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Purpose of Review: The use of simulation-based education (SBE) in medical training has expanded greatly and has grown to include high fidelity and task simulation along with hybrid models using patient actors to enhance education and training of critical events as well as technical skills. Recent Findings: In the field of anesthesiology, SBE has been particularly useful for crisis resource management and rare critical scenarios and new research into the use of SBE using task simulation for procedural skill development has been done highlighting the benefits to subspecialty procedural training. Summary: Medical simulation has become a common practice in medical training and research. SBE has demonstrated positive outcomes in improving technical skills, knowledge, comfort, and clinical performance. The widespread implementation of SBE in regional anesthesia and chronic pain training varies, with cost and availability being factors. Nonetheless, SBE has shown great potential in enhancing education and preparing physicians in subspecialties of anesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed approaches for combining genetic and cultural tools to solve challenges associated with the improvement of tree seedling root systems for enhanced survival and growth. Literature regarding sources of variation in root traits, relationships between root traits and seedling growth and survival, and root trait heritability estimates from published studies were used to illustrate the utility of combining myriad approaches to enhance the efficiency of tree seedling improvement programs. We found that: (1) evidence exists for genetic variation in numerous root traits, (2) root traits tend to have intermediate heritability on average, and (3) evidence supports the possibility of harnessing maternal effects to modify root traits at least temporarily. Across eight root traits from 11 studies, median family narrow-sense heritability estimates (h2) were intermediate (0.25 ≤ h2 ≤ 0.50) for root diameter, root count, root biomass, the ratio of root-to-stem dry biomass, and projected root area, and low (h2 < 0.25) for root length, specific root length, and the ratio of total belowground-to-aboveground dry biomass. Findings from this review suggest that plant improvement pipelines can be optimized to harness root trait variation due to genetics, maternal effects, and nursery cultural regimes. However, the following related gaps in the literature emerged as fundamental obstacles to progress: What is the duration of root system responses to stress conditioning treatments? Which root traits correlate best with seedling survival and thus should be prioritized for improvement? Is it possible to reliably harness variation in root traits resulting from maternal effects? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bromus tectorum poses a substantial threat to sagebrush steppe in the North American intermountain west. Responses of B. tectorum to increasing aridity across the western USA may influence the species' ability to invade new habitats and further dominate colonised regions. We investigated the phenotypic plasticity of stomatal density, root and shoot length, and root:shoot length ratio across replicates of 23 genotypes subjected to two generations of high and low watering regimes. Shoot lengths greatly increased, root lengths increased and root:shoot ratios decreased with higher levels of progeny (F1) watering. We did not detect explicit transgenerational parental (P) effects on the reaction norms of any trait. Stomatal density did not vary consistently with F1 watering, suggesting a diversified bet‐hedging strategy. As a consequence, heritability for stomatal density did not differ significantly from zero, indicating that evolvability was extremely low. Highest overall potentials for phenotypic selection (the ratio of among‐to‐within genotype trait variances) occurred for shoot length, followed by root length, stomatal density and root:shoot length ratio. Potentials for phenotypic selection were variable among traits and watering treatments. Highest potentials for stomatal density occurred in well‐watered progeny of water‐starved parent plants (i.e. plants from the combined low P H2O, high F1 H2O regime), whereas the highest potentials for phenotypic selection for shoot length occurred for the combined high P H2O, high F1 H2O treatment. We conclude that B. tectorum expresses complex phenotypic trade‐offs with successive exposure to drought, and that phenotypic responses for some traits may allow the species to expand its fundamental niche in response to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant endosymbionts (endophytes) influence host plant health and express genotype-dependent ecological relationships with plant hosts. A fungal species intended to confer host plant resistance to a forest pathogen was used as inoculum to test for effects of inoculation on disease resistance, microbiomes, and phytochemistry of a threatened pine species planted in a restoration setting. Correlations of inoculation presence/absence, phytochemistry, spatial location of seedlings, maternal seed sources, and fungal endophytic communities in the foliage of six-year-old whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) seedlings were assessed five years after an experimental inoculation of seedlings with foliar endophytic fungi cultured from whitebark pine trees at Crater Lake National Park, including Paramyrothecium roridum. We hypothesized that P. roridum would modify host microbiomes in a manner that combats white pine blister rust disease. Our assessment of seedlings in the field five years after inoculation allowed us to consider whether inoculation stimulated long-lasting changes in microbiome communities and whether effects varied by seedling genetic family. Tests for effects of endophyte inoculation on disease resistance were inconclusive due to current low levels of rust infection observed at the field site. Foliar fungal endophyte richness and Shannon diversity varied with maternal seed sources. Isotopic stoichiometry and phytochemistry did not vary with seedling spatial proximity, inoculation treatment, or maternal seed family. However, endophyte community composition varied with both seedling spatial proximity and maternal seed sources. Endophytic communities did not vary with the inoculation treatment, and the hypothesized biocontrol was not detected in inoculated seedlings. We draw