Psychosocial and environmental determinants of physical activity in a Brazilian public university employees - ELDAF: A prospective cohort study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Increased physical activity levels and their determinations are essential issues worldwide. The Longitudinal Study of Physical Activity Determinants (ELDAF) aims to understand the roles of psychosocial and environmental factors in workers' physical activity levels. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of non-faculty civil servants from a public university (approximately 1,200 individuals) will start in 2022 (baseline). The primary measurements will be accelerometer- and questionnaire-based physical activity, social support, social network, socioeconomic status, bereavement, job stress, body image, common mental disorders, depression, and neighborhood satisfaction. Additional measurements will include necessary sociodemographic, physical morbidity, lifestyle and anthropometric information. Participants' places of residence will be geocoded using complete addresses. All participants will furnish written, informed consent before the beginning of the study. Pilot studies were performed to identify and correct potential problems in the data collection instruments and procedures. ELDAF will be the first cohort study conducted in Latin America to investigate physical activity and its determinants.

Prevalence of negative self-rated health in university students and its relationship with the co-occurrence of risk behaviors / Prevalência da autoavaliação de saúde negativa em universitários e sua relação com a concorrência de comportamentos de risco

ABSTRACT The present study estimate the prevalence of negative self-rated health and to analyze its association with simultaneous risk behaviors (insufficient levels of physical activity, greater exposure to sedentary time and inappropriate sleep time) in students at a public university in the state from Minas Gerais, Brazil. It consists of cross-sectional study, with data collected through a questionnaire. The outcome variable was negative self-rated health. The independent variables were estimated by the questions related to the time spent on physical activity, sitting and sleep time, and these three behaviors were considered according to the risk criteria (none, one, two and three risk behaviors). The association was estimated by the Prevalence Ratios (PR), via Poisson regression. 1,110 students participated in the study. The prevalence of negative self-rated health among university students was 47.3%, and the prevalence of two risk behaviors and three risk behaviors were 41.3% and 11.3%, respectively. The simultaneous occurrence of three risk behaviors was associated with negative self-rated health in university students. The information in this study makes it possible to characterize the need for actions to promote health in the university environment.

RESUMO O presente estudo estimou a prevalência da autoavaliação de saúde negativa e analisou a sua associação com comportamentos de risco simultâneos (níveis insuficientes de atividade física, maior exposição ao tempo sedentário e tempo de sono não apropriado) em estudantes de uma universidade pública do ensino superior do estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Consiste de um estudo transversal, com informações mensuradas via questionário e a variável desfecho foi a autoavaliação de saúde negativa. As variáveis independentes foram estimadas pelas perguntas referentes ao tempo despendido em: atividade física, tempo sentado e tempo de sono, e esses três comportamentos foram somados conforme os critérios de risco (nenhum, um, dois e três fatores de risco). A associação foi estimada pelas Razões de Prevalências (RP), via regressão de Poisson. Participaram do estudo 1.110 estudantes. A prevalência da autoavaliação de saúde negativa entre os universitários foi de 47,3%, e as prevalências de dois fatores de risco e de três fatores de risco foram de 41,3% e 11,3%, respectivamente. A ocorrência de forma simultânea de três fatores de risco mostrou-se associada com a autoavaliação de saúde negativa em universitários. As informações deste estudo possibilitam caracterizar a necessidade de ações na promoção de saúde no ambiente universitário.

Regulatory utility of pharmacometrics in the development and evaluation of antimicrobial agents and its recent progress in China.

Pharmacometrics is an emerging science that interprets drug, disease, and trial information in a mathematical fashion to inform and facilitate efficient drug development and/or regulatory decisions. Pharmacometrics study is increasingly adopted in the regulatory review of new antimicrobial agents. We summarized the 31 antimicrobial agents approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the 26 antimicrobial agents approved by European Medicines Agency (EMA) from January 2001 to May 2019. We also reviewed recent examples of utilizing pharmacometrics to support antimicrobial agent's registration in China, including modeling and simulation methods, effects of internal/external factors on pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters, safety and efficacy evaluation in terms of exposure-response analysis, refinement of the wording of product labeling and package leaflet, and possible postmarketing clinical trial. Ongoing communication among regulator, academia, and industry regarding pharmacometrics is encouraged to streamline and facilitate the development of new antimicrobial agents. The industry can maximize its benefit in drug development through continued pharmacometrics education/training.

