Adapting the learning environment of a first year interprofessional module towards collaborative-ready graduates.

BACKGROUND: There has been a global call for a more collaborative workforce to combat the complex healthcare challenges experienced in societies. As a result, health professions education has amended their curricula to include interprofessional education as a strategy to allow students to learn from, with and about each other across disciplines during their training. It is imperative to review the learning environment of these interprofessional modules. To determine the learning environment for the acquisition of the interprofessional core competencies, there needs to be an understanding of the changes to the module, and the impact it has on student performance over a selected period. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine how have the changes to the material dimension of the learning environment for first-year students in an IPE curriculum promoted student learning. METHODS: A document analysis research design was used to extract data over a two-year period. An adaptation of the Context, Input, Process, Product and Outcomes evaluation model was to determine how changes to the learning environment of students registered for a first year interprofessional module, promoted learning. RESULTS: The findings reveal that curriculum changes made to the location and setting can yield improvements in the development and enhancement of the selected interprofessional education core competencies. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that in alignment with the learning styles of the 21st century student, curriculum development should include an enhanced form of deeper learning in the light of the fourth industrial revolution.

Sustained response to subcutaneous immunoglobulins in chronic ataxic neuropathy with anti-disialosyl IgM antibodies (CANDA): report of two cases and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic ataxic neuropathy with anti-disialosyl IgM antibodies (CANDA) is a rare disorder for which the pathological, neurophysiological, and therapeutic evidence remains anecdotal and controversial. METHODS: This report on CANDA focuses on the neurophysiological patterns and treatment responses shared by two cases. One patient underwent nerve ultrasound follow-up. A comprehensive review of the literature highlighted the diverse experiences with different treatment options. RESULTS: Response to different therapies was similar in both patients: intravenous immunoglobulins achieved a favorable response albeit with significant wearing-off fluctuations; treatment with subcutaneous immunoglobulins (SCIg) was an effective alternative leading to a clinical response for at least 2 years. Rituximab, which was trialed in both patients, was not continued long enough to determine its efficacy in modifying the disease course and/or modulating responsiveness to immunoglobulins. Steroids caused clinical worsening in both patients. CONCLUSIONS: Immunoglobulin therapy appeared as the most effective in the treatment of these two patients. SCIg provided an effective treatment option for the long-term management of CANDA.

High AAV vector purity results in serotype- and tissue-independent enhancement of transduction efficiency.

The purity of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector preparations has important implications for both safety and efficacy of clinical gene transfer. Early-stage screening of candidates for AAV-based therapeutics ideally requires a purification method that is flexible and also provides vectors comparable in purity and potency to the prospective investigational product manufactured for clinical studies. The use of cesium chloride (CsCl) gradient-based protocols provides the flexibility for purification of different serotypes; however, a commonly used first-generation CsCl-based protocol was found to result in AAV vectors containing large amounts of protein and DNA impurities and low transduction efficiency in vitro and in vivo. Here, we describe and characterize an optimized, second-generation CsCl protocol that incorporates differential precipitation of AAV particles by polyethylene glycol, resulting in higher yield and markedly higher vector purity that correlated with better transduction efficiency observed with several AAV serotypes in multiple tissues and species. Vectors purified by the optimized CsCl protocol were found to be comparable in purity and functional activity to those prepared by more scalable, but less flexible serotype-specific purification processes developed for manufacture of clinical vectors, and are therefore ideally suited for pre-clinical studies supporting translational research.

Src kinase pathways in extracellular Ca(2+)-dependent pancreatic enzyme secretion.

We investigated the functional roles of Src kinase pathways in rat pancreatic acinar cells. CCK-8 dose-dependently increased Src kinase activities by a mechanism that was sensitive to herbimycin A. CCK-8 enhanced protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) activities when the synthetic Src peptide was used as a substrate. Increased PTK activities, sustained Ca2+ entry, and amylase secretion, all stimulated by CCK-8, were abolished by eliminating extracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]o). CCK-8 caused tyrosine phosphorylation of three major proteins: 60 KDa, 85 KDa, and 105 KDa. The elimination of [Ca2+]o prevented the tyrosine phosphorylations of p60 and p105, but not p85. Therefore, the p60 Src kinase and the p105 kinase, referred to as "Src kinase kinase', may be involved in [Ca2+]o-dependent pancreatic exocytosis.