Establishing the Psychometric Properties of the Understanding Mental Health Scale: A Dissertation Study

The purpose of this dissertation study was to validate the Understanding Mental Health Scale (UMHS). The UMHS is a 50-item questionnaire that was designed to measure college students’ awareness of mental health issues. To test the psychometric properties of the UHMS, a principal axis factor (PAF) analysis with an oblique rotation was conducted using an existing data set of 350 college students. Results revealed a two-factor structure underlying college students’ understanding of mental health issues. The factors were named risk-factor awareness (familiarity with warning signs of mental health issues) and resource awareness (knowledge of resources for mental health issues). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to investigate group differences by gender and ethnicity in students’ understanding of awareness and resource awareness for mental health issues. Statistically significant main effects emerged for gender and for ethnicity. Women scored significantly higher than men on both the risk-factor awareness factor and the protective factor subscales. In addition, participants who identified as White scored significantly higher on the risk-factor awareness scale compared to participants who identified as African American or non-White/African American. Implications for college counselors, educators, university administrators, and students are discussed. A review of the limitations and potential contributions of this study are provided

Residential Community College Student Awareness of Mental Health Problems and Resources

An exploratory survey study assessed community college student awareness of signs, risk factors, and resources for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. The majority of the participants reported adequate awareness of mental disorders. Females were more likely than males and sophomores were more likely than freshmen to recognize signs and risk factors of mental illness. Half of the participants were unaware of campus mental health resources. Strategies for increasing student awareness of mental health problems, counseling, and other campus resources for mental illness are presented

Community College Student Awareness of Mental Health Problems and Resources

An exploratory survey study assessed community college student awareness of signs, risk factors, and resources for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. The majority of the participants reported adequate awareness of mental disorders. Females were more likely than males and sophomores were more likely than freshmen to recognize signs and risk factors of mental illness. Half of the participants were unaware of campus mental health resources. Strategies for increasing student awareness of mental health problems, counseling, and other campus resources for mental illness are presented

Comparison of EFTEM and STEM EELS plasmon imaging of gold nanoparticles in a monochromated TEM

We present and compare two different imaging techniques for plasmonic excitations in metallic nanoparticles based on high energy-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a monochromated transmission electron microscope. We demonstrate that a recently developed monochromated energy-filtering (EFTEM) approach can be used in addition to the well established scanning technique to directly obtain plasmon images in the energy range below 1 eV. The EFTEM technique is described in detail, and a double experiment performed on the same, triangular gold nanoparticle compares equivalent data acquired by both techniques, respectively

Development of ultrafast camera-based single fluorescent-molecule imaging for cell biology

細胞膜上の分子がバレエの群舞のように見えてきた： 1蛍光分子の感度で、究極速度で撮像できるカメラを開発. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-06-06.The spatial resolution of fluorescence microscopy has recently been greatly enhanced. However, improvements in temporal resolution have been limited, despite their importance for examining living cells. Here, we developed an ultrafast camera system that enables the highest time resolutions in single fluorescent-molecule imaging to date, which were photon-limited by fluorophore photophysics: 33 and 100 µs with single-molecule localization precisions of 34 and 20 nm, respectively, for Cy3, the optimal fluorophore we identified. Using theoretical frameworks developed for the analysis of single-molecule trajectories in the plasma membrane (PM), this camera successfully detected fast hop diffusion of membrane molecules in the PM, previously detectable only in the apical PM using less preferable 40-nm gold probes, thus helping to elucidate the principles governing the PM organization and molecular dynamics. Furthermore, as described in the companion paper, this camera allows simultaneous data acquisitions for PALM/dSTORM at as fast as 1 kHz, with 29/19 nm localization precisions in the 640 × 640 pixel view-field

Ultrafast single-molecule imaging reveals focal adhesion nano-architecture and molecular dynamics

