Examining Incoming Credit Differences Between First-Year and Transfer Students

In this study, the difference in the number of initial credits between incoming transfer and first-year students entering a land grant university in a professional education program was examined (N = 488). A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that transfer students transferred significantly more total credits and more credits that counted toward degree programs than did first-year students. Undergraduates who had graduated from small high schools transferred more credits and more credits that counted than did those from large high schools. However, first-year students transferred a significantly higher percentage of total credits that counted toward the degree programs than did transfer students. Implications for advisors, institutions, and policy makers are discussed

An evidence-based approach to understanding the competency development needs of the health service management workforce in Australia

Background: Competent managers are essential to the productivity of organisations and the sustainability of health systems. Effective workforce development strategies sensitive to the current competency development needs of health service managers (HSMs) are required. Purpose: To conduct a 360° assessment of the competence of Australian HSMs to identify managerial competence levels, and training and development needs. Methods: Assessment of 93 middle-level HSMs from two public hospitals (n = 25) and five community health services (CHS) (n = 68), using the Managerial Competency Assessment Partnership (MCAP) framework and tool, conducted between 2012 and 2014 in Victoria, Australia. Results: Mean competency scores from both self- and combined colleagues' assessments indicated competence (scores greater than five but less than six) without guidance, but many HSMs have not had extensive experience. Around 12% of HSMs were unable to demonstrate the competency of 'evidence-informed decision-making' and 4% of HSMs were unable to demonstrate the competency of 'enabling and managing change'. Conclusion: The assessments confirmed managerial competence for the majority of middle-level HSMs from hospitals and CHS in Victoria, but found competency gaps. In addition, the assessment confirmed managerial strengths and weaknesses varied across management groups from different organisations. These findings suggest that the development of strategies to strengthen the health service management workforce should be multifaceted. Practice implications: A focus on competency in performance evaluation and development using the MCAP framework and tool not only provides insights into performance of HSMs, but also has the potential to provide an organisation strategic advantage through succession planning and advancing managers' competence via learning needs analysis and targeted professional development. Linking competencies of HSMs to organisational objectives and strategies provides optimal use of the human resource capacity, improving the organisation's productivity and sustainability

Massive migration from the steppe is a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost four hundred thousand polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of western and far eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ~8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary, and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ~24,000 year old Siberian6 . By ~6,000-5,000 years ago, a resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry had occurred throughout much of Europe, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ~4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ~3/4 of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ~3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for the theory of a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe

Can flash glucose monitoring improve glucose management for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with type 2 diabetes? A protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are disproportionately impacted by type 2 diabetes. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology (such as Abbott Freestyle Libre 2, previously referred to as Flash Glucose Monitoring) offers real-time glucose monitoring that is convenient and easy to use compared to self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). However, this technology’s use is neither widespread nor subsidised for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with type 2 diabetes. Building on existing collaborations with a national network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, this randomised controlled trial aims to assess the effect of CGM compared to SMBG on (i) haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), (ii) achieving blood glucose targets, (iii) reducing hypoglycaemic episodes and (iv) cost-effective healthcare in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people health setting. Methods: This is a non-masked, parallel-group, two-arm, individually randomised, controlled trial (ACTRN12621000753853). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with type 2 diabetes on injectable therapy and HbA1c ≥ 7.5% (n = 350) will be randomised (1:1) to CGM or SMBG for 6 months. The primary outcome is change in HbA1c level from baseline to 6 months. Secondary outcomes include (i) CGM-derived metrics, (ii) frequency of hypoglycaemic episodes, (iii) health-related quality of life and (iv) incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year gained associated with the CGM compared to SMBG. Clinical trial sites include Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, Aboriginal Medical Services, primary care centres and tertiary hospitals across urban, rural, regional and remote Australia. Discussion: The trial will assess the effect of CGM compared to SMBG on HbA1c for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with type 2 diabetes in Australia. This trial could have long-term benefits in improving diabetes management and providing evidence for funding of CGM in this population. Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12621000753853. Registered on 15th June 2021

Complex history of the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus revealed with genome resequencing data

Understanding the evolutionary history of microbial pathogens is critical for mitigating the impacts of emerging infectious diseases on economically and ecologically important host species. We used a genome resequencing approach to resolve the evolutionary history of an important microbial pathogen, the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which has been implicated in amphibian declines worldwide. We sequenced the genomes of 29 isolates of Bd from around the world, with an emphasis on North, Central, and South America because of the devastating effect that Bd has had on amphibian populations in the New World. We found a substantial amount of evolutionary complexity in Bd with deep phylogenetic diversity that predates observed global amphibian declines. By investigating the entire genome, we found that even the most recently evolved Bd clade (termed the global panzootic lineage) contained more genetic variation than previously reported. We also found dramatic differences among isolates and among genomic regions in chromosomal copy number and patterns of heterozygosity, suggesting complex and heterogeneous genome dynamics. Finally, we report evidence for selection acting on the Bd genome, supporting the hypothesis that protease genes are important in evolutionary transitions in this group. Bd is considered an emerging pathogen because of its recent effects on amphibians, but our data indicate that it has a complex evolutionary history that predates recent disease outbreaks. Therefore, it is important to consider the contemporary effects of Bd in a broader evolutionary context and identify specific mechanisms that may have led to shifts in virulence in this system.Instituto de Botánica "Dr. Carlos Spegazzini

Digital smartphone intervention to recognise and manage early warning signs in schizophrenia to prevent relapse : the EMPOWER feasibility cluster RCT

