Analysis of Risk Factors Associated With Asymptomatic Colonization of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Among Community College Students

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus has been an important human ailment for centuries, and with the overuse of antibiotics, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a deadly, costly pathogen worldwide. Healthy carriers can become sick or can spread MRSA without symptoms. The amount of asymptomatic colonization among healthy college students and risk factors for colonization by MRSA are not well understood. According to the epidemiologic triangle model, the host (students who take antibiotics or have a history of skin infections), the infectious agent (MRSA) and the environment (direct contact with people, animals, or objects that may harbor MRSA) all play an important role in this disease. This study explored MRSA colonization rates among healthy students at a community college and explored the possibility that students exposed to sources of MRSA might have a higher colonization rate. Using a cross-sectional quantitative design with stratified sampling, risk factors to include student\u27s discipline, gender, race, work, and leisure exposure were surveyed. In tandem, Mannitol Salt Agar and MRSA Select Agar were inoculated from nasal swabs to identify students colonized by MRSA. The data were analyzed using contingency tables and Chi Squares. Significant risk factors identified included students who had a major that involved touching shared equipment and/or those who were in majors such as nursing, students who had close contact with animals, and students who had a skin infection. The implication for positive social change include improved awareness of MRSA colonization and risk factors which can lead to better prevention strategies and increased awareness among the student population

Changes in the Policy Environment For Infant and Young Child feeding in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia, and the Role of Targeted Advocacy

There is limited literature examining shifts in policy environments for nutrition and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) over time, and on the potential contribution of targeted advocacy to improved policy environments in low- and middle-income countries. This study tracked changes in the policy environment over a four-year period in three countries, and examined the role of targeted nutrition and IYCF advocacy strategies by a global initiative

“Being Guided”: What Oncofertility Patients’ Decisions Can Teach Us About the Efficacy of Autonomy, Agency, and Decision-Making Theory in the Contemporary Critical Encounter

Recent research on patient decision-making reveals a disconnect between theories of autonomy, agency, and decision-making and their practice in contemporary clinical encounters. This study examines these concepts in the context of female patients making oncofertility decisions in the United Kingdom in light of the phenomenon of “being guided.” Patients experience being guided as a way to cope with, understand, and defer difficult treatment decisions. Previous discussions condemn guided decision-making, but this research suggests that patients make an informed, autonomous decision to be guided by doctors. Thus, bioethicists must consider the multifaceted ways that patients enact their autonomy in medical encounters

Agent-Based Modelling as a Foundation for Big Data

In this article we propose a process-based definition of big data, as opposed to the size - and technology-based definitions. We argue that big data should be perceived as a continu- ous, unstructured and unprocessed dynamics of primitives, rather than as points (snapshots) or summaries (aggregates) of an underlying phenomenon. Given this, we show that big data can be generated through agent-based models but not by equation-based models. Though statistical and machine learning tools can be used to analyse big data, they do not constitute a big data-generation mechanism. Furthermore, agent-based models can aid in evaluating the quality (interpreted as information aggregation efficiency) of big data. Based on this, we argue that agent-based modelling can serve as a possible foundation for big data. We substantiate this interpretation through some pioneering studies from the 1980s on swarm intelligence and several prototypical agent-based models developed around the 2000s

Undernutrition among HIV-positive children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: antiretroviral therapy alone is not enough

BackgroundThe prevalence of HIV/AIDS has exacerbated the impact of childhood undernutrition in many developing countries, including Tanzania. Even with the provision of antiretroviral therapy, undernutrition among HIV-positive children remains a serious problem. Most studies to examine risk factors for undernutrition have been limited to the general population and ART-naive HIV-positive children, making it difficult to generalize findings to ART-treated HIV-positive children. The objectives of this study were thus to compare the proportions of undernutrition among ART-treated HIV-positive and HIV-negative children and to examine factors associated with undernutrition among ART-treated HIV-positive children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.MethodsFrom September to October 2010, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 213 ART-treated HIV-positive and 202 HIV-negative children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We measured the children\u27s anthropometrics, socio-demographic factors, food security, dietary habits, diarrhea episodes, economic status, and HIV clinical stage. Data were analyzed using both univariate and multivariate methods.ResultsART-treated HIV-positive children had higher rates of undernutrition than their HIV-negative counterparts. Among the ART-treated HIV-positive children, 78 (36.6%) were stunted, 47 (22.1%) were underweight, and 29 (13.6%) were wasted. Households of ART-treated HIV-positive children exhibited lower economic status, lower levels of education, and higher percentages of unmarried caregivers with higher unemployment rates. Food insecurity was prevalent in over half of ART-treated HIV-positive children\u27s households. Furthermore, ART-treated HIV-positive children were more likely to be orphaned, to be fed less frequently, and to have lower body weight at birth compared to HIV-negative children.In the multivariate analysis, child\u27s HIV-positive status was associated with being underweight (AOR = 4.61, 95% CI 1.38-15.36 P = 0.013) and wasting (AOR = 9.62, 95% CI 1.72-54.02, P = 0.010) but not with stunting (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.26-1.77, P = 0.428). Important factors associated with underweight status among ART-treated HIV-positive children included hunger (AOR = 9.90, P = 0.022), feeding frequency (AOR = 0.02, p \u3c 0.001), and low birth weight (AOR = 5.13, P = 0.039). Factors associated with wasting among ART-treated HIV-positive children were diarrhea (AOR = 22.49, P = 0.001) and feeding frequency (AOR = 0.03, p \u3c 0.001).ConclusionHIV/AIDS is associated with an increased burden of child underweight status and wasting, even among ART-treated children, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In addition to increasing coverage of ART among HIV-positive children, interventions to ameliorate poor nutrition status may be necessary in this and similar settings. Such interventions should aim at promoting adequate feeding patterns, as well as preventing and treating diarrhea

Perspective: Food Environment Research Priorities for Africa-Lessons from the Africa Food Environment Research Network

Over the last 2 decades, many African countries have undergone dietary and nutrition transitions fueled by globalization, rapid urbanization, and development. These changes have altered African food environments and, subsequently, dietary behaviors, including food acquisition and consumption. Dietary patterns associated with the nutrition transition have contributed to Africa's complex burden of malnutrition—obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases (DR-NCDs)—along with persistent food insecurity and undernutrition. Available evidence links unhealthy or obesogenic food environments (including those that market and offer energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages) with suboptimal diets and associated adverse health outcomes. Elsewhere, governments have responded with policies to improve food environments. However, in Africa, the necessary research and policy action have received insufficient attention. Contextual evidence to motivate, enable, and create supportive food environments in Africa for better population health is urgently needed. In November 2020, the Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention Project (MEALS4NCDs) convened the first Africa Food Environment Research Network Meeting (FERN2020). This 3-d virtual meeting brought researchers from around the world to deliberate on future directions and research priorities related to improving food environments and nutrition across the African continent. The stakeholders shared experiences, best practices, challenges, and opportunities for improving the healthfulness of food environments and related policies in low- and middle-income countries. In this article, we summarize the proceedings and research priorities identified in the meeting to advance the food environment research agenda in Africa, and thus contribute to the promotion of healthier food environments to prevent DR-NCDs, and other forms of malnutrition