An acute bout of a controlled breathing frequency lowers sympathetic neural outflow but not blood pressure in healthy normotensive subjects

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(2): 188-196, 2017 Controlled or paced breathing is often used as a stress reduction technique but the impact on blood pressure (BP) and sympathetic outflow have not been consistently reported. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a controlled breathing (12 breaths/min, CB) rate would be similar to an individual’s spontaneous breathing (SB) rate. Secondly, would a CB rate of 12 breaths/min alter heart rate (HR), BP, and indices of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Twenty-one subjects (10 women, 11 men) performed two trials: SB, where the subject chose a comfortable breathing rate; and CB, where the subject breathed at a pace of 12 breaths/min. Each trial was 6 min during which respiratory waveforms, HR, BP (systolic, SBP; diastolic, DBP), and MSNA were recorded. During CB, the 6 min average breathing frequency (14±4 vs 12±1 breaths/min, P\u3c0.05 for SB and CB, respectively), MSNA burst frequency (18±12 vs 14±10 bursts/min, P\u3c0.01) and MSNA burst incidence (28±19 vs 21± 6 bursts/100 heart beats, P\u3c0.01) were significantly lower than during SB. HR (66±9 vs 67±9 beats/min, P\u3c0.05) was higher during CB. SBP (120±13 vs 121±15 mmHg, P=0.741), DBP (56±8 vs 57±9 mmHg, P=0.768), and MSNA total activity (166± 94 vs 145±102 a.u./min, P=0.145) were not different between the breathing conditions. In conclusion, an acute reduction in breathing frequency such as that observed during CB elicited a decrease in indices of MSNA (burst frequency and incidence) with no change in BP

In Adult Patients Aged 18 and Over, What Is the Effect of Telemedicine, As Compared to Traditional Office Visits, On Missed Appointment Rates

During the COVID-19 pandemic public health officials sought out different options to limit the spread of the disease and continue providing the much-needed care that patients deserved. Telemedicine became one of the leading initiatives to assist in caring for patients while limiting potential exposures. Prior to the pandemic telemedicine was primarily utilized in the psychology and neurology settings. The lost of life during the pandemic was unimaginable additionally, many healthcare entities begin to suffer from lack of protective supplies. Due to the unknown and newly implemented stay at home mandates made throughout the country many people became fearful of COVID-19 which led to an inundation of no-shows and missed appointments in the primary care setting. As the pandemic continues missed appointments seem to parallel its trend. The benefits of telemedicine implementation in relation to reducing missed appointments has yet to be thoroughly examined. This project aims to explore the impact of telemedicine implementation in a primary care clinic in Pensacola, Florida. The goal of the project is to measure patient satisfaction and evaluate the affect of telemedicine on missed appointments.https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/scholarsday2023_spring-posters/1000/thumbnail.jp

City Open Data Policies

The capture and analysis of data is transforming the 21st Century. As society becomes more data driven, data has the ability to drive the bottom line for private companies and help the public sector to define where and how services can best be delivered. In City Open Data Policies: Learning by Doing, the National League of Cities identifies how cities can take advantage of the opportunities presented by open data initiatives.SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONSLeadership: Political support stands out as one of the key requirements to implementing a successful open data project.Appropriate Legislation: Enacting legislation or formal policies is a crucial step toward ensuring the growth and sustainability of open data portals. Funding: Open data initiatives do not require high levels of funding. It is, however, important that the programs have their own budget line items where resources are specifically allocated. Technical Approach: Leading U.S. cities rely on commercial platforms that facilitate the implementation of open data initiatives, provide technical expertise, and ensure 24/7 customer support, often at a lower cost than providing these services in-house. Stakeholder Involvement: Open data is a two-way process. It is, therefore, essential to encourage participation and engagement among multiple stakeholders including: community members; non-profits; universities; the press; businesses; city departments; and other levels of government. Many cities adopt a flexible, and usually informal, approach to interact with the stakeholders. Measuring Success: Developing evaluation tools should be an integral part of any future open data policies

