Financial Aid Application Technology Utilization by High School Students and Their Parents

Historically, the financial aid area of higher education institutions has been slower to computerize than other college support areas, according to St. John (1985) and Shelley (1989). Major obstacles noted by these authors include inadequate funding, lack of knowledgeable staff, lack of training, and lack of time. St. John and Shelley note that, more recently, information management techniques in financial aid are changing as quickly as they are in other areas. Barnes (1994) noted this same trend, reporting that financial aid offices are one of the primary users of information and computer technology in postsecondary education institutions. Technology use in financial aid offices to date includes the manipulation of large amounts of data in application processing, making awards, and keeping records, as well as accessing student information data files to mail award notifications and to credit financial aid to student accounts. Further, technology is available to assist financial aid administrators in calculating the specific costs of student attendance, performing need analysis, managing funds, and tracking documents (Shelley, 1989). Concern now appears to be changing from administrative uses of technology within the financial aid office, to the accessibility of technology to students, parents, and guidance counselors through the Internet or CD-ROM. Floyd ( 1996) notes particular concern about the disparity of access to technology by students in lower income categories. Specifically, government studies show that 15% of lower-income families have access to computers in their home, compared with 36% of higher-income families (Floyd, 1996). This difference is attributed, in part, to the lack of computer training available to lower income youth and their families. For example, a family may have access to computers, but may not have the skills to take advantage of the technology. Expense has also been identified as a major constraint to access

Synthesis of 125 I‐labeled 14‐iodo‐9‐tetradecynoic acid

The synthesis and radioiodide exchange labelling of 14‐iodo‐9‐tetradecynoic acid (1), a potential suicide inhibitor of acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase or enoyl‐CoA isomerase, is presented. Tissue distribution data in dogs are reported.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90063/1/2580180911_ftp.pd

Understanding barriers to purchasing healthier, more sustainable food for people living with obesity and food insecurity.

In westernised countries, food insecurity (FI), poorer diet quality, and obesity are disproportionately represented in groups experiencing socio-economic disadvantage. Grocery stores are one promising arena for intervention; however how these settings can facilitate purchasing of healthier, more sustainable food in people living with obesity (PLWO) and FI remains unclear. Using an online survey (N=583), adults residing in England or Scotland with a body mass index of ≥30kg/m2 self-reported on FI, diet quality, and their experiences of shopping in a grocery store for healthy and sustainable food. Using structural equation modelling, greater FI was directly associated with barriers from the food environment (e.g., price), food preparation practices, lower healthy diet knowledge and physical ill-health. Moreover, greater FI was indirectly associated with poorer diet quality via poorer mental health and greater experiences of self-stigma associated with being food insecure. Grocery store interventions based on price or incentivisation were ranked most helpful in supporting healthier, more sustainable purchasing. These findings highlight the challenges faced by this group when shopping and underscore the need for policy development relating to price and affordability at a population-level, and for clinicians to offer tailored, holistic approaches to obesity treatment that acknowledges and minimises stigma and mental health

Legacies of humanitarian neglect: long term experiences of children who returned from the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda

Background: Much has been written about the short-term challenges facing children returning ‘home’ from rebel fighting groups, but little is known about the longer term day to day realities of return. This article presents findings from the first long-term assessment of the social and economic challenges facing an officially registered group of children who passed through an internationally-financed reception centre after a period of time with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Methods: Records from a reception centre were used to trace a random sample of individuals to their current location. Two hundred and thirty in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out and 40 follow-up interviews between 2013 and 2016. Interviews were informed by long-term ethnographic research in the region. These interviews were subsequently coded and analysed to describe the long-term day to day realities of return. Results: At the time of interview, 90% of formerly abducted people returned ‘home’ six or more years ago, and 75% returned nine or more years ago. The majority have managed to access family land for farming, but concerns about what they may have done to survive whilst living with the LRA adversely affects their day-to-day lives. However, some important differences were noted: those men and women who spent less time with the LRA are more likely to live on ancestral land with close relatives; and they are more likely to report experiencing stigma and a spiritual affliction called ‘cen’. In contrast, those who spent the longest time with the LRA are less likely to report these problems, they are mainly living in urban locations and tend to manage slightly better. Children born of war are vulnerable to abuse, irrespective of current residence. Conclusions: Research findings question the merits of post-conflict reintegration programmes emphasising immediate family reunifications, without follow-up monitoring, social protection, education and skills training. By overlooking the diverse experiences of those who lived and fought with the LRA, and failing to anticipate or respond to the long term socio-political and economic challenges facing children on their return, reception centre processes not only failed to foster social reintegration, but they also inadvertently exacerbated the vulnerability of returning children

