Faith and Information to Treat Hypertension

Practice Problem: The prevalence of stroke and hypertension (HTN) in African Americans in the United States is among the highest in the world (American Heart Association, n.d.) with cultural norms as a contributing factor. PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was in African American adults (\u3e18 y/o) (P), how does a faith-based hypertension management program (I), compared to standard hypertension management (C), affect blood pressure measurements (O) within an 8-week timeframe (T)? Evidence: The integration of motivational interviewing with therapeutic lifestyle changes along with HTN education using a community-based participatory approach delivered in the faith-based setting was an effective intervention to encourage positive health behavioral changes in African American adults. Intervention: Culturally tailored approaches such as incorporating health-promoting interventions involving HTN story-sharing, bible verses focused on health, and cultivating a sense of community, in the faith-based setting, provided a framework that empowered participants to make positive health changes for effective HTN self-care management. Outcome: Blood pressure measurements pre and post-implementation showed a drop in mean systolic blood pressure readings of 11.5 mmHg and a drop in diastolic blood pressure readings of 8.00 mmHg for the intervention group. Conclusion: The FAITH (faith and information to treat hypertension) management program was implemented to address how the HTN and heart disease burden have disproportionally affected African American adults and the need to incorporate individualized, culturally tailored interventions through knowledge and resources to promote life-changing and sustainable practices for healthier living

Who Gets An Iud: The Impact Of Patient Race And Number Of Past Sexual Partners On Clinical Decisions To Prescribe Intrauterine Devices

While disparities by race/ethnicity in reproductive and sexual health outcomes are well documented, the role that healthcare providers play in contributing to these disparities is only beginning to be explored. This investigation sought to examine medical and nursing students\u27 bias surrounding the prescription of intrauterine devices (IUDs, i.e., long-acting reversible contraception) to adolescents based on the patient\u27s race and sexual history. An online survey presented participants with a clinical vignette of an IUD-seeking sexually active adolescent, with the patient\u27s race and number of past sexual partners systematically manipulated. Participants reported predictions about patient risk of getting pregnant with and without an IUD, patient risk of HIV/STI, willingness to prescribe IUD, and other clinical judgments. Analyses revealed that the patient with multiple partners was rated as more likely to get pregnant without an IUD and acquire HIV/STI than a patient with a single partner, although the prescription rates were similarly high across conditions. Further analyzing the impact of socio-demographic characteristics of providers revealed that White providers were more likely to find it appropriate to prescribe an IUD and to rate a sexually active adolescent at high risk of pregnancy without an IUD than non-White providers. Lastly, non-White providers were significantly less likely to prescribe to White adolescents than Black adolescents. These findings suggest that it is important to examine the extent to which both patient and provider\u27s characteristics contribute to differences in access to and utilization of contraceptive methods, as well as to determine what types of interventions might alleviate differences in prescription habits and assumptions about patients, in order to address health care disparities

The Pedagogy of Renewal: Black Women, Reclaiming Joy, and Self-Care as Praxis

The 2020 quote defining the pandemic era was “The New Normal,” which, for Black women, implies a need for structural and personal transformation. In this essay, we incorporate the concepts of culturally relevant pedagogy (Bell & Jackson, 2021) and critical autoethnography (Boylorn, 2020; Boylorn & Orbe, 2021) to amplify a Black feminist ethos of self-care as an embodied praxis. Reflecting on the embodied experiences of two Black women professors, we advance a crucial notion of self-care as a pedagogy of renewal to reclaim joy through generative and transformative modes, methods, and meanings

A Comparison of Seasonal Reproductive Pattern in Two Sympatric Darters of the \u3ci\u3eSimoperca\u3c/i\u3e Clade, \u3ci\u3eEtheostoma duryi\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eEtheostoma simoterum\u3c/i\u3e

We present results from an examination of the seasonal reproductive patterns of two closely related sympatric darter species of the Simoperca clade, Etheostoma duryi and Etheostoma simoterum. Most members of the genus Etheostoma exhibit striking sexual dimorphism, making reproductive strategy a logical point of study. Monthly collections of specimens over a one-year period were performed at a single site on the Flint River near Huntsville, Alabama. Standard length and gross somatic mass were measured for all individuals. Sex ratio was examined for possible skew. Measures of reproductive effort were monthly means of gonadosomatic index of both sexes, total oocyte count, oocyte size at different development stages, and clutch size. Reproductive season for both species was February through May. Etheostoma duryi was found to be slightly larger in SL and mass, and to produce more oocytes, larger clutch size, and smaller oocytes earlier in the breeding season. Both species displayed strong female skew, especially Etheostoma simoterum

Functional neurochemical imaging of the human striatal cholinergic system during reversal learning

Animal studies have shown that acetylcholine (ACh) levels in the dorsal striatum play a role in reversal learning. However, this has not been studied in humans due to a lack of appropriate non-invasive techniques. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) can be used to measure metabolite levels in humans in vivo. Although it cannot be used to study ACh directly, 1H-MRS can be used to study choline, an ACh precursor which is linked to activity-dependent ACh release. The aim of this study was to use functional-1H-MRS (fMRS) to measure changes in choline levels in the human dorsal striatum during performance of a probabilistic reversal learning task. We demonstrate a task-dependent decrease in choline, specifically during reversal, but not initial, learning. We interpret this to reflect a sustained increase in ACh levels, which is in line with findings from the animal literature. This task-dependent change was specific to choline and was not observed in control metabolites. These findings provide support for the use of fMRS in the in vivo study of the human cholinergic system

