Regulation of brain development by the Minibrain/Rala signaling network.

The human dual specificity tyrosine phosphorylation regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) is implicated in the pathology of Down syndrome, microcephaly, and cancer, however the exact mechanism through which it functions is unknown. Here, we have studied the role of the Drosophila ortholog of DYRK1A, Minibrain (Mnb), in brain development. The neuroblasts (neural stem cells) that eventually give rise to differentiated neurons in the adult brain are formed from a specialized tissue in the larval optic lobe called the neuroepithelium, in a tightly regulated process. Molecular marker analysis of mnb mutants revealed alterations in the neuroepithelium and neuroblast regions of developing larval brains. Using affinity purification-mass spectrometry (AP-MS), we identified the novel Mnb binding partners Ral interacting protein (Rlip) and RALBP1 associated Eps domain containing (Reps). Rlip and Reps physically and genetically interact with Mnb, and the three proteins may form a ternary complex. Mnb phosphorylates Reps, and human DYRK1A binds to the Reps orthologs REPS1 and REPS2. Furthermore, Mnb engages the small GTPase Ras-like protein A (Rala) to regulate brain and wing development. This work uncovers a previously unrecognized early role of Mnb in the neuroepithelium and defines the functions of the Mnb/Reps/Rlip/Rala signaling network in brain development. Significance statement: The kinase Minibrain(Mnb)/DYRK1A regulates the development of the brain and other tissues across many organisms. Here we show the critical importance of Mnb within the developing neuroepithelium. Advancing our understanding of Mnb function, we identified novel protein interactors of Mnb, Reps and Rlip, which function together with Mnb to regulate growth in Drosophila melanogaster . We also identify and characterize a role for the small GTPase Rala in Mnb-regulated growth and nervous system development. This work reveals an early role of Mnb in brain development and identifies a new Mnb/Reps/Rlip/Rala signaling axis.

Moderators of the Link Between Social Preference and Persistent Peer Victimization for Elementary School Children.

OBJECTIVE: Current antibullying programs can reduce overall rates of victimization but appear to overlook processes that give rise to persistent peer victimization. Needed are studies that delineate the interplay between social contextual and individual difference variables that contribute to persistent peer victimization. We examined the extent to which two individual-difference variables - internalizing symptoms (IS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) - moderated the link between children's average social preference score across the school year and their status as persistent victims. METHOD: Participants included 659 4th-grade students (Mage = 9.31 years, SD = 0.50, 51.8% girls; 42.3% Latinx, 28.9% non-Hispanic White, 10.2% Pacific Islander, 7.7% Bi/Multiracial, 1.9% Black, 1.7% Asian, 1.7% Native American, and 3.4% unreported) from 10 public elementary schools in the U.S. RESULTS: As expected, higher social preference scores predicted a decreased likelihood of being persistently victimized. Conversely, IS and AS were positively linked to persistent victim status. AS significantly moderated the link between social preference and persistent victim status such that for children with high AS, compared to those with AS scores at or below the mean, the negative association between social preference and persistent victim status was attenuated. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide evidence that children who experience high levels of IS and AS are at risk for being persistently victimized by peers and that high AS could signal increased risk for persistent victimization even when children are generally liked by peers. We discuss the implications of these findings for efforts to develop focused interventions for chronically bullied children.

Educational Costs Expended and Career Incomes in Advanced Healthcare Professions.

