Dysfunctional

Dysfunctional examines the relationships and experiences that contribute to my art. I grew up in an unsafe environment, with dysfunctional people. This work serves as a peek inside some of those emotions and explores issues of codependence and abusive family systems that suffer but endure. There is no victim in this story only a strong survivor who wants to cultivate awareness through her work. I have revisited this subject as a way to overcome shame. By being vulnerable and sharing my experiences I am able to heal

Cardiovascular Health Behaviors and Risk Factors Among Argentine and American University Students

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in adults in both theUnited States and Argentina. Scientific literature has consistently shown the effects of behaviors and risk factors on cardiovascular health; however, few have investigated cardiovascular behaviors and risk factors in early adulthood. We assessed the associations between main cardiovascular behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors among 594 young adults in a crosscultural analysis between the United States and Argentina through a webbased survey and vital statistics measurements. We tested our data through principle component analysis, bivariate correlations, and independent sample T-tests.After thorough analysis we saw that, cross culturally, correlations exist between cardiovascular risk factors and behaviors that are consistent in both populations. Health habit, health knowledge, health history and BMI are all significantly correlated with mean arterial pressure. T-tests showed that population groups with a higher risk factor mean also had lower behavior means, indicating that populations with poor cardiovascular behaviors correlate with an accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors. In conclusion, young adults with low prevalence of cardiovascular health behaviors have low prevalence of cardiovascular health risk factors

Cardiovascular Health Behaviors and Risk Factors Among Argentine and American University Students

Purpose: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in adults in both the United States and Argentina. The scientific literature has consistently shown the effects of behaviors and risk factors on cardiovascular health; however, most studies of modifiable behaviors and CVD risk factors examine older adults and elderly, and few have investigated behaviors and CVD risk factors in early adulthood. We assessed the associations between main cardiovascular behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors among 1,000 young adults in a cross-cultural analysis between the United States and Argentina. Methods: A web-based survey assessed student development in the areas of demographic information, current medical information, personal health history, family health history, personal habits, and knowledge of cardiovascular health. We organized our survey and vital statistics measurements into eight variables: Body Mass Index (BMI), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Resting Pulse, Country, Gender, Health History Score, Health Knowledge Score, Health Habit Score. We tested our data through principle component analysis, bivariate correlations, and independent sample T-tests. Results: Overall correlations showed that MAP is significantly negatively correlated with health history score and health knowledge score. In addition, MAP is significantly positively correlated with BMI. We also analyzed correlations by gender and country and found significant correlations there as well. By means of T-tests, we found significant differences between the means of MAP, health history score, health habit score, and knowledge score between both the female populations of Argentina and the US and the male populations of Argentina and the US. Conclusions: In conclusion, young adults with low prevalence of cardiovascular health behaviors have low prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors. After thorough analysis we saw that, cross culturally, correlations exist between CVD risk factors and CV behaviors that are consistent in both populations. Health habit, health knowledge, health history and BMI are all significantly correlated with mean arterial pressure. T-tests showed that population groups with higher CVD risk factor means also had lower behavior means, indicating that populations with poor CVD behavior correlate with an accumulation of CVD risk factors

Macrocerebellum: Neuroimaging and Clinical Features of a Newly Recognized Condition

Other than hamartomatous enlargement of the cerebellum as in Lhermitte-Duclos syndrome, diffuse enlargement of the cerebellum is not clearly described. We report four patients (ages 9 months to 2 years) with diffusely enlarged cerebelli as identified by measurement of the cerebellum and comparison to age appropriate normal values. The cerebellar measurements were determined in absolute numbers and expressed as ratios of cerebellum to whole brain and supratentorial brain. The clinical features of these four children (3 boys, 1 girl) consistently include global developmental delay, tone abnormalities, preserved reflexes, delayed or abnormal maturation of the visual system (oculomotor apraxia), and deficient or delayed myelination of cerebral white matter. The etiology of the macrocerebellum is unknown but we propose that the cerebellum is responding to the elaboration of growth factors intended to augment the slow development of cerebral structures. Regardless of the etiology, the finding of a macrocerebellum appears to allow the clinician to predict the clinical features of the patient and probably represents a marker for disturbed cerebral development. (J Child Neurol 1997;12:365-368).Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Exploring the barriers and facilitators to use of point of care tests in family medicine clinics in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care tests (POCTs) are increasingly used in family medicine clinics in the United States. While the diagnostics industry predicts significant growth in the number and scope of POCTs deployed, little is known about clinic-level attitudes towards implementation of these tests. We aimed to explore attitudes of primary care providers, laboratory and clinic administrative/support staff to identify barriers and facilitators to use of POCTs in family medicine. METHODS: Seven focus groups and four semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 52 clinic staff from three family medicine clinics in two US states. Qualitative data from this exploratory study was analyzed using the constant comparison method. RESULTS: Five themes were identified which included the impact of POCTs on clinical decision-making; perceived inaccuracy of POCTs; impact of POCTs on staff and workflow; perceived patient experience and patient-provider relationship, and issues related to cost, regulation and quality control. Overall, there were mixed attitudes towards use of POCTs. Participants believed the added data provided by POCT may facilitate prompt clinical management, diagnostic certainty and patient-provider communication. Perceived barriers included inaccuracy of POCT, shortage of clinic staff to support more testing, and uncertainty about their cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: The potential benefits of using POCTs in family medicine clinics are countered by several barriers. Clinical utility of many POCTs will depend on the extent to which these barriers are addressed. Engagement between clinical researchers, industry, health insurers and the primary care community is important to ensure that POCTs align with clinic and patient needs

