College Access and Completion among Boys and Young Men of Color: Literature Review of Promising Practices

This literature review examines challenges and promising practices for increasing college access and completion among boys and young men of color. It moves beyond issues of academic preparation to other factors that appear to mediate college access and success for boys and young men of color

The Longitudinal Effects of STEM Identity and Gender on Flourishing and Achievement in College Physics

Background. Drawing on social identity theory and positive psychology, this study investigated women’s responses to the social environment of physics classrooms. It also investigated STEM identity and gender disparities on academic achievement and flourishing in an undergraduate introductory physics course for STEM majors. 160 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory physics course were administered a baseline survey with self-report measures on course belonging, physics identification, flourishing, and demographics at the beginning of the course and a post-survey at the end of the academic term. Students also completed force concept inventories and physics course grades were obtained from the registrar. Results. Women reported less course belonging and less physics identification than men. Physics identification and grades evidenced a longitudinal bidirectional relationship for all students (regardless of gender) such that when controlling for baseline physics knowledge: (a) students with higher physics identification were more likely to earn higher grades; and (b) students with higher grades evidenced more physics identification at the end of the term. Men scored higher on the force concept inventory than women, although no gender disparities emerged for course grades. For women, higher physics (versus lower) identification was associated with more positive changes in flourishing over the course of the term. High-identifying men showed the opposite pattern: negative change in flourishing was more strongly associated with high identifiers than low identifiers. Conclusions. Overall, this study underlines gender disparities in physics both in terms of belonging and physics knowledge. It suggests that strong STEM identity may be associated with academic performance and flourishing in undergraduate physics courses at the end of the term, particularly for women. A number of avenues for future research are discussed

Comprehensive genetic analysis of the human lipidome identifies loci associated with lipid homeostasis with links to coronary artery disease

We integrated lipidomics and genomics to unravel the genetic architecture of lipid metabolism and identify genetic variants associated with lipid species putatively in the mechanistic pathway for coronary artery disease (CAD). We quantified 596 lipid species in serum from 4,492 individuals from the Busselton Health Study. The discovery GWAS identified 3,361 independent lipid-loci associations, involving 667 genomic regions (479 previously unreported), with validation in two independent cohorts. A meta-analysis revealed an additional 70 independent genomic regions associated with lipid species. We identified 134 lipid endophenotypes for CAD associated with 186 genomic loci. Associations between independent lipid-loci with coronary atherosclerosis were assessed in ∼ 456,000 individuals from the UK Biobank. Of the 53 lipid-loci that showed evidence of association (P \u3c 1 × 10−3), 43 loci were associated with at least one lipid endophenotype. These findings illustrate the value of integrative biology to investigate the aetiology of atherosclerosis and CAD, with implications for other complex diseases

Genetic analyses of the electrocardiographic QT interval and its components identify additional loci and pathways

The QT interval is an electrocardiographic measure representing the sum of ventricular depolarization and repolarization, estimated by QRS duration and JT interval, respectively. QT interval abnormalities are associated with potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia. Using genome-wide multi-ancestry analyses (>250,000 individuals) we identify 177, 156 and 121 independent loci for QT, JT and QRS, respectively, including a male-specific X-chromosome locus. Using gene-based rare-variant methods, we identify associations with Mendelian disease genes. Enrichments are observed in established pathways for QT and JT, and previously unreported genes indicated in insulin-receptor signalling and cardiac energy metabolism. In contrast for QRS, connective tissue components and processes for cell growth and extracellular matrix interactions are significantly enriched. We demonstrate polygenic risk score associations with atrial fibrillation, conduction disease and sudden cardiac death. Prioritization of druggable genes highlight potential therapeutic targets for arrhythmia. Together, these results substantially advance our understanding of the genetic architecture of ventricular depolarization and repolarization

ADAPTAÇÃO CULTURAL E VALIDAÇÃO PSICOMÉTRICA DO QUESTIONÁRIO SELF EFFICIENCY AND PERFORMANCE IN SELF-MANAGEMENT SUPPORT (SEPSS) EM ESTUDANTES DE GRADUAÇÃO EM ENFERMAGEM E MEDICINA DE BANGLADESH

