Increased mRNA Expression for the α\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e Subunit of the GABA\u3csub\u3eA\u3c/sub\u3e Receptor Following Nitrous Oxide Exposure in Mice

The mechanisms by which nitrous oxide (N2O) produces physical dependence and withdrawal seizures are not well understood, but both N2O and ethanol exert some of their effects via the GABAA receptor and several lines of evidence indicate that withdrawal from N2O and ethanol may be produced through similar mechanisms. Expression levels of mRNA transcripts encoding several GABAA receptor subunits change with chronic ethanol exposure and, therefore, we hypothesized that N2O exposure would produce changes in mRNA expression for the α1 subunit. Male, Swiss–Webster mice, 10–12 weeks of age, were exposed for 48 h to either room air or a 75%:25% N2O:O2 environment. Brains were sectioned and mRNA for the a subunit was detected by in situ hybridization using an 35S-labelled cRNA probe. N2O exposure produced a significant increase in expression levels of the α1 subunit mRNA in the cingulate cortex, the CA1/2 region of the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus, the subiculum, the medial septum, and the ventral tegmental area. These results lend support to the hypothesis that N2O effects are produced, at least in part, through the GABAA receptor and that N2O produces these effects through actions in the cingulate cortex, hippocampus, ventral tegmental area and medial septum. These results are also further evidence that ethanol and N2O produce dependence and withdrawal through common mechanisms

The journey and destination need to be intentional: Perceptions of success in community-academic research partnerships

Research partnerships between community members and academics are dynamic microsystems that aim to increase community wellbeing within complex environments. Efforts to improve health and social outcomes in communities are challenging in their own right, but even the most experienced researchers or engaged community members can have difficulty navigating the collaborative terrain of community-academic research partnerships. Proponents of participatory research models that engage community members as co-researchers are still examining how the collaborative process interacts with, and impacts, both short- and long-term outcomes. As a result, there has been a call for additional studies that employ qualitative and quantitative methods to contribute to a holistic understanding of this approach to research. This pilot study utilized the participatory tenets of co-researcher models to explore how members of community-academic research partnerships think about partnership processes and outcomes, including how they delineate between the two. Web-based concept mapping methodology was combined with individual interviews in an innovative mixed methods research study to further the field’s understanding of how community and academic members define partnership success and evaluate the impact of their work. Our findings suggest that in the early stages of a partnership members rely on informal and intuitive evaluation of success based on how the partnership is functioning. These partnership processes, which serve as intermediate outcomes, largely influence member engagement in the work, but partnerships are ultimately deemed successful if intended community-based research outcomes are achieved.Keywords: community-academic research partnerships, participatory research, concept mapping methodology, mixed methods, partnership process, outcomes  

Using Qualitative Methods to Improve Physician Research Training: Understanding the Student Perspective

For several decades now, physician-scientists have been referred to as an “endangered species.” Many factors have contributed to the dearth of clinical investigators, and training programs in clinical research are just one tool in a multi-pronged strategy to increase the number of successful physician-scientists working in health research. A qualitative approach that analyzes students’ educational goals and experiences can help fill the gaps in our knowledge about how best to train aspiring physician-scientists. This study was an interpretive phenomenology that evaluated the Master of Science program in Clinical and Translational Research (MSCTR) at the University of Cincinnati. The purpose of the study was to allow students to articulate their expectations, needs, and experiences in the MSCTR. The study included a group level assessment (GLA) and document review. Findings suggest several reasons students enrolled in the MSCTR, as well as some areas for improvement in the program: more physician-centered classes, a more directed curriculum, and a more cohesive course plan overall. Conclusions from these recommendations are that student perspectives can inform decisions around curricula and instructional methods in powerful ways, particularly when combined with a qualitative methodological approach. This study revealed several insights into how faculty and administrators can more effectively train physicians in research methodology. Training should be as applied and relevant as possible to make it directly applicable to clinical practice. This goal could be enhanced if classes – particularly statistics classes – were more physician-oriented. The curriculum of a clinical research training program for clinicians should be clear and directed, but with some flexibility and space within the curriculum for classes within areas of specialization. Collaboration should be integrated throughout, and courses should follow a logical, interconnected sequence

Activating social change together: A qualitative synthesis of collaborative change research, evaluation and design literature

