The Relationship Between Net Migration Patterns and Selected Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors in South Dakota, 1970-1980

This study investigated the process of net migration in counties of South Dakota from 1970 to1980. Census Bureau and Vital Statistics data were employed to answer the basic question of how major demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of counties of South Dakota were related to patterns of net migration. A description of net migration was presented and from this specific patterns of net migration from 1970 and 1980 were determined. The net migration patterns were (1) in-migration over both decades; (2) turnaround migration: out-migration in 1970 and in-migration in 1980; (3) reverse turnaround: in-migration in 1970 and out-migration in 1980; (4) out-migration: under 15 percent out-migration for 1970 and/or 1980; (5) high out-migration: 15 percent out-migration and over for both decades. Selected demographic and socioeconomic variables were tested to see the extent to which patterns of migration were related. Age composition variables and economic factors were found to be most significant. The counties within the migration patterns were then analyzed to determine which of the selected characteristics were most alike within the categories. Those variables were total businesses, child dependency ratio, birth rate, death rate, fertility ratio, sex ratio, general dependency ratio, index of aging, young adult ratio, median age, teachers per student, employment, unemployment, agricultural employment, poverty, per capita income, average daily membership and cost per average daily membership. The first two variables were most significant. Finally, the pattern of net migration typology was tested to determine the extent of the differences between the net migration categories. Of specific interest were declining counties, the high out-migration pattern and the growing counties, the turnaround pattern. Differences were found between the categories for age dependency ratio, index of aging, median age, employment, agricultural employment and total businesses

Excessive Infant Mortality: An Exploration of Factors Contributing to South Dakota Indians\u27 Life Chances

The consequences of racial inequality are clearly delineated in an analysis of social indicators between racial groups. Among the more direct indicators of social inequality are infant and general mortality rates (Anderson, 1973:286). Indeed, no cold statistic expresses more eloquently the difference between a society of sufficiency and a society of deprivation than the infant mortality rate (Newland, 1981:5). Societies of deprivation that produce higher rates of infant mortality are characterized by low levels of education (Bertoli at al., 1984; Heoht and Outright, 1979), poor health care (Gortmaker, 1879), lower socioeconomic status (Fordyce, 1977), and other problematic environmental conditions. South Dakota is characterized by racial differences in infant mortality rates. Are these rates significantly different? If so, can the social conditions that are associated with high and low rates be distinguished? These are the general questions addressed by this research. Specifically, this research compares and contrasts pertinent vital statistics of the Native American population in South Dakota with the White population. The nature of differential life chances will also be examined

Efficient Gene Targeting by Homologous Recombination in Rat Embryonic Stem Cells

The rat is the preferred experimental animal in many biological studies. With the recent derivation of authentic rat embryonic stem (ES) cells it is now feasible to apply state-of-the art genetic engineering in this species using homologous recombination. To establish whether rat ES cells are amenable to in vivo recombination, we tested targeted disruption of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus in ES cells derived from both inbred and outbred strains of rats. Targeting vectors that replace exons 7 and 8 of the hprt gene with neomycinR/thymidine kinase selection cassettes were electroporated into male Fisher F344 and Sprague Dawley rat ES cells. Approximately 2% of the G418 resistant colonies also tolerated selection with 6-thioguanine, indicating inactivation of the hprt gene. PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed correct site-specific targeting of the hprt locus in these clones. Embryoid body and monolayer differentiation of targeted cell lines established that they retained differentiation potential following targeting and selection. This report demonstrates that gene modification via homologous recombination in rat ES cells is efficient, and should facilitate implementation of targeted, genetic manipulation in the rat

Interrogating Associations Between Polygenic Liabilities and Electroconvulsive Therapy Effectiveness

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe major depressive episodes (MDEs). Nonetheless, firmly established associations between ECT outcomes and biological variables are currently lacking. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) carry clinical potential, but associations with treatment response in psychiatry are seldom reported. Here, we examined whether PRSs for major depressive disorder, schizophrenia (SCZ), cross-disorder, and pharmacological antidepressant response are associated with ECT effectiveness. Methods: A total of 288 patients with MDE from 3 countries were included. The main outcome was a change in the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores from before to after ECT treatment. Secondary outcomes were response and remission. Regression analyses with PRSs as independent variables and several covariates were performed. Explained variance (R 2) at the optimal p-value threshold is reported. Results: In the 266 subjects passing quality control, the PRS-SCZ was positively associated with a larger Hamilton Depression Rating Scale decrease in linear regression (optimal p-value threshold = .05, R 2 = 6.94%, p < .0001), which was consistent across countries: Ireland (R 2 = 8.18%, p = .0013), Belgium (R 2 = 6.83%, p = .016), and the Netherlands (R 2 = 7.92%, p = .0077). The PRS-SCZ was also positively associated with remission (R 2 = 4.63%, p = .0018). Sensitivity and subgroup analyses, including in MDE without psychotic features (R 2 = 4.42%, p = .0024) and unipolar MDE only (R 2 = 9.08%, p < .0001), confirmed the results. The other PRSs were not associated with a change in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score at the predefined Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold. Conclusions: A linear association between PRS-SCZ and ECT outcome was uncovered. Although it is too early to adopt PRSs in ECT clinical decision making, these findings strengthen the positioning of PRS-SCZ as relevant to treatment response in psychiatry

