Quality of life in children with unilateral hearing loss: a pilot study

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the impact of unilateral hearing loss on the quality of life of children. Focus group sessions were held for parents and children or adolescents with unilateral hearing loss to discuss their perceptions. Parents and children or adolescents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Findings were presented depicting which domains of quality of life are most affected

Whole is greater than the sum of the parts: piecing together microbial methylated amine metabolism, The

2020 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document

What Can Reader Comments to News Online Contribute to Engagement and Interactivity? A Quantitative Approach

This dissertation addresses the relationship between journalism and computer-mediated communication by exploring the degree to which newly empowered audience members are using the reader comment forum on newspaper websites to participate in democratic discourse - a key component of civic engagement. Twenty-first century journalism has evolved from the traditional asynchronous, \u27one-to-many\u27 model into a process involving producers, content and audiences. The interactive capabilities of Internet-based news products have enabled legacy media to connect with audiences in unprecedented fashion. Perhaps more than any other interactive platform, the reader comment forum on online news sites reflects the ideal of the \u27public sphere,\u27 defined by Jurgen Habermas as a democratic utopia in which all citizens have an opportunity to participate in discussing social and political matters important toward making decisions for the common good. Under a framework of deliberative democratic theory, this dissertation employs a quantitative content analysis of reader comments posted to the websites of six South Carolina daily newspapers to detect themes of democratic engagement. Additionally, the analysis adds to a growing body of research on the motivations behind online content production by examining reader comments for themes commonly associated with uses and gratifications theory. To bring analytical depth to the research, interviews with journalists from each of the sampled newspapers were conducted to assess the effectiveness of reader comment forums as a new public sphere for democratic discourse and the role of journalists in facilitating public discourse. The findings from this dissertation contribute to the literature on online journalism and interactivity by offering new insight into how and why users engage in online news forums, the role of anonymity in public deliberation, and the traditionally detached, and at times contentious, relationship between journalists and audience members

Parameterized Littlewood-Paley operators with variable kernels on Hardy spaces and weak Hardy spaces

In this paper, by using the atomic decomposition theory of Hardy space and weak Hardy space, we discuss the boundedness of parameterized Littlewood-Paley operator with variable kernel on these spaces.Comment: 15 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1711.0961

Legacy Vehicle Fuel System Testing with Intermediate Ethanol Blends

The effects of E10 and E17 on legacy fuel system components from three common mid-1990s vintage vehicle models (Ford, GM, and Toyota) were studied. The fuel systems comprised a fuel sending unit with pump, a fuel rail and integrated pressure regulator, and the fuel injectors. The fuel system components were characterized and then installed and tested in sample aging test rigs to simulate the exposure and operation of the fuel system components in an operating vehicle. The fuel injectors were cycled with varying pulse widths during pump operation. Operational performance, such as fuel flow and pressure, was monitored during the aging tests. Both of the Toyota fuel pumps demonstrated some degradation in performance during testing. Six injectors were tested in each aging rig. The Ford and GM injectors showed little change over the aging tests. Overall, based on the results of both the fuel pump testing and the fuel injector testing, no major failures were observed that could be attributed to E17 exposure. The unknown fuel component histories add a large uncertainty to the aging tests. Acquiring fuel system components from operational legacy vehicles would reduce the uncertainty

Bias-assisted photoelectrochemical etching of p-GaN at 300 K

Photoelectrochemical (PEC)etching of p-type GaN has been realized in room temperature, 0.1 M KOH solutions. PECetching of GaN was achieved by applying a positive bias to the surface of the p-GaN layer through a deposited titanium mask. The applied bias reduces the field at the semiconductor surface, which induced the dissolution of the GaN. The effect of bias on etch rate and morphology was examined. It was found that insulating the Ti mask from the KOH solution with Si3N4 significantly increases the etch rate. The rms roughness of the etched region decreased as the bias voltage increased. Etch rates as high as 4.4 nm/min were recorded for films etched at 2 V

Cross-sectional associations between weight-related health behaviors and weight misperception among U.S. adolescents with overweight/obesity

Abstract Background Weight misperception occurs when there is a discrepancy between one’s actual and perceived weight status. Among adolescents with overweight/obesity, many believe that correcting weight misperception is imperative to inspire weight-related behavior change. However, past research has shown that adolescents with overweight/obesity who misperceive their weight status gain less weight over time compared to accurate perceivers. Therefore, our objective was to examine possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. Specifically, we examined the association between weight misperception and engagement in weight-related health behaviors among adolescents with overweight/obesity. Methods Self-reported data from the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used in analyses restricted to participants with overweight/obesity (n = 4383). Using multivariate logistic models correcting for sex, race/ethnicity, and grade in school, we examined the cross-sectional associations between weight misperception and engagement in weight-related health behaviors, specifically related to dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep. Results Adolescents with overweight/obesity who misperceived their weight status were more likely to drink 100% fruit juice two or more times per day (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.20, 1.94), eat vegetables two or more times per day (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.57), be physically active for 1 hour or more per day for at least 5 days in the week prior (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.72), be on a sports team in the last year (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.97), sleep an average of at least 8 hours per school night (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.72), and less likely to be trying to lose weight (OR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.20). Misperceivers were more likely to consume breakfast every morning in the week prior and to drink a sports drink at least once per day, though these results were not statistically significant. We observed no difference in fruit intake, soda intake, or TV viewing between weight misperceivers and accurate perceivers. Conclusions Overall, weight misperception among adolescents with overweight/obesity was associated with a number of beneficial weight-related health behaviors. Engagement in these healthy weight-related behaviors may explain some of the protective effect of weight misperception on weight gain over time. Trial registration Not applicable.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143164/1/12889_2018_Article_5394.pd

