22689 research outputs found
Sort by
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH: EXPLORING UNDERLYING PATHWAYS
No full textBackground: Negative psychological health following traumatic experiences is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Military service members and veterans (SMVs) with combat exposure are at increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and CVD. However, the underlying pathways linking psychological conditions to cardiovascular health (CVH) prior to CVD development and the impact on brain health remain insufficiently understood.
Objectives: To investigate the pathways linking PTSD and MDD to poor CVH among U.S. SMVs and explore how the pathways link to brain health.
Methods: This study analyzed baseline data from the Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium—Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) study. Data from 790 trauma-exposed SMVs without CVD diagnoses were used. CVH consists of four health factors (blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, and body mass index) and three health behaviors (sleep, nicotine exposure, and physical inactivity), ranging from 0-100, based on Life’s Essential 8 scoring metrics. The lowest third of the CVH score was classified as poor CVH. In the subgroups with genetic and neuroimaging data, RNA-sequencing-based transcriptomic analysis (n=85) and neuroimaging analysis (n=142) were conducted to examine gene expression and endophenotypic changes between individuals with PTSD/MDD and poor CVH (combined risk group) than those with no PTSD/MDD and good CVH (healthy comparison group).
Results: PTSD/MDD were associated with poor CVH, with health behaviors contributing more to poor CVH than health factors. Transcriptomic analysis identified activation of pathways related to RNA metabolism, cellular stress and injury, immune response, and endothelial inflammation in the combined risk group. Although the pathways were linked to cerebrovascular pathology, baseline neuroimaging data did not reveal significant changes in white matter integrity among the combined risk group.
Conclusion: While CVD had not yet developed in the cohort, gene expression patterns suggested that molecular pathways underlying disease development were already activated in those with PSTD/MDD and poor CVH. Further longitudinal studies are needed to assess how these molecular changes relate to future clinical outcomes, such as CVD and brain diseases. Early identification of at-risk individuals could support the development of targeted preventive strategies in this population
CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO NOVEL RIFAMPIN TOLERANCE GENES IN MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS
Get PDFTuberculosis remains a leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, killing over one million people each year. While this disease is treatable and both cases and deaths are slowly declining, new advances in this field are urgently needed, including strategies to shorten treatment times. Directly targeting tolerance, a strategy used by bacteria to adapt to and persist under stress conditions including antibiotic exposure, is one such potential avenue. Here, we used a transposon-sequencing screen to identify candidate genes important for bacterial survival under rifampin exposure in rich media or nutrient starvation conditions. Two of the promising genes identified in this screen were rv1836c, a conserved hypothetical protein, and pstA1, a phosphate-specific transport gene. Increased rifampin susceptibility was confirmed for each gene with no or minimal shift in the MIC, and complementing pstA1 partially restored wild-type rifampin susceptibility levels. We further found that pstA1 is important for adaptation to growth in culture without detergent, for survival under phosphate limitation, and within macrophages in an interferon-γ-dependent manner. Differentially expressed gene analysis showed that ΔpstA1 had altered expression of metabolism, DNA damage repair, and secretory pathways. Both rv1836c and pstA1 have potential to serve as novel drug targets and inhibitors could be used as adjunctive therapies to shorten curative treatment times, improving medical adherence, and decreasing opportunities for the emergence of drug resistance
THE IMPACT OF WORKLOAD STRAIN ON TEACHERS’ LEVELS OF SELF-EFFICACY AND BURNOUT
No full textTeaching is widely recognized as one of the most high-pressure positions in America, with over 44% of new teachers leaving within five years (Saloviita & Pakarinen, 2021; Ingersoll et al., 2018). Rural schools are especially vulnerable to attrition, with teacher retention increasing by 19% in recent years (Ingersoll & Tran, 2023). Increased administrative and classroom demands have created a “crowding out” of time, forcing teachers to prioritize tasks deemed most essential to student success (Gavin & McGrath-Champ, 2024). The pressure to do this induces chronic stress and burnout-characterized by overwhelming exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy, ultimately contributing to greater job dissatisfaction and attrition, especially in rural areas (Maslach, 2003; Madigan & Kim, 2020; Ingersoll & Tran, 2023; Leech et al., 2023).