The financial desirability of dollar/time investments in postbaccalaureate healthcare professional education is needed. We therefore compared postbaccalaureate educational costs and career earnings for nurse anesthetists, eight other advanced degree, nonphysician professions, and 14 physician specialties with internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV) analysis. The IRR and NPV integrated educational costs (tuition, finance charges, lost salary opportunity costs), and career earnings using U.S. Bureau of Labor and Medscape 2022 Physician Compensation Report data. Costs were discounted to 2022 U.S. real dollars using the 3.97% 50-year, U.S. average inflation rate. Annual IRRs for educational investment were 1) hospital CEOs = 48.8%; 2) managed care finance directors = 48.2%; 3) Doctors of Nurse Anesthesia Practice = 26.0%; 4) specialist physicians = 20.3%; 5) primary care physicians = 19.2%; 6) Doctors of Physical Therapy = 18.8%; 7) healthcare attorneys = 18.4%; 8) Doctors of Dental Surgery (dentists) = 18.1%; 9) Doctors of Pharmacy = 17.2%; and 10) Advanced Nurse Practitioners = 10.8%. Considering the educational money/time invested for career monetary returns, the financial desirability of nurse anesthetist and nonphysician, healthcare executive education exceeded that of physicians. Lifetime earnings for nurse anesthetists exceeded those of Doctors of Dental Surgery (Doctors of Dental Medicine), Doctors of Pharmacy, Doctors of Physical Therapy, managed care MBAs, biomedical engineers, healthcare attorneys, and Advanced Nurse Practitioners.

Nonfatal suicidal behaviors among former active duty servicemembers-United States, 2013-2019.

Introduction: Examine characteristics associated with increased odds of nonfatal suicidal behaviors among former active-duty servicemembers (F-ADSM) using data from the 2013-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Methods: F-ADSM were respondents who reported being separated/retired from the military and previously serving on active-duty. For each outcome of interest (suicidal ideation, made a suicide plan, made a suicide attempt), we used multivariable logistic regression with backwards elimination to identify characteristics with statistically significant associations. Results: In the 12 months preceding the survey, 3.6% of F-ADSM reported suicidal ideation, 1.0% reported making a plan, and 0.3% reported making a suicide attempt. There were increased odds of self-reported suicide attempts among F-ADSM who were female; aged 18-49 years; non-Hispanic black; gay or bisexual; divorced/separated or widowed; not employed; in poverty; binged alcohol in the past month; or ever had a major depressive episode. Conclusions: Suicide can be prevented through a comprehensive, upstream approach addressing veteran's holistic needs to prevent them from becoming suicidal in the first place, and support veterans at increased risk.

Cost-Utility Analysis of the Port Delivery System with Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

PURPOSE: To quantify the cost-utility ratio of the ranibizumab Port Delivery System (PDS; SUSVIMO) versus intravitreal ranibizumab injections for treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) based upon Archway Phase 3 Trial data. DESIGN: Cost-utility analysis. SUBJECTS: Archway Phase 3 Clinical Trial nAMD participants previously responsive to anti-VEGF therapy were randomized 3:2. Two hundred forty received PDS refills q 24 weeks and 162 received ranibizumab injections. METHODS: Ophthalmic patient, time tradeoff utilities, direct medical and societal cost perspectives, 12-year, 1-year, and 5-year timelines, United States 2022 real dollars, and a 3% annual discount rate were employed. Utilities were adjusted for nAMD conversion in fellow eyes during the 12-year, mean participant life expectancy. Premature death associated with severe vision loss was integrated as per the population-based Salisbury Eye Evaluation Study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) accruals, costs, and incremental and average cost-utility ratios in $/QALY (dollars expended per QALY gained). RESULTS: Versus no therapy, the 1-year PDS QALY gain was 0.0156 (6.8%) versus 0.0063 (0.82%) for intravitreal injections (P < 0.001), whereas the respective 12-year QALY gains were 1.714 (28%) and 1.639 (26.8%) (P = 0.99). One-year direct PDS ophthalmic costs totaled $21 825 with 2 ranibizumab fills, whereas ranibizumab injection therapy totaled $18 405 with 11.8 injections. The 1-year incremental PDS $/QALY versus injections was cost effective at $75 497/QALY. Five-year PDS therapy was not incrementally cost effective at $304 108/QALY, nor was the 12-year therapy at $761 646/QALY. Average 12-year cost-utility ratios were $78 773/QALY for the PDS and $47 917/QALY for injection therapy. Adding -$476 442 12-year offsetting societal costs netted $314 521 to society per PDS participant versus $370 958 per participant for injection therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Ranibizumab PDS therapy was not incrementally cost effective versus ranibizumab injection therapy at 12 or 5 years but was at 1 year. Injection therapy had a more favorable 12-year average cost-utility ratio. Vision gain was the major determinant of participant value gain and was the same for both interventions. Both interventions were highly cost effective utilizing average cost-utility analysis with the societal cost perspective. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

