Statistics and Epidemiology are crucial both in clinical decision-making and clinical research. Teaching these disciplines in a Bachelor's Degree in Medicine is a significant challenge. In this ...paper, we aim to describe two participatory teaching methods used in a yearlong second-year course that includes both Epidemiology and Statistics, and to analyze how these two methodologies affect the students' perception of the course and their abilities related to these subjects. Both methodologies consist in carrying out a specific practical activity. The first practical activity is carried out using a website and aims to help students understand concepts and interpret information; the second involves analyzing a database using a statistical package and, subsequently, producing a scientific report. In addition, we prepared a questionnaire to find out the students' perception of these issues. The nine questionnaire items were assessed using a rating scale and adapted to characteristics of the course, which covers Epidemiology and Statistics in an integrated manner. Then we assessed the differences in perception before and after the activities were carried out. The results show that the students' perception improved significantly in the following items: "importance of Statistics and Epidemiology in Medicine"; "usefulness in clinical practice"; "understanding concepts"; "ability to perform a statistical analysis"; and "ability to sort data". The difference was not significant in the remaining four items. In conclusion, the students' perception of their ability in Statistics and Epidemiology significantly improved after completing the practical activities, and their perception of importance and usefulness of these subjects also improved.
Este trabajo aborda la inmigración española a Argentina de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, décadas después. En el nuevo siglo, encontramos a algunos de aquellos inmigrantes y a sus descendientes ...trabajando en sus asociaciones y federaciones en la tarea de mantener vivo el recuerdo de su tierra de origen y estableciendo una red densa de contactos con las instituciones en España, en un momento en que la colectividad se ha asimilado a la sociedad argentina. Lejos de resultar paradójico, el caso de los castellanos y leoneses en Buenos Aires muestra cómo el transnacionalismo de determinadas prácticas culturales convive en un escenario de asimilación.
Society demands a university education grounded on ethical principles. Education in ethics values is responsibility of universities but will not be viable unless also adopted by directly responsible ...agents, the teachers who work with the students. For this reason, our primary research objective was to conduct an in-depth analysis of how Health Sciences students self-perceive the ethical dimension.
A mixed research methodology with two phases, qualitative and quantitative, allowed us to address our research question from two complementary viewpoints. Conversational interviews were conducted in an intentional and purposive sample to identify a wide range of discursive representations. A questionnaire was designed based on previous studies and the topics of qualitative research. The response format for the questionnaire followed a Likert scale and modulators such as sex, age, degree and the score of a social desirability test were examined.
After 24 conversational interviews, three main thematic blocks (coinciding with the three subscales of the questionnaire) were identified: "attitudes for harmony in human relations", "construction of the self" and "rules and regulations". A total of 246 students completed a questionnaire with 39 items. The total scores ranged from 93 to 152 points, with an average score of 122.72 ± 10.64 points. Responsibility, the basic rules of education and respect were perceived as the two most important values, whereas solidarity and social participation as the least important. Results showed a significant positive linear correlation between total score on the questionnaire and age and social desirability. Age was also a significant predictor for the total score and the subscale score "rules and regulations". The students´ responses seemed to be conditioned by the degree of social desirability that they present.
The ad-hoc questionnaire captured the maintenance of high ethical values in our college undergraduate students, which may be directly related to enhanced social desirability. The scores obtained on the questionnaire were correlated with the students' age, which may indicate that values might tend to acquire progressively more importance as students grow older. Further research is warranted to delve deeper on the determinants of professionalism and ethical decision-making in college students.
Abstract
Background
In the ART-PRO pilot trial there were no virological failures through 48 weeks of treatment with dolutegravir plus lamivudine in suppressed individuals with and without archived ...lamivudine resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) detected through next-generation sequencing (NGS) but without evidence of lamivudine RAMs in baseline proviral DNA population sequencing.
Objectives
To present 96 week results from ART-PRO.
Methods
Open-label, single-arm pilot trial. At baseline, all participants switched to dolutegravir plus lamivudine. Participants were excluded if proviral DNA population genotyping detected lamivudine RAMs. To detect resistance minority variants, proviral DNA NGS was retrospectively performed from baseline samples. For this analysis the efficacy endpoint was the proportion of participants with <50 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL at week 96. Safety and tolerability outcomes were incidence of adverse events and treatment discontinuations.
