Improving Belonging and Connectedness in the Cybersecurity Workforce: From College to the Profession

This article explores the results of a project aimed at supporting community college students in their academic pursuit of an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Cybersecurity through mentorship, collaboration, skill preparation, and other activities and touch points to increase students’ sense of belonging and connectedness in the cybersecurity profession. The goal of the project was focused on developing diverse, educated, and skilled cybersecurity personnel for employment within local industry and government to help curtail the current regional cybersecurity workforce gap that is emblematic of the lack of qualified cybersecurity personnel that presently exists nationwide. Emphasis throughout the project was placed on community building so that students felt a part of the cybersecurity community. A project community survey was distributed to students as both a pre-test when they began the project in Year 1 at the start of their cybersecurity coursework, and again as a post-test at the conclusion of Year 2 when they finished their cybersecurity program. Two project cohorts were employed, and the survey questionnaire measured students’ sense of connectedness and level of learning within the project environment. The results showed a marked increase in both constructs from the pre- to post-survey indicating that students felt a greater sense of community as they moved through the project and experienced increased learning through their cybersecurity program. The study concluded that increased feelings of connectedness to the project activities through authentic shared learning experiences promoted belonging and provided social and academic supports to help project students be successful in their cybersecurity academic program and going forward in the in-demand cybersecurity vocation throughout their professional careers

Neuroplasticity of Micturition Reflex Pathways with Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cystitis

Micturition requires the precise reciprocal function of the urinary bladder and urethral outlet. Perhaps due to this degree of precision, micturition is prone to dysfunction with injury or disease. One such disease, interstitial cystitis (IC)/painful bladder syndrome (PBS), is characterized by urinary urgency, frequency and pelvic pain. Inflammation has been implicated as a factor in IC/PBS. The overall hypothesis of this project is that urinary bladder inflammation induces expression of inflammatory mediators and changes neurotrophin receptor expression that contribute to functional changes in the urinary bladder. Using a well-characterized rat model of cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced urinary bladder inflammation, the expression and function of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a known inflammatory enzyme, and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), involved in neurotrophin signaling, were examined in micturition reflex pathways using neuroanatomical, biochemical, molecular and physiological techniques. Although COX-2 expression is increased in urinary bladder and involved in bladder hyperreflexia after CYP-induced cystitis, the localization and time course of upregulation was not known. We hypothesized increased COX-2 expression in specific tissue compartments (urothelium or smooth muscle) of the urinary bladder with CYPinduced inflammation. Western blotting for COX-2 showed a significant increase in COX-2 expression in both detrusor and urothelium/suburothelium, with the greatest increase in the urothelium/suburothelium. Immunostaining showed increased COX-2 staining in suburothelium with cystitis, co-localized with CD86, a marker for dendritic cells and macrophages. Nerve growth factor (NGF) has been implicated in inflammation, increased voiding frequency and altered sensation in urinary bladder. The specific NGF tyrosine kinase receptor, TrkA, is increased in bladder afferent cells with CYP. NGF also binds p75NTR. The second goals were to examine the expression and functional role of p75NTR in urinary bladder pathways in control and CYP-treated rats. We hypothesized that p75NTR is constitutively expressed in micturition pathways and upregulated with cystitis. With cystitis, p75NTR expression was increased in lumbosacral spinal cord and in bladder afferent cells in dorsal root ganglia. Western blotting for p75NTR showed increased expression in whole urinary bladder with cystitis. Based on bladder function effects of TrkA blockade with cystitis, we hypothesized that p75NTR blockade in the urinary bladder would also decrease bladder hyperreflexia with cystitis. The functional role of p75NTR was studied by intravesical blockade by immunoneutralization with a monoclonal antibody to p75NTR and by PD90780, known to block NGF-p75NTR binding. Both forms of p75NTR blockade significantly decreased bladder capacity in control and CYP-treated rats. Changes in micturition and threshold pressure, and non-voiding contractions were also demonstrated. In conclusion, these dissertation studies demonstrate that CYP-induced bladder inflammation alters expression of inflammatory mediators and neurotrophin receptors in micturition pathways. This altered expression can affect overall urinary bladder function

Improving the Interprofessional Practice, Knowledge, and Skills of Health Professions Students through an Interactive Course in Gerontology

