The development and validation of an academic, work health sciences, and community intentions scale for out-of-school-time (OST) participants.

This study applies Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to examine the internal structure and reliability of an academic, work, and community intentions scale for a cohort of out-of-school-time (OST) academic/STEM enrichment program participants (N = 533). This study utilizes the SPSS and SAS statistical software packages for comparative analysis. Both provide evidence of a three-factor model for intentions--Academic, Work/Health Science, and Community (i.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA): Providing 26 Years of Academic and Social Support to Appalachian Youth in West Virginia.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy's, (HSTA) goals are to increase college attendance of African American, financially disadvantaged, first generation college and rural Appalachian youth and increase health-care providers and STEM professionals in underserved communities. Students enter in the 9th grade and remain in HSTA four years. They engage in a rigorous academic program within the nurturing environment of small after-school clubs punctuated by yearly summer camps on multiple college campuses.

High School Students' Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Health Sciences and Technology Academy Participants.

This paper examines the perspectives of Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) participants as they navigate through their West Virginia (WV) high school learning environments (i.e., in-person, blended/hybrid, complete virtual) during the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

A COMPARISON OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF HSTA PARTICIPANTS WITH NON-HSTA PARTICIPANTS: IS IT POSSIBLE TO NARROW THE AFRICAN AMERICAN-WHITE ACHIEVEMENT GAP?

Historically, African American and other underserved students encounter academic challenges in pursuit of a college degree-one of which is their performance on standardized tests. This paper analyzes College Grade Point Averages (CGPAs), ACT Composite (ACTC), and SAT Total (SATT) scores of students who participated in the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), an out-of-school-time (OST) program, and Non-HSTA (NHSTA) students attending West Virginia University. Traditionally, OST programs provide academic enrichment to underserved youth to increase their chances for post-secondary entry and success.

Social Media Based STEM Enrichment Curriculum Positively Impacts Rural Adolescent Health Measures.

Some STEM outreach programs connect students to real-world problems and challenge them to work towards solutions. Research shows one-third of children between ages 5-17 in the U.S.

Demonstrating the Efficacy of the Health Sciences and Technology Academy: Using Archival Standardized Test Scores to Analyze an OST College-Preparatory Program for Underserved Youth.

To combat educational and health disparities, out-of-school-time (OST) STEM enrichment programs provide services to underserved youth to encourage them to pursue college and health careers. This article describes a study conducted to determine if the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) program participants who receive year-round educational interventions to prepare them for STEM and health sciences majors performed better on the West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST2) than non-participants. This study provides descriptive and inferential statistics, specifically one-way ANOVAs with one-to-one matching based on grade level, gender, race, and GPA at the end of the 8th grade year for 336 students.

Taking a Look at the Heath Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA): Student-Research Partnership Increases Survey Size, Hands-on STEM Learning, and Research-Community Connections.

This paper explores the dynamics of a research partnership between a practicing clinician/research and 34 West Virginia high school students participating in a precollege STEM intervention program. The collaboration provided a more diverse study sample to the clinician for examining attitudes about knee osteoarthritis in adults over 40. It provided students the opportunity to collect data from adults in their community within a highly structured research project and explore a range of research questions using the resulting cross-state data set.

Rural Student Voices to Improve Educational Attainment Oriented Programs.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) strives to increase college-going and completion rates for students in West Virginia (USA), a state with low educational attainment and the second most rural state in the country. The positive impact of HSTA on student academic trajectories has been documented, but student voices have not been represented. This qualitative study using Bronfenbrenner's ecological perspective explores student experiences through HSTA, with an eye toward how similar programs serving rural populations might improve while understanding student participant perspectives.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy: an educational pipeline to address health care disparities in West Virginia.

Health and educational disparities are national issues in the United States. Research has shown that health care professionals from underserved backgrounds are more likely than others to work in underserved areas. The Association of American Medical Colleges' Project 3000 by 2000, to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in medical schools, spurred the West Virginia School of Medicine to start the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) in 1994 with the goal of supporting interested underrepresented high school students in pursuing college and health professions careers.

