Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Community: Training the Next Generation of Scientists in the Jackson Heart Study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this article is to show the impact of the use of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research supplements in the training of African American students affiliated with the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). RECENT FINDINGS: The JHS Undergraduate Training and Education Center (UTEC) at Tougaloo College has had 19 students to be awarded research supplements. The awardees gained invaluable skills while working on the research supplements. Additionally, research supplement awards inspired these students to not only consider working in health-related fields, but to continue to engage in research activities and to mentor.

Stereoselective formation of boron-stereogenic organoboron derivatives.

Four-coordinate organoboron derivatives present interesting chemical, physical, biological, electronical, and optical properties. Given the increasing demand for the synthesis of smart functional materials based on chiral organoboron compounds, the exploration of stereoselective synthesis of boron-stereogenic organo-derivatives is highly desirable. However, the stereoselective construction of organoboron compounds stereogenic at boron has been far less studied than other elements of the main group due to configurational stability concerns. Nowadays, these species are no longer elusive and configurationally stable compounds have been highlighted. The idea is to show the potential of the stereoselective building of the four-coordinate boron centre and encourage future endeavors and developments in the field.

Thinking Ahead to the Next Generation of Cardiometabolic Investigators: What It Takes to Successfully Engage Underrepresented Minorities in Biomedical and Public Health Careers.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to examine the existing information regarding cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) manifestations among underrepresented minority populations, underrepresented minorities' representation in the cardiometabolic workforce, and the models that successfully recruit and retain underrepresented minorities in the field. RECENT FINDINGS: The scientific literature is replete with information on methods to recruit and train URM in research careers. However, there are few programs that are specifically designed to train URM to become diabetes researchers, or more specifically cardiometabolic researchers. The CMS scientific community leaders do not have to design a new learning program to engage URM in research. They only have to follow the prototypes by other organizations and make applicable to cardiometabolic research.

Adhesive and high-sensitivity modified Ti3C2TX (MXene)-based organohydrogels with wide work temperature range for wearable sensors.

Hydrogel-based wearable sensors have gained great interest on account of their huge application in human-machine interfaces, electronic skin, and healthcare monitoring. However, there are still challenges in designing hydrogel-based sensors with high stability in a wide temperature range, superior adhesion, and excellent sensitivity. Herein, sensors based on oxidized sodium alginate (OSA)/polyacrylamide (PAm)/polydopamine-Ti3C2TX (PMXene) /glycerol/water (Gly/H2O) organohydrogels were designed. The organohydrogels exhibited excellent mechanical properties (elongation at break of 1037%, tensile strength of 0.17 MPa), predominant self-healing ability (self-healing efficiency of 91%), as well as high sensing stability in a wide temperature range (from -20 to 60°C). The introduction of PDA (polydopamine) and viscous glycerin (Gly) provide organohydrogels with superior adhesion. Organohydrogels sensors demonstrated high sensitivity (Gauge Factor, GF = 2.2) due to the combination of ionic and electron conduction. Sensors could stably detect human movement under different strain levels at high and low temperatures, providing a new solution for wearable sensors in extreme conditions.

Psychological Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Public in Egypt.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and inadequate sleeping among the public in Egypt during the novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An online snowball sampling approach was used to collect data from netizens in four Egyptian governorates between 16 and 30 April 2020. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed to assess sociodemographic characteristics, sleeping hours per day, and psychological disturbances (depression, anxiety, and stress) of participants using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Out of 1629 participants, 48.1% were aged ≤ 30 years, 42.4% were men, and 20.0% were working in the health sector. The participants reported a high prevalence of depression (67.1%: mild to moderate 44.6% and severe to very severe 22.5%), anxiety (53.5%: mild to moderate 30.6% and severe to very severe 22.9%), stress (48.8%: mild to moderate 33.8% and severe to very severe 15.0%), and inadequate sleeping (< 6 h/day) 23.1%. Female sex, working in sectors other than the health sector, watching/reading COVID-19 news ≥ 2 h/day, and lack of emotional support from family and society were associated with a high prevalence of severe to very severe depression, anxiety, and stress. In conclusion, the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on the public in Egypt were enormous, therefore, providing psychological support and counsel is warranted.

