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Missed opportunity in mathematics anxiety
No full textIn our technologically advanced society proficiency in mathematics is paramount to success in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment sector. Mathematics anxiety negatively affects an individual’s physiological and cognitive functioning, which results in the individual obtaining lower achievement in mathematics. The consequences of low mathematics achievement can have devastating consequences for the individual’s career in STEM fields which require high level mathematics. This article will provide a review of the prevalence of mathematics anxiety, its historical development, as well as theories from education, psychology, neuroscience and causal factors purporting to provide a comprehensive understanding of mathematics anxiety. We propose a fourth causal factor, missed opportunity, in which the individual is high functioning academically, but exhibiting mathematics anxiety. He or she is not able to perform well in mathematics due to missing the opportunity to learn the foundational mathematics knowledge necessary in STEM fields
Theme enrichment analysis: A statistical test for identifying significantly enriched themes in a list of stories with an application to the Star Trek television franchise
No full textIn this paper, we describe how the hypergeometric test can be used to determine whether a given theme of interest occurs in a storyset at a frequency more than would be expected by chance. By a storyset we mean simply a list of stories defined according to a common attribute (e.g., author, movement, period). The test works roughly as follows: Given a background storyset and a sub-storyset of interest, the test determines whether a given theme is over-represented in the sub-storyset, based on comparing the proportions of stories in the sub-storyset and background storyset featuring the theme. A storyset is said to be “enriched” for a theme with respect to a particular background storyset, when the theme is identified as being significantly over-represented by the test. Furthermore, we introduce here a toy dataset consisting of 280 manually themed Star Trek television franchise episodes. As a proof of concept, we use the hypergeometric test to analyze the Star Trek stories for enriched themes. The hypergeometric testing approach to theme enrichment analysis is implemented for the Star Trek thematic dataset in the R package stoRy. A related R Shiny web application can be found at https://github.com/theme-ontology/shiny-apps
HDAC1 modulates OGG1-initiated oxidative DNA damage repair in the aging brain and Alzheimer’s disease
No full textDNA damage contributes to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the factors stimulating DNA repair to stave off functional decline remain obscure. We show that HDAC1 modulates OGG1-initated 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) repair in the brain. HDAC1-deficient mice display age-associated DNA damage accumulation and cognitive impairment. HDAC1 stimulates OGG1, a DNA glycosylase known to remove 8-oxoG lesions that are associated with transcriptional repression. HDAC1 deficiency causes impaired OGG1 activity, 8-oxoG accumulation at the promoters of genes critical for brain function, and transcriptional repression. Moreover, we observe elevated 8-oxoG along with reduced HDAC1 activity and downregulation of a similar gene set in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, pharmacological activation of HDAC1 alleviates the deleterious effects of 8-oxoG in aged wild-type and 5XFAD mice. Our work uncovers important roles for HDAC1 in 8-oxoG repair and highlights the therapeutic potential of HDAC1 activation to counter functional decline in brain aging and neurodegeneration.Alzheimer’s Association New Investigator Research GrantStuart & Suzanne Steele MGH Research Scholars Progra
A course-based first-year research experience for undergraduate nutrition students
No full textIn both Canada and the US, dietitians are expected to meet specific entry-to-practice competencies related to research.1,2 Various practical and innovative activities that incorporate research training and experiences for upper-year nutrition students have been described3, 4, 5 to help meet those competencies.
The development of research skills by students throughout their university training is a process that occurs over time.6 Willison and O'Regan's Research Skill Development Framework7 suggests that there are 5 levels of research skill development for students ranging from Prescribed Research (eg, high degree of structure imposed by educator) to Unbounded Research (eg, research guidelines are student-determined). This model is relevant for dietetic educators and nutrition students because it provides a framework for scaffolding students’ development of research skills. This framework suggests that research training can be included for nutrition students in the early stages of their program and does not have to be reserved for later years.
Course-based first-year research experiences (FYREs) have gained momentum in various disciplines, such as geography, and have been shown to be beneficial for students (eg, better academic performance and increased understanding of the research process).8,9 Their use and impact in dietetic education have not been reported. The purpose of this project was to implement a course-based FYRE into an undergraduate nutrition course and to evaluate student attitudes and suggestions regarding the experience
Projected changes in wind speed and its energy potential in China using a high‐resolution regional climate model
No full textFollowing its commitment to Paris Agreement in 2015, China has started to explore potential renewable energy solutions with low carbon emissions to mitigate global warming. Though wind energy is one of the most cost‐effective solutions and has been favored for climate policy development around the world, its high sensitivity to climate change raises some critical issues for the long‐term effectiveness in providing sustainable energy supply. Particularly, how wind speed and its energy potential in China will change in the context of global warming is still not well understood. In this paper, we simulate the near‐surface wind speed over China using the PRECIS regional climate modeling system under different RCP emission scenarios for assessing the possible changes in wind speed and wind energy availability over China throughout the 21st century. Overall, the PRECIS model can reasonably reproduce the mesoscale climatological near‐surface wind speed and directions as documented in reanalysis data across most regions of China, while some local discrepancies are reported in the southwestern regions. In the future, the annual mean wind speed would be decreasing in most regions of China, except for a slightly increase in the southeast. The expected changes in wind speed are characterized with different amplitudes and rates under different RCP emission scenarios. The changes in the spatial distribution of wind speed seem to be sensitive for RCP climate emission scenarios, especially in the late 21st century. The spatiotemporal changes in wind energy potential exhibit a similar behavior to those in near‐surface wind speed, but the magnitudes of these changes are larger. In general, the wind power density is expected to increase by over 5% in winter in the major wind fields in China (ie, Northwest, Northcentral and Northeast), while significant decreases (by about 6% on average) are projected for other seasons (ie, spring, summer and autumn). By contrast, the wind energy potential in the northeast would increase over most months in the year, especially in winter and summer. The results of this research are of great importance for understanding where and to what extent the wind energy can be utilized to contribute renewable energy system development in China in support of its long‐term climate change mitigation commitment
Mentalization for Offending Adult Males (MOAM): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial to evaluate mentalization-based treatment for antisocial personality disorder in male offenders on community probation
No full textBackground
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), although associated with very significant health and social burden, is an under-researched mental disorder for which clinically effective and cost-effective treatment methods are urgently needed. No intervention has been established for prevention or as the treatment of choice for this disorder. Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is a psychotherapeutic treatment that has shown some promising preliminary results for reducing personality disorder symptomatology by specifically targeting the ability to recognize and understand the mental states of oneself and others, an ability that is compromised in people with ASPD. This paper describes the protocol of a multi-site RCT designed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of MBT for reducing aggression and alleviating the wider symptoms of ASPD in male offenders subject to probation supervision who fulfil diagnostic criteria for ASPD.
