Impact of role conflicts and self-efficacy on academic performance of graduate-entry healthcare students: A lagged study.

Graduate entry healthcare students experience many challenges during their academic journey. The impact of these challenges needs to be considered to support students through their training and education. In this study, we examined the impact of experiencing these role conflicts (at the outset of the academic year), for example, family and caring responsibilities, activities with family/friends, and daily tasks/chores, on the academic performance (at the end of the academic year) of graduate-entry healthcare students. We also investigated the potential of students' self-efficacy for learning to mitigate the extent to which such role conflicts impact academic performance. Findings demonstrate that the more graduate entry healthcare students experienced conflicts between their life responsibilities and their academic responsibilities, the worse their academic performance was across the year. This negative relationship was somewhat mitigated by high self-efficacy for learning. The practical implications of our research suggest the need to provide specific mitigation strategies to support healthcare students regarding conflicts between their life/family responsibilities and their academic work.

Thyroid Hormone Therapy for Older Adults with Subclinical Hypothyroidism.

BACKGROUND: The use of levothyroxine to treat subclinical hypothyroidism is controversial. We aimed to determine whether levothyroxine provided clinical benefits in older persons with this condition. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial involving 737 adults who were at least 65 years of age and who had persisting subclinical hypothyroidism (thyrotropin level, 4.60 to 19.99 mIU per liter; free thyroxine level within the reference range). A total of 368 patients were assigned to receive levothyroxine (at a starting dose of 50 µg daily, or 25 µg if the body weight was <50 kg or the patient had coronary heart disease), with dose adjustment according to the thyrotropin level; 369 patients were assigned to receive placebo with mock dose adjustment. The two primary outcomes were the change in the Hypothyroid Symptoms score and Tiredness score on a thyroid-related quality-of-life questionnaire at 1 year (range of each scale is 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more symptoms or tiredness, respectively; minimum clinically important difference, 9 points). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 74.4 years, and 396 patients (53.7%) were women. The mean (±SD) thyrotropin level was 6.40±2.01 mIU per liter at baseline; at 1 year, this level had decreased to 5.48 mIU per liter in the placebo group, as compared with 3.63 mIU per liter in the levothyroxine group (P<0.001), at a median dose of 50 µg. We found no differences in the mean change at 1 year in the Hypothyroid Symptoms score (0.2±15.3 in the placebo group and 0.2±14.4 in the levothyroxine group; between-group difference, 0.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.0 to 2.1) or the Tiredness score (3.2±17.7 and 3.8±18.4, respectively; between-group difference, 0.4; 95% CI, -2.1 to 2.9). No beneficial effects of levothyroxine were seen on secondary-outcome measures. There was no significant excess of serious adverse events prespecified as being of special interest. CONCLUSIONS: Levothyroxine provided no apparent benefits in older persons with subclinical hypothyroidism. (Funded by European Union FP7 and others; TRUST ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01660126 .).

An assessment of Salmonella survival in pig manure and its separated solid and liquid fractions during storage.

The objective of this study was to examine Salmonella survival in pig manure and its separated fractions during storage. Salmonella declined, but significant reductions were not observed in the manure and liquid until day 56, whereas counts in the solids were lower by day 7. The Salmonella inoculum initially impacted counts but not after days 28-56. By day 112 Salmonella was undetectable in the manure and liquid but was recovered from the solids. There was no clear dominance of particular serotypes and antibiotic resistance transfer was not found. Storage duration and pH impacted Salmonella counts in all samples, with duration having the greatest effect. Of the nutrients, nitrate had the greatest impact in the manure and, together with phosphate, it also affected counts in the liquid fraction. This study demonstrates that if pig manure or its separated fractions are stored under controlled conditions at 10.5°C for 84-112 days Salmonella is reduced or eliminated, irrespective of the initial load.

The development and validation of a Multidimensional Perceived Work Ability Scale.

Research on the concept of existing unidimensional Perceived Work Ability scale (PWA) in organizational science has recently increased due to its prediction of important work, individual, and labor force outcomes. To date, PWA has been measured as a unidimensional construct. The present study outlines the need for the multidimensional conceptualization of PWA and its measurement. We describe the development and validation of the Multidimensional Perceived Work Ability Scale (M-PWAS), comprising four dimensions: physical, cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional. In line with Hinkin's (1998) approach to scale validation, we use four samples (total N = 1,152) to establish the M-PWAS as a reliable and valid measure of PWA. Through an iterative item generation and review process, we found evidence for content validity. Furthermore, each subscale demonstrated high internal consistency and factorial validity, and analysis of the PWA nomological network demonstrated evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, we found that the M-PWAS showed incremental validity over an existing unidimensional PWA measure in the prediction of perceived stress, emotional exhaustion, work engagement, and turnover. We discuss implications for theory, research, and workplace interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Removal of Salmonella and indicator micro-organisms in integrated constructed wetlands treating agricultural wastewater.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the removal of pathogenic and indicator micro-organisms in integrated constructed wetland (ICW) systems treating agricultural wastewater. Nine ICW's treating piggery (3) or dairy (6) wastewaters were sampled and indicator micro-organisms were enumerated in the influent as well as the effluent from the first, mid- and final cells. The presence/absence of Salmonella was also determined and any Salmonella isolates recovered were characterized. Mean counts of coliform, E. coli and Enterococcus across all nine ICW systems were lower in the final effluent than in the effluent from cell 1 (P < 0.001). An antibiotic susceptible isolate of Salmonella Dublin, a bovine-adapted serotype, was isolated from the influent to one dairy ICW but was not detected in any of the ICW cells. An antibiotic sensitive Salmonella Dublin isolate with the same molecular fingerprint was also recovered from the cell 1 effluent of another dairy ICW but was absent from the influent and the mid-cell and final effluents. Salmonella Typhimurium DT104b was detected in the liquid fraction of anaerobically digested pig manure as well as in the effluent from the first cell and mid-cell of an ICW treating this material, but was absent in the final effluent. Molecular fingerprinting by pulsed field gel electrophoresis demonstrated that the recovered isolates were highly related. However, they had different antimicrobial resistance profiles, with some highly resistant isolates recovered. In conclusion, counts of indicator micro-organisms were reduced significantly within ICW, with E. coli and Enterococcus non-detectable in the final effluent. Moreover, Salmonella, when present in the influent, appears to have been removed.

Inactivation of Salmonella during dry co-digestion of food waste and pig manure.

Extremely high volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ammonia concentrations can accumulate during dry co-digestion of organic wastes, which may inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, inactivation of Salmonella during dry co-digestion of pig manure (PM) and food waste (FW), which are both reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, was examined. The effects of pH, VFAs, ammonia and their interactions were assessed on three inoculated Salmonella serotypes. The results show that dry co-digestion significantly decreased the Salmonella inactivation time from several months (in wet digestion) to as short as 6-7 days. A modified Weibull distribution was proposed to simulate Salmonella reduction and to calculate or predict the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of VFAs and ammonia. Statistical analysis showed that all the factors (pH, VFA type, VFA/ammonia concentration and Salmonella serotype) significantly impacted Salmonella inactivation (P < 0.01). The inhibitory effect sequence was pH > VFA concentration > VFA type > Salmonella serotype in VFA MIC tests, and ammonia concentration > pH > Salmonella serotype in ammonia MIC tests. The toxicity of VFAs was much greater than that of ammonia, and an antagonistic effect was found between VFAs and ammonia on Salmonella inactivation. Apart from the toxicity of free VFAs and free ammonia, the inhibitory effects of pH alone, ionized VFAs and ammonium were also observed.