The Incidence of Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neurotoxicity at Khartoum Oncology Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Using oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer patients can cause a unique form of acute and chronic peripheral neurotoxicities. This study mainly aims to assess the incidence of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OXAIPN). METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 121 patients treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy was conducted during the period of January to April 2019 at Khartoum Oncology Hospital. The incidence of acute neurotoxicity was assessed using a descriptive questionnaire for most common hyperexcitability and transient symptoms, while the incidence of chronic neurotoxicity was measured by the 20-item European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and graded by the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, Version 4.03. RESULTS: Acute and chronic OXAIPN were found in 49.6% and 41.3% of patients, respectively. Most of the patients who developed acute OXAIPN symptoms manifested cold-induced pharyngolaryngeal dysesthesias (73.3%) or perioral paresthesias (71.7%). No significant association exists between the severity of chronic neurotoxicity and basic demographics. Most (79.1%) of the patients did not inform the doctors about their complaints, and 43.5% of those who informed doctors did not take any medication to manage OXAIPN. CONCLUSIONS: This study exhibits that oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy can cause symptoms of peripheral neurotoxicity in most of the patients with colorectal or gastric cancer in the form of acute neurotoxicity or chronic neurotoxicity.

Highly flexible and mechanically strong polyaniline nanostructure @ aramid nanofiber films for free-standing supercapacitor electrodes.

A key challenge for the fabrication of flexible electrochemical capacitors is to prepare robust electrode materials with excellent integration of high specific capacitances and superior mechanical properties. Aramid nanofibers (ANFs) are emerging candidates for constructing flexible electrode materials due to their superior mechanical properties. However, the present ANF based electrode materials are generally designed by mixing ANFs with electrochemically active components, which results in an unfavorable trade-off in mechanical and electrochemical properties. In this work, we reported flexible, mechanically strong, and free-standing supercapacitor electrodes based on polyaniline (PANI) nanostructure functionalized ANF films for the first time. The flexible PANI@ANF film electrodes achieved an efficient combination of mechanical and electrochemical performance in a single platform with a specific capacitance of 441.0 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and a tensile strength of 233.3 MPa, respectively. This kind of free-standing electrode material may have great potential in the development of flexible energy-storage devices. Furthermore, we anticipate that this study may provide insight into the functionalization of aramid nanofiber-based materials for structural energy and power systems with high mechanical performance.

The Jackson Heart Study: Preparing African American High School Students for Health Careers and Research.

In 1999, Tougaloo College (TC), located in Jackson, Mississippi, was charged, as a part of its role in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), with creating a pool of well-trained high school students who, upon entering college, could successfully complete undergraduate and graduate or professional degrees in the health professions, biomedical research, and public health. TC identified the following educational challenges experienced by Mississippi high school students: inadequate exposure to reading, writing, logic, and quantitative skills; inadequate course work in science and mathematics; lack of mentors and role models in science-related fields as well as for exploration and identification of career options in the health professions and biomedical research. To this end, the JHS Undergraduate Training and Education Center (JHS UTEC) developed three four-week summer workshops in Science, Language Arts, and Mathematics (SLAM) for high school students in grades 9 through 11. Since SLAM's inception, more than 900 students have completed the program, and more than 90% have enrolled in college. In addition, according to National Student Clearinghouse and participant-reported data, many of the SLAM participants have earned not only undergraduate degrees in science, but also graduate degrees in a health-related and STEM fields. This article details the SLAM curricula and strategies for recruiting, selecting, training, and retaining high school students; we also present data to illustrate the success of the SLAM program.

The Role of Public Health Partnerships in the Success of the Jackson Heart Study Undergraduate Training and Education Center.

