Relationship Between Novice Teacher Well-Being, High-Stakes Testing Stress, and Intent to Leave

Standardized tests are considered high stress because consequences such as loss of certification and replacement of school staff affect teacher morale and self-efficacy. The purpose of this concurrent complementarity mixed-methods study was to examine the relationship between novice teachers’ high-stakes test stress, their well-being, and their intent to return to school the next year. The concepts of teacher stress and teacher well-being provided the conceptual framework for the study. Twenty-five teachers participated in a survey measuring their well-being and high-stakes test stress level. Eight of those teachers also participated in individual phone interviews. Results of the quantitative (Pearson correlations) and qualitative (coded and themed interviews) data analyses were complementary. Quantitative findings showed that as teachers’ perception of school connectedness increased, so did their stress related to high-stakes testing. This unexpected finding was supported by the qualitative data that showed that the school environment, not the students’ test scores, caused the stress. The findings may be used to promote positive social change by policymakers and administrators to provide better training for novice teachers, thereby increasing their retention and creating an optimal educational environment for students

A national survey on COVID-19 second-wave lockdowns on older adults' mental wellbeing, health-seeking behaviours and social outcomes across Australia

Abstract Background The impact of severe second lockdown measures on older adults’ wellbeing is unknown. We aimed to (i) identify the impact of the second lockdown that resulted from the second wave of COVID-19 cases on older Australians’ quality of life; (ii) compare the impact of second wave lockdowns in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous State, to those in other States and Territories not in lockdown. Methods A national cross-sectional study of community-dwelling older adults completed online questionnaires for quality of life, social networks, healthcare access, and perceived impact of COVID-19 between July to September 2020. Tobit regression was used to measure the relationships of healthcare service access and social networks with quality of life of older adults in Victoria compared to those in the rest of Australia. Results A total of 2,990 respondents (mean [SD] age, 67.3 [7.0]; 66.8 % female) participated. At time of data collection, Victoria’s second COVID-19 lockdown had been in force for an average 51.7 days. Median quality of life scores were significantly higher in Victoria compared to the rest of Australia (t2,827=2.25 p = 0.025). Being female (95 % CI, -0.051–0.020), having lower educational attainment (95 % CI, -0.089–-0.018), receiving government benefits (95 % CI, -0.054–-0.024), having small social networks (95 % CI, 0.006–0.009) and self-reported physical chronic health conditions were all independent predictors of lower quality of life. Conclusions Longer-term studies are required to provide more robust evidence of the impact as restrictions lift and normal social conventions return

What are the correlates of hearing aid use for people living with dementia?

Objectives: To identify correlates of hearing aid use in people with dementia and age-related hearing loss. Methods: Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses of predictor variables from 239 participants with dementia and hearing loss in the European SENSE-Cog Randomized Controlled Trial (Cyprus, England, France, Greece, and Ireland). Results: In multivariate analysis, four variables were significantly associated with hearing aid use: greater self-perceived hearing difficulties (OR 2.61 [CI 1.04−6.55]), lower hearing acuity (OR .39 [CI .2−.56]), higher cognitive ability (OR 1.19 [CI 1.08−1.31]), and country of residence. Participants in England had significantly increased odds of use compared to Cyprus (OR .36 [CI .14−.96]), France (OR .12 [CI .04−.34]) or Ireland (OR .05 [CI .01−.56]) but not Greece (OR 1.13 [CI .42–3.00]). Conclusions: Adapting interventions to account for cognitive ability, country of residence, self-perceived hearing difficulties, and hearing acuity may support hearing aid use in people with dementia