Disparities in eating disorder risk and diagnosis among sexual minority college students: Findings from the national Healthy Minds Study

ObjectiveTo examine differences in eating disorder (ED) risk and diagnosis by sexual orientation in a national sample of college students.MethodData from 178 U.S. colleges and universities participating in the Healthy Minds Study between 2016 and 2019 were analyzed (36,691 cisgender men, 81,730 cisgender women; 15.7% self‐identifying as sexual minorities). Outcomes were ED risk (≥2 on the SCOFF) and self‐reported lifetime ED diagnosis. Prevalence estimates adjusted for demographics and weight status were computed via logistic regression.ResultsHigher proportions of questioning (29.1%), bisexual (26.3%), and gay men (30.9%) exhibited elevated risk than heterosexual men (14.3%), and a higher proportion of gay men exhibited elevated risk than bisexual men. Higher proportions of questioning (34.5%) and bisexual women (34.6%) exhibited elevated risk than heterosexual women (27.6%); proportions of lesbian (28.1%) and heterosexual women were similar. Among those with elevated risk, higher proportions of bisexual (5.0%) and gay men (7.1%) and of questioning (14.7%), bisexual (18.1%), and lesbian women (19.6%) had been diagnosed relative to heterosexual men (2.0%) and heterosexual women (10.3%), respectively.DiscussionQuestioning and bisexual individuals appear to be particularly vulnerable; they may experience elevated ED risk relative to their heterosexual peers yet underdiagnosis relative to their gay or lesbian peers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162796/2/eat23304_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162796/1/eat23304.pd

Degradation of biological macromolecules supports uncultured microbial populations in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Castro, S. P., Borton, M. A., Regan, K., de Angelis, I. H., Wrighton, K. C., Teske, A. P., Strous, M., & Ruff, S. E. Degradation of biological macromolecules supports uncultured microbial populations in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments. Isme Journal. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-01026-5.Hydrothermal sediments contain large numbers of uncultured heterotrophic microbial lineages. Here, we amended Guaymas Basin sediments with proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids or lipids under different redox conditions and cultivated heterotrophic thermophiles with the genomic potential for macromolecule degradation. We reconstructed 20 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of uncultured lineages affiliating with known archaeal and bacterial phyla, including endospore-forming Bacilli and candidate phylum Marinisomatota. One Marinisomatota MAG had 35 different glycoside hydrolases often in multiple copies, seven extracellular CAZymes, six polysaccharide lyases, and multiple sugar transporters. This population has the potential to degrade a broad spectrum of polysaccharides including chitin, cellulose, pectin, alginate, chondroitin, and carrageenan. We also describe thermophiles affiliating with the genera Thermosyntropha, Thermovirga, and Kosmotoga with the capability to make a living on nucleic acids, lipids, or multiple macromolecule classes, respectively. Several populations seemed to lack extracellular enzyme machinery and thus likely scavenged oligo- or monomers (e.g., MAGs affiliating with Archaeoglobus) or metabolic products like hydrogen (e.g., MAGs affiliating with Thermodesulfobacterium or Desulforudaceae). The growth of methanogens or the production of methane was not observed in any condition, indicating that the tested macromolecules are not degraded into substrates for methanogenesis in hydrothermal sediments. We provide new insights into the niches, and genomes of microorganisms that actively degrade abundant necromass macromolecules under oxic, sulfate-reducing, and fermentative thermophilic conditions. These findings improve our understanding of the carbon flow across trophic levels and indicate how primary produced biomass sustains complex and productive ecosystems.We are grateful to the captain and crew of the R/V Atlantis AT37-06 as well as the crew of the human occupied vehicle Alvin for their tireless support. Sampling at Guaymas Basin was supported by NSF (OCE-1357238)

The Case for Adaptive Neuromodulation to Treat Severe Intractable Mental Disorders

Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide, and available treatments have limited efficacy for severe cases unresponsive to conventional therapies. Neurosurgical interventions, such as lesioning procedures, have shown success in treating refractory cases of mental illness, but may have irreversible side effects. Neuromodulation therapies, specifically Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), may offer similar therapeutic benefits using a reversible (explantable) and adjustable platform. Early DBS trials have been promising, however, pivotal clinical trials have failed to date. These failures may be attributed to targeting, patient selection, or the “open-loop” nature of DBS, where stimulation parameters are chosen ad hoc during infrequent visits to the clinician’s office that take place weeks to months apart. Further, the tonic continuous stimulation fails to address the dynamic nature of mental illness; symptoms often fluctuate over minutes to days. Additionally, stimulation-based interventions can cause undesirable effects if applied when not needed. A responsive, adaptive DBS (aDBS) system may improve efficacy by titrating stimulation parameters in response to neural signatures (i.e., biomarkers) related to symptoms and side effects. Here, we present rationale for the development of a responsive DBS system for treatment of refractory mental illness, detail a strategic approach for identification of electrophysiological and behavioral biomarkers of mental illness, and discuss opportunities for future technological developments that may harness aDBS to deliver improved therapy