Permanencia y deserción versus autoeficacia de estudiantes universitarios: Un desafío de la calidad educativa

Introducción. La deserción estudiantil a nivel universitario sigue siendo un problema vigente que desencadena pérdidas financieras además de tipo social y familiar, cuando no se alcanzan las metas de la formación académica que garantice trabajadores competentes para el mundo laboral actual. Objetivo. Analizar la permanencia y deserción versus la autoeficacia de estudiantes universitarios en el marco de la calidad educativa. Materiales y métodos. La población estuvo constituida por los estudiantes de una universidad de la ciudad de Barranquilla en Colombia. Se tomó, del registro para el período 2015- 1, una muestra de 322 estudiantes, de los cuales 195 estaban activos y 127 en deserción. El trabajo fue descriptivo y transaccional de diseño no experimental. El instrumento de recolección de datos fue la Escala de Autoeficacia General (EAG), apoyada por el sistema de información institucional del Departamento de Admisiones y Registro. Resultados. Se demostró que no existe una correlación significativa entre autoeficacia y permanencia, así como tampoco entre la autoeficacia y la deserción. Sin embargo, un hallazgo significativo fue demostrar que la media de autoeficacia en desertores resultó mayor que la de los estudiantes que permanecieron en la institución. Conclusiones. Se obtuvo que no se presenta una correlación significativa entre las variables autoeficacia, deserción y permanencia.Introdução. A deserção estudantil a nível universitário segue sendo um problema vigente que desencadeia perdas financeiras ademais de tipo social e familiar, quando não se alcançam as metas da formação acadêmica que garante trabalhadores competentes para o mundo laboral atual. Objetivo. Analisar a permanência e deserção versus a auto eficácia de estudantes universitários no marco da qualidade educativa. Materiais e métodos. A população foi constituída pelos estudantes de uma universidade da cidade de Barranquilla na Colômbia. Se tomou, do registro para o período 2015-1, uma amostra de 322 estudantes, dos quais 195 estavam ativos e 127 em deserção. O trabalho foi descritivo e transacional de desenho não experimental. O instrumento de recolhimento dos dados foi a Escala de Auto eficácia General (EAG), apoiada pelo sistema de informação institucional do Departamento de Admissões e Registro. Resultados. Se demostrou que não existe uma correlação significativa entre auto eficácia e permanência, assim como tampouco entre a auto eficácia e a deserção. Embora, um descobrimento significativo foi demostrar que a média de auto eficácia em desertores resultou maior que a dos estudantes que permaneceram na instituição. Conclusões. Se obteve que não se apresenta una correlação significativa entre as variáveis auto eficácia, deserção e permanência.Introduction. the student dropout at university level continues being a current problem that unleashes financial loss besides social and familiar ones, when academic formation goals are not achieved, which assures skillful workers for the current labor world. Objective. To analyze the permanence and dropout versus self-sufficiency of university students in the quality educative framework. Materials and methods. Population was composed by university students in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. The registry of 2015-1 term, a sample of 322 students, from which 195 were active and 127 on dropout was taken. The work was descriptive and transactional of non-experimental design. Data collection instrument was the General Self-sufficiency scale (GSS), supported by the institutional information system of the Admissions and Registration Department. Results. It was proved that there is not a significant correlation between self-efficiency and permanence, as neither between self-sufficiency or dropout; however, a significant finding was to prove that the average of dropout's self-sufficient students resulted greater than the one of students staying in the institution. Conclusions. It was obtained that there is not a significant correlation among self-efficiency, dropout, and permanence variables

Permanencia y deserción versus autoeficacia de estudiantes universitarios: Un desafío de la calidad educativa