The Effects of Holistic Admissions on Diversity in Nursing: A Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: The nursing profession does not reflect the diversity of the population they serve. Many health professions, including nursing, have altered their admissions practices to consider a holistic assessment of individuals. Quantitative data from students are not sufficient to develop a diverse student body. METHOD: A literature review was conducted using MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERC, ERIC, and Google Scholar. Original research articles on holistic admission (HA) processes and the effects on diversity in nursing were included in the review. Search terms were "holistic admission," "holistic review," and "nursing." RESULTS: There is a paucity of research regarding HA in nursing. The available literature suggests HA increases the odds of developing a more diverse student population. CONCLUSION: HA should be considered to increase diversity of students. Further research is needed regarding the effects of HA on diversity among nursing students. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(10):556-562.].

The composition of planktonic prokaryotic communities in a hospital building water system depends on both incoming water and flow dynamics.

In recent years, the frequency of nosocomial infections has increased. Hospital water systems support the growth of microbes, especially opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens. In this study, planktonic prokaryotic communities present in water samples taken from hospital showers and hand basins, collected over three different sampling phases, were characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Significant differences in the abundance of various prokaryotic taxa were found through univariate and multivariate analysis. Overall, the prokaryotic communities of hospital water were taxonomically diverse and dominated by biofilm forming, corrosion causing, and potentially pathogenic bacteria. The phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Bacteroidota, Planctomycetota, Firmicutes, and Cyanobacteria made up 96% of the relative abundance. The α-diversity measurements of prokaryotic communities showed no difference in taxa evenness and richness based on sampling sites (shower or hand basins), sampling phases (months), and presence or absence of Vermamoeba vermiformis. However, ß-diversity measurements showed significant clustering of prokaryotic communities based on sampling phases, with the greatest difference observed between the samples collected in phase 1 vs phase 2/3. Importantly, significant difference was observed in prokaryotic communities based on flow dynamics of the incoming water. The Pielou's evenness diversity index revealed a significant difference (Kruskal Wallis, p < 0.05) and showed higher species richness in low flow regime (< 13 minutes water flushing per week and ≤ 765 flushing events per six months). Similarly, Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index found significant differences (PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in the prokaryotic communities of low vs medium/high flow regimes. Furthermore, linear discriminant analysis effect size showed that several biofilm forming (e.g., Pseudomonadales), corrosion causing (e.g., Desulfobacterales), extremely environmental stress resistant (e.g., Deinococcales), and potentially pathogenic (e.g., Pseudomonas) bacterial taxa were in higher amounts under low flow regime conditions. This study demonstrated that a hospital building water system consists of a complex microbiome that is shaped by incoming water quality and the building flow dynamics arising through usage.

Prevention Surpasses Treatment: 5-year Follow-Up, Cost-Utility, and Cost-Benefit of Zeaxanthin Therapy for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

