Development and psychometric testing of a multi-dimensional instrument of perceived discrimination among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study

Objective Assessing the discrimination-health disparities hypothesis requires psychometrically sound, multidimensional measures of discrimination. Among the available discrimination measures, few are multidimensional and none have adequate psychometric testing in a large, African American sample. We report the development and psychometric testing of the multidimensional Jackson Heart Study Discrimination (JHSDIS) Instrument. Methods A multidimensional measure assessing the occurrence, frequency, attribution, and coping responses to perceived everyday and lifetime discrimination; lifetime burden of discrimination; and effect of skin color was developed and tested in the 5302-member cohort of the Jackson Heart Study. Internal consistency was calculated by using Cronbach α. coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis established the dimensions, and intercorrelation coefficients assessed the discriminant validity of the instrument. Setting Tri-county area of the Jackson, MS metropolitan statistical area. Results The JHSDIS was psychometrically sound (overall α=.78, .84 and .77, respectively, for the everyday and lifetime subscales). Confirmatory factor analysis yielded 11 factors, which confirmed the a priori dimensions represented. Conclusions The JHSDIS combined three scales into a single multidimensional instrument with good psychometric properties in a large sample of African Americans. This analysis lays the foundation for using this instrument in research that will examine the association between perceived discrimination and CVD among African Americans. Keywords: Discrimination, Racism, Jackson Heart Study, African American, Cardiovascular Diseas

Development and psychometric testing of a multi-dimensional instrument of perceived discrimination among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study

Objective Assessing the discrimination-health disparities hypothesis requires psychometrically sound, multidimensional measures of discrimination. Among the available discrimination measures, few are multidimensional and none have adequate psychometric testing in a large, African American sample. We report the development and psychometric testing of the multidimensional Jackson Heart Study Discrimination (JHSDIS) Instrument. Methods A multidimensional measure assessing the occurrence, frequency, attribution, and coping responses to perceived everyday and lifetime discrimination; lifetime burden of discrimination; and effect of skin color was developed and tested in the 5302-member cohort of the Jackson Heart Study. Internal consistency was calculated by using Cronbach α. coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis established the dimensions, and intercorrelation coefficients assessed the discriminant validity of the instrument. Setting Tri-county area of the Jackson, MS metropolitan statistical area. Results The JHSDIS was psychometrically sound (overall α=.78, .84 and .77, respectively, for the everyday and lifetime subscales). Confirmatory factor analysis yielded 11 factors, which confirmed the a priori dimensions represented. Conclusions The JHSDIS combined three scales into a single multidimensional instrument with good psychometric properties in a large sample of African Americans. This analysis lays the foundation for using this instrument in research that will examine the association between perceived discrimination and CVD among African Americans. Keywords: Discrimination, Racism, Jackson Heart Study, African American, Cardiovascular Diseas

Semantic Constraint Modeling in Database Using the Applicative Data Language.

There is a growing need to incorporate database integrity subsystems into large information systems in engineering design environments and real-time control and monitoring environments. The objectives of the integrity subsystem are to provide a user interface for constraint specification, to compile the specification into enforcement strategies, and to check data integrity at both compile-time and run-time. The approach proposed by this research is to develop the conceptual view of the database using the Entity Relationship Model (ERM). Users\u27 queries and semantic constraints can be specified by an ER-based data language, the Applicative Data Language (ADL). Any ADL constraint specification is compiled into both a compile-time and a run-time checking strategy for enforcement. The integrity subsystem, then, automatically maintains the consistency of data whenever there is a change in the database state. The basic constructs of ADL are data structures, functions, and predicates. It takes advantage of the semantic clarification of objects and relationships in the Entity Relationship Model by doing, first, an object level computation and, then, a data element level computation. The object level computation determines how objects are associated with each other. The data element computation, on the other hand, examines the data values of those associated objects and derives new relations from these values. A semantic constraint, therefore, is formulated as a computation procedure that maps the current database state to a TRUE or FALSE value. The computational syntax of ADL allows us to compile directly each constraint specification into a transition digraph for compile-time constraint checking. This research proposes the incremental computation strategy for efficient run-time constraint checking. The objective of the strategy is to do run-time constraint checking without full evaluation of the database. The entire computation procedure centers around the user\u27s update. It propagates the incremental changes along the transition digraph to infer the effect of the update upon the new truth value of the semantic constraint. This research concludes that ADL with its generality in semantic constraint modeling and its enforcement strategies at both compile-time and run-time is adequate as the architecture for an integrity subsystem supporting an Entity Relationship database

