Evidence Supporting the Effectiveness of Standardized Assessments at Predicting Safe Performance of Activities of Daily Living for Patients in Skilled Nursing Facilities

The research question was “What is the evidence to support the effectiveness of standardized assessments at predicting safe performance of ADLs for patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs)?” The literature review results indicate that there is strong evidence to support the effectiveness of the Barthel Index (BI), Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) at predicting safe performance of ADLs for patients in SNFs. It is recommended that practitioners use the MBI to predict safe performance of ADLs for patients at intake and discharge from SNFs. To support implementation of the research findings, a fact sheet and pre-recorded presentation were developed to assist practitioners with incorporating valid and reliable assessments into clinical practice for patients in SNFs. The impact of knowledge translation was measured through a satisfaction survey sent to collaborators. There is not sufficient survey data to support effectiveness of knowledge translation measures. This research highlights a need for further research to capture psychometric data of standardized assessments in SNFs

Support for my video is support for me: A YouTube scoping review of videos including adolescents with chronic pain

Adolescents with chronic pain report feelings of social isolation, of being different, and lack of understanding from peers. These challenges suggest that these adolescents may not obtain the social support they require. Thus, they may have to find other venues through which to find social support. Adolescents are heavy users of social media as a venue to share experience and obtain information and adolescents with chronic pain may be no different. A scoping review of YouTube was conducted by searching videos using the terms 'youth with chronic pain' and 'teens with chronic pain'. Videos in English, targeting at and including an adolescent with chronic pain were included. All identified videos were screened for eligibility until 20 consecutive videos were excluded. For each included video the first 5 related videos suggested by YouTube were screened for eligibility. This selection process resulted in 18 included videos, with a total of 936 comments. Recurring themes in the videos' comments were identified using qualitative content analysis. Videos content mainly covered multidisciplinary treatment options, alternative treatments and impact of pain on daily life. While a variety of treatment options were discussed, details of treatment content were lacking. Comments reflected the overarching message "you are not alone!" and mainly focused on providing and receiving support, sharing suffering, and revealing the impact of pain on relationships and daily life. Despite potential challenges associated with social media, YouTube may be a promising platform for provision of social support for adolescents with chronic pain

A Genome-Wide Association Study of Red-Blood Cell Fatty Acids and Ratios Incorporating Dietary Covariates: Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort

Recent analyses have suggested a strong heritable component to circulating fatty acid (FA) levels; however, only a limited number of genes have been identified which associate with FA levels. In order to expand upon a previous genome wide association study done on participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort and FA levels, we used data from 2,400 of these individuals for whom red blood cell FA profiles, dietary information and genotypes are available, and then conducted a genome-wide evaluation of potential genetic variants associated with 22 FAs and 15 FA ratios, after adjusting for relevant dietary covariates. Our analysis found nine previously identified loci associated with FA levels (FADS, ELOVL2, PCOLCE2, LPCAT3, AGPAT4, NTAN1/PDXDC1, PKD2L1, HBS1L/MYB and RAB3GAP1/MCM6), while identifying four novel loci. The latter include an association between variants in CALN1 (Chromosome 7) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), DHRS4L2(Chromosome 14) and a FA ratio measuring delta-9-desaturase activity, as well as two loci associated with less well understood proteins. Thus, the inclusion of dietary covariates had a modest impact, helping to uncover four additional loci. While genome-wide association studies continue to uncover additional genes associated with circulating FA levels, much of the heritable risk is yet to be explained, suggesting the potential role of rare genetic variation, epistasis and gene-environment interactions on FA levels as well. Further studies are needed to continue to understand the complex genetic picture of FA metabolism and synthesis

2018: Urban Outfitters Window Display

Students were challenged to create a fall-themed window display inspired by a retailer and work together to capture their aesthetic. The retailer that inspired this design is Urban Outfitters.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/fas-309-2018/1003/thumbnail.jp

Voice, Agency, and Power in the Classroom

Many teachers enter the profession wanting to make a difference, they are idealistic, energised, and see so much potential in what they can offer their students. When they enter the classroom, the realities of being a teacher kick in, no matter the age, stage, or year level. From early childhood right through to postgraduate studies. However, increased focus on attainment figures, benchmarks, and accountability, may create tensions in what is prioritised at the classroom level. This often (but not always) comes at the expense of creativity, learning flexibility, and cultivating shared interests. Each new programme, initiative, or latest trend has to be squeezed into a schedule that is already bursting at the seams. Considerable existing research has documented increasingly excessive workloads for teachers (for example, the worldwide OECD TALIS 2018) as they try to fit everything in with as little compromise on their professional values and beliefs as possible. Teachers work within an overcrowded curriculum of things that ‘must be done’ that leaves less room for the things that students and teachers may really want to do. Teachers can sometimes find there is a disconnection between their own professional values and purpose and what they actually end up doing in their classrooms. This makes sense as there is a lot going on with power in the education system, school and classroom, but it does not mean it is the only way. In some respects, this disconnection reflects tensions between what is valued in education, what are considered to be the aims of education, and from whose perspective these aims and values are expressed. Agency and voice for students and teachers, as individuals and as a collective group, can provide a way to address this tension between aims and values, as it reconnects purpose and practice to empower the participants in education. It affords power to those actually in the classroom. Richard Lavoie is quoted as saying, ‘kids don’t want your power. They want their own’, and in this chapter we offer some ways to do this by discussing some of the theoretical and practical foundations for building a classroom community that places cultivation of individual and collective agency at the centre of practice. We approach the content in terms of exploring some of the foundational ideas and concepts that come into play when seeking to initiate or develop educational practices that place students at the centre of the classroom community. We unpack some of the ways power manifests in the classroom context, and suggest practical strategies for shifting the balance to enable collaborative partnerships between students and teachers. For those already engaging in agentic, empowering, and participatory practices, we offer points for reflection, critique and refinement of existing practices alongside useful frameworks, tools, and additional ideas and possibilities that could be considered and adapted to your context. While much of what is included in this chapter can (and does) apply to other aspects of the school environment, this chapter focuses on the classroom context, and specific practices, actions and examples that individual teachers can take with their classes. Provocation prompts are also provided to encourage schools and teacher teams to think about how these practices could be extended beyond individual classroom contexts and embedded within the culture of the school and school practices at all levels

2018: Bohemian Rhapsody Window Display

Students were challenged to pick a movie that was released in 2018 and allow that to inspire their window display design. This group chose Bohemian Rhapsody.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/fas-309-2018/1002/thumbnail.jp

Microbiome Characterization of the Cave Salamander as Potential Defense Against Emerging Infectious Diseases

Undergraduate Basi

Effects of Competition on Physiological Measures

An article that appeared in JASS, issue 2017Human-beings face aspects of interpersonal competition in many areas of life. Whether it be competing with other candidates for a job position, a slot at the school of your dreams, or even competing for the last cookie in the jar, competition is unavoidable. The purpose of this study was to examine the physiological effects of competition in the form of a memory matching game. Participants were asked to fill out a survey assessing their perceived competitiveness level. Those surveys were used to place participants into control and experimental groups, ensuring an equal composition of competitiveness level and gender between the two. Baseline data were taken for each group. Participants in the control group played the memory matching game on their own for one minute, and the participants in the experimental group competed with a confederate to see who could get the most matches in the minute provided. After analysis of the data, it was found that heart rate increased with competition while blood pressure and respiration rate showed no significant difference. These findings could have profound effects in educational settings, including how student knowledge is tested