Navigating Competitive Transfer Pathways: Transfer Student Experiences in Health and IT Majors

The health care and information technology (IT) fields demand a more diverse set of qualified graduates who can appropriately fulfill the needs of the varied communities they serve. Currently, community colleges serve as stepping stones for diverse student populations and groups. When it comes to pursuing Health- or IT-related fields, community college students are often drawn to those majors with positive career placements and outcomes. Such majors include nursing, business, engineering, and education. However, at many colleges and universities, these majors are considered limited access, meaning that they have strict academic admissions criteria and accept only a limited number of students each year. This study seeks to understand community college student experiences and perceptions related to health or IT transfer pathway careers and success. We specifically examine Health and IT transfer pathways for students studying at a public community college in the Midwest (MidCC) to a large public research institution in the Midwest (MidU) and the faculty and staff working with these populations of students

Visitors’ Perception Regarding Floating Treatment Wetlands in an Urban Green Space: Functionality and Emotional Values

Floating treatment wetlands (FTW) are artificial structures used for water quality improvement through the hydroponic growth of certain macrophytes and their rhizospheric bacteria, with the capacity for pollutant removal. Through the application of face-to-face questionnaires, our study aimed to analyze visitors’ perception of the structure, functionality, and benefits of FTW installed in two ponds of one green space in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, and the emotional experience that these FTW could incite in those same visitors. Visitors identified the plant component of FTW as the most noticeable one, perceived filtering/cleaning water as their principal function, and reported positive and negative emotions in the same proportion. The visitors’ perceptions of FTW varied according to their age, school level, and occupation. Positive and negative perceptions regarding FTW were linked to their maintenance and that of the ponds. Visitors’ awareness of FTW composition and function was associated with the presence of informative signs. The understanding of perception about the FTW can be integrated into management programs for the successful and participative improvement and cleaning of water bodies in urban settings. Along with people’s participation, the municipality of the city must improve the maintenance of these important water bodies given its positive repercussions on visitors’ perception

Bosques oligárquicos de Oecopetalum mexicanum enriquecidos con especies nativas de la Sierra de Misantla, México

Abstract The practice of enrichment of managed forests implies the insertion of species with cultural, economic and ecological value. It generally takes place in sites with some degree of anthropic impact, and also applies in sites known as oligarchic forests. They are historically modified and man-managed systems to favor a single species. Examples are the cachichinales woodlands typical of the Sierra de Misantla region, Veracruz, dominated by Oecopetalum mexicanum, a tree of edible seeds. In this study, two planting techniques were tested: translocation and nursery transplantation of three tree species highly valued in the region: Ocotea puberula, Beilschmiedia anay and Pseudolmedia glabrata. We used a paired model (Anova) to evaluate its physiological state, growth and survival. All three species showed marked stress in the early stages of their establishment; a survival rate greater than 50% was recorded after one year, regardless the technique used for either specie. Growth-wise, O. puberula was the most successful; although we found overall high survivals rates in all three species, which lead us to conclude it is feasible to introduce them into cachichinales.Resumen El enriquecimiento de los bosques manejados es una práctica que implica la inserción de especies de valor cultural, económico y ecológico. Son sistemas que han sido históricamente modificados y manejados por el hombre para favorecer una sola especie. Ejemplo de ello son los cachichinales, bosquecillos típicos de la región Sierra de Misantla, en el centro de Veracruz, dominados por Oecopetalum mexicanum, un árbol de semillas comestibles. En este estudio se probaron dos técnicas de plantación para su enriquecimiento: translocación y trasplante de vivero. Se utilizaron tres especies arbóreas altamente valoradas en la región: Ocotea puberula, Beilschmiedia anay y Pseudolmedia glabrata. Para evaluar el estado fisiológico, crecimiento y supervivencia de las plantas se utilizó un análisis de varianza. Las tres especies tuvieron un marcado estrés (estado de la planta) en las primeras etapas de establecimiento. Después de 12 meses se registró una supervivencia mayor a 50%, indistintamente entre las técnicas utilizadas para cada especie. El crecimiento de O. puberula fue mayor (promedio y probabilidad) en el ensayo de translocación, en comparación con las otras especies. Ambas técnicas de siembra tuvieron una alta supervivencia, por lo que es factible utilizarlas indistintamente en proyectos de introducción de especies nativas en bosques enriquecidos

Abstract C092: Genetic profiling of high grade serous ovarian cancer among women of African ancestry

