Lived experiences of cisgender openly gay Latino males as mid-level administrators in higher education in the southwest region of the United States, The

Includes bibliographical references.2022 Fall.The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to explore the stories and experiences of openly gay Latino males who serve as mid-level administrators in higher education. This study focused on narrative stories of personal and historical context of the participants' intersecting identities that have implications for their daily interactions in an institutional environment. This study is significant in four ways. First, In the United States, gay Latinos have been subject to social oppression, invisibility, and misrepresentation throughout history. This lack of recognition and support stifles gay Latinos the ability to develop a sense of belonging. Narrative inquiry was used to increase awareness of the lived experiences of gay Latinos as administrators in higher education and gives them an opportunity to share their experiences. The key findings from the participants' narratives were the influences of family expectations, support systems, fear of discrimination or homophobia, and lack of representation in higher education. The struggles and achievements from these stories are valuable and can raise visibility for more inclusive leadership practices, mentorship, and equitable policies in higher education

Butadiene cancer exposure–response modeling: Based on workers in the styrene–butadiene–rubber industry: Total leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic myelogenous leukemia

AbstractCox regression is used to estimate exposure–response models (with cumulative 1,3-butadiene (BD) ppm-years as the exposure metric) based on the most recent data and validated exposure estimates from UAB’s study of North American workers in the styrene–butadiene–rubber industry. These data are substantially updated from those in USEPA’s 2002 risk assessment.The slope for cumulative BD ppm-years is not statistically significantly different than zero for CML, AML, or, when any one of eight exposure covariates is added to the model, for all leukemias combined (total leukemia).For total leukemia, the EC(1/100,000) is approximately 0.15 BD environmental ppm and the corresponding unit risk factor is approximately 0.00007 per BD environmental ppm. The excess risk for CML is approximately 15-fold less than for total leukemia. The maximum likelihood estimates suggest that there is no excess risk for AML from cumulative BD ppm-years.For CLL, the slope is statistically significantly different than zero. The excess risk for CLL is approximately 2.5-fold less than for total leukemia.For both total leukemia and CLL, the slope is not statistically significantly different than zero when the exposure–response modeling is based on the person-years with cumulative BD ppm-years less than or equal to 300ppm-years

Misinterpretation of categorical rate ratios and inappropriate exposure–response model fitting can lead to biased estimates of risk: Ethylene oxide case study

AbstractThere are pitfalls associated with exposure–response modeling of human epidemiological data based on rate ratios (RRs). Exposure–response modeling is best based on individual data, when available, rather than being based on summary results of that data such as categorical RRs. Because the data for the controls (or the lowest exposure interval if there are not enough controls) are random and not known with certainty a priori, any exposure–response model fit to RRs should estimate the intercept rather than fixing it equal to one. Evaluation of a model’s goodness-of-fit to the individual data should not be based on the assumption that summary RRs describe the true underlying exposure–response relationship. These pitfalls are illustrated by Monte Carlo simulation examples with known underlying models. That these pitfalls are a practical concern is illustrated by the need for U.S. EPA to reconsider its most recent evaluation of ethylene oxide. If they had avoided these pitfalls, their exposure–response modeling would have been in better agreement with the log-linear model fit to the individual data

Actuarial Analysis of Retirement Income Replacement Ratios

A measure of level of post-retirement standard of living is the replacement ratio, i.e., percentage of final salary received as annual retirement income derived from savings. The replacement ratio depends on many factors including salary, salary increases, investment returns, and post-retirement mortality. Elementary life contingencies techniques are used to develop a replacement ratio formula and analyze its sensitivity to these factors

Actuarial Analysis of Retirement Income Replacement Ratios

A measure of level of post-retirement standard of living is the replacement ratio, i.e., percentage of final salary received as annual retirement income derived from savings. The replacement ratio depends on many factors including salary, salary increases, investment returns, and post-retirement mortality. Elementary life contingencies techniques are used to develop a replacement ratio formula and analyze its sensitivity to these factors

Sistema de saneamiento autónomo para la disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las islas flotantes Los Uros, Puno, Perú - 2016

La investigación tiene como propósito determinar la relación que existe entre el sistema de saneamiento autónomo en la disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las Islas Flotantes Los Uros, Puno, Perú - 2016. La investigación es de de tipo Básico, Pura o Fundamental descriptivo correlacional diseño no experimental y transversal, el método utilizado es cuantitativo y la estadística es descriptiva, con una población de 10 representantes de las Islas Flotantes Los Uros, Puno, Perú - 2016. Se consideró para la muestra la misma cantidad de la población, siguiendo el tipo de muestreo por conveniencia. Para la recolección de los datos se aplicó la técnica de la encuesta y su instrumento el cuestionario para evaluar el sistema de saneamiento autónomo y disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las islas flotantes Los Uros. Los resultados demuestran que entre las variables sistema de saneamiento autónomo y disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las islas flotantes Los Uros existe una correlación de ρ= 0.978. Es decir a un buen nivel de sistema de saneamiento autónomo le corresponde un buen nivel de disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las islas flotantes Los Uros; a un deficiente nivel de sistema de saneamiento autónomo le corresponde un deficiente nivel de disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las islas flotantes Los Uros. Se concluye señalando que existe relación directa entre sistema de saneamiento autónomo y de disminución de enfermedades de origen hídrico en las Islas Flotantes Los Uros, Puno, Perú - 2016