INTRODUCTION: Oral administration of zeaxanthin (Zx) 20 mg daily in patients with unilateral neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with triple therapy (photodynamic therapy/intravitreal bevacizumab/intravitreal dexamethasone) reduced fellow-eye 2-year nAMD incidence from 23 to 6% (p = 0.02) in a prior clinical trial. We questioned the long-term benefit and thus analyzed case-control 5-year patient data of trial participants and additional participants with 5-year follow-up, also performing cost-utility and cost-benefit analyses. METHODS: Consecutive, unilateral nAMD patient outcomes for those taking 20 mg Zx supplementation orally for ≥ 5 years were compared with the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT) 5-year historical controls for fellow-eye nAMD conversion. Eleven-year mean life expectancy, cost-utility and cost-benefit models were undertaken employing a 3% discount rate and 2020 US real dollars. RESULTS: Among 227 consecutive patients with nAMD/Zx-supplementation, 202 (90%) had 5-year follow-up. The fellow-eye nAMD 5-year conversion incidence using a Kaplan-Meier cumulative event estimate was 22% (49/227), versus 48% (167/348) with CATT control data (p < 0.0001). An 11-year cost-utility model with estimates for years 6-11 demonstrated a 0.42 (7.7%) QALY (quality-adjusted life-year) gain, including 3 months of life saved per patient due to decreased nAMD fellow-eye conversion. This yielded a direct ophthalmic medical cost perspective, incremental cost-utility ratio (CUR) of -$576/QALY and a societal cost perspective CUR of -$125,071/QALY. Zx supplementation for all 2020 US unilateral nAMD cases would have theoretically saved society, primarily patients, $6.0 billion over 11 years, a 1531% return on investment (ROI), or 31.3% annual ROI, on Zx costs. CONCLUSIONS: Oral zeaxanthin supplementation for unilateral nAMD patients appears to decrease fellow-eye long-term incidence and is cost-effective and financially rewarding. It is dominant vs. no supplementation in patients presenting with unilateral nAMD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01527435.

Stagnation arising through intermittent usage is associated with increased viable but non culturable Legionella and amoeba hosts in a hospital water system.

Hospital water systems are a significant source of Legionella, resulting in the potentially fatal Legionnaires' disease. One of the biggest challenges for Legionella management within these systems is that under unfavorable conditions Legionella transforms itself into a viable but non culturable (VBNC) state that cannot be detected using the standard methods. This study used a novel method (flow cytometry-cell sorting and qPCR [VFC+qPCR] assay) concurrently with the standard detection methods to examine the effect of temporary water stagnation, on Legionella spp. and microbial communities present in a hospital water system. Water samples were also analyzed for amoebae using culture and Vermamoeba vermiformis and Acanthamoeba specific qPCR. The water temperature, number and duration of water flow events for the hand basins and showers sampled was measured using the Enware Smart Flow® monitoring system. qPCR analysis demonstrated that 21.8% samples were positive for Legionella spp., 21% for L. pneumophila, 40.9% for V. vermiformis and 4.2% for Acanthamoeba. All samples that were Legionella spp. positive using qPCR (22%) were also positive for VBNC Legionella spp.; however, only 2.5% of samples were positive for culturable Legionella spp. 18.1% of the samples were positive for free-living amoebae (FLA) using culture. All samples positive for Legionella spp. were also positive for FLA. Samples with a high heterotrophic plate count (HPC ≥ 5 × 103 CFU/L) were also significantly associated with high concentrations of Legionella spp. DNA, VBNC Legionella spp./L. pneumophila (p < 0.01) and V. vermiformis (p < 0.05). Temporary water stagnation arising through intermittent usage (< 2 hours of usage per month) significantly (p < 0.01) increased the amount of Legionella spp. DNA, VBNC Legionella spp./L. pneumophila, and V. vermiformis; however, it did not significantly impact the HPC load. In contrast to stagnation, no relationship was observed between the microbes and water temperature. In conclusion, Legionella spp. (DNA and VBNC) was associated with V. vermiformis, heterotrophic bacteria, and stagnation occurring through intermittent usage. This is the first study to monitor VBNC Legionella spp. within a hospital water system. The high percentage of false negative Legionella spp. results provided by the culture method supports the use of either qPCR or VFC+qPCR to monitor Legionella spp. contamination within hospital water systems.

