The Mature Minor Doctrine and COVID Vaccination in Connecticut

The mature minor doctrine is an exception to the common law rule of parental informed consent for a child’s medical decisions. The mature minor doctrine is applicable as either doctrine or statute in some states, but not all. Connecticut currently upholds the common law view for a minor child’s medical decision-making authority. Consequently, one prominent topic of discussion in recent years deals with the Covid-19 pandemic and the public policy discussions over nation-wide vaccination efforts. Many minors, children legally under the age of eighteen, are looking to make their own medical decisions when dealing with vaccination for the Coronavirus. By expanding the parameters of the mature minor doctrine, and implementing it into Connecticut statute, mature minors can be given the autonomy to acquire, or resist, vaccination despite their parent’s wishes. Although there has been a history of case law favoring parental authority over children, psychologists and legal scholars have brought to light new studies demonstrating adolescent development and capacity with understanding medical treatment. Furthermore, other northeastern U.S. states have gradually started to recognize mature minors in the context of vaccinations. As with any new introduction of a rule to a particular state, Connecticut legislation and courts must weigh the benefits, as well as the potential drawbacks that the mature minor doctrine may bring to light. Overall, the mature minor doctrine is a complicated doctrine, and it includes many different competing interests. However, if applied correctly, the doctrine can help competent and capable minors to make their own informed medical decisions in the state of Connecticut

Breaking Down the Box Office: An Analysis of Film Profitability Factors

This study analyzes a comprehensive sample of 1,892 films from 2007-2019, looking at the relations between qualitative film factors and their profitability. I estimate profitability using public box office and production budget data as well as an estimated post-production marketing budget. The study investigates the role of three prevalent film factors in film box office performance: type of film, the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) rating, and star power in the director’s chair or casting. Utilizing multivariate regressions and various means of robustness checks, this study whittles down what film factors have a tangible effect on ending financial performance. I find that sequel and prequel films are much more likely to earn a profit and generate significantly higher return on investment and profit margin, while the MPAA rating and star power have inconsistent to negligible correlations with film performance variables

The Relationship Between Reading Anxiety and General Anxiety in 7-10-year-old Children With Reading Difficulties

Although it is established that children with learning disabilities tend to experience Reading Anxiety, less is known about this population’s extension to Generalized Anxiety. The current study presents findings from two cohorts of elementary-age children (N=51) over the course of two years during the summer BRAINCamp on the Storrs campus of the University of Connecticut. The current study explores if children with reading and math disabilities, who tend to have anxiety in reading performance, extend Reading Anxiety to the broader domain of Generalized Anxiety. The sample consisted of second to fourth-grade students who met the criteria for learning difficulties and completed all tests assessing anxiety and reading and math performance. The findings demonstrate a correlation between Reading Anxiety and General Anxiety where high reading anxiety extends to high generalized anxiety in 58.33% of participants. General Anxiety had a significant correlation with Mastery Avoidance in both Reading and Math. The findings also suggest a correlation between Reading Anxiety and Mastery Avoidance in both Reading and Math. The present study offers a more nuanced understanding of the extension of Reading Anxiety to Generalized Anxiety in children with learning disabilities

A DNA-Peptide Crosslink (DpC) Increases Mutagenicity in SOS-Induced Escherichia coli

Bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, have an inducible system in response to DNA damage termed the SOS response. This system is activated when the replicative DNA polymerase (Pol) III encounters a lesion, uncouples from DNA helicase, and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) accumulates at the replication fork. In this study, we investigated DNA-peptide crosslink (DpC), a common lesion that results from cross-linking of proteins or peptides, UV irradiation, and alkylating agents. To increase survival following formation of a lesion, the SOS response can utilize homologous recombination, translesion synthesis (TLS), or excision repair. With TLS, the levels of DNA Pol II, IV, and V increase to bypass the lesion and continue DNA replication. However, DNA Pol II, IV, and V are low fidelity polymerases resulting in error-prone replication and increased mutagenicity. In my work described here, the TLS efficiency and mutation frequency were compared among E. coli cells in the presence (+SOS) and absence (-SOS) of SOS response. E. coli cells were given two different sequences, CXG and CXT, with a single DNA- peptide crosslink (DpC) damage. The mutation frequency and TLS efficiency for both CXT and CXG was higher in the +SOS than the -SOS cells. In -SOS CXT and + SOS CXT, deletions were the most common mutation. In contrast, in -SOS CXG a greater number of G → T mutations were detected, whereas +SOS CXG exhibited a greater number of G → C mutations

Exploring the Effects of Christian Worldviews on Heart Rate, Stress, and Adjustment After Loss in Bereaved Individuals

The objective of this study is to investigate the correlation between Christian values, perceptions of God, and physiological stress, assessed through heart rate, among individuals who are experiencing grief due to the loss of a loved one. Previous studies have analyzed various physiological effects on the body. There are very few studies that examine the correlation between Christian values and heart rate in bereaved participants. To explore these topics further, this study analyzes 59 undergraduate students who have recently lost a loved one, identify as a Christian, and are at least 18 years old. The participants\u27 perceptions of God and Christian worldviews were assessed in a survey. On the physiological side, heart rate is measured as an indicator of stress. We hypothesized that bereaved participants with a stronger perception of God and Christian values would have lower levels of physiological stress, which would reflect a lower heart rate. This hypothesis is based on the idea that Christian values, faith, and religious beliefs could serve as coping mechanisms that provide comfort, support, and meaning in times of distress, thereby reducing the physiological stress response. Although the results show minimal correlation between Christian worldviews and heart rate, it still serves as a valuable contribution to the field by opening up the discussion about the potential connections between Christian values and coping after loss. This project implies the need for more extensive research involving larger and more diverse samples which could give us more insight on the intricate connection between the religious mind and body. It prompts further extensive research and inspires scholars to delve deeper into the utilization of Christian teachings as holistic coping mechanisms for managing physiological stress and overall well-being