Interprofessional, collaborative health care is the ideal standard in geriatrics. Students’ interprofessional practice skills are limited in typical siloed education. An experiential, team-based geriatrics course was designed to improve health professions (HP) students’ perceived knowledge, skills, and attitudes about interprofessional practice. Students (n=209) from dentistry, medicine, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physician assistant, social work, and speech-language pathology were assigned to interprofessional (IP) and medical-student only teams. The Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey-Revised (ICCAS-R) was administered pre- and post-course, along with program evaluations. Seventy percent of students completed both pre- and post-surveys. ICCAS-R scores were analyzed comparing the impact of training for medical students (n=78) on IP teams and remaining HP students (n=58). Students rated themselves as improved on all six ICCAS-R subscales (paired t-tests, p < 0.05). Sixty-nine percent rated themselves as better able to collaborate interprofessionally. A competitive team-based learning exercise using gamification was rated as the most authentic skill-building interprofessional activity. Experiential learning where students worked with the same team helped to build interprofessional and teamwork skills. Findings will be used to improve authenticity of the clinical and teamwork content, increase the use of gamification as a teaching technique, and refine students’ practice of IP teamwork competencies

The addition of a goal-based motivational interview to standardised treatment as usual to reduce dropouts in a service for patients with personality disorder: a feasibility study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rates of non-completion of treatments for personality disorder are high and there are indications that those who do not complete treatment have worse outcomes than those who do. Improving both cost-efficiency and client welfare require attention to engaging people with personality disorder in treatment. A motivational interview, based on the Personal Concerns Inventory, may have the ability to enhance engagement and retention in therapy. Here, we report the protocol for a feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial (RCT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All referrals accepted to the psychological service of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust's outpatient service for people with personality disorder are eligible for inclusion. Consenting participants are randomised to receive the Personal Concerns Inventory interview plus treatment as usual or treatment as usual only. We aim to recruit 100 participants over 11/2 years. A randomised controlled trial will be considered feasible if <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp> the recruitment rate to the project is 54% of all referrals (95% CI 54-64), <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr></abbrgrp> 80% of clients find the intervention acceptable in terms of its practicability and usefulness (95% CI 80-91), and <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B3">3</abbr></abbrgrp> 80% of therapists report finding the intervention helpful (95% CI 80-100). In a full-scale randomised controlled trial, the primary outcome measure will be completion of treatment i.e., entry into and completion of ≥ 75% of sessions offered. Therefore, information will be collected on recruitment rates, attendance at therapy sessions, and completion of treatment. The feasibility of examining the processes of engagement will be tested by assessing the value, coherence, and attainability of goals pre-treatment, and engagement in treatment. The costs associated with the intervention will be calculated, and the feasibility of calculating the cost-benefits of the intervention will be tested. The views of clients and therapists on the intervention, collected using semi-structured interviews, will be analysed using thematic analysis.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The Personal Concerns Interview as a preparation for treatment of people with personality has the potential to maximise treatment uptake, reduce unfilled places in treatment programmes, and prevent group treatments faltering through non-attendance. Most importantly, it has the potential to improve patient outcomes, helping them to function better and reduce hospitalisation.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.Gov.UK Identifier - NCT01132976</p

Sex-based differences in veterans with pulmonary hypertension: Results from the veterans affairs-clinical assessment reporting and tracking database

Women have an increased risk of pulmonary hypertension (PH) but better survival compared to men. Few studies have explored sex-based differences in population-based cohorts with PH. We sought to determine whether sex was associated with hemodynamics and survival in US veterans with PH (mean pulmonary artery pressure [mPAP] ≥ 25 mm Hg) from the Veterans Affairs Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking database. The relationship between sex and hemodynamics was assessed with multivariable linear mixed modeling. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare survival by sex for those with PH and precapillary PH (mPAP ≥ 25 mm Hg, pulmonary artery wedge pressure [PAWP] ≤ 15 mm Hg and pulmonary vascular resistance [PVR] > 3 Wood units) respectively. The study population included 15,464 veterans with PH, 516 (3%) of whom were women; 1,942 patients (13%) had precapillary PH, of whom 120 (6%) were women. Among those with PH, women had higher PVR and pulmonary artery pulse pressure, and lower right atrial pressure and PAWP (all p <0.001) compared with men. There were no significant differences in hemodynamics according to sex in veterans with precapillary PH. Women with PH had 18% greater survival compared to men with PH (adjusted HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69–0.97, p = 0.020). Similarly, women with precapillary PH were 29% more likely to survive as compared to men with PH (adjusted HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52–0.98, p = 0.040). In conclusion, female veterans with PH have better survival than males despite higher pulmonary afterload