Background: The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is a single-site prospective epidemiologic investigation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African Americans from the central Jackson, Mississippi area. The study is a collaboration between Jackson State University (JSU), University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), Tougaloo College (TC), and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). The JHS Undergraduate Training and Education Center (JHSUTEC) at TC was developed to increase the numbers of college-aged African American students entering public health and health-related fields. To achieve this goal, the UTEC designed the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) Scholars program. Methods: JHS Scholars are required to take additional classes and participate in public health and/or biomedical research. The scholars engage in research locally during the academic year. However, many scholars participate in research outside of the Jackson Metropolitan area during the summer. Because of this, national collaborators were needed to act as mentors and hosts. Results: Since the inception of the JHSUTEC, more than 15 collaborations have been formed that have shared resources and student successes. As of May 2018, more than150 students have successfully completed the JHS Scholars program and many have continued into careers in public health, biomedical research, and medicine. Since 2004, JHS scholars have published 29 papers and 15 scholars have received diversity supplements. Conclusion: Collaborative activities and public health partnerships have contributed to the success of the JHSUTEC program and have served as a pathway of entry into STEM fields for minority students.

Investigation of the rhodium-catalyzed hydroboration of NHC-boranes: the role of alkene coordination and the origin of enantioselectivity.

The mechanism of the intramolecular enantioselective rhodium(i)-catalyzed hydroboration of NHC-boranes is investigated by experimental reactivity measurements and molecular electronic structure calculations, within the framework of the Density Functional Theory and the Random Phase Approximation methods. The crucial role of alkene coordination and the origin of enantioselectivity are discussed. Two possible mechanisms are considered, via either prior hydride migratory insertion or boron migratory insertion. The minimum energy computed pathway leads to the enantiomer experimentally observed, therefore supporting the hydride migratory insertion mechanism. Calculations of the final steps of the catalytic cycle, i.e. regeneration of the catalyst and release of the product, give us further insights into the mechanism and rationalize the experimental results.

Highly diastereoselective preparation of chiral NHC-boranes stereogenic at the boron atom.

Stereogenic main group elements are clearly generating interest in the enantioselective catalysis field. Surprisingly, while chiral organoboron reagents are very useful in stereoselective transformations, few scaffolds stereogenic at boron and configurationally stable have been reported to date. Herein, we describe an original library of chiral NHC-boranes, stereogenic at the boron atom, that has been prepared in only a few steps and in good yields (up to 93%). Key steps involve a chlorination/arylation sequence in the presence of simple Grignard reagents from bicyclic NHC-boranes. The high and unprecedented diastereoselectivity observed during the second step (up to 99 : 1 dr) has been rationalized through a plausible SRN1 mechanism thanks to EPR observations and DFT calculations.

Nurses' knowledge and practice of blood-borne pathogens and infection control measures in selected Beni-Suef Hospitals Egypt.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Blood-borne pathogens (BBP) [hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HIV] pose a considerable infectious risk for nurses, resulting in unwanted health outcomes and psychological stress. AIM OF THE WORK: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practices of nurses and define administrative roles regarding in BBP and infection control (IC) measures in selected Beni-Suef Hospitals. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2014 to January 2015 using a self-administered questionnaire. It was distributed to 400 nurses working in the Health Insurance Organization, Beni-Suef University/general, Nasser Center, and Bebba Hospitals, with a response rate of 77.5% (310/400). RESULTS: The overall mean scores of knowledge, practice, and role of administration of respondent's nurses (out of 15 points, each) were 7.71±3.15, 9.14±2.47, and 7.03±3.58, respectively. Assessment of knowledge and practice showed that 93.5, 80.3, and 65.8% of nurses were aware that HIV, HBV, and HCV is a BBP, respectively. Autoclave as the best sterilization method for equipment was reported by greater than 50% of the nurses. Urban locality of the healthcare facility and lectures provided to the nursing staff were significantly related to better practice. However, 14.8% of nurses reported a needle-stick injury during the last 6 months and only 53.5% of nurses were vaccinated against HBV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Both the knowledge and the practice of Beni-Suef Hospitals' nurses against BBP and IC standards were fair. The administration score was the only independent determinant for practice. Healthcare facilities should focus on increasing nurses' awareness for strict adherence to IC standards, and implement training and preventive programs to minimize the risk of needle-stick injuries. All nurses should be vaccinated against HBV.