Introduction. the student dropout at university level continues being a current problem that unleashes financial loss besides social and familiar ones, when academic formation goals are not achieved, which assures skillful workers for the current labor world. Objective. To analyze the permanence and dropout versus self-sufficiency of university students in the quality educative framework. Materials and methods. Population was composed by university students in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. The registry of 2015-1 term, a sample of 322 students, from which 195 were active and 127 on dropout was taken. The work was descriptive and transactional of non-experimental design. Data collection instrument was the General Self-sufficiency scale (GSS), supported by the institutional information system of the Admissions and Registration Department. Results. It was proved that there is not a significant correlation between self-efficiency and permanence, as neither between self-sufficiency or dropout; however, a significant finding was to prove that the average of dropout's self-sufficient students resulted greater than the one of students staying in the institution. Conclusions. It was obtained that there is not a significant correlation among self-efficiency, dropout, and permanence variables.Introducción. La deserción estudiantil a nivel universitario sigue siendo un problema vigente que desencadena pérdidas financieras además de tipo social y familiar, cuando no se alcanzan las metas de la formación académica que garantice trabajadores competentes para el mundo laboral actual. Objetivo. Analizar la permanencia y deserción versus la autoeficacia de estudiantes universitarios en el marco de la calidad educativa. Materiales y métodos. La población estuvo constituida por los estudiantes de una universidad de la ciudad de Barranquilla en Colombia. Se tomó, del registro para el período 2015- 1, una muestra de 322 estudiantes, de los cuales 195 estaban activos y 127 en deserción. El trabajo fue descriptivo y transaccional de diseño no experimental. El instrumento de recolección de datos fue la Escala de Autoeficacia General (EAG), apoyada por el sistema de información institucional del Departamento de Admisiones y Registro. Resultados. Se demostró que no existe una correlación significativa entre autoeficacia y permanencia, así como tampoco entre la autoeficacia y la deserción. Sin embargo, un hallazgo significativo fue demostrar que la media de autoeficacia en desertores resultó mayor que la de los estudiantes que permanecieron en la institución. Conclusiones. Se obtuvo que no se presenta una correlación significativa entre las variables autoeficacia, deserción y permanencia.Introdução. A deserção estudantil a nível universitário segue sendo um problema vigente que desencadeia perdas financeiras ademais de tipo social e familiar, quando não se alcançam as metas da formação acadêmica que garante trabalhadores competentes para o mundo laboral atual. Objetivo. Analisar a permanência e deserção versus a auto eficácia de estudantes universitários no marco da qualidade educativa. Materiais e métodos. A população foi constituída pelos estudantes de uma universidade da cidade de Barranquilla na Colômbia. Se tomou, do registro para o período 2015-1, uma amostra de 322 estudantes, dos quais 195 estavam ativos e 127 em deserção. O trabalho foi descritivo e transacional de desenho não experimental. O instrumento de recolhimento dos dados foi a Escala de Auto eficácia General (EAG), apoiada pelo sistema de informação institucional do Departamento de Admissões e Registro. Resultados. Se demostrou que não existe uma correlação significativa entre auto eficácia e permanência, assim como tampouco entre a auto eficácia e a deserção. Embora, um descobrimento significativo foi demostrar que a média de auto eficácia em desertores resultou maior que a dos estudantes que permaneceram na instituição. Conclusões. Se obteve que não se apresenta una correlação significativa entre as variáveis auto eficácia, deserção e permanência

Fecal Microbiota, Bile Acids, Sterols, and Fatty Acids in Dogs with Chronic Enteropathy Fed a Home-Cooked Diet Supplemented with Coconut Oil

: Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are considered to be interesting energy sources for dogs affected by chronic enteropathies (CE). This study analyzed the clinical scores, fecal microbiota, and metabolomes of 18 CE dogs fed a home-cooked diet (HCD) supplemented with virgin coconut oil (VCO), a source of MCFA, at 10% of metabolizable energy (HCD + VCO). The dogs were clinically evaluated with the Canine Chronic Enteropathy Activity Index (CCECAI) before and at the end of study. Fecal samples were collected at baseline, after 7 days of HCD, and after 30 days of HCD + VCO, for fecal score (FS) assessment, microbial analysis, and determination of bile acids (BA), sterols, and fatty acids (FA). The dogs responded positively to diet change, as shown by the CCECAI improvement (p = 0.001); HCD reduced fecal fat excretion and HCD + VCO improved FS (p < 0.001), even though an increase in fecal moisture occurred due to HCD (p = 0.001). HCD modified fecal FA (C6:0: +79%, C14:0: +74%, C20:0: +43%, C22:0: +58%, C24:0: +47%, C18:3n-3: +106%, C20:4n-6: +56%, and monounsaturated FA (MUFA): -23%, p < 0.05) and sterol profile (coprostanol: -27%, sitostanol: -86%, p < 0.01). VCO increased (p < 0.05) fecal total saturated FA (SFA: +28%, C14:0: +142%, C16:0 +21%, C22:0 +33%) and selected MCFAs (+162%; C10:0 +183%, C12:0 +600%), while reducing (p < 0.05) total MUFA (-29%), polyunsaturated FA (-26%), campesterol (-56%) and phyto-/zoosterols ratio (0.93:1 vs. 0.36:1). The median dysbiosis index was <0 and, together with fecal BA, was not significantly affected by HCD nor by VCO. The HCD diet increased total fecal bacteria (p = 0.005) and the abundance of Fusobacterium spp. (p = 0.028). This study confirmed that clinical signs, and to a lesser extent fecal microbiota and metabolome, are positively influenced by HCD in CE dogs. Moreover, it has been shown that fecal proportions of MCFA increased when MCFAs were supplemented in those dogs. The present results emphasize the need for future studies to better understand the intestinal absorptive mechanism of MCFA in dogs