Using an adapted form of the Job Demands-Resource Model (JD-R), this multi-method study examined how teachers working in a rural middle school experience job demands and resources, and how these experiences either “buffer” or “boost” feelings of self-efficacy, emotional exhaustion, and a desire to leave the teaching profession (Granziera et al., 2021). Using data from both nineteen surveys and six semi-structured interviews, this study investigated how teachers at a rural Northern California middle school experience symptoms of burnout, and the factors contributing to these experiences.
Findings from this study indicate that teacher-student relationships function as an essential resource for teacher engagement, buffering against workload strain and enhancing self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and well-being. Additionally, supportive leadership emerged as a critical resource to teacher motivation and engagement, with relational trust, a foundational component of this resource. Interestingly, even though interviews revealed teachers’ frustration over a perceived disconnect between home and school, survey data showed that family–school partnerships had almost no impact on their self-efficacy, well-being, or job satisfaction.
The results of this study shed light on the dynamic nature of teacher workload and burnout in the rural context. Findings from this study will help illuminate the nuances surrounding the dynamic nature of teacher burnout in rural areas and help leaders better understand and support teachers in rural areas
Teacher Agency and Professionalization in the Context of Literacy Curriculum Reform
Get PDFThis dissertation investigates how state-mandated literacy reforms impact teacher agency and professionalization. Grounded in an ecological framework of teacher agency, the study explores how accountability systems, scripted curricula, and implementation fidelity shape teachers’ perceived opportunities and constraints for enacting agency within the context of these reforms. A qualitative design using critical phenomenological methodology guided this study, which involved semi-structured interviews with K-5 teachers of reading across two districts. Findings reveal that teachers experience significant marginalization from decision-making processes and professional judgment. Participants frequently described feeling pressure to perform, having limited autonomy, and experiencing contradictions between mandated curricula and professional learning. Despite these constraints, teachers engaged in small but meaningful acts of resistance, especially when student learning was at risk. This work contributes to broader debates about teacher professionalization, literacy policy, and educational equity. It argues for reimagining teacher professionalism not through compliance, but through trust, participation, and ethical engagement. The findings underscore the need to center teacher voice in educational reform and to pursue policy and research approaches that affirm teachers as intellectual and moral agents in the education system
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL NETWORK INFLUENCES ON ABORTION DISCLOSURE, CARE-SEEKING, AND OUTCOMES: NAVIGATING PARTNERS, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY
Get PDFBackground
Inequitable abortion access and safety pose significant concerns for public health and reproductive justice, and pregnant people frequently involve social network members in their abortions. This dissertation sought to investigate dynamics shaping social network engagement in abortion experiences and potential consequences.
Data and Methods
We use quantitative and qualitative PMA/PMA2020 data from Nigeria and two provinces in the DRC. In Aim 1, we analyzed in-depth interviews with women who recently had abortions in Kinshasa to understand thought processes around including their partners in abortion decision-making and care-seeking. In Aim 2, we examined associations between sources of social network involvement in care-seeking and abortion outcomes in Nigeria. In Aim 3, we assessed relationships between abortion attitudes (at the individual- and community-level) and abortion disclosure between friends, in both study countries.
Results
We found diverse perspectives on the significance of engaging or avoiding partners in pregnancy decision-making and abortion care-seeking: protecting autonomy via non-disclosure, assessing the potential for achieving socially acceptable childbearing, and gauging mutual investment in the couple’s future. Partners’, family members’, and friends’ participation in care-seeking was common and varied by marital status, parity, and geography. People had the highest probability of safer and more successful abortion attempts when both partners and family members or friends participated in care-seeking, and partner involvement was associated with safer abortions. By contrast, people who only experienced involvement from family members or friends were most likely to have an unsuccessful initial abortion attempt and least likely to use their preferred method and source. We found limited evidence supporting our hypotheses that abortion disclosure between close friends is more common for individuals and communities expressing greater abortion acceptability attitudes (only reaching statistical significance at the individual level, and only in Nigeria).
Conclusions
People express diverse preferences for privacy or connection throughout abortion experiences, and social network involvement is associated with positive and negative abortion outcomes. While public health interventions can empower social network members to support one another’s sexual and reproductive health, ensuring access to safe, high quality abortion, regardless of social network support, remains paramount
IMPROVING RISK ANALYSIS OF THE SPILLOVER, EMERGENCE AND/OR REEMERGENCE AND SPREAD OF ENVIRONMENTALLY DRIVEN ZOONOTIC BIOLOGICAL THREATS IN THE EAST AFRICA REGION: A PRIMARY PANDEMIC PREVENTION APPROACH
No full textEmerging and/or reemerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks are increasing in frequency and severity and the associated pandemic threats are aggravated by environmental drivers like climate change. There is a need to account for context-specific environmental drivers and related cascading factors that facilitate EID transmission using an integrated risk-based One Health (OH) approach to pandemic prevention and biological risk reduction.