The role of TMS 12 in the staphylococcal multidrug efflux protein QacA.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the importance of a region in QacA predicted to be important in antimicrobial substrate recognition. METHODS: A total of 38 amino acid residues within or flanking putative transmembrane helix segment (TMS) 12 of QacA were individually replaced with cysteine using site-directed mutagenesis. The impact of these mutations on protein expression, drug resistance, transport activity and interaction with sulphhydryl-binding compounds was determined. RESULTS: Accessibility analysis of cysteine-substituted mutants identified the extents of TMS 12, which allowed for refinement of the QacA topology model. Mutation of Gly-361, Gly-379 and Ser-387 in QacA resulted in reduced resistance to at least one bivalent substrate. Interaction with sulphhydryl-binding compounds in efflux and binding assays demonstrated the role of Gly-361 and Ser-387 in the binding and transport pathway of specific substrates. The highly conserved residue Gly-379 was found to be important for the transport of bivalent substrates, commensurate with the role of glycine residues in helical flexibility and interhelical interactions. CONCLUSIONS: TMS 12 and its external flanking loop is required for the structural and functional integrity of QacA and contains amino acids directly involved in the interaction with substrates.

Detection and quantification of viable but non-culturable Legionella pneumophila from water samples using flow cytometry-cell sorting and quantitative PCR.

Legionella pneumophila is a waterborne pathogen and, as the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, a significant public health concern. Exposure to environmental stresses, and disinfection treatments, promotes the formation of resistant and potentially infectious viable but non-culturable (VBNC) Legionella. The management of engineered water systems to prevent Legionnaires' disease is hindered by the presence of VBNC Legionella that cannot be detected using the standard culture (ISO11731:2017-05) and quantitative polymerase reaction (ISO/TS12869:2019) methods. This study describes a novel method to quantify VBNC Legionella from environmental water samples using a "viability based flow cytometry-cell sorting and qPCR" (VFC + qPCR) assay. This protocol was then validated by quantifying the VBNC Legionella genomic load from hospital water samples. The VBNC cells were unable to be cultured on Buffered Charcoal Yeast Extract (BCYE) agar; however, their viability was confirmed through their ATP activity and ability to infect amoeba hosts. Subsequently, an assessment of the ISO11731:2017-05 pre-treatment procedure demonstrated that acid or heat treatment cause underestimation of alive Legionella population. Our results showed that these pre-treatment procedures induce culturable cells to enter a VBNC state. This may explain the observed insensitivity and lack of reproducibility often observed with the Legionella culture method. This study represents the first time that flow cytometry-cell sorting in conjunction with a qPCR assay has been used as a rapid and direct method to quantify VBNC Legionella from environmental sources. This will significantly improve future research evaluating Legionella risk management approaches for the control of Legionnaires' disease.

A Qualitative Evaluation of a Health Access Card for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in a City in Northern England.

Refugees and asylum seekers residing in the UK face multiple barriers to accessing healthcare. A Health Access Card information resource was launched in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019 by Newcastle City Council, intended to guide refugees and asylum seekers living in the city, and the professional organisations that support them, to appropriate healthcare services provided locally. The aim of this qualitative evaluation was to explore service user and professional experiences of healthcare access and utilisation in Newcastle and perspectives on the Health Access Card. Eleven semi-structured interviews took place between February 2020 and March 2021. Participants provided diverse and compelling accounts of healthcare experiences and described cultural, financial and institutional barriers to care. Opportunities to improve healthcare access for these population groups included offering more bespoke support, additional language support, delivering training and education to healthcare professionals and reviewing the local support landscape to maximise the impact of collaboration and cross-sector working. Opportunities to improve the Health Access Card were also described, and these included providing translated versions and exploring the possibility of developing an accompanying digital resource.

Circumstances Contributing to Suicide Among U.S. Adolescents Aged 10-19 Years With and Without a Known Mental Health Condition: National Violent Death Reporting System, 2013-2018.

PURPOSE: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents in the United States; however, suicide is preventable and a better understanding of circumstances that contribute to death can inform prevention efforts. While the association between adolescent suicide and mental health is well established, multiple circumstances contribute to suicide risk. This study examines characteristics of adolescents who died by suicide and differences in circumstances between those with and without known mental health conditions at the time of death. METHODS: Logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of circumstances contributing to suicide between decedents with and without known mental health conditions using data from the 2013 to 2018 National Violent Death Reporting System (analyzed in 2021). RESULTS: Decedents with a known mental health condition were 1.2-1.8 times more likely to experience problematic alcohol misuse, substance misuse, family and other nonintimate relationship problems, and school problems; however, there were no significant differences between those with and without a known mental health condition for the preceding circumstances of arguments or conflicts, criminal or legal problems, or any crisis occurring within the two weeks prior to death. DISCUSSION: A comprehensive suicide prevention approach can address not only mental health conditions as a risk factor but also life stressors and other crises experienced among adolescents without known mental health conditions.

