Digitizing the ‘Ideal’ Latina Information Worker

Recent examples of virtual assistant technologies designed as Latina information service workers are noteworthy objects of study for their potential to bridge analyses of Latinas’ labor history and information technology. Latinas in the United States have traditionally worked in blue collar information technology sectors characterized by repetitive labor and low-wages, such as electronics manufacturing and customer service. Latinas information service workers, though fundamental to technoscience, have been largely invisible in histories of computing. Latina virtual assistants mark a shift in this labor history by relying on the strategic visibility of Latina identity in/as the technology interface. Our research explores Latina virtual assistants designed by Airus Media, and installed as airport workers in airports along the southwestern border of the United States. We situate the technocultural narratives present in the design and marketing of these technologies within the broader histories of invisible Latina information labor in the United States. We find continuities between the ways Latinas have historically been positioned as “ideal” information workers, and the use of Latina identity in the design of virtual assistants. We argue that the strategic visibility of Latina virtual assistants is linked to the oppressive structures of invisibility that have traditionally organized Latina information service workers

DEVELOPING LEARNING IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND LIFE SKILLS THROUGH CASE-BASED WORKSHOPS

BACKGROUND Teaching through case-based workshops is a student-centered strategy designed to heighten higher-order thinking, through a discussion of complex, real-world scenarios to enable students to link concepts learnt in class to future practice. We report findings of teaching Biochemistry to second year Nutrition students from a mix of 8 teacher-led case-based workshops (TCW) and 4 student-led case-based workshops (SCW) over the 12-week semester. AIMS To compare perceived learning of Biochemistry and life skills through TCW and SCW. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION We surveyed students to determine the benefits of TCW in comparison to SCW. DESIGN AND METHODS We administered an anonymous survey consisting of 22 items using a Likert scale and 6 open-ended questions. All responses were coded for emergent themes. The Likert scale was converted to a numerical level of agreement. RESULTS Students agreed that learning in biochemistry (51%) and life skills (53%) were developed more in TCW compared to SCW. Data from open-ended questions confirmed that TCW developed learning in biochemistry through its structure and support mechanism, while life skills were developed through opportunities for collaboration, communication and improving interpersonal skills. CONCLUSIONS TCWs promote learning and life skills, a basis for nurturing the next generation of Biochemists ready for an uncertain future

Designing the ‘good citizen’ through Latina identity in USCIS’s virtual assistant ‘Emma’

Virtual assistants are increasingly integrated as “user-friendly” interfaces for e-government services. This research investigates the case study of the virtual assistant, “Emma,” that is integrated into the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. We conduct an interface analysis of Emma, along with the USCIS website, and related promotional materials, to explore the cultural affordances of Latina identity as a strategic design for this virtual assistant. We argue that the Emma interface makes normative claims about citizenship and inclusion in an attempt to “hail” Latinx users as ideal citizens. We find that the “ideal” citizen is defined through the Emma interface as an assimilated citizen-consumer that engages with digital technologies in ways that produce them as informationally “legible” to the state

Osteopontin ablation ameliorates muscular dystrophy by shifting macrophages to a pro-regenerative phenotype.

In the degenerative disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, inflammatory cells enter muscles in response to repetitive muscle damage. Immune factors are required for muscle regeneration, but chronic inflammation creates a profibrotic milieu that exacerbates disease progression. Osteopontin (OPN) is an immunomodulator highly expressed in dystrophic muscles. Ablation of OPN correlates with reduced fibrosis and improved muscle strength as well as reduced natural killer T (NKT) cell counts. Here, we demonstrate that the improved dystrophic phenotype observed with OPN ablation does not result from reductions in NKT cells. OPN ablation skews macrophage polarization toward a pro-regenerative phenotype by reducing M1 and M2a and increasing M2c subsets. These changes are associated with increased expression of pro-regenerative factors insulin-like growth factor 1, leukemia inhibitory factor, and urokinase-type plasminogen activator. Furthermore, altered macrophage polarization correlated with increases in muscle weight and muscle fiber diameter, resulting in long-term improvements in muscle strength and function in mdx mice. These findings suggest that OPN ablation promotes muscle repair via macrophage secretion of pro-myogenic growth factors