Abstract (A) AN INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE INDICATING THE PURPOSES OF THE STUDY:    Ovarian cancer (OC) is a heterogeneous disease with high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) as the commonest, the most aggressive tumor, which is often diagnosed at advanced stages, and with poor overall survival. Unfortunately, like many other cancer diagnoses, women of West African ancestry (Black women) with ovarian cancer experience worse outcomes than White women. In the US, Black women have higher morbidity and mortality rates and higher un-staged or unclassified tumors compared with White women, resulting in undertreatment with subsequent compromise in progression-free survival. Genomic instability is one of the most common underlying features of ovarian cancer and defective DNA damage repair has been implicated. The goal is to uncover canonical genes associated with the aggressive behavior of HGSOC in a cohort of black women that could explain the biology of this tumor. (B) A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PERTINENT EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES:   Formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) HGSOC tissue blocks from Nigeria in West Africa (WAB), Bahama in Caribbean (CBB), and Miami in USA (USB) were identified and selected after rigorous review and confirmation with immunohistochemical (IHC) markers when needed. Integration of digital histopathology and IHC markers (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Ki67 and P53), whole exome sequence, RNA sequence of the FFPE samples was used to identify the proportion of genomic instability and defective DNA damage repair genes. We use spatial genomic library on tissue microarray (TMA) slide prepared on GeoMx digital spatial profiler (DSP) Nanostring platform to study the biology of the tumor and the tumor microenvironment (TME) and proteogenomics.(C) A SUMMARY OF THE NEW, UNPUBLISHED DATA:   The unsupervised principal component analysis of the tumor showed a distinct population of WAB and USB while the CBB showed admixture population. BACH2, ARG1, NAFT2 and FRA10A1 are commonly differentially expressed genes among the cohort. There is low expression of routine IHC markers among the WAB compared to the other groups.     Conclusion:   There is variation on gene expression by nativity and we hope to explore this variation for therapeutic purpose among black women with ovarian cancer.   Citation Format: Ayodele Omotoso, Uchenna Ezenkwa, Raleigh Butler, Melissa Castillo, Alex Sanchez-Covarrubias, Matthew Schlumbrecht, Andre Pinto, Bala Audu, Sophia George. Genetic profiling of high grade serous ovarian cancer among women of African ancestry [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr C092

Association between work time loss and quality of life in patients with Herpes Zoster: a pooled analysis of the MASTER studies

Background: Herpes zoster (HZ) has a significant negative effect on the productive work life of individuals, and has been shown to be responsible for cases of absenteeism, presenteeism and decreased work effectiveness. The aim of this study was to evaluate health utility scores and associated predictors in an actively employed population of Herpes Zoster (HZ) patients with and without work time loss (WTL). Methods: This was a pooled analysis of the prospective, observational MASTER cohort studies, conducted in 8 countries across North America, Latin America and Asia. A total of 428 HZ patients engaged in full or part time work were included. WTL, defined as missing ≥ 1 partial or full work day, and work effectiveness, reported on a scale of 0–100%, were evaluated with the Work and Productivity Questionnaire (WPQ). The Pearson product–moment correlation was used to assess the correlation between work effectiveness and HRQoL. Mixed models with repeated measures assessed the relationship between HZ-related WTL over a 6-month follow-up period, and HRQoL, as evaluated by the EQ-5D. Additional predictors of HRQoL were also identified. Results: Overall, 57.7% of respondents reported WTL. Mean (SD) percent work effectiveness of patients in the WTL group was significantly lower compared to non-WTL (NWTL) patients at baseline [50.3 (31.6) vs. 71.4 (27.8); p < 0.001]. Patients in the WTL group also reported lower health utility scores at baseline and overall than their NWTL counterparts, with WTL identified as an independent negative predictor of both the EQ-5D summary scores and the EQ-5D VAS (p < 0.001). Decrease in work effectiveness was negatively associated with HRQoL overall (p < 0.001). Predictors of lower HRQoL were worst Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI) pain score, the presence of HZ complications and country income (predictor of EQ-5D VAS only). Conclusions: HZ adversely impacts the work and productive life of actively employed individuals. In turn, HZ-related reductions in work effectiveness and work time are associated with a negative effect on HRQoL. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-017-0588-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Additional file 1: of Association between work time loss and quality of life in patients with Herpes Zoster: a pooled analysis of the MASTER studies

Work and Productivity Questionnaire. (PDF 14 kb