Are non-invasive or minimally invasive autopsy techniques for detecting cause of death in prenates, neonates and infants accurate? A systematic review of diagnostic test accuracy.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of non-invasive or minimally invasive autopsy techniques in deaths under 1 year of age. DESIGN: This is a systematic review of diagnostic test accuracy. The protocol is registered on PROSPERO. PARTICIPANTS: Deaths from conception to one adjusted year of age. SEARCH METHODS: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), the Cochrane Library, Scopus and grey literature sources were searched from inception to November 2021. DIAGNOSTIC TESTS: Non-invasive or minimally invasive diagnostic tests as an alternative to traditional autopsy. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Studies were included if participants were under one adjusted year of age, with index tests conducted prior to the reference standard.Data were extracted from eligible studies using piloted forms. Risk of bias was assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2. A narrative synthesis was conducted following the Synthesis without Meta-Analysis guidelines. Vote counting was used to assess the direction of effect. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Direction of effect was expressed as percentage of patients per study. FINDINGS: We included 54 direct evidence studies (68 articles/trials), encompassing 3268 cases and eight index tests. The direction of effect was positive for postmortem ultrasound and antenatal echography, although with varying levels of success. Conversely, the direction of effect was against virtual autopsy. For the remaining tests, the direction of effect was inconclusive.A further 134 indirect evidence studies (135 articles/trials) were included, encompassing 6242 perinatal cases. The addition of these results had minimal impact on the direct findings yet did reveal other techniques, which may be favourable alternatives to autopsy.Seven trial registrations were included but yielded no results. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence is insufficient to make firm conclusions about the generalised use of non-invasive or minimally invasive autopsy techniques in relation to all perinatal population groups.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021223254.

Informal mentoring support as a potential moderator of the relation between adolescent dating violence victimization and substance use.

Research links adolescent dating violence (ADV) victimization to negative developmental outcomes, including involvement in substance use. Informal mentoring is associated with several positive outcomes, including reduced risk of substance use. Addressed in this study is whether support from an informal mentor can function to protect victims of ADV from involvement in substance use. Participants were 152 adolescents (grades 9-12). Findings revealed a significant association between ADV victimization and adolescents' involvement in substance use, as well as some evidence that support from an informal mentor moderates that link. When informal mentor support was low or at the mean, ADV victimization was significantly linked to adolescents' involvement in substance use; when informal mentor support was high, ADV victimization was unrelated to substance use involvement. Discussed are research and practice implications of the potential protective role of informal mentors for victims of ADV.

Academic nursing leadership: Lessons learned during a pandemic: A qualitative research study.

BACKGROUND: In the wake of the pandemic and faculty shortage, strong academic nurse leaders (ANL) are needed to ensure quality education and professional standards are upheld while preparing future nurses. OBJECTIVES: This team explored experiences and perspectives of ANLs during the pandemic in order to better understand the difficulties they faced, their triumphs and failures, and lessons learned. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This descriptive-exploratory qualitative study captured leadership experiences of 11 academic leaders from a large, urban, Midwestern college of nursing. METHODS: Three focus group sessions were conducted virtually using a structured question guide and content analysis of transcripts. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from analysis: Technology, Time and Change, and Well-being. Content analysis also revealed leadership strategies and "pearls of wisdom" offered by participants. CONCLUSIONS: ANLs faced many challenges during the pandemic that required them to remain steady and present, while practicing regular and effective communication to foster strong relationships. As higher education and healthcare environments develop more complexity and remain constantly changing, leaders must be strategic, emotionally intelligent, and innovative in their roles.