Regional cortical thickness and neuroticism across the lifespan

Neuroticism is associated with greater reactivity to stress and lifetime psychopathology. In the present study we examined the association between neuroticism and regional and total cortical thickness (CT) across the lifespan, accounting for gender. We also assessed interactions among these factors. 450 subjects between 19 and 80 years were included. Participants completed the International Personality Item Pool and a structural MRI scan. Total CT and the mean values of CT in five regions of interest were examined. We also investigated the interaction effect among age, gender and neuroticism on CT. There was no significant association between neuroticism and regional/total CT. A significant interaction between neuroticism, age, and gender on the thickness of the anterior cingulate was found. Women high in neuroticism showed a thinner anterior cingulate cortex than women low in neuroticism, with increasing age. In contrast, men high in neuroticism had a thicker anterior cingulate cortex compared to men low in neuroticism, with increasing age. Overall, high neuroticism was associated with differential cortical thickness in the anterior cingulate among men and women with increasing age

Critical Data Approaches to the Interconnected Library

This panel borrows from critical data approaches to explore the library as a site of interconnected information assemblages that incorporate (and consolidate) a range of technological, cultural, political, economic, and social arrangements. Critical data studies asserts data, like libraries and technology, are not neutral and value-free. Part one of the panel grounds the conversation in empirical research. Part two will be a discussion about how LIS education can further integrate and support critical data approaches to better prepare library workers to serve diverse communities, particularly those that are most vulnerable in this data environment

Osteopontin ablation ameliorates muscular dystrophy by shifting macrophages to a proregenerative phenotype

In the degenerative disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, inflammatory cells enter muscles in response to repetitive muscle damage. Immune factors are required for muscle regeneration, but chronic inflammation creates a profibrotic milieu that exacerbates disease progression. Osteopontin (OPN) is an immunomodulator highly expressed in dystrophic muscles. Ablation of OPN correlates with reduced fibrosis and improved muscle strength as well as reduced natural killer T (NKT) cell counts. Here, we demonstrate that the improved dystrophic phenotype observed with OPN ablation does not result from reductions in NKT cells. OPN ablation skews macrophage polarization toward a pro-regenerative phenotype by reducing M1 and M2a and increasing M2c subsets. These changes are associated with increased expression of pro-regenerative factors insulin-like growth factor 1, leukemia inhibitory factor, and urokinase-type plasminogen activator. Furthermore, altered macrophage polarization correlated with increases in muscle weight and muscle fiber diameter, resulting in long-term improvements in muscle strength and function in mdx mice. These findings suggest that OPN ablation promotes muscle repair via macrophage secretion of pro-myogenic growth factors

Mental health, quality of life and self-management behaviours:online evaluation of inflammatory arthritis patients over 1 year of COVID-19 lockdowns

Objective: Patients with inflammatory arthritis were especially vulnerable to the psychosocial and health impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the lockdowns. This study investigated the impact of these changes on mental health, physical health and quality of life for inflammatory arthritis patients over 1 year following the initial lockdown in the UK. Methods: Three hundred and thirty-eight participants with inflammatory arthritis completed an ambidirectional study consisting of online questionnaires at four time points for 1 year. The questionnaires assessed demographic information, inflammatory arthritis condition, mental health, physical symptoms, self-management behaviours, COVID-19 status and impacts. Means, linear regressions and structural equation modelling for mediations were conducted over 12 months. Results: Physical health concerns peaked during June 2020, then declined, but did not return to baseline. Depression was associated with worse quality of life at baseline, as shown by the beta coefficient, (β= 0.94, P &lt; 0.01), September (β = 0.92, P &lt; 0.01), November (β= 0.77, P &lt; 0.01) and 1 year (β = 0.77, P &lt; 0.01). Likewise, anxiety was associated with worse quality of life at baseline (β = 1.92, P &lt; 0.01), September (β = 2.06, P &lt; 0.01), November (β = 1.66, P = 0.03) and 1 year (β = 1.51, P = 0.02). The association between depression and quality of life was mediated by physical activity (β= 0.13, P &lt; 0.01) at baseline. The association between anxiety and quality of life was also mediated by physical activity (β = 0.25, P = 0.04) at baseline. Conclusion: Physical health continued to be worse 1 year later compared with before the COVID-19 lockdowns in patients with inflammatory arthritis. Mental health showed long-Term effects on quality of life, with an impact for ≥12 months. Lastly, physical activity mediated between mental health and quality of life in the short term.</p

