The Relationship Between Executive Functioning and Treatment Outcomes among Juvenile Sex Offenders

In 2006, youth 17 years of age and younger accounted for almost 20% of arrests for sexual offenses (Becker, 2007). Critical challenges exist to improve treatment for juvenile sex offenders, including identifying additional risk factors and developing treatment that is specifically tailored to the individual. Research has indicated the majority of juvenile sex offenders have difficulties in their executive-functioning abilities (Blanchard, Cantor, Robichaud, & Christensen, 2005). These deficits may contribute to higher risk potential and recidivism among juvenile sex offenders. Whether low levels of executive functioning influence risk of sexual or criminal offending/re-offending is unknown. The present study sought to further explore executive functioning among juvenile sex offenders and examined the relationship between verbal IQ, working memory, processing speed, impulse control among male juvenile sex offenders and the impact it had on treatment completion and recidivism. The study used a non-experimental, archival research design in which logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine if one or more of the independent variables impacted or predicted the two dependent variables. Results indicated no significant association between the independent variables and treatment completion or recidivism. However, results from the correlation analyses showed verbal IQ and impulse control to be positively correlated with treatment completion. Therefore, higher verbal IQ and greater impulse control may be positively associated with successfully completing treatment. While the results overall were insignificant, the present research provides a foundational basis for future research studies on juvenile sex offenders and can further inform residential treatment programs on possible risk factors for re-offending

Finding Palestine, Finding Ourselves: a Philosophy of Occupation, Narrative, and Peace

This thesis is a philosophical study of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict employing feminist, epistemological, and social and political philosophy to analyze linguistic processes such as narratives, naming, and stereotype formation. The framework of this thesis is the Wittgensteinian paradox of the self defined by the other, according to which individuals are always dependent upon others not merely for the satisfactions of their needs, but for their very conception of self. Following Wittgenstein, I argue that this essential co-dependency is due to the character of our necessarily shared language conventions. Moreover, I apply this framework in an attempt to better articulate the necessary contours of any possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Narratives, accounts of a people\u27s memories and experiences that function to connect the past with the present stand at the intersection of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and prospects for peace. Opposing groups often have contradicting collective narratives about the same events, a phenomenon referred to as dueling narratives. Dueling narratives contain and create images that other (as a verb) the opposing side, perpetuating and ingraining an us vs. them mentality. Representations of the other frequently develop into or further support stereotypes and often contribute to the formation of both implicit and explicit biases. The complex Israeli and Palestinian dueling narratives are informed by reactions to selective humanitarian intervention, the US economic and political sponsorship of Israel, and the use of the label terrorist to characterize exclusively Palestinian, but not Israeli acts. Through stereotypes and bias embedded in language and imagery, Palestinian narratives and corresponding lived realities are misconstrued, obscured, and, often, silenced, creating a significant moral distance between Americans and Palestinians and a failure of empathy. Bridging this distance requires the reconciliation of these dueling narratives and their internal discrepancies, first, through recognizing the complexity of the multiple perspectives at hand. True recognition of Others and of the vast diversity of forms and conditions of being human demand the recognition of the multiplicities represented in and created by language, which convey many different lived realities constituting what it means to be human. In other words, prior to even considering possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we must experience, hear, and learn from the lived realities of Palestinians, and these narratives must come from the perspective of empowered and expressive Palestinian voices

Prävention der vertikalen Übertragung von HIV: Ergebnisse der Anwendung von „Option B+“ mit Fokus auf der Therapieadhärenz während der Stillzeit

