Although research indicates that the prevalence of psychiatric disability differs depending on gender, a paucity of information exists as to whether men and women with psychiatric disability also ...differ regarding service program outcomes. For a United States Southwest peer support specialist training program, this study examines whether gender moderates the association between psychiatric disability and a key outcome-training dropout. Data were collected for 78 men and 157 women with psychiatric disability and 137 men and 203 women with mental illness only. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between psychiatric disability and dropout, with gender as a moderator variable, and age, education, race/ethnicity, and substance use disorder as control variables. Of trainees with psychiatric disability, dropout was greater among men than women (34.6% and 20.4%, respectively; p < .05). Dropout was also greater among men with psychiatric disability than among men with mental illness only (34.6% and 15.3%; p < .01). In contrast, dropout was similar for women with psychiatric disability and mental illness only (20.4% and 18.7%; p > .05), and dropout was comparable among men and women with mental illness only (15.3% and 18.7%; p > .05). In summary, risk of dropout was substantially higher among men with psychiatric disability than women with psychiatric disability. Gender tailoring of the program's services should be considered to better support training completion. This study's findings also raise questions as to possible underrepresentation of men with psychiatric disability in the peer support workforce training pipeline.
Impact Statement
Although an important goal for peer support specialist training is equity in service, this study's analysis of a large peer support specialist training program found that noncompletion of training was disproportionately high for men with lived experience of psychiatric disability. No similar pattern was found for women. The program's training services should be tailored to better support men with psychiatric disability and thus help ensure their full representation in the peer support workforce training pipeline.
Objective
To evaluate race and gender variations in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use for knee osteoarthritis (OA) (unadjusted and adjusted for demographic and clinical factors).
...Methods
A secondary analysis of cross‐sectional data was conducted. The sample included Veterans Affairs patients 50 years of age or older with symptomatic knee OA. Current use of various CAM therapies was assessed at baseline. Logistic regression models were used to compare race and gender differences in the use of specific CAMs.
Results
The sample included 517 participants (52.2% identified as African American AA; 27.1% identified as female). After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, AA participants, compared with white participants, were less likely to use joint supplements (odds ratio OR: 0.53; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.31‐0.90); yoga, tai chi, or pilates (OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.19‐0.77); and chiropractic care (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.26‐1.00). However, they were more likely to participate in spiritual activities (OR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.39‐2.94). Women, compared with men, were more likely to use herbs (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.41‐4.14); yoga, tai chi, or pilates (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.04‐4.19); acupuncture, acupressure, or massage (OR: 2.45; 95% CI: 1.28‐4.67); and spiritual activities (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.09‐2.60). The interactive effects of race and gender were significant in the use of herbs (P = 0.008); yoga, tai chi, or pilates (P = 0.011); acupuncture, acupressure or massage (P = 0.038); and spiritual activities (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
There are race and gender differences in the use of various CAMs for OA. As benefits and limitations of CAM therapies vary, clinicians must be aware of these differences.
While opioids are known to cause unintended adverse effects, they are being utilized by a number of patients with osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of patient ...familiarity and perceptions regarding efficacy and risks with opioid medication use for OA.
A total of 362 adults with knee and/or hip OA were surveyed in this cross-sectional study. Patients' familiarity with and perceptions of benefits/risks of opioid medications were measured to evaluate potential associations with the utilization of opioid medications for OA within the last 6 months. Logistic regression models were adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical variables.
In this sample, 28.7% (100/349) reported use of an opioid medication for OA-related symptoms in the last 6 months. Those who were on an opioid medication, compared to those who were not, were younger (mean age 62.5 vs 64.8 yrs), were more likely to have a high school education or lower (48.0% vs 35.3%), and had higher mean depression (Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-8 7.2 vs 4.9) and OA-related pain (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index WOMAC 54.8 vs 46.8) scores. After adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical variables, the following were associated with opioid medication use: higher perception of medication benefit (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.18-2.41), lower perception of medication risk (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.51-0.88), and having family or friends who received the medication for OA (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.88-8.02).