A Survey of K-12 Music Teachers’ Classroom Management Experiences in Music Teacher Preparation Programs

The purpose of this follow-up study was to explore classroom management sources and content in music teacher preparation programs. K-12 music educators, who self-identified as members of various professional music education organizations, were the participants in this study. Similar to the initial iteration of the survey with elementary general music educators, recurrent sources of classroom management reported by participants included mentoring from a licensed teacher and supervised fieldwork. Teaching procedures and pacing instructions were common examples of classroom management content included in a music teacher education program, which differed slightly from those identified by elementary general music teachers. Mentoring from a licensed teacher and supervised fieldwork were the two sources of classroom management preparation with which participants were most satisfied; however, the majority of participants did not view their classroom management preparation to be sufficient. These findings suggest that music teacher educators might continue to provide an array of experiences, within music education programs, for students to actively practice classroom management skills and strategies

Dynamic Transcriptomic Responses of Circulating Immune Cells in Response to Subsequent Days of Exercise Heat Stress

Acute exercise and chronic training have diverse effects on immune function that are still not well understood. There are remaining questions about how an acute bout of exercise, competition, or repeated training over a period affects an individual’s immune defense system. In a related study, there is evidence that acute exercise may serve as an adjuvant to enhance response to immune function as well as contradicting evidence, including our preliminary data (unpublished). Understanding the fundamental function and gene expression of circulating immune cells in response to acute exercise and in various contexts such as heat stress is critical in understanding our immune health. This study accomplished 2 aims: 1) a systematic review of the literature for studies of immune responses to exercise in our target cell population (circulating immune cells) and 2) complete a human subjects study of genome-wide changes in gene expression, that occur in the circulating immune cells important for immune defense in response to two subsequent exposures to exercise and environmental stress. Both male and female participants (VO2max\u3e40, 45 mL×kg-1×min-1 respectively) went through two days of heat exposure in a 40°C, 40% relative humidity chamber. Blood samples of 6 participants from all 14 time points were analyzed for differential gene expression. Fold changes from baseline and HTT, and differential gene expression was analyzed for functional annotation and pathway analyses. Findings from our experimental study revealed differences in men and women relative to their respective pre-acclimation state, in the global genome expression landscape in pathways related to stress response and protein homeostasis. Ongoing research will examine additional subjects and pursue more in-depth pathway analyses of our results for men and women before and after exercise-heat acclimation

A Work in Progress: The Legacy of Lee Pogonowski

Lee Pogonowski’s legacy lives on through the work of her students. I have found my own expression of this legacy through the EcoSonic Playground Project (ESPP), a community engaged music education program that I created at University of Massachusetts Lowell. This paper discusses how Lee’s work infuses the ESPP’s curriculum and program design and shows how it is a direct descendent of her philosophy, teaching, and mentoring

A Composer\u27s Perspective on the Clarinet Concerto

While seminal literature on concerto form analysis and compositions for clarinet and orchestra has been conducted, this undergraduate thesis is an exploration from a young composer’s perspective. My priority was discovering the breadth of what the clarinet concerto has to offer in order to learn how to place my own work as a composer into historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts. First, I present an abridged history of the clarinet concerto. Despite this musical form being hundreds of years old, concerto composition is still relevant today because it is a display of balance; the best concerti are delicate balancing acts of intimate dialogues and fierce competitions between soloist and orchestra rolled into one seamless performance of engaging yet brilliant music. Second, I have written a guide to composing for the clarinet, based on my own experience and expanded with research by experts. Next, I have conducted studies of seven clarinet concerti: Concerto for Clarinet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zweites Konzert für Klarinette und Orchester by Carl Maria von Weber, Première Rhapsody by Claude Debussy, Clarinet Concerto by Gerald Finzi, Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, with Harp and Piano by Aaron Copland, Clarinet Concerto by Katherine Hoover, and Ninian by Sir James MacMillan. Finally, this research is seen in creative application with my own compositional contribution: Morning Rhapsody for B♭ clarinet and chamber orchestra

Music Education and the Shrinking Public Space: Implications of Richard Sennett\u27s Sociological Ideas for Music Education

Richard Sennett’s theory that industrial capitalism triggered the gradual elimination of shared cultural symbolism and thus contributed to the impoverishment of civic involvement deserves to be revisited in light of its implications for music education in an age of global information capitalism. In 1974 Sennett produced an extensive examination of the relationship between public culture and public space, arguing that our response to large-scale social and economic forces over which we have limited control is to retreat from public cultural expressions and consequently from public life. Extending Sennett’s sociological argument, I contend that the subjectivizing of musical meaning may lead to a withdrawal of critical engagement, as opposed to mere passing acquaintance, with various musico-cultural meanings, which may in turn damage people’s sense of civic commitment. This essay explores the challenges that formal music education faces in a world in which musical creativity often seems a matter of personal expression, and in which musical ability is often described in terms of immeasurable future potential. Both of these related views stem from a tacit acceptance of musical meaning as existing primarily in a subjective or personal realm. Reducing musical meaning to the psychological by focusing primarily on subjective experience leads to an avoidance of what Sennett calls the “jolt” of rubbing up against something foreign and questioning our assurances in our foundational beliefs. Music educators are encouraged to discuss music as a social product whenever practical in response to this threat