In an aging society, healthcare professionals and students face increasing demands to actively involve patients in the decision-making process regarding their health conditions and lifestyles. Self-management support is considered a best practice that aligns with the patient-centered care paradigm in Bangladesh. However, there is currently no instrument available to assess healthcare professionals’ competencies in this field, particularly during their early education and training period. The aim of this study was to translate the Self Efficiency and Performance in Self-management Support (SEPSS) instrument into Bangla and validate its psychometric properties in a sample of undergraduate healthcare students in Bangladeshi higher education institutions. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and cultural appropriateness of the Bangla version of SEPSS-36 among 486 nursing and medical students. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out using the chi-square model fit index (CMIN), comparative fit index (CFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) as fit indices. The internal consistency was estimated by the Cronbach alpha coefficient. The results indicate that the CMIN (2.658) and RMSEA (.058) values suggest that the sample data and hypothetical model are an acceptable fit in the analysis, with satisfactory CFI values (.895). The reliability for all SEPSS dimensions was acceptable. The Bangla version of the SEPSS questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument that can assist healthcare educators and researchers in determining students’ competencies within this domain.Numa sociedade envelhecida, os profissionais de saúde e os estudantes enfrentam exigências cada vez maiores para envolver ativamente os pacientes no processo de tomada de decisão em relação às suas condições de saúde e estilos de vida. O apoio à autogestão é considerado uma prática recomendada que está alinhada com o paradigma de cuidados centrados no paciente em Bangladesh. No entanto, atualmente não existe um instrumento disponível para avaliar as competências dos profissionais de saúde nesse campo, especialmente durante o período inicial de educação e formação. O objetivo deste estudo foi traduzir o instrumento Self Efficiency and Performance in Self-management Support (SEPSS) para o bengali e validar as suas propriedades psicométricas numa amostra de estudantes de saúde de graduação em instituições de ensino superior de Bangladesh. Foi realizado um estudo transversal para avaliar a confiabilidade, validade e adequação cultural da versão em bengali do SEPSS-36 entre 486 estudantes de enfermagem e medicina. A análise fatorial confirmatória foi conduzida utilizando o índice de ajustamento do modelo qui-quadrado (CMIN), o índice de ajustamento comparativo (CFI) e o erro quadrado médio de aproximação (RMSEA) como índices de ajustamento. A consistência interna foi estimada pelo coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. Os resultados indicam que os valores de CMIN (2,658) e RMSEA (0,058) sugerem que os dados da amostra e o modelo hipotético têm um ajustamento aceitável na análise, com valores de CFI satisfatórios (0,895). A confiabilidade de todas as dimensões do SEPSS foi aceitável. A versão em bengali do questionário SEPSS é um instrumento válido e fiável que pode ajudar os educadores e investigadores em saúde a determinar as competências dos estudantes nesta área

COMO É QUE OS ESTUDANTES DE ENFERMAGEM PERCEBEM A TECNOLOGIA EM SAÚDE? UM ESTUDO DE VALIDAÇÃO PSICOMÉTRICA DO USABILITY EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE NO VIETNAME

