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BackgroundInternet access in Korea has grown dramatically over the past two decades. However, disparities in internet use, referred to as the second level of the digital divide, persist. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine opportunity, motivation, and health variables that indicate internet use among older adults with diabetes. MethodsData were sourced from a nationally representative sample of people 65 years and older with diabetes (N=1919). Logistic regression was used to explore potential differences in predictor variables between internet users and nonusers. ResultsOnly 306 of the 1919 (15.95%) participants in the sample used the internet. They were more likely to be younger (odds ratio [OR] 0.89, 95% CI 0.87-0.92), well-educated (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.16-1.26), and able to afford leisure expenditures (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.04). Additionally, they had more information and communications technology (ICT) training experience, were motivated to learn, volunteered, and reported good physical and cognitive function. Participation in ICT education and better health more positively correlated with a higher rate of internet use than did years of education or economic standing in older adults with diabetes. ConclusionsTo support older adults with diabetes in the internet age, policies and health care providers should focus on digital competency training as well as physical and cognitive function.

Background & aimsThere are limited data on outcomes of biologic therapy in Hispanic patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). We compared risk of hospitalization, surgery, and serious infections in Hispanic vs non-Hispanic patients with IBD in a multicenter, electronic health record-based cohort of biologic-treated patients.MethodsWe identified adult patients with IBD who were new users of biologic agents (tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α] antagonists, ustekinumab, vedolizumab) from 5 academic institutions in California between 2010 and 2017. We compared the risk of all-cause hospitalization, IBD-related surgery, and serious infections in Hispanic vs non-Hispanic patients using 1:4 propensity score matching and survival analysis.ResultsWe compared 240 Hispanic patients (53% male; 45% with ulcerative colitis; 73% TNF-α antagonist-treated; 20% with prior biologic exposure) with 960 non-Hispanic patients (51% male; 44% with ulcerative colitis; 67% TNF-α antagonist-treated; 27% with prior biologic exposure). After propensity score matching, Hispanic patients were younger (37 ± 15 vs 40 ± 16 y; P = .02) and had a higher burden of comorbidities (Elixhauser index, >0; 37% vs 26%; P < .01), without any differences in patterns of medication use, burden of inflammation, and hospitalizations. Within 1 year of biologic initiation, Hispanic patients had higher rates of hospitalizations (31% vs 23%; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.32; 95% CI, 1.01-1.74) and IBD-related surgery (7.1% vs 4.6%; aHR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.07-3.72), with a trend toward higher risk of serious infections (8.8% vs 4.9%; aHR, 1.74; 95% CI, 0.99-3.05).ConclusionsIn a multicenter, propensity score-matched cohort of biologic-treated patients with IBD, Hispanic patients experienced higher rates of hospitalization, surgery, and serious infections. Future studies are needed to investigate the biological, social, and environmental drivers of these differences.

With increasing attention to examining cognitive strengths and achievements related to social and emotional variables, it is imperative that instruments developed and used to assess change be valid and reliable for measuring underlying constructs. This study examines instruments identified and/or developed to measure four noncognitive constructs (i.e., student engagement, self-efficacy, growth mindset, and stereotype threat) as outcome variables in a study with elementary-aged students in high-poverty rural communities. The process of creating and examining the psychometric properties of these instruments is a necessary step in documenting the usefulness of the instruments not just in our study but also in other studies with elementary students. We note in our descriptions of the development and assessment of measures that underlying factors may or may not parallel those identified in the general population or in older students and that measurement of noncognitive variables in the population of young gifted students requires considerable attention.

Background: Adolescents are described as digital natives, with smartphones deeply embedded in their lives. However, limited literature on smartphone usage patterns exists. This study examined adolescents' smartphone usage patterns and their physical, psychosocial, and cyber-behavioral profiles. Methods: We used latent profile analysis and a person-centered approach to investigate 11 items on smartphone use purpose and use time. Participants were 2324 first-year middle-school students (aged 13 years) from a nationally representative dataset. Results: Four distinct profile groups were observed: minimalist users, entertainment users, social users, and multifunctional users. The 4 profiles differed by gender and physical (physical activity and obesity), psychosocial (relationships with their parents, depression, and academic lethargy), and cyber-behavioral (smartphone use time, computer use time, and cyber delinquency) status. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Our findings have key research and real-world implications for developmental psychologists and school health providers, specifically for those who work with adolescents, to address concerns regarding adolescents' smartphone use. Conclusions: Adolescents use smartphones at varying times and for various purposes. A better understanding of adolescents' smartphone usage and purposes can help parents and school health providers develop and implement interventions.

