Political Orientation and the Decision to Major in Economics: Some Preliminary Observations

Studies find that students major in economics for a variety of reasons. None, however, have examined students' political orientations as a possible factor in their choice of majors. Economics, as compared to other social sciences, tends to produce conservative policy recommendations. This pilot study explores whether more conservative students are attracted to economics. Our study found that men with conservative political leanings are more likely to major in economics and that male students in economics are more conservative than female students. Political orientation, however, does not appear to be a significant factor in the choice of a major for women.

Feasibility and Initial Efficacy Testing of an HIV Prevention Intervention for Black Adolescent Girls

HIV is disproportionately prevalent among Blacks. Black women most often contract HIV from having risky sex, and adolescence is a time when risky sex behaviors peak. This study tested the feasibility and initial efficacy of an intervention designed to help Black adolescent girls avoid risky sex behaviors. The intervention included group education for girls followed by a service learning opportunity in which the girls practiced the assertiveness and communication skills they had learned in the education sessions, and individual education for the girls’ mothers. The intervention was guided by a risk and protective factors framework and by the goal of promoting racial/ethnic pride in the girls. We determined that the intervention was feasible. Schools allowed recruitment of potential participants and the use of their facilities for meeting with the girls. We encountered little participant dropout from the study, and the intervention was highly regarded by the girls who participated and their mothers. We found improvements in aspects of the girls’ relationships with their mothers, their sexual assertiveness, and their self-efficacy to use condoms

Exploring Child Welfare Workers' Attitudes and Practice With Fathers

This cross-sectional study explored child welfare agency workers' attitudes and practice regarding working with fathers whose children are at-risk for abuse and neglect. Agency workers completed a questionnaire about their attitudes towards working with fathers, their knowledge of barriers to fathers' engagement, and their experiences with their own fathers. They also completed open-ended items about services and supports they felt would be most helpful to fathers. A content analysis of the data revealed critical themes for four areas that workers felt could be enhanced to effectively engage fathers: (a) use diligent efforts that ensure fathers are present to contribute, (b) provide equitable services, supports, and policies for fathers, (c) address father-specific needs, and (d) promote a positive worker-father relationship. The findings provide insight into ways that social workers can maximize fathers' strengths and reduce their challenges

Feasibility testing a family level intervention to prevent risky sex behaviors among middle school age Latinas

Purpose: In this article, we report a pilot study that tested the feasibility and initial efficacy of a culturally, linguistically, and developmentally tailored risky sex prevention intervention for middle school–age Latinas and their mothers. Design: We used a one-group pre-test, post-test, and 3-month post-intervention follow-up design. Data were collected at three points on aspects of the girls’ communication, beliefs, and behaviors. Results: Promising results included improvements in girl’s self-efficacy regarding condom communication and condom consistent use, and in mother–teen sexual risk communication. There were also trends in demonstration of fewer risky sex behaviors. Discussion: These findings suggest that the “Latina–Girls Empowered through Mind and Mission” (L-GEMM) intervention for young Latinas and their mothers is feasible and warrants further testing. Implications: Nurses are uniquely positioned to deliver risky sex preventive interventions to young Latinas. Including mothers and tailoring interventions to build on cultural strengths are important for success

Integrating students into interdisciplinary health and health disparities research teams

Major initiatives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the World Health Organization have produced a large and compelling body of evidence on how to reduce health disparities, which entails having a clear understanding of how social factors shape health and healthcare outcomes. Specifically, there is a need for healthcare professionals to understand social determinants of health (e.g., low socioeconomic status, lack of health insurance, and poor education) and how these lead to disparities in health for people of minority racial and ethnic groups. Little is known about how students are developed as health disparities researchers or how their research experiences impact their views about addressing social determinants of health as a career goal. The purpose of this paper is to describe how health and human sciences students were integrated into three minority HIV prevention and testing projects using the lifelong learning for health professionals (LLHP) principles and activities framework, which entails a focus on: (a) education, (b) community, and (c) organization in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of interdisciplinary research

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) for pediatric trauma: experience with five cases

