Educating Patients on the COVID-19 Vaccination

Patients are frequently coming into clinics with misinformation and frequently asked questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The goal of this project was to address these frequently asked questions by educating patients and sparking conversation regarding the vaccine when patients came to their clinic appoints. This was accomplished via a handout that was given to patients on arrival.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1729/thumbnail.jp

Sparse reconstruction of ordinary differential equations with inference

Sparse regression has emerged as a popular technique for learning dynamical systems from temporal data, beginning with the SINDy (Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics) framework proposed by arXiv:1509.03580. Quantifying the uncertainty inherent in differential equations learned from data remains an open problem, thus we propose leveraging recent advances in statistical inference for sparse regression to address this issue. Focusing on systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), SINDy assumes that each equation is a parsimonious linear combination of a few candidate functions, such as polynomials, and uses methods such as sequentially-thresholded least squares or the Lasso to identify a small subset of these functions that govern the system's dynamics. We instead employ bias-corrected versions of the Lasso and ridge regression estimators, as well as an empirical Bayes variable selection technique known as SEMMS, to estimate each ODE as a linear combination of terms that are statistically significant. We demonstrate through simulations that this approach allows us to recover the functional terms that correctly describe the dynamics more often than existing methods that do not account for uncertainty

Leveraging variational autoencoders for multiple data imputation

Missing data persists as a major barrier to data analysis across numerous applications. Recently, deep generative models have been used for imputation of missing data, motivated by their ability to capture highly non-linear and complex relationships in the data. In this work, we investigate the ability of deep models, namely variational autoencoders (VAEs), to account for uncertainty in missing data through multiple imputation strategies. We find that VAEs provide poor empirical coverage of missing data, with underestimation and overconfident imputations, particularly for more extreme missing data values. To overcome this, we employ $\beta$-VAEs, which viewed from a generalized Bayes framework, provide robustness to model misspecification. Assigning a good value of $\beta$ is critical for uncertainty calibration and we demonstrate how this can be achieved using cross-validation. In downstream tasks, we show how multiple imputation with $\beta$-VAEs can avoid false discoveries that arise as artefacts of imputation.Comment: 17 pages, 3 main figures, 6 supplementary figure

Gender sensitivity, mental health care provision and minority communities in Ireland: a realist analysis

The Irish Government has adopted “Gender Mainstreaming” as a strategy to promote equal opportunities between women and men in its National Development Plan. While current mental health policy addresses the principle of partnership and social inclusiveness as a way forward for mental health service provision, it still does not explicitly deal with the notion of gender and gender sensitivity. For some minority groups a lack of trust is a key issue that affects their uptake and meaningful use of services resulting in inadequate and gender insensitive care provision. Aim: The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse service providers’ views in relation to the gender sensitivity of mental health care provision particularly as it relates to minority (Traveller and gay) communities. Method: A qualitative social realist design was used guided by Layder’s adaptive theory and ontological theory of the social world – ‘social domains theory’. In-depth interviews with twenty eight service providers were conducted within one mental health service in Ireland. Data was analysed using NVivo software. Results: The findings are presented in relation to tolerance and responsiveness of service providers towards the gay and Traveller communities. Service providers suggested that prejudices were held in relation to both indigenous and immigrant minority groups and this impacted upon care provision. Categorical intersectional understandings of gender were used by service providers to describe Travellers. Conclusion: Belonging to a minority group was a potential or actual threat to gender sensitive care and service providers managed such threats within a lay socialisation context. Arguably, a move towards developing gender-sensitive mental health care provision requires greater collaboration, education and understandings in relation to minority groups, their cultural differences and gendered identities

Critical realism: a philosophical framework for the study of gender and mental health

This paper explores gender and mental health with particular reference to the emerging philosophical field of critical realism. This philosophy suggests a shared ontology and epistemology for the natural and social sciences. Until recently, most of the debate surrounding gender and mental health has been guided either implicitly or explicitly within a positivist or constructivist philosophy. With this in mind, key areas of critical realism are explored in relation to gender and mental health, and contrasted with the positions of positivism and constructivism. It is argued that critical realism offers an alternative philosophical framework for the exploration of gender issues within mental health care

