Application of Multinomial and Ordinal Regressions to the Data of Japanese Female Labor Market

This paper describes the application of ordered and unordered multinomial approaches to Japanese Female Labor Market data with the goal of examining how inter-organizational networks linking schools to large corporations supersede labor market processes in the Japanese female labor market. Two sets of response categories were used for a proportional odds model, a non-proportional odds model, and a multinomial logit model. The results from the six combinations of these models were compared in terms of their goodness of model fit. The results showed that the proportional odds assumption was weakly supported, and the Wald test indicates that the violation of proportional odds assumption seems to be limited to a single variable. My study implies that partially proportional odds model would yield a better fit to my female labor market data

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Sexual Network Mixing: A Log-Linear Analysis of HIV Status by Partnership and Sexual Behavior Among Most at-Risk MSM

Mixing patterns within sexual networks have been shown to have an effect on HIV transmission, both within and across groups. This study examined sexual mixing patterns involving HIV-unknown status and risky sexual behavior conditioned on assortative/dissortative mixing by race/ethnicity. The sample used for this study consisted of drug-using male sex workers and their male sex partners. A log-linear analysis of 257 most at-risk MSM and 3,072 sex partners was conducted. The analysis found two significant patterns. HIV-positive most at-risk Black MSM had a strong tendency to have HIV-unknown Black partners (relative risk, RR = 2.91, p < 0.001) and to engage in risky sexual behavior (RR = 2.22, p < 0.001). White most at-risk MSM with unknown HIV status also had a tendency to engage in risky sexual behavior with Whites (RR = 1.72, p < 0.001). The results suggest that interventions that target the most at-risk MSM and their sex partners should account for specific sexual network mixing patterns by HIV status

Evolution of Social Networks Among American Female Adolescents

This study delves into the evolution of social networks incorporating both elements of Rational Choice Theory and Feminist Theory inside a Social Network analysis. Simulated data was generated by modeling American female adolescents as an instantiation of a more general set of theoretical ideas about the formation of gendered relational patterns. This study uses the methodology of Computer Simulation to explore micro to macro mechanisms and account for how individual social actions aggregate to generate macro-level network structures. This research examines generative mechanisms and explores under what conditions some characteristics of gendered network structures emerge and are maintained through time. Three AVI files (movies of simulation demos) and a JAR (Java ARchive) of the JAVA code are also included

A network analysis of relationship dynamics in sexual dyads as correlates of HIV risk misperceptions among high-risk MSM

Objectives Relationship dynamics influence the perception of HIV risk in sexual dyads. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of relational dynamics on knowledge or perception of a partner\u27s HIV status in a sample of most at-risk men who have sex with men (MSM): drug-using male sex workers. The study identified relationship dimensions and examined their association with misperceptions about a particular partner\u27s HIV status. Methods The analytical sample for the study consisted of 168 sexual partnerships of 116 male sex workers and their associates. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify dimensions of the interpersonal relationships in sexual partnerships that were then regressed on ?risky misperceptions? (misperceiving HIV negative when partner\u27s self-report was positive or unknown). Results Six relationship dimensions of intimate, commitment, socialising, financial, trust and honesty were extracted. Commitment was found to be protective against misperception (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.45), while trust was not (AOR=2.78). Other factors also were found to be associated with misperception. HIV-negative MSM (AOR=7.69) and partners who were both self-identified as gay (AOR=3.57) were associated with misperception, while encounters identified as sex work (AOR=0.29), in which both partners were Caucasian (AOR=0.16), and involved with an older partner (AOR=0.90) were protective. Conclusions Couple-based HIV intervention efforts among MSM should consider that less trust and more commitment are protective factors in sexual partnerships

Clinical Epidemiology of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales in the Greater Houston Region of Texas: a 6-Year Trend and Surveillance analysis

OBJECTIVES: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) remain an urgent public health priority in the United States. CRE poses a major threat to patients in healthcare and a potential risk to the community. This study examined the epidemiological trends, clinical, and microbiological data of CRE in the Greater Houston region of Texas. METHODS: A multi-institutional retrospective observational study was conducted using surveillance data collected from 2015 to 2020. Predictors of incidence rates of CRE were determined by a negative binomial regression fit using a generalized estimation equation. RESULTS: Over a 6-year period, 4236 CRE cases were reported, of which Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for 84.8%. The results show a steady increase in CRE cases, with a sharp rise since 2018. The majority of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales were Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing (77.2%), followed by other rare carbapenemases, which includes OXA-48, NDM, IMP, VIM, coproduction of KPC with OXA-48, KPC with NDM, and NDM with OXA-48. Acute care hospitals (ACH) accounted for 68.5% of the source of CRE cases. The incidence rate of CRE cases reported from ACH and long-term acute care (LTAC) facilities was 1.16 times that of long-term care facilities (adjusted rate ratio [ARR] = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.04-1.30). The incidence rate of CRE among patients with indwelling devices was 15% (ARR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.79-0.92) lower than that of patients without indwelling devices. CONCLUSION: The rise in the rate of CRE cases despite aggressive infection prevention and control strategies in the region is alarming. Evaluating and improving the current infection control strategies may be warranted