Establishing a national strategy for shared research resources in biomedical sciences.

Contemporary science has become increasingly multi-disciplinary and team-based, resulting in unprecedented growth in biomedical innovation and technology over the last several decades. Collaborative research efforts have enabled investigators to respond to the demands of an increasingly complex 21st century landscape, including pressing scientific challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. A major contributing factor to the success of team science is the mobilization of core facilities and shared research resources (SRRs), the scientific instrumentation and expertise that exist within research organizations that enable widespread access to advanced technologies for trainees, faculty, and staff. For over 40 years, SRRs have played a key role in accelerating biomedical research discoveries, yet a national strategy that addresses how to leverage these resources to enhance team science and achieve shared scientific goals is noticeably absent. We believe a national strategy for biomedical SRRs-led by the National Institutes of Health-is crucial to advance key national initiatives, enable long-term research efficiency, and provide a solid foundation for the next generation of scientists.

Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions.

Despite increased awareness of the lack of gender equity in academia and a growing number of initiatives to address issues of diversity, change is slow, and inequalities remain. A major source of inequity is gender bias, which has a substantial negative impact on the careers, work-life balance, and mental health of underrepresented groups in science. Here, we argue that gender bias is not a single problem but manifests as a collection of distinct issues that impact researchers' lives. We disentangle these facets and propose concrete solutions that can be adopted by individuals, academic institutions, and society.

A philosophical analysis of anti-intellectualism in nursing: Newman's view of a university education.

Canadian and international nursing educators are increasingly concerned with the quality of university nursing education. Contemporary nursing education is fraught by a growing anti-intellectualism coupled with the dominance of neoliberalism and corporate university business culture. Amid these challenges, nursing schools must prepare nurses to provide care in an era compounded by social and health inequities. The purpose of this paper was to explore the philosophical and contextual factors influencing anti-intellectualism in nursing education. We use John Henry Newman's view of the purpose of a university education as a heuristic perspective to examine anti-intellectualism in nursing. We contend that the ideological worship of technological advances, a culture of consumerism, quality improvement and risk management, the primacy of doing over thinking, competency-based curricula and business models rooted in neoliberal financial policies reinforce anti-intellectualism in nursing. Anti-intellectualism is a complex issue to address within the corporate university culture. We propose multiple strategies at the disciplinary, university and sociopolitical levels to decrease anti-intellectualism. Counteracting anti-intellectualism requires critical thinking, praxis and emancipation. Nurses should critically examine this anti-intellectual trend as it limits the advancement of the discipline and marginalizes its contributions within the academy. If nurses do not address this challenge, the survival of nursing as an academic discipline may be jeopardized.

[Doing, planning, "planning-doing:" a case of municipal pragmatism in collaboration with a university during the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Haciendo, planeando, "planhaciendo": una experiencia de pragmatismo municipal en la pandemia del Covid-19 en cooperación con la universidad.

This article critically analyzes local governments' abilities to face the COVID-19 pandemic by examining an instance of technical-scientific cooperation between a municipality and a university located in the northern Rio de Janeiro (state) beginning in April 2020. This collaboration included: the implementation of a situation room, data processing and analysis for decision making and for public communication, a telemonitoring center, ongoing training with territorial healthcare teams, and an epidemiological study of COVID-19 in the municipality, among other actions. We situate our analysis within a conceptual framework that adopts a micropolitical view of concepts such as experience, pragmatism, "live work in action," and desire. The notion of "planning-doing" is deployed as an inventive form of planning that is only narrated a posteriori, as an imperative act, a live government in action that depends on the movement of desire oriented by life, and that only takes place in collective spaces of management practices and health care.