Among adults with knee/hip OA, opioid use was associated with being familiar with the treatment, as well as believing that the medication was beneficial and low-risk.
Este artículo analiza indicadores de base económica en las regiones de Colombia. La teoría de la base económica explica las relaciones interregionales que engloban el flujo de bienes, personas y ...servicios, además de evaluar los impactos relevantes de estos flujos entre las regiones y la economía de referencia. Como procedimientos metodológicos, se utilizaron indicadores de análisis regional (Cociente de Localización-CL y el Coeficiente de Asociación Geográfica – CAG) y la estimación del multiplicador de empleo, señalando como resultados las ramas de actividad más especializadas (denominadas actividades básicas) en todas las regiones colombianas analizadas. Los resultados de los CL y los CAG obtenidos reflejan que la economía de las regiones colombianas continúa dependiendo de tres actividades básicas: una actividad primaria (Agricultura); una secundaria (Construcción) y una terciaria (Comercio). Se observo que, aunque la región Amazónica se encuentra entre las 3 regiones que tienen más actividades básicas, con 6 de 10, es la región con la menor proporción de empleos básicos totales y, por tanto, la más débil en la generación de empleos no básicos con el 4,6 y 4,7 en 2012 y 2018, respectivamente. Mientras que cada empleo básico en la región Andina estimula la generación de aproximadamente 27 puestos de trabajo en el sector no básico.
To assess the role of several genetic factors in combination with an environmental factor as modulators of prostate cancer risk. We focus on allele variants of low-penetrance genes associated with ...cell control, the detoxification processes and smoking.
In a case-control study we compared people carrying p53cd72 Pro allele, CYP1A1 M1 allele and GSTM1 null genotypes with their prostate cancer risk.
The joint risk for smokers carrying Pro* and M1*, Pro* and GSTM1null or GSTM1 null and CYP1A1 M1* variants was significantly higher (odds ratio OR: 13.13, 95% confidence interval CI: 2.41-71.36; OR: 3.97, 95% CI: 1.13-13.95 and OR: 6.87, 95% CI: 1.68-27.97, respectively) compared with that for the reference group, and for non-smokers was not significant. OR for combinations among p53cd72, GSTM1 and CYP1A1 M1 in smokers were positively and significantly associated with prostate cancer risk compared with non-smokers and compared with the putative lowest risk group (OR: 8.87, 95% CI: 1.25-62.71).
Our results suggest that a combination of p53cd72, CYP1A1, GSTM1 alleles and smoking plays a significant role in modified prostate cancer risk on the study population, which means that smokers carrying susceptible genotypes might have a significantly higher risk than those carrying non-susceptible genotypes.
Domaining is very often a complex and time-consuming process in mining assessment. Apart from the delineation of envelopes, a significant number of parameters (lithology, alteration, grades) are to ...be combined in order to characterize domains or subdomains within the envelopes. This rapidly leads to a huge combinatorial problem. Hopefully the number of domains should be limited, while ensuring their connectivity as well as the stationarity of the variables within each domain. In order to achieve this, different methods for the spatial clustering of multivariate data are explored and compared. A particular emphasis is placed on the ways to modify existing procedures of clustering in non spatial settings to enforce the spatial connectivity of the resulting clusters. K-means, hierarchical methods and model based algorithms are reviewed. The methods are illustrated on a simple example and on mining data.