Characterization of muscle in OI Model mice

Abstract only availableOsteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a congenital connective tissue disorder characterized by decreased bone mineral density and increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. In addition to skeletal fragility, patients with OI reportedly have muscle weakness although currently no systematic evaluation of muscle function or morphology in humans or animal models of the disease has been performed. Normal type I collagen is coded for two genes located on different chromosomes: COL1A1 and COL1A2. The oim/oim mouse is homozygous for a null mutation in the COL1A2 gene and is a phenocopy of human type III OI (severe disease phenotype). Heterozygous mice (oim/+) harbor the null mutation in only one allele of the COL1A2 gene and model human patients with type I OI (mild disease phenotype). We wanted to determine whether the reported muscle weakness in OI patients is due to a muscle pathology. We analyzed the muscle mass, fiber morphology, and cross-sectional area of muscles fibers of the hind limb muscles (quadriceps, gastrocnemius, plantaris, tibialis anterior and soleus), as well as the fiber type composition of the soleus muscle of wildtype (wt), heterozygous (oim/+), and homozygous (oim/oim) mice. Our results demonstrate that the muscle mass/body mass, fiber morphology, cross-sectional area of hindlimb muscles, as well as fiber type composition of the soleus muscle of oim, oim/+ relative to wt (+/+) mouse muscles were not significantly different between the genotypes. We correlated our morphologic findings with a functional contractile assay and determined that muscle tension-force generation and nerve conduction are not impaired in oim/oim or oim/+ mice. These findings suggest that oim and oim/+ mice do not have inherent muscle pathology. This knowledge is important in our ultimate understanding of skeletal muscle in OI model mice and ultimately, humans with this disease.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

Role of Protein Biomarkers in the Detection of High-Grade Disease in Cervical Cancer Screening Programs

Since the Pap test was introduced in the 1940s, there has been an approximately 70% reduction in the incidence of squamous cell cervical cancers in many developed countries by the application of organized and opportunistic screening programs. The efficacy of the Pap test, however, is hampered by high interobserver variability and high false-negative and false-positive rates. The use of biomarkers has demonstrated the ability to overcome these issues, leading to improved positive predictive value of cervical screening results. In addition, the introduction of HPV primary screening programs will necessitate the use of a follow-up test with high specificity to triage the high number of HPV-positive tests. This paper will focus on protein biomarkers currently available for use in cervical cancer screening, which appear to improve the detection of women at greatest risk for developing cervical cancer, including Ki-67, p16INK4a, BD ProEx C, and Cytoactiv HPV L1

Modulation of Long-Range Connectivity Patterns via Frequency-Specific Stimulation of Human Cortex

There is increasing interest in how the phase of local oscillatory activity within a brain area determines the long-range functional connectivity of that area. For example, increasing convergent evidence from a range of methodologies suggests that beta (20 Hz) oscillations may play a vital role in the function of the motor system [1-5]. The "communication through coherence" hypothesis posits that the precise phase of coherent oscillations in network nodes is a determinant of successful communication between them [6, 7]. Here we set out to determine whether oscillatory activity in the beta band serves to support this theory within the cortical motor network in vivo. We combined non-invasive transcranial alternating-current stimulation (tACS) [8-12] with resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) [13] to follow both changes in local activity and long-range connectivity, determined by inter-areal blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal correlation, as a proxy for communication in the human cortex. Twelve healthy subjects participated in three fMRI scans with 20 Hz, 5 Hz, or sham tACS applied separately on each scan. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at beta frequency has previously been shown to increase local activity in the beta band [14] and to modulate long-range connectivity within the default mode network [15]. We demonstrated that beta-frequency tACS significantly changed the connectivity pattern of the stimulated primary motor cortex (M1), without changing overall local activity or network connectivity. This finding is supported by a simple phase-precession model, which demonstrates the plausibility of the results and provides emergent predictions that are consistent with our empirical findings. These findings therefore inform our understanding of how local oscillatory activity may underpin network connectivity

The impact of the cost of living crisis and food insecurity on food purchasing behaviours and food preparation practices in people living with obesity

Lower income households are at greater risk of food insecurity and poor diet quality than higher income households. In high-income countries, food insecurity is associated with high levels of obesity, and in the UK specifically, the cost of living crisis (i.e., where the cost of everyday essentials has increased quicker than wages) is likely to have exacerbated existing dietary inequalities. There is currently a lack of understanding of the impact of the current UK cost of living crisis on food purchasing and food preparation practices of people living with obesity (PLWO) and food insecurity, however this knowledge is critical in order to develop effective prevention and treatment approaches to reducing dietary inequalities. Using an online survey (N = 583) of adults residing in England or Scotland with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m2, participants self-reported on food insecurity, diet quality, perceived impact of the cost of living crisis, and their responses to this in terms of food purchasing behaviours and food preparation practices. Regression analyses found that participants adversely impacted by the cost of living crisis reported experiencing food insecurity. Additionally, food insecurity was associated with use of specific purchasing behaviours (i.e., use of budgeting, use of supermarket offers) and food preparation practices (i.e., use of energy-saving appliances, use of resourcefulness). Exploratory analyses indicated that participants adversely impacted by the cost of living crisis and who used budgeting had low diet quality, whereas use of meal planning was associated with high diet quality. These findings highlight the fragility of food budgets and the coping strategies used by PLWO and food insecurity during the cost of living crisis. Policy measures and interventions are urgently needed that address the underlying economic factors contributing to food insecurity, to improve access to and affordability of healthier foods for all