Overview of Tobacco streak virus and Blueberry shock virus in cranberry

Abstract: Tobacco streak virus (TSV) and Blueberry shock virus (BlShV) are associated with berry scarring symptoms in cranberries in several growing regions. The scarring symptoms associated with TSV and BlShV are identical, and the cause can only be distinguished when samples are tested for these viruses. Cranberry plants infected with TSV or BlShV recovered from symptoms the year after berry scarring occurred, but continued to test positive for the respective virus. Fruit set and berry weight were significantly reduced (P \u3c 0.05) in symptomatic, virus-positive cranberry plants, but recovered plants yielded comparably to healthy plants. Both viruses are systemic and can be detected in all plant parts. However, both viruses are unevenly distributed in plants, which can affect virus detection and transmission. BlShV is detected in cranberry pollen and seedlings, while TSV is detected only in pollen and not seedlings. Detection of these viruses in pollen suggests that pollen is a potential source of inoculum for the spread of these viruses. However, artificial inoculation of cranberry flowers by pollination did not result in disease transmission of either virus. Unlike BlShV, which is found only on one other host (i.e., blueberry), TSV has a wide host range. Phylogenetic analysis of the coat protein of isolates of TSV revealed variability among strains both within and between growing regions. BlShV on cranberry was relatively less variable, but did not indicate grouping by growing regions. Additionally, the coat protein of BlShV from cranberry shared only 90% identity compared to BlShV on blueberry, suggesting different strains on the two hosts. Although the immediate effect(s) of TSV and BlShV on cranberry seem to be minimal, the potential long-term effect(s) of these viruses, alone or in mixed infections with other viruses, remain unknown

Experiences in Youth Sports: A Comparison Between Players’ and Parents’ Perspectives

vol. 2, no.

Investigating audible and ultrasonic noise in modern animal facilities

Background: The environmental housing conditions of laboratory animals are important for both welfare and reliable, reproducible data. Guidelines currently exist for factors such as lighting cycles, temperature, humidity, and noise, however, for the latter the current guidelines may overlook important details. In the case of the most common laboratory species, the mouse, the range of frequencies they can hear is far higher than that of humans. The current guidelines briefly mention that ultrasonic (>20 kHz) frequencies can adversely affect mice, and that the acoustic environment should be checked, though no recommendations are provided relating to acceptable levels of ultrasonic noise. Methods: To investigate the ultrasonic environment in a large mouse breeding facility (the Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell), we compared two systems, the Hottinger Bruel and Kjaer PULSE sound analyser, and an Avisoft Bioacoustics system. Potential noise sources were selected; we used the PULSE system to undertake real-time Fourier analysis of noise up to 100 kHz, and the Avisoft system to record noise up to 125 kHz for later analysis. The microphones from both systems were positioned consistently at the same distance from the source and environmental conditions were identical. In order to investigate our result further, a third system, the AudioMoth (Open Acoustic Devices), was also used for recording. We used DeepSqueak software for most of the recording analysis and, in some cases, we also undertook further spectral analysis using RX8 (iZotope, USA). Results: We found that both systems can detect a range of ultrasonic noise sources, and here discuss the benefits and limitations of each approach. Conclusions: We conclude that measuring the acoustic environment of animal facilities, including ultrasonic frequencies that may adversely affect the animals housed, will contribute to minimising disruption to animal welfare and perturbations in scientific research

Two Models of Mind Blanking

Mind blanking is a mental state in which attention does not bring any perceptual input into conscious awareness. As this state is still largely unexplored, we suggest that a comprehensive understanding of mind blanking can be achieved through a multifaceted approach combining self-assessment methods, neuroimaging, and neuromodulation. In this article, we explain how EEG and TMS could be combined to help determine whether mind blanking is associated with a lack of mental content or a lack of linguistically or conceptually determinable mental content. We also question whether mind blanking occurs spontaneously or intentionally and whether these two forms are instantiated by the same or different neural correlates