Numerous sets of usability heuristics have been designed for specific domains, as traditional heuristics do not evaluate the specific features of particular applications. A substantial portion of the ...existing research focuses on designing new sets of heuristics, demonstrating the interest in heuristics that might identify specific usability problems for specific application domains. This article presents an exhaustive review of 73 studies related to usability heuristics for specific domains and methodologies; the objective is to identify the approach that is used to create usability heuristics and whether a formal and systematic process is involved. We conducted a systematic literature review of papers published between 2006 and 2016. The review was based on the guidelines proposed by Kitchenham (2007) 13 and shows that most studies use an informal process to develop usability heuristics. The creation of heuristics is mainly based on existing heuristics, literature reviews, usability problems, and guidelines. However, a few studies apply a methodology to define, validate and refine the set of heuristics proposed. Nevertheless, these methodologies should be formalized in order to help the process of creating usability heuristics.
•Traditional usability heuristics do not evaluate specific features of specific applications.•Numerous sets of usability heuristics have been designed for specific domains.•The article presents a review of 73 studies related to usability heuristics for specific domains, and their creation.•Most studies reviewed use an informal process to develop usability heuristics.•A few studies apply formal methodologies to establish usability heuristics.
People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to enjoy themselves and be engaged when interacting with computers, as these interactions occur in a safe and trustworthy environment. In this paper, ...we present a systematic literature review on the state of the research on the use of technology to teach people with ASD. We reviewed 94 studies that show how the use of technology in educational contexts helps people with ASD develop several skills, how these approaches consider aspects of user experience, usability and accessibility, and how game elements are used to enrich learning environments. This systematic literature review shows that the development and evaluation of systems and applications for users with ASD is very promising. The use of technological advancements such as virtual agents, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality undoubtedly provides a comfortable environment that promotes constant learning for people with ASD.
•Sets of usability/UX heuristics have been developed, but there is no consensus on how they should be created and validated.•We propose a formal methodology to establish usability/UX heuristics.•The ...methodology has been used to develop new sets of heuristics for several specific application domains.
Technology, software systems and human–computer interaction paradigms are evolving. Traditional usability heuristics do not cover all aspects of user–system interactions. Many sets of heuristics have been proposed, with the aim of evaluating specific application domains and their specific usability-related features. In addition, several sets of heuristics are used to evaluate aspects other than usability that are related to the user experience (UX). However, most authors use an informal process to develop usability/UX heuristics; there is no clear protocol for heuristic validation. This can result in sets of usability/UX heuristics that are difficult to understand or use; moreover, the resulting sets of heuristics may not be effective or efficient evaluation tools. This article presents a formal methodology for developing usability/user experience heuristics. The methodology was applied in practice in several case studies; it was also validated through expert opinions.
Abstract
Background
No effective treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exist. We aimed to determine whether early treatment with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) would be efficacious for ...outpatients with COVID-19.
Methods
Multicenter open-label, randomized, controlled trial conducted in Catalonia, Spain, between 17 March and 26 May 2020. Patients recently diagnosed with <5-day of symptom onset were assigned to receive HCQ (800 mg on day 1 followed by 400 mg once daily for 6 days) or usual care. Outcomes were reduction of viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs up to 7 days after treatment start, disease progression up to 28 days, and time to complete resolution of symptoms. Adverse events were assessed up to 28 days.
Results
A total of 293 patients were eligible for intention-to-treat analysis: 157 in the control arm and 136 in the intervention arm. The mean age was 41.6 years (SD, 12.6), mean viral load at baseline was 7.90 log10 copies/mL (SD, 1.82), and median time from symptom onset to randomization was 3 days. No differences were found in the mean reduction of viral load at day 3 (−1.41 vs −1.41 log10 copies/mL in the control and intervention arm, respectively) or at day 7 (−3.37 vs −3.44). Treatment did not reduce risk of hospitalization (7.1% control vs 5.9% intervention) nor shorten the time to complete resolution of symptoms (12 days, control vs 10 days, intervention). No relevant adverse events were reported.
Conclusions
In patients with mild COVID-19, no benefit was observed with HCQ beyond the usual care.
Compared with usual care, early treatment with HCQ failed to reduce the viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs after 3 and 7 days of treatment and shorten the time to resolve symptoms in adults with mild coronavirus disease 2019.
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