Este artículo problematiza las posibilidades municipales de hacer frente a la pandemia de COVID-19, a partir de la cooperación técnico-científica entre un municipio y una universidad del norte del estado de Rio de Janeiro, a partir de abril de 2020, que involucró la implementación de una sala de situación, procesamiento y análisis de datos para la toma de decisiones y de información para la población, centro de televigilancia, educación permanente con equipos territoriales de atención y estudio epidemiológico de COVID-19 en el municipio, entre otras acciones. En este análisis se utilizó como soporte conceptual una visión micropolítica de los conceptos de experiencia, pragmatismo, trabajo vivo en acto y deseo. La noción de "planhaciendo" se retomó como una planificación inventiva que solo puede ser narrada a posteriori, un acto imperativo, un gobierno vivo en acto que depende de un movimiento anhelante orientado por la vida, y que solo se da en espacios colectivos de prácticas de gestión y de atención a la salud.

Assessment of a COVID-19 Control Plan on an Urban University Campus During a Second Wave of the Pandemic.

Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted US educational institutions. Given potential adverse financial and psychosocial effects of campus closures, many institutions developed strategies to reopen campuses in the fall 2020 semester despite the ongoing threat of COVID-19. However, many institutions opted to have limited campus reopening to minimize potential risk of spread of SARS-CoV-2. Objective: To analyze how Boston University (BU) fully reopened its campus in the fall of 2020 and controlled COVID-19 transmission despite worsening transmission in Boston, Massachusetts. Design, Setting, and Participants: This multifaceted intervention case series was conducted at a large urban university campus in Boston, Massachusetts, during the fall 2020 semester. The BU response included a high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction testing facility with capacity to deliver results in less than 24 hours; routine asymptomatic screening for COVID-19; daily health attestations; adherence monitoring and feedback; robust contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation in on-campus facilities; face mask use; enhanced hand hygiene; social distancing recommendations; dedensification of classrooms and public places; and enhancement of all building air systems. Data were analyzed from December 20, 2020, to January 31, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures: SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of anterior nares specimens and sources of transmission, as determined through contact tracing. Results: Between August and December 2020, BU conducted more than 500 000 COVID-19 tests and identified 719 individuals with COVID-19, including 496 students (69.0%), 11 faculty (1.5%), and 212 staff (29.5%). Overall, 718 individuals, or 1.8% of the BU community, had test results positive for SARS-CoV-2. Of 837 close contacts traced, 86 individuals (10.3%) had test results positive for COVID-19. BU contact tracers identified a source of transmission for 370 individuals (51.5%), with 206 individuals (55.7%) identifying a non-BU source. Among 5 faculty and 84 staff with SARS-CoV-2 with a known source of infection, most reported a transmission source outside of BU (all 5 faculty members [100%] and 67 staff members [79.8%]). A BU source was identified by 108 of 183 undergraduate students with SARS-CoV-2 (59.0%) and 39 of 98 graduate students with SARS-CoV-2 (39.8%); notably, no transmission was traced to a classroom setting. Conclusions and Relevance: In this case series of COVID-19 transmission, BU used a coordinated strategy of testing, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine, with robust management and oversight, to control COVID-19 transmission in an urban university setting.

[Assessment of adherence to the Mediterranean diet in university Health Sciences students and its relationship with level of physical activity]. / Valoración de la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea en estudiantes universitarios de Ciencias de la Salud y su relación con el nivel de actividad física.

INTRODUCTION: Objective: to assess the degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the practice of physical activity in university Health Sciences students in Castile-La Mancha. Methods: this was a cross-sectional, observational study by means of a dietary and physical activity survey. The sample consisted of 575 university students (77.7 % women). An initial data collection survey was developed using the Google Forms platform (https://www.google.com/forms/about/). Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) questionnaire and the modified Prevention with Mediterranean Diet (PREDIMED) questionnaire. The Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity Scale (RAPA) questionnaire was used to measure physical activity. Results: we found a 58.3 % adherence to Mediterranean diet among Health Sciences students, with 38.6 % of average adherence, and 5.0 % of poor adherence, with a low consumption of fruits with no gender differences, and a high consumption of red or processed meat and butter or cream with significant differences between women and men. There is also a high consumption of carbonated beverages (more frequent in women). Likewise, a high percentage of students (22.5 %) do practically no physical activity. As for physical exercise, it is always higher in men, with significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion: this study suggests that the sample of university Health Sciences students in Castile-La Mancha shows an acceptable adherence to the Mediterranean diet and insufficient levels of physical activity.