Impacto del crecimiento económico en la reducción de la pobreza extrema del Perú durante el periodo 2007 - 2014

Busca la relación entre el crecimiento económico y la pobreza extrema a través de datos panel para los 24 departamentos del país en el periodo de 2007 - 2014. Se utiliza los datos del Sistema de Información Regional para la toma de decisiones del INEI y se utiliza el modelo de efectos fijos escogido mediante la aplicación del Test de Hausman. Las variables utilizadas en el modelo econométrico fueron de pobreza extrema, PBI per cápita, tasa de desempleo y gasto público en educación (gasto público en educación inicial, primaria y secundaria) a través de la tasa de crecimiento. Entre los resultados se encontró que la única variable que tuvo un impacto significativo en la pobreza extrema fue el PBI per cápita (p<0.001; coef=-0.0016). Es decir, un aumento del PBI per cápita reduce la incidencia de la pobreza extrema. En el análisis por correlación de los departamentos se encuentra que diecisiete departamentos presentan una relación inversa de PBI per cápita con la pobreza extrema y para el departamento de Lima no solo se tiene influencia del PBI per cápita sino también de la tasa de desempleo. Se concluye que el crecimiento económico, medido a través del PBI per cápita, influye en la reducción de la pobreza extrema. El país a lo largo del periodo de estudio ha experimentado una reducción de la pobreza extrema, así como el crecimiento económico medido por PBI per cápita y esto apoya la hipótesis planteada.Tesi

A field evaluation of the Hardy TB MODS Kit™ for the rapid phenotypic diagnosis of tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Even though the WHO-endorsed, non-commercial MODS assay offers rapid, reliable TB liquid culture and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) at lower cost than any other diagnostic, uptake has been patchy. In part this reflects misperceptions about in-house assay quality assurance, but user convenience of one-stop procurement is also important. A commercial MODS kit was developed by Hardy Diagnostics (Santa Maria, CA, USA) with PATH (Seattle, WA, USA) to facilitate procurement, simplify procedures through readymade media, and enhance safety with a sealing silicone plate lid. Here we report the results from a large-scale field evaluation of the MODS kit in a government service laboratory. METHODS & FINDINGS: 2446 sputum samples were cultured in parallel in Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ), conventional MODS and in the MODS kit. MODS kit DST was compared with conventional MODS (direct) DST and proportion method (indirect) DST. 778 samples (31.8%) were Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture-positive. Compared to conventional MODS the sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values (95% confidence intervals) of the MODS Kit were 99.3% (98.3-99.8%), 98.3% (97.5-98.8%), 95.8% (94.0-97.1%), and 99.7% (99.3-99.9%). Median (interquartile ranges) time to culture-positivity (and rifampicin and isoniazid DST) was 10 (9-13) days for conventional MODS and 8.5 (7-11) for MODS Kit (p<0.01). Direct rifampicin and isoniazid DST in MODS kit was almost universally concordant with conventional MODS (97.9% agreement, 665/679 evaluable samples) and reference indirect DST (97.9% agreement, 687/702 evaluable samples). CONCLUSIONS: MODS kit delivers performance indistinguishable from conventional MODS and offers a convenient, affordable alternative with enhanced safety from the sealing silicone lid. The availability in the marketplace of this platform, which conforms to European standards (CE-marked), readily repurposed for second-line DST in the near future, provides a fresh opportunity for improving equity of access to TB diagnosis and first and second-line DST in settings where the need is greatest

Nanomechanics of Multiple Units in the Erythrocyte Membrane Skeletal Network

Erythrocytes undergo deformations when they transport O(2) and CO(2) across the membrane, yet the 3D nanomechanics of the skeletal network remains poorly understood. Expanding from our previous single isolated unit, we now simulate networks consisting of 1–10 concentric rings of repeating units in equibiaxial deformation. The networks are organized with (1) a 3D model for a single unit, (2) a wrap-around mode between Sp and actin protofilament in the intra-unit interaction, and (3) a random inter-unit connectivity. These assumptions permit efficient five-degrees-of-freedom (5DOF) simulations when up to 30 pN of radial forces are applied to the boundary spectrin (Sp) and the center and other units are analyzed. As 6 Sp balance their tensions, hexagonal units become irregular. While actin protofilaments remain tangent to the network, their yaw (Φ) angles change drastically with addition of neighboring units or an Sp unfolding. It is anticipated that during deformation, transmembrane complexes associated with the network move laterally through the lipid bilayer and increase the diffusion of molecules across the membrane. When protofilament/Sp sweeps under the lipid bilayer, they mix up the submembrane concentration gradient. Thus, the nanomechanics of actin protofilaments and Sp may enhance the transport of molecules during erythrocyte deformation. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10439-010-0040-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users