The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: Cross-national measurement invariance and convergent validity evidence

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of coronavirus-related anxiety. In a large-scale collaboration spanning 60 countries (Ntotal = 21,513), we examined the CAS's measurement invariance and assessed the convergent validity of CAS scores in relation to the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) and the satisfaction with life (SWLS-3) scales. We utilized both conventional exact invariance tests and alignment procedures, with results revealing that the single-factor model fit the data well in almost all countries. Partial scalar invariance was supported in a subset of 56 countries. To ensure the robustness of results, given the unbalanced samples, we employed resampling techniques both with and without replacement and found the results were more stable in larger samples. The alignment procedure demonstrated a high degree of measurement invariance with 9% of the parameters exhibiting noninvariance. We also conducted simulations of alignment using the parameters estimated in the current model. Findings demonstrated reliability of the means but indicated challenges in estimating the latent variances. Strong positive correlations between CAS and FCV-19S estimated with all three different approaches were found in most countries. Correlations of CAS and SWLS-3 were weak and negative but significantly differed from zero in several countries. Overall, the study provided support for the measurement invariance of the CAS and offered evidence of its convergent validity while also highlighting issues with variance estimation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Using the project ECHO™ model to teach mental health topics in rural Guatemala: An implementation science-guided evaluation

BACKGROUND

Mental health (MH) disorders are major causes of disability in Guatemala. Unfortunately, limited academic training and funding resources make MH care inaccessible to most people in rural Guatemala. These disparities leave many indigenous populations without care. Project ECHO™ is an educational model used globally to deliver virtual training for providers in rural/ underserved communities. The aim of this project was to implement and evaluate a Project ECHO™ program bridging MH training gaps for providers who serve rural communities in Guatemala.

METHODS

The Project ECHO™ curriculum was implemented through a partnership between educational and nonprofit institutions in Guatemala City and the United States. Participants were primary care physicians and nurses working in rural Guatemala as well as medical/nursing/psychology students. Evaluation of its implementation was guided by a RE-AIM framework. Reach, effectiveness, adoption, fidelity, sustainability, acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness were evaluated using a mixed-methods approach, using a pre-post survey and semi-structured focus groups.

RESULTS

Forty unique participants attended the five sessions. Attitudes about mental health did not change quantitatively but self-efficacy improved in four of five modules. High quality fidelity scores were noted in two of five sessions. Sustainability scores across multiple domains were highly rated. Scores on instruments measuring acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness were high. Focus groups showed two main themes: the curriculum filled a gap in education and further adaptation of the model might help improve the experience.

CONCLUSION

Implementation of the Project ECHO™ educational model appeared to have good reach/adoption, showed improvements in self-efficacy, illuminated facilitators and barriers to sustainability, and was felt to be acceptable, feasible, and appropriate. Qualitative analysis supported these conclusions. Future directions would include ongoing evaluation and monitoring of further Project ECHO™ curricular experiences through this partnership and adaptation of this project to other learners and settings in Latin America.

Toward Smaller Aqueous-Phase Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles: High-Stability Thiolate-Protected ∼4.5 nm Cores

Most applications of aqueous plasmonic gold nanoparticles benefit from control of the core size and shape, control of the nature of the ligand shell, and a simple and widely applicable preparation method. Surface functionalization of such nanoparticles is readily achievable but is restricted to water-soluble ligands. Here we have obtained highly monodisperse and stable smaller aqueous gold nanoparticles (core diameter ∼4.5 nm), prepared from citrate-tannate precursors via ligand exchange with each of three distinct thiolates: 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, α-R-lipoic acid, and para-mercaptobenzoic acid. These are characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy for plasmonic properties; Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for ligand-exchange confirmation; X-ray diffractometry for structural analysis; and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy for structure and size determination. Chemical reduction induces a blueshift, maximally +0.02 eV, in the localized surface plasmon resonance band; this is interpreted as an electronic (-) charging of the monolayer-protected cluster (MPC) gold core, corresponding to a -0.5 V change in electrochemical potential.

Anti-Ebola therapies based on monoclonal antibodies: current state and challenges ahead

The 2014 Ebola outbreak, the largest recorded, took us largely unprepared, with no available vaccine or specific treatment. In this context, the World Health Organization declared that the humanitarian use of experimental therapies against Ebola Virus (EBOV) is ethical. In particular, an experimental treatment consisting of a cocktail of three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) produced in tobacco plants and specifically directed to the EBOV glycoprotein (GP) was tested in humans, apparently with good results. Several mAbs with high affinity to the GP have been described. This review discusses our current knowledge on this topic. Particular emphasis is devoted to those mAbs that have been assayed in animal models or humans as possible therapies against Ebola. Engineering aspects and challenges for the production of anti-Ebola mAbs are also briefly discussed; current platforms for the design and production of full-length mAbs are cumbersome and costly.