Analysis of assessment data from an initial pool of second-grade students (n = 4549) in low-income rural communities and a subgroup of students identified from that pool for gifted services (n = 524) provided evidence for the validity of a curricular-aligned process including universal screening and local norms for identifying rural students in high-poverty schools as gifted. We first compared identification data on a group identified with existing, more general identification strategies to data on students identified specifically in language arts using universal screening and local norms as part of the identification criteria, providing staff development focused on indicators of rural giftedness prior to teacher ratings of students, and using a profile in decision making. This comparison confirmed the hypothesis that talent in rural students from low-income areas may manifest in ways that are not captured by more generic identification processes. Despite concerns about the implementation of identification processes using local norms, students identified through the project's alternative approach scored higher on a measure of verbal aptitude and scored as well on postintervention assessments as students identified using the district-identification process. This outcome provides evidence that students identified with local norms in a specific academic domain reach similar or higher levels of achievement as students identified using national norms and more general means of assessment.

In the development of cognitive science understanding human intelligence and mind, measurement of cognitive ability has played a key role. To address the development in data scientific point of views related to cognitive neuroscience, there has been a demand of creating a measurement to capture cognition in short and repeated time periods. This paper introduces an innovative measure of cognitive ability based on automatic item generation approach, which can efficiently and effectively measure cognitive ability over time. We also examine its psychometric properties. Content validity of the assessment was considered based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory, and construct validity via convergent and divergent validities was examined by confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability of the measure examined by internal consistencies as well as test-retest reliabilities of each subdomain of cognitive ability were satisfactory. The psychometric properties found clearly support its potential utilities in both educational and clinical settings, especially in a field requiring repeated measures of cognitive ability.

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To examine the experiences of victimization and bullying among gifted students and their general education peers, we applied a latent transition analysis with longitudinal data from 299 gifted and 689 general education students (fifth to ninth graders). We identified 4 latent statuses for victimization (4.8%-5.2%, frequent victims; 7.4%-12.2%, frequent relational victims; 28.7%-35.8%, occasional victims; 46.8%-59.2%, infrequent victims) and 3 latent statuses for perpetration (3.9%-5.6%, frequent perpetrators; 22.2%-29.7%, occasional relational perpetrators; 66.4%-72.2%, infrequent perpetrators). There was no difference in victimization experiences between the gifted and general education students, but there were group differences in the prevalence rates and their changes in transition patterns in perpetration. Further, the effect of grade level was found to affect the transition patterns of perpetration; for gifted students (not their general education peers), the probabilities of being a frequent victim correlated with the probabilities of being a frequent perpetrator later.

The psychometric qualities of the six- and eight-item implicit theories of intelligence scales that Dweck suggested were compared using a confirmatory factor analysis with data from 239 gifted students (100 students in Grades 5-7, 139 students in Grades 8-11). The results indicate that the six-item scale fits the data better than the eight-item scale. The factor reliabilities of data from the six-item scale were 0.853 for the entity theory and 0.878 for the incremental theory. We found evidence for measurement invariance across age and gender using measurement and structural invariance tests. Using the scale to investigate the beliefs about intelligence of gifted students and the association between their beliefs about intelligence and goal orientations, we found that the higher the incremental theory held by gifted students, the higher the learning goals they tend to pursue. Older students had a greater tendency to hold an entity theory than younger students.

Recent research has shown that implementation of innovative programs at the classroom level continues to be a major challenge. The purpose of this study was to examine the types of modifications made during implementation of two curriculum units in two different setting types (i.e., self-contained, pull-out) to identify areas that should be considered when developing curriculum for gifted learners served through various service delivery models. Following two cohorts of third-grade teachers implementing two language arts units, results indicate that teachers made choices to modify the curricula in detrimental ways more often than in productive ways, with pull-out classroom teachers making more negative modifications. Findings of the study suggest that modifying curriculum appears to be inevitable. To utilize research-based curriculum in educational settings, teachers should be provided knowledge about how to modify the curriculum for their setting to not detract from the intended learning goals, as well as understand the essential curricular components that should not be modified.

The composition and diversity of gut microbiota significantly influence the immune system and are linked to various diseases, including inflammatory and allergy disorders. While considerable research has focused on exploring single bacterial species or consortia, the optimal strategies for microbiota-based therapeutics remain underexplored. Specifically, the comparative effectiveness of bacterial consortia versus individual species warrants further investigation. In our study, we assessed the impact of the bacterial consortium MPRO, comprising Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HY7712, Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis HY8002, and Lacticaseibacillus casei HY2782, in comparison to its individual components. The administration of MPRO demonstrated enhanced therapeutic efficacy in experimental models of atopic dermatitis and inflammatory colitis when compared to single strains. MPRO exhibited the ability to dampen inflammatory responses and alter the gut microbial landscape significantly. Notably, MPRO administration led to an increase in intestinal CD103+CD11b+ dendritic cells, promoting the induction of regulatory T cells and the robust suppression of inflammation in experimental disease settings. Our findings advocate the preference for bacterial consortia over single strains in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, carrying potential clinical relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]