Father-son sexual communication: A qualitative study in Western Cape communities

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2018.ENGLISH SUMMARY: The current study sought to investigate sexual communication within Coloured father-son dyads living in the Western Cape areas. Connell’s theory of masculinity informed the study and the aim was therefore to identify if and how dominant notions of masculinity underpin or feature in father-son sexual communication. A qualitative research design was used to gain an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon. Fifteen dyads participated in the study. After fathers and sons were interviewed separately, the data were transcribed verbatim and analysed by using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis method. The findings indicate that, although both fathers and sons believed that fathers have an important role to play in the sex education of sons, the sexual communication in these dyads were often indirect, once-off and consisted of father-centred warnings or speeches. Furthermore, these communications were laced with hegemonic ideals of masculinity, sexuality and gender norms. It is concluded that more needs to be done to change these hegemonic ideas and to consider innovative ways in which men could be educated to support their sons’ sex education.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die huidige studie het ten doel gehad om seksuele kommunikasie in Kleurling pa-seun eenhede in Wes-Kaapse stedelike areas te ondersoek. Die studie is gegrond in Connell se teorie van hegemoniese manlikheid en ‘n spesifieke doelwit was dus om vas te stel of, en hoe, dominante idees van manlikheid hierdie vorm van kommunikasie onderlê. ‘n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp is gebruik om ‘n dieptegang begrip van hierdie verskynsel te verkry. Vyftien eenhede het aan die studie deelgeneem. Na afloop van individuele onderhoude wat apart met pa’s en seuns gevoer is, is die data verbatim getranskribeer en aan die hand van Braun en Clarke se tematiese analise metode ontleed. Die studie het gevind dat beide pa’s en seuns geglo het dat pa’s ‘n belangrike rol te speel het in die seksopvoeding van hul seuns. Desnietenstaande, was die seksuele kommunikasie tussen pa’s en seuns dikwels indirekte, eenmalige, pa-gesentreerde waarskuwings of preke. Verder het die data aangedui dat hierdie kommunikasie deurspek was met hegemoniese idees van manlikheid, seksualiteit en geslagtelike norme. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat meer gedoen moet word om hierdie hegemoniese idees te verander en dat ondernemende wyses gevind moet word waarop mans bemagtig kan word om ‘n effektiewe bydrae tot hul seuns se seksopvoeding te maak

Evaluating a Social Media Campaign for a Parent Educational Video on Bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis, or lower airway swelling, is a common cause of pediatric hospital admissions. Parents have expressed wishes for more information regarding bronchiolitis but had difficulty finding reliable information, suggesting the need for more effective and easily accessible information resources. Knowledge translation (KT) tools like videos provide research-based information and may be conveniently disseminated to large audiences through social media. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a social media campaign to promote a video on bronchiolitis. A social media campaign was conducted from 14 October to 30 November 2019. User interactions were recorded for the Facebook and Twitter accounts, website, and YouTube of Evidence in Child Health to Enhance Outcomes (ECHO), Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence (ARCHE), and Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK). Baseline metrics were collected from 1 August to 30 September 2019 and post-campaign metrics were collected from 1 December 2019 to 31 March 2020. Mean monthly changes, standard deviations, and percent changes between periods were generated for the baseline, campaign, and post-campaign periods. Overall, there was a visible increase in user interactions throughout the campaign period. There was an overall downward trend in user interactions following the campaign. These findings suggest that social media may be a useful method of KT tool dissemination when consistently used. The downward trend post-campaign highlights the need for further research to investigate methods to maintain continuous interaction following a campaign

Dopamine Cell Loss within the Nigrostriatal Pathway Due to Oxidative Stress from Chronic Methylphenidate

