A school-based educational on-site vaccination intervention for adolescents in an urban area in Germany: feasibility and psychometric properties of instruments in a pilot study

Background: Vaccination rates for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio (Tdap-IPV) are not optimal among German adolescents. Education in combination with easy access to vaccination may be a promising approach to improve vaccination rates. The present paper describes a pilot study of a planned cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in which we aim to improve MMR and Tdap-IPV vaccination rates together with knowledge and self-efficacy in a school setting. Methods: The study covered 863 students from 41 classes of four schools. The optimization and feasibility of access to schools, recruitment strategies, intervention, and assessment procedures were examined. The course and content of the educational unit were evaluated with a mixed-methods approach. A pre-post measurement design was tested for the vaccination rate in all schools. Additionally, at two schools, improvement in vaccination-related knowledge and perceived self-efficacy were measured by questionnaire pre-educational unit (n=287) and post-educational unit (n=293). The remaining two schools provided only postintervention data. Finally, we evaluated the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, retest reliability, and change rates) of the questionnaire, applying Cronbach's alpha, factor analyses, generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models. Results: The findings of the pilot study indicated good feasibility. Of the total sample, 437 students (50.9%) brought their vaccination cards to school, 68 students received Tdap-IPV vaccinations, and 11 received MMR vaccinations. Out of six knowledge questions, on average, the students had M=2.84 (95% CI [2.69, 3.10]) correct answers before and M=4.45 (95% CI [4.26, 4.64]) after the class. Ranging from 1 to 4, the self-efficacy scale changed by 0.3 points (p <.001); Cronbach's alpha was 0.67 and 0.76 pre- and post-educational unit, respectively, and a one-factor solution was found. Content analysis of the five semistructured group interviews (n=12, 58.3% female) showed that all students found the length of the intervention to be appropriate. The teaching methods, including interactive and social media components, were perceived as very good. Conclusions: A school-based educational and on-site vaccination intervention appears to be feasible in terms of procedures and the adequacy of the instruments for the adolescent target group

Morphological and Transcriptomic Analysis of a Beetle Chemosensory System Reveals a Gnathal Olfactory Center

OR gene tissue expression and their chromosomal localization. a Venn diagram showing the number of ORs expressed (RPKM ≥ 0.5) in the different body parts: antennae, legs, mouthparts (as piece of the head capsule anterior of the antennae), heads (the whole head capsule including mouthparts but excluding the antennae), and bodies (excluding head and legs). b Venn diagram comparing our results (yellow, green) with data from Engsontia et al. [115] (blue, red). Number of expressed ORs, defined by RPKM ≥ 0.5 (yellow), by RT-PCR (blue), not expressed RPKM < 0.5 (green), or with no RT-PCR amplicon (red). ORs of the brown group were not previously tested by Engsontia et al. c Chromosomal localization of T. castaneum ORs. Based on the Georgia GA-2 strain genome assembly 3.0 [81], only chromosomal linkage groups containing an IR or SNMP are depicted. Gene clusters are indicated by a number referring to the chromosome and a letter conveys the relative position on the chromosome. The number of genes within this cluster is indicated in the square brackets. (PDF 277 kb

The Association of Mid-Regional Pro-Adrenomedullin and Mid-Regional Pro-Atrial Natriuretic Peptide with Mortality in an Incident Dialysis Cohort

High levels of the plasma peptides mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) and mid-regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) are associated with clinical outcomes in the general population. Data in patients with chronic kidney disease are sparse. We therefore investigated the association of MR-proANP and MR-proADM levels with all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality, CV events and peripheral arterial disease in 201 incident dialysis patients of the INVOR-Study prospectively followed for a period of up to more than 7 years. The overall mortality rate was 43%, thereof 43% due to CV events. Both baseline MR-proANP and MR-proADM were associated with higher risk of all-cause (HR = 1.44, p = 0.001 and HR = 1.32, p = 0.002, respectively) and CV mortality (HR = 1.75, p<0.001 and HR = 1.41, p = 0.007, respectively) after adjustment for age, sex, previous CV events, diabetes mellitus and time-dependent type of renal replacement therapy. We then stratified patients in high risk (both peptides in the upper tertile), intermediate risk (only one of the two peptides in the upper tertile) and low risk (none in the upper tertile). Although demographic, clinical and laboratory variables were similar among the intermediate and high risk group, to be with both parameters in the upper tertile was associated with a 3-fold higher risk for all-cause (HR = 2.87, p<0.001) and CV mortality (HR = 3.58, p = 0.001). In summary, among incident dialysis patients MR-proANP and MR-proADM were shown to be associated with all-cause and CV mortality, with the highest risk when both parameters were in the upper tertiles

