Non-traditional students' preferences for learning technologies and impacts on academic self-efficacy.

Blended Learning (BL) as a pedagogical approach has increased in significance during the COVID-19 pandemic, with blended and online learning environments becoming the new digital norm for higher educational institutions around the globe. While BL has been discussed in the literature for thirty years, a common approach has been to categorise learner cohorts to support educators in better understanding students' relationships with learning technologies. This approach, largely unsupported by empirical evidence, has failed to adequately address the challenges of integrating learning technologies to fit with non-traditional students' preferences, their BL self-efficacy and the associated pedagogical implications. Focusing on student preference, our study presents findings from a pre-COVID survey of undergraduate students across four campuses of an Australian regional university where students shared their learning technology preferences and the self-regulated learning that influenced their academic self-efficacy in a BL context. Findings show students want consistency, relevance, and effectiveness with the use of BL tools, with a preference for lecture recordings and video resources to support their learning, while email and Facebook Messenger were preferred for communicating with peers and academic staff. Our study suggests a quality BL environment facilitates self-regulated learning using fit-for-purpose technological applications. Academic self-efficacy for BL can increase when students perceive the educational technologies used by their institution are sufficient for their learning needs.

Public relations and customer service: Employer perspectives of social media proficiency.

Social media has enhanced integration between marketing and public relations. As such, public relations professionals have had to adapt and grow their knowledge and skillsets to stay relevant and current throughout the evolution of the digital landscape (Gesualdi, 2019). One of the growing areas of focus for public relations professionals has been customer service skills online. This specialization, often referred to as social care or social customer service, has been promoted and discussed heavily in industry circles and publications, but not in academic research. This study focuses on the survey results from 396 employers exploring the social media skills they most prefer university graduates to possess when entering the workforce. The results indicate that public relations and customer service are the social media skills most sought after by employers of university graduates ahead of proficiency in areas such as social media content production, strategy development and analytics. The potential implications of these findings to the public relations profession are examined and future research is also discussed.

The Effect of Option Homogeneity in Multiple-Choice Items.

Previous research has found that option homogeneity in multiple-choice items affects item difficulty when items with homogeneous options are compared to the same items with heterogeneous options. This study conducted an empirical test of the effect of option homogeneity in multiple-choice items on a professional licensure examination to determine the predictability and magnitude of the change. Similarity of options to the key was determined by using subject matter experts and a natural language processing algorithm. Contrary to current research, data analysis revealed no consistent effect on item difficulty, discrimination, fit to the measurement model, or response time associated with the absence or presence of option homogeneity. While the results are negative, they call into question established guidelines in item development. A hypothesis is proposed to explain why this effect is found in some studies but not others.

