Framing a Needed Discourse on Health Disparities and Social Inequities: Drawing Lessons from a Pandemic

COVID-19 provides numerous opportunities for policy makers to consider matters of social equity in relation to the field of public health. Specifically, by reflecting on health disparities in relation to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minority and historically underserved populations, we can leverage a needed discourse on health outcomes for many communities. Grounded in the social determinants of health conceptual framework, this essay explores the application of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 to vulnerable populations and communities of color for a discussion of strategies for minimizing health disparities.     

Churches,mosques, and condoms: understanding successful HIV and AIDS interventions by faith-based organisations

There are an estimated 33 million people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) worldwide. While national education campaigns have been successful in providing a broad platform of awareness of HIV and AIDS, within some countries faith-based organisations (FBOs) have assumed an important role in educating and supporting local communities to reduce HIV transmission. This article conceptualises the successful characteristics of a Christian organisation in West Papua and a Muslim organisation in Thailand. The ability of both these FBOs to engage successfully with their communities on issues of sexual practice provides important lessons for other FBOs seeking to reduce HIV transmission.     

Gold-plating of Mylar lift films to capitalize on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy for chemical extraction of drug residues

The method of residue extraction through electrostatic lifting provides a distinctive mode of performing ultra-trace analysis. These lifts provide a medium for analyte extraction via nanomanipulation-coupled to nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry (NSI-MS). This method of extraction can be coupled to Raman spectroscopy for supplemental verification of analytes using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The gold surface used for SERS provides an enhanced effect on peak signal intensity allowing ultra-trace amounts to be detected more effectively. The aim of this research is to utilize gold-coated films with electrostatic lifting in order to collect latent materials and analyze chemicals of interest contained in them via SERS.     

Sarcomeric gene mutations in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

In developed countries, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) represents the most prevalent cause of death in children between 1 month and 1 year of age. SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion, a negative autopsy which requires the absence of structural organ disease. Although investigators have confirmed that a significant percentage of SIDS cases are actually channelopathies, no data have been made available as to whether other sudden cardiac death-associated diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), could be responsible for some cases of SIDS. The presence of a genetic mutation in the sarcomeric protein usually affects the force of contraction of the myocyte, whose weakness is compensated with progressive hypertrophy and disarray. However, it is unclear whether in the most incipient forms, that is, first years of life, the lack of these phenotypes still confers a risk of arrhythmogenesis. The main goal of the present study is to wonder whether genetic defects in the sarcomeric proteins, previously associated with HCM, could be responsible for SIDS. We have analysed 286 SIDS cases for the most common genes implicated in HCM in adults. A total of 680 mutations localised in 16 genes were analysed by semi-automated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDITOF-MS) using the Sequenom MassARRAY(?) System. Ten subjects with completely normal hearts showed mutated alleles at nine of the genetic variants analysed, and one additional novel mutation was detected by conventional sequencing. Therefore, a genetic mutation associated with HCM may cause sudden cardiac death in the absence of an identifiable phenotype.     

Perceived chances for promotion among women associate professors in computing: individual, departmental, and entrepreneurial factors

This article expands understanding of gender and advancement in academic science by going into a new dimension of inquiry: Focusing on women associate professors in computing, it assesses the relationship between perceived chances for promotion to full professor and indicators of entrepreneurship, as part of key sets of individual and departmental independent variables that are also addressed. Data from a national survey of women in academic computing indicate that time spent in entrepreneurial activity does not predict excellent/good (compared to fair/poor) chances for promotion perceived by these women faculty, nor does the quantity/quality of entrepreneurial activity that they report for their home units. Departmental reward structures reported as favoring entrepreneurial activity negatively predict perceived chances for promotion. Other key individual and departmental characteristics also predict chances for promotion: faculty members’ age, collaboration, family characteristics, departmental climate, and US (compared to Canadian) location. Findings from interviews with a small subset of respondents to the survey illuminate the survey findings on the role of entrepreneurial factors in perceived chances for advancement.