Close to 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas and depends on the essential ecological, economic, and social benefi ts provided by urban trees and forests. However, the distribution of urban tree cover and the benefi ts of urban forests vary across the United States, as do the challenges of sustaining this important resource. As urban areas expand across the country, the importance of the benefi ts that urban forests provide, as well as the challenges to their conservation and maintenance, will increase. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the current status and benefi ts of America's urban forests, compare differences in urban forest canopy cover among regions, and discuss challenges facing urban forests and their implications for urban forest management.

Wildfire, wildlands, and people: understanding and preparing for wildfire in the wildland-urban interface-a Forests on the Edge report. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-299. Fort Collins, CO. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 36 p.Fire has historically played a fundamental ecological role in many of America's wildland areas. However, the rising number of homes in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), associated impacts on lives and property from wildfire, and escalating costs of wildfire management have led to an urgent need for communities to become "fire-adapted. " We present maps of the conterminous United States that illustrate historical natural fire regimes, the wildland-urban interface, and the number and location of structures burned since 1999. We outline a sampler of actions, programs, and community planning and development options to help decrease the risks of and damages from wildfire.

Within health science programs there has been a call for more faculty development, particularly for teaching and learning. The primary objectives of this review were to describe the current landscape for faculty development programs for teaching and learning and make recommendations for the implementation of new faculty development programs. A thorough search of the pertinent health science databases was conducted, including the Education Resource Information Center (ERIC), MEDLINE, and EMBASE, and faculty development books and relevant information found were reviewed in order to provide recommendations for best practices. Faculty development for teaching and learning comes in a variety of forms, from individuals charged to initiate activities to committees and centers. Faculty development has been effective in improving faculty perceptions on the value of teaching, increasing motivation and enthusiasm for teaching, increasing knowledge and behaviors, and disseminating skills. Several models exist that can be implemented to support faculty teaching development. Institutions need to make informed decisions about which plan could be most successfully implemented in their college or school.

BackgroundRare diseases are a global public health concern, affecting an estimated 350 million individuals. Only 5% of approximately 7000 known rare diseases have a treatment, and only about half have a patient advocacy organization. Biopharmaceutical companies face complex challenges in developing treatments for rare diseases. Patient advocacy organizations may play a major role by positively influencing research and development, clinical trials, and regulations. Thus, collaboration among patient advocacy organizations and industry is essential to bring new therapeutics to patients.MethodsWe identified an unmet need for guidelines on day-to-day decision-making by rare disease patient advocacy organizations when working with biopharmaceutical partners. We convened an Independent Expert Panel experienced in collaborations between patient advocacy organizations and biopharmaceutical companies (April 2017) to develop consensus guidelines for these relationships. The guidelines were based on an original version by the International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association (IFOPA). The Expert Panel reviewed and broadened these to be applicable to all patient advocacy organizations. Comments on the draft Guidelines were provided first by Panel participants and subsequently by six independent experts from patient advocacy organizations and industry.ResultsThe Panel comprised four experts from the rare disease community who lead patient advocacy organizations; three leaders who perform advocacy functions within biopharmaceutical companies; and two facilitators, both having leadership experience in rare diseases and industry. The finalized Guidelines consist of four main sections: Identification and Engagement With Companies, Patient Engagement and Patient Privacy, Financial Contributions, and Clinical Trial Communication and Support. The Guidelines address the daily considerations, choices, and consequences of patient advocacy organizations as they engage with biopharmaceutical companies, and offer recommendations for volunteer/paid leaders of the organizations on how to interact in a thoughtful, responsible, ethical way that engenders trust.ConclusionsThese Guidelines recommend best practices and standards for interactions between patient advocacy organizations and industry that will ultimately have a positive effect on the development of novel treatments. Patient advocacy organizations will be provided free access to these Guidelines to help bring clarification to day-to-day decision-making around their interactions, and for use as a living document with the potential for regular revisions and updates.

Objective. To determine the effect of a 1-day teaching-methods course for pharmacy and nursing faculty members on teaching proficiency and perceptions of effective teaching. Design. A 1-day teaching-methods course was created and presented to 12 pharmacy and nursing faculty members. Participants' teaching sessions were video-recorded pre-and post-course. Assessment. A panel of educators evaluated pre-and post-course video-recorded teaching presentations to assess teaching effectiveness. Participants completed pre-and post-course self-evaluations and surveys. Panelists' assessments confirmed significant improvement in 7 of 10 domains. Perceptions of teaching efficacy and proficiency to teach effectively improved after completion of the course. Conclusion. A 1-day teaching-methods course, requiring minimal resources, is a valuable development resource that can improve teaching effectiveness through enhanced communication and teaching techniques. Because effective teaching is positively correlated with students' learning, training seminars can be integral to comprehensive quality improvement.