Researchers, evaluators and designers from an array of academic disciplines and industry sectors are turning to participatory approaches as they seek to understand and address complex social problems. We refer to participatory approaches that collaboratively engage/partner with stakeholders in knowledge creation/problem solving for action/social change outcomes as collaborative change research, evaluation and design (CCRED). We further frame CCRED practitioners by their desire to move beyond knowledge creation for its own sake to implementation of new knowledge as a tool for social change. In March and May of 2018, we conducted a literature search of multiple discipline-specific databases seeking collaborative, change-oriented scholarly publications. The search was limited to include peer-reviewed journal articles, with English language abstracts available, published in the last five years. The search resulted in 526 citations, 236 of which met inclusion criteria. Though the search was limited to English abstracts, all major geographic regions (North America, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, APAC, Africa and the Middle East) were represented within the results, although many articles did not state a specific region. Of those identified, most studies were located in North America, with the Middle East having only one identified study. We followed a qualitative thematic synthesis process to examine the abstracts of peer-reviewed articles to identify practices that transcend individual disciplines, sectors and contexts to achieve collaborative change. We surveyed the terminology used to describe CCRED, setting, content/topic of study, type of collaboration, and related benefits/outcomes in order to discern the words used to designate collaboration, the frameworks, tools and methods employed, and the presence of action, evaluation or outcomes. Forty-three percent of the reviewed articles fell broadly within the social sciences, followed by 26 percent in education and 25 percent in health/medicine. In terms of participants and/or collaborators in the articles reviewed, the vast majority of the 236 articles (86%) described participants, that is, those who the research was about or from whom data was collected. In contrast to participants, partners/collaborators (n=32; 14%) were individuals or groups who participated in the design or implementation of the collaborative change effort described. In terms of the goal for collaboration and/or for doing the work, the most frequently used terminology related to some aspect of engagement and empowerment. Common descriptors for the work itself were ‘social change’ (n=74; 31%), ‘action’ (n=33; 14%), ‘collaborative or participatory research/practice’ (n=13; 6%), ‘transformation’ (n=13; 6%) and ‘community engagement’ (n=10; 4%). Of the 236 articles that mentioned a specific framework or approach, the three most common were some variation of Participatory Action Research (n=30; 50%), Action Research (n=40; 16.9%) or Community-Based Participatory Research (n=17; 7.2%). Approximately a third of the 236 articles did not mention a specific method or tool in the abstract. The most commonly cited method/tool (n=30; 12.7%) was some variation of an arts-based method followed by interviews (n=18; 7.6%), case study (n=16; 6.7%), or an ethnographic-related method (n=14; 5.9%). While some articles implied action or change, only 14 of the 236 articles (6%) stated a specific action or outcome. Most often, the changes described were: the creation or modification of a model, method, process, framework or protocol (n=9; 4%), quality improvement, policy change and social change (n=8; 3%), or modifications to education/training methods and materials (n=5; 2%). The infrequent use of collaboration as a descriptor of partner engagement, coupled with few reported findings of measurable change, raises questions about the nature of CCRED. It appears that conducting CCRED is as complex an undertaking as the problems that the work is attempting to address

Religiosity, Alcohol Use Attitudes, and Alcohol Use in a National Sample of Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to investigate alcohol use attitudes as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and the frequency of past month alcohol use in a national sample of adolescents. Data were drawn from 18,314 adolescents who participated in the 2006 and 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Variables included religiosity, alcohol use attitudes, and past month frequency of alcohol use. Structural equation modeling was used to test alcohol use attitudes as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and frequency of alcohol use and to test model invariance across 4 racial/ethnic groups. Results suggest that alcohol use attitudes partially mediate the relationship between religiosity and frequency of alcohol use. Furthermore, while the pattern of these relationships is similar across racial/ethnic groups, the magnitude of alcohol use attitudes on frequency of alcohol use differed. Implications for prevention programs include targeting alcohol use attitudes in a variety of settings

Engaging Religious Institutions to Address Racial Disparities in HIV/AIDS: A Case of Academic-Community Partnership

African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV among all racial and ethnic groups. Direct involvement of faith leaders and faith communities is increasingly suggested as a primary strategy to reduce HIV-related disparities, and Black churches are uniquely positioned to address HIV stigma, prevention, and care in African American communities. The authors describe an academic-community partnership to engage Black churches to address HIV in a predominantly African American, urban, southern Midwest location.  The opportunities, process, and challenges in forming this academic-community partnership with Black churches can be used to guide future efforts toward engaging faith institutions, academia, and other community partners in the fight against HIV.