Exile Vol. XXXIV No. 2

ARTWORK The Race and the Load by Rhonwen Churchill (cover) Population 6 by Rory Herbster 5 Untitled by Itar 9 Untitled by Itar 17 Untitled by Itar 25 Floating Nude by Shelley Dicerson 27 Valley of Fire, New Mexico by Pam Schilling 33 Untitled by Rhonwen churchill 39 Merely Players by Rhonwen Churchill 43 Newark at Night by Rob Myers 55 Torso II by Shelley Dickerson 57 Untitled by Don Jacobs 61 Serenade by Jenny Smith 65 FICTION Untitled by Lauren Williams 11-15 A Subtle Change in the Flowers by Zach Smith 30-32 Documenting Secrets by Laura Munson 47-52 POETRY Ars Poetica by David Zivan 3 Jesse James In Wax by Itar 4 Catechism by Jennie Dawes 7 Silent State by Cam Martin 8 Red Rock Mound by Itar 16 Almost There by Chris Hanson 19 In Memory by Kent Lambert 20-23 Driving Cross-Country by David Zivan 24 Yoga At Sunrise by Itar 35-36 His Photograph by Debra Benko 37 Appalachian Spring by Jennie Dawes 38 My Proposal by Liza Jones 41 Spheres of Influence by Zach Smith 42 The Eros Motel by Cam Martin 45 A Sacrificial Science by Jen Druley 46 Bird\u27s-Eye View by Itar 53 Driving by David Zivan 54 Mobile Home In The Sky by Itar 59-60 The Cleaving by Amy Judge 63 She Kent Lambert 64 CONTRIBUTOR NOTES 67 Editorial decision is shared equally among the Editorial Board members. - title pag

The identification of clinically important elements within medical journal abstracts: Patient_Population_Problem, Exposure_Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Duration and Results (PECODR)

Background Information retrieval in primary care is becoming more difficult as the volume of medical information held in electronic databases expands. The lexical structure of this information might permit automatic indexing and improved retrieval. Objective To determine the possibility of identifying the key elements of clinical studies, namely Patient_Population_Problem, Exposure_Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Duration and Results (PECODR), from abstracts of medical journals. Methods We used a convenience sample of 20 synopses from the journal Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and their matching original journal article abstracts obtained from PubMed. Three independent primary care professionals identified PECODR-related extracts of text. Rules were developed to define each PECODR element and the selection process of characters, words, phrases and sentences. From the extracts of text related to PECODR elements, potential lexical patterns that might help identify those elements were proposed and assessed using NVivo software. Results A total of 835 PECODR-related text extracts containing 41 263 individual text characters were identified from 20 EBM journal synopses. There were 759 extracts in the corresponding PubMed abstracts containing 31 947 characters. PECODR elements were found in nearly all abstracts and synopses with the exception of duration. There was agreement on 86.6%of the extracts from the 20 EBM synopses and 85.0% on the corresponding PubMed abstracts. After consensus this rose to 98.4% and 96.9% respectively. We found potential text patterns in the Comparison, Outcome and Results elements of both EBM synopses and PubMed abstracts. Some phrases and words are used frequently and are specific for these elements in both synopses and abstracts. Conclusions Results suggest a PECODR-related structure exists in medical abstracts and that there might be lexical patterns specific to these elements. More sophisticated computer-assisted lexical-semantic analysis might refine these results, and pave the way to automating PECODR indexing, and improve information retrieval in primary care

Progression of Plasmodium berghei through Anopheles stephensi Is Density-Dependent

It is well documented that the density of Plasmodium in its vertebrate host modulates the physiological response induced; this in turn regulates parasite survival and transmission. It is less clear that parasite density in the mosquito regulates survival and transmission of this important pathogen. Numerous studies have described conversion rates of Plasmodium from one life stage to the next within the mosquito, yet few have considered that these rates might vary with parasite density. Here we establish infections with defined numbers of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei to examine how parasite density at each stage of development (gametocytes; ookinetes; oocysts and sporozoites) influences development to the ensuing stage in Anopheles stephensi, and thus the delivery of infectious sporozoites to the vertebrate host. We show that every developmental transition exhibits strong density dependence, with numbers of the ensuing stages saturating at high density. We further show that when fed ookinetes at very low densities, oocyst development is facilitated by increasing ookinete number (i.e., the efficiency of ookinete–oocyst transformation follows a sigmoid relationship). We discuss how observations on this model system generate important hypotheses for the understanding of malaria biology, and how these might guide the rational analysis of interventions against the transmission of the malaria parasites of humans by their diverse vector species

