11 research outputs found

    The Importance of Freshman Experiences in Predicting Students’ Retention Decisions

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    Undergraduate retention is a growing problem; approximately 50% of students who matriculate at American institutions fail to graduate within seven years (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2002). This study assessed the utility of the College Persistence Questionnaire Version 2 (CPQ-V2) to predict whether freshmen returned for the sophomore year. Between 6 to 8 weeks into their first semester, participants (n = 701) from Angelo State University (n = 166), Appalachian State University (n = 333), and Tusculum College (n = 202) responded online to the questionnaire. A series of binary logistic regressions was performed, each predicting retention. Results indicated that variables typically found in the student database (e.g., high school rank) are of limited value in identifying at-risk students at this point in the process, and that prediction is only moderately increased by adding background variables (e.g., reasons for attending) that are not typically collected by universities. On the other hand, the ten Student Experience Scales of the CPQ-V2 produced a substantial increment in the explained variance. These findings demonstrate the validity of the CPQ V2 as a predictor of undergraduate retention and the importance of students’ experiences with the academic and social environments in determining persistence decisions

    The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world.

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    The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

    Vaccination with chemically attenuated Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood-stage parasites induces parasite-specific cellular immune responses in malaria-naïve volunteers: a pilot study

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    Abstract Background The continuing morbidity and mortality associated with infection with malaria parasites highlights the urgent need for a vaccine. The efficacy of sub-unit vaccines tested in clinical trials in malaria-endemic areas has thus far been disappointing, sparking renewed interest in the whole parasite vaccine approach. We previously showed that a chemically attenuated whole parasite asexual blood-stage vaccine induced CD4+ T cell-dependent protection against challenge with homologous and heterologous parasites in rodent models of malaria. Methods In this current study, we evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of chemically attenuated asexual blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) parasites in eight malaria-naïve human volunteers. Study participants received a single dose of 3 × 107 Pf pRBC that had been treated in vitro with the cyclopropylpyrolloindole analogue, tafuramycin-A. Results We demonstrate that Pf asexual blood-stage parasites that are completely attenuated are immunogenic, safe and well tolerated in malaria-naïve volunteers. Following vaccination with a single dose, species and strain transcending Plasmodium-specific T cell responses were induced in recipients. This included induction of Plasmodium-specific lymphoproliferative responses, T cells secreting the parasiticidal cytokines, IFN-γ and TNF, and CD3+CD45RO+ memory T cells. Pf-specific IgG was not detected. Conclusions This is the first clinical study evaluating a whole parasite blood-stage malaria vaccine. Following administration of a single dose of completely attenuated Pf asexual blood-stage parasites, Plasmodium-specific T cell responses were induced while Pf-specific antibodies were not detected. These results support further evaluation of this chemically attenuated vaccine in humans. Trial registration Trial registration: ACTRN12614000228684. Registered 4 March 2014
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