Therapieadhärenz ist für die Prävention von Mutter-Kind-Übertragung von HIV von entscheidender Bedeutung. Unregelmäßige Einnahme der Medikamente und Therapieabbrüche mindern die langfristige Wirksamkeit einer antiretroviralen Therapie und erhöhen das Risiko für die Entwicklung medikamentenresistenter Virusstämme. Zur Prävention der vertikalen HIV-Übertragung empfahl die WHO 2012 die sogenannte Option B+, eine lebenslange antiretrovirale Therapie für alle schwangeren und stillenden Frauen ab dem Zeitpunkt der Diagnosestellung. Zu Beginn dieser Studie im Jahr 2013 war die langfristige Therapieadhärenz unter Anwendung von Option B+ in Afrika südlich der Sahara noch weitgehend unerforscht. Wir untersuchten in einer longitudinalen Beobachtungsstudie Ergebnisse der Anwendung von Option B+ für die Prävention der vertikalen Übertragung von HIV in einer ländlichen Gegend Ugandas während der Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit. 124 HIV-positive Schwangere wurden in zwei Krankenhäusern rekrutiert und gemäß nationaler Leitlinien auf Option B+ eingestellt. Sie wurden bis 18 Monate nach Entbindung nachverfolgt. Während der Schwangerschaft wurde Adhärenz über die Anzahl der zurückgebrachten Tabletten gemessen. Während der postpartalen Langzeitnachverfolgung wurden die selbst eingeschätzte Adhärenz und die Häufigkeit der Besuche zur Medikamentenabholung betrachtet. Außerdem wurden Stilldauer und potentielle Risikofaktoren für mangelnde Adhärenz erhoben. Von Mutter und Kind wurden Blutproben entnommen, um die mütterliche Viruslast und die Entwicklung möglicher Resistenz-assoziierter Mutationen sowie die Mutter-Kind-Transmissionsrate zu untersuchen. Während der Schwangerschaft wurden von den 79 nachverfolgten Teilnehmerinnen im Median 96% der Tabletten eingenommen. Nach der Geburt kamen 67/124 Teilnehmerinnen (58%) für einen ersten pospartalen Besuch zurück in die Einrichtungen. Bis sechs Monate postpartal erfüllten 51% der nachgeburtlichen Kohorte die Adhärenzkriterien, und 91% stillten ausschließlich. Bis zwölf Monate postpartal fiel der Anteil der fortwährend adhärenten Frauen auf 5%. Keine der Frauen war 18 Monate lang durchgehend adhärent. 77% der Frauen stillten für mindesten zwölf Monate. Risikofaktoren für mangelnde postpartale Adhärenz waren höheres Alter, Multiparität und höhere Transportkosten. Resistenz-assoziierte Mutationen wurden in den HI-Virusstämmen von drei Frauen festgestellt. Bis 18 Monate postpartal gab unter den nachverfolgten Mutter-Kind-Paaren keinen Fall von vertikaler HIV-Transmission. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen eine in der Langzeitnachverfolgung suboptimale und im Verlauf nachlassende Therapieadhärenz. Die Prävention der Mutter-Kind-Übertragung von HIV in der Stillzeit scheint somit auch bei Anwendung von Option B+ eine Herausforderung darzustellen. Gleichzeitig wurden die Empfehlungen für eine Stilldauer von mindestens zwölf Monaten von einer Mehrheit der HIV-positiven Mütter umgesetzt. Entscheidungsträger der Gesundheitspolitik sollten diese Ergebnisse ernsthaft in Betracht ziehen, da mangelnde Therapieadhärenz in Kombination mit langer Stilldauer die Prävention der vertikalen Übertragung von HIV stark gefährdet und zu HIV-Übertragung in der späten Stillzeit führen kann.Drug adherence is essential to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Irregular drug intake or termination of treatment impairs the long-term effectiveness of an antiretroviral therapy and increases the risk of development of drug resistant virus strains. Since 2012, the WHO recommends Option B+ for prevention of mother-to-child transmission. This implies the initiation of a lifelong antiretroviral therapy for all pregnant and breastfeeding women directly after diagnosis. Before the start of our study in 2013, research from sub-Saharan Africa on long-term adherence to Option B+ throughout breastfeeding was scarce. We conducted a longitudinal observational study on outcomes of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV under Option B+ in rural Uganda during pregnancy and breastfeeding. 124 HIV-positive pregnant women were recruited at two clinics and put on Option B+ according to national guidelines. They were followed-up until 18 months after giving birth. During pregnancy, the amount of returned pills was used to measure adherence. During the long-term postpartum follow-up, self-rated adherence and amount of drug restock visits were examined. Additionally, breast-feeding duration and potential risk factors of non-adherence were assessed. Blood samples were taken from mother and infant to determine maternal viral load and the development of drug resistant mutations, as well as vertical transmission. During pregnancy, a median pill intake of 96% among the 79 followed-up participants was found. 67/124 participants (58%) returned for a first postpartum visit. Until six months postpartum, 51% of the postpartum cohort met the adherence criteria and 91% were breastfeeding exclusively. Until twelve months postpartum, the proportion of adherent mothers dropped to 5%. No woman was adherent for the complete period of 18 months. 77% of women breastfed for at least twelve months. Risk factors for postpartum non-adherence were older age, multiparty, and higher travel expenses. Drug resistant mutations were found in the HIV-strains of three women. There was no case of ver-tical HIV-transmission among the followed-up mother-infant-pairs until 18 months postpartum. Our findings show that adherence to therapy is suboptimal and declining during the long-term postpartum follow-up. This implies that prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains a challenge, also under Option B+. At the same time, the recommendation for prolonged breastfeeding until at least twelve months postpartum were widely applied by HIV-positive mothers. Health care policy makers should take these findings into serious account, as poor postpartum drug adherence combined with expanded breastfeeding puts prevention of mother-to-child transmission at risk and can cause late-stage transmission

Design Rules for Sequestration of Viruses into Polypeptide Complex Coacervates

Encapsulation is a strategy that has been used to facilitate the delivery and increase the stability of proteins and viruses. Here, we investigate the encapsulation of viruses via complex coacervation, which is a liquid–liquid phase separation resulting from the complexation of oppositely charged polymers. In particular, we utilized polypeptide-based coacervates and explored the effects of peptide chemistry, chain length, charge patterning, and hydrophobicity to better understand the effects of the coacervating polypeptides on virus incorporation. Our study utilized two nonenveloped viruses, porcine parvovirus (PPV) and human rhinovirus (HRV). PPV has a higher charge density than HRV, and they both appear to be relatively hydrophobic. These viruses were compared to characterize how the charge, hydrophobicity, and patterning of chemistry on the surface of the virus capsid affects encapsulation. Consistent with the electrostatic nature of complex coacervation, our results suggest that electrostatic effects associated with the net charge of both the virus and polypeptide dominated the potential for incorporating the virus into a coacervate, with clustering of charges also playing a significant role. Additionally, the hydrophobicity of a virus appears to determine the degree to which increasing the hydrophobicity of the coacervating peptides can enhance virus uptake. Nonintuitive trends in uptake were observed with regard to both charge patterning and polypeptide chain length, with these parameters having a significant effect on the range of coacervate compositions over which virus incorporation was observed. These results provide insights into biophysical mechanisms, where sequence effects can control the uptake of proteins or viruses into biological condensates and provide insights for use in formulation strategies

