Navigating the bridge: Bicultural stress, perceived bicultural competence, and coping flexibility among Latina/os

Latina/os in the U.S. often have an active identity in both their culture and the mainstream culture. Bicultural stress is the strain that generates from navigating two cultures and the differences that may arise between them (Chiang, 2007). It is important to understand the implications bicultural stress on Latinos and the mechanism that may have a role in its relationship with depression. Perceived bicultural competence is the notion of being able to navigate two cultures fluidly without a feeling sacrificing a sense of self (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993). Coping flexibility is one’s ability to change and modify coping behaviors depending on the nature of the stressful situation (Cheng, Lau, & Chen, 2014). In this study, a moderated mediation model was examined where perceived bicultural competence mediated the relation with bicultural stress and depression. Additionally, to further explore contextual coping, coping flexibility is posed as a moderating variable in the relationship between (a) bicultural stress and depression (b) perceived bicultural competence and depression (c) bicultural stress and perceived bicultural competence. Rationale for hypotheses and plans for this study are discussed. Results supported the hypothesized mediation role of perceived bicultural competence to the relationship of bicultural stress and depression. Coping flexibility moderated the mediated relationship of perceived bicultural competence and bicultural stress to depression. Moderation was not observed between bicultural stress and depression and between bicultural stress and perceived bicultural competences. Results, implications to counseling, research limitations and future research directions were discussed

Bicultural competence and education among Latino

Latino student\u27s educational attainment beyond a high school diploma continues to be a societal struggle and topic of research in academia. Enrollment rates continue to increase, however, gaps between initiation and completion of higher education degrees are still prevalent (Fry, 2010). The three dimensions of educational commitment (i.e. Affective, Continuance and Normative) had not been explored among Latino college students despite noted discrepancies between their intended goal and actual persistence (Hellman & Williams-Miller, 2005; Rendon & Nora, 1997). Minority stress has been identified as one of the potential stressors that influence minority students in higher education. This study examined the relationship between minority stress and the three dimensions of educational commitment in a sample of 148 Latino community college and University students. Social connectedness to both Latino and Mainstream culture and perceived bicultural competence were postulated as possible moderators to the hypothesized negative relationship between minority stress and all dimension of educational commitment. The results indicated a significant main effect of Mainstream social connectedness and perceived bicultural competence on Affective educational commitment. Similarly, a two-way interaction indicated that perceived bicultural competence interacted with minority tress in predicting Affective educational commitment. For Continuance educational commitment, a main effect of perceived bicultural competence was also found. Finally, social connectedness to mainstream also significantly predicted Normative educational commitment. Future research directions and implications to counseling and work with Latino college students are discussed

Vertebral compression fractures managed with brace: risk factors for progression

The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for vertebral compression fracture (VCF) progression in patients treated conservatively with a brace. Then, a case–control study was designed. All patients over 50 years old with diagnosis of thoracic or lumbar VCF (T5 to L5) in absence of underlying oncological process, treated conservatively with brace, and consecutively attended at our department from January 2017 to June 2021 were retrospectively selected for analysis. Patients missed for follow-up or dead during the frst 3 months of follow-up were excluded. Five hundred and eighty-two consecutive patients were recorded. Incomplete follow-up excluded 74 patients and other 19 died in the frst three months after diagnosis, so 489 cases were fnally analyzed. Median follow-up was 21 (IQR 13;30) weeks. Increased collapse of the vertebral body was found in 29.9% of VCFs with a median time to progression of 9 (IQR 7;13) weeks. Male gender (OR 1.6), type A3 fracture of the AOSpine classifcation (OR 2.7), thoracolumbar junction location (OR 1.7), and incorrect use of the brace (OR 3.5) were identifed as independent risk factors for progression after multivariable analysis. Male gender, type A3 fracture of the AOSpine classifcation, thoracolumbar junction location, and incorrect use of the brace were identifed as independent risk factors for VCF progression, which resulted in worse pain control, when treated with brace. Thus, other treatments such as percutaneous vertebral augmentation could be considered to avoid progression in selected cases, since collapse rate has been demonstrated lower with these procedure

Metabolic Abnormalities and Adipose Tissue Leukocyte Dynamics in a Murine Model of Obesity, Weight Loss, and Weight Regain

