A growing body of research illustrates the importance of aligning efforts across the operational continuum to achieve diversity goals. This alignment begins with the institutional mission and the message it conveys about the priorities of the institution to potential applicants, community, staff, and faculty. The traditional themes of education, research, and service dominate most medical school mission statements. The emerging themes of physician maldistribution, overall primary-care physician shortage, diversity, and cost control are cited less frequently. The importance and salience of having administrative leaders with an explicit commitment to workforce and student diversity is a prominent and pivotal factor in the medical literature on the subject. Organizational leadership shapes the general work climate and expectations concerning diversity, recruitment, and retention. Following the Bakke decision, individual medical schools, supported by the Association of American Medical Colleges, worked to expand the frame of reference for evaluating applicants for medical school. These efforts have come together under the rubric of “holistic review”, permitted by the US Supreme Court in 2003. A large diverse-applicant pool is needed to ensure the appropriate candidates can be chosen for the incoming medical school class. Understanding the optimal rationale and components for a successful recruitment program is important. Benchmarking with other schools regionally and nationally will identify what should be the relative size of a pool. Diversity is of compelling interest to us all, and should pervade all aspects of higher education, including admissions, the curriculum, student services and activities, and our faculties. The aim of medical education is to cultivate a workforce with the perspectives, aptitudes, and skills needed to fuel community-responsive health-care institutions. A commitment toward diversity needs to be made.

The Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus has declined throughout its range, and the species is now protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Information on the timing and extent of spawning migrations is essential for the development and implementation of effective management and recovery strategies, yet this information is lacking for most populations. The objectives of this study were to document and identify temporal and spatial patterns in the seasonal movements and spawning migrations of Atlantic Sturgeon in the South Atlantic distinct population segment. A stationary array of acoustic receivers was used to monitor the movements of 45 adults in the Altamaha River system, Georgia, from April 2011 through March 2014. Telemetry data revealed that putative adult spawners exhibited two distinct patterns of upriver migration: a spring two‐step migration and a fall one‐step migration. During the spring two‐step migration, the adults appeared to stage in the upper Altamaha during the spring and early summer, before migrating to suspected spawning habitats in the Ocmulgee and Oconee tributaries during the fall. During the fall one‐step migration, fish entered the system in late summer and migrated directly upriver to suspected spawning habitats in the Ocmulgee and Oconee tributaries. Regardless of which pattern was used during the upstream migration, all fish returned downstream and left the system by early January. Although direct evidence of spawning has not yet been obtained, the telemetry and environmental data provide strong circumstantial evidence that Atlantic Sturgeon spawning in the Altamaha population occurs only during the fall months when water temperatures are less than 25°C. These findings further illustrate the clinal variation in the life history of Atlantic Sturgeon and highlight the need to manage the species as distinct population segments with regionally specific recovery goals. Received March 23, 2016; accepted September 25, 2016

Background: Bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN) is a common and debilitating side effect. Our pilot study demonstrated that acupuncture is safe and can decrease total neuropathic symptoms. However, there is lack of knowledge in which individual BIPN symptoms benefited from acupuncture. Purpose: To characterize individual symptoms reduced by acupuncture in patients with BIPN. Methods: Patients with multiple myeloma treated with bortezomib who developed BIPN grade 2 or above, based on National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE), were enrolled and received 10 acupuncture treatments over 10 weeks. Self-reported BIPN-associated symptoms assessments were collected weekly at baseline, during, and after acupuncture treatment using the Neuropathy Pain Scale (NPS) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group–Neurotoxicity (FACT/GOG-Ntx) questionnaires. Changes in individual symptoms were analyzed based on FACT/GOG-Ntx and NPS scores. Results: There were statistically significant reductions in individual symptoms in both NPS and FACT/GOG-Ntx. The FACT/GOG-Ntx reductions were most pronounced in hand/feet numbness/tingling, discomfort, and trouble walking. The sensory symptoms, such as tingling and numbness, especially in the feet, reduced the most (P < .0001), and motor dysfunction also reduced significantly (P = .0001). Both hearing and dysfunction scores were also statistically significantly increased, indicating improved symptoms. The NPS scores showed significant symptom relief in all 10 items from the NPS assessment, particularly in cold sensitivity and an unpleasant feeling. Conclusions: Acupuncture can improve multiple symptoms associated with BIPN, particularly numbness and tingling in hands and feet, cold sensitivity, and an unpleasant feeling. Further randomized control trials are warranted to confirm our findings.

Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) populations were decimated by a variety of anthropogenic activities throughout much of the 20th century. Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of spawning migrations within natal rivers is a critical information gap with regard to habitat protection and ultimately, species recovery.The objectives of this study were to document and describe seasonal movements of shortnose sturgeon in the Altamaha River system, Georgia. Passive acoustic telemetry was used to monitor the movements of 40 adult individuals from April 2011 through February 2014. Telemetry data revealed that during much of the year, the adults resided within the tidally influenced portion of the river, with most detections occurring near the freshwater-saltwater interface. Upstream movements to potential spawning habitat occurred during winter and early spring, and most fish returned to the lower estuary by April. Upstream migrations appeared to be triggered by environmental cues and were initiated when mean weekly temperatures in the lower Altamaha River were 11.6-16.9°C. Unlike spawning migrations documented in northern rivers, the pattern of movement observed in this study was a single-step migration without an apparent resting or staging period. Upstream migrations during nonspawning months were also observed and appeared to correspond with increasing discharge, which potentially resulted in increased channel navigability and habitat availability in nondrought years. This study further illustrates the clinal variations in life history typical of the species and may have important implications on river-specific strategies for species recovery.