The overarching goal of this dissertation research was to determine the essential components required to improve risk analysis of the spillover, emergence/reemergence and spread (SES) of environmentally driven viral zoonotic biological threats, to develop a SES integrated risk analysis (IRA) operational framework that accounts for environmental drivers across the entire spectrum of risk analysis; and to propose a practical policy solution to utilize the SES IRA framework as a cross-sectoral decision making tool.
The research comprised three interrelated parts. First, an integrative review was conducted to identify knowledge gaps and provide a holistic understanding about the environmental drivers of three EIDs (Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, Marburg virus, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in the East African region to inform IRA processes at the environment-animal-human exposure interfaces. Second, a qualitative Key Informant (KI) case study was conducted in Kenya to solicit the perspectives of stakeholders on the development of the IRA framework. Third, findings from the integrative review and the KI study were used to propose a policy solution to ensure the integration of environmental sectoral policies and strategies into the OH approach.
The integrative review findings highlighted the importance of adopting specialized risk mapping approaches like ecological niche modeling for environmental monitoring of EIDs under IRA processes. The KI study revealed four essential components required to improve IRA processes (cross-sectoral data sharing and integration, early stakeholder inclusion and holistic engagement, proactive resource mobilization and allocation, and OH governance and legislation enactment). The policy paper proposes the implementation of national policies that mandate the conduct of SES risk analysis under environmental impact assessments (EIAs). Adopting SES IRA-based EIAs serves as a decision making tool for policy makers, regulators and funding agencies for the implementation of risk-based OH activities for pandemic prevention
RADical Shifts: A Futurist's Guide to Ecological Transformation and Biodiversity Stewardship
No full textRADical Shifts: A Futurist’s Guide to Ecological Transformation and Biodiversity Stewardship provides natural resource managers and conservationists with practical tools to navigate the unprecedented challenges posed by climate change. The guide introduces the Resist—Accept—Direct (RAD) framework, offering a flexible, adaptive approach to managing ecological transformation. By using RAD, conservation leaders can identify strategies to resist, accept, or direct ecological changes in ways that enhance biodiversity stewardship.
The guide emphasizes that climate change can be meaningfully addressed through informed planning and on-the-ground action. It introduces the concepts of RAD menus, RAD portfolios, and RAD decision context, which help managers brainstorm adaptation strategies, track decisions over time and space, and adapt decision-making processes.
Successful RAD actions are often the culmination of many years of collective work, not easily visible from an outsider’s perspective. Radical Shifts helps to demystify these processes. It includes case studies that examine the behind-the-scenes realities of RAD decisions in different regions of the United States.
With RAD menus, managers can explore a full spectrum of adaptation actions. RAD portfolios assist in planning and tracking these decisions, accounting for both spatial and temporal factors. The guide also stresses the importance of collaborative, deliberative engagement to adjust social and institutional contexts in response to changing ecological conditions. It notes that failure to adapt decision-making processes can obstruct progress, as past values, rules, and knowledge may hinder the ability to respond to change.
Whether managing a small-scale project or leading larger efforts, this guidebook equips natural resource managers with adaptable approaches to manage biodiversity and ecosystem services in an era of ecological uncertainty. It empowers conservation leaders to act now while embracing the ongoing journey of learning and adaptation, making it an essential resource for navigating the complexities of climate change and ecological transformation
FOSTERING SELF-WORTH: THE IMPACT OF TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS
Get PDFDrawing from existing literature and a needs assessment conducted at an independent school in southwest Florida, this research examines factors contributing to student engagement. The literature review indicates that student self-worth significantly influences self-management, motivation, and engagement, while being affected by teacher beliefs, teacher-student relationships, the hidden curriculum, teacher mismatch, and external pressures such as parental expectations. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, Narrative Theory, and the Self-Worth Theory of Motivation provide a framework for understanding how different systems in students' lives, messages, and student beliefs impact their engagement.
