How Can Employment-Based Benefits Help the Nursing Shortage?: Executive Summary

Summarizes a study of the benefits available to registered nurses; trends in health insurance and retirement plan enrollment; and the role benefits play in recruitment and retention. Includes recommendations for healthcare leaders and employers

Why Is The Developed World Obese?

Obesity has risen dramatically in the past few decades. However, the relative contribution of energy intake and energy expenditure to rising obesity is not known. Moreover, the extent to which social and economic factors tip the energy balance is not well understood. In this longitudinal analysis of developed countries, we estimate the relative contribution of increased caloric intake and reduced physical activity to obesity using two methods of energy accounting. Results show that rising obesity is primarily the result of consuming more calories. We estimate multivariate regression models and use simulation analysis to explore technological and sociodemographic determinants of this dietary excess. Results indicate that the increase in caloric intake is associated with technological innovations such as reduced food prices as well as changing sociodemographic factors such as increased urbanization and increased female labor force participation. The study findings offer useful insights to future research concerned with the etiology of obesity and may help inform the development of obesity-related policy. In particular, our results suggest that policies to encourage less caloric intake may help reverse past trends in increased consumption.

Uncovering Molecular Properties of Neural Crest Cells

The neural crest is a transient population of cells that arises at the border between the neural and non-neural ectoderm. These cells are induced, undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and then migrate along stereotypical pathways to form a wide array of derivatives. While these cells have long been studied, much about these cells and their interactions is still not understood. In order to better define these cells, we performed a screen for genes involved in neural crest cell development based on an in vitro culture system that produces neural crest cells. This highly successful screen resulted in a large number of candidates to examine, and we performed in situ hybridization to define the mRNA expression of 112 these genes. Moreover, we performed QPCR on several transcription factors that resulted from this screen to determine the level at which they were upregulated in our in vitro culture system. We also present loss-of-function analyses of two different genes that were discovered in our screen for neural crest effectors. These genes, Adh5 and Ccar1, are both functionally relevant in neural crest cells and the loss of either one through morpholino knockdown significantly decreases the mRNA of Sox10 on the injected side. Furthermore, we also show that Adh5 morpholino knockdown also results in a reduction of Snail2 and FoxD3 mRNA. Taken as a whole, this body of work represents the discovery of many new genes involved neural crest cell development, and the demonstration that at least two of these genes are functionally important for neural crest cells

Formal Definitions of Unbounded Evolution and Innovation Reveal Universal Mechanisms for Open-Ended Evolution in Dynamical Systems

Open-ended evolution (OEE) is relevant to a variety of biological, artificial and technological systems, but has been challenging to reproduce in silico. Most theoretical efforts focus on key aspects of open-ended evolution as it appears in biology. We recast the problem as a more general one in dynamical systems theory, providing simple criteria for open-ended evolution based on two hallmark features: unbounded evolution and innovation. We define unbounded evolution as patterns that are non-repeating within the expected Poincare recurrence time of an equivalent isolated system, and innovation as trajectories not observed in isolated systems. As a case study, we implement novel variants of cellular automata (CA) in which the update rules are allowed to vary with time in three alternative ways. Each is capable of generating conditions for open-ended evolution, but vary in their ability to do so. We find that state-dependent dynamics, widely regarded as a hallmark of life, statistically out-performs other candidate mechanisms, and is the only mechanism to produce open-ended evolution in a scalable manner, essential to the notion of ongoing evolution. This analysis suggests a new framework for unifying mechanisms for generating OEE with features distinctive to life and its artifacts, with broad applicability to biological and artificial systems.Comment: Main document: 17 pages, Supplement: 21 pages Presented at OEE2: The Second Workshop on Open-Ended Evolution, 15th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems (ALIFE XV), Canc\'un, Mexico, 4-8 July 2016 (http://www.tim-taylor.com/oee2/

Threshold Concepts Vs. Tricky Topics - Exploring the Causes of Student's Misunderstandings with the Problem Distiller Tool

This paper presents a study developed within the international project JuxtaLearn. This project aims to improve student understanding of threshold concepts by promoting student curiosity and creativity through video creation. The math concept of 'Division', widely referred in the literature as problematic for students, was recognised as a 'Tricky Topic' by teachers with the support of the Tricky Topic Tool and the Problem Distiller tool, two apps developed under the JuxtaLearn project. The methodology was based on qualitative data collected through Think Aloud protocol from a group of teachers of a public Elementary school as they used these tools. Results show that the Problem Distiller tool fostered the teachers to reflect more deeply on the causes of the students’ misunderstandings of that complex math concept. This process enabled them to develop appropriate strategies to help the students overcome these misunderstandings. The results also suggest that the stumbling blocks associated to the Tricky Topic ‘Division’ are similar to the difficulties reported in the literature describing Threshold Concepts. This conclusion is the key issue discussed in this paper and a contribution to the state of the art

Parental Problem Drinking and Adolescent Substance Use: The Moderating Role of Sibling Relationships

