A Comparison of Early Childhood Health Indicators

The abstract for this presentation can be downloaded by clicking on the blue download button

Early Childhood Educators\u27 Self-Reported Food Insecurity Impact on Observed Classroom Food Environment

Peyton M. Percle is a research associate at the ENRICH Center, in the College of Applied and Natural Sciences at Louisiana Tech University. Emily A. Byley is a graduate student in the College of Education at Louisiana Tech University. Julie M. Rutledge is an Associate Professor in the School of Human Ecology, and the Director of ENRICH Center in the College of Applied and Natural Sciences, at Louisiana Tech University. Taren M. Swindle is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The abstract for their presentation Early Childhood Educators\u27 Self-Reported Food Insecurity Impact on Observed Classroom Food Environment can be downloaded by clicking on the blue download button

Quantitative iTRAQ-Based Proteomic Identification of Candidate Biomarkers for Diabetic Nephropathy in Plasma of Type 1 Diabetic Patients

# The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Introduction As part of a clinical proteomics programme focused on diabetes and its complications, it was our goal to investigate the proteome of plasma in order to find improved candidate biomarkers to predict diabetic nephropathy. Methods Proteins derived from plasma from a crosssectiona

Engaging the Aging: Closing the 40-year Age Gap in a Gerontology Course through Service-Learning

A common concern in higher education regards students’ ability to critically think and finding ways to capture their interest to ensure they learn course material. This can be particularly challenging in a gerontology course as most of the students are 40 years younger than the population being studied. This presentation discusses how a service-learning project is used in a gerontology course to help students understand and apply course concepts to topics for which it is often difficult for many of them to relate. This helps them to better understand content they are learning through direct engagement and experiential reflection

Engaging the Aging: Closing the 40-year Age Gap in a Gerontology Course through Service-Learning

A common concern in higher education regards students’ ability to critically think and finding ways to capture their interest to ensure they learn course material. This can be particularly challenging in a gerontology course as most of the students are 40 years younger than the population being studied. This presentation discusses how a service-learning project is used in a gerontology course to help students understand and apply course concepts to topics for which it is often difficult for many of them to relate. This helps them to better understand content they are learning through direct engagement and experiential reflection

Fidelity monitoring in complex interventions: a case study of the WISE intervention

Abstract Background Researchers face many decisions in developing a measurement tool and protocol for monitoring fidelity to complex interventions. The current study uses data evaluating a nutrition education intervention, Together, We Inspire Smart Eating (WISE), in a preschool setting to explore issues of source, timing, and frequency of fidelity monitoring. Methods The overall study from which these data are drawn was a pre/post design with an implementation-focused process evaluation. Between 2013 and 2016, researchers monitored fidelity to evidence-based components of the WISE intervention in 49 classrooms in two Southern states. Data collectors obtained direct assessment of fidelity on a monthly basis in study classrooms. Research staff requested that educators provide indirect assessment on a weekly basis. We used mean comparisons (t-tests), correlations (Pearson’s r), and scatterplots to compare the direct and indirect assessments. Results No mean comparisons were statistically different. Correlations of direct and indirect assessments of the same component for the same month ranged between − 0.51 (p = 0.01) and 0.54 (p = 0.001). Scatterplots illustrate that negative correlations can be driven by individuals who are over reporting (i.e., self-report bias) and that near zero correlations approximate the ideal situation (i.e., both raters identify high fidelity). Conclusion Our findings illustrate that, on average, observed and self-reports may seem consistent despite weak correlations and individual cases of extreme over reporting by those implementing the intervention. The nature of the component to which fidelity is being monitored as well as the timing within the context of the intervention are important factors to consider when selecting the type of assessment and frequency of fidelity monitoring. Trial registration NCT03075085 Registered 20 February 2017. Trial registration corresponds to the funding that supported the writing of this manuscript, not the data collection. The original study was not a trial and was collected without registration. However, the data reported here provided foundational preliminary data for the trial

De-Implementation of Detrimental Feeding Practices in Childcare: Mixed Methods Evaluation of Community Partner Selected Strategies

