The rise of the Covid-19 pandemic changed many facets of life for college students. College students were sent home in the middle of a semester, forced to quickly figure out how to learn virtually ...and take classes online that had been in-person. This change also resulted in a proliferation of virtual internships. The existing scholarship on virtual internships is sparse, leaving many questions, specifically, what makes a virtual internship "successful?" We examine this question by analyzing feedback of interns collected via a novel survey of students completing a virtual internship during Spring 2020, Fall 2020, and Spring 2021. We explore the effect of remote interning on a student's overall satisfaction with the internship experience, duties performed, technical difficulties faced while interning virtually, as well as specific factors that may improve the virtual internship experience for students. Results suggest that virtual internships can be highly successful component of student learning. We close by providing recommendations for internship coordinators interested in supporting virtual internship experiences.
Activated microglia are an important feature of many neurological diseases and can be imaged in vivo using 1-(2-chlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N-(1-methylpropyl)-3-isoquinolinecarboxamide (PK11195), a ligand ...that binds the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR). N-(2,5-dimethoxybenzyl)-N-(5-fluoro-2-phenoxyphenyl) acetamide (DAA1106) is a new PBR-specific ligand that has been reported to bind to PBR with higher affinity compared with PK11195. We hypothesized that this high-affinity binding of DAA1106 to PBR will enable better delineation of microglia in vivo using positron emission tomography. ³HDAA1106 showed higher binding affinity compared with ³H(R)-PK11195 in brain tissue derived from normal rats and the rats injected intrastriatally with 6-hydroxydopamine or lipopolysaccharide at the site of the lesion. Immunohistochemistry combined with autoradiography in brain tissues as well as correlation analyses showed that increased ³HDAA1106 binding corresponded mainly to activated microglia. Finally, ex vivo autoradiography and positron emission tomography imaging in vivo showed greater retention of ¹¹CDAA1106 compared with ¹¹C(R)-PK11195 in animals injected with either lipopolysaccaride or 6-hydroxydopamine at the site of lesion. These results indicate that DAA1106 binds with higher affinity to microglia in rat models of neuroinflammation when compared with PK11195, suggesting that ¹¹CDAA1106 may represent a significant improvement over ¹¹C(R)-PK11195 for in vivo imaging of activated microglia in human neuroinflammatory disorders.
The immune response of naive CD4 T cells to influenza virus is initiated in the draining lymph nodes and spleen, and only after effectors are generated do antigen-specific cells migrate to the lung ...which is the site of infection. The effector cells generated in secondary organs appear as multiple subsets which are a heterogeneous continuum of cells in terms of number of cell divisions, phenotype and function. The effector cells that migrate to the lung constitute the more differentiated of the total responding population, characterized by many cell divisions, loss of CD62L, down-regulation of CCR7, stable expression of CD44 and CD49d, and transient expression of CCR5 and CD25. These cells also secrete high levels of interferon gamma and reduced levels of interleukin 2 relative to those in the secondary lymphoid organs. The response declines rapidly in parallel with viral clearance, but a spectrum of resting cell subsets reflecting the pattern at the peak of response is retained, suggesting that heterogeneous effector populations may give rise to corresponding memory populations. These results reveal a complex response, not an all-or-none one, which results in multiple effector phenotypes and implies that effector cells and the memory cells derived from them can display a broad spectrum of functional potentials.
We previously hypothesized that poor task-directed sensory information processing should be indexed by increased weighting of right hemisphere (RH) biased attention and visuo-perceptual brain ...functions during task operations and have demonstrated this phenotype in ADHD across multiple studies, using multiple methodologies. However, in our recent distributed effects model of ADHD, we surmised that this phenotype is not ADHD specific, but rather more broadly reflective of any circumstance that disrupts the induction and maintenance of an emergent task-directed neural architecture. Under this view, increased weighting of RH-biased attention and visuo-perceptual brain functions is expected to generally index neurocognitive sets that are not optimized for task-directed thought and action, and when durable expressed, liability for ADHD.
The current study tested this view by examining whether previously identified rightward parietal EEG asymmetry in ADHD was associated with common ADHD characteristics and comorbidities i.e., ADHD risk factors (RFs).
Barring one exception (non-right handedness), we found that it was. Rightward parietal asymmetry (RPA) was associated with carrying the DRD4-7R risk allele, being male, having mood disorder, and having anxiety disorder. However, differences in the specific expression of RPA were observed, which are discussed in relation to possible unique mechanisms underlying ADHD liability in different ADHD RFs.