Punitive school discipline as a mechanism of structural marginalization with implications for health inequity: A systematic review of quantitative studies in the health and social sciences literature.

Punitive school discipline deploys surveillance, exclusion, and corporal punishment to deter or account for perceived student misbehavior. Yet, education and legal scholarship suggests it fails to achieve stated goals and exacerbates harm. Furthermore, it is disproportionately imposed upon Black, Latinx, Native/Indigenous, LGBTQIA, and disabled students, concentrating its harms among marginalized young people. Its implications for health, however, are less clear. Using public health theories of sociostructural embodiment, we propose a framework characterizing pathways linking societal ideologies (e.g., racism) to punitive discipline with implications for health and health inequity and then present our systematic review of the punitive school discipline-health literature (N = 19 studies) conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Data were extracted on guiding theories, study characteristics, measurement, methods, and findings. This literature links punitive school discipline to greater risk for numerous health outcomes, including persistent depressive symptoms, depression, drug use disorder in adulthood, borderline personality disorder, antisocial behavior, death by suicide, injuries, trichomoniasis, pregnancy in adolescence, tobacco use, and smoking, with documented implications for racial health inequity. Using our adapted framework, we contextualize results and recommend avenues for future research. Our findings support demands to move away from punitive school discipline toward health-affirming interventions to promote school connectedness, safety, and wellbeing.

Prevalence of food insecurity in NCAA Division III collegiate athletes.

Objective: Prevalence of food insecurity in NCAA DIII student-athletes was assessed via an anonymous, online survey (n = 787) in February of 2020. Participants: Participants were mainly female, 18-21 years old, self-identified as white, lived on campus and had a campus meal plan. Methods: Food security was assessed using an anonymous, online survey based off of the USDA 6-item short form food security survey. Results: Overall prevalence of food insecurity was 14.7% with Hispanic students, Black students, those without a meal plan, recipients of a Pell grant, first generation college students and those experiencing food insecurity prior to enrolling in college being at higher risk. A majority of respondents felt lack of access to food impacted their academic and athletic performance, as well as overall health and cited timing of practices and games overlapping with dining hall hours as a key contributor. Conclusion: Based off of these results, educational programs and resources should be targeted toward these high-risk groups to help ensure consistent access to safe and healthy food for student-athletes.

Quality of life associated with no light perception vision.

OBJECTIVE: Time trade-off (TTO) utility analysis quantifies the quality of life associated with best-seeing-eye (BSE) vision. We compared the patient quality of life associated with unilateral and bilateral no light perception (NLP) with that of a control cohort without NLP. DESIGN: Cross-sectional interviews using a validated, reliable TTO vision utility analysis instrument. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1598 consecutive ophthalmology patients from the authors' practices. METHODS: Patient records were reviewed in a case-control fashion The utilities of participants with unilateral or bilateral NLP vision were compared with those from patients without NLP vision. RESULTS: Among 99 NLP patients, 93 (94%) had unilateral NLP and 6 (6%) had bilateral NLP, for a total of 105 NLP eyes. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated the highest correlation between utility and BSE acuity (p = 0.001), with no correlation with age, ophthalmic disease, time of vision loss, race, or education. Mean unilateral NLP utility ranged from 0.55 in the counting fingers to light perception subcohort to 0.80 in the 20/20-20/25 subcohort. The 6-person bilateral NLP subcohort had a 0.54 utility. The 99-patient NLP cohort mean utility was 0.69, a 55% quality-of-life decrease versus a BSE vision-matched 0.80 in 1499 non-NLP patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: TTO utility in unilateral NLP patients correlated with BSE vision at a lower utility than in patients with matched BSE vision without fellow-eye NLP. Decreased unilateral NLP patient quality of life should be considered in cost-utility analysis and clinical management. Bilateral NLP patient utility (0.54) was slightly less than that (0.55) in blind unilateral NLP patients with fellow-eye counting fingers to light perception vision, suggesting that more study is needed.