INTRODUCCIÓN: Objetivo: valorar el grado de adherencia a la dieta mediterránea y la práctica de actividad física en estudiantes universitarios de Ciencias de la Salud de Castilla-La Mancha. Método: estudio observacional transversal mediante encuesta alimentaria y de actividad física. La muestra contó con 575 estudiantes universitarios (77,7 % de mujeres). Se desarrolló una encuesta de recogida de datos inicial mediante la plataforma Google Forms (https://www.google.com/forms/about/). La adherencia a la dieta mediterránea se valoró con el cuestionario Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) y el cuestionario PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED), modificado. Para medir la actividad física se utilizó el cuestionario Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity Scale (RAPA), que valora la actividad física desempeñada. Resultados: se encontró en los estudiantes de Ciencias de la Salud una adherencia a la dieta mediterránea del 58,3 %, siendo la adherencia media del 38,6 % y la mala adherencia del 5,0 %, observándose un bajo consumo de frutas sin diferencias de sexo, un alto consumo de carne roja o procesada y de mantequillas o natas, con diferencias significativas entre mujeres y hombres. También hay un consumo alto de bebidas carbonatadas (más frecuente en mujeres). Asimismo, un porcentaje alto de estudiantes (22,5 % del total) no hace prácticamente ninguna actividad física. En cuanto al ejercicio físico, siempre es mayor entre los hombres, con diferencias significativas (p > 0,05). Conclusión: este estudio sugiere que la muestra de estudiantes universitarios de Ciencias de la Salud de Castilla-La Mancha presenta una aceptable adherencia a la dieta mediterránea y unos niveles de actividad física insuficientes.

Assessment of a Crowdsourcing Open Call for Approaches to University Community Engagement and Strategic Planning During COVID-19.

Importance: Reimagining university life during COVID-19 requires substantial innovation and meaningful community input. One method for obtaining community input is crowdsourcing, which involves having a group of individuals work to solve a problem and then publicly share solutions. Objective: To evaluate a crowdsourcing open call as an approach to COVID-19 university community engagement and strategic planning. Design, Setting, and Participants: This qualitative study assessed a crowdsourcing open call offered from June 16 to July 16, 2020, that sought ideas to inform safety in the fall 2020 semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Digital methods (email and social media) were used for promotion, and submissions were collected online for 4 weeks. Participation was open to UNC students, staff, faculty, and others. Main Outcomes and Measures: Submissions were evaluated for innovation, feasibility, inclusivity, and potential to improve safety and well-being. Demographic data were collected from submitting individuals, and submissions were qualitatively analyzed for emergent themes on challenges with and solutions for addressing safety and well-being in the fall semester. Data were shared with UNC leadership to inform decision-making. Results: The open call received 82 submissions from 110 participants, including current UNC students (56 submissions [68%]), people younger than 30 years (67 [82%]), women (55 [67%]), and individuals identifying as a racial/ethnic minority or as multiracial/ethnic (49 [60%]). Seven submissions were identified as finalists and received cash prizes with the encouragement to use these funds toward idea development and implementation. Seventeen runner-up teams were linked to university resources for further development. Thematic analysis of submissions regarding challenges with the fall semester revealed not only physical health concerns and the limitations of remote learning but also challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, such as a lack of mental health support, structural racism and inequality, and insufficient public transportation. Solutions included novel ideas to support mental health among specific populations (eg, graduate students and racial/ethnic minorities), improve health equity, and increase transit access. All 24 finalists and runners-up indicated interest in implementation after being notified of the open call results. Conclusions and Relevance: This study suggests that open calls are a feasible strategy for university community engagement on COVID-19, providing a stakeholder-driven approach to identifying promising ideas for enhancing safety and well-being. Open calls could be formally incorporated into university planning processes to develop COVID-19 safety strategies that are responsive to diverse community members' concerns.