Abstract P4-09-13: Breast cancer recurrence risk: A role for the progesterone receptor isoforms

Progesterone receptor (PR) is currently used as a surrogate marker for functional estrogen receptor activity in breast cancer. Two PR isoforms have been described, PRB and PRA. PRA (94 kDa) is a truncated protein that lacks the first 164 amino acids of the NH2 terminal of PRB (115 kDa), making difficult the development of antibodies that discriminate PRA from PRB by standard immunohistochemistry (IHC). There are few studies describing the expression of PR isoforms in breast cancers. While there is a general consensus that PRA is the prevailing isoform expressed in breast cancer tissues as compared with normal mammary gland, there is controversial data regarding the association between their deregulated expression and endocrine response or aggressiveness. We are currently studying the expression of the PR isoform ratio in breast cancer samples obtained during surgical resection in order to test their antiprogestin responsiveness in tissue cultures. The study has been approved by the IRB (2012-028). Selected samples were studied by RNAseq and the data was used to analyze the PAM50 genes to predict risk of recurrence, and interestingly, almost all the genes related to proliferation were up-regulated in samples categorized as having higher levels of PRB than PRA, being also these patients those with a high risk of recurrence (May and Rojas et al., ASCO Annual Meeting, poster#11016, 2015). These observations are in agreement with data obtained in hormone resistant breast cancer xenografts with higher levels of PRB than PRA (Wargon and Riggio et al, International Journal of Cancer: 2680, 2015). The aim of this study is to evaluate a possible correlation between the PR isoform ratio, proliferation as evaluated by Ki67 or HER2 expression, and clinical outcome in selected breast cancer samples. Ki67 was evaluated by IHC using standard protocols in 80 PR+ samples. The PRA/PRB ratio was also evaluated in nuclear extracts, performed from frozen tissue, from the same patients, by Western Blot. A negative correlation was observed between the Ki67 score and the log2 value of the PRA/PRB ratio (Spearman R:-0.3418; p< 0.0029). Samples were considered PRA+ if PRA/PRB ≥ 1.2 and PRB+, if PRA/PRB ≤ 0.83. Seven out of 62 PRA+ (11.29%), and 7 out of 35 (20%) of PRB+ samples were HER2+. The differences between both groups, although not significant, correlate directly with the Ki67 evaluation. The results of this ongoing project lend support to the hypothesis that the ratio of PRA/PRB is associated with prognosis and highlight the role of PR as key players regulating breast cancer growth.

Citation Format: Gass HD, May M, Rojas P, Abba M, Sequeira G, Martinez Vazquez P, Gonzalez PL, Elía A, Alvarez MM, Molinolo A, Lanari CL. Breast cancer recurrence risk: A role for the progesterone receptor isoforms. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-09-13.

Production of probiotic biomass (Lactobacillus casei) in goat milk whey: comparison of batch, continuous and fed-batch cultures

This contribution examines the technical feasibility of producing high added value probiotic biomass from deproteinized and non-supplemented milk whey. The kinetics of growth of Lactobacillus casei in deproteinized goat milk whey was analyzed. Experiments in batch, continuous and fed-batch conditions were conducted in a 3 L fully instrumented bioreactor. Final substrate and biomass concentrations, yields and productivities are reported for different culture strategies. A kinetic analysis was conducted to characterize biomass production, product inhibition effects, and substrate consumption rates. Due to the strong product inhibition, fed-batch cultures at high biomass concentration rendered higher productivity (0.45 g L(-1) h(-1)) than batch and continuous cultures (0.11 g L(-1) h(-1)), complete lactose conversions (<1.0 g of lactose/L at the end of each fed-batch cycle), and a product with higher viable cell counts (2 x 10(10) cell/g of freeze-dried product). Based on our result, high-cell density fed-batch strategies are recommended for commercial production of probiotic L. casei biomass.

