Understanding the Academic Success of Black Caribbean Immigrant Students Who Have Earned a Graduate Degree at an Ivy League University

Caribbean-American students who pursue higher education at Ivy League institutions most often maintain a strong ethnic identification with the race and culture of their birth. As described by Waters (2001a) and Vickerman (2001), the ethnic pride and solidarity of these first and second-generation Caribbean immigrants have made a positive impact on their self-image, thus enabling many to become upwardly mobile as they confront prejudice and resist societal misperceptions of their culture (Waters, 2001; Vickerman, 2001). Therefore, even after they have spent many years absorbing American culture while “sitting comfortably at the black and white table,” Caribbean-Americans do not see themselves as exemplars of European culture (Waters, 2001; Vickerman, 2001). Waters (1996; 1999), believes that West Indians prefer to create a positive association with race and that double marginalization rarely exists in the self-perception of Black Caribbean immigrant students. However, studies reveal that a growing number of researchers are examining issues to determine what students are doing “right,” compared to what they are doing “wrong” (Padilla, Trevino, Gonzalez, and Treviño, 1997; Fries-Britt, 2002; Shushok and Hulme, 2006; Griffin, 2006). With the understanding that first and second-generation Black Caribbean immigrants view race and the issues of blackness differently than Black Americans, the research questions are implicitly informed and formulated accordingly. Therefore, this study examined the perception of Black Caribbean immigrant graduates from Ivy League institutions as they explained the phenomena of how their successes are often influenced by social, cultural and economic factors to overcome barriers to graduate degree from the Ivy League Universities. The study sought to analyze the perception of these graduates, particularly the willingness of black immigrant graduates to step away from a deficit model because of one or more of the following factors to gain visibility in their efforts. These included: (1) the increasing enrollment of Black Caribbean immigrant students in Ivy League universities; (2) The strategies Black Caribbean immigrant students used to advance their standards of excellence; (3) The Black Caribbean immigrant students’ perception of the Ivy Leagues and how this perception influenced their academic and professional lives; and (4) The growing need for diversity in higher education in order to influence positive psychological discourse in education. Qualitative data were collected from Black Caribbean immigrants who graduated from Ivy League University in the USA. Fifteen (15) semi-structured, personal interviews were conducted. The results enhanced, supported and added to the limited research on Black Caribbean immigrant students’ journey through the Ivy Leagues and their lived experiences. The findings provided insight on how early socialization, intrinsic motivation, cultural awareness, teachers input, academic preparedness, parents support, extended family support, the grit mind-set and community reinforcement shaped and informed these students’ ability to navigate the Ivy Leagues to graduate. Subsequently, the analysis revealed that these characteristics mentioned above all worked together to provide the understanding of the academic success of Caribbean immigrant students. The participants recommended that more Black Caribbean immigrant students should be given the opportunities, as well as the resources and support to navigate these selective universities. Additionally, one recommendation was that a feeder institution could provide efficient use of human resources and could help enhance talents. This could be accomplished by harnessing growth and shaping the direction and effectiveness of what motivates and sustains Caribbean immigrant students to greater nation building

Understanding the Academic Success of Black Caribbean Immigrant Students Who Have Earned a Graduate Degree at an Ivy League University

