The Role of Future Time Perspective on Forgiveness: A Study of Transgressions Among Undergraduate University Students

The present study examined the effect of future time perspective (FTP) on interpersonal forgiveness. Specifically, whether varying the degree of the perceived amount of time that individuals have left with a close friend in university would influence the forgiveness of that friend if he or she transgressed against them. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three versions of a questionnaire, which either encouraged them to view their time left at university with a close friend as limited, neutral, or extensive. It was hypothesized that perceiving future time left with a friend as limited would encourage individuals to focus on emotion-related goals, and in turn lead to an increased likelihood of forgiveness. Alternatively, perceiving future time left with a friend as extensive would encourage individuals to focus on knowledge-related goals, and thus lead to a decreased likelihood of forgiveness. The results revealed that there was no significant effect of FTP on forgiveness. In addition, there was no significant effect of forgiveness on the types of goals that individuals favoured. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed

Critique on the Use of Language Regarding Transgender Health in U.S. Women’s Health Publications since the Advent of Healthy People 2020

The LGBTQ community has long been underrepresented in published research, with research pertaining to transgender populations particularly scarce. I chose to examine the language used in obstetric and gynecologic care, which has the potential for neglecting to acknowledge the identities of transgender individuals and their need for care, contributing to the health disparities faced by this population. The purpose of this critique is to determine how women’s health publications discuss transgender health, and the extent to which transgender health topics were covered since 2010, the start of Healthy People 2020. My literature search in CINAHL revealed thirty-one articles published in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, the American Journal of Maternal-Child Nursing, the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Journal of Women’s Health between January 2010 and December 2017. Two journals, Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care and the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, yielded no related search results. Of the thirty-one articles identified, twenty-three addressed transgender individuals beyond their inclusion within the LGBTQ acronym. The language analyzed regarding transgender health within women’s health disciplines was uniformly inadequate, using inappropriate pronouns and gendered language, outdated terminology and definitions, and inappropriate and pejorative terminology. This critique on language revealed the limited resources available for women’s health professionals to obtain current information that uses accurate, appropriate, accessible language that does not alienate or exclude transgender patients from the conversation.Bachelor of Scienc

Hotline Number to Reach and Offer Agricultural Information to Plain Anabaptists during the COVID-19 Workplace Closures

The Penn State Extension Animal Systems Team developed a toll-free hotline phone number to convey short educational messages to maintain contact and outreach to Pennsylvania’s animal producing Amish, Mennonite, and other plain Anabaptist populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn State Extension’s programming went largely online via webinars, online courses, and emails. This change in programming excluded a large sector of Pennsylvania farmers who do not use or have access to the internet and, as such, were liable to miss important best management practice reviews and timely updates in animal agriculture. The Animal Systems Hotline offered callers the choice to listen to pre-recorded messages from dairy, equine, livestock, and poultry Extensions. Across the Animal Systems Team, during a span of approximately 22 weeks, a total of 111 messages were uploaded to the Hotline, with a total of 2,201 people calling in to the Hotline. Topics varied across the Extensions from the basics of animal husbandry and health to pasture and nutrition management. Since the development of the Hotline, Extension educators have received calls from plain producers requesting more information about the topics covered on the Hotline messages. While there were challenges with the system used for the Hotline and data collection, the broad reach and numerous callers indicates that the Hotline was a successful method of connecting with plain audiences. [Abstract by authors.

Development and evaluation of an educational training package to promote health and wellbeing

Background: Supporting the health and wellbeing of healthcare employees is a UK national priority. Aims: To design, deliver and evaluate an educational package to promote health and wellbeing for nurses and midwives Methods: An online training package was developed and administered in two ways: online (HAWN-online) or in a face-to-face workshop (HAWN-contact). A mixed- methods evaluation was used to assess usability and acceptability of HAWN training. Findings: 316 nurses, midwives and students completed the online training package. 16 participants attended the workshop. HAWN-online significantly increased knowledge in core areas of workplace health and wellbeing. Nurses and midwives valued online and face-to-face delivery but raised barriers to attendance at workshops. Participants advocated that training in workplace health should be mandatory for all frontline staff. Conclusions: Employers should take steps to promote staff wellbeing through HAWN training, and address barriers to accessing workplace health training or supportive services

Si microwire-array solar cells

Si microwire-array solar cells with Air Mass 1.5 Global conversion efficiencies of up to 7.9% have been fabricated using an active volume of Si equivalent to a 4 μm thick Si wafer. These solar cells exhibited open-circuit voltages of 500 mV, short-circuit current densities (J_(sc)) of up to 24 mA cm^(-2), and fill factors >65% and employed Al_2O_3 dielectric particles that scattered light incident in the space between the wires, a Ag back reflector that prevented the escape of incident illumination from the back surface of the solar cell, and an a-SiN_x:H passivation/anti-reflection layer. Wire-array solar cells without some or all of these design features were also fabricated to demonstrate the importance of the light-trapping elements in achieving a high J_(sc). Scanning photocurrent microscopy images of the microwire-array solar cells revealed that the higher J_(sc) of the most advanced cell design resulted from an increased absorption of light incident in the space between the wires. Spectral response measurements further revealed that solar cells with light-trapping elements exhibited improved red and infrared response, as compared to solar cells without light-trapping elements

