The Effects of Positive Psychological Factors on the Mental Wellbeing of Medical Students.

Objective A well-established association exists between academic performance and levels of depression and anxiety among medical students. However, the effects of positive psychological factors on symptoms of depression and anxiety and academic performance have not been adequately studied. This study explores the relationship between the above variables and identifies positive psychological factors that can promote medical student wellbeing. Methods Medical students were surveyed at four time points during their first two years of medical education using Qualtrics. The surveys used a five-point Likert scale to assess students' levels of loneliness, religiosity, engaged living, life fulfillment, resilience, psychological wellbeing, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Academic performance was measured using students' Comprehensive Basic Science Examination scores. Linear mixed effect models with maximum likelihood estimation were used to investigate the relationship between positive psychological factors and scores on depression and anxiety as well as the relationship between demographic and psychological factors and exam scores. Results Seventy-two students completed the study. A significant positive correlation was observed between loneliness and symptoms of depression and anxiety, while the same symptoms had significant negative correlations with engaged living. None of the positive psychological factors were significantly predictive of exam scores. Conclusion Our findings suggest that medical students who develop meaningful relationships and live engaged lives are less likely to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. Our study lays the groundwork for future research focusing on identifying and implementing pre-clinical curriculum changes aiming to improve medical students' mental health.

Time-resolved chemical monitoring of whole plant roots with printed electrochemical sensors and machine learning.

Traditional single-point measurements fail to capture dynamic chemical responses of plants, which are complex, nonequilibrium biological systems. We report TETRIS (time-resolved electrochemical technology for plant root environment in situ chemical sensing), a real-time chemical phenotyping system for continuously monitoring chemical signals in the often-neglected plant root environment. TETRIS consisted of low-cost, highly scalable screen-printed electrochemical sensors for monitoring concentrations of salt, pH, and H2O2 in the root environment of whole plants, where multiplexing allowed for parallel sensing operation. TETRIS was used to measure ion uptake in tomato, kale, and rice and detected differences between nutrient and heavy metal ion uptake. Modulation of ion uptake with ion channel blocker LaCl3 was monitored by TETRIS and machine learning used to predict ion uptake. TETRIS has the potential to overcome the urgent "bottleneck" in high-throughput screening in producing high-yielding plant varieties with improved resistance against stress.

Retrospective Study of Psychiatric Hospitalizations in a West Texas Mental Health Treatment Facility during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The association between the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and adverse mental health outcomes has been well documented; however, little is known about its impact in rural areas of the United States. This study aims to characterize and compare inpatient psychiatric admissions in West Texas before and during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using the electronic health records of 1392 inpatient psychiatric admissions from period A (March 13, 2019-July 3, 2019) to period B (March 13, 2020-July 3, 2020). RESULTS: During period B, there was a significant increase in the length of stay (P < 0.01) compared with period A. The pandemic was associated with an increased history of psychiatric medication use (P < 0.01), substance use (P ≤ 0.01), and suicide risk at the time of admission (P < 0.01). Significant differences were found in employment status (P < 0.01), living situation (P < 0.01), and ethnicity (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Rural communities in West Texas experienced a decrease in psychiatric hospitalizations during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by an increase as lockdown restrictions began to lift; this warrants further investigation into healthcare service utilization during the pandemic.

Non-financial Incentives for Retention of Health Extension Workers in Somali Region of Ethiopia: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

The study evaluated non-financial incentive packages to retain health extension workers in the Somali Region of Ethiopia using the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) technique, conducted among 66 health extension workers in 3 woredas (districts). The study used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods in sequential order. Mixed logic regression modeling was used to determine the effect of different job attributes on the retention of the health extension workers, while Preference Impact Measure (PIM) was used to determine the combinations of preferred incentive packages to retain the health extension workers in their current workplace. Opportunity for continued education ranked first, 1.009 (0.655, 1.36), P = .000, followed by career advancement/opportunity for promotion, 0.321 (0.107, 0.534), P = .003, then supportive management 0.234 (-0.395, -0.073), P = .004. in terms of impact on retention. The most preferred incentive package for retention using the PIM model was opportunities for continued education after 3 years and always good availability of and access to amenities (running water, electricity, internet), which predicted a 77% retention rate if implemented. The identified proposed retention incentive packages will help in developing evidence-based incentive policies and strategies for the future retention of health extension workers in this region.

Negotiating sex work and client interactions in the context of a fentanyl-related overdose epidemic.

Despite awareness of the role of drug use in shaping sex worker/client interactions, these dynamics remain poorly understood in the context of illicit fentanyl-driven overdose epidemics. This study examined sex workers' experiences negotiating client interactions amidst a toxic drug supply in Vancouver, Canada. Findings draw from two ethnographic studies. The first, conducted between December 2016 and May 2017, examined the rapid implementation of several low-threshold supervised consumption sites. The second investigated experiences of women accessing a women-only site from May 2017 to June 2018. Data included 200 hours of fieldwork and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 34 street-based sex workers who use illicit drugs. Data were analysed thematically with attention to the risk environment. Participants described providing harm reduction services to clients as a means to reduce overdose-related risks, thus increasing sex workers' hidden labour. Participants, comments regarding criminalisation and stigma surrounding drug use and sex work indicated a reticence to report overdoses, thereby potentially increasing the risks of overdose-related harms, including death. There is an urgent need for sex worker-led overdose prevention strategies that prioritise health and safety of sex workers and their clients with specific attention to how the criminalisation of particular drugs, practices and people contributes to overdose-related risks.

Point-of-use sensors and machine learning enable low-cost determination of soil nitrogen.

Overfertilization with nitrogen fertilizers has damaged the environment and health of soil, but standard laboratory testing of soil to determine the levels of nitrogen (mainly NH4+ and NO3-) is not performed regularly. Here we demonstrate that point-of-use measurements of NH4+, combined with soil conductivity, pH, easily accessible weather and timing data, allow instantaneous prediction of levels of NO3- in soil (R2 = 0.70) using a machine learning model. A long short-term memory recurrent neural network model can also be used to predict levels of NH4+ and NO3- up to 12 days into the future from a single measurement at day one, with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], for unseen weather conditions. Our machine-learning-based approach eliminates the need for dedicated instruments to determine the levels of NO3- in soil. Nitrogenous soil nutrients can be determined and predicted with enough accuracy to forecast the impact of climate on fertilization planning and to tune timing for crop requirements, reducing overfertilization while improving crop yields.

Isolates of Verticillium dahliae Pathogenic to Crucifers Are of at Least Three Distinct Molecular Types.

ABSTRACT Diverse isolates of the soilborne wilt fungi Verticillium dahliae and V. albo-atrum were studied to understand the nature and origins of those infecting cruciferous hosts. All isolates from cruciferous crops produced microsclerotia, and the majority produced long conidia with a high nuclear DNA content; these isolates were divided into two groups by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. One group could be subdivided by other criteria such as rRNA sequences and mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Two crucifer isolates were short spored and had a low nuclear DNA content. The results are consistent with the crucifer isolates being interspecific hybrids. The long-spored isolates are best regarded as amphihaploids (or allodiploids) with the AFLP groups probably each representing separate interspecific hybridization events. The short-spored crucifer isolates appear to be derived from interspecific hybrids and are here called 'secondary haploids'. Molecular evidence suggests that one parent in the crosses was similar to V. dahliae. The other parent of the amphihaploids seems to have been more similar to V. albo-atrum than to V. dahliae, but was distinct from all isolates of either species so far studied. The implications for the taxonomy of crucifer isolates are discussed and the use of the name V. longisporum, proposed elsewhere for just some of these isolates, is discouraged.