細胞膜上の分子がバレエの群舞のように見えてきた： 1蛍光分子の感度で、究極速度で撮像できるカメラを開発. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-06-06.Using our newly developed ultrafast camera described in the companion paper, we reduced the data acquisition periods required for photoactivation/photoconversion localization microscopy (PALM, using mEos3.2) and direct stochastic reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM, using HMSiR) by a factor of ≈30 compared with standard methods, for much greater view-fields, with localization precisions of 29 and 19 nm, respectively, thus opening up previously inaccessible spatiotemporal scales to cell biology research. Simultaneous two-color PALM-dSTORM and PALM-ultrafast (10 kHz) single fluorescent-molecule imaging-tracking has been realized. They revealed the dynamic nanoorganization of the focal adhesion (FA), leading to the compartmentalized archipelago FA model, consisting of FA-protein islands with broad diversities in size (13–100 nm; mean island diameter ≈30 nm), protein copy numbers, compositions, and stoichiometries, which dot the partitioned fluid membrane (74-nm compartments in the FA vs. 109-nm compartments outside the FA). Integrins are recruited to these islands by hop diffusion. The FA-protein islands form loose ≈320 nm clusters and function as units for recruiting FA proteins

Tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy

Tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy (TENOM) is a scanning probe technique capable of providing a broad range of spectroscopic information on single objects and structured surfaces at nanometer spatial resolution and with highest detection sensitivity. In this review, we first illustrate the physical principle of TENOM that utilizes the antenna function of a sharp probe to efficiently couple light to excitations on nanometer length scales. We then discuss the antenna-induced enhancement of different optical sample responses including Raman scattering, fluorescence, generation of photocurrent and electroluminescence. Different experimental realizations are presented and several recent examples that demonstrate the capabilities of the technique are reviewed

Overview of the Role of Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Evidence implicates environmental factors in the pathogenesis of diverse complex neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the identity of specific environmental chemicals that confer risk for these disorders, and the mechanisms by which environmental chemicals interact with genetic susceptibilities to influence adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes remain significant gaps in our understanding of the etiology of most neurodevelopmental disorders. It is likely that many environmental chemicals contribute to the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders but their influence depends on the genetic substrate of the individual. Research into the pathophysiology and genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders may inform the identification of environmental susceptibility factors that promote adverse outcomes in brain development. Conversely, understanding how low-level chemical exposures influence molecular, cellular, and behavioral outcomes relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders will provide insight regarding gene-environment interactions and possibly yield novel intervention strategies

Characterization and manipulation of the plasmon resonance of a single gold nanoparticle

In dieser Arbeit wurde die Plasmon-Resonanz einzelner Gold-Nanopartikel untersucht und durch die Wechselwirkung mit ihrer lokalen Umgebung modifiziert. Dazu wurden einzelne Goldkolloide gezielt an einer Rastersondenspitze befestigt, um ihre beliebige Positionierbarkeit auf Nanometerskala zu erreichen. Zusätzlich wurde die Plasmon-Resonanz der Goldteilchen spektral untersucht, wodurch ihr Einsatz als Sensor möglich wurde.Zunächst wurde ein experimenteller Aufbau erstellt, der die flexible Kombination von Rastersondenmikroskopie, optischer Mikroskopie und Spektroskopie ermöglicht. Als Voraussetzung für alle weiteren Experimente wurde eine Methode zur gezielten Befestigung eines individuellen Gold-Nanopartikels am Ende einer Rastersondenspitze entwickelt.Um nähere Informationen über dieses Teilchen an der Spitze zu erhalten, wurde ein neuartiges Charakterisierungsverfahren entwickelt: die Plasmonen-Tomografie. Dabei erhält man durch rein optische Messungen Aufschluss über Form und Orientierung eines einzelnen Metall-Nanopartikels.Dass ein so charakterisiertes Teilchen an einer Rastersondenspitze eine neue Art von Experimenten ermöglicht, wurde mit seiner Annäherung an eine Grenzfläche demonstriert. Dabei konnte die Wechselwirkung eines einzelnen Partikel-Plasmons mit seinem eigenen Strahlungsfeld anhand der Frequenzverschiebung beobachtet werden.Die Untersuchungen wurden dann auf die Verwendung des Partikel-Plasmons als Nahfeld-Sonde ausgedehnt. In einem Demonstrationsexperiment wurde das Streulicht eines 100nm-Goldpartikels zunächst bei kohärenter Beleuchtung für eine optische Abbildung im Nahfeld verwendet. Durch Detektion des Plasmonenspektrums an jedem Bildpunkt der Abbildung wurde dann die Wechselwirkung des Plasmons mit seiner lokalen Umgebung ortsaufgelöst untersucht. Mit dieser neuartigen Methode konnten verschiedene Proben durch die Veränderung der spektralen Eigenschaften des Plasmons abgebildet werden