This pilot evaluated strategies to decrease detrimental feeding practices in early care and education, which are hypothesized to compete with evidence-based feeding and obesity prevention practices. This study made two key comparisons: (1) a between-site comparison of sites receiving (a) no implementation or de-implementation strategies (i.e., Basic Support; B), (b) implementation strategies only (i.e., Enhanced Support; E), and (c) implementation and de-implementation strategies (i.e., De-implementation + Enhanced Support; D + E) and (2) a within-site pre-post comparison among sites with D + E. At nutrition lessons, the D + E group had more Positive Comments (Hedege’s g = 0.60) and higher Role Model fidelity (Hedege’s g = 1.34) compared to the E group. At meals, assistant teachers in the D + E group had higher Positive Comments than in the B group (g = 0.72). For within-group comparisons, the D + E group decreased Negative Comments (t(19) = 2.842, p = 0.01), increased Positive Comments (t(20) = 2.314, p = 0.031), and improved use of the program mascot at nutrition lessons (t(21) = 3.899, p = 0.001). At meals, lead teachers’ Negative Comments decreased (t(22) = 2.73, p = 0.01). Qualitative data identified strengths and opportunities for iteration. Despite a COVID interruption, mid-point comparisons and qualitative feedback suggest promise of the de-implementation strategy package

Obesity prevention practices in early care and education settings: an adaptive implementation trial

Abstract Background Despite the potential for Early Care and Education (ECE) settings to promote healthy habits, a gap exists between current practices and evidence-based practices (EBPs) for obesity prevention in childhood. Methods We will use an enhanced non-responder trial design to determine the effectiveness and incremental cost-effectiveness of an adaptive implementation strategy for Together, We Inspire Smart Eating (WISE), while examining moderators and mediators of the strategy effect. WISE is a curriculum that aims to increase children’s intake of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables through four evidence-based practices in the early care and education setting. In this trial, we will randomize sites that do not respond to low-intensity strategies to either (a) continue receiving low-intensity strategies or (b) receive high-intensity strategies. This design will determine the effect of an adaptive implementation strategy that adds high-intensity versus one that continues with low-intensity among non-responder sites. We will also apply explanatory, sequential mixed methods to provide a nuanced understanding of implementation mechanisms, contextual factors, and characteristics of sites that respond to differing intensities of implementation strategies. Finally, we will conduct a cost effectiveness analysis to estimate the incremental effect of augmenting implementation with high-intensity strategies compared to continuing low-intensity strategies on costs, fidelity, and child health outcomes. Discussion We expect our study to contribute to an evidence base for structuring implementation support in real-world ECE contexts, ultimately providing a guide for applying the adaptive implementation strategy in ECE for WISE scale-up. Our work will also provide data to guide implementation decisions of other interventions in ECE. Finally, we will provide the first estimate of relative value for different implementation strategies in this setting. Trial registration NCT05050539 ; 9/20/21.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/173848/1/13012_2021_Article_1185.pd

The Decimal Effect: Behavioral and Neural Bases for a Novel Influence on Intertemporal Choice in Healthy Individuals and in ADHD

We identify a novel contextual variable that alters the evaluation of delayed rewards in healthy participants and those diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). When intertemporal choices are constructed of monetary outcomes with rounded values (e.g., $25.00), discount rates are greater than when the rewards have nonzero decimal values (e.g.,$25.12). This finding is well explained within a dual system framework for temporal discounting in which preferences are constructed from separate affective and deliberative processes. Specifically, we find that round dollar values produce greater positive affect than do nonzero decimal values. This suggests that relative involvement of affective processes may underlie our observed difference in intertemporal preferences. Furthermore, we demonstrate that intertemporal choices with rounded values recruit greater brain responses in the nucleus accumbens to a degree that correlates with the size of the behavioral effect across participants. Our demonstration that a simple contextual manipulation can alter self-control in ADHD has implications for treatment of individuals with disorders of impulsivity. Overall, the decimal effect highlights mechanisms by which the properties of a reward bias perceived value and consequent preferences