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The federally funded Ronald B. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Program) prepares first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented college undergraduates to pursue terminal graduate degrees. This study examines 22 McNair scholars' transitions into graduate school in an attempt to identify factors that influence alumni persistence and matriculation. The participants in this study were alumni from a mid-sized, Northwestern university's McNair Program. During interviews, participants identified significant "learning curves" experienced in graduate school. Five themes, representing 14 learning curves, emerged: academic readiness, weaving a supportive web, managing the clock, being accepted, and staying financially fit. Researchers incorporated identified learning curves into an on-line survey sent to each participant. (Contains 1 table.)

The goals of this mixed-methods study were to examine self-reported behavior of bystanders who intervened in specific situations of potential sexual violence and physical dating violence, to explore their sense of preparedness to intervene, and to assess bystanders' emotional reactions to their self-reported action or inaction when witnessing potential sexual and dating violence. The participants (n = 553, 65.2% female, 76% freshmen, M age = 18.7 years), responded to a sequence of questions pertaining to witnessing and intervening in specific potentially dangerous situations, emotional reactions to their action or inaction, and preparedness. Bystander participants also provided narrative responses describing their behavior. We used joint display analyses to integrate, analyze, and interpret the qualitative and quantitative data. Of the 553 participants, 38% witnessed "a man talking to a woman and she looked uncomfortable," 27% witnessed "someone taking an intoxicated person up to their room," and 39% witnessed "someone grabbing or pushing their boyfriend or girlfriend"; of those who witnessed, the percentage of those who intervened was 42%, 25%, and 19%, respectively. Bystander behavior involved one of 5Ds: distract, direct, delegate, distance, diffuse, or a combination. Although most bystanders did not get involved, most (94.6%) reported that they felt prepared to intervene. For those who intervened, most reported feeling positive about their action; however, most who did not intervene reported feeling negative about their inaction. Implications for college bystanders and bystander education programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the challenge of maintaining COVID-19 vaccination coverage amidst the pandemic, VillageReach, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health Prevention and Hygiene in Kinshasa, DRC, integrated COVID-19 vaccination with routine immunization services at two primary healthcare facilities. This initiative, launched in July 2022, represented the first of its kind in the DRC, aiming to assess the effectiveness and scalability of a multimodal vaccination approach. Through a rapid appraisal involving key informant interviews and analysis of pre- and post-integration service delivery data, this case study explores the operational dynamics and outcomes of integrating COVID-19 and routine immunizations. Results demonstrated that the integrated approach not only maintained COVID-19 vaccine coverage but also significantly enhanced routine immunization uptake, particularly among under-immunized and zero-dose children. Overall, the vaccination sites, outreach, and integrated health facilities administered 229,983 (33 %) of COVID-19 vaccines in Kinshasa, of which 53 % were referred by community health workers. Additionally, 998 under-immunized children received routine immunizations, of whom 126 were zero-dose children. Key success factors included sustained community health worker engagement, neighborhood-specific strategies, accessible vaccination points, and robust data management. The findings suggest that such integrative strategies can effectively bolster immunization coverage in urban poor communities, offering valuable insights for similar initiatives in the DRC and beyond. This study advocates for sustained investment in innovative immunization models to strengthen primary healthcare systems post-pandemic. • Integrating COVID-19 vaccination with routine immunization reinforced both services • Targeted demand generation by community health workers drove immunization success • Strategies tailored to the unique needs of each neighborhood improved vaccination access • Comprehensive data collection and data-driven decision-making optimized service delivery [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about some of the principles for assessing commercial agreements in view of EC and Irish Competition law.

Extreme nonlinear optics obtained by focusing an intense laser into a gas can be used to generate coherent beams at soft X-ray (SXR) wavelengths. Phase-matching and quasi-phase-matching techniques that use gas-filled modulated waveguides to enhance the frequency conversion process leads to the generation of SXR beams that are both spatially and temporally coherent.