The rapid advancement of technology has transformed the role of nurses and nursing students in patient care, making it an integral component of healthcare delivery. The use of innovative technologies has become commonplace in healthcare settings, creating a high-tech environment that can enhance nursing care quality and patient experience. It is essential for nursing staff and students to be receptive to incorporating such tools into their practice to ensure safe and efficient use of various forms of healthcare technology. Objective: Given the absence of an existing tool in Vietnam to evaluate healthcare students’ technology acceptance, the aim of our research was to culturally adapt, translate, and validate the Usability Evaluation Questionnaire (UtEQ) among nursing students in Vietnam. Method: We conducted a methodological and cross-sectional study in two phases: translation of the UtEQ to Vietnamese (UtEQ-V) following six stages proposed by Beaton and collaborators, and assessment of its psychometric properties in a non-probability sample of 295 Vietnamese nursing students. Results: The UtEQ-V’s reliability was found to be above 0.8 for all factors (.88–.95), while confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate goodness-of-fit indicators. Conclusion: The UtEQ-V is a reliable and valid instrument that can support nursing educators and researchers to assess students’ technology acceptance during their clinical training.O rápido avanço da tecnologia transformou o papel das enfermeiras e dos estudantes de enfermagem nos cuidados aos pacientes, tornando-o um componente integral da prestação de cuidados de saúde. O uso de tecnologias inovadoras tornou-se comum nos contextos de saúde, criando um ambiente de alta tecnologia que pode melhorar a qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem e a experiência do paciente. É essencial que a equipa de enfermagem e os estudantes estejam recetivos à incorporação de tais ferramentas na sua prática, a fim de garantir o uso seguro e eficiente de várias formas de tecnologia de saúde. Objetivo: Dada a inexistência de uma ferramenta existente no Vietname para avaliar a aceitação da tecnologia por parte dos estudantes de saúde, o objetivo da nossa investigação foi adaptar culturalmente, traduzir e validar o Questionário de Avaliação da Usabilidade (UtEQ) entre estudantes de enfermagem no Vietname. Método: Realizámos um estudo metodológico e transversal em duas fases: tradução do UtEQ para vietnamita (UtEQ-V) seguindo as seis etapas propostas por Beaton e colaboradores e avaliação das suas propriedades psicométricas numa amostra não probabilística de 295 estudantes de enfermagem vietnamitas. Resultados: A fiabilidade do UtEQ-V revelou-se superior a 0,8 para todos os fatores (.88–.95), enquanto a análise fatorial confirmatória apresentou indicadores adequados de ajustamento. Conclusão: O UtEQ-V é um instrumento fiável e válido que pode apoiar os educadores e os investigadores de enfermagem na avaliação da aceitação da tecnologia pelos estudantes durante o seu treino clínico

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

A Content-Based Artificial Immune System for Music Recommendation

Automatisk spilleliste fortsettelse (ASF) innebærer å foreslå sanger som kunne passet inn i en original spilleliste. Diversitet, et gjennomgående tema og sammenheng mellom sangene er elementer som beskriver en god spilleliste. Rekommenderingsystemer innenfor musikk må derfor ta hensyn til disse elementene for å oppnå gode musikk forslag. I 2018 ble, RecSys, en konkurranse i regi av Spotify opprettet for å utfordre allmenheten i å lage egne modeller for å videre utforske forskjellige metoder å oppnå gode ASF’er på. I den sammenheng delte Spotify et datasett med 1 million bruker opprettede spillelister. Majoriteten av deltagerne i konkurransen bidro med enten hybride eller rene sammenhengsbaserte systemer, hvor rene innholdsbaserte systemer ble nedprioritert. Årsaken til dette kan ha vært det faktum at Spotify sitt API ikke innholder mer enn ni lyd trekk til å beskrive hver sang, som gjør det enda mer gunstig å anvende sammenhengsbaserte systemer. Avhandlingens mål er å utvikle et innholdsbasert kunstig immun system skreddersydd til ASF ved navn “MAIRS - Music Artificial Immune Recognition System”. Avhandlingen kommer til å presentere egne likhets mål og klassifiserings metoder brukt i den foreslåtte modellen. Igjennom en undersøkelse med 12 stykker, blir modellen evaluert opp mot Spotify ved at hver bruker svarer på spørsmål i henhold til rekommenderinger fra både MAIRS og Spotify. Spørsmålene er rettet mot selv-lagde evalueringsmål med oppgave i å gi innsikt i hvor godt rekommendering systemene gjør det. Resultatene fra brukerundersøkelsen viste til slutt at MAIRS ikke presterte like bra som Spotify. Til tross for dette produserte MAIRS positive resultater verdt å videre utforske, spesielt i kombinasjon med sammenhengsbaserte systemer og flere audio trekk til å beskrive sangene