Coidempotent subcoalgebras and short exact sequences of finitary 2-representations

In this article, we study short exact sequences of finitary 2-representations of a weakly fiat 2-category. We provide a correspondence between such short exact sequences with fixed middle term and coidempotent subcoalgebras of a coalgebra 1-morphism defining this middle term. We additionally relate these to recollements of the underlying abelian 2-representations

Scholarly Communication and Publishing Lunch and Learn Talks

This series of talks focuses on issues in scholarly communication and publishing presented to University Library System (ULS), University of Pittsburgh colleagues by staff members of the ULS Office of Scholarly Communication and Publishing. Many of these talks feature "toolbox" tips on how to apply knowledge gained from the talks. Links to recordings of the talks are provided when available. For topics and presentations, see the record for each talk

Writing Business Plans for a Life Science Startup or Clinical Program

The business plan is an important tool for raising capital, finding strategic partners, recruit­ing, and providing an internal guide on how to drive a company’s growth. The plan should include an executive overview, introduction to the management team, market and competitive analyses, value proposition, operating plan, financial projections, and potential risks. The plan should be concise, well written, and dynamic. Details behind key assumptions should be included. Common business plan pitfalls include focusing only on the product without framing it in the context of the consumers/patients, the market dynamics, and the ecosystem in which it will be launched, as well as giving financials that are too aggressive and precise given the stage the company is in. New founders should consider engaging experts to help test assumptions as they develop the key parts of the business plan, including the financial projections. Many of the same concepts for writing a business plan for a startup apply to creating a business plan for a new clinical program or expanding operations within a health system

The Behavioral and Neurophysiologic Effects of Acute Dopamine Receptor Blockade in the Macaque Striatum

The pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) has long been attributed to dopamine (DA) loss in the striatum. However, it remains unclear whether simple underactivation of striatal DA receptors is sufficient to induce parkinsonian signs. To test this hypothesis, we performed unilateral infusions of cis-flupenthixol (cis-flu; D1/D2 antagonist) into the macaque putamen, while the macaque performed a reaching task. Twenty-six cis-flu and three saline infusions were performed across three hemispheres in two macaques. Neuronal and local field potential activity was recorded simultaneously from cortex, globus pallidus externa (GPe), and globus pallidus interna (GPi) during most infusions. The reaching task required each macaque to make visually-cued reaching movements to a target for a reward. The macaque was then required to return its hand to a home position without external cues. Injection-related slowing of movement initiation or execution was thought to reflect akinetic- or bradykinetic-like effects, respectively. Following 8/26 cis-flu infusions, macaques exhibited a marked slowing in the initiation of self-generated return movements (95% increase). This was the most severe behavioral effect of cis-flu infusions. The initiation and execution of externally-cued movements were also prolonged following 9/26 and 6/26 injections, but only by 20% and 15% respectively. In general, akinetic-like effects occurred twice as often as bradykinetic-like effects (p<0.05, 2= 4.1). Interestingly, akinetic and bradykinetic effects could be elicited independently. In addition to affecting behavior, intrastriatal DA receptor blockade also reduced resting and peri-movement activity in the cortex and suppressed resting GPe activity. Burstiness, synchrony, and oscillatory activity in cortex were increased following intrastriatal DA receptor blockade as well. Oscillatory activity was also increased in the GPe and GPi. In conclusion, suppression of striatal DA activity was sufficient to induce akinetic-like signs, most severely affecting movement initiation during self-generated movements. Furthermore, distinct parkinsonian-like signs could be elicited independently, suggesting that separate signs may have unique pathophysiologic substrates. Intrastriatal DA receptor blockade also induced changes in cortical and BG activity that were consistent with findings in the parkinsonian state. Interestingly, many of these neuronal activity changes were specific to cortex, implicating an important role for cortical activity in the development of akinetic parkinsonian signs

Increasing Civic Engagement and Awareness of Poverty & Homelessness Through Social Media (Project Hope London)

As the Project Hope London (PHL) Social Media Team, the purpose of our project was to utilize social media to support PHL in their goal of helping to improve the overall health of individuals experiencing homelessness. We aimed to broaden the organization’s audience through Instagram as this popular platform has the potential to reach younger demographics, such as the Western student body, and local businesses. Our team took control of their Instagram page to revitalize their social media presence. We redesigned the bio, curated posts with modern aesthetics, and ran a social media campaign to further boost engagement with the organization. These steps led to an increase in Instagram analytics metrics, including follower count, followers aged 18-24, accounts reached, website taps, and post interactions. In addition, our social media campaign for a toiletries drive on Western’s campus helped to collect $858 worth of toiletries that would have otherwise required additional purchases to be distributed during PHL’s weekly outreach. The campaign also led to collaborations with several campus partners, thereby raising awareness among various student groups and on campus. The combination of revamping our community partner’s social media presence and running a social media campaign has resulted in increased awareness and support of their mission in addressing the health needs of individuals without housing. We recommend continuing to reach out to local organizations on Instagram, and following similarly themed and engaging posts in future promotions to ensure that social media is used to its fullest potential to gain support

Scholarly Communication and Publishing Lunch and Learn Talk #1: ULS Journal Publishing -- Why We Do It

This series of talks focuses on issues in scholarly communication and publishing presented to University Library System (ULS), University of Pittsburgh colleagues by staff members of the ULS Office of Scholarly Communication and Publishing. Many of these talks feature "toolbox" tips on how to apply knowledge gained from the talks. Links to recordings of the talks are provided when available. For topics and presentations, see the record for each talk

Academic Self-Regulation in Three Children with ADHD

The current research aimed to submit a proposal for an intervention based on behavior modification training in academic self-regulation program for elementary school students in order to improve their academic performance. The program was developed through a quantitative methodology in which data were collected through field observations, interval rate records, permanent products and the application of the Self-Regulation Assessment in School Activities Questionnaire (Flores & Cerino, 2000); 22 sixth-grade students participated, divided into two groups (experimental/control) from an urban private elementary school in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Within the experimental group, work was focused on three children with disorder Attention Deficit (ADD) and disorder attention deficit with hyperactivity (ADHD) through behavior modification to ensure greater control over their learning process. The results show the effectiveness of the intervention in the students, since it is possible to increase self-regulation in the academic field. From the improvements found in academic performance, it can be concluded that the knowledge of students about their own ability in problem solving and supporting actions that impact on their tasks’ outcomes, are aspects that make a difference have an effect on the academic performance which is reflected in the scorings