Clinical Outcomes associated With Co-infection of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales and Other Multidrug-Resistant organisms

BACKGROUND: Infections with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are associated with increased risk of death. Polymicrobial infections with antimicrobial-resistance may add to the burden of clinical care and patients\u27 clinical prognosis. AIM: to examine the impact of CRE co-infection with other multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) on patient clinical outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective observational study was conducted to compare the clinical outcomes of CRE patients who were co-infected with carbapenem-resistant RESULTS: A total of 224 CRPA and 209 MDRA co-infections with CRE were identified from 4,236 cases from 2015-2020. The overall 90-day all-cause mortality was 21.6% but increased to 35.0% and 33.5% among patients who were co-infected with CRPA and MDRA, respectively. The odds of all-cause mortality among CRE patients who were co-infected with CRPA was twice that of patients identified with CRE alone [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18-3.46]. Further, the odds of all-cause mortality among CRE patients who were concomitantly identified with MRSA was more than twice that of patients who were not identified with MRSA [AOR = 2.16, 95%CI:1.31-3.56]. The clinical outcome of patients with CRE did not differ significantly depending on the presence of carbapenemase genes. CONCLUSION: The results show that CRPA and CRE co-infections have synergistic effects on clinical outcomes. Further investigation is necessary to understand the mechanism. Screening high risk patients for concomitant antimicrobial-resistant infections may have a significant clinical impact, including effective therapies, antibiotic stewardship, and infection control policies

Magnetic characterization change by solvents of magnetic nanoparticles in liquid-phase magnetic immunoassay

Liquid-phase magnetic immunoassay (MIA) using magnetic nano-particles (MNPs) has been studied as a more rapid method compared to optical methods for inspecting proteins and viruses. MIA can estimate the number of conjugated antibodies without being washed differently from conventional optical immunoassay. However, in the case of the liquid phase, it is considered that the magnetic properties of MNPs are affected by physical properties such as viscosity and impurity substances such as biological substances contained in the blood. In this study, the effect of sodium chloride (NaCl) in buffer and serum solution was evaluated to reveal the effect of serum because the sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions in the serum dominate ion balance of blood. The measurement results of AC magnetic susceptibility and a dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that the aggregation of MNPs was largely affected by the concentration of NaCl. This effect of the NaCl could be explained by shielding of the surface charge of MNPs by ions in the solution. Although the concentrations of NaCl in the buffer and serum solution were almost same, we found that MNPs were aggregated more in their size for those in the serum solution because of other impurities, such as proteins. These results suggest evaluation of effects of the contaminants in serum and optimization of polymer coatings of MNPs could be important factors to realize measurements of magnetic immunoassay with high accuracy. (C) 2019 Author(s)

Sexual Behaviors and Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in a Heterosexually active adult Population at increased Risk For HIV infection

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually acquired infection in the US. Vaccination is effective against infection with high-risk HPV strains, yet HPV vaccine coverage is lower in the US than the national target. This study aimed to determine the relationship between sexual behaviors and HPV vaccination in a heterosexually active population at increased risk for HIV infection. Data from 380 participants aged 18-45 years obtained from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system increased risk heterosexuals cycle 5 (2019) in Houston, Texas, was analyzed. RDS-Analyst was used to generate population-based descriptive statistics. Modified Poisson regression models clustered on recruitment chain were conducted in SAS 9.4 to assess the relationship between sexual behaviors and HPV vaccination. Only 11.5% of participants had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. Regarding behaviors within the past 12 months, 44.8% reported having condomless casual sex, 51.3% reported having concurrent sexual partnerships while in their most recent relationship, 14.5% reported exchanging sex, and participants had an average of 4-5 sex partners. Further, those who exchanged sex had a significantly lower prevalence of HPV vaccine uptake when compared to those who did not exchange sex (adjusted prevalence ratio 0.23; confidence interval 0.10-0.52), while all other measures of sexual behavior were not significantly associated with HPV vaccination. More research is needed to understand the relationship between exchange sex and low prevalence of vaccination, specifically in women who bear the highest burden of poor HPV-related morbidity and mortality