Methods
Three hundred and two participants recruited from a pool of offenders subject to statutory supervision by the National Probation Service at 13 sites across the UK will be randomized on a 1:1 basis to 12 months of probation plus MBT or standard probation as usual, with follow-up to 24 months post-randomization. The primary outcome is frequency of aggressive antisocial behaviour as assessed by the Overt Aggression Scale – Modified. Secondary outcomes include violence, offending rates, alcohol use, drug use, mental health status, quality of life, and total service use costs. Data will be gathered from police and criminal justice databases, NHS record linkage, and interviews and self-report measures administered to participants. Primary analysis will be on an intent-to-treat basis; per-protocol analysis will be undertaken as secondary analysis. The primary outcome will be analysed using hierarchical mixed-effects linear regression. Secondary outcomes will be analysed using mixed-effects linear regression, mixed-effects logistic regression, and mixed-effects Poisson models for secondary outcomes depending on whether the outcome is continuous, binary, or count data. A cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis will be undertaken.
Discussion
This definitive, national, multi-site trial is of sufficient size to evaluate MBT to inform policymakers, service commissioners, clinicians, and service users about its potential to treat offenders with ASPD and the likely impact on the population at risk.Fondation ARC pour la Recherche sur le CancerUniversity Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation TrustHeartlands HospitalNational Institute for Health ResearchUniversity College LondonUniversity of Bristo
Structure determination of conjugated linoleic and linolenic acids
No full textConjugated linoleic and linolenic acids (CLA and CLnA) can be found in dairy, ruminant meat and oilseeds, these types of unsaturated fatty acids consist of various positional and geometrical isomers, and have demonstrated health-promoting potential for human beings. Extensive reviews have reported the physiological effects of CLA, CLnA, while little is known regarding their isomer-specific effects. However, the isomers are difficult to identify, owing to (i) the similar retention time in common chromatographic methods; and (ii) the isomers are highly sensitive to high temperature, pH changes, and oxidation. The uncertainties in molecular structure have hindered investigations on the physiological effects of CLA and CLnA. Therefore, this review presents a summary of the currently available technologies for the structural determination of CLA and CLnA, including the presence confirmation, double bond position determination, and the potential stereo-isomer determination. Special focus has been projected to the novel techniques for structure determination of CLA and CLnA. Some possible future directions are also proposed.China Postdoctoral Science FoundationJiangsu Postdoctoral Science FoundationNational Natural Science Foundation of Chin
Prospective evaluation of the influence of sampling method on bacterial culture results and antimicrobial selection in 52 dogs with infected wounds
No full textObjective
To determine the influence of sampling methods on culture results and selection of antimicrobials for treating infected wounds in dogs.
Design
Prospective study from January to July 2016.
Setting
Three private multispecialty referral centers.
Animals
Fifty-two client-owned dogs with infected wounds.
Interventions
Each wound was sampled for culture by 3 methods: swabbing prior to preparation (dirty swabs), swabbing after debridement and sterile lavage (clean swabs), and biopsy. Bacterial species and phenotypes were compared. Three clinicians unaware of patient, wound, and sampling information selected antimicrobial drugs based on culture and sensitivity reports. Antimicrobials were divided into class I, II, or III based on established guidelines. The number, highest class of antimicrobial chosen, and inter-investigator agreement were examined.
Measurements and Main Results
Identical populations of bacteria were isolated for all 3 sampling techniques in only 31% of wounds. Significantly fewer bacterial species were isolated from biopsy samples (1.87 bacterial species per wound ± 1.14) than from clean swab samples (2.29 ± 1.18; P = 0.009) but not dirty swab samples (2.29 ± 1.29; P = 0.06). The recovery frequency for gram-positive bacteria was lower for biopsy compared to either swabbing technique (P = 0.001 for both comparisons). No difference was observed between clean and dirty swabbing techniques for any parameter examined. Sampling technique did not affect the proportion of wounds with anaerobic, gram-negative, or multi-drug resistant bacteria. The number (P = 0.28) and highest class of antimicrobial (P = 0.9) selected per wound did not differ between the 3 sampling techniques (P = 0.28). Clinician agreement was 83–90% depending on sampling technique.
Conclusion
Although there were some differences in bacteria isolated from biopsy samples compared to swab samples from infected wounds, technique did not influence the number and highest class of antimicrobial selected by clinicians. Wound debridement prior to sampling by swabbing did not alter the number or type of bacteria isolated, nor the number or the highest class of antimicrobial selected by clinicians