Effectiveness of internet-based interventions for children, youth, and young adults with anxiety and/or depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The majority of internet-based anxiety and depression intervention studies have targeted adults. An increasing number of studies of children, youth, and young adults have been conducted, but the evidence on effectiveness has not been synthesized. The objective of this research is to systematically review the most recent findings in this area and calculate overall (pooled) effect estimates of internet-based anxiety and/or depression interventions. METHODS: We searched five literature databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Google Scholar) for studies published between January 1990 and December 2012. We included studies evaluating the effectiveness of internet-based interventions for children, youth, and young adults (age <25 years) with anxiety and/or depression and their parents. Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias regarding selection bias, allocation bias, confounding bias, blinding, data collection, and withdrawals/dropouts. We included studies rated as high or moderate quality according to the risk of bias assessment. We conducted meta-analyses using the random effects model. We calculated standardized mean difference and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for anxiety and depression symptom severity scores by comparing internet-based intervention vs. waitlist control and internet-based intervention vs. face-to-face intervention. We also calculated pooled remission rate ratio and 95% CI. RESULTS: We included seven studies involving 569 participants aged between 7 and 25 years. Meta-analysis suggested that, compared to waitlist control, internet-based interventions were able to reduce anxiety symptom severity (standardized mean difference and 95% CI = -0.52 [-0.90, -0.14]) and increase remission rate (pooled remission rate ratio and 95% CI =3.63 [1.59, 8.27]). The effect in reducing depression symptom severity was not statistically significant (standardized mean difference and 95% CI = -0.16 [-0.44, 0.12]). We found no statistical difference in anxiety or depression symptoms between internet-based intervention and face-to-face intervention (or usual care). CONCLUSIONS: The present analysis indicated that internet-based interventions were effective in reducing anxiety symptoms and increasing remission rate, but not effective in reducing depression symptom severity. Due to the small number of higher quality studies, more attention to this area of research is encouraged. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration: CRD42012002100.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing is beneficial in further characterizing gonococcal populations in Alberta, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance testing and behavioral data combined with Neisseria gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) can help to define gonococcal populations and identify, characterize, and compare clusters of infection. METHODS: Antimicrobial resistance testing, using E test, was reviewed for gonococcal isolates in Alberta, Canada, from 2007 to 2011. Antimicrobial resistance testing was conducted on isolates demonstrating antimicrobial resistance and those with cefixime minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.06 µg/mL or greater. Demographic and behavioral information was obtained from provincial surveillance data. NG-MAST typing was conducted on a proportion of isolates. RESULTS: Gonococcal isolates were available for 2250 (26.4%) of 8535 cases of gonorrhea in Alberta from 2007 to 2011. The proportion of cases with decreased susceptibility to cefixime (≥0.06 µg/mL) increased from 0.7% to 2.4% between 2007 and 2009 to a high of 10.1% in 2010 and 8.9% in 2011. Six isolates with cefixime MIC of 0.25 µg/mL were noted: 5 were from men who have sex with men (MSM) and 1 was a pharyngeal isolate from a heterosexual female. Twenty-four (1.1%) isolates were azithromycin resistant (MIC ≥2.0 µg/mL); there were no significant differences between cases resistant or susceptible to azithromycin. NG-MAST of gonococcal isolates in Alberta suggests the entry of multiple strains into the province. Three clusters were identified: Cluster A predominantly in MSM, including sequence type 1407, a ST previously associated with decreased susceptibility to expanded spectrum cephalosporins; Cluster B, a predominantly heterosexual cluster with most cases in Edmonton; and Cluster C among MSM. CONCLUSIONS: Our data highlight the use of NG-MAST in further defining gonococcal populations.

Asymmetric synthesis of vabicaserin via oxidative multicomponent annulation and asymmetric hydrogenation of a 3,4-substituted quinolinium salt.

An efficient, asymmetric synthesis of the 5-HT2C agonist vabicaserin in four chemical steps and 54% overall yield from commercially available benzodiazepine was achieved. The synthesis was highlighted by a novel oxidative, multicomponent reaction to affect the quinolinium ring assembly in one step followed by an unprecedented asymmetric hydrogenation of a 3,4-substituted quinolinium salt.

Frequent users of an inner-city emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Within the emergency department (ED) patient population there is a subset of patients who make frequent visits. This chart review sought to characterize this population and identify strategies to reduce frequent ED visits. METHODS: Frequent use at an urban tertiary care centre was defined as 15 or more visits over 1 year. The details of each visit-demographics, entrance complaint, discharge diagnosis, arrival method, Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) score, and length of stay-were analyzed and compared to data from the entire ED population for the same period. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients generated 2,390 ED visits (of 25,523 patients and 44,204 visits). This population was predominantly male (66%) and middle-aged (median 42 years), with no fixed address (27.2%). Patients arrived by ambulance in 59.3% of visits with less acute CTAS scores than the general population. Substance use accounted for 26.9% of entrance complaints. Increased lengths of stay were associated with female gender and abnormal vital signs, whereas shorter stays were associated with no fixed address and substance use (. < 0.05). Admissions were lower than the general population, and women were twice as likely as men to be admitted (. < 0.05). Patients left without being seen in 15.8% of visits. CONCLUSIONS: High-frequency ED users are more likely to be male, younger, and marginally housed and to present secondary to substance use. Although admissions among this population are low, the costs associated with these presentations are high. Interventions designed to decrease visits and improve the health of this population appear warranted.

Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of women with reactive syphilis serology in Alberta, 2002 to 2006.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the maternal characteristics, diagnosis, and pregnancy, and the neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with reactive syphilis serology in a Canadian cohort. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of pregnant women in Alberta with reactive syphilis serology between 2002 and 2006. Clinical staging of syphilis in mothers and infants was determined using provincial and national surveillance criteria. RESULTS: Seventy-five pregnancies met the inclusion criteria. Thirty women were adequately treated pre-conception, 20 women had infectious syphilis (10 primary, 5 secondary, 5 early latent), 24 had late latent syphilis, and one had disease of unknown stage. Seven infants with congenital syphilis and one infant with presumed congenital syphilis were born to women with primary (n = 4), secondary (n = 2), early latent (n = 1), and unknown stage (n = 1) syphilis. Treatment was provided prior to delivery in one woman; five women did not access prenatal care. Four infants had long-term sequelae. CONCLUSION: All infants with congenital syphilis were born to women with infectious syphilis who had limited prenatal care. Initiatives to reach women at high risk are required to decrease the incidence of congenital syphilis.

Early chemical development at Legacy Wyeth Research.

This article describes an approach to early process development in the context of the productivity model in legacy Wyeth (i.e. to deliver two New Drug Applications per year for New Molecular Entities). As a result of the model, the cycle time from lead selection to phase I decreased and the number of compounds in early development increased. In response, Wyeth Chemical Development devised a resource-neutral approach to early process development, which is described here. This model harvested synergies from integrating advanced technologies and aggressive sourcing with a matrix research organization and efficient ways of working. It provided a model that met the business needs of our former organization while ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality active pharmaceutical ingredients and safe, scalable processes.

Molecular typing of Treponema pallidum strains in western Canada: predominance of 14d subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Resurgence of syphilis in Canada and worldwide requires laboratories to update their methods for molecular epidemiology investigation and surveillance. This study utilizes polymerase chain reaction diagnostic tests for syphilis, identifies macrolide resistance, and uses a molecular typing system to characterize Treponema pallidum clinical strains causing syphilis in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada. METHODS: In total 449 specimens including genital swabs, whole blood, sera, and cerebrospinal fluid were obtained from 374 patients with suspect syphilis in Alberta and Northwest Territories. Molecular subtyping was based on genetic characterization of treponemal repeat genes, arp and tpr. Detection of macrolide resistance was accomplished by identification of the 23S rRNA gene mutation associated with the resistance pattern. RESULTS: Forty-nine specimens obtained from 43 patients were found to be positive for T. pallidum DNA using bmp, tpp47 and polA polymerase chain reaction assays. Four molecular subtypes were identified, with one type, 14d, accounting for 70% of all cases and 83% of typeable strains. Seven patients (16%) were found to be infected by macrolide-resistant strains, of which 6 were men who have sex with men and 1 whose infection was acquired in China. CONCLUSIONS: A single molecular type of T. pallidum, characterized as 14d, caused the majority of the syphilis cases identified in this study. A more discriminatory typing method would be required to determine if these strains are clonal. Treatment of infectious syphilis with macrolide antibiotics should be restricted to patient populations where resistance is rare and clinical and serological follow up of patients is possible.

Knowledge-driven enhancements for task composition in bioinformatics.

BACKGROUND: A key application area of semantic technologies is the fast-developing field of bioinformatics. Sealife was a project within this field with the aim of creating semantics-based web browsing capabilities for the Life Sciences. This includes meaningfully linking significant terms from the text of a web page to executable web services. It also involves the semantic mark-up of biological terms, linking them to biomedical ontologies, then discovering and executing services based on terms that interest the user. RESULTS: A system was produced which allows a user to identify terms of interest on a web page and subsequently connects these to a choice of web services which can make use of these inputs. Elements of Artificial Intelligence Planning build on this to present a choice of higher level goals, which can then be broken down to construct a workflow. An Argumentation System was implemented to evaluate the results produced by three different gene expression databases. An evaluation of these modules was carried out on users from a variety of backgrounds. Users with little knowledge of web services were able to achieve tasks that used several services in much less time than they would have taken to do this manually. The Argumentation System was also considered a useful resource and feedback was collected on the best way to present results. CONCLUSION: Overall the system represents a move forward in helping users to both construct workflows and analyse results by incorporating specific domain knowledge into the software. It also provides a mechanism by which web pages can be linked to web services. However, this work covers a specific domain and much co-ordinated effort is needed to make all web services available for use in such a way, i.e. the integration of underlying knowledge is a difficult but essential task.

Antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhea: the influence of epidemiologic and laboratory surveillance data on treatment guidelines: Alberta, Canada 2001-2007.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the impact of surveillance for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae over a 7-year period on treatment guidelines in Alberta, Canada. METHODS: AMR testing data from gonorrhea cases were combined with demographic and risk behavior information collected through surveillance to describe trends and sequential changes to treatment guidelines. RESULTS: Ciprofloxacin resistant gonorrhea (CRG) cultures rose from 1.4% in 2001 to 27.7% in 2007. Of 200 CRG cases, 90% were men, 77% white, median age 29 years (interquartile range: 23-29 years) and 60% were men who have sex with men (MSM). In 2005, only 1 of 28 cases did not fit into travel or MSM categories and treatment guidelines were changed to recommend oral cefixime as the preferred agent in MSM or those with a travel history. Continuous rise in CRG together with locally acquired cases among heterosexuals resulted in ciprofloxacin being removed as a recommended agent for gonorrhea in 2007. CONCLUSIONS: Our data underscores the importance of surveillance in monitoring trends in AMR in gonorrhea so that timely changes to treatment recommendations can be made in response to changing epidemiology.

Sensitivity to delay of reinforcement in two animal models of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

An altered response to reinforcement has been proposed as a mechanism underlying many of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We measured sensitivity to delay of reinforcement in two animal models of ADHD, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and a newly proposed model, the genetically hypertensive (GH) rat. A task previously used to measure effects of delay of reinforcement in children with ADHD was adapted for use in the present experiment. The SHR and GH rats were compared to their respective genetic control strains, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY), and Wistar (WI). The experimental task required pressing one of two available levers each trial. One lever delivered an immediate reinforcement, and the other lever a delayed reinforcement. Both the SHR and GH strains allocated significantly more responses to the immediately reinforced lever than their genetic control strains. Individual instances of reinforcement differentially affected response allocation in the GH but not the SHR. These findings support the use of the SHR and GH rat to model altered response to reinforcement, and demonstrate the additional value of the GH strain to model the effects of individual instances of reinforcement in children with ADHD.

RANKL increases the level of Mcl-1 in osteoclasts and reduces bisphosphonate-induced osteoclast apoptosis in vitro.

INTRODUCTION: Bisphosphonates are the most widely used class of drug for inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone loss, but their effectiveness at preventing joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis has generally been disappointing. We examined whether the ability of bisphosphonates to induce osteoclast apoptosis and inhibit bone resorption in vitro is influenced by the cytokine receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), an important mediator of inflammation-induced bone loss. METHODS: Rabbit osteoclasts were treated with the bisphosphonates clodronate or alendronate for up to 48 hours in the absence or presence of RANKL. Changes in cell morphology and induction of apoptosis were examined by scanning electron microscopy, whilst resorptive activity was determined by measuring the area of resorption cavities. Changes in the level of anti-apoptotic proteins, including Mcl-1, Bcl-2, and Bcl-x>L, were determined in rabbit osteoclasts and in cytokine-starved mouse osteoclasts by Western blotting. RESULTS: RANKL significantly attenuated the ability of both clodronate and alendronate to induce osteoclast apoptosis and inhibit bone resorption. Treatment of rabbit osteoclasts with RANKL was associated with an increase in the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 but not Bcl-2. A role for Mcl-1 in osteoclast survival was suggested using osteoclasts generated from mouse bone marrow macrophages in the presence of RANKL + macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) since cytokine deprivation of mouse osteoclasts caused a rapid loss of Mcl-1 (but not Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL), which preceded the biochemical and morphological changes associated with apoptosis. Loss of Mcl-1 from mouse osteoclasts could be prevented by factors known to promote osteoclast survival (RANKL, M-CSF, tumour necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha], or lipopolysaccharide [LPS]). CONCLUSIONS: RANKL protects osteoclasts from the apoptosis-inducing and anti-resorptive effects of bisphosphonates in vitro. The ability of RANKL (and other pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-alpha and LPS) to increase the level of Mcl-1 in osteoclasts may explain the lack of effectiveness of some bisphosphonates in preventing inflammation-induced bone loss.

Molecular characterization of syphilis in patients in Canada: azithromycin resistance and detection of Treponema pallidum DNA in whole-blood samples versus ulcerative swabs.