Pilot study evaluating a brief mindfulness intervention for those with chronic pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The burden of chronic pain is a major challenge, impacting the quality of life of patients. Intensive programmes of mindfulness-based therapy can help patients to cope with chronic pain but can be time consuming and require a trained specialist to implement. The self-management model of care is now integral to the care of patients with chronic pain; home-based interventions can be very acceptable, making a compelling argument for investigating brief, self-management interventions. The aim of this study is two-fold: to assess the immediate effects of a brief self-help mindfulness intervention for coping with chronic pain and to assess the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of such an intervention. METHODS/DESIGN: A randomized controlled pilot study will be conducted to evaluate a brief mindfulness intervention for those with chronic pain. Ninety chronic pain patients who attend hospital outpatient clinics will be recruited and allocated randomly to either the control or treatment group on a 1:1 basis using the computer-generated list of random numbers. The treatment group receives mindfulness audios and the control group receives audios of readings from a non-fiction book, all of which are 15 minutes in length. Immediate effects of the intervention are assessed with brief psychological measures immediately before and after audio use. Mindfulness, mood, health-related quality of life, pain catastrophizing and experience of the intervention are assessed with standardized measures, brief ratings and brief telephone follow-ups, at baseline and after one week and one month. Feasibility is assessed by estimation of effect sizes for outcomes, patient adherence and experience, and appraisal of resource allocation in provision of the intervention. DISCUSSION: This trial will assess whether a brief mindfulness-based intervention is effective for immediately reducing perceived distress and pain with the side effect of increasing relaxation in chronic pain patients and will determine the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomized controlled trial. Patient recruitment began in January 2015 and is due to be completed in June 2016. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN61538090 Registered 20 April 2015

Mechanisms of Perceived Treatment Assignment and Subsequent Expectancy Effects in a Double Blind Placebo Controlled RCT of Major Depression

Objective: It has been suggested that patients' perception of treatment assignment might serve to bias results of double blind randomized controlled trials (RCT). Most previous evidence on the effects of patients' perceptions and the mechanisms influencing these perceptions relies on cross-sectional associations. This re-analysis of a double blind, placebo controlled RCT of pharmacological treatment of major depression set out to gather longitudinal evidence on the mechanism and effects of patients' perceived treatment assignment in the pharmacological treatment of major depression.Methods: One-hundred eighty-nine outpatients with DSM-IV diagnosed major depression were randomized to SAMe 1,600–3,200 mg/d, escitalopram 10–20 mg/days, or placebo for 12 weeks. Data on depressive symptoms (17-item Hamilton Depression Scale; HDRS-17), adverse events and patients' perceived treatment assignment was collected at baseline, week 6, and week 12. The re-analysis focused on N = 166 (out of the originally included 189 participants) with available data on perceived treatment assignment.Results: As in the parent trial, depressive symptoms (HDRS-17) significantly decreased over the course of 12 weeks and there was no difference between placebo, SAMe or escitalopram. A significant number of patients changed their perceptions about treatment assignment throughout the trial, especially between baseline and week 6. Improvement in depressive symptoms, but not adverse events significantly predicted perceived treatment assignment at week 6. In turn, perceived treatment assignment at week 6, but not actual treatment, predicted further improvement in depressive symptoms at week 12.Conclusions: The current results provide longitudinal evidence that patients' perception of treatment assignment systematically change despite a double blind procedure and in turn might trigger expectancy effects with the potential to bias the validity of an RCT.Parent study grant number: R01 AT001638 Parent study ClinicalTrials. gov Identifier: NCT0010145

Enrollment of Neonates in More Than One Clinical Trial

Because the highest rates of morbidity and mortality in neonates are seen in those born at 1 clinical trial. Neonatal units that have the infrastructure and resources to engage in research frequently face the question of whether it is permissible to enroll a neonate in >1 trial. This article examines the pertinent scientific, ethical, regulatory, and industry issues that should be taken into account when considering enrolling neonates in multiple clinical studies

Smart Change

This article explains how smart change (contrasted with routine, strategic, and transformative change) is about using learning as a core asset and a guidance system for institutional change, and provides three institutional vignettes

An Analytics Handbook: Moving From Evidence to Impact

Data is only as powerful as your understanding around it. Analytics makes possible new understandings of students and their needs, and creates an advanced ability to improve student success through use of new software being implemented on campuses around the world. This handbook is designed to help any higher ed leader unleash the power of data that is always available but seldom leveraged. It helps to answer the questions, (1) How does a campus strategically develop a plan for use of analytics in better supporting their students? (2) Once a culture is in place, how do leaders effectively move new evidence into action? This primer walks readers through each step of the analytics adoption.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/academic_affairs_books/1000/thumbnail.jp

Framing action analytics and putting them to work

This article is a companion piece to the article “Action Analytics: Measuring and Improving Performance That Matters in Higher Education,” which describes the emergence of a new generation of tools, solutions, and behaviors that are giving rise to more powerful and effective utilities through which colleges and universities can measure performance and provoke pervasive actions to improve it.1 We call this new class of tools, solutions, and behaviors action analytics.2 The “Action Analytics” article provides examples of emerging analytics applications, as well as explanations of how open architecture technologies are lending themselves to a “cloud” of fresh applications and solutions that are not held hostage to the existing “stack” of ERP and other enterprise applications. The article also describes the imperative to change organizational capacity, culture, and behavior and to invent new measures and key performance indicators (KPIs) that are more appropriate to the new skills and habits of mind existing in our “flattening,” fast-changing world