on daily average levels of PM2.5. Wildfire smoke events were determined by combining information from provincial databases and local monitors. Exposures were assumed using postal codes in the health record at the time of emergency department visits. Provincial claims data identified 27,501 asthma exacerbations in 57,375 children with asthma between 2010 to 2021. Wildfire smoke days demonstrated an increase in asthma exacerbations over the baseline (incidence rate ratio: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.02-1.24); this was not seen with air pollution in general. Increased rates of asthma exacerbations were also noted yearly in September. Asthma exacerbations were significantly decreased during periods of COVID-19 healthcare precautions.

Integration of Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) Students in a Trauma Center's Acute Pain Service: In-Person and Remote Training and Patient Care.

Objective: Evidence of effectiveness and demand for acupuncture to treat acute pain conditions is growing, as is the need for acupuncturists trained to deliver patient care in a hospital setting. This articles describes collaboration between Bastyr University and Harborview Medical Center to incorporate Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) students into a trauma hospital setting. Materials and Methods: A model was developed to integrate DAOM students into an Anesthesiology Acute Pain Service to provide acupuncture to postoperative inpatients. That in-person model pivoted to remote student education and patient self-care education during the COVID 19 outbreak. A review was conducted of 323 consecutive patients who received acupuncture while they were hospitalized. Results: The review of 323 consecutive patients who received acupuncture for pain during their hospital admission indicated that as few as one acupuncture treatment resulted in clinically significant benefits. No serious complications or safety concerns were reported. Conclusions: Collaboration between academic and clinical programs can provide the structure to integrate acupuncture into hospital settings safely and with benefit to patients and students.

Reading and connecting: using social annotation in online classes

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has forced many instructors to rapidly shift to online/distance teaching. With a narrow preparation window, many instructors are at a loss of strategies that are both effective in responding to the crisis and compatible with their professional practices. One urgent need in classrooms at all levels is to support social reading of course materials. To fulfill this need, this paper aims to present a systematic literature review on using Web annotation in K-12 and higher education to provide practical and evidence-based recommendations for educators to incorporate social annotation in online teaching.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a systematic literature review of the use of Web annotation in formal education. The authors reviewed 39 articles that met the inclusion criteria and extracted the following information from each article: level of education, subject area, learning theory, learning activity design, Web annotation technology, research methods and learning outcomes. Studies were further analyzed and synthesized by the genre of learning activity design.FindingsThe authors identified five types of social annotation activity design: processing domain-specific knowledge, supporting argumentation and inquiry, improving literacy skills, supporting instructor and peer assessment and connecting online learning spaces. In addition, the authors developed practical recommendations on setting pedagogical goals, selecting annotation tools, deciding instructor involvement and developing evaluation strategies.Originality/valueThis study provides a timely response to online/distance teaching under the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a hope that these identified application areas, in combination with four practical recommendations, would provide pragmatic and evidence-based support for educators to engage learners in reading, learning and connecting.

Reading and connecting: using social annotation in online classes

Purpose - The COM-19 pandemic has forced many instructors to rapidly shift to online/distance teaching. With a narrow preparation window, many instructors are at a loss of strategies that are both effective in responding to the crisis and compatible with their professional practices. One urgent need in classrooms at all levels is to support social reading of course materials. To fulfill this need, this paper aims to present a systematic literature review on using Web annotation in K-12 and higher education to provide practical and evidence-based recommendations for educators to incorporate social annotation in online teaching. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents a systematic literature review of the use of Web annotation in formal education. The authors reviewed 39 articles that met the inclusion criteria and extracted the following information from each article: level of education, subject area, learning theory, learning activity design, Web annotation technology, research methods and learning outcomes. Studies were further analyzed and synthesized by the genre of learning activity design. Findings - The authors identified five types of social annotation activity design: processing domain-specific knowledge, supporting argumentation and inquiry, improving literacy skills, supporting instructor and peer assessment and connecting online learning spaces. In addition, the authors developed practical recommendations on setting pedagogical goals, selecting annotation tools, deciding instructor involvement and developing evaluation strategies. Originality/value - This study provides a timely response to online/distance teaching under the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a hope that these identified application areas, in combination with four practical recommendations, would provide pragmatic and evidence-based support for educators to engage learners in reading, learning and connecting.