three conclusions from this work: (1) fungal microbiomes of whitebark pine seedlings across our study site did not vary with host phytochemical signatures of ecophysiological status, (2) the inoculation of P. albicaulis seedlings with a mixture of fungal endophytes did not lead to persistent systemic changes in seedling foliar microbiomes, and (3) in correspondence with other studies, our data suggest that maternal seed source and spatial patterns influence fungal endophyte community composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last 20 years, opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics have grown exponentially. Unfortunately, women still represent a small number of head coaches in intercollegiate athletics, creating a disparity in numbers between female college athletes and female head coaches. This disparity has led to an imbalance for female college athletes searching for female role models and mentors. This study investigated the mentoring experiences of NCAA Division III female college athletes based on their lived experiences with both male and female head coaches. Using Mentor Role Theory (MRT), a set of qualitative responses were collected and analyzed. The participants highlighted career and psychosocial functions of MRT, with responses emphasizing positive and negative experiences with their past and present head coaches. Overall, female college athletes noted the importance of both career and psychosocial functions in their experiences with both male and female coaches. However, the college athletes' experiences with their female head coaches predominately were positive, whereas the participants were found to hold mixed experiences (both positive and negative) with their male coaches. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for Division III athletics, mentor role theory, and the importance of the coach/athlete relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The veteran military‐to‐civilian transition (MCT) process continues to be complex and unwielding. Higher education has an opportunity to ease this transition, but, unfortunately many institutions still miss the mark. One mechanism higher education institutes can incorporate to help with the transition is the use of prior learning assessments or PLA. This chapter explicates the efficacy of PLA for service members undergoing the MCT process, in the context of Military Transition Theory. Through this context, we propose linkages between PLA and enhanced transition outcomes. This conceptual paper encourages further research and practice for assisting veterans undergoing the MCT transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Der Nephrologe is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Der Nephrologe is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The gold standard for bone grafting in orthopedics is autograft, however autograft has a limited supply and is associated with significant morbidity at the harvest site. One alternative, allograft bone, provides an osteoconductive scaffold, is in less limited supply, and it does not require a harvest from the patient. However, allograft lacks both osteogenic cells and osteoinductive proteins that make autograft bone so advantageous. This study provides a model to investigate strategies for augmentation of corticocancellous allograft bone discs with bone marrow-derived osteoprogenitor cells (OPCs) plus exogenous growth factors in vitro. In this model, allograft bone discs were created by cutting 1-mm thick slices from the distal femur and proximal tibia of euthanized mice. The allografts were sterilized and scanned by micro-computed tomography (µCT) to provide the pre-culture graft volume and trabecular characteristics. The discs were then seeded with OPCs harvested from murine bone marrow. The seeded grafts were placed in organ culture until harvest, after which they were re-scanned by µCT and the data compared to the corresponding pre-culture data. In addition, bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7, also know as osteogenic protein-1 or OP-1), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and OP-1 combined with bFGF were added on a daily basis to the cultures. After final µCT scanning, all grafts were sectioned and evaluated histologically after hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. µCT scans of cultured allografts with cells at 3, 5, and 9 weeks showed a time-dependent, statistically significant increase in bone volume. The trabecular thickness (Tb.Th.) of grafts, from both groups that were augmented with OP-1, showed a statistically significant increase in trabecular thickness of allografts with OPCs. These data suggest that bone marrow-derived OPCs adhere to, and produce, new bone on corticocancellous allograft in vitro. When exogenous OP-1 is added to this model, an increase in the production of bone onto the corticocancellous allograft bone disc is seen. This model allows for the investigation of the effects of multiple growth factors, and other interventions, on OPCs seeded onto allograft bone in vitro. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vivo strain measurements can facilitate the study of the bone remodeling response to loading and load changes. Calcium phosphate ceramic (CPC) coatings have been used to attach strain gauges to bone for extended periods of time, but require up to 12 weeks for adequate CPC-to-bone bonding. Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), an osteoinductive growth factor, was used as a surface enhancement to accelerate bone growth and bonding to CPC particles. The aim of this study was to find an optimal dosage of TGF-β1 to accelerate the attachment process. CPC-coated strain gauges were enhanced with doses of 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 μg of TGF-β1 per gauge. Gauges were placed on the femora of dogs, which were exercised daily and fed ad libitum. After 3, 6, and 12 weeks, gauge attachment was quantitatively assessed using mechanical testing and histomorphometry. Gauge attachment was also qualitatively assessed using back scatter electron microscopy. Agreement of the mechanical test results with both the back scatter electron microscopy images and histomorphometry results showed that the 1.0 μg per gauge dose of TGF-β1 is an optimal dose to accelerate bone formation and attachment to CPC-coated strain gauges. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 68A: 537–543, 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]