A microdevice for the creation of patent, three-dimensional endothelial cell-based microcirculatory networks

Microvascular network formation is a significant and challenging goal in the engineering of large three-dimensional artificial tissue structures. We show here the development of a fully patent, 3D endothelial cell (microvascular) microfluidic network that has a single inlet and outlet, created in only 28 h in a microdevice involving fluid flow equivalent to natural vasculature. Our microdevice features a tailored "multi-rung ladder" network, a stylized mimic of an arterial-to-venous pedicle, designed to also allow for systematic and reproducible cell seeding. Immunofluorescence staining revealed a highly contiguous endothelial monolayer (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) throughout the whole network after 24 h of continuous perfusion. This network persisted for up to 72 h of culture, providing a useful template from which the effects of surface chemistry, fluid flow, and environmental conditions on the development of artificial vascular networks ex vivo may be rapidly and robustly evaluated.     

Serving Community Faculty Through a Dedicated Liaison

Community-based medical schools rely heavily on volunteer faculty to provide medical education. Volunteer faculty consist of health care professionals, primarily physicians, who commit to educating medical students and residents. While these volunteer faculty are typically unpaid, many medical schools provide some benefits to them for volunteering their time. One such benefit, although rarely noted in library or medical education literature, is access to academic medical library resources and services. This article highlights a library services liaison model dedicated to the support of volunteer faculty at a community-based medical school.     

The Impact of Relational Characteristics and Reasons for Topic Avoidance on Relational Closeness

Although research suggests that the act of topic avoidance itself has consequences for romantic partners, it seems equally likely that the antecedent conditions underlying these decisions to avoid certain topics also lead to important relational outcomes. Framed by communication boundary management theory, relationship characteristics, motivation for topic avoidance, and implications for relational closeness were examined. Findings indicate that relational commitment characteristics and individuals' reported rationale for topic avoidance are related to perceptions of relational closeness. These results illustrate the importance of understanding the underlying factors that motivate the decision to engage in topic avoidance and their impact on romantic relationships.     

Knowledge of Normal and Pathological Memory Aging in College Students,Social Workers,and Health Care Professionals

The Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) measures laypersons' knowledge of normal memory changes and pathological memory deficits in adulthood. In Experiment 1, undergraduate and graduate social work students and social work practitioners completed the KMAQ. Social workers and graduate students were more accurate on the pathological than normal memory aging items, but undergraduate students' knowledge did not differ by question type. Experiment 2 was a conceptual replication where the same pattern of outcomes was obtained using a more heterogeneous sample to increase the ecological validity of the findings. Results confirmed that nonmedical and medical staff at an assisted living facility and health care professionals were more accurate on the pathological than normal memory aging items. Community college and university students' accuracy was similar across question type. Implications for research and the design of education programs to increase awareness of normal and pathological memory deficits in late life are considered.     

Raising Health Literacy and Promoting Empowerment to Meet the Challenges of Aging in Hong Kong

This study aimed to determine the educational needs of members of the public and related professional disciplines in order to improve health literacy in elderly issues. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2007; 2,694 subjects were recruited from the noninstitutional Hong Kong population aged 16 years and over. Undergraduate students of health care professions, professionals working at the hospitals, and the seniors were purposefully over-sampled. Results showed significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions. The gaps were more prevalent with increasing age in general, although they also existed among health care professionals. Public education should target the revealed areas of knowledge gaps and misconceptions.     

Memory Aging Knowledge and Memory Self-Appraisal in Younger and Older Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among memory aging knowledge and memory self-appraisal in college students and community-dwelling older adults. Participants completed the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire ([KMAQ] Cherry, Brigman, Hawley, & Reese, 2003 Cherry , K. E. , Brigman , S. , Hawley , K. S. , & Reese , C. M. ( 2003 ). The knowledge of memory aging questionnaire: Effects of adding a ‘don't know’ response option . Educational Gerontology , 29 , 427 – 446 . doi: 10.1080/713844360 [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the Memory Functioning Questionnaire ([MFQ] Gilewski, Zelinski, & Schaie, 1990 Gilewski , M. J. , Zelinski , E. M. , & Schaie , K. ( 1990 ). The memory functioning questionnaire for assessment of memory complaints in adulthood and old age . Psychology and Aging , 5 , 482 – 490 . doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.5.4.482 [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We hypothesized that poorer performance on the KMAQ stereotype scale, suggesting an ageist response bias, would be associated with more negative self-appraisals of memory. Results confirmed that responses on the KMAQ stereotype scale were significantly associated with responses on the MFQ Frequency of Forgetting scale and two shorter scales derived from the full MFQ, the memory self-efficacy scale (Zelinski & Gilewski, 2004 Zelinski , E. M. , & Gilewski , M. J. ( 2004 ). A 10-item Rasch modeled memory self-efficacy scale . Aging & Mental Health , 8 , 293 – 306 . doi: 10.1080/13607860410001709665 [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and a revised Seriousness of Forgetting scale after controlling for age and educational level. Implications of these findings for the development of instructional materials to improve memory aging knowledge and memory self-appraisal in adulthood are discussed.     

The salience and utility of school sex education to young men

This paper focuses on young men's views on the school sex education they have received, the influence of this sex education on their intended or actual behaviour, and the extent to which other sources of information complement or supplement school sex education. Thirty‐five in‐depth interviews and eight group discussions were conducted with male pupils from six schools in the east of Scotland. Most of those interviewed did cite school as a useful source in learning about sex. The most commonly named highlights were learning more about what girls think about sexual matters and learning how to use a condom. Nine described how something they had learned in school sex education had changed the way they had behaved in a sexual encounter. A further eight, who had not experienced sexual intercourse, talked about how they thought sex education would influence their behaviour in a positive way in the future. The most common criticism of sex education was that it was not explicit enough. Although friends and/or television were named by the majority of young men as useful, for most young men school sex education appeared to be the only substantive source of information they had received on sexual matters.