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Sleep problems are common among university students and approximately one third of the general population; however, little is known about the sleep quality of online Doctor of Nursing (DNP) students, and whether the flexible schedule offered by online programs helps support students to adopt a healthy sleep pattern. Guided by the Orem’s theory of self care and deficit, underpinned by DNP essentials, this DNP project examined the sleep quality of online DNP students before and after starting doctoral studies and the factors that influence their sleep quality. Two surveys: 1). Cross-sectional survey, and 2). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to collect data from Aspen University – DNP online students. Results suggest that the sleep quality of online DNP students is impacted by their studies. These findings suggest that online DNP students are not immune to the sleep problems that commonly plague brick and mortar university students. There may be a correlation between online studies and sleep quality, but further studies are needed to confirm this relationship. Application of this project and its findings is useful to the nursing profession and to other online programs. An effort may be to institute a health promotion strategy to assess the sleep quality of new incoming online students, followed by re-assessment at interval(s) throughout the programs. This health promotion strategy may provide the online student insight to their sleep quality that may lead to self- care intervention.

Introduction: The transition from online to face-to-face classes in the Philippines necessitated vaccination against COVID-19 for the students to prevent its transmission. The country has yet to benefit from herd immunity given the Filipinos’ hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccine (CoVax). The objective of the study is to describe the attitude of the undergraduate physical therapy students toward CoVax and determine the correlation between attitude toward CoVax and vaccine hesitancy factors. Methods: A descriptive-correlational research design was used. A convenience sample of 1st year college freshmen (n = 13) was used in the study. A 5-point Likert scale was used to measure attitude toward CoVax and vaccine hesitancy factors. Pearson correlation was used to determine the correlation between attitude toward CoVax and vaccine hesitancy factors and paired t test to compare change in attitude toward CoVax before and after getting vaccinated. Results: Majority (62%) of the students expressed a neutral attitude toward CoVax before getting vaccinated. Among all factors, the students rated their confidence (4.31) with CoVax as high but were less confident (3.92) and complacent (3.31) about the vaccine. A negative attitude toward COVAX before vaccination showed a statistically significant relationship with CoVax confidence (r = -.565; n = 13; p = .004). There was a change in the attitude toward CoVax from neutral before vaccination toward acceptance after getting vaccinated; however, the change, .31, 95% CI [-.72-1.33], was not statistically significant t (12) = .652, p = 0.527. Discussion: Reducing complacency toward and improving confidence in CoVax must be done to improve the attitude of the students toward acceptance of the CoVax.

In April 2020, the Mayo Clinic helped establish the US Food and Drug Administration Expanded Access Protocol for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) convalescent plasma (CCP). The effectiveness of CCP in the published literature is contradictory because some retrospective studies showed benefit in reducing mortality and severe illness, whereas prospective randomized controlled trials demonstrated no benefit of CCP.To discuss (1) the implementation of CCP across Kaiser Permanente Southern California between April 2020 and April 2021, (2) retrospective multivariable analysis of 2,831 patients with COVID-19 who were transfused with CCP compared with 18,475 patients with COVID-19 who did not receive CCP, (3) how to reconcile contradictory published data regarding the efficacy of CCP, and (4) guidance regarding the future use of convalescent plasma in a large community hospital setting.Multivariable analysis was controlled for demographic characteristics, level of oxygen delivery, intensive care unit stay, selected laboratory findings, and other concurrent treatment-related variables. Tubing segments from 151 CCP units transfused between October 2020 and April 2021 were retrospectively tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) anti-spike protein receptor-binding domain IgG. Multivariable analysis showed that CCP transfusion did not affect mortality rates at 30 days and 5 months (odds ratio, 1.04, 95% CI, 0.87-1.25, and hazard ratio, 1.05, 95% CI, 0.93-1.19).If convalescent plasma is offered as a therapeutic in a future viral pandemic, we recommend (1) transfusing only those patients who are negative for neutralizing antibodies, (2) transfusing very early during the disease course, (3) only using convalescent plasma with known levels of neutralizing antibodies, or (4) alternatively providing fractionated hyperimmune globulin.

Aim: The restricted mobility of the students during the global COVID pandemic impacted on their physical activity level (PAL) and physical fitness level (PFL). The objectives of the study were to (1) describe the current PAL and health- and skill-related PFL of 1st year college students, (2) determine the correlation between PAL and PFL, and (3) compare current and pre-pandemic perceived PALs. Methods: A descriptive research design was used. A retrospective data from students enrolled in Physical Education (PE) 1 was reviewed. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to measure PAL; health-related and skill-related PFL were measured using traditional PE-based standardized tests and 10-cm visual analog scale for perceived current and pre-pandemic PAL. Spearman rho was used to determine the correlation between PAL and PFL and paired t test to compare change in PAL. Results: The students had moderate PAL. All health-related and skill-related PFL was good except for flexibility and agility which was poor. Spearman rho correlations revealed a statistically significant correlation between PAL and muscle endurance (r = .397; n = 55; p = .004). Paired t test showed a statistically significant reduction in current compared with the pre-pandemic PAL t (54) = 2.34, p = 0.023. Conclusion and Implications: Freshmen students have acceptable PAL and PFL except for flexibility and agility while poor muscle endurance correlated with lower PAL. A reduction in their PAL was noted during the pandemic. This indicates the need for programs to improve students’ flexibility, agility, and muscle endurance to be incorporated in their PE classes and daily activities to improve their PAL and PFL.