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) was used to treat five pediatric trauma patients (ages 1 to 17 years) with respiratory failure unresponsive to conventional mechanical ventilation. Diagnoses in these patients that resulted in respiratory failure included hydrocarbon aspiration (one patient), multiple trauma with pulmonary contusion (two patients), bronchopleural fistula (one patient), and neardrowning (one patient). Time on ECLS bypass averaged 328 h (range 140–527 h). Physiologic complications included bleeding, cardiac arrest, cardiac tamponade, hypoxemia, and hypotension. Mechanical complications involving the bypass circuit included roller-pump raceway rupture, roller-pump failure, and membrane oxygenator failure. All complications were managed without mortality. Three of the five patients were decannulated from ECLS and survived. Support was terminated in the remaining two due to irreversibility of the pulmonary injury. ECLS may provide life-saving support to pediatric patients with respiratory failure after trauma when conventional means of ventilatory support have failed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47185/1/383_2004_Article_BF00177095.pd

S. aureus MscL Is a Pentamer In Vivo but of Variable Stoichiometries In Vitro: Implications for Detergent-Solubilized Membrane Proteins

Detergent-induced rearrangements of membrane-protein subunits explain why two MscL channel stoichiometries have been resolved by X-ray crystallography - but S. aureus MscL is truly a pentamer in vivo

X-linked microtubule-associated protein, Mid1, regulates axon development

Opitz syndrome (OS) is a genetic neurological disorder. The gene responsible for the X-linked form of OS, Midline-1 (MID1), encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase that regulates the degradation of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2Ac). However, how Mid1 functions during neural development is largely unknown. In this study, we provide data from in vitro and in vivo experiments suggesting that silencing Mid1 in developing neurons promotes axon growth and branch formation, resulting in a disruption of callosal axon projections in the contralateral cortex. In addition, a similar phenotype of axonal development was observed in the Mid1 knockout mouse. This defect was largely due to the accumulation of PP2Ac in Mid1-depleted cells as further down-regulation of PP2Ac rescued the axonal phenotype. Together, these data demonstrate that Mid1-dependent PP2Ac turnover is important for normal axonal development and that dysregulation of this process may contribute to the underlying cause of OS

Improving Benefit-harm Assessment of Therapies from the Patient Perspective: OMERACT Premeeting Toward Consensus on Core Sets for Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective: Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) convened a premeeting in 2018 to bring together patients, regulators, researchers, clinicians, and consumers to build upon previous OMERACT drug safety work, with patients fully engaged throughout all phases. Methods: Day 1 included a brief introduction to the history of OMERACT and methodology, and an overview of current efforts within and outside OMERACT to identify patient-reported medication safety concerns. On Day 2, two working groups presented results; after each, breakout groups were assembled to discuss findings. Results: Five themes pertaining to drug safety measurement emerged. Conclusion: Current approaches have failed to include data from the patient’s perspective. A better understanding of how individuals with rheumatic diseases view potential benefits and harms of therapies is essential

Consistency of high-fidelity two-qubit operations in silicon

The consistency of entangling operations between qubits is essential for the performance of multi-qubit systems, and is a crucial factor in achieving fault-tolerant quantum processors. Solid-state platforms are particularly exposed to inconsistency due to the materials-induced variability of performance between qubits and the instability of gate fidelities over time. Here we quantify this consistency for spin qubits, tying it to its physical origins, while demonstrating sustained and repeatable operation of two-qubit gates with fidelities above 99% in the technologically important silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (SiMOS) quantum dot platform. We undertake a detailed study of the stability of these operations by analysing errors and fidelities in multiple devices through numerous trials and extended periods of operation. Adopting three different characterisation methods, we measure entangling gate fidelities ranging from 96.8% to 99.8%. Our analysis tools also identify physical causes of qubit degradation and offer ways to maintain performance within tolerance. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of qubit design, feedback systems, and robust gates on implementing scalable, high-fidelity control strategies. These results highlight both the capabilities and challenges for the scaling up of spin-based qubits into full-scale quantum processors