Caribbean-American students who pursue higher education at Ivy League institutions most often maintain a strong ethnic identification with the race and culture of their birth. As described by Waters (2001a) and Vickerman (2001), the ethnic pride and solidarity of these first and second-generation Caribbean immigrants have made a positive impact on their self-image, thus enabling many to become upwardly mobile as they confront prejudice and resist societal misperceptions of their culture (Waters, 2001; Vickerman, 2001). Therefore, even after they have spent many years absorbing American culture while “sitting comfortably at the black and white table,” Caribbean-Americans do not see themselves as exemplars of European culture (Waters, 2001; Vickerman, 2001). Waters (1996; 1999), believes that West Indians prefer to create a positive association with race and that double marginalization rarely exists in the self-perception of Black Caribbean immigrant students. However, studies reveal that a growing number of researchers are examining issues to determine what students are doing “right,” compared to what they are doing “wrong” (Padilla, Trevino, Gonzalez, and Treviño, 1997; Fries-Britt, 2002; Shushok and Hulme, 2006; Griffin, 2006). With the understanding that first and second-generation Black Caribbean immigrants view race and the issues of blackness differently than Black Americans, the research questions are implicitly informed and formulated accordingly. Therefore, this study examined the perception of Black Caribbean immigrant graduates from Ivy League institutions as they explained the phenomena of how their successes are often influenced by social, cultural and economic factors to overcome barriers to graduate degree from the Ivy League Universities. The study sought to analyze the perception of these graduates, particularly the willingness of black immigrant graduates to step away from a deficit model because of one or more of the following factors to gain visibility in their efforts. These included: (1) the increasing enrollment of Black Caribbean immigrant students in Ivy League universities; (2) The strategies Black Caribbean immigrant students used to advance their standards of excellence; (3) The Black Caribbean immigrant students’ perception of the Ivy Leagues and how this perception influenced their academic and professional lives; and (4) The growing need for diversity in higher education in order to influence positive psychological discourse in education. Qualitative data were collected from Black Caribbean immigrants who graduated from Ivy League University in the USA. Fifteen (15) semi-structured, personal interviews were conducted. The results enhanced, supported and added to the limited research on Black Caribbean immigrant students’ journey through the Ivy Leagues and their lived experiences. The findings provided insight on how early socialization, intrinsic motivation, cultural awareness, teachers input, academic preparedness, parents support, extended family support, the grit mind-set and community reinforcement shaped and informed these students’ ability to navigate the Ivy Leagues to graduate. Subsequently, the analysis revealed that these characteristics mentioned above all worked together to provide the understanding of the academic success of Caribbean immigrant students. The participants recommended that more Black Caribbean immigrant students should be given the opportunities, as well as the resources and support to navigate these selective universities. Additionally, one recommendation was that a feeder institution could provide efficient use of human resources and could help enhance talents. This could be accomplished by harnessing growth and shaping the direction and effectiveness of what motivates and sustains Caribbean immigrant students to greater nation building

BIOM 4410/MECH 4397: Engineering Practicum (Syllabus)

Course Description: Preparation for professional practice through experiential learning under the supervision of an experienced engineer with oversight by a member of the department’s faculty. Regular reporting throughout course required

Unrecognized circulation of SAT 1 foot-and-mouth disease virus in cattle herds around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Uganda in spite of the control measures used. Various aspects of the maintenance and circulation of FMD viruses (FMDV) in Uganda are not well understood; these include the role of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) as a reservoir for FMDV. To better understand the epidemiology of FMD at the livestock-wildlife-interface, samples were collected from young, unvaccinated cattle from 24 pastoral herds that closely interact with wildlife around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, and analysed for evidence of FMDV infection. RESULTS: In total, 37 (15 %) of 247 serum samples had detectable antibodies against FMDV non-structural proteins (NSPs) using a pan-serotypic assay. Within these 37 sera, antibody titres ≥ 80 against the structural proteins of serotypes O, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3 were detected by ELISA in 5, 7, 4 and 3 samples, respectively, while neutralizing antibodies were only detected against serotype O in 3 samples. Two FMDV isolates, with identical VP1 coding sequences, were obtained from probang samples from clinically healthy calves from the same herd and are serotype SAT 1 (topotype IV (EA-I)). Based on the VP1 coding sequences, these viruses are distinct from previous cattle and buffalo SAT 1 FMDV isolates obtained from the same area (19–30 % nucleotide difference) and from the vaccine strain (TAN/155/71) used within Uganda (26 % nucleotide difference). Eight herds had only one or a few animals with antibodies against FMDV NSPs while six herds had more substantial evidence of prior infection with FMDV. There was no evidence for exposure to FMDV in the other ten herds. CONCLUSIONS: The two identical SAT 1 FMDV VP1 sequences are distinct from former buffalo and cattle isolates from the same area, thus, transmission between buffalo and cattle was not demonstrated. These new SAT 1 FMDV isolates differed significantly from the vaccine strain used to control Ugandan FMD outbreaks, indicating a need for vaccine matching studies. Only six herds had clear serological evidence for exposure to O and SAT 1 FMDV. Scattered presence of antibodies against FMDV in other herds may be due to the occasional introduction of animals to the area or maternal antibodies from past infection and/or vaccination. The evidence for asymptomatic FMDV infection has implications for disease control strategies in the area since this obstructs early disease detection that is based on clinical signs in FMDV infected animals. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0616-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Haemophilus ducreyi as a cause of skin ulcers in children from a yaws-endemic area of Papua New Guinea: a prospective cohort study

