Understanding Posttraumatic Stress and Academic Achievement: Exploring Attentional Control, Self-Efficacy, and Coping Among College Students

The present study examined differences in attentional control, attentional control self-efficacy, and coping as self-regulatory mechanisms among students with varying grade point averages (GPA) who experience posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Subjects included 58 college students from one large comprehensive university in the Mid-South who met the criteria for diagnosis of PTSS based on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Three groups were created based on college GPA and graduation requirements at the university (at-risk for graduation, on-track for graduation, and ontrack for graduating with honors). Participants completed a survey that included demographics and measures of PTSS, attentional control, attentional control self-efficacy, and coping. A one-way between groups ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences in attentional control self-efficacy and avoidant coping between the Honors and At-Risk groups. The current study provides additional information and support that success for students with PTSS may be explained by their confidence in their abilities to control their attention and using less avoidant coping strategies. However, as a group, students with PTSS need strategies for increasing their attentional control, self-efficacy beliefs, and adaptive coping

Choice-based Games and Resilience Building of Gender Non-conforming Individuals: An Exploratory Study

Research on gaming and user experience of the general population has been abundant, but gender non-conforming (GNC) individuals’ experiences had been largely overlooked until recent years. Using a phenomenological approach, the goal of this study is to find deeper understanding of this phenomenon by exploring what gaming experiences shape the identity of the participants. The exploration of gaming and gender non-conforming experiences through interviews can fill a gap in the current literature on gaming culture regarding this specific population. By taking a closer look at this topic, patterns and themes within games may provide insight to potential resilience building activities for GNC people

Liquid-immersible electrostatic ultrasonic transducer

A broadband megahertz range electrostatic acoustic transducer for use in a liquid environment is described. A liquid tight enclosure includes a metallic conducting membrane as part of its outside surface and has a means inside the liquid tight enclosure for applying a tension to the membrane and for mounting an electrode such that the flat end of the electrode is aproximately parallel to the membrane. The invention includes structure and a method for ensuring that the membrane and the flat end of the electrode are exactly parallel and a fixed predetermined distance from each other

Evidence for a black-hole in the X-ray transient XTE J1859+226

We present the results of time-resolved optical photometry and spectroscopy of the X-ray transient XTE J1859+226 (V406 Vul). Photometric observations taken during 2000 and 2008 reveals the presence of the secondary star's ellipsoidal modulation. Further photometry obtained in 2010 shows the system ~1 mag brighter than its quiescence level and the ellipsoidal modulation diluted by strong flaring activity. Spectroscopic data obtained with the 10.4-m GTC in 2010 reveals radial velocity variations of ~500 km/s over 3 h. A simultaneous fit to the photometry and spectroscopy using sinusoids to represent the secondary star's ellipsoidal and radial velocity variations, yields an orbital period of 6.58+-0.05 h and a secondary star's radial velocity semi-amplitude of K_2= 541+-70 km/s. The implied mass function is f(M)=4.5+-0.6 Msun, significantly lower than previously reported but consistent with the presence of a black hole in XTE J1859+226. The lack of eclipses sets an upper limit to the inclination of 70 degrees which yields a lower limit to the black hole mass of 5.42 Msun.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Contains 5 pages and 4 figure

Protein synthesis, degradation, and energy metabolism in T cell immunity

T cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation into effector and memory states involve massive remodeling of T cell size and molecular content and create a massive increase in demand for energy and amino acids. Protein synthesis is an energy- and resource-demanding process; as such, changes in T cell energy production are intrinsically linked to proteome remodeling. In this review, we discuss how protein synthesis and degradation change over the course of a T cell immune response and the crosstalk between these processes and T cell energy metabolism. We highlight how the use of high-resolution mass spectrometry to analyze T cell proteomes can improve our understanding of how these processes are regulated

The 7Q10 in South Carolina Water-Quality Regulation: Nearly Fifty Years Later

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Detection of Acrylamide in Food Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Acrylamide is a suspected carcinogen required to be listed on food labels in California and products commercially traded within the European Union. Foods like potato products, coffee, crackers, etc., are produced at elevated temperatures, which provide conditions that convert the amino acids, Asn, Arg and Lys, in combination with reducing sugars, into acrylamide via the Maillard reaction. Current methods to detect and quantitate acrylamide in food are costly, time consuming, and dependent on expensive scientific instrumentation (i.e., Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)). Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is inexpensive, fast, easy to use, and applicable to acrylamide detection. The purpose of this study is to establish a standard method for quantitative detection of acrylamide in food using NIR spectroscopy. Acrylamide extractions from potato products will be monitored by NIR and the results validated using LC-MS. A standard acrylamide curve, in solution with a coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.966 and a standard curve in solid matrix with an R2 value of 0.914 was established. A standard matrix spike will be obtained from acrylamide content measured in actual coffee and potato products to determine acrylamide content using NIR coupled with Partial Least Squares computational software. The NIR method will provide a fast and economical alternative to traditional food safety and security industry standards