Regional striatal cholinergic involvement in human behavioural flexibility

Animal studies have shown that the striatal cholinergic system plays a role in behavioural flexibility but, until recently, this system could not be studied in humans due to a lack of appropriate non-invasive techniques. Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) we recently showed that the concentration of dorsal striatal choline (an acetylcholine precursor) changes during reversal learning (a measure of behavioural flexibility) in humans. The aim of the present study was to examine whether regional average striatal choline was associated with reversal learning. 36 participants (mean age = 24.8, range = 18-32, 20 female) performed a probabilistic learning task with a reversal component. We measured choline at rest in both the dorsal and ventral striatum using 1H-MRS. Task performance was described using a simple reinforcement learning model that dissociates the contributions of positive and negative prediction errors to learning. Average levels of choline in the dorsal striatum were associated with performance during reversal, but not during initial learning. Specifically, lower levels of choline in the dorsal striatum were associated with a lower number of perseverative trials. Moreover, choline levels explained inter-individual variance in perseveration over and above that explained by learning from negative prediction errors. These findings suggest that the dorsal striatal cholinergic system plays an important role in behavioural flexibility, in line with evidence from the animal literature and our previous work in humans. Additionally, this work provides further support for the idea of measuring choline with 1H-MRS as a non-invasive way of studying human cholinergic neurochemistr

Social domain based modulation of neural responses to threat: the different roles of romantic partners versus friends

The neural circuitry associated with threat regulation in the absence of other people is well established. An examination of threat regulatory processes with people from different domains of an individual’s social world is key to understanding social emotion regulation and personality functioning conceptualised as social domain organisation. In this study, 42 healthy female participants completed functional magnetic imaging sessions in which they underwent a scan in the presence of a romantic partner or friend, whilst completing a threat of shock task. In the presence of a romantic partner vs. friend, we found a reduction in amygdala activation to threat vs. safe trials over time. Furthermore, in the presence of a romantic partner vs. friend we observed greater subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation to threat vs safe trials overall. The results support the hypothesis that recruitment of threat regulation circuitry is modulated by romantic partner relative to another person well-known to the individual. Future work needs to examine neural responses to a wider range of stimuli across more social domains, and implications of failures of this neural organisation for psychopathology

Creating a system of professional learning that meets teachers’ needs

State-level leaders face a difficult challenge of determining where to invest scarce professional learning dollars. To address this challenge, a team of researchers and state-level science educators surveyed teachers to learn more about their vision for science education and what kind of learning opportunities they preferred. The survey enabled the team to determine how well teachers&rsquo; ideas about science education aligned with the Framework for K-12 Science Education. They then set state-level aims for professional learning that took into account teacher preferences and any gaps between teacher visions and the vision of science education in the framework. Together, the researchers and state leaders created free learning resources that could help teachers achieve these aims. </div

The Very Low Albedo of WASP-12b From Spectral Eclipse Observations with Hubble\textit{Hubble}

We present an optical eclipse observation of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. These spectra allow us to place an upper limit of $A_g < 0.064$ (97.5% confidence level) on the planet's white light geometric albedo across 290--570 nm. Using six wavelength bins across the same wavelength range also produces stringent limits on the geometric albedo for all bins. However, our uncertainties in eclipse depth are $\sim$40% greater than the Poisson limit and may be limited by the intrinsic variability of the Sun-like host star --- the solar luminosity is known to vary at the $10^{-4}$ level on a timescale of minutes. We use our eclipse depth limits to test two previously suggested atmospheric models for this planet: Mie scattering from an aluminum-oxide haze or cloud-free Rayleigh scattering. Our stringent nondetection rules out both models and is consistent with thermal emission plus weak Rayleigh scattering from atomic hydrogen and helium. Our results are in stark contrast with those for the much cooler HD 189733b, the only other hot Jupiter with spectrally resolved reflected light observations; those data showed an increase in albedo with decreasing wavelength. The fact that the first two exoplanets with optical albedo spectra exhibit significant differences demonstrates the importance of spectrally resolved reflected light observations and highlights the great diversity among hot Jupiters.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, published in ApJL, in pres

Comparison of different approaches to manage multi-site magnetic resonance spectroscopy clinical data analysis

IntroductionThe effects caused by differences in data acquisition can be substantial and may impact data interpretation in multi-site/scanner studies using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Given the increasing use of multi-site studies, a better understanding of how to account for different scanners is needed. Using data from a concussion population, we compare ComBat harmonization with different statistical methods in controlling for site, vendor, and scanner as covariates to determine how to best control for multi-site data.MethodsThe data for the current study included 545 MRS datasets to measure tNAA, tCr, tCho, Glx, and mI to study the pediatric concussion acquired across five sites, six scanners, and two different MRI vendors. For each metabolite, the site and vendor were accounted for in seven different models of general linear models (GLM) or mixed-effects models while testing for group differences between the concussion and orthopedic injury. Models 1 and 2 controlled for vendor and site. Models 3 and 4 controlled for scanner. Models 5 and 6 controlled for site applied to data harmonized by vendor using ComBat. Model 7 controlled for scanner applied to data harmonized by scanner using ComBat. All the models controlled for age and sex as covariates.ResultsModels 1 and 2, controlling for site and vendor, showed no significant group effect in any metabolites, but the vendor and site were significant factors in the GLM. Model 3, which included a scanner, showed a significant group effect for tNAA and tCho, and the scanner was a significant factor. Model 4, controlling for the scanner, did not show a group effect in the mixed model. The data harmonized by the vendor using ComBat (Models 5 and 6) had no significant group effect in both the GLM and mixed models. Lastly, the data harmonized by the scanner using ComBat (Model 7) showed no significant group effect. The individual site data suggest there were no group differences.ConclusionUsing data from a large clinical concussion population, different analysis techniques to control for site, vendor, and scanner in MRS data yielded different results. The findings support the use of ComBat harmonization for clinical MRS data, as it removes the site and vendor effects