Learning Assistant Supported Student Outcomes (LASSO) study initial findings

This study investigates how faculty, student, and course features are linked to student outcomes in Learning Assistant (LA) supported courses. Over 4,500 students and 17 instructors from 13 LA Alliance member institutions participated in the study. Each participating student completed an online concept inventory at the start (pre) and end (post) of their term. The physics concept inventories included Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE) and the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA). Concepts inventories from the fields of biology and chemistry were also included. Our analyses utilize hierarchical linear models that nest student level data (e.g. pre/post scores and gender) within course level data (e.g. discipline and course enrollment) to build models that examine student outcomes across institutions and disciplines. We report findings on the connections between students' outcomes and their gender, race, and time spent working with LAs as well as instructors' experiences with LAs.Comment: 4 pages (2 tables

Chronic kidney disease and cause-specific hospitalisation: a matched cohort study using primary and secondary care patient data.

BACKGROUND: Although chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with various outcomes, the burden of each condition for hospital admission is unknown. AIM: To quantify the association between CKD and cause-specific hospitalisation. DESIGN AND SETTING: A matched cohort study in primary care using Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to Hospital Episode Statistics in England. METHOD: Patients with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for ≥3 months) and a comparison group of patients without known CKD (matched for age, sex, GP, and calendar time) were identified, 2004-2014. Outcomes were hospitalisations with 10 common conditions as the primary admission diagnosis: heart failure; urinary tract infection; pneumonia; acute kidney injury (AKI); myocardial infarction; cerebral infarction; gastrointestinal bleeding; hip fracture; venous thromboembolism; and intracranial bleeding. A difference in the incidence rate of first hospitalisation for each condition was estimated between matched patients with and without CKD. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate a relative risk for each outcome. RESULTS: In a cohort of 242 349 pairs of patients, with and without CKD, the rate difference was largest for heart failure at 6.6/1000 person-years (9.7/1000 versus 3.1/1000 person-years in patients with and without CKD, respectively), followed by urinary tract infection at 5.2, pneumonia at 4.4, and AKI at 4.1/1000 person-years. The relative risk was highest for AKI with a fully adjusted hazard ratio of 4.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.47 to 5.38, followed by heart failure with 1.66, 95% CI = 1.59 to 1.75. CONCLUSION: Hospitalisations for heart failure, infection, and AKI showed strong associations with CKD in absolute and(or) relative terms, suggesting targets for improved preventive care

An empirical evaluation of the MuJava mutation operators

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Diabetes Related Distress and Co-Occurrence with Depressive Symptoms in Urban Low-Income African American and Hispanic/Latinx Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction. Burden of diabetes in the U.S. is greater in racial-ethnic minority populations than non-Hispanic Whites. Depression and diabetes-related distress (DRD) are recognized as relatively common and important psychosocial areas to address in people living with diabetes. Limited research in the U.S. has focused on DRD in racial-ethnic minority populations. The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of DRD and co-occurrence with depressive symptoms in urban low-income African American and Hispanic/Latinx adults with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Method. We examined the baseline data collected for a randomized clinical trial (RCT) studying the impact of a culturally tailored diabetes self-care intervention. Individuals with T2DM who self-identified as African American or Hispanic/Latinx were recruited from Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Measurement scales included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS). Participants were categorized into four groups based on the PHQ-9 and DDS: high distress (without probable clinical depression), probable clinical depression (without high distress), both high distress and probable depression, or neither high distress nor probable depression. Baseline variables were summarized by sex, age and racial-ethnic group. Analyses included independent sample t-tests, Chi-square tests, and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results. The study sample included 247 participants with 118 (47.8%) Hispanic/Latinx and 129 (52.2%) African American adults with T2DM. The mean age was 52.9 years (SD=12.2) and 68.0% were female. Based on PHQ-9 scores, 51.4% had none to minimal, 23.5% mild, and 25.1% moderate-severe depressive symptomatology. Based on the DDS, 37.7% had little to no DRD, 27.1% moderate, and 35.2% high DRD. There was not a statistically significant relationship between sex and depression or DRD levels. There was not a statistically significant difference between age and depression; however, there was a statistically significant difference between age and DRD (p=.002). When examining the co-occurrence of DRD and depression, over half of the participants did not experience high distress nor probable clinical depression (57.5%), 17.8% experienced both high distress and depression, 17.4% experienced high distress without depression, and 7.3% experienced depression without distress. There was no statistically significant relationship found between sex and co-occurrence groups; however, there was a statistically significant difference for age (p=.003). Discussion. A substantial proportion of individuals from both racial-ethnic groups experienced high DRD and/or probable clinical depression with some differences for age. Patterns found for specific DRD areas and co-occurrence of DRD and depressive symptoms can help clinicians better understand and address these challenges