Family networks of obesity and type 2 diabetes in rural Appalachia.

The prevalence of obesity and diabetes has been studied in adolescent and adult populations in poor, medically underserved rural Appalachia of West Virginia. A web-based questionnaire about obesity and diabetes was obtained in 989 family members of 210 Community Based Clinical Research (CBPR) trained adolescent members of a network of 18 science clubs, incorporating 142 families. After age-correction in < 20 years old, 50% of both adolescents and adults were obese.

Community-based participatory clinical research in obesity by adolescents: pipeline for researchers of the future.

We propose a novel, untapped opportunity, challenging cultural and man-power barriers to transferring advances in biomedical science knowledge that will improve community health care (Type II Clinical Translational Research) in a medically underserved community. We describe a pilot model in which adolescents apply principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) at the epicenter of the obesity diabetes epidemic in rural Appalachia in West Virginia. The model invites minority, financially disadvantaged, and educationally disadvantaged adolescents to become educated on ethics, then provides infrastructure to support study design and conduct of CBPR.

Feasibility of adolescents to conduct community-based participatory research on obesity and diabetes in rural Appalachia.

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) has been advocated to translate advances in health care sciences to the community. We describe a novel approach applied to obesity management and diabetes prevention. This takes advantage of a network of science clubs organized by the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) for extracurricular activity of disadvantaged high school students in rural Appalachia.

NMR structure of the apoB mRNA stem-loop and its interaction with the C to U editing APOBEC1 complementary factor.

We have solved the NMR structure of the 31-nucleotide (nt) apoB mRNA stem-loop, a substrate of the cytidine deaminase APOBEC1. We found that the edited base located at the 5' end of the octa-loop is stacked between two adenosines in both the unedited (cytidine 6666) and the edited (uridine 6666) forms and that the rest of the loop is unstructured. The 11-nt "mooring" sequence essential for editing is partially flexible although it is mostly in the stem of the RNA.

Optimization of apolipoprotein B mRNA editing by APOBEC1 apoenzyme and the role of its auxiliary factor, ACF.

Expression and purification to homogeneity of the apolipoprotein B mRNA editing subunit, APOBEC1, has allowed the demonstration that this apoenzyme has considerable residual enzymatic activity on a minimal apoB mRNA substrate, even in the absence of any auxiliary factors. Assay of this activity as a function of various experimental conditions has led to substantial optimization of assay conditions through the use of incomplete factorial and response surface experiments. Surprisingly, the apoenzyme is thermostable, and has a temperature optimum near 45 degrees C.

APOBEC3G is a single-stranded DNA cytidine deaminase and functions independently of HIV reverse transcriptase.

In the absence of the viral vif gene, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be restricted by the APOBEC3G gene on chromosome 22. The role of the HIV Vif protein is to exclude host cell APOBEC3G from the budding virion. As APOBEC3G shows sequence homology to cytidine deaminases, it is presumed that in the absence of Vif, cytidine residues in the cDNA are deaminated yielding uracil.

The apolipoprotein B mRNA editing complex performs a multifunctional cycle and suppresses nonsense-mediated decay.

The C to U editing of apolipoprotein B (apoB) mRNA is mediated by a minimal complex composed of an RNA-binding cytidine deaminase (APOBEC1) and a complementing specificity factor (ACF). This editing generates a premature termination codon and a truncated open reading frame. We demonstrate that the APOBEC1-ACF holoenzyme mediates a multifunctional cycle.

An anthropoid-specific locus of orphan C to U RNA-editing enzymes on chromosome 22.

The cytidine (C) to uridine (U) editing of apolipoprotein (apo) B mRNA is mediated by tissue-specific, RNA-binding cytidine deaminase APOBEC1. APOBEC1 is structurally homologous to Escherichia coli cytidine deaminase (ECCDA), but has evolved specific features required for RNA substrate binding and editing. A signature sequence for APOBEC1 has been used to identify other members of this family.