The Hope and Adaptation Scale (HAS): establishing face and content validity

Purpose: To develop and test the face and content validity of a scale that assesses an individual’s adaptation and expression of hope to a life changing events, disease or trauma. Method: The Hope and Adaptation Scale was developed and tested across three stages. Stage 1 involved the use of a review of literature to conceptually map the tool. Stage 2 required exploratory investigations of the questionnaire by members of an expert panel. Stage 3 assessed the construct validity of the resulting scale. Results: Through the processes of Stage 1 and 2, the tool was developed and reduced to a 3-item scale that assessed a spectrum of hope-related responses and a spectrum of adaptation-related responses. Stage 3 identified fifteen independent health care professionals who assessed the scale. The content validity index of the resultant scale was 0.6 that was above the required level to be acceptable. The hope spectrum responses scored the highest content validity ratio (0.73). Discussion: The proposed scale appears to have face and content validity for application to a various number of events, disease or trauma experiences. Further testing of the scale is required for application in specific population groups

Pulmonary artery stiffness is independently associated with right ventricular mass and function: a cardiac MR imaging study

Purpose: To determine the relationship between pulmonary artery (PA) stiffness and both right ventricular (RV) mass and function with cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.Materials and Methods: The study was approved by the local research ethics committee, and all participants gave written informed consent. Cardiac MR imaging was performed at 1.5 T in 156 healthy volunteers (63% women; age range, 19-61 years; mean age, 36.1 years). High-temporal-resolution phase-contrast imaging was performed in the main and right PAs. Pulmonary pulse wave velocity (PWV) was determined by the interval between arterial systolic upslopes. RV function was assessed with feature tracking to derive peak systolic strain and strain rate, as well as peak early-diastolic strain rate. RV volumes, ejection fraction (RVEF), and mass were measured from the cine images. The association of pulmonary PWV with RV function and mass was quantified with univariate linear regression. Interstudy repeatability was assessed with intraclass correlation.Results: The repeatability coefficient for pulmonary PWV was 0.96. Increases in pulmonary PWV and RVEF were associated with increases in age (r = 0.32, P < .001 and r = 0.18, P = .025, respectively). After adjusting for age (P = .090), body surface area (P = .073), and sex (P = .005), pulmonary PWV demonstrated an independent positive association with RVEF (r = 0.34, P = .026). Significant associations were also seen with RV mass (r = 0.41, P = .004), RV radial strain (r = 0.38, P =. 022), and strain rate (r = 0.35, P = .002), and independent negative associations were seen with radial (r = 0.27, P = .003), longitudinal (r = 0.40, P = .007), and circumferential (r = 0.31, P = .005) peak early-diastolic strain rate with the same covariates.Conclusion: Pulmonary PWV is reliably assessed with cardiac MR imaging. In subjects with no known cardiovascular disease, increasing PA stiffness is associated with increasing age and is also moderately associated with both RV mass and function after controlling for age, body surface area, and sex. (C) RSNA, 201

Saliva Protein Composition Relates with InterindividualVariations in Bread Sensory Ratings

Sensory perception of starch-based products associates with salivary α-amylase enzymatic activity. Besides this, other proteins relate to taste sensitivity and oral food processing. As such, the participation of different salivary constituents in starch-rich food's sensory evaluation cannot be excluded. This study aims to identify salivary proteins altered by bread mastication and correlated with sensory ratings. In Experiment 1 the effect of bread mastication in α-amylase enzymatic activity and SDS PAGE profiles between is assessed (N = 64). In Experiment 2, a sub-sample of these individuals (N = 22) is subjected to sensory tests and the sensory ratings obtained are correlated with saliva protein composition. Salivary α-amylase activity, in the supernatant of saliva collected after bread mastication, is negatively correlated with sweetness and saltiness ratings. Moreover, saltiness is positively correlated with the expression levels of carbonic anhydrase VI. Bread roughness presented a positive association with α-amylase enzymatic activity and a negative association with S-type cystatin expression levels. Despite further studies are needed to clarify the negative association between salivary amylase enzymatic activity and sweetness ratings, observed in this study, these results reinforce the role of α-amylase and highlights that other salivary proteins can also influence starch-based sensory perception