Using a qualitative grounded theory approach, the study involved semi-structured interviews with five high school seniors. The analysis revealed that positive teacher-student relationships, characterized by support, understanding, and encouragement, significantly enhance student engagement and self-worth. Conversely, negative interactions, such as harsh criticism and lack of empathy, diminish engagement. Student beliefs about intelligence and the role of effort also emerged as important factors in fostering greater student engagement. The study emphasizes the critical role of fostering positive teacher-student relationships to improve student engagement and academic outcomes.
In consideration of the research findings, a community exhibit was created utilizing the Boyer Model of Scholarship to integrate academic theory with community needs. The exhibit, titled "Above and Beyond: Teachers, Society’s Heroes" at the Sarasota Art Museum, showcases artifacts such as letters and artwork from students to teachers. The exhibit aims to celebrate the role of teachers in student development and promote awareness of the impact of teacher-student relationships. The interactive component invites community members to share their own stories about influential teachers, fostering community interconnectivity and appreciation for the teaching profession. By highlighting the educational and emotional impact of teacher-student relationships, the project bridges the gap between academic findings and community awareness, promoting dialogue and understanding about the influential role of the teacher-student relationship on student self-worth and student engagement
Reading Proficiency In Private International Schools
No full textThe problem of practice addressed in this dissertation is the reading proficiency among English as an Additional Language (EAL) students in private international schools in China. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory (EST), this study explores the multifaceted factors that contribute to the struggles of EAL readers within international schools. The research aims to assess teachers' self-perceptions regarding their preparation for teaching reading to EAL students and to analyze the support systems currently provided to these students. The study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, integrating quantitative data from Fountas and Pinnell (F&P) reading assessments with qualitative insights gathered through semi-structured interviews with teachers. The quantitative analysis of data from 1207 students across 60 classrooms revealed that 72% of students fell short of the F&P reading proficiency benchmarks. Qualitative findings highlighted four central themes: EAL readers, bilingual education, teacher experiences, school environment, and the requisite support systems. Further, the study delved into the role of motivation and emphasized the potential of bilingual and culturally responsive books in enhancing student engagement and reading outcomes. This led to the development of Min’s First Day of School, a bilingual, culturally responsive book designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. The book is aimed at supporting EFL students by providing an inclusive, relatable, and accessible reading experience. The findings underscore the need for bilingual and culturally responsive strategies and resources to enhance reading proficiency for EAL students in international schools, advocating for a more culturally responsive and inclusive approach in both classrooms and teacher preparation
Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Service Utilization Among Refugees in Sweden
Get PDFIntroduction: Refugee mental health is a critical issue in Sweden, which resettled the highest number of refugees per capita in 2015. Despite publicly funded mental health services, underutilization of care persists among refugees, particularly among those of Syrian background underutilize care, despite high rates of mental health conditions. This study aims to 1) identify disparities in mental health service use among refugee adults, non-refugee migrants, and the Swedish-born population, 2) explore the impact of urbanicity and neighborhood migrant density on mental health service use among refugees, and 3) identify barriers and facilitators to mental health care utilization among Syrian refugees in Sweden.
Methods: Using an explanatory, sequential mixed methods approach, the study analyzed national registry data from 2011-2022 and included qualitative interviews with Syrian refugees living in Sweden. Aims 1 and 2 analyzed longitudinal data using discrete-time survival analysis to explore mental health service use by migrant status, comparing refugees, non-refugee migrants, and the Swedish-born population. Aim 3 combined analysis of registry data with in-depth interviews to identify barriers and facilitators to mental health service use among Syrian refugees.
Results: The cohort included 9,897,222 individuals in Sweden, with 10.6% who used mental health services. Refugees and migrants were less likely to use mental health services than Swedish-born individuals (Refugees: RR: 0.84, 95% CI: [0.80-0.88]; Migrants: RR: 0.77, 95% CI: [0.74-0.80]). Employment, marital and parental status, and income levels were socioeconomic factors linked to lower service use among both groups. Refugees were more likely to initiate but less likely to continue care than migrants. Urban living was associated with higher mental health service use for all groups. Longer residence in Sweden increased service use among refugees and migrants. Syrian refugees used mental health services less than Swedish-born individuals and other refugees. Barriers to care among Syrian refugee adults included low mental health literacy, stigma, access issues, and trust.
Conclusions: The findings highlight significant underutilization of mental health services among refugees, especially Syrian refugees. Addressing barriers to mental health services is important for optimizing services and improving mental health outcomes for refugees, aiding their integration into national health systems and host societies