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that affects 11% of children in the US alo­ne. Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of ADHD. Given the fact that ADHD symptoms persist in up to 50% of patients, many children receive MPH from childhood to early adulthood. Unfortunately, most of the scientific literature focuses on the short-term consequences of MPH, even though individuals are taking MPH for many years. MPH acts by blocking dopamine (DA) transporters and norepinephrine transporters, preventing the reuptake of these catecholamines following release. Previous research has shown that long-term exposure to MPH causes dopaminergic neurons within the nigrostriatal pathway to be more sensitive to the Parkinsonian toxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). We hypothesize that oxidative stress caused by the spontaneous oxidation of the excess DA in the synaptic cleft is what’s rendering dopaminergic neurons within the nigrostriatal pathway to be more sensitive to MPTP. Adolescent male Swiss-Webster mice were divided into three cohorts and administered either saline (control), 1 mg/kg MPH (normal dose) or 10 mg/kg (abusive dose) via intraperitoneal (IP) injections for 12 weeks. Mice were injected twice daily, Monday through Friday, mimicking a school-week dosing schedule. After 12 weeks, all animals received a drug washout period of 7 days. Then, half of each cohort was treated with MPTP (4 x 20mg/kg, every 2 hours), while the other half was administered 4 injections of sterile saline. Seven days after MPTP or saline treatment, the mice were sacrificed, brains were removed, and the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum (STR) were collected. Oxidative stress related to increased DA levels was determined using the glutathione assay to measure glutathione (GSH) content and near-infrared fluorescence dot blots to measure free and protein-bound ortho-quinones. GSH is an important antioxidant and thus its depletion would be indicative of oxidative stress. Additionally, since DA may be oxidized to a quinone, increases in free and protein-bound ortho-quinones also indicate oxidative stress. Interestingly, we observed a significant decrease in GSH as the dose of MPH increased with both saline and MPTP samples. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in quinones as the dose of MPH increased. In conclusion, it appears that long-term exposure to MPH sensitizes dopaminergic neurons within the nigrostriatal pathway to oxidative stress, rendering them vulnerable to further insults, such as MPTP exposure. As such, these studies provide insight into the risks of long-term psychostimulant exposure

Internet Safety: Positioning VCU as a National Leader in Internet Safety

While a multitude of information from a host of sources exists on how to keep children safe on the Internet, there is not a unified effort to combine it all and get it to the right people. This is not a plan to teach college students about Internet safety. This is a proposal to begin much earlier, targeting middle-school aged children and their parents, many of whom have no idea of the dangers – and opportunities – that exist in cyberspace

Performance of distributed mechanisms for flow admission in wireless adhoc networks

Given a wireless network where some pairs of communication links interfere with each other, we study sufficient conditions for determining whether a given set of minimum bandwidth quality-of-service (QoS) requirements can be satisfied. We are especially interested in algorithms which have low communication overhead and low processing complexity. The interference in the network is modeled using a conflict graph whose vertices correspond to the communication links in the network. Two links are adjacent in this graph if and only if they interfere with each other due to being in the same vicinity and hence cannot be simultaneously active. The problem of scheduling the transmission of the various links is then essentially a fractional, weighted vertex coloring problem, for which upper bounds on the fractional chromatic number are sought using only localized information. We recall some distributed algorithms for this problem, and then assess their worst-case performance. Our results on this fundamental problem imply that for some well known classes of networks and interference models, the performance of these distributed algorithms is within a bounded factor away from that of an optimal, centralized algorithm. The performance bounds are simple expressions in terms of graph invariants. It is seen that the induced star number of a network plays an important role in the design and performance of such networks.Comment: 21 pages, submitted. Journal version of arXiv:0906.378

Representation recovers information

Early agreement within cognitive science on the topic of representation has now given way to a combination of positions. Some question the significance of representation in cognition. Others continue to argue in favor, but the case has not been demonstrated in any formal way. The present paper sets out a framework in which the value of representation-use can be mathematically measured, albeit in a broadly sensory context rather than a specifically cognitive one. Key to the approach is the use of Bayesian networks for modeling the distal dimension of sensory processes. More relevant to cognitive science is the theoretical result obtained, which is that a certain type of representational architecture is *necessary* for achievement of sensory efficiency. While exhibiting few of the characteristics of traditional, symbolic encoding, this architecture corresponds quite closely to the forms of embedded representation now being explored in some embedded/embodied approaches. It becomes meaningful to view that type of representation-use as a form of information recovery. A formal basis then exists for viewing representation not so much as the substrate of reasoning and thought, but rather as a general medium for efficient, interpretive processing