Effect of mixing during fermentation in yogurt manufacturing

In traditional yogurt manufacturing, the yogurt is not agitated during fermentation. However, stirring could be beneficial, particularly for improving heat and mass transport across the fermentation tank. In this contribution, we studied the effect of low-speed agitation during fermentation on process time, acidity profile, and microbial dynamics during yogurt fermentation in 2 laboratory-scale fermenters (3 and 5 L) with different heat-transfer characteristics. Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus were used as fermenting bacteria. Curves of pH, lactic acid concentration, lactose concentration, and bacterial population profiles during fermentation are presented for static and low-agitation conditions during fermentation. At low-inoculum conditions, agitation reduced the processing time by shortening the lag phase. However, mixing did not modify the duration or the shape of the pH profiles during the exponential phase. In fermentors with poor heat-transfer characteristics, important differences in microbial dynamics were observed between the agitated and nonagitated fermentation experiments; that is, agitation significantly increased the observable specific growth rate and the final microbial count of L. bulgaricus.

Dry granular flows can generate surface features resembling those seen in Martian gullies

Over the past decade or more, contradictory evidence of Martian climate, indicating that surface temperatures seldom if ever approach the melting point of water at midlatitudes, and geomorphic features, consistent with liquid flows at these same latitudes, have proven difficult to reconcile. In this article, we demonstrate that several features of liquid-erosional flows can be produced by dry granular materials when individual particle settling is slower than characteristic debris flow speeds. Since the gravitational acceleration on Mars is about one-third that on Earth, and since particle settling speeds scale with gravity, we propose that some (although perhaps not all) Martian geomorphological features attributed to liquid flows may in fact be associated with dry granular flows in the presence of reduced gravity.

Attraction of minute particles to invariant regions of volume preserving flows by transients

We find that tracer material can be concentrated into invariant regions of flows due exclusively to transient effects, as are produced when tracers temporarily become more buoyant than the surrounding fluid. This can occur either as a single event, e.g., if the tracer is initially weakly buoyant, or under periodic forcing, e.g., when external effects (such as solar heating) change the tracer density periodically. We study both cases in experiments, in a model, and in direct numerical simulations of laminar flow in a stirred tank. Focusing occurs for very small tracer size and inertia in flows that are instantaneously strictly volume conserving.

Gold nanoelectrodes of varied size: transition to molecule-like charging

A transition from metal-like double-layer capacitive charging to redox-like charging was observed in electrochemical ensemble Coulomb staircase experiments on solutions of gold nanoparticles of varied core size. The monodisperse gold nanoparticles are stabilized by short-chain alkanethiolate monolayers and have 8 to 38 kilodaltons core mass (1.1 to 1.9 nanometers in diameter). Larger cores display Coulomb staircase responses consistent with double-layer charging of metal-electrolyte interfaces, whereas smaller core nanoparticles exhibit redox chemical character, including a large central gap. The change in behavior is consistent with new near-infrared spectroscopic data showing an emerging gap between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbitals of 0.4 to 0.9 electron volt.

Fullerene Isomerism: Isolation of C2v,-C78 and D3-C78

Early reports on the formation of the higher fullerenes C(76), C(78), C(84), C(90), and C(94) by resistive heating of graphite stimulated theoretical calculations of possible cage structures for these all-carbon molecules. Among the five fullerene structures with isolated pentagons found for C(78), a closed-shell D3h-isomer was predicted to form preferentially. Two distinct C(78)-isomers were formed in a ratio of approximately 5:1 and could be separated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of the major isomer is uniquely consistent with a C2v-structure. The NMR data also support a chiral D(3)-structure for the minor isomer. The isolation of specifically these two isomers of C(78) provides insight into the stability of higher fullerene structures and into the mechanism for fullerene formation in general.

Atomic Force Microscope Studies of Fullerene Films: Highly Stable C 60 fcc (311) Free Surfaces

Atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffractometry were used to study 1500 A-thick films of pure C(60) grown by sublimation in ultrahigh vacuum onto a CaF(2) (111) substrate. Topographs of the films did not reveal the expected close-packed structures, but they showed instead large regions that correspond to a face-centered cubic (311) surface and distortions of this surface. The open (311) structure may have a relatively low free energy because the low packing density contributes to a high entropy of the exposed surface.

Play and play areas for hospitalized children

Play is critical to children's development in social, cognitive, and affective domains. Children actively construct meaning through playful interaction with people and objects. Play materials and environments in turn, affect the level, structure and content of children's play. The following article discusses these issues and the application of contemporary architectural design and current research findings on play environments to the special problems of hospitalized children. Concerns related to separation from family and routine, unfamiliar hospital personnel and procedure, institutionalization, and temporary immobility can be constructively dealt with by thoughtful planning for children's play. Specific suggestions with respect to designing play spaces in hospitals are offered based on current theory and research.