A Slice of the Big Apple: An Exploration of the Impact of Travel on High School Students’ Choreographic Process

The purpose of this study was to create, implement, and assess the results of a dance curriculum based on a long-distance travel experience as inspiration for choreography. The research spanned one semester. Participants included twenty high school dance students and nine audience members. In the study, the researcher attempted to answer the following essential questions: Q1 How can a high school dance course enhance the overall experience and understanding of traveling? Q2 In what ways can travel impact a student’s choreographic process? Q3 What aspects of traveling are most helpful for high school students when exploring their ability to choreograph? Q4 What impact does travel as inspiration for choreography have on the audience members at a dance performance? This study was designed to identify any immediate academic benefits of traveling for high school dance students. Areas of student growth that were measured included proficiency in sketching, reflective writing, photography and videography as ways to document life’s experiences. The researcher worked with twenty high school dance students to discover whether a deeper understanding of the choreographic process can be achieved through participation in a long-distance travel experience. The researcher was also interested in the impact the choreography would have on nine audience members that attended the final performance. This study is not irrefutable, and there are still questions related to the topics that could to be explored. Because the researcher was also the participants’ dance teacher, there existed a potential bias when reviewing and analyzing the data. Further research should be completed by a researcher who is not the dance teacher leading the class and working directly with the students. Additionally, a larger sample of students with a wider range of ages and skills, and a balance between the genders would be necessary to find whether a similar outcome would be achieved. More audience members could be included as well, to better validate the responses described by those involved in the current study. The researcher found that travel can indeed be an enriching and educational experience. Benefits to dance students included increased desire to experience the world through travel by observing, documenting, and analyzing their travel experience. They were able to transpose their travel experience into the art of dance by learning about the choreographic process

Population Pharmacokinetics of Liposomal Amphotericin B in Immunocompromised Children

BACKGROUND Liposomal amphotericin B (LAmB) is widely used in the treatment of invasive fungal disease (IFD) in adults and children. There are relatively limited PK data to inform optimal dosing in children that achieves systemic drug exposures comparable to those of adults. OBJECTIVES To describe the pharmacokinetics of LAmB in children aged 1-17 years with suspected or documented IFD. METHODS Thirty-five children were treated with LAmB at dosages of 2.5-10 mg kg(-1) daily. Samples were taken at baseline and at 0.5-2.0 hourly intervals for twenty-four hours after receipt of the first dose (n=35 patients) and on the final day of therapy (n=25 patients). LAmB was measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The relationship between drug exposure and development of toxicity was explored. RESULTS An evolution in PK was observed during the course of therapy resulting in a proportion of patients (n=13) having significantly higher maximum serum concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration time curve (AUC0-24) later in the course of therapy, without evidence of drug accumulation (Cmin accumulation ratio, AR < 1.2). The fit of a 2-compartment model incorporating weight and an exponential decay function describing volume of distribution best described the data. There was a statistically significant relationship between mean AUC0-24 and probability of nephrotoxicity (OR 2.37; 95% CI 1.84-3.22, p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS LAmB exhibits nonlinear pharmacokinetics. A third of children appear to experience a time-dependent change in PK, which is not explained by weight, maturation or observed clinical factors

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Evaluation of a Modified Bit Device to Obtain Saliva Samples from Horses

(1) Background: Accounting for the well-being of equine partners is a responsibility of those engaged in Equine-Assisted Services (EAS). Researchers took heed of this call to action by developing an innovative way to collect data to assess the physiological indicators of stress in equine participants. The collection of saliva is considered to be a minimally invasive method of data collection and is typically performed using a cotton swab; however, in equines, the introduction of a foreign object may induce stress; (2) Methods: Researchers used a modified bit to collect pooled saliva in an effort to further reduce stress during the saliva collection process. Additionally, the collection of pooled saliva, via the bit, increases the opportunity to consider additional analyses, such as oxytocin, which is more reliable in pooled saliva than site-specific saliva captured with a swab; (3) Results: A data analysis demonstrated that ample saliva was captured using the modified bit. Observational data supported that the horses demonstrated fewer physical stress signals to the bit than to the swab. Thus, the modified bit is a feasible and valid method for equine salivary sample collection; (4) Conclusions: The results suggest that the modified bit provides a viable method to collect equine saliva and supports national calls to prioritize animal welfare analysis, specifically for horses used within EAS. Future research should enhance methodological rigor, including in the process and timing, thereby contributing to the bit’s validation

Reducing Anxiety and Stress among Youth in a CBT-Based Equine-Assisted Adaptive Riding Program

