Developing cross disciplinary skills through an undergraduate research project

Undergraduate students can benefit from a research experience with a faculty mentor. Students perceived the research project and faculty mentorship as more beneficial than directed coursework. Mentoring is key to enhancing undergraduate research experiences, but the impact on time should be considered. Linkages between coursework and application should also be considered.student mentor, undergraduate research, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q1,

The Effects of Combined Movement and Storytelling Intervention on Motor Skills in South Asian and White Children Aged 5–6 Years Living in the United Kingdom

Early motor development has an important role in promoting physical activity (PA) during childhood and across the lifespan. Children from South Asian backgrounds are less active and have poorer motor skills, thus identifying the need for early motor skill instruction. This study examines the effect of a movement and storytelling intervention on South Asian children’s motor skills. Following ethics approval and consent, 39 children (46% South Asian) participated in a 12-week movement and storytelling intervention. Pre and post, seven motor skills (run, jump, throw, catch, stationary dribble, roll, and kick) were assessed using Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschool Study protocol. At baseline, South Asian children had poorer performance of motor skills. Following the intervention, all children improved their motor skills, with a bigger improvement observed for South Asian children. Early intervention provided remedial benefits to delays in motor skills and narrowed the motor skills gap in ethnic groups

I’m the one: Social media, social identity, and elections

This study surveyed voters to investigate why they shared political information on social media during the 2016 election. A strong social identity informed by political alignment was found to predict both polarization and more sharing, while feeling politically misaligned was found to decrease information sharing, supporting a spiral of silence phenomenon. Those with higher scores on a scale of social identity were more likely to feel sharing information to be an influential activity

Sustained low-dose treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor LBH589 induces terminal differentation of osteosarcoma cells

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) were identified nearly four decades ago based on their ability to induce cellular differentiation. However, the clinical development of these compounds as cancer therapies has focused on their capacity to induce apoptosis in hematologic and lymphoid malignancies, often in combination with conventional cytotoxic agents. In many cases, HDACi doses necessary to induce these effects result in significant toxicity. Since osteosarcoma cells express markers of terminal osteoblast differentiation in response to DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, we reasoned that the epigenetic reprogramming capacity of HDACi might be exploited for therapeutic benefit. Here, we show that continuous exposure of osteosarcoma cells to low concentrations of HDACi LBH589 (Panobinostat) over a three-week period induces terminal osteoblast differentiation and irreversible senescence without inducing cell death. Remarkably, transcriptional profiling revealed that HDACi therapy initiated gene signatures characteristic of chondrocyte and adipocyte lineages in addition to marked upregulation of mature osteoblast markers. In a mouse xenograft model, continuous low dose treatment with LBH589 induced a sustained cytostatic response accompanied by induction of mature osteoblast gene expression. These data suggest that the remarkable capacity of osteosarcoma cells to differentiate in response to HDACi therapy could be exploited for therapeutic benefit without inducing systemic toxicity

Somebody google a doctor! urgent health information seeking habits of young adults

Introduction: While much scholarship has been done on health information-seeking habits, comparatively little has been done on these habits among young adults. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to determine to which media young adults turn during an urgent health crisis, which factors correspond to their choice, and if information-seeking corresponded to visiting a health professional. Method: A survey method was used, sampling students from two large universities. Results: Credibility was the most consistent factor in predicting respondent media choice for an urgent health matter. Whether respondents were socially conservative or liberal affected media choice, as did perceptions of online and traditional media credibility. Searching for health information online corresponded to more frequently visiting health professionals. Conclusion: This study supports that young adults turn to a variety of media sources, traditional and online, during health crisis and that this information-seeking does correspond to visiting health professionals after

Ageing and wellbeing in Northcote

This document is part of a series of four project briefs (CaDDANZ briefs 8-11) which collate distinct but interrelated sets of key findings from a research project that examined how older adults of 65 years and above create and maintain a sense of home and community in the Auckland neighbourhood of Northcote. This study forms part of a wider suite of projects within the MBIE-funded CaDDANZ research programme which collectively investigate facets of population change and diversity in a range of different contexts. Overall, CaDDANZ aims to develop greater understanding of how diversity affects society and how, in turn, institutions can better respond to diversity. This neighbourhood-based study sits within a growing body of social science scholarship that has recognised the importance of ‘the local’ because this is where diversity is lived and negotiated in everyday interactions. While much of the academic literature and policy discourses home in on ethnicity and culture, we would like to stress that diversity is complex and multiply determined by a broad range of factors, including gender, age, ability and socio-economic status