Molecular evolution of dengue type 2 virus in Thailand

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that in recent years has become a major international public health concern. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), first recognized in Southeast Asia in the 1950s, is today a leading cause of childhood death in many countries. The pathogenesis of this illness is poorly understood, mainly because there are no laboratory or animal models of disease. We have studied the genetic relationships of dengue viruses of serotype 2, one of four antigenically distinct dengue virus groups, to determine if viruses obtained from cases of less severe dengue fever (DF) have distinct evolutionary origins from those obtained from DHF cases. A very large number (73) of virus samples from patients with DF or DHF in two locations in Thailand (Bangkok and Kamphaeng Phet) were compared by sequence analysis of 240 nucleotides from the envelope/nonstructural protein 1 (E/NS1) gene junction of the viral genome. Phylogenetic trees generated with these data have been shown to reflect long-term evolutionary relationships among strains. The results suggest that 1) many different virus variants may circulate simultaneously in Thailand, thus reflecting the quasispecies nature of these RNA viruses, in spite of population immunity; 2) viruses belonging to two previously distinct genotypic groups have been isolated from both DF and DHF cases, supporting the view that they arose from a common progenitor and share the potential to cause severe disease; and 3) viruses associated with the potential to cause DHF segregate into what is now one, large genotypic group and they have evolved independently in Southeast Asia for some time

Gene-environment interplay and the importance of self-control in predicting polydrug use and substance-related problems

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the current study applies a general biosocial theoretical model to polydrug use and associated substance-related problems. Along with measures of molecular genetic polymorphisms, neurocognitive skills, self-control, and environmental pathogens a recursive path modeling strategy was used to empirically examine the relations between these biosocial measures and polydrug use, alcohol, and drug-related problems in a subsample of 1136 adolescent males (Mean age=21.96, SD=1.73). Results supported the main predictions of the biosocial model finding significant path coefficients across key constructs. In particular, the role of poor self-regulation was found to be sturdy across path models.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61301/1/Gene-environment.pd

Educational Priorities for Children with Cri-Du-Chat Syndrome

There are few data on the educational needs of children with cri-du-chat syndrome: a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects learning and development. We therefore designed an Internet survey to identify parents’ educational priorities in relation to children’s level of need/ability. The survey listed 54 skills/behaviors (e.g., toileting, expresses wants and needs, and tantrums) representing 10 adaptive behavior domains (e.g., self-care, communication, and problem behavior). Parents rated their child’s current level of ability/performance with respect to each skill/behavior and indicated the extent to which training/treatment was a priority. Fifty-four surveys were completed during the 3-month data collection period. Parents identified nine high priority skills/behaviors. Results supported the view that parent priorities are often based on the child’s deficits and emergent skills, rather than on child strengths. Implications for educational practice include the need for competence to develop high priority skills/behaviors and the value of assessing children’s deficits and emergent skills to inform the content of individualized education plans

Reliable Classifier to Differentiate Primary and Secondary Acute Dengue Infection Based on IgG ELISA

Dengue virus infection causes a wide spectrum of illness, ranging from sub-clinical to severe disease. Severe dengue is associated with sequential viral infections. A strict definition of primary versus secondary dengue infections requires a combination of several tests performed at different stages of the disease, which is not practical.We developed a simple method to classify dengue infections as primary or secondary based on the levels of dengue-specific IgG. A group of 109 dengue infection patients were classified as having primary or secondary dengue infection on the basis of a strict combination of results from assays of antigen-specific IgM and IgG, isolation of virus and detection of the viral genome by PCR tests performed on multiple samples, collected from each patient over a period of 30 days. The dengue-specific IgG levels of all samples from 59 of the patients were analyzed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and one- and two-dimensional classifiers were designed. The one-dimensional classifier was estimated by bolstered resubstitution error estimation to have 75.1% sensitivity and 92.5% specificity. The two-dimensional classifier was designed by taking also into consideration the number of days after the onset of symptoms, with an estimated sensitivity and specificity of 91.64% and 92.46%. The performance of the two-dimensional classifier was validated using an independent test set of standard samples from the remaining 50 patients. The classifications of the independent set of samples determined by the two-dimensional classifiers were further validated by comparing with two other dengue classification methods: hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay and an in-house anti-dengue IgG-capture ELISA method. The decisions made with the two-dimensional classifier were in 100% accordance with the HI assay and 96% with the in-house ELISA.Once acute dengue infection has been determined, a 2-D classifier based on common dengue virus IgG kits can reliably distinguish primary and secondary dengue infections. Software for calculation and validation of the 2-D classifier is made available for download