Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy

This poster focuses on chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and the complex pathophysiological processes associated with the disorder. CIDP is an autoimmune disease impacting the peripheral nervous system by attacking the myelin sheath that surrounds nerves. Specifically, T lymphocytes use many mechanisms to promote cytotoxic attacks on the myelin sheath. Symptoms present over a period of several months and usually begin with motor weakness. Several treatments are available such as corticosteroids, IVIG, and immunomodulating drugs. However, as many subtypes of CIDP exist, more research is needed to provide patient-specific treatment regimens. An overview of the pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, treatments, and implications for nursing care are provided

Embracing Active Curiosity: How It Benefits the Stage Manager

There are many traits associated with a good stage manager: organization, punctuality, decorum, intelligence, and the ability to handle stressful situations to name a few. All of these and more are necessary for a stage manager to perform his or her job effectively. But what of those stage managers who want to go beyond “good” and “effective” to “great” and “integral”? I believe the most important quality for a great stage manager to have is not a trait so much as it is a drive—curiosity. Curiosity is often ignored in favor of the above-mentioned traits, but it is essential to gathering and cultivating the many skills and attributes valued in a professional and experienced stage manager. This paper will set out to prove that it is possible to actively train curiosity like any other skill, and that this conscious fostering of curiosity is of great use to the professional stage manager. The first section defines the psychological classifications of curiosity as well as what I term ‘active curiosity’. This section also examines the concept of curiosity through a sociocultural filter as a means to demonstrate its nature as a trainable trait. The second section explores areas of brain science—neuronal plasticity and learning—evidencing that active curiosity not only causes conscious learning, but can also assist in the fuller absorption of information. The third section transitions into a more direct focus on how active curiosity can benefit the stage manager, first through the most obvious route: the continual acquisition of new skills as a jack-of-all-trades. The fourth section delves into the effect of curiosity on interpersonal relationships and leadership/management styles, specifically within the theatre. Finally, this essay will turn its focus to the personal, emotional, and health benefits that can be gained from employing active curiosity over time

Students with Orthopedic Impairments\u27 Perspectives Toward Integrated Physical Education

Students with disabilities are educated in general physical education classes with their same aged peers more now than ever before (Governmental Accountability Office [GAO], 2010), yet little is known about how those with orthopedic impairments experience these integrated classes. Additionally, while a plethora of strategies are described as promoting ‘inclusion’, very few ‘inclusive’ strategies have been problematized. This dissertation followed a two-study format. The first study explored the lived experiences of students with orthopedic impairments in integrated physical education classes, and the second study examined how students with orthopedic impairments experienced strategies identified in the literature to support ‘inclusion’. An interpretative phenomenological analysis research approach was used in each, and six students with orthopedic impairments (age 10-14 years) served as participants. Data sources included semi-structured, audiotaped interviews, reflective interview notes, and a written prompt. Based on data analysis, three themes developed in the first study: “Without it, they probably would like, just treat me normal”: visibility, disclosure, and expectations; “I sit out”: limited participation and a lack of modifications/accommodations; and “PE doesn’t feel great”: social interactions and perception of self; and four themes arose in the second study: “It’s kind of embarrassing”: experiences with support; “I don’t want to be different”: equipment, activity, and rule modifications; “I like to be a part of the conversation”: autonomy and choice in PE; and “I would rather be like the other students”: discussing disability. The themes highlight the marginalization and lack of access that the participants encountered during their integrated physical education classes, indicating that physical education professionals may benefit from reflecting on personal biases, as well as their instructional practices in an effort to improve the quality of physical education experiences for their students. Further, the differential effects of these explicated ‘inclusive’ strategies were emphasized, whereas each strategy contributed to feelings of inclusion, as well as marginalization. The findings indicate that ‘inclusive’ strategies should not be considered as blanket recommendations; instead, attempts to promote ‘inclusion’ of students with disabilities should start with a reflexive look at the unique needs of each individual student

Puzzle Pieces: Neural Structure and Function in Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of genomic imprinting, presenting with a behavioural phenotype encompassing hyperphagia, intellectual disability, social and behavioural difficulties, and propensity to psychiatric illness. Research has tended to focus on the cognitive and behavioural investigation of these features, and, with the exception of eating behaviour, the neural physiology is currently less well understood. A systematic review was undertaken to explore findings relating to neural structure and function in PWS, using search terms designed to encompass all published articles concerning both in vivo and post-mortem studies of neural structure and function in PWS. This supported the general paucity of research in this area, with many articles reporting case studies and qualitative descriptions or focusing solely on the overeating behaviour, although a number of systematic investigations were also identified. Research to date implicates a combination of subcortical and higher order structures in PWS, including those involved in processing reward, motivation, affect and higher order cognitive functions, with both anatomical and functional investigations indicating abnormalities. It appears likely that PWS involves aberrant activity across distributed neural networks. The characterisation of neural structure and function warrants both replication and further systematic study

The development and evaluation of exercises for group response to word meaning for increasing the speed of word recognition in grade I

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Deportation Worry, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Trajectories, and Incident Hypertension: A Community-Based Cohort Study.

Background Worry about deportation has been associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors in cross-sectional research. No research has evaluated this association longitudinally or examined the association between deportation worry and incident cardiovascular disease outcomes. Methods and Results We used data from an ongoing community-based cohort of 572 women primarily of Mexican origin. We estimated associations between self-reported deportation worry and: (1) trajectories of blood pressure, body mass index, and waist circumference with linear mixed models, and (2) incident hypertension with Cox proportional hazards models. Nearly half (48%) of women reported "a lot," 24% reported "moderate," and 28% reported "not too much" deportation worry. Higher worry at baseline was associated with nonlinear systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure trajectories. For example, compared with not too much worry, a lot of worry was associated with a faster initial increase (β, interaction with linear year term: 4.10; 95% CI, 1.17-7.03) followed by a faster decrease in systolic blood pressure (β, interaction with quadratic year term: -0.80; 95% CI, -1.55 to -0.06). There was weak evidence of an association between deportation worry and diastolic blood pressure and no association with body mass index, waist circumference, or pulse pressure trajectories. Among 408 women without baseline hypertension, reporting a lot (hazard ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.15-4.10) and moderate deportation worry (hazard ratio, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.17-4.30) were each associated with greater risk of incident hypertension compared with reporting not too much worry. Conclusions Deportation worry may contribute to widening disparities in some cardiovascular disease risk factors and outcomes over time

Factors Associated with Consumer Knowledge of Garlic Health Properties, Garlic Preparation Knowledge and Garlic Intake

Background: Garlic has been shown to provide numerous health benefits attributed to its innate compound allicin. However, this compound is highly unstable when exposed to various cooking methods as it is affected by temperature and pH changes. There is limited information about health and preparation knowledge of garlic among consumers with various nutrition education levels including future nutrition professionals such as registered dietitian nutritionists. Purpose: To determine if consumer garlic health knowledge and perceptions were associated with garlic intake and if nutrition education level was associated with garlic health and preparation knowledge. Methods: An online survey was conducted to examine garlic health and preparation knowledge, garlic health perceptions, garlic intake, and garlic cooking methods among undergraduate students with and without a major. Results: There was a significant moderate positive correlation between garlic health knowledge and garlic intake (rs=.421, p<.001). Those with a nutrition major had significantly greater garlic health knowledge than non-majors (p<0.001), while there was no difference between nutrition majors and non-majors on cooking methodology knowledge. Conclusion: Knowledge of the health benefits of garlic appears to be associated with its intake. Nutrition education should focus more on appropriate garlic preparation in relation to its health benefits