Self-Leadership, Self-Efficacy, and Academic Performance in Undergraduate Students and Peer Mentors

poster abstractThis study investigates the role of self-leadership and self-efficacy on the academic performance of students—specifically academic peer mentors. It investigates if undergraduate academic peer mentors differ from comparable students in terms of self-leadership and self-efficacy as well as in general academic performance. Self-leadership is a construct based on how well a person can utilize cognitive and behavioral strategies to manage their own development while academic self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief in their academic competency. We hypothesize that peer mentors will have higher scores on the revised self-leadership questionnaire (RSLQ) and academic self-efficacy as well as higher levels of academic performance as evidenced by GPA and specific academic self-report questions. This study also seeks to understand self-efficacy as a mediating variable between self-leadership and academic performance. We hypothesize that self-efficacy will mediate self-leadership and academic performance in this context. Results from this study will be meaningful for students in academic leadership positions as well as comparable peers, and it is anticipated the results will be used for student growth and leadership development

Correlates of Attendance in Psychiatric Services: A Critical Review

poster abstractAttendance and dropout are concerning problems in the mental health field. With dropout rates averaging around 50%, mental health agencies lose money and resources invested in missed appointments and under-attended groups, providers lose valuable time, and consumers do not receive recommended levels of services. While there is research on consumer, provider, and agency factors that affect attendance, it has not been integrated and reviewed in the context of community services for those with psychotic disorders. The authors conducted a critical review of literature examining correlates of attendance in community services provided to samples with psychotic disorders as the most prominent diagnostic category. Twenty-two studies were identified that met inclusion criteria. Over 100 unique correlates of attendance were tested; the authors categorized these into eight content areas: demographics, current functioning, history (psychiatric/functional), neurocognitive functioning, services/treatment, social functioning, self-stigma/insight, and symptoms/psychopathology. Correlates were also sorted according to how often they were examined and how many times they were found to be significantly related to consumer attendance. The category containing the most unique correlates was symptoms/psychopathology. Demographic correlates were researched the most, with three unique correlates examined in over ten studies (age, sex, and living situation). Of these demographic correlates, all but two were found significant 25% of the time or less, and none exceeded 40%. Alternatively, some correlates have been investigated few times, but with promising results and theoretical connections to attendance, such as baseline illness severity, which has been found significant in 75% of analyses. There is evidence that researchers are examining correlates for which there is little empirical evidence of a connection to attendance. This may lead to missed opportunities to maximize attendance, use of services, and resources. Implications for future research in the area are discussed

Precision exercise medicine: understanding exercise response variability

There is evidence from human twin and family studies as well as mouse and rat selection experiments that there are considerable interindividual differences in the response of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and other cardiometabolic traits to a given exercise programme dose. We developed this consensus statement on exercise response variability following a symposium dedicated to this topic. There is strong evidence from both animal and human studies that exercise training doses lead to variable responses. A genetic component contributes to exercise training response variability. In this consensus statement, we (1) briefly review the literature on exercise response variability and the various sources of variations in CRF response to an exercise programme, (2) introduce the key research designs and corresponding statistical models with an emphasis on randomised controlled designs with or without multiple pretests and post-tests, crossover designs and repeated measures designs, (3) discuss advantages and disadvantages of multiple methods of categorising exercise response levels-a topic that is of particular interest for personalised exercise medicine and (4) outline approaches that may identify determinants and modifiers of CRF exercise response. We also summarise gaps in knowledge and recommend future research to better understand exercise response variability531811411153The consensus meeting that led to the writing of this manuscript was held with the financial support of the Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center Division of Education, the LSU Boyd Professorship and the John W. Barton, Sr. Chair in Genetics and Nutrition. No funding and/or honorarium was provided to any member of the writing group for the production of this manuscrip

Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening Decision Making Processes