Meanings and experiences of community among older adult residents of Northcote

This document is part of a series of four project briefs (CaDDANZ briefs 8-11) which collate distinct but interrelated sets of key findings from a research project that examined how older adults of 65 years and above create and maintain a sense of home and community in the Auckland neighbourhood of Northcote. This study forms part of a wider suite of projects within the MBIE-funded CaDDANZ research programme which collectively investigate facets of population change and diversity in a range of different contexts. Overall, CaDDANZ aims to develop greater understanding of how diversity affects society and how, in turn, institutions can better respond to diversity. This neighbourhood-based study sits within a growing body of social science scholarship that has recognised the importance of ‘the local’ because this is where diversity is lived and negotiated in everyday interactions. While much of the academic literature and policy discourses home in on ethnicity and culture, we would like to stress that diversity is complex and multiply determined by a broad range of factors, including gender, age, ability and socio-economic status

Living with diversity: Negotiating difference in Northcote

This document is part of a series of four project briefs (CaDDANZ briefs 8-11) which collate distinct but interrelated sets of key findings from a research project that examined how older adults of 65 years and above create and maintain a sense of home and community in the Auckland neighbourhood of Northcote. This study forms part of a wider suite of projects within the MBIE-funded CaDDANZ research programme which collectively investigate facets of population change and diversity in a range of different contexts. Overall, CaDDANZ aims to develop greater understanding of how diversity affects society and how, in turn, institutions can better respond to diversity. This neighbourhood-based study sits within a growing body of social science scholarship that has recognised the importance of ‘the local’ because this is where diversity is lived and negotiated in everyday interactions. While much of the academic literature and policy discourses home in on ethnicity and culture, we would like to stress that diversity is complex and multiply determined by a broad range of factors, including gender, age, ability and socio-economic status

Urban regeneration and community building in Northcote

This document is part of a series of four project briefs (CaDDANZ briefs 8-11) which collate distinct but interrelated sets of key findings from a research project that examined how older adults of 65 years and above create and maintain a sense of home and community in the Auckland neighbourhood of Northcote. This study forms part of a wider suite of projects within the MBIE-funded CaDDANZ research programme which collectively investigate facets of population change and diversity in a range of different contexts. Overall, CaDDANZ aims to develop greater understanding of how diversity affects society and how, in turn, institutions can better respond to diversity. This neighbourhood-based study sits within a growing body of social science scholarship that has recognised the importance of ‘the local’ because this is where diversity is lived and negotiated in everyday interactions. While much of the academic literature and policy discourses home in on ethnicity and culture, we would like to stress that diversity is complex and multiply determined by a broad range of factors, including gender, age, ability and socio-economic status

Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT): Quantifying Tension in a VBT System for Scoliosis Treatment

The gold standard surgical treatment for children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is deformity correction with spinal instrumentation and fusion. However, there is associated significant, long-term morbidity in fusing multiple motion segments in a child. Pain, inflexibility, and degenerative arthritis are often sequelae of the surgery due to fusion sites being immobile [1], and longevity of the metal rods and screws is a long-term concern. However, an innovative approach, vertebral body tethering (VBT), was recently approved by the FDA and has since provided an alternate treatment option. VBT takes advantage of the natural growth of a child\u27s spine to modulate spinal growth and correct the deformity over time without spinal fusion. A flexible polyethylene tether is affixed to multiple spinal segments to apply compressive forces on the vertebral growth plates. Using a tensioner device, the amount of tension in the tether at each vertebral level is controlled, eventually correcting spinal curvature as the patient grows. Recent data shows 74% of patients treated with VBT achieve clinical success [2]. The tensioner device has tension settings of 0 to 5, though no data is available to correlate with the amount of tension generated in the tether at each setting. Furthermore, there are two different tensioner device designs that can be used in this medical device set (methods A and B), and it is unknown whether these different tensioners produce similar tension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to quantify the forces generated with the two tensioner methods (A and B) at six categorical tension levels using current VBT instrumentation. References Hoernschemeyer DG et al. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2020 Jul 1;102(13):1169-1176. Newton PO et al. Spine Deform. 2022 May;10(3):553-561