Health Status and Adults Willingness to Encounter A Provider by Telehealth

Telehealth has proven to be a growing sector providing on-demand health services for consumers. A long history of development and refinement precede what we now know as telehealth technology. Access to telehealth technology has become widely available changing the landscape of healthcare. However, does that mean that consumers desire to use the technology? How does a factor such as health status play a role in the consumers’ willingness to encounter a provider using telehealth as the method for delivery of care? This research project aims to compare self-selected health status to consumers’ willingness to engage with telehealth services

Predictive AI for the S&P 500 Index

Artificial intelligence has powerful applications in virtually every field, and the financial world is no exception. Utilizing various elements of artificial intelligence, this research aims to predict the future value of the S&P 500 index using numerous models, and in doing so, identify relevant features. More specifically, models that include combinations of historical data, public sentiment, and technical indicators were employed to predict the stock price one day and three days forward. To account for public opinion, the sentiment of tweets and news headlines from the beginning of 2015 through the end of 2019 was calculated using FinBERT, a pre-trained version of BERT retrieved from the HuggingFace Model Hub and designed specifically for financial-related text. For each textual input, FinBERT provides three outputs: the probability that the text is positive, negative or neutral. These probability values were applied to approximate the number of positive, negative, and neutral tweets and news headlines each day. The following features were used in complex LSTM models: open, close, low and high prices; volume; the number of positive, negative, and neutral tweets and news headlines; relative strength index; and earnings per share. The highest performing predictive model for one day forward and three days forward utilized historical data, tweet sentiment, and the relative strength index. Coupled with other tools wielded by investors, this model can help anticipate market movements and inform decisions

Comprehensive approach to continuing professional development of registered and enrolled nurses at a psychiatric rehabilitation centre

The study sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the knowledge and skills regarding rehabilitation of mental health care users of nurses who work at a psychiatric rehabilitation centre, in order to design a continuing professional development plan for registered and enrolled nurses. The researcher used a qualitative, exploratory descriptive design to explore the knowledge and skills of nurses who practise in a psychiatric rehabilitation centre dealing with the rehabilitation of mental health care users. Four themes emerged from the data that were collected from four focus groups: knowledge of the rehabilitation process; the need for continuing professional development; nursing skills required for the implementation of psychiatric rehabilitation and means of communication within psychiatric rehabilitation. The researcher devised a continuing professional development plan, including topics on the management of the mentally ill, the problems associated with mental illness and rehabilitation appropriate to the mental illness.Health StudiesM. A. (Health Studies

The \u3cem\u3efeoABC\u3c/em\u3e Locus of \u3cem\u3eYersinia pestis\u3c/em\u3e Likely Has Two Promoters Causing Unique Iron Regulation

The FeoABC ferrous transporter is a wide-spread bacterial system. While the feoABC locus is regulated by a number of factors in the bacteria studied, we have previously found that regulation of feoABC in Yersinia pestis appears to be unique. None of the non-iron responsive transcriptional regulators that control expression of feoABC in other bacteria do so in Y. pestis. Another unique factor is the iron and Fur regulation of the Y. pestis feoABC locus occurs during microaerobic but not aerobic growth. Here we show that this unique iron-regulation is not due to a unique aspect of the Y. pestis Fur protein but to DNA sequences that regulate transcription. We have used truncations, alterations, and deletions of the feoA::lacZ reporter to assess the mechanism behind the failure of iron to repress transcription under aerobic conditions. These studies plus EMSAs and DNA sequence analysis have led to our proposal that the feoABC locus has two promoters: an upstream P1 promoter whose expression is relatively iron-independent but repressed under microaerobic conditions and the known downstream Fur-regulated P2 promoter. In addition, we have identified two regions that bind Y. pestis protein(s), although we have not identified these protein(s) or their function. Finally we used iron uptake assays to demonstrate that both FeoABC and YfeABCD transport ferrous iron in an energy-dependent manner and also use ferric iron as a substrate for uptake

Organophosphate exposure and the chronic effects on farmers: a narrative review

INTRODUCTION: Organophosphates are a class of insecticides used globally by the agricultural industry for insect control. Acute consequences of organophosphate exposures are well known, while there has been limited research on their long-term effects. The objective of this review was to discuss the health effects of chronic organophosphate exposure in farmers. METHODS: Medline, Scopus and Web of Science were searched to find the relevant articles. Articles published only in English and until December 2018 were reviewed. The selected articles were then categorised as neurological (neurobehaviour, neurodevelopmental, neurological signs and symptoms) or non-neurological subheadings. RESULTS: A total of 53 articles for neurological effects and 17 articles for non-neurological effects were identified. Chronic organophosphates exposure was associated with deficits in the neurobehaviour subsets of attention and short-term memory, increased incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and effects on peripheral nerves and neurodevelopment. However, research to support non-neurological effects such as respiratory symptoms, increased cancer risk, endocrine disruption, cardiac issues, chronic fatigue and infertility was limited. CONCLUSION: Chronic organophosphate exposure was found to affect four of the five areas of described neurological effects in the literature. A large proportion of the research in this area was not methodologically strong, therefore few recommendations can be conclusively made. Future research is warranted to investigate the non-neurological effects of chronic exposure to ensure the occupational risks of low-level chronic exposure are clearly communicated to farmers and farm workers

Incorporating Digital Learning Tools in Conjunction with Air Traffic Control Simulation

Learning and applying complex information at a fast rate can be challenging for students within an air traffic control - training program. Incorporating digital learning tools into an air traffic control training programs may increase student learning and success rates. Swivl is a digital learning capture tool designed to enhance student learning by allowing students to refer back to their individual classroom lab training session videos via an online portal. Embry Riddle’s air traffic program has started using Swivl in two separate ATC courses in order to determine if it is a viable solution to increase learning. During our research, we have come to the conclusion that Swivl is most useful in the air traffic control tower simulator, and has shown to be an effective learning tool thus far from the teacher’s perspective. Additional student feedback and analysis is forthcoming . Swivl has the potential to be an effective tool in ATC training and may enhance learning by allowing students to sharpen skills that are necessary to advance in the field of air traffic control. The air traffic control - training academy (used to train air traffic controllers hired by the federal government) has a high failure rate. Incorporating digital learning tools in that setting may increase success rates as well

Identification of transcriptional regulatory networks specific to pilocytic astrocytoma.