Results
Forty-one participants were included, 21 with lamivudine RAMs in historical plasma RNA genotypes. Baseline proviral DNA NGS detected lamivudine RAMs (M184V/I and/or K65R/E/N) above a 5% threshold in 71.4% (15/21) and 15% (3/20) of participants with and without history of lamivudine resistance, respectively. At 96 weeks, 90.2% of participants achieved the efficacy endpoint. Between week 48 and 96 there was one discontinuation due to consent withdrawal and no discontinuations related to adverse events. Two participants had a transient viral rebound, both re-suppressed on dolutegravir plus lamivudine. Through week 96, there were no virological failures.
Conclusions
In this pilot trial, dolutegravir plus lamivudine maintained virological suppression at 96 weeks despite historical lamivudine resistance and persisting archived minority lamivudine RAMs.
Real-life cohorts have shown that the effectiveness of all-oral, direct-acting antivirals (DAA) for HCV treatment is > 90%. We aimed to explore the predictive factors of DAA success in HIV ...coinfection. This is an observational prospective study within the cohort “VIH-DOC”, Madrid, Spain. HIV/HCV-coinfected patients were included if they had been treated with DAAs between 9 January 2015 and 31 August 2016. The sustained virological response (SVR) was analysed in the intention-to-treat population. Binary logistic regression was used to study the impact of cirrhosis, anti-HCV therapy experience and the IL28B polymorphism on SVR, besides factors with a
p
value < 0.15 from the univariate analysis. DAA were prescribed to 423 patients. SVR was confirmed in 92.9%. The univariate analysis showed higher proportion of patients with SVR among those with DAA adherence ≥ 95% (difference + 10.3%, 95% CI 3.5–19.6) and a baseline CD4+ cell count ≥ 200/μL (difference + 14.7%, 95% CI 4.1–31.0). Logistic regression evinced that both DAA adherence and baseline CD4+ cell counts predicted the SVR (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.8–8.8, and OR 5.2, 95% CI 1.9–13.9, respectively). Moreover, men who reported having sex with other men (MSM) were less likely to achieve SVR (OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.1–16.1). Among MSM, three of three patients without SVR were suspected to have experienced HCV reinfection. DAA for HCV in HIV-coinfected patients is highly effective. DAA adherence ≥ 95% and a baseline CD4+ count ≥ 200/μL predicted a higher probability of SVR. A lower rate of SVR was found in MSM, presumably due to a higher frequency of HCV reinfection.
Abstract
Background
Previously selected lamivudine resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) may remain archived within the proviral HIV-DNA.
Objectives
To evaluate the ability of proviral DNA ...genotyping to detect lamivudine RAMs in HIV-1 virologically suppressed participants; the correlation between Sanger and next generation sequencing (NGS); and predictive factors for detection of lamivudine RAMs in proviral DNA.
Methods
Cross-sectional study of participants on stable antiretroviral therapy and suppressed for ≥1 year. Analysis of proviral DNA was performed by Sanger sequencing in whole blood and by NGS in PBMCs.
Results
We analysed samples from 102 subjects (52 with and 50 without lamivudine RAMs in historical plasma RNA-genotypes). Among participants with previous lamivudine resistance, Sanger sequencing detected RAMs in 26.9%. Detection rates significantly increased using NGS: 47.9%, 64.6%, 75% and 87.5% with the 20%, 10%, 5% and 1% thresholds, respectively. As for participants without historical lamivudine resistance, Sanger detected the RAMs in 1/49 (2%), and NGS (5% threshold) in 8/45 (17.8%). Multivariate models fitted to the whole population revealed that having a history of lamivudine resistance was a risk factor for detection of lamivudine RAMs by NGS. Among participants with historical lamivudine resistance, multivariate analysis showed that a longer time since HIV diagnosis was associated with persistence of archived mutations by NGS at thresholds of >10% OR 1.10 (95% CI: 1.00–1.24) and >5% OR 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02–1.32).
Conclusions
Proviral DNA Sanger sequencing does not detect the majority of historical lamivudine RAMs. NGS increases the sensitivity of detection at lower thresholds, although the relevance of these minority populations with lamivudine RAMs needs further evaluation.