Exploring Dimensions of Mobile Information Technology Dependence

The breakthrough idea of technology dependence is developed from mass communication theory as an enhancement to the evolving literature on IS Continuance. Unlike prominent constructs in the continuance literature, dependency as adapted for use here involves conscious user recognition of the benefits from and motivations for technology use, which stands in contrast to typical continuance constructs that presume routinized and nonconscious usage patterns. This study develops, tests and explains emerging dimensions of technology dependency in the context of mobile 3G handset users in a university workplace community. Results provide the basis for development of measures and hypothetical relationships with related variables for future research, and provide a valuable new variable for inclusion in the IS Continuance literature stream

Validity of a two-item physical activity questionnaire for assessing attainment of physical activity guidelines in youth

Background: As physical activity is important for health and well-being, it is essential to monitor population prevalence of physical activity. Surveillance is dependent on the use of valid and reliable measurement tools. The PACE+ questionnaire is used globally in youth and has acceptable reliability; however it has not been validated in a European sample. The purpose of this study is to validate this instrument in a sample of 10-18 year old Irish youth. Methods: Participants (n=419, 45.7 % male) completed the PACE+ two-item questionnaire and were asked to wear an Actigraph accelerometer for eight consecutive days. Freedson cut-points were used to estimate moderate to vigorous physical activity from accelerometer counts. Analyses compared self-report and accelerometry data in participants with (1) ≥5 and (2) seven valid accelerometer days. Calculations were performed for the whole sample, and were stratified by sex and school level (primary; post-primary). Results: Spearman correlations between self-reported physical activity levels and accelerometry derived minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day were small (r=0.27; seven valid days) to moderate (r=0.34; ≥5 valid days). Higher correlations were found in older participants (post-primary r=0.39; primary r=0.24) and females (r=0.39; males r=0.27) using ≥5 valid days. The agreement level was high (68-96 %). The accuracy of classifying those not meeting the guidelines (specificity) was moderate to high (59-100 %). Conclusions: The PACE+ self-report instrument has acceptable validity for assessing non-achievement of the adolescent physical activity recommendations. The validity is higher in females and increases with age. The continued use of the tool is recommended and will allow for comparability between studies, tracking of physical activity over time including trends in youth population prevalence

Die Folgen des Libyen-Konflikts für Afrika: Gräben zwischen der AU und dem Westen, Destabilisierung der Sahelzone

Der Bürgerkrieg und die Nato-Intervention in Libyen haben Auswirkungen auf Afrika und die europäische Afrikapolitik, denen bislang zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wurde. Kurz- und mittelfristig droht eine weitere Destabilisierung der Sahelzone. Der im Januar 2012 neu ausgebrochene Konflikt im Norden Malis ist eine direkte Folge des libyschen Bürgerkriegs, ebenso wie die Rückkehr von Kämpfern aus Libyen und die Zunahme des Waffenschmuggels. Außerdem hat der Libyen-Konflikt neue Hindernisse für regionale Kooperation im Sahel aufgetürmt. Nicht minder gravierend sind die mittel- und langfristigen internationalen Folgen der Nato-Intervention. Sie hat Streit zwischen afrikanischen und westlichen Staaten verursacht, der die oft beschworene »Partnerschaft auf Augenhöhe« als deklaratorische Politik zu entblößen droht. Auch innerhalb der Afrikanischen Union hat der Umgang mit der Krise Spannungen hervorgerufen, die die Handlungsfähigkeit der Organisation nach innen wie außen beeinträchtigen werden. Aus diesen Gründen muss deutsche und europäische Afrikapolitik auf mehreren Ebenen reagieren. Europa muss seinen Ansatz für den Sahel modifizieren, denn bisher wollte die EU vor allem die Sicherheitskräfte in der Region stärken. Dies geht nicht nur an den eigentlichen Problemen vorbei, sondern könnte Auseinandersetzungen sogar befeuern und regionale Kooperation erschweren. Stattdessen sollte die EU weit mehr Gewicht auf die Förderung regionaler Anstrengungen legen sowie Libyen und Algerien entschlossener in ihre Sahel-Strategie einbeziehen. Für Europa wird eine funktionsfähige AU in Zukunft noch wichtiger werden. Deutschland und die EU sollten sich daher bemühen, die politischen Gräben zuzuschütten, die der Umgang mit dem Libyen-Konflikt aufgerissen hat. (Autorenreferat

Promoting Physical Activity in Children and Young People, determinants and interventions

Members of the HEPA working group for Children and Youth will present examples of current research with this age group which focuses on the psychosocial determinants of physical activity and examples of school based interventions to promote physical activit

Blue Food Demand Across Geographic and Temporal Scales

Numerous studies have focused on the need to expand production of ‘blue foods’, defined as aquatic foods captured or cultivated in marine and freshwater systems, to meet rising population- and income-driven demand. Here we analyze the roles of economic, demographic, and geographic factors and preferences in shaping blue food demand, using secondary data from FAO and The World Bank, parameters from published models, and case studies at national to sub-national scales. Our results show a weak cross-sectional relationship between per capita income and consumption globally when using an aggregate fish metric. Disaggregation by fish species group reveals distinct geographic patterns; for example, high consumption of freshwater fish in China and pelagic fish in Ghana and Peru where these fish are widely available, affordable, and traditionally eaten. We project a near doubling of global fish demand by mid-century assuming continued growth in aquaculture production and constant real prices for fish. Our study concludes that nutritional and environmental consequences of rising demand will depend on substitution among fish groups and other animal source foods in national diets

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.

BACKGROUND: A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. METHODS: This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. FINDINGS: Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0-75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4-97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8-80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3-4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. INTERPRETATION: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials. FUNDING: UK Research and Innovation, National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lemann Foundation, Rede D'Or, Brava and Telles Foundation, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Thames Valley and South Midland's NIHR Clinical Research Network, and AstraZeneca

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK

Background A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. Methods This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. Findings Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0–75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4–97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8–80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3–4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. Interpretation ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials

Reimagining the Laboratory Experience: From Model to Simulation

A challenge for any scientific lab is the alignment of the use of resources with learning outcomes. Medical Sciences 4900 is a fourth year laboratory course that has previously used a live rat model. The rationale for the use of the rats, was to convey anatomical knowledge as well as pathology. However, the use of rats did not align well with our learning outcomes. In this proposal we will present our innovative solution: we developed a rat dissection simulation used in combination with a high-resolution video to replace the live rats. Implementation of the simulation has provided two benefits. The first is that we have eliminated the use of animals and all associated ethical issues. The second is that this change allows the students to design and execute their own experiments, which better aligns with the outcomes of this course. In this session, participants will learn about the design and implementation of the simulation. Audience members will have the opportunity to experience the dissection simulation on their own computers. We will also present preliminary results from our study, which evaluated the efficacy of, and attitudes towards our simulation. Participants can use this information to reflect on their own use of animals in education