The Difference a University Makes: An Updated Impact Analysis of the University at Buffalo

The following presents findings of an economic impact assessment of the University at Buffalo conducted by the UB Regional Institute at the request of the UB Office of External Affairs. This analysis updates and expands upon a 2007 economic impact study of the university (see The Difference a University Makes: An Impact Analysis of the University at Buffalo, August 2007, available at http://www.buffalo.edu/community/pdfs/UB_Impact_Analysis.pdf.) The assessment captures the economic impacts UB leverages in the region – the City of Buffalo and Erie and Niagara Counties specifically – and New York State more broadly. Findings reflect university expenditures from fiscal year 2006‐07 (the 2007 report assessed impacts for fiscal year 2005‐06). The following also projects UB’s local and statewide impact for 2023‐2024, the anticipated timeframe for full implementation of UB’s strategic plan for growth. Supporting charts for these analyses are also provided in the Appendix

“You Can’t Change What You Were”: Liminality and the Process of Role Exit Among Former Amish

Aside from reality television, which often depicts former Amish as raucous partiers, many documentaries and memoirs portray ex-Amish as runaways, leaving in the night with nothing but the clothes on their back. As the gap between “the world” and the Amish closes, how accurate is this portrayal of leaving the Amish for the roughly 15% who choose to leave? How do ex-Amish negotiate the transition from Amish to English (non-Amish) life? This study, based on interviews with former Amish, explores the difficult decision to leave the Amish church as well as the challenges of transitioning into English life and negotiating an ex-role. Drawing on Victor Turner’s concept of liminality, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital, and Ebaugh’s model of role exit, I explore the multiple and conflicting meanings of leaving an ethnoreligious group. The findings suggest that the current literature on ex-Amish fails to capture the diversity of former Amish experiences, as more liberal Amish in the sample typically had a smoother transition into English life. However, this study shows that issues of embodied cultural capital and a state of liminality persist long after one has exited a role in an ethnoreligious group

Occupational Therapy\u27s Role in Helping Individuals in the US Justice System Transition from Incarceration to the Community

Individuals with cognitive disabilities face unique challenges in their transition and integration from prison settings. Occupational therapy offers tailored, client-centered reentry services to address their needs and the evidence on impact is limited. The purpose of this project was to examine the efficacy of strengths-based, occupational therapy-led reentry services on the reentry of individuals on probation and parole with a cognitive challenge into society following incarceration. I used a retrospective, mixed methods design to complete this project. Community-based reentry services were provided post-release in the local St. Louis community. Participants included both occupational therapy practitioners tracking process and impact measures, and individuals on probation and parole receiving group occupational therapy services. Skilled occupational therapy services were provided for this population in both individualized and group settings. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to assess occupational performance problems and associated goals, and client files were analyzed to understand facilitators and barriers to participation, employment and housing status, and recidivism. A post-intervention survey was administered to learn more about client perceptions. 19 adults (16 male, 3 female) participated in the program. There was a statistically significant clinical improvement for participation in priority occupations and satisfaction with performance for over 50% (n=11) of participants as measured on the COPM. After participation in the program, 100% of individuals maintained stable housing, and only one individual was rearrested. Findings support the feasibility of the Occupational Therapy Transition and Integration program as an efficacious method of facilitating the successful re-entry of formerly incarcerated individuals

Thin aligned organic polymer films for liquid crystal devices

This project was designed to investigate the possibility of producing alignment layers for liquid crystal devices by cross-linking thin films containing anisotropic polymer bound chromophores via irradiation with polarised ultra violet light. Photocross-linkable polymers find use in microelectronics, liquid crystal displays, printing and UV curable lacquers and inks; so there is an increasing incentive for the development of new varieties of photopolymers in general. The synthesis and characterisation of two new photopolymers that are suitable as potential alignment layers for liquid crystal devices are reported in this thesis. The first polymer contains the anthracene chromophore attached via a spacer unit to a methacrylate backbone and the second used a similarly attached aryl azide group. Copolymers of the new monomers with methyl methacrylate were investigated to establish reactivity ratios in order to understand composition drift during polymerisation

ECONOMIC REPLACEMENT OF A HETEROGENEOUS HERD

A model was developed and used to determine the optimal slaughter weights of pigs with heterogeneous growth raised in a 1,000 head barn and marketed in truckload groups. Explicitly recognizing the heterogeneity of pig weights and marketing the herd over time in truckload batches can substantially increase profit.Marketing,

Does Downhill Running Alter Monocyte Susceptibility to Apoptosis?