Put Your Arms Where They Belong (For They Belong To Me)

With Ukulele arrangement. Contains advertisements and/or short musical examples of pieces being sold by publisher.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/7116/thumbnail.jp

Put Your Arms Where They Belong

Van and His Orchestra; Illustration of woman sittinghttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/12371/thumbnail.jp

Solution electrochemistry of indolenium squarylium cyanine dyes

Abstract The redox potential of a class of donor±acceptor±donor (D±A±D) molecules, bis(5-substituent-2,3,3,-trimethylindolenium-2-ylidene)squaraines (Sq 1±8), were determined. All the dyes exhibit two reversible oxidation potentials in methanol. C-5 substituents at the indolenium moieties exert a small eect on the ®rst oxidation potential, and the substituent eect is attributed to the inductive parameters. The frontier orbital energy levels were calculated by the AM1±SCF method. A good linear relationship between the highest occupied molecular orbital energy level and the ®rst oxidation potential was found.

Validity of Glycated Hemoglobin in Screening and Diagnosing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Subjects

Background/Aims: The application of glycated hemoglobin (HbA 1c) for the diagnosis of diabetes is currently under extensive discussion. In this study, we explored the validity of using HbA 1c as a screening and diagnostic test in Chinese subjects recruited in Nanjing, China. Methods: In total, 497 subjects (361 men and 136 women) with fasting plasma glucose (PG) ≥ 5.6 mmol/L were recruited to undergo the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and HbA 1c test. Plasma lipid, uric acid, and blood pressure were also measured. Results: Using a receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal cutoff point of HbA 1c related to diabetes diagnosed by the OGTT was 6.3%, with a sensitivity and specificity of 79.6 % and 82.2%, respectively, and the area under the curve was 0.87 (95 % confidence interval, 0.83 to 0.92). A HbA 1c level of 6.5 % had a sensitivity and specificity of 62.7 % and 93.5%, respectively. When comparing the HbA 1c ≥ 6.5 % or OGTT methods for diagnosing diabetes, the former group had significantly higher HbA 1c levels and lower levels of fasting and 2-hour PG than the latter group. No significant difference was observed in the other metabolism indexes between the two groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that HbA 1c ≥ 6.5 % has reasonably good specificity for diagnosing diabetes in Chinese subjects, which is in concordance with the American Diabetes Association recommendations

Smart garment for trunk posture monitoring: A preliminary study

© 2008 Wong and Wong; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Commercial Immunoglobulin Products Contain Neutralizing Antibodies Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Spike Protein

BACKGROUND: Patients with antibody deficiency respond poorly to COVID-19 vaccination and are at risk of severe or prolonged infection. They are given long-term immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IRT) prepared from healthy donor plasma to confer passive immunity against infection. Following widespread COVID-19 vaccination alongside natural exposure, we hypothesised that immunoglobulin preparations will now contain neutralising SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies which confer protection against COVID-19 disease and may help to treat chronic infection. METHODS: We evaluated anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody in a cohort of patients before and after immunoglobulin infusion. Neutralising capacity of patient samples and immunoglobulin products was assessed using in vitro pseudo-virus and live-virus neutralisation assays, the latter investigating multiple batches against current circulating omicron variants. We describe the clinical course of nine patients started on IRT during treatment of COVID-19. RESULTS: In 35 individuals with antibody deficiency established on IRT, median anti-spike antibody titre increased from 2123 to 10600 U/ml post-infusion, with corresponding increase in pseudo-virus neutralisation titres to levels comparable to healthy donors. Testing immunoglobulin products directly in the live-virus assay confirmed neutralisation, including of BQ1.1 and XBB variants, but with variation between immunoglobulin products and batches.Initiation of IRT alongside Remdesivir in patients with antibody deficiency and prolonged COVID-19 infection (median 189 days, maximum over 900 days with an ancestral viral strain) resulted in clearance of SARS-CoV-2 virus at a median of 20 days. CONCLUSIONS: Immunoglobulin preparations now contain neutralising anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies which are transmitted to patients and help to treat COVID-19 in individuals with failure of humoral immunity