Reducing Barriers and Enhancing Linkages to Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step Groups for Alcohol Dependent Students on College Campuses: A Program Evaluation

Aim: This project was completed due to a lack of research and low likelihood of attendance to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) 12-step groups by college students suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). This program evaluation was completed to provide university students and campus wellness staff the opportunity to evaluate a newly created Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) video about AA and an AA attendance plan for consideration of future use in psychiatric practice. Background: Current evidence reveals a need for college aged interventions for AUD. College students may be referred to AA by campus staff but have difficulties bridging the gap between recommendation and attendance (American Addictions Centers, 2017). Students seeking mental healthcare prefer brief computerized interventions which have shown to promote treatment initiation in young adults (Buscemi, Murphy, Martens, McDevitt-Murphy, Dennhardty, & Skidmore, 2010; Pedersen & Paves, 2014). Methods: This program was delivered via e-mail distribution to college students and counseling center staff and in person sessions with nursing student advisory council groups. All data collected were obtained on a volunteer basis by electronic anonymous questionnaire. Results: Outcomes were measured in three groups (nursing student advisory council, campus wellness staff, and general university students) by qualitative and quantitative data from post-implementation survey responses. In all three groups, 70% or more of the participants found the program improved their knowledge, was interesting, and useful. Recommendations from participants for program improvement included informative aspects and visual enhancements of the FAQs video. Conclusion: These findings support the potential benefits of revising the “Guide me to AA—FAQs video and making it available for use by psychiatric professionals to educate and support students in need of support for AUD and whom could benefit from AA attendance.Doctor of Nursing Practic

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Procedures and Summary of Jurisprudence

For nearly twenty-five years, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has provided a well-respected jurisprudence on fundamental human rights, such as: freedom of expression and religion; limits on administrative detention; restrictions on discrimination in detention; and violations of the right to fair trial. The Working Group has amassed a unique collection of legal principles applicable to individuals detained by the United States, including asylum seekers, immigrants, and refugees. The decisions of the Working Group have also applied to non-state actors

After the Fall: Legacy Effects of Biogenic Structure on Wind-Generated Ecosystem Processes Following Mussel Bed Collapse

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are ecosystem engineers with strong effects on species diversity and abundances. Mussel beds appear to be declining in the Gulf of Maine, apparently due to climate change and predation by the invasive green crab, Carcinus maenas. As mussels die, they create a legacy of large expanses of shell biogenic structure. In Maine, USA, we used bottom traps to examine effects of four bottom cover types (i.e., live mussels, whole shells, fragmented shells, bare sediment) and wind condition (i.e., days with high, intermediate, and low values) on flow-related ecosystem processes. Significant differences in transport of sediment, meiofauna, and macrofauna were found among cover types and days, with no significant interaction between the two factors. Wind condition had positive effects on transport. Shell hash, especially fragmented shells, had negative effects, possibly because it acted as bed armor to reduce wind-generated erosion and resuspension. Copepods had the greatest mobility and shortest turnover times (0.15 d), followed by nematodes (1.96 d) and the macrofauna dominant, Tubificoides benedeni (2.35 d). Shell legacy effects may play an important role in soft-bottom system responses to wind-generated ecosystem processes, particularly in collapsed mussel beds, with implications for recolonization, connectivity, and the creation and maintenance of spatial pattern

Student Self-Efficacy Levels for Performing Clinical Skills Learned Virtually During a Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to explore student self-efficacy for performance of clinical skills learned virtually, the effectiveness of teaching clinical skills online, the relationships between students’ feelings of self-efficacy and the performance of clinical skills, and the students’ perspectives of learning clinical skills virtually. This is a one-group mixed methods study that included twenty-one Master of Occupational Therapy students. Self-efficacy was measured using the Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (L-SES), performance was measured using an instructor-created rubric, and qualitative data was collected using open-ended questions. Students presented with higher levels of self-efficacy for range of motion (ROM) than manual muscle testing (MMT). For MMT, self-efficacy ratings in the Affective Domain were statistically significantly higher than those in the Cognitive and Psychomotor Domains. There were no relationships between L-SES scores and the physical competency exam score. Common themes identified were factors that increased self-efficacy and factors that decreased self-efficacy. This study provides foundational evidence supporting the use of multi-media resources to teach clinical skills virtually and supports online instruction as an effective method for teaching clinical skills and for promoting sufficient self-efficacy for performance of clinical skills

The Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Memory

Sleep quality and memory are both relevant topics in today’s society, especially among college students. Purpose: To determine if there is a correlation between sleep quality and short-term memory including objective and subjective measures. Methods: This study consisted of 25 participants, 6 males and 19 females, ages ranging from 19 to 22 (20.8±0.8 years), who avoided stimulants, caffeine or other sleep altering drugs for at least eight hours. Our participants were recruited via word of mouth, poster, and discussions in classroom settings. Participants memorized a list of 30 words for two minutes and then had two minutes to recall and write as many words as possible. Sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and then scored using the official Pittsburg Index score sheet, and perceived memory was scored at face value. An independent t-test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between genders on their sleep quality, Memory Functioning Questionnaire scores, and their ability to recall words. Results: The test revealed no significant difference (p=0.68) between the sleep quality of males (7±3) and females (7±3). There was also no significant difference (p=0.16) between the number of words recalled by males (14±4 words) and females (11±3 words). The difference between the Memory Functioning Questionnaire scores of males (318±37) and females (282±55) was not significant (p=0.10). No significant difference (p=0.45) was found between science majors (8±4) and non-science majors (8±3) on sleep quality. Similarly, Memory Functioning Questionnaire scores were not significantly different (p=0.73) for science majors (285±52) and non-science majors (293±55). The test for recalled words also showed no significant difference (p=0.99) between science majors (12±3 words) and non-science majors (12±3 words)

A Topological Deep Learning Framework for Neural Spike Decoding

The brain's spatial orientation system uses different neuron ensembles to aid in environment-based navigation. One of the ways brains encode spatial information is through grid cells, layers of decked neurons that overlay to provide environment-based navigation. These neurons fire in ensembles where several neurons fire at once to activate a single grid. We want to capture this firing structure and use it to decode grid cell data. Understanding, representing, and decoding these neural structures require models that encompass higher order connectivity than traditional graph-based models may provide. To that end, in this work, we develop a topological deep learning framework for neural spike train decoding. Our framework combines unsupervised simplicial complex discovery with the power of deep learning via a new architecture we develop herein called a simplicial convolutional recurrent neural network (SCRNN). Simplicial complexes, topological spaces that use not only vertices and edges but also higher-dimensional objects, naturally generalize graphs and capture more than just pairwise relationships. Additionally, this approach does not require prior knowledge of the neural activity beyond spike counts, which removes the need for similarity measurements. The effectiveness and versatility of the SCRNN is demonstrated on head direction data to test its performance and then applied to grid cell datasets with the task to automatically predict trajectories

Senior Recital: Joseph Poole, bass trombone

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Poole studies bass trombone with Brian Hecht.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1245/thumbnail.jp

Evolved bacterial resistance against fluoropyrimidines can lower chemotherapy impact in the Caenorhabditis elegans host

Metabolism of host-targeted drugs by the microbiome can substantially impact host treatment success. However, since many host-targeted drugs inadvertently hamper microbiome growth, repeated drug administration can lead to microbiome evolutionary adaptation. We tested if evolved bacterial resistance against host-targeted drugs alters their drug metabolism and impacts host treatment success. We used a model system of Caenorhabditis elegans, its bacterial diet, and two fluoropyrimidine chemotherapies. Genetic screens revealed that most of loss-of-function resistance mutations in Escherichia coli also reduced drug toxicity in the host. We found that resistance rapidly emerged in E. coli under natural selection and converged to a handful of resistance mechanisms. Surprisingly, we discovered that nutrient availability during bacterial evolution dictated the dietary effect on the host - only bacteria evolving in nutrient-poor media reduced host drug toxicity. Our work suggests that bacteria can rapidly adapt to host-targeted drugs and by doing so may also impact the host

First Year Student Success Initiative: Academic Support Services Working Group Report

Report from the Academic Support Services Working Group in response to the charge to: “Develop a set of recommendations about ways that student academic support services can better serve first-year students.” The report includes five recommendations for integrated academic supports