Reining in Anxiety (RiA) is a therapeutic program for youth with mild to moderate anxiety delivered in a therapeutic riding setting by Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. RiA was developed after a review of the evidence base for youth anxiety, is manualized, and includes five core CBT components: in vivo exposure, cognitive restructuring, youth psychoeducation, relaxation, and caregiver psychoeducation about anxiety. This study extended findings from a prior RCT that examined (1) the feasibility of collecting saliva samples from horses and children to measure stress (cortisol) and relaxation (oxytocin); (2) whether changes in stress and relaxation occurred both during each lesson and over the course of the 10-week intervention for horses and youth; (3) whether changes in anxiety symptoms, emotional regulation, and self-efficacy found in the first trial were comparable; and (4) if fidelity to the program was reliable. Youth participants (n = 39) ages 6–17 with caregiver-identified mild-to-moderate anxiety participated in a ten-week therapeutic intervention (RiA), which combined adaptive riding and components of CBT. Physiological data and self-report measures were taken at weeks one, four, seven, and ten for the youth and horses. Saliva assays assessed cortisol as a physiological marker of stress and anxiety, and oxytocin as a measure of relaxation. Fidelity data were recorded per session. Anxiety, as measured by caregiver self-reporting, significantly decreased from pre- to post-test, while emotional regulation scores increased. No significant changes in self-efficacy from pre- to post-test were observed. Saliva samples obtained from participants before and after riding sessions showed a consistent decrease in cortisol and a significant increase in oxytocin at two of the four timepoints (Week 1 and Week 7), but no overall pre- to post-test changes. Horse saliva data were collected using a modified bit; there were no significant changes in oxytocin or cortisol, suggesting that the horses did not have an increase in stress from the intervention. RiA may be a promising approach for reducing anxiety and stress among youth, as measured both by self-reported and by physiological measures. Collection of salivary assays for both youth and horses is feasible, and the intervention does not increase stress in the horses. Importantly, RiA can be delivered by adaptive/therapeutic horseback riding instructors in naturalistic (e.g., non-clinic-based) settings. As youth anxiety is a growing public health problem, novel interventions, such as RiA, that can be delivered naturalistically may have the potential to reach more youth and thus improve their quality of life. Further research is needed to examine the comparative value of RiA with other animal-assisted interventions and to assess its cost-effectiveness

Adaptive Riding Incorporating Cognitive-Behavioral Elements for Youth with Anxiety: Results of an Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study

Between 15% to 20% of youth meet diagnostic criteria for anxiety, yet most do not receive treatment due to workforce shortages, under-detection, or barriers that dissuade families from seeking services in traditional settings. Equine-assisted services (EAS) include several promising approaches to reach populations who do not access traditional therapies. Few studies using rigorous methods have been conducted on EAS for youth. This study examined feasibility and outcomes of a 10-session Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based adaptive riding intervention (hereafter called Reining in Anxiety) delivered by trained equine professionals. Forty-one youth 6-16 years of age were recruited from GallopNYC, an adaptive horseback riding center in the NYC metro area. Youth were randomized to an experimental group (n=22) or services as usual (n=19), a standard adaptive riding group (services as usual or SAU). Severity of anxiety symptoms, anxiety in close relationships, and emotional self-efficacy were assessed at baseline and at the end of treatment. Fidelity to the manual was excellent, ranging from 88.9% to 100%. There was a non-significant trend in the experimental group towards greater improvement with higher number of sessions completed. Youth in the Reining in Anxiety group displayed significant reductions in anxiety (t=4.426, df=38, p=0.042) and improvement in emotional self-efficacy at posttest (t=4.132, df=38, p=0.049) in comparison to the SAU group. No significant differences were found between groups for anxiety in close relationships. This study suggests that a CBT-based adaptive riding intervention delivered by non-mental health equine professionals following a detailed manual can reduce youth anxiety symptoms and be delivered with fidelity by riding instructors. These findings have implications for families seeking non-traditional services

Breath carbonyl levels in a human population of seven hundred participants

Oxidative stress is associated with numerous health conditions and disorders, and aldehydes are known biomarkers of oxidative stress that can be non-invasively measured in exhaled human breath. Few studies report breath aldehyde levels in human populations, and none claim participant numbers in the hundreds or more. Further, the breath community must first define the existing aldehyde concentration variance in a normal population to understand when these levels are significantly perturbed by exogenous stressors or health conditions. In this study, we collected breath samples from 692 participants and quantified C4-C10 straight chain aldehyde levels. C9 aldehyde was the most abundant in breath, followed by C6. C4 and C5 appear to have bimodal distributions. Post hoc, we mined our dataset for other breath carbonyls captured by our assay, which involves elution of breath samples onto a solid phase extraction cartridge, derivatization and liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-qTOF). We found a total of 21 additional derivatized compounds. Using self-reported demographic factors from our participants, we found no correlation between these breath carbonyls and age, gender, body mass index (BMI), ethnicity or smoking habit (tobacco and marijuana). This work was preceded by a small confounders study, which was intended to refine our breath collection procedure. We found that breath aldehyde levels can be affected by participants' using scented hygiene products such as lotions and mouthwashes, while collecting consecutive breath samples, rinsing the mouth with water, and filtering inspired air did not have an effect. Using these parameters to guide our sampling, subjects were instructed to avoid the prior conditions to provide a breath sample for our study

Five Design Challenges

PLEASE NOTE: Where applicable, the audio has been removed from this file due to copyrighted material. The garments shown here represent the Classes of \u2712, \u2711 and \u2710 . The garments were created in response to the following five design challenges: Sophomores, Class of \u2712: Re-Innovative Design: explore the properties of recycled materials other than fabric while creating a wearable piece. Print Design Project create a garment that makes optimal use of an assigned printed fabric. Juniors, Class of \u2710: Knitwear Design: explore the properties of knits and design cut-and-sew and machine-knit garments. Tailoring Project: interpret traditional tailoring techniques to create a look with a jacket. Seniors, Class of \u2709: Coat Collection: design a collection with a coat as the key piece