Background Cancer Anorexia Cachexia Syndrome (CACS) is a distinct atrophy disease negatively influencing multiple aspects of clinical care and patient quality of life. Although it directly causes 20% of all cancer‐related deaths, there are currently no model systems that encompass the entire multifaceted syndrome, nor are there any effective therapeutic treatments. Methods A novel model of systemic metastasis was evaluated for the comprehensive CACS (metastasis, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue wasting, inflammation, anorexia, anemia, elevated protein breakdown, hypoalbuminemia, and metabolic derangement) in both males and females. Ex vivo skeletal muscle analysis was utilized to determine ubiquitin proteasome degradation pathway activation. A novel ketone diester (R/S 1,3‐Butanediol Acetoacetate Diester) was assessed in multifaceted catabolic environments to determine anti‐atrophy efficacy. Results Here, we show that the VM‐M3 mouse model of systemic metastasis demonstrates a novel, immunocompetent, logistically feasible, repeatable phenotype with progressive tumor growth, spontaneous metastatic spread, and the full multifaceted CACS with sex dimorphisms across tissue wasting. We also demonstrate that the ubiquitin proteasome degradation pathway was significantly upregulated in association with reduced insulin‐like growth factor‐1/insulin and increased FOXO3a activation, but not tumor necrosis factor‐α‐induced nuclear factor‐kappa B activation, driving skeletal muscle atrophy. Additionally, we show that R/S 1,3‐Butanediol Acetoacetate Diester administration shifted systemic metabolism, attenuated tumor burden indices, reduced atrophy/catabolism and mitigated comorbid symptoms in both CACS and cancer‐independent atrophy environments. Conclusions Our findings suggest the ketone diester attenuates multifactorial CACS skeletal muscle atrophy and inflammation‐induced catabolism, demonstrating anti‐catabolic effects of ketone bodies in multifactorial atrophy.

HIV/AIDS is one of the feared diseases worldwide. It is a disease thoroughly studied yet still incurable in this modern era. Having acquired it is like being faced with the possibility of spending life in limbo-marked by the disease, excluded from the norms of society and an outcast to many. The study has aimed to capture how patients with HIV/AIDS struggled with living with the disease, the obstacle they had to overcome and how they were able to deal with the problems that they encountered after being diagnosed with such disease. A descriptive phenomenology utilizing a semi-structured face-to-face interview was used. Four key informants (KI) from Metro Manila shared their lived experiences unreservedly. Through Colaizzi's data analysis two major themes and five subthemes reflected the lived experiences of dying persons living with HIV/AIDS: (1) Scourging of the Pessimistic Spirits (a) fear is a dark room where negatives are developed, (b) a spirit crying for succor. (2) Rise of the Optimistic Spirit (a) burning bush in the darkness, (b) transformation in the midst of the battle for life (c) acceptance as transcending condition. In learning their HIV/AIDS diagnosis, the KI had to go through a series of steps in their lives to accommodate this major trial into their identity. They had to experience the psychological distress and the physical limitations caused by the disease before discovering that they do not have to live in fear and isolation. They were able to emerge from the darkness of negativity into the light of acceptance and hope and have used their experiences as a way to teach and support others who are in the same predicament as they were before. They have also learned to accept their imminent death as part of their life.

This study highlights the development of a high peak capacity, high-throughput (HTP) approach for a target list of 62 organic contaminants in an environmental river water matrix on a HPLC conventional 400 bar system. Key separation metrics were evaluated: (a) peak capacity, (b) total analysis time and (c) mobile phase consumption. An average peak width of 0.10 min with a total analysis time (inclusive of the column wash and re-equilibration) of 10 minutes revealed the increased productivity and performance of the parallel segmented flow (PSF) column technology HPLC-MS strategy, comparable to UHPLC peak widths and analysis times, achieved at a significantly lower backpressure (