Background Skin infections with ulceration are a major health problem in countries of the south Pacifi c region. Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue and diagnosed by the presence of skin ulcers and a reactive syphilis serology, is one major cause, but this infection can be confused clinically with ulcers due to other causative agents. We investigated T pallidum pertenue and another bacterium known to cause skin infections in the Pacifi c islands— Haemophilus ducreyi—as causes of skin ulceration in a yaws-endemic region. Additionally, we identifi ed specifi c signs and symptoms associated with these causative agents of cutaneous ulcers and compared these fi ndings with laboratory-based diagnoses. Methods We did a prospective cohort study of fi ve yaws-endemic villages (total population 3117 people) during a yaws elimination campaign in Papua New Guinea in April, 2013. We enrolled all consenting patients with chronic moist or exudative skin ulcers. We undertook a detailed dermatological assessment, syphilis serology, and PCR on lesional swabs to detect the presence of T pallidum pertenue and H ducreyi. Patients with PCR-confi rmed bacterial infections were included in a comparative analysis of demographics and clinical features. Findings Full outcome data were available for 90 people with skin ulcers. Of these patients, 17 (19%) had negative results in all molecular tests and were therefore excluded from the comparative analyses. A bacterial cause was identifi ed in 73 (81%) participants—either H ducreyi (n=42), T pallidum pertenue (yaws; n=19), or coinfection with both organisms (dual infection; n=12). The demographic characteristics of the patients infected with yaws and with H ducreyi were similar. Skin lesions in patients with yaws and in those with dual infection were larger than those in patients infected with H ducreyi (p=0·071). The lesions in patients with yaws and dual infection were more circular in shape (79% and 67%) than in those infected with H ducreyi (21%; p<0·0001); more likely to have central granulating tissue (90% and 67% vs 14%; p<0·0001); and more likely to have indurated edges (74% and 83% vs 31%; p=0·0003). The prevalence of reactive combined serology (positive T pallidum haemagglutination test and rapid plasmin reagin titre of ≥1:8) was higher in cases of yaws (63%) and dual infections (92%) than in H ducreyi infections (29%; p<0·0001). Interpretation In this yaws-endemic community, H ducreyi is an important and previously unrecognised cause of chronic skin ulceration. Reactive syphilis serology caused by latent yaws can occur in ulcers with the presence of H ducreyi alone. The introduction of PCR for ulcer surveillance could improve the accuracy of diagnosis in countries with yaws eradication campaigns

Temporal changes in prevalence of molecular markers mediating antimalarial drug resistance in a high malaria transmission setting in Uganda.

Standard therapy for malaria in Uganda changed from chloroquine to chloroquine + sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in 2000, and artemether-lumefantrine in 2004, although implementation of each change was slow. Plasmodium falciparum genetic polymorphisms are associated with alterations in drug sensitivity. We followed the prevalence of drug resistance-mediating P. falciparum polymorphisms in 982 samples from Tororo, a region of high transmission intensity, collected from three successive treatment trials conducted during 2003-2012, excluding samples with known recent prior treatment. Considering transporter mutations, prevalence of the mutant pfcrt 76T, pfmdr1 86Y, and pfmdr1 1246Y alleles decreased over time. Considering antifolate mutations, the prevalence of pfdhfr 51I, 59R, and 108N, and pfdhps 437G and 540E were consistently high; pfdhfr 164L and pfdhps 581G were uncommon, but most prevalent during 2008-2010. Our data suggest sequential selective pressures as different treatments were implemented, and they highlight the importance of genetic surveillance as treatment policies change over time

LLIN Evaluation in Uganda Project (LLINEUP): factors associated with ownership and use of long-lasting insecticidal nets in Uganda: a cross-sectional survey of 48 districts.

BACKGROUND: Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are a key malaria control intervention. To investigate factors associated with ownership and use of LLINs in Uganda, a cross-sectional community survey was conducted in March-June 2017, approximately 3 years after a national Universal Coverage Campaign (UCC). METHODS: Households from 104 clusters (health sub-districts) in 48 districts were randomly selected using two-staged cluster sampling; 50 households were enrolled per cluster. Outcomes were household ownership of LLINs (at least one LLIN), adequate LLIN coverage (at least one LLIN per 2 residents), and use of LLINs (resident slept under a LLIN the previous night). Associations between variables of interest and outcomes were made using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: In total, 5196 households, with 29,627 residents and 6980 bed-nets, were included in the analysis. Overall, 65.0% of households owned at least one LLIN (down from 94% in 2014). In the adjusted analysis, factors most strongly associated with LLIN ownership were living in a wealthier household (highest tercile vs lowest; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.94, 95% CI 1.66-2.28, p  15 years (44.1%) were more likely to use nets than children aged 5-15 years (30.7%;  15 years: aOR 1.37, 95% CI 1.29-1.45, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Long-lasting insecticidal net ownership and coverage have reduced markedly in Uganda since the last net distribution campaign in 2013/14. Houses with many residents, poorer households, and school-aged children should be targeted to improve LLIN coverage and use. Trial registration This study is registered with ISRCTN (17516395)

