Integrating Information Literacy into the Virtual University: A Course Model

published or submitted for publicatio

The Alignment of Self-Perception, Stereotypes, and Career Traits

This study explores gendered inequities in STEM fields by examining the intersectionality of self-perception, stereotypes, and gender across career goals. Self-perception strongly influences career decisions and is often affected by societal stereotypes and dated views on the roles of men and women. Gender biases are evident in male dominated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (Franzway et al. 2019). Previous research has solely focused on how self-perception is linked to the undergraduate female performance (Jones et al, 2013). Female centered studies create a gap in understanding the impact of gender inequity on students in STEM based programs. Expanding the scope to include female and male experiences in a variety of STEM and non-STEM careers creates a more accurate relationship between one’s self-perception and success in chosen career. In this study, participants were asked to list their five most salient personality traits. They were then asked to list the three traits they considered most critical for success in two STEM and two non-STEM related careers. To conclude, participants were asked to state their intended profession. This study tested the hypothesis that males would consistently list traits associated with engineers and scientists, i.e., hard-skill descriptors, whereas females would list traits consistent with teachers and nurses, i.e., soft-skill descriptors. It is anticipated that this will hold for men and women regardless of their career goals, highlighting how gendered career stereotypes and self-perception can hold students back in their careers. Understanding the implications of this dated gendered self-perception can inform STEM education and create a more progressive and equitable STEM culture

A Program to Improve the Quality of Life of Caregivers of Older Adults with Chronic Conditions: A Pilot Study

Background: Among the nearly 41.8 million family caregivers of older adults 50 years of age and older in the United States, only 30% of caregivers report receiving the education, resources, and support they need to feel competent in their role. Many existing programs focus on dementia-related caregiving, and programs are needed to address the caregiving needs of individuals with chronic conditions. Method: A pilot study using a mixed methods design was conducted with eight participants. The pre and post. measure, Adult Carer Quality of Life (AC-QoL), and post program individual interviews were conducted. Results: Six of the eight AC-QoL subscales showed improvement in quality of life and two showed decreases. The effect size was 0.63 for the total AC-QoL score, requiring 25–30 participants to achieve a power of 0.80 in a larger study. Interview data indicated the program provided an outside perspective of caregiver needs, provided information, resources and a support system, reduced their stress, and improved self-efficacy. Conclusion: Further study of programs for caregivers of older adults with chronic conditions are important to fully address the needs of 35 million unpaid caregivers. Occupational therapists are ideally situated for leading the development of such programs given their unique practice focus and expertise

Enhancing Federal-Tribal Coordination of Invasive Species

Invasive species are defined by the United States government to mean “with regard to a particular ecosystem, a non-native organism whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human, animal, or plant health” (Executive Order [EO] 13751). The ecosystems to which invasive species are introduced or spread are not delimited by jurisdictional boundaries; they intersect with lands managed by federal, tribal, state, territorial, and county governments, as well as properties under private ownership. For this reason, effective coordination and cooperation across jurisdictions is of paramount importance in the prevention, eradication, and control of invasive species. Federally recognized American Indian tribes are second only to the federal government in terms of the amount of land they manage; approximately 56.2 million acres are owned either by individual tribal members or the tribe; the title to which is held in trust by the federal government. Most trust land is within reservation boundaries, but trust land can also be off-reservation, or outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation. A large amount of additional land is owned and/or managed by Native Hawaiians and Alaska Native Corporations. For the purposes of this paper, these native land stewards will hereafter be referred to collectively as indigenous peoples. Since its establishment in 1999, the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) has acknowledged the importance of working with indigenous peoples to address invasive species issues (EO 13112). To date, six representatives of federally recognized American Indian tribes have been appointed members of the non-governmental Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) which advises NISC. The 2016–2018 NISC Management Plan calls includes a priority action (2.5.1) to: Develop recommendations for coordinating Federal agency activities to implement EO 13112 with Federally-recognized tribes, as well as Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian communities. Adopted on December 5th, 2016, EO 13751 reiterates that federal agencies are to: Coordinate with and complement similar efforts of States, territories, federally recognized American Indian tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, Native Hawaiians, local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. In order to further these goals, a Federal-Tribal Coordination Task Team was established under the auspices of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC). This paper reflects the work of that task team, including internal group discussions, informal consultations with other indigenous peoples, and literature review. The task team identified the following needs and recommendations to further strengthen coordination and cooperation between the United States government and indigenous peoples in their efforts to address a shared concern: the devastating impacts of invasive species on the environment and all who depend on it for their survival and quality of life. In order to be successful, coordination efforts between federal agencies and indigenous peoples to address invasive species will need to take into consideration land rights and claims; assure indigenous peoples free, prior, and informed consent; respect and facilitate the application of traditional ecological knowledge; and enable indigenous groups to build their own legal and technical capacities to address invasive species concerns

