Research shows that minor sex trafficking narratives do not reflect the experience of many domestic sex workers

Sex trafficking laws assume that all underage sex workers are exploited young girls who have been forced into such work by a vicious pimp. But does this actually reflect the experience of most young, domestic sex workers? Using ethnographic research from Atlantic City and New York City, Anthony Marcus and Amber Horning find that underage sex workers have much more agency in their relationships with pimps than many assume, and that sex trafficking discourses may serve to further alienate them from organizations to assist them. The authors call for academics and policy makers alike to set aside their ideological positions about sex work and to seek a deeper understanding of young people in commercial sex markets

Study protocol: Improving cognition in people with progressive multiple sclerosis: A multi-arm, randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trial of cognitive rehabilitation and aerobic exercise (COGEx)

BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction affects up to 70% of people with progressive MS (PMS). It can exert a deleterious effect on activities of daily living, employment and relationships. Preliminary evidence suggests that performance can improve with cognitive rehabilitation (CR) and aerobic exercise (EX), but existing data are predominantly from people with relapsing-remitting MS without cognitive impairment. There is therefore a need to investigate whether this is also the case in people with progressive forms of the disease who have objectively identified cognitive impairment. It is hypothesized that CR and EX are effective treatments for people with PMS who have cognitive impairment, in particular processing speed (PS) deficits, and that a combination of these two treatments is more effective than each individual treatment given alone. We further hypothesize that improvements in PS will be associated with modifications of functional and/or structural plasticity within specific brain networks/regions involved in PS measured with advanced MRI techniques. METHODS: This study is a multisite, randomized, double-blinded, sham controlled clinical trial of CR and aerobic exercise. Three hundred and sixty subjects from 11 sites will be randomly assigned into one of four groups: CR plus aerobic exercise; CR plus sham exercise; CR sham plus aerobic exercise and CR sham plus sham exercise. Subjects will participate in the assigned treatments for 12 weeks, twice a week. All subjects will have a cognitive and physical assessment at baseline, 12 weeks and 24 weeks. In an embedded sub-study, approximately 30% of subjects will undergo structural and functional MRI to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the behavioral response. The primary outcome is the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) measuring PS. Secondary outcome measures include: indices of verbal and non-verbal memory, depression, walking speed and a dual cognitive-motor task and MRI. DISCUSSION: The study is being undertaken in 6 countries (11 centres) in multiple languages (English, Italian, Danish, Dutch); with testing material validated and standardized in these languages. The rationale for this approach is to obtain a robustly powered sample size and to demonstrate that these two interventions can be given effectively in multiple countries and in different languages. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered on September 20th 2018 at www.clinicaltrials.gov having identifier NCT03679468. Registration was performed before recruitment was initiated

A Call for Enhancing Saturation at the Qualitative Data Analysis Stage via the Use of Multiple Qualitative Data Analysis Approaches

The analysis of data represents the most important and difficult step in the qualitative research process. Thus, recently, a few authors have written methodological works that contain discussion of an array of qualitative data analysis approaches. Yet, despite the call of Leech and Onwuegbuzie (2007) a decade ago for qualitative researchers to analyze a given set of qualitative data in multiple ways, this practice has been largely ignored. Thus, in this article, we bolster the argument for conducting multiple data analyses. In particular, we use data stemming from an interview to demonstrate how using five qualitative data analysis approaches (e.g., constant comparison analysis, discourse analysis) helped to enhance what we refer to as analysis saturation, thereby increasing verstehen (i.e., understanding)

Effects of the needle exchange program implemented in West Virginia

Introduction: West Virginia has had a recent spike in infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis due to increased rates of injectable drug use. The rising costs associated with such diseases have been a cause for concern in the sector of healthcare and public health. In the state, the exchanging of dirty needles has resulted in the spread of bloodborne pathogens, however, the implementation of needle exchange programs has sought to decrease the rates of infection, improve health outcomes, and lower healthcare costs. However, there is a question as to the effectiveness of such programs. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the needle exchange program in West Virginia to determine its influence on healthcare costs, rates of infectious disease, and prevalence of drug users. Methodology: For this study, a literature review was utilized with a total of 60 relevant citations having been collected from seven databases and various websites. After review, 43 sources were deemed relevant to the study with a total of 17 used in the results section. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted virtually with the interviews in question having been approved by an institutional review board, conducted virtually, and informed consent being obtained verbally. The articles included in the study were limited to those in English and those published from the years 2010 to 2021. Results: The research showed that the implementation of needle exchange programs in West Virginia led to decreased rates of HIV and hepatitis among injection drug users. Preventative measures taken by the program also helped to avert future healthcare costs related to the treatment of infectious diseases. Discussion/Conclusion: The research demonstrated that there was a positive relationship between the implementation of needle exchange programs and healthcare outcomes, healthcare costs, and the spread of bloodborne diseases