Rightward parietal asymmetry appears to be a durable feature of ADHD liability, as predicted by the Distributed Effects Perspective Model of ADHD. Moreover, variability in the expression of this phenotype may shed light on different sources of ADHD liability.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of mortality, morbidity, and disability. Microglial activation is commonly observed in response to neuronal injury which, when prolonged, is ...thought to be detrimental to neuronal survival. Activated microglia can be labeled using PK11195, a ligand that binds the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), receptors which are increased in activated microglia and sparse in the resting brain. We compared the binding properties of two PBR ligands PK11195 and DAA1106 in rats using the controlled cortical impact (CCI) model of experimental TBI. While both ligands showed relative increases with specific binding in the cortex ipsilateral to injury compared to the contralateral side,
3HDAA1106 showed higher binding affinity compared with
3H(
R)-PK11195. Combined immunohistochemistry and autoradiography in brain tissues near the injury site showed that
3HDAA1106 binding co-registered with activated microglia more than astrocytes. Further, increased
3HDAA1106-specific binding positively correlated with the degree of microglial activation, and to a lesser degree with reactive astrocytosis. Finally,
in vivo administration of each ligand in rats with TBI showed greater retention of
11CDAA1106 compared to
11C(
R)-PK11195 at the site of the contusion as assessed by
ex vivo autoradiography. These results in a rat model of TBI indicate that
11CDAA1106 binds with higher affinity to microglia when compared with PK11195, suggesting that
11CDAA1106 may represent a better ligand than
11C(
R)-PK11195 for
in vivo PET imaging of activated microglia in TBI.
Gait speed predicts functional decline, disability, and death and is considered a biomarker of biological aging. Changes in gait speed in persons aging with HIV may provide an important method of ...gauging health and longevity in an under assessed population. The objective of this study was to evaluate and quantify the rate of gait speed decline in HIV-infected (HIV⁺) men compared with HIV-uninfected (HIV⁻) men.
The study was nested in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. The primary outcome was usual gait speed in meters per second measured between 2007 and 2013. Differences in the rate of gait speed decline and the incidence of clinically slow gait (<1.0 m/s) were assessed using multivariate linear regression models and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively.
A total of 2025 men (973 HIV⁺ and 1052 HIV⁻) aged 40 years and older contributed 21,187 person-visits (9955 HIV⁺ and 11,232 HIV⁻) to the analysis. Average gait speeds at the age 50 years were 1.24 and 1.19 m/s in HIV⁻ and HIV⁺ men, respectively (P < 0.001). In fully adjusted models, gait speed decline averaged 0.009 m/s per year after age 50 years (P < 0.001); this decline was 0.025 m/s per year greater in HIV⁺ men (P < 0.001). Moreover, HIV⁺ men had a 57% greater risk of developing clinically slow gait (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.57, 95% confidence interval: 1.27 to 1.91).
These findings indicate a faster rate of functional decline in HIV-infected men, suggesting greater risks of disability and death with advancing age.
The immune response of naive CD4 T cells to influenza virus is initiated in the draining lymph nodes and spleen, and only after effectors are generated do antigen-specific cells migrate to the lung ...which is the site of infection. The effector cells generated in secondary organs appear as multiple subsets which are a heterogeneous continuum of cells in terms of number of cell divisions, phenotype and function. The effector cells that migrate to the lung constitute the more differentiated of the total responding population, characterized by many cell divisions, loss of CD62L, down-regulation of CCR7, stable expression of CD44 and CD49d, and transient expression of CCR5 and CD25. These cells also secrete high levels of interferon γ and reduced levels of interleukin 2 relative to those in the secondary lymphoid organs. The response declines rapidly in parallel with viral clearance, but a spectrum of resting cell subsets reflecting the pattern at the peak of response is retained, suggesting that heterogeneous effector populations may give rise to corresponding memory populations. These results reveal a complex response, not an all-or-none one, which results in multiple effector phenotypes and implies that effector cells and the memory cells derived from them can display a broad spectrum of functional potentials.
Readers increasingly attempt to understand and learn from information sources they find on the Internet. Doing so highlights the crucial role that evaluative processes play in selecting and making ...sense of the information. In a prior study, Wiley et al. (2009, Experiment 1) asked undergraduates to perform a web-based inquiry task about volcanoes using multiple Internet sources. A major finding established a clear link between learning outcomes, source evaluations, and reading behaviors. The present study used think-aloud protocol methodology to better understand the processing that learners engaged in during this task: 10 better learners were contrasted with 11 poorer learners. Results indicate that better learners engaged in more sense-making, self-explanation, and comprehension-monitoring processes on reliable sites as compared with unreliable sites, and did so by a larger margin than did poorer learners. Better learners also engaged in more goal-directed navigation than poorer learners. Case studies of two better and two poorer learners further illustrate how evaluation processes contributed to navigation decisions. Findings suggest that multiple-source comprehension is a dynamic process that involves interplay among sense-making, monitoring, and evaluation processes, all of which promote strategic reading.
