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Let Us Get You Into College: Community College Librarians, Barnes & Noble, and OER
Get PDFClackamas Community College (CCC) became the first Oregon community college to contract with Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) for bookstore services in July 2018. The college-run bookstore’s contribution to the general fund was shrinking with each budget cycle, whereas BNED guaranteed a minimum annual commission of $200,000. This article describes the steps CCC librarians took to influence the contract after discovering objectionable language including, but not limited to, faculty use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and linking to OER in the learning management system (LMS). The librarians\u27 advocacy has shed light on the need to ask fundamental questions about the purpose of a college bookstore, especially at a community college with an equity- and access-driven mission. Is a bookstore a core student service or a profit-generating enterprise?
After a deep read of BNED’s service proposal and sample contract, librarians identified campus partners, raised specific questions at meetings, met with administration, and sought guidance from the OER community to inform an advocacy strategy. Beyond the contract, this exploratory process uncovered a long list of questions worth asking, as well as details about BNED’s OER products and services. BNED offers OER-based products on a proprietary courseware platform that comes at a cost to students. In the absence of a faculty-driven OER program, BNED is now the primary OER mouthpiece and infrastructure on campus. What might that mean for the future of OER at an institution? This article intends to support colleagues who find themselves in a similar situation; a likely scenario, given that the contract includes language indicating other Oregon colleges may re-use it without a request for proposals
“We’ll Cook Him Up in a Stew”: Stepmothers and Primogeniture in the Brothers Grimm’s The Juniper Tree
Get PDFWhat larger social concern could the continued popularity of the nineteenth-century cannibal stepmother narrative in twenty-first century crime and news reporting be indicating? In this paper, I compare a fictional episode of cannibalism in the non-canonical Brothers Grimms’ tale, “The Juniper Tree,” with the true story of the 2010 murder and subsequent dismemberment of Zahra Baker in Hickory, North Carolina to consider the larger cultural implications of cannibalistic stepmothers. In doing so I argue that, despite the half-hearted attempt by mainstream animation studios to try to create semi-Feminist adaptations of the canonical fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault, narratives similar to “The Juniper Tree” in fact reinforce a pro-male model of inheritance at the sacrifice of both wives and their girl children. These adaptations also communicate modern social anxieties surrounding blended families, especially regarding heteronormative visions of childhood, savior narratives around adoption, and easy answers about inheritance
Caffeine Intake During Pregnancy and Weight of Offspring in Childhood: A Systematic Review
Get PDFBackground: Childhood obesity currently affects one third of the United States’ youth. Meeting criteria for overweight and obesity in childhood not only increases the risk of being overweight or obese in adulthood, but also increases the risk of comorbidities of obesity including: type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, and slipped capital femoral epiphysis. Several factors have been implicated to have a causal relationship or association with excessive weight gain; however, new studies are suggesting that a significant influence on the weight of the child is present in-utero. The current review explores the relationship between caffeine consumption during pregnancy and the weight of offspring in childhood. The purpose of this review is to organize and critically appraise the current data in order to realign our standard of care with the most recent information. Preventing childhood obesity is our best line of defense for our children and the health of our nation.
Method: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE-PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL-EBSCO, and MEDLINE-Ovid was conducted using the following key words: maternal, pregnant women, caffeine, and childhood obesity. The search produced five articles of which four were relevant to the topic and met all eligibility criteria. The four applicable articles were then reviewed using GRADE criteria.
Results: Three of the 4 eligible studies suggest that there is an association between higher levels of caffeine intake in pregnancy and increased weight in childhood compared to lower levels of maternal caffeine intake. One study even suggests complete avoidance of caffeine may be advisable after findings reveal increased BMI from infancy to childhood were associated with any amount of caffeine intake during pregnancy. In contrast, a study by the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital did not support the theory that increasing maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood obesity.
Conclusion: The use of caffeine during pregnancy may be linked to childhood obesity. Providers should consider giving stricter recommendations than the current ACOG guidelines of \u3c200mg/day and may even educate pregnant mothers to eliminate caffeine altogether.
Keywords: Maternal, pregnant women, caffeine, childhood obesit
Determining if Platelet-rich Plasma is an Effective Treatment of Lichen Sclerosus in Adult Women
Get PDFBackground: Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic, inflammatory tissue disease that most commonly affects adult women. The current treatment is long-term topical steroids. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has gained much attention as a treatment for multiple tissue disorders due to its rejuvenating qualities. The purpose of this review is to investigate PRP’s effectiveness on treating lichen sclerosus in adult women.
Methods: An Exhaustive literature search was performed using MEDLINE, TRIP, and Google Scholar and the following search terms were used “vaginal atrophy,” lichen sclerosus, vulvovaginal atrophy, lichen simplex chronicus, platelet. All studies included were within the last 5 years and of English language.
Results: The search yielded 3 articles that met criteria. All 3 articles were case studies. There was an overall trend in all 3 articles that PRP treatment improves the clinical course of LS as well as improves patients’ symptoms. However, the overall quality of the articles is very low due to limitations and high risk of bias (see Table 1). Future studies are needed to yield a higher grade of research for more definitive conclusions on this topic.
