Assessing COVID-19 testing strategies in K-12 schools in underserved populations: study protocol for a cluster-randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Since March 2020, COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted communities of color within the United States. As schools have shifted from virtual to in-person learning, continual guidance is necessary to understand appropriate interventions to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Weekly testing of students and staff for SARS-CoV-2 within K-12 school setting could provide an additional barrier to school-based transmission, especially within schools unable to implement additional mitigation strategies and/or are in areas of high transmission. This study seeks to understand the role that weekly SARS-CoV-2 testing could play in K-12 schools. In addition, through qualitative interviews and listening sessions, this research hopes to understand community concerns and barriers regarding COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 vaccine, and return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS/DESIGN: Sixteen middle and high schools from five school districts have been randomized into one of the following categories: (1) Weekly screening + symptomatic testing or (2) Symptomatic testing only. The primary outcome for this study will be the average of the secondary attack rate of school-based transmission per case. School-based transmission will also be assessed through qualitative contact interviews with positive contacts identified by the school contact tracers. Lastly, new total numbers of weekly cases and contacts within a school-based quarantine will provide guidance on transmission rates. Qualitative focus groups and interviews have been conducted to provide additional understanding to the acceptance of the intervention and barriers faced by the community regarding SARS-CoV-2 testing and vaccination. DISCUSSION: This study will provide greater understanding of the benefit that weekly screening testing can provide in reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission within K-12 schools. Close collaboration with community partners and school districts will be necessary for the success of this and similar studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04875520 . Registered May 6, 2021.

A Study Planning Exercise Associated with Decreased Distraction Levels among Introductory Biology Students.

Students struggle to regulate their learning during independent study sessions. In this study, we ask whether an online behavioral intervention helped introductory students decrease distraction while studying. The intervention consisted of exam 1 reflection, exam 2 planning, and exam 2 reflection exercises. During planning, students formed a goal, mentally contrasted (MC) a positive outcome of their goal to their present reality, identified an obstacle, and formed an implementation intention (II) to overcome that obstacle. During reflection, students self-reported their distraction while studying. Distraction was the most frequently reported study obstacle, and decreasing distraction was the second most frequently reported study goal. While students who aimed to decrease distraction as a goal did not follow through, students who planned for distraction obstacles did follow through on decreasing distraction levels. Only about half of students generated an II that aligned with their study goal, which may provide one reason for the opposing follow-through of distraction framed as a goal versus as an obstacle. Lastly, we examined the specificity of students' II's and found no relationship with follow-through. Overall, MC with II holds promise as a self-regulatory technique to help introductory biology students change their behaviors while studying.

Multivariable risk model for postpartum re-presentation with hypertension: development phase.

OBJECTIVES: Postpartum hypertension is one of the leading causes of re-presentation to hospital postpartum and is associated with adverse long-term cardiovascular risk. Postpartum blood pressure monitoring and management interventions have been shown to reduce hospital re-presentation, complications and long-term blood pressure control. Identifying patients at risk can be difficult as 40%-50% present with de novo postpartum hypertension. We aim to develop a risk model for postpartum re-presentation with hypertension using data readily available at the point of discharge. DESIGN: A case-control study comparing all patients who re-presented to hospital with hypertension within 28 days post partum to a random sample of all deliveries who did not re-present with hypertension. Multivariable analysis identified risk factors and bootstrapping selected variables for inclusion in the model. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve or C-statistic was used to test the model's discriminative ability. SETTING: A retrospective review of all deliveries at a tertiary metropolitan hospital in Melbourne, Australia from 1 January 2016 to 30 December 2020. RESULTS: There were 17 746 deliveries, 72 hypertension re-presentations of which 51.4% presented with de novo postpartum hypertension. 15 variables were considered for the multivariable model. We estimated a maximum of seven factors could be included to avoid overfitting. Bootstrapping selected six factors including pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, peak systolic blood pressure in the delivery admission, aspirin prescription and elective caesarean delivery with a C-statistic of 0.90 in a training cohort. CONCLUSION: The development phase of this risk model builds on the three previously published models and uses factors readily available at the point of delivery admission discharge. Once tested in a validation cohort, this model could be used to identify at risk women for interventions to help prevent hypertension re-presentation and the short-term and long-term complications of postpartum hypertension.

Corrigendum to "A review on urban agriculture: Technology, socio-economy, and policy" [Heliyon 8(11), (2022) Article e11583].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11583.].

A review on urban agriculture: technology, socio-economy, and policy.

It has been a challenge to support the expansion of urban agriculture (UA) in cities due to its poor economic profitability. However, it is also hard to deny the increasing benefits of UA in improving the socio-environmental dimension of cities. Hence, in this review, different aspects of UA were examined to highlight its value beyond profitability such as social, health and well-being, disaster risk reduction, and environmental perspectives. A case study and relevant policies were analyzed to determine how policy makers can bridge the gap between current and future UA practices and sustainable development. Bridging these policy gaps can help the UA sector to sustainably grow and become successfully integrated in cities. Moreover, advancements in UA technologies and plant biotechnology were presented as potential solutions in increasing the future profitability of commercial UA. Consequently, as new UA-related technologies evolve, the multidisciplinary nature of UA and its changing identity from agriculture to digital technology, similarly require adaptive policies. These policies should maximize the potential of UA in contributing to resiliency and sustainability and incentivize the organic integration of UA in cities, while equally serving social justice.