Rezensionen

Rezension zu: 1) Arnold, Rolf: Selbstbildung - oder: Wer kann ich werden und wenn ja wie? Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verl. Hohengehren 2010. ISBN 978-3-8340-0801-5. 2) Hadjar, Andreas (Hrsg.): Geschlechtsspezifische Bildungsungleichheiten. Wiesbaden: VS Verl. f. Sozialwissenschaften 2011. ISBN 978-3-531-17288-0. 3) Hartz, Stefanie: Qualität in Organisationen der Weiterbildung: eine Studie zur Akzeptanz und Wirkung der Lernorientierten Qualitätstestierung in der Weiterbildung. Wiesbaden: VS Verl. f. Sozialwissenschaften 2011. ISBN 978-3-531-17485-3. 4) Ioannidou, Alexandra: Steuerung im transnationalen Bildungsraum: Internationales Bildungsmonitoring zum Lebenslangen Lernen. Reihe Theorie und Praxis der Erwachsenenbildung. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann Verl. 2010. ISBN 978-3-7639-1991-8. 5) Münk, Dieter; Severing, Eckart (Hrsg.): Theorie und Praxis der Kompetenzfeststellung im Betrieb - Status quo und Entwicklungsbedarf. Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung - Schriftenreihe des Bundesinstituts für Berufsbildung Bonn. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann Verl. 2009. ISBN 978-3-7639-1130-1. 6) Nühlen, Maria: Erwachsenenbildung und die Philosophie: historischer Rückblick und die Herausforderung für die Zukunft. Berlin: LIT Verl. 2010. ISBN 978-3-643-10110-5. 7) Schrader, Josef; Hohmann, Reinhard; Hartz, Stefanie (Hrsg.): Mediengestützte Fallarbeit: Konzepte, Erfahrungen und Befunde zur Kompetenzentwicklung von Erwachsenenbildnern. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann Verl. 2010. ISBN 978-3-7639-4659-4

Characterization of the severe phenotype of pyruvate kinase deficiency

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162766/2/ajh25926.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162766/1/ajh25926_am.pd

Sponge spicules as blueprints for the biofabrication of inorganic–organic composites and biomaterials

While most forms of multicellular life have developed a calcium-based skeleton, a few specialized organisms complement their body plan with silica. However, of all recent animals, only sponges (phylum Porifera) are able to polymerize silica enzymatically mediated in order to generate massive siliceous skeletal elements (spicules) during a unique reaction, at ambient temperature and pressure. During this biomineralization process (i.e., biosilicification) hydrated, amorphous silica is deposited within highly specialized sponge cells, ultimately resulting in structures that range in size from micrometers to meters. Spicules lend structural stability to the sponge body, deter predators, and transmit light similar to optic fibers. This peculiar phenomenon has been comprehensively studied in recent years and in several approaches, the molecular background was explored to create tools that might be employed for novel bioinspired biotechnological and biomedical applications. Thus, it was discovered that spiculogenesis is mediated by the enzyme silicatein and starts intracellularly. The resulting silica nanoparticles fuse and subsequently form concentric lamellar layers around a central protein filament, consisting of silicatein and the scaffold protein silintaphin-1. Once the growing spicule is extruded into the extracellular space, it obtains final size and shape. Again, this process is mediated by silicatein and silintaphin-1, in combination with other molecules such as galectin and collagen. The molecular toolbox generated so far allows the fabrication of novel micro- and nanostructured composites, contributing to the economical and sustainable synthesis of biomaterials with unique characteristics. In this context, first bioinspired approaches implement recombinant silicatein and silintaphin-1 for applications in the field of biomedicine (biosilica-mediated regeneration of tooth and bone defects) or micro-optics (in vitro synthesis of light waveguides) with promising results