Southern Illinois: An Analysis of Opioid Prevention Strategies

This research analyzes the opioid epidemic in Southern Illinois and evaluates the effectiveness of current prevention and intervention programs

Towards an Eternity: Celebrating The Association of Black Psychologists’ 50th Anniversary

In response to the American Psychological Association’s practice of excluding Black students and marginalizing Black professionals, the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) was formed. ABPsi is an organization essentially designed to help remedy the effects of racism and oppression on Black communities in America and throughout the diaspora. Through a tradition of anti-racist and Afrikan-centered research, activism, and teaching, ABPsi has significantly contributed to the advancement of the field of psychology and to the well-being of Black people in the 50 years since its inception. This article highlights the formation, work, and legacy of this organization

Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Challenge: Prioritizing range-shifting invasive plants High-impact species coming to the Northeast

Prevention of new invasions is a cost-effective way to manage invasive species and is most effective when emerging invaders are identified and prioritized before they arrive. Climate change is projected to bring nearly 100 new invasive plants to the Northeast. However, these plants are likely to have different types of impacts, making some a higher concern than others. Here, we summarize the results of original RISCC research that identifies high priority, range-shifting invasive plants based on their potential impacts

Cohort Analysis of Four Graduating Classes of Occupational Therapy Students\u27 Knowledge of Aging

At the same time that the number of senior adults in the United States is steadily rising, there is also a rising shortage of allied health care professionals, including occupational therapists, to meet the current and expected needs of the senior adult population. There are national standards that all occupational therapy programs must meet; however, there is not a set national curriculum. It is assumed that students will enter their respective occupational therapy programs with a base knowledge of aging due to prerequisite requirements. To test that assumption, with Institutional Review Board approval, over four consecutive years 192 first-year, first-semester occupational therapy students were administered the Facts on Aging Quiz along with additional questions regarding year of birth and anticipated employment. Results showed that first-year occupational therapy students’ knowledge of aging was poor (67.9% mean) regardless of their age or population work preference. Most students stated that pediatrics—only 11.5% stated geriatrics—was their preferred population with which to work. Statistical tests indicated a trend of decreasing mean scores of the cohorts. If this trend of decreasing gerontological literacy exists in occupational therapy, other health care disciplines may be experiencing similar fates. Health care education should meet the needs of society and it appears there may be a significant gap that needs to be addressed to prepare health care practitioners to best meet the needs of the current population. Based on these study results, more emphasis needs to be placed on gerontological literacy for new occupational therapy students

Marketing a Masters of Healthcare Informatics (MHI) Degree Program

This proposal for survey research, is intended include Health Care Management student researchers, to gather information to better identify potential MHI students, and utilize specialized techniques and electronic methods to promote student enrollment

High Temperature Microwave Dielectric Properties of JSC-1AC Lunar Simulant

Microwave heating has many potential lunar applications including sintering regolith for lunar surface stabilization and heating regolith for various oxygen production reactors. The microwave properties of lunar simulants must be understood so this technology can be applied to lunar operations. Dielectric properties at microwave frequencies for a common lunar simulant, JSC-1AC, were measured up to 1100 C, which is approximately the melting point. The experimentally determined dielectric properties included real and imaginary permittivity (epsilon', epsilon"), loss tangent (tan delta), and half-power depth, the di stance at which a material absorbs 50% of incident microwave energy. Measurements at 2.45 GHz revealed tan delta of JSC-1A increases from 0.02 at 25 C to 0.31 at 110 C. The corresponding half-power depth decreases from a peak of 286 mm at 110 C, to 13 mm at 1100 C. These data indicate that JSC-1AC becomes more absorbing, and thus a better microwave heater as temperature increases. A half-power depth maximum at 100-200 C presents a barrier to direct microwave heating at low temperatures. Microwave heating experiments confirm the sluggish heating effect of weak absorption below 200 C, and increasingly strong absorption above 200 C, leading to rapid heating and melting of JSC-1AC

Platinum-Gallium (Pt-Ga) Intermetallic Alloys for Propane Dehydrogenation

Natural gas is a source of energy for the United States. The Center for Innovative Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) plans to use shale gas extracted from shale rock formations as a bridge fuel to replace coal and oil while the US transitions to renewable energy like solar and wind. After methane, the largest components in shale gas are light alkanes such as ethane and propane. These can be catalytically converted to olefins, which can be further reacted to produce fuels, for example. Olefins from alkanes can be accomplished by dehydrogenation by promoted platinum alloys. This study compares the structure and chemical properties of Pt-Ga alloys on silica (SiO2) and ceria (CeO2) supports to determine if the support plays an important role in this chemistry. The catalysts containing different Pt:Ga ratios were synthesized using incipient wetness impregnation. These catalysts were characterized by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) to determine if an alloy was formed, and if so, the structure of that alloy. Finally, the catalysts were tested in a fixed bed reactor, where it was found that the silica-supported Pt-Ga alloy has a selectivity of \u3e90% towards propylene. Understanding catalyst design can lead to higher catalytic conversion of substances and potentially an improved selectivity for the formation of preferred products. Pt-Ga on ceria is tested for comparison and there appears to behave differently from that on silica demonstrating the importance of the role of the support on these catalysts

Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Challenge: Double Trouble. Understanding risks from invasive species + climate change

Individually, invasive species and climate change are major threats to global ecosystems. Together they create new challenges for effective management. Before we can design management strategies to respond to this double trouble, we need to understand how these two forms of global change interact

Acute B-Cell Inhibition by Soluble Antigen Arrays Is Valency-Dependent and Predicts Immunomodulation in Splenocytes

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Biomacromolecules, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00328.Antigen valency plays a fundamental role in directing the nature of an immune response to be stimulatory or tolerogenic. Soluble Antigen Arrays (SAgAs) are an antigen-specific immunotherapy that combats autoimmunity through the multivalent display of autoantigen. While mechanistic studies have shown SAgAs to induce T and B-cell anergy, the effect of SAgA valency has never been experimentally tested. Here, SAgAs of discrete antigen valencies were synthesized by click chemistry and evaluated for acute B-cell signaling inhibition as well as downstream immunomodulatory effects in splenocytes. Initial studies using the Raji B-cell line demonstrated SAgA valency dictated the extent of calcium flux. Lower valency constructs elicited the largest reductions in B-cell activation. In splenocytes from mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the same valency-dependent effects were evident in the downregulation of the costimulatory marker CD86. The reduction of calcium flux observed in Raji B-cells correlated strongly with downregulation in splenocyte CD86 expression after 72 hours. Here, a thorough analysis of SAgA antigenic valency illustrates that low, but not monovalent, presentation of autoantigen was ideal for eliciting the most potent immunomodulatory effects.Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship at the University of KansasNIH T32 GM00854