Detection of HIV-1 RNA/DNA and CD4 mRNA in feces and urine from chronic HIV-1 infected subjects with and without anti-retroviral therapy

HIV-1 infects gut associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) very early after transmission by multiple routes. The infected GALT consequently serves as the major reservoir for HIV-1 infection and could constantly shed HIV-1 and CD4+ T cells into the intestinal lumen. To examine this hypothesis, we monitored HIV-1 RNA/DNA and CD4 mRNA in fecal samples of chronically infected subjects with and without antiretroviral therapy (ART). We compared this to levels of HIV-1 RNA/DNA in urine and blood from the same subjects. Our results show that HIV-1 DNA, RNA and CD4 mRNA were detected in 8%, 19% and 31% respectively, of feces samples from infected subjects with detectable plasma viral load, and were not detected in any of subjects on ART with undetectable plasma viral load. In urine samples, HIV-1 DNA was detected in 24% of infected subjects with detectable plasma viral load and 23% of subjects on ART with undetectable plasma viral load. Phylogenetic analysis of the envelope sequences of HIV-1 revealed distinct virus populations in concurrently collected serum, feces and urine samples from one subject. In addition, our study demonstrated for the first time the presence of CD4 mRNA in fecal specimens of HIV-1 infected subjects, which could be used to assess GALT pathogenesis in HIV-1 infection

Protocol for implementation of family health history collection and decision support into primary care using a computerized family health history system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The CDC's Family History Public Health Initiative encourages adoption and increase awareness of family health history. To meet these goals and develop a personalized medicine implementation science research agenda, the Genomedical Connection is using an implementation research (T3 research) framework to develop and integrate a self-administered computerized family history system with built-in decision support into 2 primary care clinics in North Carolina.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The family health history system collects a three generation family history on 48 conditions and provides decision support (pedigree and tabular family history, provider recommendation report and patient summary report) for 4 pilot conditions: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, and thrombosis. All adult English-speaking, non-adopted, patients scheduled for well-visits are invited to complete the family health system prior to their appointment. Decision support documents are entered into the medical record and available to provider's prior to the appointment. In order to optimize integration, components were piloted by stakeholders prior to and during implementation. Primary outcomes are change in appropriate testing for hereditary thrombophilia and screening for breast cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian cancer one year after study enrollment. Secondary outcomes include implementation measures related to the benefits and burdens of the family health system and its impact on clinic workflow, patients' risk perception, and intention to change health related behaviors. Outcomes are assessed through chart review, patient surveys at baseline and follow-up, and provider surveys. Clinical validity of the decision support is calculated by comparing its recommendations to those made by a genetic counselor reviewing the same pedigree; and clinical utility is demonstrated through reclassification rates and changes in appropriate screening (the primary outcome).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study integrates a computerized family health history system within the context of a routine well-visit appointment to overcome many of the existing barriers to collection and use of family history information by primary care providers. Results of the implementation process, its acceptability to patients and providers, modifications necessary to optimize the system, and impact on clinical care can serve to guide future implementation projects for both family history and other tools of personalized medicine, such as health risk assessments.</p

Association Between Smoking and Molecular Subtypes of Colorectal Cancer

Background: Smoking is associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Previous studies suggested this association may be restricted to certain molecular subtypes of CRC, but large-scale comprehensive analysis is lacking. Methods: A total of 9789 CRC cases and 11 231 controls of European ancestry from 11 observational studies were included. We harmonized smoking variables across studies and derived sex study-specific quartiles of pack-years of smoking for analysis. Four somatic colorectal tumor markers were assessed individually and in combination, including BRAF mutation, KRAS mutation, CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), and microsatellite instability (MSI) status. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between smoking and risk of CRC subtypes by molecular characteristics, adjusting for age, sex, and study. All statistical tests were 2-sided and adjusted for Bonferroni correction. Results: Heavier smoking was associated with higher risk of CRC overall and stratified by individual markers (P-trend <.001). The associations differed statistically significantly between all molecular subtypes, which was the most statistically significant for CIMP and BRAF. Compared with never-smokers, smokers in the fourth quartile of pack-years had a 90% higher risk of CIMP-positive CRC (odds ratio = 1.90, 95% confidence interval = 1.60 to 2.26) but only 35% higher risk for CIMP-negative CRC (odds ratio = 1.35, 95% confidence interval = 1.22 to 1.49; P-difference = 2.1 x 10(-6)). The association was also stronger in tumors that were CIMP positive, MSI high, or KRAS wild type when combined (P-difference <.001). Conclusion: Smoking was associated with differential risk of CRC subtypes defined by molecular characteristics. Heavier smokers had particularly higher risk of CRC subtypes that were CIMP positive and MSI high in combination, suggesting that smoking may be involved in the development of colorectal tumors via the serrated pathway