Optimized Xenograft Protocol for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Results in High Engraftment Efficiency for All CLL Subgroups

Preclinical drug development for human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) requires robust xenograft models recapitulating the entire spectrum of the disease, including all prognostic subgroups. Current CLL xenograft models are hampered by inefficient engraftment of good prognostic CLLs, overgrowth with co-transplanted T cells, and the need for allogeneic humanization or irradiation. Therefore, we aimed to establish an effective and reproducible xenograft protocol which allows engraftment of all CLL subtypes without the need of humanization or irradiation. Unmanipulated NOD.Cg-PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1Sug/JicTac (NOG) mice in contrast to C.Cg-Rag2tm1Fwa-/- Il2rgtm1Sug/JicTac (BRG) mice allowed engraftment of all tested CLL subgroups with 100% success rate, if CLL cells were fresh, injected simultaneously intra-peritoneally and intravenously, and co-transferred with low fractions of autologous T cells (2%–4%). CLL transplanted NOG mice (24 different patients) developed CLL pseudofollicles in the spleen, which increased over 4–6 weeks, and were then limited by the expanding autologous T cells. Ibrutinib treatment studies were performed to validate our model, and recapitulated treatment responses seen in patients. In conclusion, we developed an easy-to-use CLL xenograft protocol which allows reliable engraftment for all CLL subgroups without humanization or irradiation of mice. This protocol can be widely used to study CLL biology and to explore novel drug candidates

Postpartum adherence to Option B+ until 18 months in Western Uganda

Since 2012, the WHO recommends Option B+ for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This approach entails the initiation of lifelong antiretroviral therapy in all HIV-positive pregnant women, also implying protection during breastfeeding for 12 months or longer. Research on long-term adherence to Option B+ throughout breastfeeding is scarce to date. Therefore, we conducted a prospective observational cohort study in Fort Portal, Western Uganda, to assess adherence to Option B+ until 18 months postpartum. In 2013, we recruited 67 HIV-positive, Option B+ enrolled women six weeks after giving birth and scheduled them for follow-up study visits after six, twelve and 18 months. Two adherence measures, self-reported drug intake and amount of drug refill visits, were combined to define adherence, and were assessed together with feeding information at all study visits. At six months postpartum, 51% of the enrolled women were considered to be adherent. Until twelve and 18 months postpartum, adherence for the respective follow-up interval decreased to 19% and 20.5% respectively. No woman was completely adherent until 18 months. At the same time, 76.5% of the women breastfed for ≥12 months. Drug adherence was associated with younger age (p<0.01), lower travel costs (p = 0.02), and lower number of previous deliveries (p = 0.04). Long-term adherence to Option B+ seems to be challenging. Considering that in our cohort, prolonged breastfeeding until ≥12 months was widely applied while postpartum adherence until the end of breastfeeding was poor, a potential risk of postpartum vertical transmission needs to be taken seriously into account for Option B+ implementation

Digital Transformation in Higher Education – New Cohorts, New Requirements?

Digital transformation refers to changes that digital technologies cause and that influence various aspects of human life. Previous researchers mainly focused on the impact of the digital transformation in the context of commercial organisations and business processes. In this study, we aim to examine how digital transformation affects universities and students. We examine differences and changes in the usage of collaboration and communication platforms between different groups of members at the university and within the university lifecycle. To gain new insights, a qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews was conducted. One of the main results shows that Bachelor and Master students prefer the usage of social network sites for collaboration and communication while Ph.D. students and employees do not. Even though an increasing number of modern platforms for direct communication is offered, the results show that the communication between the groups of students and employees still takes place via email

Community Approaches to Funding and Supports for High-quality Early Care Experiences: A United States Example

While much research has validated the importance of high-quality early learning environments to achieve successful long-term outcomes, providing such environments for all children continues to be a challenge. Debates and varying opinions of how to best use and direct funds to early education and care, as well as determine levels of support to increase quality persist. To address these challenges, a large urban city in the United States has taken a multi-faceted, community-based approach to both funding and quality implementation supports. In the chapter, the authors will first detail examples of funding and provision challenges and provide examples of how cities have sought to address these challenges. Second, the chapter will detail the specific approach to funding and support in the example of focus. Third, the authors will present findings to date on the quality of environments and return on funding investment. Finally, the authors will conclude the chapter with recommendations for increasing access to high-quality early care experience in other contexts and environments across the globe