Analyzing Qualitative Data at Museum Victoria

The rate of Australian citizens who have experienced racial discrimination has steadily increased in the past decade. To combat this issue Museum Victoria, our sponsor, created the Talking Difference Portable Studio that aims to facilitate dialogue about cultural difference and to promote diversity. Our goal was to develop a preferred methodology for analyzing the qualitative data generated from the studio. We interviewed professionals in the field to determine a preferred methodology including theoretical approaches, appropriate themes, and the optimal data analysis software. Our designed methodology for the Talking Difference data will aid in an efficient analysis to uncover patterns of racism that may be used for further research or to educate the public on this issue

Simulating HIV-1 Protease Mutations for Conferred Drug Resistance

A major challenge in the long-term management of HIV is drug resistance caused from high rate and error prone viral replication. To examine mechanisms of drug resistance within HIV-1 protease complexed with Darunavir, specific point mutations were placed in the protease amino acid sequence and molecular dynamic simulations were run. MATLAB and python scripts were developed to efficiently and consistently analyze simulation data. The team hypothesized that there would be a difference in inhibitor interactions and protein dynamic behavior in mutant variants compared to wild type. Although some aspects of increased resistance were seen with compounded mutations, overall this trend was not observed across every facet of our analysis

Glycemic load, dietary fiber, and added sugar and fecundability in 2 preconception cohorts

BACKGROUND: Glycemic load (GL) reflects the quantity and quality of carbohydrates in the diet; dietary fiber and added sugar are components of GL. Few epidemiologic studies have assessed the association between these dietary factors and fecundability. OBJECTIVE: We prospectively evaluated the associations of GL, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and added sugar with fecundability. METHODS: Snart Foraeldre (SF) and Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) are parallel web-based prospective preconception cohorts of couples attempting to conceive in Denmark and North America. At baseline, female participants completed a web-based questionnaire on demographic and lifestyle factors and a validated FFQ. We calculated GL, total carbohydrate intake, total dietary fiber, carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio, and added sugar based on reported frequencies for individual foods, standard recipes for mixed foods, and average serving sizes. The analysis included 2709 SF participants and 4268 PRESTO participants. We used proportional probabilities regression models to estimate fecundability ratios (FR) and 95% CIs. RESULTS: Compared with an average daily GL of ≤100, FRs for an average daily GL of ≥141 were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.73, 1.08) in SF and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.98) in PRESTO participants. Compared with consuming ≤16 g/d of dietary fiber, FRs for consuming ≥25 g/d were 0.99 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.22) in SF and 1.06 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.20) in PRESTO. Compared with a carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio of ≤8, FRs for a ratio of ≥13 were 0.86 (95% CI: 0.73, 1.01) in SF and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.98) in PRESTO. Compared with ≤27 g/d of added sugar, FRs for ≥72 g/d were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.10) in SF and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.99) in PRESTO participants. CONCLUSIONS: Among women attempting to conceive in Denmark and North America, diets high in GL, carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio, and added sugar were associated with modestly reduced fecundability