Differences in Maternal and Infant Cord Blood Vitamin D Between Racial/Ethnic Groups

Background: Vitamin D deficiency associated with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration is common among individuals with more melanin pigmentation. Low 25(OH)D levels in pregnant women may be related to increased risk of low birth weight and preterm delivery. Still, few studies have assessed how serum levels of 25(OH)D vary between maternal and infant race/ethnicity. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between 25(OH)D levels in maternal blood and infant cord blood within certain ethnic groups, prematurity status, and low birth weight. Experimental Design:An IRB-approved study enrolled 86 mother-infant pairs. Maternal blood samples and infant cord blood samples were analyzed for 25(OH)D serum levels. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Willis tests comparisons were conducted with the use of IBM SPSS Statistics 28 software to assess the relationship between maternal and cord blood 25(OH)D levels in other race/ethnicity groups, birthweight, and preterm birth. Prematurity was categorized into two groups: premature (weeks) and term (≥37 weeks). Birth weight was categorized into two groups: low birth weight (\u3c 2500 g weeks) and not low birth weight (≥2500 g weeks). A p-value of Results:Median levels of 25(OH)D serum were lower in infant’s cord blood (22.52 ng/mL) than maternal blood (38.06 ng/mL). White participants had significantly higher 25(OH)D levels than African American participants in both maternal blood (40.76 ng/mL vs 27.79, p = Conclusion: Our findings suggest a possible association with lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in darker skin pigmentation, even in a small sample size. These results suggest that prematurity and birth weight should be replicated in larger sample sizes of different Race/Ethnic groups, limiting this finding. Further studies should focus on examining differences with larger and more diverse sample sizes. Such research should include measuring Vitamin D intake in pregnancy and clinical outcomes.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/surp2021/1008/thumbnail.jp

Assessing The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On Maternal And Cord Serum Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels

Background: Omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) modulate inflammation throughout the lifespan and are essential in fetal growth and development. Previous studies have demonstrated that individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES) may be at risk for low intake of n-3 PUFAs; however, no research has compared the concentrations of these nutrients present in maternal and cord serum between markers of SES. Significance of Problem: Individuals with low serum levels of n-3 PUFAs may suffer from unfavorable birth and pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, it is important to identify populations who may have decreased serum levels of these nutrients in order to provide nutritional recommendations to optimize prenatal care. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between markers of SES and levels of n-3 PUFAs in maternal and cord serum in a group of patients delivering at a Midwest Academic Medical Center. Methods: An IRB-approved study enrolled mother-infant pairs (n=55) at the time of delivery for collection of maternal and cord serum samples. n-3 PUFA levels quantified included Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and total n-3 PUFAs. Markers of SES include private vs public insurance, income ≤150% of the poverty line vs \u3e150%, and college degree earners vs no college degree. Descriptive statistics were run for all variables. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess differences in n-3 PUFA levels between SES groups. A p\u3c0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Median gestational age at delivery was 39.3 weeks in this cohort. Significantly higher nutrient levels were present in college-educated mothers vs less than college-educated mothers for maternal EPA (9.44 µg/mL vs 5.13 µg/mL, p=0.010), cord EPA (1.88 µg/mL vs 1.40 µg/mL, p=0.011), cord DHA (37.96 µg/mL vs 32.80 µg/mL, p=0.014), and total cord n-3 PUFAs (44.23 µg/mL vs 39.34 µg/mL, p=0.024). Median cord EPA levels were significantly higher in those with private insurance compared to public (1.79 µg/mL, 1.18 µg/mL, p=0.022). Additionally, median cord EPA levels were significantly higher in those \u3e150% the poverty line (1.79 µg/mL, 1.10 µg/mL, p=0.030). No other significant differences were observed between SES groups and n-3 PUFA levels. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that individuals with lower SES may be at risk for lower serum levels of n-3 PUFAs in pregnancy, which could predispose them to adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes. Future studies should focus on replicating these results in a larger, more heterogeneous sample and should consider analyzing additional markers of SES.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/chri_forum/1051/thumbnail.jp