Funding Information: Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 26, No. 27. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. Funding in Australia was provided by the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1095879). Funding Information: The research reported in this issue of the journal was funded by the HTA programme as project number 13/154/04. The contractual start date was in April 2016. The draft report began editorial review in September 2019 and was accepted for publication in March 2020. The authors have been wholly responsible for all data collection, analysis and interpretation, and for writing up their work. The HTA editors and publisher have tried to ensure the accuracy of the authors’ report and would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments on the draft document. However, they do not accept liability for damages or losses arising from material published in this report. Funding Information: Declared competing interests of authors: Andrew I Gumley reports personal fees from the University of Manchester, the University of Exeter and the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) (Accrington, UK), and other interests with NHS Education for Scotland outside the submitted work. John Ainsworth reports other interests with Affigo CIC (Manchester, UK) outside the submitted work. Sandra Bucci is a director of Affigo CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise company spun out of the University of Manchester in December 2015 to enable access to social enterprise funding and to promote ClinTouch, a symptom-monitoring app, to the NHS and public sector. Andrew Briggs reports personal fees from Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany), Merck Sharp & Dohme (Kenilworth, NJ, USA), Janssen Pharmaceutica (Beerse, Belgium), Novartis (Basel, Switzerland), SWORD Health (Porto, Portugal), Amgen Inc. (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) and Daiichi Sankyo (Tokyo, Japan) outside the submitted work. John Farhall reports grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) during the conduct of the study and other interests with Melbourne Health (NorthWestern Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia) outside the submitted work. Shôn Lewis reports grants from the Medical Research Council, non-financial support from Affigo CIC and personal fees from XenZone plc (Manchester, UK) outside the submitted work. Cathy Mihalopoulos reports grants from National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) during the conduct of the study. John Norrie reports grants from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh during the conduct of the study and declares membership of the following NIHR boards: CPR Decision Making Committee (2016), HTA Commissioning Board (2010–16), HTA Commissioning Sub-Board (EOI) (2012–16), HTA Funding Boards Policy Group (2016), HTA General Board (2016–19), HTA Post-Board funding teleconference (2016–19), NIHR CTU Standing Advisory Committee (2017–present), NIHR HTA and EME Editorial Board (2014–19) and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Impact Review Panel (2017–present). Paul French is a member of the HTA Mental Health Prioritisation Panel (2017–present). Chris Williams reports grants from NIHR during the conduct of the study (HTA 10/104/34 BEAT-IT: a randomised controlled trial comparing a behavioural activation treatment for depression in adults with learning disabilities with attention control; NIHR multicentre RCT of a group psychological intervention for postnatal depression in British mothers of South Asian Origin: RP-PG-0514-20012: Integrated therapist and online CBT for depression in primary care); other from Five Areas Ltd (Clydebank, UK) outside the submitted work; and that he has twice been president of the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies, the lead body for cognitive–bahavioural therapy in the UK. This body aims to advocate use of evidence-based delivery of cognitive–bahavioural therapy. Publisher Copyright: © Queen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO 2022.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Smoking Cessation in Indigenous Populations of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States: Elements of Effective Interventions

Indigenous people throughout the world suffer a higher burden of disease than their non-indigenous counterparts contributing to disproportionate rates of disability. A significant proportion of this disability can be attributed to the adverse effects of smoking. In this paper, we aimed to identify and discuss the key elements of individual-level smoking cessation interventions in indigenous people worldwide. An integrative review of published peer-reviewed literature was conducted. Literature on smoking cessation interventions in indigenous people was identified via search of electronic databases. Documents were selected for review if they were published in a peer-reviewed journal, written in English, published from 1990–2010, and documented an individual-level intervention to assist indigenous people to quit smoking. Studies that met inclusion criteria were limited to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA, despite seeking representation from other indigenous populations. Few interventions tailored for indigenous populations were identified and the level of detail included in evaluation reports was variable. Features associated with successful interventions were integrated, flexible, community-based approaches that addressed known barriers and facilitators to quitting smoking. More tailored and targeted approaches to smoking cessation interventions for indigenous populations are required. The complexity of achieving smoking cessation is underscored as is the need to collaboratively develop interventions that are acceptable and appropriate to local populations

Representational deficit or processing effect? An electrophysiological study of noun-noun compound processing by very advanced L2 speakers of English

The processing of English noun-noun compounds (NNCs) was investigated to identify the extent and nature of differences between the performance of native speakers of English and advanced Spanish and German non-native speakers of English. The study sought to establish whether the word order of the equivalent structure in the non-native speakers' mothertongue (L1) had an influence on their processing of NNCs in their second language (L2), and whether this influence was due to differences in grammatical representation (i.e. incomplete acquisition of the relevant structure) or processing effects. Two mask-primed lexical decision experiments were conducted in which compounds were presented with their constituent nouns in licit versus reversed order. The first experiment used a speeded lexical decision task with reaction time registration, and the second a delayed lexical decision task with EEG registration. There were no significant group differences in accuracy in the licit word order condition, suggesting that the grammatical representation had been fully acquired by the non-native speakers. However, the Spanish speakers made slightly more errors with the reversed order and had longer response times, suggesting an L1 interference effect (as the reverse order matches the licit word order in Spanish). The EEG data, analysed with generalized additive mixed models, further supported this hypothesis. The EEG waveform of the non-native speakers was characterized by a slightly later onset N400 in the reversed constituent order. Compound frequency predicted the amplitude of the EEG signal for the licit word order for native speakers, but for the reversed constituent order for Spanish speakers - the licit order in their L1- supporting the hypothesis that Spanish speakers are affected by interferences from their L1