Introduction/purpose: Recovery from muscle damage involves a type of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. Damage Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) are released after muscle damage and may cause premature apoptosis in monocytes infiltrating the damaged site. This may alter the time course of events towards recovery. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate if downhill running causes a change in the susceptibility of monocytes to apoptosis. Methods: Participants (5 male, 6 female) completed a downhill running protocol consisting of 6-5 minute bouts at a speed of 6-9mph on a -15% grade treadmill. Venous blood samples were collected immediately pre-exercise (PRE), in addition to 4 -h, 24 -h and 48 -h post-exercise. Creatine kinase (CK) was measured to give an indication of muscle damage. Monocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry for expression of multicaspase and annexin v reagent was used to detect changes in the plasma membrane. A MILLIPLEX MAP human early apoptosis magnetic bead 7-plex kit (EMD Millipore, Billerica, MA) was used to assess the relative concentration of phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt), Bcl-2 associated death promoter (BAD), B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), active caspase-8, active caspase-9, c jun N terminal kinase (JNK) and tumor protein p53 by Luminex multiplex assay. Results: CK peaked at 24- h. Monocytes showed greater expression of multicaspase at 24 –h and 48 -h than at PRE. Bcl-2, p53 and caspase-8 were all significantly greater at 24 –h than at PRE. Conclusion: Downhill running did alter the apoptotic response of monocytes and therefore may be important in the recovery process from muscle damage

End of One Way

Describes the role of three South Minneapolis community-based organizations. Demonstrates how the organizations form partnerships and share leadership with their communities. Explores a set of themes derived from each example of community engagement

Anesthesia for Non-Cardiac Surgery for the LVAD Patient

Heart failure is poorly tolerated and end stage heart failure (classified as New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV) has a two-year survival with medical therapy that approaches 0%. Innovation in this sphere has yielded mechanical therapies, principally the left ventricular assist device (LVAD). In the last decade one-year survival rates of Left ventricular assist device patients have increased from 52–83%. As this therapy is more commonly used to treat advanced heart failure, coupled with the increase in patient survival after implantation, patients are increasingly encountered in the peri-operative arena requiring anesthesia for non-cardiac surgeries. The goal of this chapter is to provide the non-cardiac trained anesthesia provider a primer on what an LVAD is, how it functions, the physiological changes that occur with implantation, and considerations for administering anesthesia to patients with LVADs for non-cardiac surgery. Review of articles from 2018 to 2022 found from a search on PubMed and Google Scholar using the keywords: “Left Ventricular Assist Device”, “LVAD”, “anesthesia”, “non-cardiac surgery”, “Doppler blood pressure measurement”, “VAD coordinator”. Non-cardiac trained anesthesia providers can safely administer the anesthetics to LVAD patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery as long as appropriate considerations are taken

Graft-versus-Host Disease-Like Pattern in Mycophenolate Mofetil Related Colon Mucosal Injury: Role of FISH in Establishing the Diagnosis

Mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept®), a commonly used immunosuppressive drug in solid organ transplantation, has recently been shown to cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-like changes in the gastrointestinal tract. On rare occasions, true GVHD has also been documented in the gastrointestinal tract of solid organ transplant patients. Because the treatment for these two entities is different, i.e. removal of the offending agent versus the administration of steroids, proper identification of the cause is imperative. We present a case of mycophenolate mofetil colitis mimicking grade I GVHD of the gut. In our study, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization for the Y chromosome to document the lack of male donor lymphocytes in the female recipient colon biopsy. We suggest that molecular techniques including fluorescence in situ hybridization could be used to discriminate between MMF-related colitis and true GVHD in order to help guide therapy

A native promoter and inclusion of an intron is necessary for efficient expression of GFP or mRFP in Armillaria mellea

Armillaria mellea is a significant pathogen that causes Armillaria root disease on numerous hosts in forests, gardens and agricultural environments worldwide. Using a yeast-adapted pCAMBIA0380 Agrobacterium vector, we have constructed a series of vectors for transformation of A. mellea, assembled using yeast-based recombination methods. These have been designed to allow easy exchange of promoters and inclusion of introns. The vectors were first tested by transformation into basidiomycete Clitopilus passeckerianus to ascertain vector functionality then used to transform A. mellea. We show that heterologous promoters from the basidiomycetes Agaricus bisporus and Phanerochaete chrysosporium that were used successfully to control the hygromycin resistance cassette were not able to support expression of mRFP or GFP in A. mellea. The endogenous A. mellea gpd promoter delivered efficient expression, and we show that inclusion of an intron was also required for transgene expression. GFP and mRFP expression was stable in mycelia and fluorescence was visible in transgenic fruiting bodies and GFP was detectable in planta. Use of these vectors has been successful in giving expression of the fluorescent proteins GFP and mRFP in A. mellea, providing an additional molecular tool for this pathogen