Mean differences and individual changes in nursing students' attitudes toward statistics: The role of math background and personality traits

Nursing students have compulsory statistics courses in their degree program, but they usually have negative attitudes toward statistics that may hinder their learning. The present study aims: (i) to investigate nurse students’ attitudes toward statistics and the relationships with mathematical background and personality traits; (ii) to stress individual changes in attitude that occur during the course; and (iii) to explore if mathematical background and personality traits influence these changes. We adopted a one-group pre-post survey study. Fifty nursing students were enrolled in an introductory statistics course at the Sapienza University of Rome in Italy during the 2018–2019 academic year. Participants were surveyed at the beginning and end of the course administering a multidimensional measure of attitude toward statistics. Multiple regression analyses were run to establish the relative impact of mathematical background and Big Five personality factors on attitude components, as well as the changes in these attitude components. Results confirmed the predictive role of mathematic competence on some attitude dimensions and showed that also personality traits influenced attitudes toward statistics. However, the observed changes in attitudes during the course were minimally influenced by these factors. Findings suggest that course pedagogy can enhance students’ attitudes regardless their mathematical background and personality.     

Combined effects of age and BMI are related to altered cortical thickness in adolescence and adulthood

Overweight and obesity are associated with functional and structural alterations in the brain, but how these associations change across critical developmental periods remains unknown. Here, we examined the relationship between age, body mass index (BMI) and cortical thickness (CT) in healthy adolescents (n = 70; 14–19 y) and adults (n = 75; 25–45 y). We also examined the relationship between adiposity, impulsivity, measured by delay discounting (DD), and CT of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a region key to impulse control. A significant age-by-BMI interaction was observed in both adolescents and adults; however, the direction of this relationship differed between age groups. In adolescents, increased age-adjusted BMI Z-score attenuated age-related CT reductions globally and in frontal, temporal and occipital regions. In adults, increased BMI augmented age-related CT reductions, both globally and in bilateral parietal cortex. Although DD was unrelated to adiposity in both groups, increased DD and adiposity were both associated with reduced IFG thickness in adolescents and adults. Our findings suggest that the known age effects on CT in adolescence and adulthood are moderated by adiposity. The association between weight, cortical development and its functional implications would suggest that future studies of adolescent and adult brain development take adiposity into account.     

Age‐related changes in inguinal region anatomy from 0 to 19 years of age

Knowledge of the age‐related changes in inguinal region anatomy is essential in pediatric urological and abdominal surgery, yet little is published. This study aimed to determine the position of inguinal region structures and growth of the surrounding pelvis and inguinal ligament in subjects from 0 to 19 years of age. Anonymized contrast‐enhanced CT DICOM datasets of 103 patients (63 male: 40 female) aged from 0 to 19 years had left and right sides analyzed by three independent observers. Exclusion criteria were applied. Growth of the pelvis and inguinal ligament were determined using fixed bony reference points. The position of the deep inguinal ring and femoral vasculature were determined as ratio of inguinal ligament length, measured from the anterior superior iliac spine. Growth of the pelvis in vertical and horizontal dimensions and of the inguinal ligament followed a positive polynomial relationship with increasing age, with no observed increase in growth rate during puberty. From 0 to 19 years, the deep inguinal ring moved superolaterally with respect to the inguinal ligament (from 0.74 to 0.60 of the distance along the inguinal ligament) and the femoral artery and vein moved medially (from 0.50 to 0.58, and 0.61 to 0.65 of the distance along the inguinal ligament, respectively). The position of the femoral artery, vein, and deep inguinal ring followed a logarithmic relationship with age. No significant left:right side or male:female differences were observed. From 0 to 19 years of age the femoral vasculature and deep inguinal ring change position as the pelvis grows around them. Clin. Anat. 32:794–802, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Prognostic value of hormone receptor status conversion following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a series of operable breast cancer patients

Background: To investigate the prognostic value of hormone receptor (HR) status conversion after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with primary breast cancer. Methods: 267 stage II-III breast cancer patients treated with NAC who had residual disease in the breast after NAC were retrospectively studied. The patients were divided into four groups based on the HR status: Group A, patients with HR-positive both before and after NAC; Group B, patients with HR status positive-to-negative change; Group C, patients with HR status negative-to-positive change; Group D, patients with HR-negative both before and after NAC. Patients with positive HR status (regardless of before or after NAC) were treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy, and a survival analysis was performed. Results: In total, 15.7% of patients had HR status change after NAC. progression-free survival (PFS) in Group A was similar to that in Group C (hazard ratio, 1.16; P = 0.652), but that in Group B was significantly lesser than that in Group A (hazard ratio, 6.88; P = 0.001), and that in Group C was significantly longer than that in Group D (hazard ratio, 6.88; P = 0.001). A similar pattern of results was obtained for overall survival (OS). Conclusions: The switch of HR status after NAC is remarkable for breast cancer. An HR switch may identify patients who would benefit from adjuvant endocrine therapy and impact the long-term outcome.