Successful Admissions in a Time of Great Uncertainty: A Case Study of Employees\u27 Perceptions of Employee Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence

This qualitative embedded single-case study explores admissions employees’ perceptions of departmental success and individual employee well-being, including the role emotional intelligence has on these outcomes, through the lens of Bolman and Deal’s Four Frame Model (1984). This study is necessary because of the turbulent higher education landscape and because social factors contributing to this turbulence are expected to stay the same. More specifically, this study is situated in a thriving Office of First-Year Admissions at an institution within a public university system in a rural setting experiencing an unstable organizational landscape. I interviewed sixteen employees in a successful mid-size public university’s enrollment management division. In addition, I conducted two days of observation. Three themes related to employee well-being emerged from the one-on-one semi-structured interviews and observation hours: contributions to success, professional development, and work-life balance. Regarding perceptions of emotional intelligence on success and employee well-being, participants emphasized empathy when referring to other staff members and the students they serve. Bolman and Deal’s Four Frame Model (1984) guides this study, emphasizing the model’s structural and human resource frames. This qualitative study adds to the limited literature focused on the obstacles experienced by admissions professionals today and provides enrollment leaders with an example of success to emulate. This study emphasizes the value of investing in the well-being of employees and the positive impact emotional intelligence has on the success of an institution

Understanding and influencing agency and behavior change - Work Package 5 Activity Guidance, CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology

This document provides guidance on two activities conducted under Work Package 5 if the CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology in 2022: 1) a theories of change review and 2) a participatory timeline of agency and behaviour change in agroecological transformation. The guidance includes research methods for Activities 1 and 2 as well as data analysis and writeup for Activity 1

Performance of ICD‐10‐CM diagnosis codes for identifying children with Sickle Cell Anemia

ObjectiveTo develop, test, and validate the performance of ICD‐10‐CM claims‐based case definitions for identifying children with sickle cell anemia (SCA).Data SourcesMedicaid administrative claims (2016) for children <18 years with potential SCA (any D57x diagnosis code) and newborn screening records from Michigan and New York State.Study DesignThis study is a secondary data analysis.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsUsing specific SCA‐related (D5700, D5701, and D5702) and nonspecific (D571) diagnosis codes, 23 SCA case definitions were applied to Michigan Medicaid claims (2016) to identify children with SCA. Measures of performance (sensitivity, specificity, area under the ROC curve) were calculated using newborn screening results as the gold standard. A parallel analysis was conducted using New York State Medicaid claims and newborn screening data.Principal FindingsIn Michigan Medicaid, 1597 children had ≥1 D57x claim; 280 (18 percent) were diagnosed with SCA. Measures of performance varied, with sensitivities from 0.02 to 0.97 and specificities from 0.88 to 1.0. The case definition of ≥1 outpatient visit with a SCA‐related or D571 code had the highest area under the ROC curve, with a sensitivity of 95 percent and specificity of 92 percent. The same definition also had the highest performance in New York Medicaid (n = 2454), with a sensitivity of 94 percent and specificity of 86 percent.ConclusionsChildren with SCA can be accurately identified in administrative claims using this straightforward case definition. This methodology can be used to monitor trends and use of health services after transition to ICD‐10‐CM.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154614/1/hesr13257.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154614/2/hesr13257_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154614/3/hesr13257-sup-0001-Authormatrix.pd

Stakeholders prioritization of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the rice-based production systems of Mali

Agriculture, food and nutrition security, and the livelihoods of millions of people are affected by climate change. Given the scarce resources of most of the West African countries, there is a need to prioritize the technologies that need to be taken at scale to mitigate the climate change impacts. This study uses a stakeholders prioritization framework to assess the locally suitable interventions in the diverse rice-based production systems in Mali. The prioritization was made in two steps. First, all interventions were evaluated by stakeholders based on their climate-smart performance indicator (ability to increase farm productivity, income, and resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emission). Second, the interventions were evaluated based on their implementation feasibility (technical feasibility, cost, gender inclusivity, demand by the market, and alignment with the social and cultural context). The technologies’ CSA performance indicator was more determined by their ability to increase farm productivity and income, while their implementation feasibility was more driven by their technical feasibility and cost of implementation. Best bet CSA technologies and practices with high CSA performance indicator and high implementation feasibility score were RiceAdvice, submergence tolerant varieties, integrated rice – vegetable, and mechanical thresher in the irrigated lowland; submergence tolerant varieties, drought-tolerant varieties, RiceAdvice, and ASI thresher in the rainfed lowland; drought-tolerant varieties and RiceAdvice in the rainfed upland, and submergence tolerant varieties and RiceAdvice in the submergence system. This study shows the potential of using a stakeholders prioritization framework to inform investment in climate change adaptation and mitigation at the local level

EWI-2 Inhibits Cell-Cell Fusion at the HIV-1 Virological Presynapse.