Conclusion: While the studies that investigated the effects of PRP treatment on adult women with LS had an overall positive trend, more research is needed due to the very low quality of evidence. Randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes, blinding, and adequate follow-up times are needed to better determine the effects of PRP on LS in adult women. Only then will medical professionals have a better idea if PRP can replace topical corticosteroids as the gold standard for treatment.
Keywords: Lichen sclerosus, vaginal atrophy, vulvovaginal atrophy, lichen simplex chronicus, platelet
What Goes Up Must Come Down: Volume in Group Fitness Classes and Healthy Hearing
Get PDFGroup fitness classes provide an opportunity for class participants to meet their fitness goals. Good music is one reason why class participants attend a group fitness class, but there is little research that has documented music volume in a group fitness class. This mini-project collected measurements of noise levels from one fitness studio during December 2018 and January 2019. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) states that levels exceeding 105 dBA for a 1-hour duration can place a person at risk for hearing damage. It is anticipated that more than half of class participants and group fitness instructors are at risk for hearing damage using OSHA standards for a 1-hour group fitness class. Additionally, it is anticipated that less than half of class participants and group fitness instructors are aware of OSHA permissible noise exposure levels and that more than half of class participants and group fitness instructors believe, “The louder the music, the better the workout.” Lastly, when analyzing group fitness leadership styles, it is expected that less than half of group fitness instructors would modify their behavior if they understood the risk for hearing damage
Continued Service: Veteran Mental Health Providers Treating Veterans in Mental Health Settings
No full textIndividuals who serve in the military become part of a unique culture with different traditions, values, and expectations. Military veterans often encounter high levels of stress, trauma, and have adjustment issues as a result of their military service, which can greatly affect their functioning throughout their life. The unique parameters of military service and the difficulties that are often encountered forge a strong bound between veterans. This study was a preliminary investigation into determining the effect of veteran status of a mental health provider on mental health treatment seeking for veterans. Veterans who endorsed variables related to greater comfort around other veterans had a significantly stronger desire for a mental health provider who is also a veteran. Participants in this study endorsed a strong preference for mental health providers who were veterans regardless of whether or not they endorsed mental health disorders related to military service or combat exposure, and whether or not they were currently seeking treatment
The Effect of Patient BMI and Stigma on Type 2 Diabetes
No full textWeight stigma was examined in the context of how it might impact medical provider perception of treatment adherence in populations diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The authors also investigated whether gender or body mass index (BMI) would affect provider confidence of treatment adherence, as well as the likelihood of referral to adjunctive interdisciplinary providers. Participants consisted of medical providers and students (i.e., DO, MD, ND, NP, PA), ages 18-65, who provide treatment to patients with T2D. Each participant was randomly assigned to read one of four clinical vignettes, which varied by gender (female or male) and BMI (28 or 45). The participants were asked to indicate which, if any, exams and tests they would order, advice or counseling they would offer; and referral recommendations they would make. In addition, their perceived confidence of treatment adherence was measured using the Physicians Adherence Questionnaire (PAQ; Lutfey & Ketcham, 2005). Lastly, the participants completed the Beliefs About Obese People Scale (BOAP; Allison, Basile, and Yuker, 1991) to assess for the degree of weight stigma. Results of an independent samples t-test revealed no significant effect of weight stigma on provider perception of patient treatment adherence. Further, results of a chi-square test of independence indicated that obese patients with T2D were no more or less likely to be referred to adjunctive treatment than their non-obese counterparts. However, a multiple linear regression analysis did reveal a main effect of patient gender on provider confidence, such that providers reported significantly more confidence in female patients as compared to their male patient counterparts (β = -.25, p = .047). In addition, there was a significant relationship between weight bias and the type of license held (or being pursued) by the participants, with DO providers reporting the highest level of weight bias. These findings have implications for clinical practice and suggest that gender bias and stereotypes may affect providers’ impression of patients in healthcare settings, which could result in differential care. In addition, weight bias may be more prevalent within some healthcare professions than others, indicating that it may be useful to target programs to reduce stigma to specific professions where the need is greater
The Effect of Synbiotic-Enhanced Formula on Rates of Infection in Infants
No full textBackground: The function of prebiotics and probiotics, both individually and synergistically (synbiotics) has been a growing area of interest in health and medicine in recent years. For much longer, the search to best replicate human breast milk as infant formula continues to challenge scientists and researchers. Naturally, the question as to whether or not probiotics and prebiotics play a role in improving the replication of breast milk has come into the research spotlight. In particular, studies have begun to look at how synbiotics may play a role in the infant immune system and rates of infections.
Methods: An exhaustive search of available medical literature was conducted using Web of Science, PubMed-MEDLINE, CINAHL and ProQuest. Key words included: infant, synbiotic, prebiotics and probiotics and respiratory tract infection. Studies were evaluated for quality using the GRADE criteria.
Results: Of the 27 studies found during preliminary screening, 2 articles met all inclusion criteria to be included in this review. One study found no significant difference in rates of infection between synbiotic and control groups. Another study found a lower rates or respiratory and GI infections in the synbiotic group compared to the prebiotic-only control group.
Conclusion: Research at this time cannot definitively state that synbiotic-enhanced formula is superior in protecting full term infants from respiratory or GI infection. However, evidence does suggest that certain strains of probiotics and types of prebiotics could help in reducing rates of these infections if further research can confirm initial findings