Studying sound production at different developmental stages can provide insight into the processes involved in vocal ontogeny. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a known vocal learning ...species, but their vocal development is poorly understood. While studies of humpback whale calves in the early stages of their lives on the breeding grounds and migration routes exist, little is known about the behavior of these immature, dependent animals by the time they reach the feeding grounds. In this study, we used data from groups of North Atlantic humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine in which all members were simultaneously carrying acoustic recording tags attached with suction cups. This allowed for assignment of likely caller identity using the relative received levels of calls across tags. We analyzed data from 3 calves and 13 adults. There were high levels of call rate variation among these individuals and the results represent preliminary descriptions of calf behavior. Our analysis suggests that, in contrast to the breeding grounds or on migration, calves are no longer acoustically cryptic by the time they reach their feeding ground. Calves and adults both produce calls in bouts, but there may be some differences in bout parameters like inter-call intervals and bout durations. Calves were able to produce most of the adult vocal repertoire but used different call types in different proportions. Finally, we found evidence of immature call types in calves, akin to protosyllables used in babbling in other mammals, including humans. Overall, the sound production of humpback whale calves on the feeding grounds appears to be already similar to that of adults, but with differences in line with ontogenetic changes observed in other vocal learning species.
In 2008, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened an Implementation Science Work Group to assess evidence-based strategies for effectively implementing clinical practice guidelines. ...This was part of a larger effort to update existing clinical practice guidelines on cholesterol, blood pressure, and overweight/obesity.
Review evidence from the published implementation science literature and identify effective or promising strategies to enhance the adoption and implementation of clinical practice guidelines.
This systematic review was conducted on 4 critical questions, each focusing on the adoption and effectiveness of 4 intervention strategies: (1) reminders, (2) educational outreach visits, (3) audit and feedback, and (4) provider incentives. A scoping review of the Rx for Change database of systematic reviews was used to identify promising guideline implementation interventions aimed at providers. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed a priori for each question, and the published literature was initially searched up to 2012, and then updated with a supplemental search to 2015. Two independent reviewers screened the returned citations to identify relevant reviews and rated the quality of each included review.
Audit and feedback and educational outreach visits were generally effective in improving both process of care (15 of 21 reviews and 12 of 13 reviews, respectively) and clinical outcomes (7 of 12 reviews and 3 of 5 reviews, respectively). Provider incentives showed mixed effectiveness for improving both process of care (3 of 4 reviews) and clinical outcomes (3 reviews equally distributed between generally effective, mixed, and generally ineffective). Reminders showed mixed effectiveness for improving process of care outcomes (27 reviews with 11 mixed and 3 generally ineffective results) and were generally ineffective for clinical outcomes (18 reviews with 6 mixed and 9 generally ineffective results). Educational outreach visits (2 of 2 reviews), reminders (3 of 4 reviews), and provider incentives (1 of 1 review) were generally effective for cost reduction. Educational outreach visits (1 of 1 review) and provider incentives (1 of 1 review) were also generally effective for cost-effectiveness outcomes. Barriers to clinician adoption or adherence to guidelines included time constraints (8 reviews/overviews); limited staffing resources (2 overviews); timing (5 reviews/overviews); clinician skepticism (5 reviews/overviews); clinician knowledge of guidelines (4 reviews/overviews); and higher age of the clinician (1 overview). Facilitating factors included guideline characteristics such as format, resources, and end-user involvement (6 reviews/overviews); involving stakeholders (5 reviews/overviews); leadership support (5 reviews/overviews); scope of implementation (5 reviews/overviews); organizational culture such as multidisciplinary teams and low-baseline adherence (9 reviews/overviews); and electronic guidelines systems (3 reviews).
The strategies of audit and feedback and educational outreach visits were generally effective in improving both process of care and clinical outcomes. Reminders and provider incentives showed mixed effectiveness, or were generally ineffective. No general conclusion could be reached about cost effectiveness, because of limitations in the evidence. Important gaps exist in the evidence on effectiveness of implementation interventions, especially regarding clinical outcomes, cost effectiveness and contextual issues affecting successful implementation.
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