Career Attainment in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Program

People who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent often find it difficult to financially provide for themselves and their family. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 provides career counseling to U.S. youth ages 16-24 as they obtain job training and work on their general equivalency diploma (GED). Although researchers have examined different aspects of the program, they have not yet explored the experiences of participants. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand the experiences of WIOA participants who earned their GED and worked with their career counselor to achieve their goals. Social cognitive theory was used to understand how career development relates to a person’s commitment to reach their career goal. Data were obtained by interviewing 10 previous WIOA participants who earned their GED and gained employment; participants, who participated in North Carolina’s WIOA program, were recruited using purposeful sampling. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Seven themes emerged: barriers and decisions related to environment, family as a barrier and support, career attainment and satisfaction, school-related barriers, goal setting and values, barriers related to criminal activity, and WIOA benefits and recommendations. Further research from the WIOA career counselors’ point of view could provide additional insights on the program. This study’s implications for positive social change include furthering WIOA career counselors’ understanding of effective strategies to help participants gain employment. The study may also inform program participants of how to work with WIOA counselors to achieve their goals

COMBINATORIAL ADMINISTRATION OF SYNTHETIC TLR4 AGONIST INI-2002 AND NOVEL MINCLE AGONIST UM-1098 DELIVERED VIA A-SNPS RESULTS IN SYNERGISTIC IL-1β PRODUCTION IN HUMAN PRIMARY CELLS AND ENHANCES TH1 AND TH17 RESPONSES IN VIVO

Tuberculosis (TB) kills more people each year than any infectious disease worldwide with recent exception of SARS-CoV-2. Though the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine confers protection against severe extrapulmonary forms of TB, there is no licensed vaccine for the prevention of pulmonary tuberculosis. The strongest correlate of protection against pulmonary tuberculosis is Th1/Th17 biased cell mediated immunity. Several candidates for TB vaccine adjuvants have shown Th1/Th17 polarizing capacity in clinical trials including Mincle agonist trehalose dibehenate (TDB) and TLR4 agonist monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL). Furthermore, combinatorial administration of MPL and TDB formulated in dimethyldioctadecylammonium (DDA) liposomes has been previously reported to produce synergistic Th1/Th17 immunity. Though this novel combination offered proof of concept for TLR4 and Mincle combination vaccines, use of shorter chain length agonists would afford increased stability and decreased toxicity while maintaining or improving efficacy. Coating of Mincle ligands to silica nanoparticles (SNPs) provides an additional opportunity to form multiple ligand-receptor interactions for increased signaling as previously characterized in Dectin-1. Herein, we characterize several molar ratios of synthetic MPL mimetic INI-2002 and novel TDB derivative UM-1098 delivered via A-SNPs, reporting synergistic IL-1β production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and an increased percentage of CD4+ T cells producing Th1/17 cytokines including TNF- α, IL-17, and IFN-γ following combination vaccination against recombinant TB antigen M72

Assessing global competence within teacher education programmes. How to design and create a set of rubrics with a modified Delphi method

In today’s world, Global Competence represents a fundamental disposition for teachers who must be able to teach effectively in classrooms with students from diverse backgrounds and manage multiple learning contexts. For these reasons, it is necessary to set up educational activities during initial teacher education programmes aimed at developing and assessing preservice teachers’ ability to be Global Competent. This study was aimed at designing and creating a set of rubrics that can be used by either teacher educators or preservice teachers, in this case, as a self-assessment instrument. The research design was based on a modified Delphi method composed of five rounds to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. A panel of 31 experts was involved in an iterative process until a consensus among the experts was reached. The rubrics can be employed in several contexts and situations such as: before and after an international experience, during or after a simulation or a workshop based on intercultural and real-world situations

Artificial Light Increases Local Predator Abundance, Predation Rates, and Herbivory.

Human activity is rapidly increasing the radiance and geographic extent of artificial light at night (ALAN) leading to alterations in the development, behavior, and physiological state of many organisms. A limited number of community-scale studies investigating the effects of ALAN have allowed for spatial aggregation through positive phototaxis, the commonly observed phenomenon of arthropod movement toward light. We performed an open field study (without restricted arthropod access) to determine the effects of ALAN on local arthropod community composition, plant traits, and local herbivory and predation rates. We found strong positive phototaxis in 10 orders of arthropods, with increased (159% higher) overall arthropod abundance under ALAN compared to unlit controls. The arthropod community under ALAN was more diverse and contained a higher proportion of predaceous arthropods (15% vs 8%). Predation of immobilized flies occurred 3.6 times faster under ALAN; this effect was not observed during the day. Contrary to expectations, we also observed a 6% increase in herbivory under ALAN. Our results highlight the importance of open experimental field studies in determining community-level effects of ALAN