LLIN Evaluation in Uganda Project (LLINEUP): factors associated with childhood parasitaemia and anaemia 3 years after a national long-lasting insecticidal net distribution campaign: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Recent reductions in malaria burden have been attributed largely to long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). In March-June 2017, approximately 3 years after a national LLIN distribution campaign, a cross-sectional community survey was conducted to investigate factors associated with malaria parasitaemia and anaemia, in advance of Uganda's 2017-2018 LLIN campaign. METHODS: Households from 104 clusters in 48 districts were randomly selected using two-staged cluster sampling; 50 households were enrolled per cluster. Eligible children aged 2-10 years had blood obtained for a thick blood smear and those aged 2-4 years had haemoglobin measured. Associations between outcomes and variables of interest were assessed using log-binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to adjust for household clustering. RESULTS: In total, 5196 households, 8834 children with blood smear results, and 3753 with haemoglobin results were included. Only 16% of children lived in households with adequate LLIN coverage. Overall, parasite prevalence was 26.0%, ranging from 8.0% in the South West to 53.1% in East Central. Limiting data to children 2-4 years of age, parasite prevalence was 21.4%, up from 16.9% in 2014-2015 following the national LLIN campaign. In a multivariate analysis, factors associated with parasitaemia included region (East-Central vs South-Western; adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 6.45, 95% CI 5.55-7.50; p < 0.001), older age (8-10 vs 2-3 years; aPR 1.57, 95% CI 1.43-1.72; p < 0.001), living in a poorer household (poorest vs least poor tercile; aPR 2.32, 95% CI 2.05-2.63; p < 0.001), one constructed of traditional materials (aPR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.24; p = 0.008), or without adequate LLIN coverage (aPR 1.30, 95% CI 1.14-1.48; p < 0.001). Overall, the prevalence of anaemia (haemoglobin < 10 g/dL) was 15.1% and varied geographically. In a multivariate analysis, factors associated with anaemia included region, younger age, living in a traditional house, and parasitaemia, which was the strongest predictor (aPR 2.50, 95% CI 2.12-2.95; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Three years after a national LLIN campaign, LLIN coverage was low and parasite prevalence had increased. Parasite prevalence varied widely across Uganda; older children, those living in poorer households, and those with inadequate LLIN coverage, were at highest risk of parasitaemia. LLINs may need to be distributed more frequently through mass campaigns or continuously through sustainable mechanisms. Targeting interventions to geographic areas and populations at highest risk should also be considered

Decentralized Heart Failure Management in Neno, Malawi

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in Malawi. In rural districts, heart failure (HF) care is limited and provided by non-physicians. The causes and patient outcomes of HF in rural Africa are largely unknown. In our study, non-physician providers performed focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) for HF diagnosis and longitudinal clinical follow-up in Neno, Malawi. Objectives: We described the clinical characteristics, HF categories, and outcomes of patients presenting with HF in chronic care clinics in Neno, Malawi. Methods: Between November 2018 and March 2021, non-physician providers performed FOCUS for diagnosis and longitudinal follow-up in an outpatient chronic disease clinic in rural Malawi. A retrospective chart review was performed for HF diagnostic categories, change in clinical status between enrollment and follow-up, and clinical outcomes. For study purposes, cardiologists reviewed all available ultrasound images. Results: There were 178 patients with HF, a median age of 67 years (IQR 44 – 75), and 103 (58%) women. During the study period, patients were enrolled for a mean of 11.5 months (IQR 5.1–16.5), after which 139 (78%) were alive and in care. The most common diagnostic categories by cardiac ultrasound were hypertensive heart disease (36%), cardiomyopathy (26%), and rheumatic, valvular or congenital heart disease (12.3%). At follow-up, the proportion of New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I patients increased from 24% to 50% (p < 0.001; 95% CI: 31.5 – 16.4), and symptoms of orthopnea, edema, fatigue, hypervolemia, and bibasilar crackles all decreased (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Hypertensive heart disease and cardiomyopathy are the predominant causes of HF in this elderly cohort in rural Malawi. Trained non-physician providers can successfully manage HF to improve symptoms and clinical outcomes in limited resource areas. Similar care models could improve healthcare access in other rural African settings