Gold remobilisation and formation of high grade ore shoots driven by dissolution-reprecipitation replacement and Ni substitution into auriferous arsenopyrite

Both gold-rich sulphides and ultra-high grade native gold oreshoots are common but poorly understood phenomenon in orogenic-type mineral systems, partly because fluids in these systems are considered to have relatively low gold solubilities and are unlikely to generate high gold concentrations. The world-class Obuasi gold deposit, Ghana, has gold-rich arsenopyrite spatially associated with quartz veins, which have extremely high, localised concentrations of native gold, contained in microcrack networks within the quartz veins where they are folded. Here, we examine selected samples from Obuasi using a novel combination of quantitative electron backscatter diffraction analysis, ion microprobe imaging, synchrotron XFM mapping and geochemical modelling to investigate the origin of the unusually high gold concentrations. The auriferous arsenopyrites are shown to have undergone partial replacement (~15%) by Au-poor, nickeliferous arsenopyrite, during localised crystal-plastic deformation, intragranular microfracture and metamorphism (340-460 °C, 2 kbars). Our results show the dominant replacement mechanism was pseudomorphic dissolution-reprecipitation, driven by small volumes of an infiltrating fluid that had relatively low fS2 and carried aqueous NiCl2. We find that arsenopyrite replacement produced strong chemical gradients at crystal-fluid interfaces due to an increase in fS2 during reaction, which enabled efficient removal of gold to the fluid phase and development of anomalously gold-rich fluid (potentially 10 ppm or more depending on sulphur concentration). This process was facilitated by precipitation of ankerite, which removed CO2 from the fluid, increasing the relative proportion of sulphur for gold complexation and inhibited additional quartz precipitation. Gold re-precipitation occurred over distances of 10 µm to several tens of metres and was likely a result of sulphur activity reduction through precipitation of pyrite and other sulphides. We suggest this late remobilisation process may be relatively common in orogenic belts containing abundant mafic/ultramafic rocks, which act as a source of Ni and Co scavenged by chloride-bearing fluids. Both the preference of the arsenopyrite crystal structure for Ni and Co, rather than gold, and the release of sulphur during reaction, can drive gold remobilisation in many deposits across broad regions

Extreme genome diversity in the hyper-prevalent parasitic eukaryote Blastocystis

Blastocystis is the most prevalent eukaryotic microbe colonizing the human gut, infecting approximately 1 billion individuals worldwide. Although Blastocystis has been linked to intestinal disorders, its pathogenicity remains controversial because most carriers are asymptomatic. Here, the genome sequence of Blastocystis subtype (ST) 1 is presented and compared to previously published sequences for ST4 and ST7. Despite a conserved core of genes, there is unexpected diversity between these STs in terms of their genome sizes, guanine-cytosine (GC) content, intron numbers, and gene content. ST1 has 6,544 protein-coding genes, which is several hundred more than reported for ST4 and ST7. The percentage of proteins unique to each ST ranges from 6.2% to 20.5%, greatly exceeding the differences observed within parasite genera. Orthologous proteins also display extreme divergence in amino acid sequence identity between STs (i.e., 59%–61%median identity), on par with observations of the most distantly related species pairs of parasite genera. The STs also display substantial variation in gene family distributions and sizes, especially for protein kinase and protease gene families, which could reflect differences in virulence. It remains to be seen to what extent these inter-ST differences persist at the intra-ST level. A full 26% of genes in ST1 have stop codons that are created on the mRNA level by a novel polyadenylation mechanism found only in Blastocystis. Reconstructions of pathways and organellar systems revealed that ST1 has a relatively complete membrane-trafficking system and a near-complete meiotic toolkit, possibly indicating a sexual cycle. Unlike some intestinal protistan parasites, Blastocystis ST1 has near-complete de novo pyrimidine, purine, and thiamine biosynthesis pathways and is unique amongst studied stramenopiles in being able to metabolize ?-glucans rather than ?-glucans. It lacks all genes encoding heme-containing cytochrome P450 proteins. Predictions of the mitochondrion-related organelle (MRO) proteome reveal an expanded repertoire of functions, including lipid, cofactor, and vitamin biosynthesis, as well as proteins that may be involved in regulating mitochondrial morphology and MRO/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) interactions. In sharp contrast, genes for peroxisome-associated functions are absent, suggesting Blastocystis STs lack this organelle. Overall, this study provides an important window into the biology of Blastocystis, showcasing significant differences between STs that can guide future experimental investigations into differences in their virulence and clarifying the roles of these organisms in gut health and disease