Cell-to-cell transfer of virus particles at the Env-dependent virological synapse (VS) is a highly efficient mode of HIV-1 transmission. While cell-cell fusion could be triggered at the VS, leading to the formation of syncytia and preventing exponential growth of the infected cell population, this is strongly inhibited by both viral (Gag) and host (ezrin and tetraspanins) proteins. Here, we identify EWI-2, a protein that was previously shown to associate with ezrin and tetraspanins, as a host factor that contributes to the inhibition of Env-mediated cell-cell fusion. Using quantitative fluorescence microscopy, shRNA knockdowns, and cell-cell fusion assays, we show that EWI-2 accumulates at the presynaptic terminal (i.e., the producer cell side of the VS), where it contributes to the fusion-preventing activities of the other viral and cellular components. We also find that EWI-2, like tetraspanins, is downregulated upon HIV-1 infection, most likely by Vpu. Despite the strong inhibition of fusion at the VS, T cell-based syncytia do form in vivo and in physiologically relevant culture systems, but they remain small. In regard to that, we demonstrate that EWI-2 and CD81 levels are restored on the surface of syncytia, where they (presumably) continue to act as fusion inhibitors. This study documents a new role for EWI-2 as an inhibitor of HIV-1-induced cell-cell fusion and provides novel insight into how syncytia are prevented from fusing indefinitely

Nudging fisheries and aquaculture research towards food systems

Food system is a powerful concept for understanding and responding to nutrition and sustainability challenges. Food systems integrate social, economic, environmental and health aspects of food production through to consumption. Aquatic foods are an essential part of food systems providing an accessible source of nutrition for millions of people. Yet, it is unclear to what degree research across diverse disciplines concerning aquatic foods has engaged food systems, and the value this concept has added. We conducted a systematic review of fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic food literature (2017–2019) to determine the following: the characteristics of this research; the food systems components and interrelations with which research engaged; and the insights generated on nutrition, justice, sustainability and climate change. Sixty five of the 88 reviewed articles focussed on production and supply chains, with 23 considering human nutrition. Only 13% of studies examined low- and middle-income countries that are most vulnerable to undernutrition. One third of articles looked beyond finfish to other aquatic foods, which illuminated values of local knowledge systems and diverse foods for nutrition. When aggregated, reviewed articles examined the full range of food system drivers—biophysical and environmental (34%), demographic (24%) and socio-cultural (27%)—but rarely examined interactions between drivers. Future research that examines a diversity of species in diets, system-wide flows of nutrients, trade-offs amongst objectives, and the nutritional needs of vulnerable social groups would be nudging closer to the ambitions of the food systems concept, which is necessary to address the global challenges of equity, nutrition and sustainability

Adenoma Formation following Limited Ablation of p120-Catenin in the Mouse Intestine

p120 loss destabilizes E-cadherin and could therefore result in tumor and/or metastasis-promoting activities similar to those caused by E-cadherin downregulation. Previously, we reported that p120 is essential in the intestine for barrier function, epithelial homeostasis and survival. Conditional p120 ablation in the mouse intestine induced severe inflammatory bowel disease, but long-term cancer-related studies were impossible because none of the animals survived longer than 21 days. Here, we used a tamoxifen-inducible mouse model (Vil-Cre-ERT2;p120fl/fl) to limit the extent of p120 ablation and thereby enable long-term studies. Reducing p120 KO to ∼10% of the intestinal epithelium produced long-lived animals outwardly indistinguishable from controls. Effects of prolonged p120 absence were then evaluated at intervals spanning 2 to 18 months. At all time points, immunostaining revealed microdomains of p120-null epithelium interspersed with normal epithelium. Thus, stochastic p120 ablation is compatible with crypt progenitor cell function and permitted lifelong renewal of the p120-null cells. Consistent with previous observations, a barrier defect and frequent infiltration of neutrophils was observed, suggesting that focal p120 loss generates a microenvironment disposed to chronic inflammation. We report that 45% of these animals developed tumors within 18 months of tamoxifen induction. Interestingly, β-catenin was upregulated in the majority, but none of the tumors were p120 null. Although further work is required to directly establish mechanism, we conclude that limited p120 ablation can promote tumorigenesis by an indirect non-cell autonomous mechanism. Given that byproducts of inflammation are known to be highly mutagenic, we suggest that tumorigenesis in this model is ultimately driven by the lifelong inability to heal chronic wounds and the substantially increased rates of stochastic gene mutation in tissue microenvironments subjected to chronic inflammation. Indeed, although technical issues precluded direct identification of mutations, β-catenin upregulation in human colon cancer almost invariably reflects mutations in APC and/or β-catenin