A stable CC-chemokine receptor (CCR)-5 tropic virus is correlated with the persistence of HIV RNA at less than 2.5 copies in successfully treated naïve subjects

BACKGROUND: To determine if tropism for CXCR4 or CCR5 correlates with cellular HIV DNA load, residual viraemia and CD4 count in 219 successfully treated naive subjects with HIV infection enrolled in five infectious diseases units in Northeastern Italy. METHODS: A subset of subjects, achieving plasma HIV RNA level <50 copies/ml after initiation of first-line therapy and maintaining it until follow-up time points, was retrospectively selected from a prospective cohort. Blood samples were collected before the beginning of therapy (T0), at the first follow-up time (T1) and, when available, at a second (T2) follow-up time. RESULTS: HIV DNA, CD4 count and plasma viraemia were available from all 219 patients at T0 and T1, and in 86 subjects at T2, while tropism determinations were available from 109 subjects at T0, 219 at T1, and from 86 subjects at T2. Achieving residual viraemia <2.5 copies/ml at T1 correlated with having the same condition at T2 (p = 0.0007). X4 tropism at T1 was negatively correlated with the possibility of achieving viraemia<2.5 copies/ml at T2 (p = 0.0076). T1-T2 tropism stability was significant (p <0.0001). T0 tropism correlated with T1 and T2 tropism (p < 0.001); therefore the stability of the tropism over the two follow-up periods was significant (p = 0.0003). An effective viremic suppression (viraemia<2.5 copies/ml) correlated with R5 coreceptor affinity (p= 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: The tropism of archived virus was stable during an effective treatment, with 15-18% of subjects switching over time, despite a viraemia<50 copies/ml. R5 tropism and its stability were related to achieving and maintaining viraemia<2.5 copies/ml

A Remote Monitoring System to Optimize the Home Management of Oral Anticancer Therapies (ONCO-TreC): Prospective Training-Validation Trial

Background: A platform designed to support the home management of oral anticancer treatments and provide a secure web-based patient–health care professional communication modality, ONCO-TreC, was tested in 3 cancer centers in Italy. Objective: The overall aims of the trial are to customize the platform; assess the system’s ability to facilitate the shared management of oral anticancer therapies by patients and health professionals; and evaluate system usability and acceptability by patients, caregivers, and health care professionals. Methods: Patients aged ≥18 years who were candidates for oral anticancer treatment as monotherapy with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 0 to 1 and a sufficient level of familiarity with mobile devices were eligible. ONCO-TreC consisted of a mobile app for patients and a web-based dashboard for health care professionals. Adherence to treatment (pill count) and toxicities reported by patients through the app were compared with those reported by physicians in medical records. Usability and acceptability were evaluated using questionnaires. Results: A total of 40 patients were enrolled, 38 (95%) of whom were evaluable for adherence to treatment. The ability of the system to measure adherence to treatment was high, with a concordance of 97.3% (95% CI 86.1%-99.9%) between the investigator and system pill count. Only 60% (3/5) of grade 3, 54% (13/24) of grade 2, and 19% (7/36) of grade 1 adverse events reported by physicians in the case report forms were also reported in the app directly by patients. In total, 94% (33/35) of patients had ≥1 app launch each week, and the median number of daily accesses per patient was 2. Approximately 71% (27/38) and 68% (26/38) of patients used the app for messages and vital sign entering, respectively, at least once during the study period. Conclusions: ONCO-TreC is an important tool for measuring and monitoring adherence to oral anticancer drugs. System usability and acceptability were very high, whereas its reliability in registering toxicity could be improved

Liver stiffness is not associated with short- and long-term plasma HIV RNA replication in immunocompetent patients with HIV infection and with HIV/HCV coinfection