A Sustainable, Green-Processed, Ag-Nanoparticle-Incorporated Eggshell-Derived Biomaterial for Wound-Healing Applications

The eggshell membrane (ESM) is a natural biomaterial with unique physical and mechanical properties that make it a promising candidate for wound-healing applications. However, the ESM’s inherent properties can be enhanced through incorporation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which have been shown to have antimicrobial properties. In this study, commercially produced AgNPs and green-processed AgNPs were incorporated into ESM and evaluated for their physical, biological, and antimicrobial properties for potential dermal application. The ESM was extracted using various techniques, and then treated with either commercially produced AgNPs (Sigma-Aldrich, Poole, UK) or green-synthesized AgNPs (Metalchemy, London, UK) to produce AgNPs-ESM samples. The physical characteristics of the samples were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and the biological properties were assessed through in vitro studies using human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and BJ cells. The SEM analysis of the AgNPs-ESM samples showed localization of AgNPs on the ESM surface, and that the ESM maintained its structural integrity following AgNP incorporation. The FTIR confirmed loading of AgNPs to ESM samples. The biological studies showed that the 5 μg/mL AgNPs-ESM samples were highly biocompatible with both HDFs and BJ cells, and had good viability and proliferation rates. Additionally, the AgNPs-ESM samples demonstrated pro-angiogenic properties in the CAM assay, indicating their potential for promoting new blood vessel growth. Assessment of the antimicrobial activity of the enhanced AgNPs/ESMs was validated using the International Standard ISO 16869:2008 methodology and exploited Cladosporium, which is one of the most commonly identified fungi in wounds, as the test microorganism (≥5 × 106 cells/mL). The AgNPs-ESM samples displayed promising antimicrobial efficacy as evidenced by the measured zone of inhibition. Notably, the green-synthesized AgNPs demonstrated greater zones of inhibition (~17 times larger) compared to commercially available AgNPs (Sigma-Aldrich). Although both types of AgNP exhibited long-term stability, the Metalchemy-modified samples demonstrated a slightly stronger inhibitory effect. Overall, the AgNPs-ESM samples developed in this study exhibited desirable physical, biological, and antimicrobial properties for potential dermal wound-dressing applications. The use of green-processed AgNPs in the fabrication of the AgNPs-ESM samples highlights the potential for sustainable and environmentally friendly wound-healing therapies. Further research is required to assess the long-term biocompatibility and effectiveness of these biomaterials in vivo

Therapeutic Application of an Ag-Nanoparticle-PNIPAAm-Modified Eggshell Membrane Construct for Dermal Regeneration and Reconstruction

Current therapeutic treatments for the repair and/or replacement of damaged skin following disease or traumatic injury is severely limited. The chicken eggshell membrane (ESM) is a unique material: its innate physical and mechanical characteristics offer optimal barrier properties and, as a naturally derived extract, it demonstrates inherent biocompatibility/biodegradability. To further enhance its therapeutic and clinical potential, the ESM can be modified with the thermo-responsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylAmide) (PNIPAAm) as well as the incorporation of (drug-loaded) silver nanoparticles (AgNP); essentially, by a simple change in temperature, the release and delivery of the NP can be targeted and controlled. In this study, ESM samples were isolated using a decellularization protocol, and the physical and mechanical characteristics were profiled using SEM, FT-IR, DSC and DMA. PNIPAAm was successfully grafted to the ESM via amidation reactions and confirmed using FT-IR, which demonstrated the distinctive peaks associated with Amide A (3275 cm−1), Amide B (2970 cm−1), Amide I (1630 cm−1), Amide II (1535 cm−1), CH2, CH3 groups, and Amide III (1250 cm−1) peaks. Confirmation of the incorporation of AgNP onto the stratified membrane was confirmed visually with SEM, qualitatively using FT-IR and also via changes in absorbance at 380 nm using UV-Vis spectrophotometry during a controlled release study for 72 h. The biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of the novel constructs were assessed using human dermal fibroblast (HDFa) and mouse dermal fibroblast (L929) cells and standard cell culture assays. Metabolic activity assessment (i.e., MTS assay), LDH-release profiles and Live/Dead staining demonstrated good attachment and spreading to the samples, and high cell viability following 3 days of culture. Interestingly, longer-term viability (>5 days), the ESM-PNIPAAm and ESM-PNIPAAm (AgNP) samples showed a greater and sustained cell viability profile. In summary, the modified and enhanced ESM constructs were successfully prepared and characterized in terms of their physical and mechanical profiles. AgNP were successfully loaded into the construct and demonstrated a desirable release profile dependent on temperature modulation. Fibroblasts cultured on the extracted ESM samples and ESM-PNIPAAm demonstrated high biocompatibility in terms of high cell attachment, spreading, viability and proliferation rates. As such, this work summarizes the development of an enhanced ESM-based construct which may be exploited as a clinical/therapeutic wound dressing as well as a possible application as a novel biomaterial scaffold for drug development