Although detection of Treponema pallidum DNA in whole-blood specimens of syphilis patients has been reported, it is uncertain at what stage of the disease such specimens are most suitable for the molecular diagnosis of syphilis. Also, few studies have directly compared the different gene targets for routine laboratory diagnostic usage in PCR assays. We examined 87 specimens from 68 patients attending two urban sexually transmitted disease clinics in Alberta, Canada. PCR was used to amplify the T. pallidum tpp47, bmp, and polA genes as well as a specific region of the 23S rRNA gene linked to macrolide antibiotic susceptibility. In primary syphilis cases, PCR was positive exclusively (75% sensitivity rate) in ulcerative swabs but not in blood specimens, while in secondary syphilis cases, 50% of the blood specimens were positive by PCR. Four out of 14 (28.6%) of our PCR-positive syphilis cases were found to be caused by an azithromycin-resistant strain(s). Our results confirmed that swabs from primary ulcers are the specimens of choice for laboratory diagnostic purposes. However, further research is required to determine what specimen(s) would be most appropriate for molecular investigation of syphilis in secondary and latent syphilis.

Pediatric tuberculosis in Alberta: epidemiology and case characteristics (1990-2004).

BACKGROUND: Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) is important medically and indicative of a public health problem. An understanding of the epidemiology and case characteristics of pediatric TB, in a province that accepts large numbers of immigrants, can inform TB elimination strategy. METHODS: All cases of pediatric TB notified in Alberta between 1990 and 2004 were identified in the TB Registry. Individual diagnostic criteria were reviewed and case patients were related to a population grid derived from Statistics Canada censuses and population estimates of Status Indians from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada. Incidence rates were determined by ethnic group and gender. Clinical/mycobacteriologic case characteristics were compared by ethnic group and birth country. RESULTS: Among 124 notified cases, 95 (96 episodes) met strict diagnostic criteria: 45 Status Indians, 30 Canadian-born 'other' and 21 foreign-born. Incidence rates were much higher in Status Indians and the foreign-born compared to the Canadian-born 'other'; 10.7, 5.4, and 0.4 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Among Canadian-born 'other' cases, 12 were Métis and 11 were Canadian-born children of foreign-born parents. Compared to foreign-born cases, Canadian-born cases were more likely to have a source case in Alberta, to be detected through contact tracing, to have primary pulmonary TB, and to have a rural address. CONCLUSION: Pediatric TB in Alberta is mainly the result of ongoing transmission in Aboriginal peoples and immigration to Canada of persons with latent TB infection. The elimination of pediatric TB will require interruption of transmission in Aboriginal peoples and prevention of disease in immigrants.

Sex differences in expression of calcium-handling proteins and beta-adrenergic receptors in rat heart ventricle.

Human studies reveal sex differences in myocardial function as well as in the incidence and manifestation of heart disease. Myocellular Ca(2+) cycling regulates normal contractile function; whereas cardiac dysfunction in heart failure has been associated with alterations in Ca(2+)-handling proteins. Beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) signaling regulates activity of several Ca(2+)-handling proteins and alterations in beta-AR signaling are associated with heart disease. This study examines sex differences in expression of beta(1)-AR, beta(2)-AR, and Ca(2+)-handling proteins including: L-type calcium channel (Ca(v)1.2) , ryanodine calcium-release channels (RyR), sarcoplasmic reticular Ca(2+) ATPase (SERCA2), phospholamban (PLB) and Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchange protein (NCX) in healthy hearts from male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Protein levels were examined using Western blot analysis. Abundance of mRNA was determined by real time RT-PCR normalized to abundance of GAPDH mRNA. Contraction parameters were measured in right ventricular papillary muscle in the presence and absence of isoproterenol. Results demonstrate that female ventricle has significantly higher levels of Ca(v)1.2, RyR, and NCX protein compared to males. Messenger RNA abundance for RyR, and NCX protein was significantly higher in females whereas Ca(v)1.2 mRNA was higher in males. No differences were detected in beta-ARs, SERCA2 or PLB. Female right papillary muscle had a faster maximal rate of force development and decline (+/- dF/dt). There were no sex differences in response to isoproterenol. Results show significant sex differences in expression of key ventricular Ca(2+)-handling proteins that are associated with small functional differences in +/- dF/dt. Further studies will determine whether differences in the abundance of these key proteins play a role in sex disparities in the incidence and manifestation of heart disease.