BackgroundPilocytic Astrocytomas (PAs) are common low-grade central nervous system malignancies for which few recurrent and specific genetic alterations have been identified. In an effort to better understand the molecular biology underlying the pathogenesis of these pediatric brain tumors, we performed higher-order transcriptional network analysis of a large gene expression dataset to identify gene regulatory pathways that are specific to this tumor type, relative to other, more aggressive glial or histologically distinct brain tumours.MethodsRNA derived from frozen human PA tumours was subjected to microarray-based gene expression profiling, using Affymetrix U133Plus2 GeneChip microarrays. This data set was compared to similar data sets previously generated from non-malignant human brain tissue and other brain tumour types, after appropriate normalization.ResultsIn this study, we examined gene expression in 66 PA tumors compared to 15 non-malignant cortical brain tissues, and identified 792 genes that demonstrated consistent differential expression between independent sets of PA and non-malignant specimens. From this entire 792 gene set, we used the previously described PAP tool to assemble a core transcriptional regulatory network composed of 6 transcription factor genes (TFs) and 24 target genes, for a total of 55 interactions. A similar analysis of oligodendroglioma and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) gene expression data sets identified distinct, but overlapping, networks. Most importantly, comparison of each of the brain tumor type-specific networks revealed a network unique to PA that included repressed expression of ONECUT2, a gene frequently methylated in other tumor types, and 13 other uniquely predicted TF-gene interactions.ConclusionsThese results suggest specific transcriptional pathways that may operate to create the unique molecular phenotype of PA and thus opportunities for corresponding targeted therapeutic intervention. Moreover, this study also demonstrates how integration of gene expression data with TF-gene and TF-TF interaction data is a powerful approach to generating testable hypotheses to better understand cell-type specific genetic programs relevant to cancer

Structural Insights into Rational Design of Single-Domain Antibody-Based Antitoxins against Botulinum Neurotoxins.

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is one of the most acutely lethal toxins known to humans, and effective treatment for BoNT intoxication is urgently needed. Single-domain antibodies (VHH) have been examined as a countermeasure for BoNT because of their high stability and ease of production. Here, we investigate the structures and the neutralization mechanisms for six unique VHHs targeting BoNT/A1 or BoNT/B1. These studies reveal diverse neutralizing mechanisms by which VHHs prevent host receptor binding or block transmembrane delivery of the BoNT protease domain. Guided by this knowledge, we design heterodimeric VHHs by connecting two neutralizing VHHs via a flexible spacer so they can bind simultaneously to the toxin. These bifunctional VHHs display much greater potency in a mouse co-intoxication model than similar heterodimers unable to bind simultaneously. Taken together, our studies offer insight into antibody neutralization of BoNTs and advance our ability to design multivalent anti-pathogen VHHs with improved therapeutic properties

General Aviation Hypoxia and Reporting Statistics

Hypoxia is defined as a lack of oxygen throughout the body, which can be caused by several factors at any altitude. General aviation (GA) pilots may argue that most GA aircraft cannot attain the required altitudes where one might be more affected by hypoxia, but it is exactly that attitude that may makes pilots more susceptible to hypoxia. The impact of this hazardous attitude is even more apparent if one considers that out of the 590,038 certificated pilots in the USA, a little over 30% of them are GA pilots (FAA, 2015). The problem is that unlike airline pilots or military pilots, there are no specific requirements for GA pilots to receive flight physiology training that could cover hypoxia causes, recognition, and recovery. Furthermore, there is no existing mandate requiring GA pilots to report episodes of hypoxia to any safety or statistics agency, such as NASA. Without reports, records, or statistics on hypoxia, there is no way to observe trends through the years, which could help prevent other GA pilots from experiencing the same hazard. To obtain more information on GA pilots’ experiences with hypoxia, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and Curt Lewis & Associates, a safety forum and recommendation service for the aviation industry, distributed an anonymous survey via electronic newsletter to collect hypoxia data. Questions within this survey asked about the pilot’s experience at the time, flight condition, and any previous flight physiology training he or she may have had. The information obtained was analyzed to create statistics that could show how often hypoxia occurs for GA pilots and how effective flight physiology training is for the GA population

Utilizing Guided Simulation in Conjunction with Digital Learning Tools in Air Traffic Control Training

For students in an air traffic control discipline, simulated training time is limited to in - class time and is divided among the entire class. Students are required to advance and obtain knowledge, skills, and abilities in the lab because there is almost no way to practice at home. All students learn at different rates as well as through different learning styles. Swivl is a digital learning/capture tool designed to enhance student learning by allowing students to refer back to the individual classroom lab training session via an online portal. Swivl is currently being used in two ATC Lab courses. There are two technological deficiencies that have arisen: (1) Swivl (in the Terminal Radar Approach Control and En - Route Radar environments) lacks the ability to record what is being said over the frequencies. (2) Swivl does not have the ability to focus on the radar scope targets. As a result, the students’ captures have a deficiency in visual clarity. However, the nature of the tower simulator does allow for better visual acuity and effective communication exchange within the Swivl capture