Relations between dimensions of empowering leadership and multidimensional work motivation

Recent developments work motivation facilitate a more thorough understanding of the potential impact of constructs such as empowering leadership. Amundsen and Martinsen (2014) demonstrated that empowering leadership has two dimensions (autonomy support and development support) and that these dimensions relate positively to subordinates’ psychological empowerment and creativity. This study assessed how two dimensions of empowering leadership (autonomy support and development support) predicted six types of work motivation as part of a larger study into predictors of work performance. It was predicted that the two dimensions of empowering leadership would predict these specific types of motivation in somewhat different patterns which would not be obvious if composite forms of motivation were considered. An online survey was used to collect data from 192 employed individuals. Of the respondents, 132 (69%) were female, 173 (90%) lived in Australia, and 150 (78%) worked at least 30 hours per week. Feedback was not provided to participants. The survey included the 18-item Empowering Leadership Scale (ELS; Amundsen & Martinsen, 2014), the 19-item Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS; Gagne et al., in press), as well as a number of other measures that contributed to a larger study into work performance. The correlations between the two dimensions of empowering leadership and the six types of work motivation were calculated. Autonomy Support and Development Support were highly correlated (r = .76, p<.001). These two dimensions of empowering leadership displayed a similar pattern of correlations with each of the six types of work motivation although the correlations for Autonomy Support were slightly stronger in nearly all cases. Given this similar pattern and the large degree of overlap between the two dimensions, the analysis proceeded by constructing a structural equation model in which the two dimensions of empowering leadership were specified as indicators of an underlying construct which then predicted each of the six types of work motivation. This model was respecified to accommodate the significant correlations between many of the specific types of motivation and the final model was a good fit to the data with χ2 = 5.818 (df = 8), p = .67, AGFI = .97, TLI = 1.01 and RMSEA = .00 (90%CI .00 to .07 with pclose = .88). Empowering Leadership was a significant negative predictor of two types of work motivation: Amotivation (β = -.39, p < .001) and Extrinsic Regulation (social) (β = -.31, p < .001). However, Empowering Leadership was not a significant predictor of either Extrinsic Regulation (material) (β = .06, NS) or Introjected Regulation (β = -.01, NS). Empowering Leadership was a significant positive predictor of the final two types of work motivation: Identified Regulation (β = .38, p < .001) and Intrinsic Motivation (β = .63, p < .001). The differences in the standardised coefficients across the six types of work motivation provide a powerful argument for a more nuanced understanding of how a construct such as empowering leadership may influence employees’ work motivation. Previous research that has focused on the second order factors of controlled and autonomous motivation may have obscured important differences in the patterns of relationships

Effects of the Needle Exchange Program and Its Current Status In West Virginia

Excerpt: One of the main problems that have impacted the state of healthcare in West Virginia has been the rising costs of treatments for bloodborne infections (Bates et al., 2019). Bloodborne pathogens and their resulting diseases have commonly spread by exchanging contaminated needles (Denault & Gardner, 2021). In West Virginia, Needle Exchange Programs (NEPs) have been implemented to reduce the transmission of certain infections, such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, which have been more common among drug users (Beck & Kersey, 2018). In 2015, West Virginia had the second-highest rate of cases of hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in the country (3.4 per 100,000) (Davis et al., 2018). The overdose rate has drastically increased over the last decade in the US (Dasgupta et al., 2018). In 2015, West Virginia had the highest overdose rate of 33,091, accounting for 41.5 deaths per 100,000 people (Hedegaard et al., 2017). The HIV rate increased by over 300% in West Virginia, between 2007 and 2015, with the most frequently indicated risk factors for acquiring HIV infections being used drugs distributed on the street and injection drug use (Rudd et al., 2016)