Background:Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be directly responsible for liver damage but there are contrasting data regarding the influence of detectable plasma viremia. We analyzed the influence of plasma HIV RNA (pHIV) detectability and of other clinical and viro-immunological variables on liver stiffness (LS) measurement in adult immunocompetent HIV-monoinfected patients and in patients coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Methods: Logistic regression analysis was performed using the value of LS>7.1 kPa as the dependent variable. A linear regression model was applied using LS measurement after log 10 transformation (lkpa) as the dependent variable and we analyzed the predicted values versus the observed lkpa values; pHIV was classified as detectable or undetectable in the 12- and 36-month study periods before LS measurement. Results: We studied 251 patients (178 with HIV monoinfection), most of whom were on antiviral treatment; 36-month study time was available for 154 subjects. The mean CD4+ cell count was 634 cells/mm3 in HIV-monoinfected patients and 606 cells/mm3 in coinfected patients. No difference in LS was found between patients with detectable or undetectable pHIV in either the 12- or the 36-month study period before transient elastography. The mean LS was higher in HIV/HCV coinfected patients (P<0.0001) than in the HIV-monoinfected subjects; lkpa was positively correlated with HCV coinfection (P<0.0001) and aspartate aminotransferase levels (P<0.0001). Detectable pHIV failed to reach significance. Eight HIV-monoinfected patients had a predicted LS measurement lower than the observed one, while eight patients had the opposite result. Conclusion: LS was not correlated with ongoing HIV replication during the 12- and 36-month study periods in immunocompetent HIV-monoinfected and HIV/HCV-coinfected patients

Role of pretreatment variables on plasma HIV RNA value at the sixth month of antiretroviral therapy including all first line drugs in HIV na\uefve patients: A path analysis approach

We investigated the conditioning roles of viral tropism and other variables on plasma HIV RNA levels after 6 months of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in an HIV-infected Italian naïve population using regression tree, random forest regression, and path analysis (PA). Patients in this multicenter observational study were treated with all antiviral drugs that are currently recommended as first-line therapies

Anal and oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in HIV-infected subjects in northern Italy: a longitudinal cohort study among men who have sex with men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A study including 166 subjects was performed to investigate the frequency and persistence over a 6-month interval of concurrent oral and anal Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected men who have sex with men (MSM).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with no previously documented HPV-related anogenital lesion/disease were recruited to participate in a longitudinal study. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect HPV from oral and anal swabs and to detect Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV-8) DNA in saliva on 2 separate specimen series, one collected at baseline and the other collected 6 months later. A multivariate logistic analysis was performed using anal HPV infection as the dependent variable versus a set of covariates: age, HIV plasma viral load, CD4+ count, hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology, hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology, syphilis serology and HHV-8 viral shedding. A stepwise elimination of covariates with a p-value > 0.1 was performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of HPV did not vary significantly between the baseline and the follow-up, either in the oral (20.1 and 21.3%, respectively) or the anal specimens (88.6 and 86.3%). The prevalence of high-risk (HR) genotypes among the HPV-positive specimens was similar in the oral and anal infections (mean values 24.3% and 20.9%). Among 68 patients with either a HR, low-risk (LR) or undetermined genotype at baseline, 75% had persistent HPV and the persistence rates were 71.4% in HR infections and 76.7% in LR infections. There was a lack of genotype concordance between oral and anal HPV samples. The prevalence of HR HPV in anus appeared to be higher in the younger patients, peaking (> 25%) in the 43-50 years age group. A decrease of the high level of anal prevalence of all genotypes of HPV in the patients > 50 years was evident. HHV-8 oral shedding was positively related to HPV anal infection (p = 0.0046). A significant correlation was found between the persistence of HHV-8 shedding and HIV viral load by logistic bivariate analysis (Odds Ratio of HHV-8 persistence for 1-log increase of HIV viral load = 1.725 ± 0.397, p = 0.018).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high prevalence of HPV infection was found in our cohort of HIV-infected MSM, with a negative correlation between anal HPV infection and CD4 cell count.</p

Sintassonomia dei boschi lombardi

Riassunto – Viene riportato un inquadramento della vegetazione forestale della Lombardia stilato su base geografico-fi siografica, geolitologica, bioclimatica, biogeografica e floristica e sintetizzato in un inquadramento sintassonomico. Parole chiave – Vegetazione, Boschi, Lombardia, Fitosociologia, Sintassonomia. Abstract – We report an overview of Lombardy woods vegetation. It is based on geographic-physiographic, geolithologic, bioclimatic, biogeographic and floristic approach and synthesized in a syntaxonomic scheme. Key words – Vegetation, Woods, Lombardy, Phytosociology, Syntaxonomy