Qualitative study of primary care clinicians\u27 views on point-of-care testing for C-reactive protein for acute respiratory tract infections in family medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinicians views of the barriers and facilitators to use of C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care tests (POCT) in US family medicine clinics for the management of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in adults. SETTING: Five family medicine clinics across two US states. PARTICIPANTS: 30 clinicians including 18 physicians, 9 physician residents, 2 physician assistants and 1 nurse practitioner, took part in the study. DESIGN: A qualitative study using a grounded theory approach to thematically analyse focus group interviews. RESULTS: These clinicians had limited access to diagnostic tests for patients with ARTI, and very little knowledge of CRP POCT. Three major themes were identified and included the potential clinical role of CRP POCT, concerns related to implementing CRP POCT and evidence needed prior to wider adoption in family medicine. Clinicians believed CRP POCT could support decision-making for some presentations of ARTIs and patient populations when used in conjunction with clinical criteria. Clinicians had concerns about possible overuse and inaccuracy of CRP POCT which they believed might increase antibiotic prescribing rates. Other concerns identified included integration of the test with clinic workflows and cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians stand at the forefront of antibiotic stewardship efforts, but have few diagnostic tests to help them confidently manage ARTIs. CRP POCT may facilitate some aspects of clinical practice. Incorporating CRP POCT with clinical guidelines may strengthen utility of this test, when there is diagnostic uncertainty

Simultaneous assessment of regional distributions of atrophy across the neuraxis in MS patients

BACKGROUND: The ability to assess brain and cord atrophy simultaneously would improve the efficiency of MRI to track disease evolution. OBJECTIVE: To test a promising tool to simultaneously map the regional distribution of atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients across the brain and cord. METHODS: Voxel-based morphometry combined with a statistical parametric mapping probabilistic brain-spinal cord (SPM-BSC) template was applied to standard T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans covering the brain and cervical cord from 37 MS patients and 20 healthy controls (HC). We also measured the cord area at C2-C3 with a semi-automatic segmentation method using (i) the same T1-weighted acquisitions used for the new voxel-based analysis and (ii) dedicated spinal cord phase sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) acquisitions. Cervical cord findings derived from the three approaches were compared to each other and the goodness to fit to clinical scores was assessed by regression analyses. RESULTS: The SPM-BSC approach revealed a severity-dependent pattern of atrophy across the cervical cord and thalamus in MS patients when compared to HCs. The magnitude of cord atrophy was confirmed by the semi-automatic extraction approach at C2-C3 using both standard brain T1-weighted and advanced cord dedicated acquisitions. Associations between atrophy of cord and thalamus with disability and cognition were demonstrated. CONCLUSION: Atrophy in the brain and cervical cord of MS patients can be identified simultaneously and rapidly at the voxel-level. The SPM-BSC approach yields similar results as available standard processing tools with the added advantage of performing the analysis simultaneously and faster

Green Infrastructure and Placemaking Strategies for the Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit Project

Report completed by students enrolled in SUST 4004: Sustainable Community Capstone, taught by Amir Nadav in Spring 2019.This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The Rush Line is a future bus rapid transit line that will provide all-day, high-frequency transit service in Ramsey County between Saint Paul and White Bear Lake by way of Maplewood, Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, and White Bear Township. The new infrastructure that will be constructed as part of the project will have storm water impacts that will need to be mitigated. Ramsey County project lead Frank Alarcon worked with students in Amir Nadav’s SUST 4004: Sustainable Communities Capstone to explore context-appropriate storm water management techniques that could enhance the aesthetics and recreational value of the areas surrounding the Rush Line’s stations and guideway. The students' final report is available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance community resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

Using orthographic neighborhood size manipulations to investigate memory deficits in aging memory

Abstract: In three previous studies, manipulations of orthographic neighborhood size and orienting task were used to differentiate between item-specific and relational processing in young adults (aged 18-35) in standard recognition tasks. The current study attempts to investigate memory deficits in older adults (aged 65+) using similar manipulations. Experiment 1 manipulated orthographic neighborhood size within an item recognition task. Young adults demonstrated a standard mirror effect, showing more accurate performance for low-N words. No such effect was found in older adults, possibly indicating a deficit in item-specific processing. Experiment 2 included an orienting task during study to emphasize a specific type of processing. While younger adults' performance was influenced by orienting task, older adults showed consistently better performance for High-N words. These results suggest that older adults show a deficit in item-specific processing, relying more on relational processing regardless of task

Using orthographic neighborhood size manipulations to investigate memory deficits in aging memory

In three previous studies, manipulations of orthographic neighborhood size and orienting task were used to differentiate between item-specific and rela-tional processing in young adults (aged 18–35) in standard recognition tasks. The current study attempts to investigate memory deficits in older adults (aged 65+) using similar manipulations. Experiment 1 manipulated orthographic neighbor-hood size within an item recognition task. Young adults demonstrated a standard mirror effect, showing more accurate performance for low-N words. No such effect was found in older adults, possibly indicating a deficit in item-specific process-ing. Experiment 2 included an orienting task during study to emphasize a specific type of processing. While younger adults’ performance was influenced by orienting task, older adults showed consistently better performance for High-N words. These results suggest that older adults show a deficit in item-specific processing, relying more on relational processing regardless of task