Critical Conversations around Hiring Equity and Anti-Racist Search Processes

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down institutions in March 2020, many academic programs faced budget cuts and hiring freezes (Friga, 2020). The impact of budget cuts most severely impacted HBCU’s and rural colleges (Kelchen et al., 2021). Yet, as the pandemic restrictions eased and some schools found ways to begin hiring again; however, things were different this time. Many schools conducted their searches entirely virtually (Banks et al., 2020). As many social work educators can attest, a switch from in-person to virtual methods presented unique challenges (Paceley et al., 2021). This 4-person panel included a successful job candidate and three members of search committees. The panel shared tips and tricks that helped the searches run smoothly in the virtual environment. Additionally, there was a focus on making the virtual environment as welcoming and attractive as possible. The panel presented perspectives from rural and urban teaching-focused and research-focused institutions ranging in Carnegie Classifications from “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity” to “Master\u27s College and University”. These perspectives encompassed both PWI and HBCU. Critical conversations around hiring equity and antiracist search processes are an important part of higher education leadership. As social workers, we must act to eliminate racist hiring trends in higher education and bring equity to the front of the table in hiring conversations (Gates et al., 2021). Participants in this panel confronted their own biases related to antiracist search practices and learned new strategies for faculty searches in the landscape of an ongoing pandemic (Fariña et al., 2021)

Nanomolar-potency 'co-potentiator' therapy for cystic fibrosis caused by a defined subset of minimal function CFTR mutants.

Available CFTR modulators provide no therapeutic benefit for cystic fibrosis (CF) caused by many loss-of-function mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel, including N1303K. We previously introduced the concept of 'co-potentiators' (combination-potentiators) to rescue CFTR function in some minimal function CFTR mutants. Herein, a screen of ~120,000 drug-like synthetic small molecules identified active co-potentiators of pyrazoloquinoline, piperidine-pyridoindole, tetrahydroquinoline and phenylazepine classes, with EC50 down to ~300 nM following initial structure-activity studies. Increased CFTR chloride conductance by up to 8-fold was observed when a co-potentiator (termed 'Class II potentiator') was used with a classical potentiator ('Class I potentiator') such as VX-770 or GLPG1837. To investigate the range of CFTR mutations benefitted by co-potentiators, 14 CF-associated CFTR mutations were studied in transfected cell models. Co-potentiator efficacy was found for CFTR missense, deletion and nonsense mutations in nucleotide binding domain-2 (NBD2), including W1282X, N1303K, c.3700A &gt; G and Q1313X (with corrector for some mutations). In contrast, CFTR mutations G85E, R334W, R347P, V520F, R560T, A561E, M1101K and R1162X showed no co-potentiator activity, even with corrector. Co-potentiator efficacy was confirmed in primary human bronchial epithelial cell cultures generated from a N1303K homozygous CF subject. The Class II potentiators identified here may have clinical benefit for CF caused by mutations in the NBD2 domain of CFTR

Harm Reduction in West Virginia: Do Needle Exchange Programs Reduce Disease and Decrease Costs?

Needle Exchange Programs (NEP)s were created to help users exchange used needles for new sterile ones and become aware of treatment and rehabilitation options. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of NEPs and their impact on reducing HIV and Hepatitis C infections in West Virginia and decreasing health care costs for the community. Based on studies conducted on the past implementation of needle exchange programs, it is suggested that there has been evidence that closing these programs can have a broad societal impact on the spread of HIV and hepatitis C and the associated costs. In addition, the community consequences of closing one extensive SNP in Charleston, West Virginia, were reported

Proteomic Analysis of the Spinophilin Interactome in Rodent Striatum Following Psychostimulant Sensitization

Glutamatergic projections from the cortex and dopaminergic projections from the substantia nigra or ventral tegmental area synapse on dendritic spines of specific GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the striatum. Direct pathway MSNs (dMSNs) are positively coupled to protein kinase A (PKA) signaling and activation of these neurons enhance specific motor programs whereas indirect pathway MSNs (iMSNs) are negatively coupled to PKA and inhibit competing motor programs. An imbalance in the activity of these two programs is observed following increased dopamine signaling associated with exposure to psychostimulant drugs of abuse. Alterations in MSN signaling are mediated by changes in MSN protein post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation. Whereas direct changes in specific kinases, such as PKA, regulate different effects observed in the two MSN populations, alterations in the specific activity of serine/threonine phosphatases, such as protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) are less well known. This lack of knowledge is due, in part, to unknown, cell-specific changes in PP1 targeting proteins. Spinophilin is the major PP1-targeting protein in striatal postsynaptic densities. Using proteomics and immunoblotting approaches along with a novel transgenic mouse expressing hemagglutainin (HA)-tagged spinophilin in dMSNs and iMSNs, we have uncovered cell-specific regulation of the spinophilin interactome following a sensitizing regimen of amphetamine. These data suggest regulation of spinophilin interactions in specific MSN cell types and may give novel insight into putative cell-specific, phosphatase-dependent signaling pathways associated with psychostimulants