Introduction: Although shared decision making is recommended for cancer screening, it is not routinely completed in practice because of time constraints. We evaluated a process for improving decision making about colorectal cancer (CRC) screening using mailed decision aids (DA) with follow-up telephone support in primary care practices. Methods: We identified patients aged 50-75 who were not up to date with CRC screening in three primary care practices. DA were distributed via mail with telephone follow-up to eligible patients, and charts were reviewed six months later for CRC screening completion. Results: Among 1,064 eligible patients who received the mailed DA, 513 (48.2%) were reached by phone. During the six months after the intervention, 148/1064 (13.9%) patients were screened for CRC (4.8% underwent FIT, 9.1% underwent colonoscopy). Younger patients (aged 50-54) had higher rates of any screening (32.4%) compared with all other age groups (range 12.8%-19.6%), p=0.026, while Medicaid patients had the lowest rates of screening (4.0%), and insured patients had the highest rates (45.3%), p=0.003. Overall, 113/513 (22.0%) who were reached by phone went on to complete screening within 6 months, compared with 35/551 (6.4%) of patients who were not reached by phone (p Conclusion: A standard process for identifying patients unscreened for CRC and DA distribution via mail with telephone decision support modestly increased CRC screening and is consistent with the goal of providing preference-sensitive care and informed decision making. Improving care processes to include decision support outside of office visits is possible in primary care practices

Rats selectively bred for low aerobic capacity have reduced hepatic mitochondrial oxidative capacity and susceptibility to hepatic steatosis and injury

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65411/1/jphysiol.2009.169060.pd

RNAcentral 2021: secondary structure integration, improved sequence search and new member databases

RNAcentral is a comprehensive database of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences that provides a single access point to 44 RNA resources and >18 million ncRNA sequences from a wide range of organisms and RNA types. RNAcentral now also includes secondary (2D) structure information for >13 million sequences, making RNAcentral the world's largest RNA 2D structure database. The 2D diagrams are displayed using R2DT, a new 2D structure visualization method that uses consistent, reproducible and recognizable layouts for related RNAs. The sequence similarity search has been updated with a faster interface featuring facets for filtering search results by RNA type, organism, source database or any keyword. This sequence search tool is available as a reusable web component, and has been integrated into several RNAcentral member databases, including Rfam, miRBase and snoDB. To allow for a more fine-grained assignment of RNA types and subtypes, all RNAcentral sequences have been annotated with Sequence Ontology terms. The RNAcentral database continues to grow and provide a central data resource for the RNA community

RNAcentral 2021: secondary structure integration, improved sequence search and new member databases.

RNAcentral is a comprehensive database of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences that provides a single access point to 44 RNA resources and >18 million ncRNA sequences from a wide range of organisms and RNA types. RNAcentral now also includes secondary (2D) structure information for >13 million sequences, making RNAcentral the world's largest RNA 2D structure database. The 2D diagrams are displayed using R2DT, a new 2D structure visualization method that uses consistent, reproducible and recognizable layouts for related RNAs. The sequence similarity search has been updated with a faster interface featuring facets for filtering search results by RNA type, organism, source database or any keyword. This sequence search tool is available as a reusable web component, and has been integrated into several RNAcentral member databases, including Rfam, miRBase and snoDB. To allow for a more fine-grained assignment of RNA types and subtypes, all RNAcentral sequences have been annotated with Sequence Ontology terms. The RNAcentral database continues to grow and provide a central data resource for the RNA community. RNAcentral is freely available at https://rnacentral.org

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Who self-identifies as disabled? An examination of impairment and contextual predictors

Purpose/Objective: According to Social Identity Theory, minority group members, like people with disabilities, manage stigma by either passing as majority group members or identifying with their minority group. Approximately 15% of the world\u27s population has a disability, but only a fraction of those individuals identify themselves as people with disabilities. Disability identification has been associated with positive outcomes including psychosocial well-being, self-advocacy, and political engagement. The International Classification of Functioning (ICF) recognizes that disability is constructed through the intersection of impairment and context (i.e., personal and environmental factors). This is the first study to examine ICF impairment factors (duration, noticeability, presence congenital impairment, pain, severity, and total number of impairments), personal factors (age, ethnicity, gender, income, and psychological distress), and environmental factors (social support and stigma) that predict disability self-identification. Research Method/Design: Participants living in the United States completed an online survey measuring the factors listed above. To avoid selection bias, disability was not mentioned in recruitment materials. Those who reported at least 1 impairment (n = 710) were retained for analysis. Results: Supporting the ICF proposition that disability results from a combination of impairment and contextual factors, disability identification was predicted by severity, age, income, and stigma. Stigma partially mediated the relationship between severity and identification. Conclusions/ Implications: Stigma and severity were the strongest predictors of disability identification. Future work should examine ways to foster positive disability identity such as cross-impairment connections through support groups, mentoring, and collective action against stigma