Alternative Pathways to Social Work Licensure: A Critical Review and Social Equity Policy Analysis.

PURPOSE: In August 2022, the Association of Social Work Boards released a long called for pass rate analysis that revealed significant disparities. While many states look to cease the requirement of the Bachelors, Masters, and Advanced Generalist exams in their licensure process, status quo bias leads to hesitancy to remove the requirement of the Clinical exam. METHOD: A critical review was undertaken to identify possible alternatives to the current multiple-choice competency-based exam which yielded three assessment formats (oral exams, portfolios, and performance assessment/simulations) and two alternatives (jurisprudence exams and provisional licensure). Informed by an Afrocentric lens, we undertook a social and racial policy analysis to examine alternative pathways for licensure from the perspective of a social work board member. We centered our analysis on the impacts on (1) Black social workers, who currently have the highest pass-rate disparities; (2) social workers whose primary language is not English, and (3) social workers with disabilities who have anecdotally reported difficulty with getting testing accommodations. We rated each alternative on four social equity analysis criteria of procedural fairness, access, quality, and outcomes. These ratings were computed into an overall rating for each alternative from equitable to inequitable. RESULTS: We found jurisprudence exams and provisional licensure have the best possibility of being equitable pathways to licensure, with potential impacts on the regulation of supervision and continuing education. CONCLUSION: Anti-racism and social justice as praxis require social work as a profession to divest from competency-based testing to eliminate racism in our own professional policies.

Incidence of invasive fungal infections in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia receiving ibrutinib within the veteran's healthcare administration.

PURPOSE: Ibrutinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is increasingly prescribed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) have been reported early after ibrutinib initiation. Timing of IFIs is within 6 months and commonly reported fungal infections include Cryptococcus, Aspergillus, and Pneumocystis. Currently, there are no recommendations for routine prophylaxis against IFIs in patients receiving ibrutinib for CLL. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of IFIs in patients receiving ibrutinib for CLL in first-line and relapsed/refractory (R/R) settings. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cohort study of patients diagnosed with CLL and initiated on ibrutinib in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) from October 1, 2013 to March 31, 2018. Patients were included if diagnosed with a proven or probable IFI from the start date of ibrutinib to 30 days after the last dose of ibrutinib. RESULTS: Fourteen out of 1069 patients met inclusion criteria for IFI while on ibrutinib for CLL. All patients included were male with a median age of 78 years. Fifty percent of patients were initiated on ibrutinib within 3 months of last chemotherapy. IFIs occurred within 3 months (50%) and 6 months (71%) of ibrutinib initiation. Seventy-one percent of patients were continued on ibrutinib with concurrent IFI diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The reported IFI incidence of 1.3% is comparable to current estimates of 1.2%. Future studies should examine the relationship of ibrutinib and incidence of IFIs in first-line and R/R settings in addition to identifying clinical risk factors predisposing patients to IFIs.

The detection of QTLs in barley associated with endosperm hardness, grain density, grain size and malting quality using rapid phenotyping tools.

Using a barley mapping population, 'Vlamingh' × 'Buloke' (V × B), whole grain analyses were undertaken for physical seed traits and malting quality. Grain density and size were predicted by digital image analysis (DIA), while malt extract and protein content were predicted using near infrared (NIR) analysis. Validation of DIA and NIR algorithms confirmed that data for QTL analysis was highly correlated (R (2) > 0.82), with high RPD values (the ratio of the standard error of prediction to the standard deviation, 2.31-9.06). Endosperm hardness was measured on this mapping population using the single kernel characterisation system. Grain density and endosperm hardness were significantly inter-correlated in all three environments (r > 0.22, P < 0.001); however, other grain components were found to interact with the traits. QTL for these traits were also found on different genomic regions, for example, grain density QTLs were found on chromosomes 2H and 6H, whereas endosperm hardness QTLs were found on 1H, 5H, and 7H. In this study, the majority of the genomic regions associated with grain texture were also coincident with QTLs for grain size, yield, flowering date and/or plant development genes. This study highlights the complexity of genomic regions associated with the variation of endosperm hardness and grain density, and their relationships with grain size traits, agronomic-related traits, and plant development loci.

Chromosomal loci associated with endosperm hardness in a malting barley cross.

A breeding objective for the malting barley industry is to produce lines with softer, plumper grain containing moderate protein content (9-12%) as they are more likely to imbibe water readily and contain more starch per grain, which in turn produces higher levels of malt extract. In a malting barley mapping population, 'Arapiles' × 'Franklin', the most significant and robust quantitative trait locus (QTL) for endosperm hardness was observed on the short arm of chromosome 1H, across three environments over two growing seasons. This accounted for 22.6% (Horsham 2000), 26.8% (Esperance 2001), and 12.0% (Tarranyurk 2001) of the genetic variance and significantly increased endosperm hardness by 2.06-3.03 SKCS hardness units. Interestingly, Arapiles and Franklin do not vary in Ha locus alleles. Therefore, this region, near the centromere on chromosome 1H, may be of great importance when aiming to manipulate endosperm hardness and malting quality. Interestingly, this region, close to the centromere on chromosome 1H, in our study, aligns with the region of the genome that includes the HvCslF9 and the HvGlb1 genes. Potentially, one or both of these genes could be considered to be candidate genes that influence endosperm hardness in the barley grain. Additional QTLs for endosperm hardness were detected on chromosomes 2H, 3H, 6H and 7H, confirming that the hardness trait in barley is complex and multigenic, similar to many malting quality traits of interest.