Families are complex systems with each member influencing all others (Cox & Paley, 1997). Family factors like parental problem drinking have been consistently shown to predict a range of adverse adolescent adjustment outcomes, including alcohol and other substance use (Caspi et al., 2018; Park & Schepp, 2014). However, other family factors, such as sibling relationships, may serve as protective or additive risk factors in influencing adolescent behavior. Limited extant research has investigated the role of sibling relationship characteristics in the context of parental problem drinking (Rueter et al., 2015).Therefore, the current study examined if hostility and warmth in sibling relationships served as risk or protective factors in the relationship between maternal and paternal problem drinking and adolescents’alcohol and drug use.Data were drawn from the Adolescent Adjustment Project (Ohannessian, 2009), which survey adolescents from seven Mid-Atlantic State public high schools in Spring 2007 (Mage=16.08; SD=.69;55% female). Only adolescents who reported having a single sibling were included (N=373). Adolescents were asked how often in the last 6 months they (a) used marijuana, sedatives, stimulants, inhalants,hallucinogens, cocaine or crack, and opiates (drug use frequency) and (b) how much and how often theydrank beer, wine, and liquor (alcohol use quantity and frequency). The Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Crews & Sher, 1992) measured adolescents’ perceptions of their mother’s and father’salcohol use problems. Scale items were summed such that greater scores represented greater maternal(MPD; α=.60) and paternal (PPD; α=.84) problem drinking. Finally, the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Slomkowski et al., 2001) was used to assess adolescents’ perceptions of warmth (α=.89)and hostility (α=.87) with their sibling.Regression analyses were used examine associations between sibling relationship characteristics, parental problem drinking, and adolescents’ substance use. Separate models were conducted for MPD and PPD,and structural elements of sibling relationships were controlled (Table 1). Only PPD was positivelyassociated with adolescents’ alcohol use (Model-2). However, sibling hostility and MPD (Model-3) and sibling hostility and PPD (Model-4) were positively associated with drug use. Further, sibling hostility and PPD interacted to predict drug use (B=.14, phttps://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/urspsych/1002/thumbnail.jp

The influence of patient's age on clinical decision-making about coronary heart disease in the USA and the UK

This paper examines UK and US primary care doctors' decision-making about older (aged 75 years) and midlife (aged 55 years) patients presenting with coronary heart disease (CHD). Using an analytic approach based on conceptualising clinical decision-making as a classification process, it explores the ways in which doctors' cognitive processes contribute to ageism in health-care at three key decision points during consultations. In each country, 56 randomly selected doctors were shown videotaped vignettes of actors portraying patients with CHD. The patients' ages (55 or 75 years), gender, ethnicity and social class were varied systematically. During the interviews, doctors gave free-recall accounts of their decision-making. The results do not establish that there was substantial ageism in the doctors' decisions, but rather suggest that diagnostic processes pay insufficient attention to the significance of older patients' age and its association with the likelihood of co-morbidity and atypical disease presentations. The doctors also demonstrated more limited use of ‘knowledge structures’ when diagnosing older than midlife patients. With respect to interventions, differences in the national health-care systems rather than patients' age accounted for the differences in doctors' decisions. US doctors were significantly more concerned about the potential for adverse outcomes if important diagnoses were untreated, while UK general practitioners cited greater difficulty in accessing diagnostic tests

Marginality in Inquiry-Based Science Learning Contexts: The Role of Exclusion Cascades

Vygotskyan-inspired theories of learning have been applied in science education research, yet to more explicit attention to links between local social interactions and cultural-historical processes is needed advance critical theories of science learning. This microgenetic case study examined identity and motivation processes in a 7th grade inquiry science context with the goal of better historicizing these processes by describing the phenomenon of exclusion cascades in relation to two backgrounded cultural-historical processes, alienation and the social division of labor. Exclusion cascades highlighted the mutual constitution of competence and belonging. Implications are discussed with respect to challenging adaptationist ethos in science education

Combating Mass Incarceration Through Communication

The United States has the largest prison population in the world, with over two million incarcerated prisoners. One of the contributing factors to these skyrocketing rates was the War on Drugs which began in the early 1970s in the U.S. The issue of mass incarceration is complicated due to its deep-seated roots that have been embedded in society for centuries. The process of actively changing or reforming the broken social justice and mass incarceration systems begins with educating citizens about these issues, which will, in turn, garner the support needed to enact change. Since technology has become the staple of modern society, it is essential to use technology as a resource to connect and educate the masses. Presently, many people prefer to listen to podcasts or audible books instead of reading a physical copy of a book. Podcasts are a great educational and compatible resource for all generations and age groups. Art can take on many different mediums, including the media arts which is an art form that utilizes audio to address a specific audience or purpose. Especially as the media becomes more prominent in modern society, podcasting has and will continue to serve as an educational tool and artistic discipline. One that can communicate pressing issues such as mass incarceration to a variety of platforms and audiences. A podcast can convey the same level of emotion and power that a typical painting or sculpture can, rather in a technological form. According to Ethan Cramer-Flood, author of the article, ‘Global Podcast Listener Forecast 2021-2025’, it is explained that, “The US leads the world in podcast listenership across every category. In 2021, 117.8 million people in the country will be monthly podcast listeners, representing 40.0% of all internet users. Nigel Poor is one of the first individuals to host podcasts that cover topics such as mass incarceration and the prison system, paving the way for more podcasts of this kind. These statistics and individuals have played significant roles in the creation of our podcast, which is centered around mass incarceration and the prison and social justice systems. Thus, the ‘Behind Bars’ podcast was born. This conversational-style podcast addresses serious issues such as mass incarceration, inequality, racism, and the death penalty, among other topics. These issues, which have long been swept under the rug, will reach new generations, in a modern way. Each episode will include an interview with an individual that is knowledgeable or experienced in the areas of criminal justice, incarceration, and art. The first episode of this podcast series showcases an interview with Lucian E. Dervan, a certified criminal justice attorney that currently serves as a law professor at Belmont University. These interviews support the topics of the podcast and contribute to the overall conversation of bringing change and awareness to mass incarceration. Our future episodes will focus on issues such as the school-to-prison pipeline and how we can prevent students from being subjected to arrest. Therefore, our goal is to educate the greater Belmont and Nashville communities about the adverse effects of mass incarceration through communication and education via an accessible and efficient podcasting platform