Obesity is associated with pro-inflammatory changes within adipose tissue which are mechanistically linked to the development of cardiometabolic disease. Currently, little is known regarding whether weight loss resolves obesity-induced changes including adipose tissue inflammation. We sought to clarify unresolved mechanisms that control adipose tissue leukocyte dynamics and metabolic dysfunction during obesity, weight loss, and weight regain. We first identified CD64 as a better marker than what has been previously used for identifying adipose tissue macrophages in mice. Use of this marker allows the definitive identification of macrophages from dendritic cells within adipose tissue and resolves controversies in the field regarding this population. Obesity was induced using a high-fat diet (60% kcal derived from fat) for 12 weeks and weight loss was achieved by switching animals back to normal diet (13.5% kcal derived from fat) for an additional 8-24 weeks. We show that even a prolonged six-month weight loss cycle in mice fails to completely resolve obesity-induced adipose tissue macrophage activation which may contribute to the persistent adipose tissue damage and reduced insulin sensitivity observed in formerly obese mice. Finally, we investigated if unique metabolic abnormalities develop in formerly obese mice upon HFD re-challenge for an additional 6 weeks. Weight regain was associated with impaired adipose tissue expansion, hyperinsulinemia, hepatic steatosis and elevated serum transaminase concentrations. We conclude that obesity imparts a lasting impact on adipose tissue immune and metabolic function that persists despite weight loss and may have long-term negative effects on health. As a result, weight regain in formerly obese mice is accompanied by hastened development of potentially severe metabolic abnormalities.PHDImmunologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137037/1/zamarrbf_1.pd

Flipped classroom applied to Neurosurgery in undergraduate medical education

To compare the academic achievement obtained in Neurosurgery in a class of undergraduate students according to the pedagogical methodology employed: flipped classroom (FC) versus traditional lecture. Students’ satisfaction with the FC model is also analyzed. A quasi-experimental study was designed. The traditional lecture was the pedagogical method employed in teaching units (TUs) 1, 2, and 3 (61, 60, and 66 enrolled students, respectively), whereas TU 4 (69 enrolled students) used the FC methodology. The dropout rate was lower, whereas the academic achievement and the rate of correct answers were higher in TU 4 compared to the rest of the TUs, but these results were not statistically significant. However, the mean score obtained in Neurosurgery was significantly higher in TU 4 compared to the rest of the TUs (p = 0.042). Active learning activities based on clinical cases were positively emphasized. The main weakness was with the time consumed for video-recorded lecture viewing. The FC approach showed better academic results than traditional lectures when comparing students in the same Medical School during the same academic year undergoing the same exam. The students rated the FC approach positively, considering it stimulating and useful for learnin

Classification of oximetry signals using Bayesian neural networks to assist in the detection of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

In the present study, multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks were applied to help in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). Oxygen saturation (SaO2) recordings from nocturnal pulse oximetry were used for this purpose. We performed time and spectral analysis of these signals to extract 14 features related to OSAS. The performance of two different MLP classifiers was compared: maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian (BY) MLP networks. A total of 187 subjects suspected of suffering from OSAS took part in the study. Their SaO2 signals were divided into a training set with 74 recordings and a test set with 113 recordings. BY-MLP networks achieved the best performance on the test set with 85.58% accuracy (87.76% sensitivity and 82.39% specificity). These results were substantially better than those provided by ML-MLP networks, which were affected by overfitting and achieved an accuracy of 76.81% (86.42% sensitivity and 62.83% specificity). Our results suggest that the Bayesian framework is preferred to implement our MLP classifiers. The proposed BY-MLP networks could be used for early OSAS detection. They could contribute to overcome the difficulties of nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) and thus reduce the demand for these studies

Structural assessment of Companhia Aurífícia, a 19th century industrial building located in northern Portugal

Companhia Aurifícia is located in Porto, Portugal, and was founded in 1864. It was a pioneer factory in the industrial production, casting, rolling and stamping of metallic objects and laboured for about 150 years, in areas as jewellery, manufacture of parts in silver and gold or the production and casting of various metals. In 1866, it began labouring in Rua dos Bragas, its present location, and in 2003 ceased all activities. Companhia Aurifícia is an industrial complex including several buildings, all located in the same block. It is a precious example of the industrial architecture in Porto, where the still existent retaining walls, structures, machinery and decorative elements, make it one of the last examples of nineteenth century industrial life of the city. The present work aims to evaluate the safety condition of one of the buildings included in this industrial complex, in order to propose the necessary strengthening interventions

A subcutaneous adipose tissue-liver signalling axis controls hepatic gluconeogenesis.

The search for effective treatments for obesity and its comorbidities is of prime importance. We previously identified IKK-ε and TBK1 as promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of obesity and associated insulin resistance. Here we show that acute inhibition of IKK-ε and TBK1 with amlexanox treatment increases cAMP levels in subcutaneous adipose depots of obese mice, promoting the synthesis and secretion of the cytokine IL-6 from adipocytes and preadipocytes, but not from macrophages. IL-6, in turn, stimulates the phosphorylation of hepatic Stat3 to suppress expression of genes involved in gluconeogenesis, in the process improving glucose handling in obese mice. Preliminary data in a small cohort of obese patients show a similar association. These data support an important role for a subcutaneous adipose tissue-liver axis in mediating the acute metabolic benefits of amlexanox on glucose metabolism, and point to a new therapeutic pathway for type 2 diabetes