Valine 122 isoleucine (V122I) is the most common mutation associated with familial transthyretin-related amyloidosis (fATTR) in the metropolitan United States. V122I-related fATTR usually presents with cardiomyopathy. When polyneuropathy is encountered, it is usually mild, distal, and axonal in nature. Although liver transplantation improves survival for fATTR neuropathy patients, neuropathy may progress post liver transplantation because of the deposition of wild-type transthyretin. We report a patient with homozygous V122I mutation who presented with asymmetrical, upper limb predominant neuropathy rather early in his disease course, which progressed for a period of 5 years after liver transplantation before stabilization with the initiation of patisiran.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most extensively studied antibody-mediated disease in humans. Substantial progress has been made in the treatment of MG in the last century, resulting in a change of its natural course from a disease with poor prognosis with a high mortality rate in the early 20th century to a treatable condition with a large proportion of patients attaining very good disease control. This review summarizes the current treatment options for MG, including non-immunosuppressive and immunosuppressive treatments, as well as thymectomy and targeted immunomodulatory drugs.

Competence in research is an attractive feature that should be established for all practitioners because specialists with training and expertise in research will recognize strategic thinking, interpretation, and synthesizing more easily. Hence, this study aimed to describe the knowledge competency among junior high school mathematics teachers on the research processes applied on the contents of the various sections of a quantitative research paper. The descriptive method of research has been used to characterize the knowledge competence of 108 junior high school teachers on the research processes. The study used the research skill test, which was a researcher-made instrument, consisting of 50 multiple choice items with four choices each. The instrument went through the process of validity and reliability analysis obtaining a good result of 0.81. This study revealed that they were “novice” or had achieved the learning level of competency on the research processes applied on the contents of the different parts of a quantitative research paper. More so, they identified that interpretation of statistical results was a challenging part of doing a research paper.

A new class of axial-chiral biisoquinoline N,N′-dioxides was evaluated as catalysts for the enantioselective hydrosilylation of acyl hydrazones with trichlorosilane. While these catalysts provided poor to moderate reactivity and enantioselectivity, this study represents the first example of the organocatalytic asymmetric reduction of acyl hydrazones. In addition, the structures and energies of two possible diastereomeric catalyst–trichlorosilane complexes (2a–HSiCl3) were analyzed using density functional theory calculations.

Reaction flow (RF) chromatography is a powerful and efficient approach that utilizes conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)–ultraviolet (UV)–visible detection. This technique exploits a novel column end-fitting and an extra HPLC pump that delivers a reagent specific for selective detection, in particular the antioxidant profiling of natural products. This study employed RF for the first time to identify antioxidants in a commercial ginger sample. This demonstrated the previously validated assay’s ease and power to extract information about the natural product’s antioxidant properties. Due to the simplicity involved with data analysis and peak matching process, the following information was revealed between the chemical and antioxidant profiles: three of the strongest antioxidant activity peaks in the ginger sample (593 nm) did not correlate with the three most abundant chemical profile peaks (UV absorbance at 254 and 280 nm); the ratio of seven antioxidant peaks may be potentially used for food authenticity purposes, and future research should target these peaks for the early discovery of novel antioxidants sourced in ginger. Utilization of this previously validated assay provided the resolution of numerous peaks in the ginger extract and information associated with their antioxidant attributes and chemical abundance. This approach is more informative than total antioxidant assays that lack compound specificity information. Furthermore, it is superior to mass spectrometric (MS) assays that cannot evaluate each compound’s antioxidant strength, and does not involve the expense involved in the acquisition and maintenance of the MS detection hardware, and does not require the high level of expertise needed to conduct the MS data analysis., Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Métodos Analíticos (LIDMA)

The parallel segmented flow (PSF) chromatography column was applied for the first time to trace residue analyses with mass spectral detection. Three problematic pesticides, notorious for poor peak shape and ionization issues were selected to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the PSF column as an alternative front-end separation interface for LC-MS approaches. Assessment of performance for each pesticide was based on a spiked lemon matrix prepared via a QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, rugged and safe) sample preparation approach. Comparisons were made between assays conducted using a conventional column and a PSF column (operated with a 40% segmentation ratio), each packed with identical stationary phases and of the same column format. Both columns were connected to the MS detector using the exact same connective tubing and electrospray (ESI) conditions. The primary advantage of the PSF column was that it enabled an increase in throughput by at least 2.5 times compared to the conventional HPLC column. At the same time, the volumetric flow to the MS was exactly the same for both the PSF column and the conventional column. Effectively there was no difference in the sensitivity provided by peak areas between the PSF and conventional columns: peak area LOQ values were comparable, 4–9 μg/kg for the PSF and 4–8 μg/kg for the conventional column. This is a vital requirement for food control methods to secure absence at default maximum residue limit (MRL) of 10 μg/kg (10 ppb) level. Since the efficiency of the PSF was superior to that of the conventional column, the peak width of eluting components was reduced by as much as 70% in the former compared to the peak widths on the latter. Hence, the PSF column provides greater peak capacity and this will enable faster analysis of complex samples.