Analysis of Microfluidic Pipes in a W-band Waveguide for Determining Complex Permittivity

Determination of complex permittivity of bio-chemical fluid samples have been numerically investigated. The samples have been placed within a rectangular W-band waveguide enclosed in nanolitre volume microfluidic pipes. The effect on the S-parameters is observed by changing the shape, diameter, depth, and complex permittivity of the pipe inside the waveguide. Pipe depth and pipe diameter has a direct influence on the drop in transmission coefficient S21. The system shows the viability of measurements of liquid samples inside a waveguide at these frequencies. Extraction of the permittivity is not covered in this paper, however matching of experimental results to empirical dependences obtained by full wave electromagnetic solver is one method which can be used

Engaging the public in healthcare decision-making: quantifying preferences for healthcare through citizens' juries

Introduction The optimal approach to engage the public in healthcare decision-making is unclear. Approaches range from deliberative citizens’ juries to large population surveys using discrete choice experiments. This study promotes public engagement and quantifies preferences in two key areas of relevance to the industry partners to identify which approach is most informative for informing healthcare policy. Methods and analysis The key areas identified are optimising appropriate use of emergency care and prioritising patients for bariatric surgery. Three citizens’ juries will be undertaken—two in Queensland to address each key issue and one in Adelaide to repeat the bariatric surgery deliberations with a different sample. Jurors will be given a choice experiment before the jury, immediately following the jury and at approximately 1 month following the jury. Control groups for each jury will be given the choice experiment at the same time points to test for convergence. Samples of healthcare decision-makers will be given the choice experiment as will two large samples of the population. Jury and control group participants will be recruited from the Queensland electoral roll and newspaper advertisements in Adelaide. Population samples will be recruited from a large research panel. Jury processes will be analysed qualitatively and choice experiments will be analysed using multinomial logit models and its more generalised forms. Comparisons between preferences across jurors predeliberation and postdeliberation, control participants, healthcare decision-makers and the general public will be undertaken for each key issue

Mobilising Knowledge: Determining key elements for success and pitfalls in developing Community Based Tourism

Community based tourism (CBT) has often been cited as an alternative to mass tourism and an approach for tourism to become more sustainable. If developed well, CBT can become a poverty alleviation mechanism and a way to access improvements in quality of life, providing empowerment and greater economic benefit to individuals in local communities. Despite the plethora of literature on CBT and evaluation of models, there is little analysis of the facilitators and barriers to achieving it. Through the use of case studies in both academic and grey literature, this paper serves as an instructive review of the CBT literature to synthesise the key elements of success and the challenges

Thirteen-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine–Induced Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Responses in Serum Associated With Serotype-Specific IgG in the Lung

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) efficacy is lower for noninvasive pneumonia than invasive disease. In this study, participants were immunized with 13-valent PCV (PCV13) or hepatitis A vaccine (control). Bronchoalveolar lavage samples were taken between 2 and 6 months and serum at 4 and 7 weeks postvaccination. In the lung, anti-capsular immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were higher in the PCV13 group compared to controls for all serotypes, except 3 and 6B. Systemically, IgG levels were elevated in the PCV13 group at 4 weeks for all serotypes, except serotype 3. IgG in bronchoalveolar lavage and serum positively correlated for nearly all serotypes. PCV13 shows poor immunogenicity to serotype 3, implying lack of protective efficacy

Delineating associations of progressive pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis in patients with pulmonary fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Computer quantification of baseline computed tomography (CT) radiological pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) associates with mortality in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We examined mortality associations of longitudinal change in computer-quantified PPFE-like lesions in IPF and fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (FHP). METHODS: Two CT scans 6-36 months apart were retrospectively examined in one IPF (n=414) and one FHP population (n=98). Annualised change in computerised upper-zone pleural surface area comprising radiological PPFE-like lesions (Δ-PPFE) was calculated. Δ-PPFE >1.25% defined progressive PPFE above scan noise. Mixed-effects models evaluated Δ-PPFE against change in visual CT interstitial lung disease (ILD) extent and annualised forced vital capacity (FVC) decline. Multivariable models were adjusted for age, sex, smoking history, baseline emphysema presence, antifibrotic use and diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide. Mortality analyses further adjusted for baseline presence of clinically important PPFE-like lesions and ILD change. RESULTS: Δ-PPFE associated weakly with ILD and FVC change. 22-26% of IPF and FHP cohorts demonstrated progressive PPFE-like lesions which independently associated with mortality in the IPF cohort (hazard ratio 1.25, 95% CI 1.16-1.34, p<0.0001) and the FHP cohort (hazard ratio 1.16, 95% CI 1.00-1.35, p=0.045). INTERPRETATION: Progression of PPFE-like lesions independently associates with mortality in IPF and FHP but does not associate strongly with measures of fibrosis progression