Senior Recital: Megan Burton, soprano

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Music Education. Ms. Burton studies voice with Adam Kirkpatrick.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1454/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Diet and the Microbiome on Reproduction and Longevity: A Comparative Review Across 5 Continents

Human longevity and quality of life remain key societal drivers, but the healthcare burden of diet-related chronic diseases is economically unmanageable. In recent years, it has been proposed that the composition and abundance profiles of certain bacterial phyla in the gut are indicators of malnutrition, and ill health. But, how much does the gut microbiome and diet really contribute to outcomes? The description of three microbial enterotypes remains to be verified, as does its significance for health tested across continents and within people who migrate from one lifestyle to another. It is not simply that the diet of one region causes a dominance of microbes not found in another, or that it leads to adverse outcomes. Venezuelans have a diet different from Americans, yet life expectancy and causes of death are somewhat similar. Pregnant east African women have very different diets to Europeans, yet excluding infectious disease exposure, successful reproduction occurs in both. The microbiome has added another layer of complexity to nutrition management, but with modern sequencing platforms and bioinformatics tools, integration of this information will soon be feasible. In providing dietary recommendations, especially during pregnancy, more consideration is needed on reducing exposure to environmental toxins, encouraging intake of fermented foods and those designed to improve fetal and infant development. By focusing on the first 1000 days of life, it may be possible to improve how we produce and allocate food, and provide a newborn with the best chance of leading a productive life

Developing the Potential of Observation - Generating Ideas Using Video Data From a Nursery School: a Students as Academic Partners Project

This Students as Academic Partners (SAP) project aimed to explore the potential of a creative approach to reflection. Developing approaches to reflective practice is directly relevant for a wide range of professional occupations including school teachers, early years practitioners, lecturers within HE and also trainees. Individual reflections were produced by project participants based on several very short video clips of children in a nursery school. The reflections include speculative observations, explanations and use of theoretical perspectives linked to broader themes. The analysis was extended through a collaborative reflection on the combined individual reflections. The focus on broader themes within this particular project seeks to contribute to an encompassing discourse related to early years practice

Creative Reflection in Action

This (Students as Academic Partners) project aimed to explore the potential of a creative approach to reflection. Developing approaches to reflective practice is directly relevant for teachers and those who are training to become teachers. Individual reflections were produced by project participants based on several very short video clips of children in a nursery school. These individual reflections were extended into a collaborative reflection highlighting common themes. This broader focus seeks to contribute to an encompassing discourse related to early years practice. The poster aims to show how critical reflection and speculation can develop an understanding of the child, their development and potential barriers to this development. Through observing stills from the video footage, viewers of the poster are challenged to speculate about the child’s body language, what they might be doing or whether the learning environment is suitable to develop and progress their knowledge and understanding further

The Iron Age copper industrial complex: A preliminary study of the role of ground stone tools at Khirbat en-Nahas, Jordan

The first industrial revolution in the southern Levant crystallized during the Iron Age when copper production reached scales never before seen in this part of the Middle East. Ever since copper ore was first smelted during the Chalcolithic period, the Arabah valley, and its widespread distribution of copper mineralization, was the main source for copper ore in the region. The main ore deposits are located in Timna (Israel) in the southern part of the valley, and some 105 km to the north, in the Faynan region (Jordan). Faynan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant. Excavations at the Iron Age Faynan site of Khirbat en-Nahas and the recent final publication of that project have revealed peaks in industrial-scale production during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. However, the role of ground stone tools in the Iron Age copper industry in Faynan has not been systematically presented. This paper presents a preliminary study of the ground stone assemblage from one excavation season at Khirbat en-Nahas, thereby highlighting the great potential for ground stone tools research at the site. Using the chaîne opératoire method of technological study, this paper takes a quantitative approach to the typological, material, and spatial distribution of ground stone artefacts at Khirbat en-Nahas to understand their role in copper production. Ethnoarchaeological study of hereditary bronze casting workshops in southern India provides a compelling model of how ground stone tools played a critical role in one of the most important dimensions of metal production in all periods - recycling - in an Iron Age copper factory

Factors Leading to Adolescent Drug Abuse in Winooski

Introduction. This study collaborated with the Winooski Coalition for a Safe and Peaceful Community (WCSPC) in order to identify underlying risk factors for initiating drug use in adolescents, ages 13-18 in Winooski, Vermont by implementing focus groups with community stakeholders and agencies.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1198/thumbnail.jp

Retinoids regulate TGFβ signaling at the level of Smad2 phosphorylation and nuclear accumulation

AbstractIndirect regulation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling by retinoids occurs on a long-term timescale, secondary to transcriptional events. Studies by our group show loss of retinoid X receptor (RXR) alpha results in increased TGFβ2 in the midgestational heart, which may play a role in the cardiac defects seen in this model [S.W. Kubalak, D.R. Hutson, K.K. Scott and R.A. Shannon, Elevated transforming growth factor beta2 enhances apoptosis and contributes to abnormal outflow tract and aortic sac development in retinoic X receptor alpha knockout embryos, Development 129 (2002) 733–746.]. Acute and direct interactions between retinoid and TGFβ signaling, however, are not clearly understood. Treatment of dispersed hearts and NIH3T3 cells for 1 h with TGFβ and retinoids (dual treatment) resulted in increased phosphorylated Smad2 and Smad3 when compared to treatment with TGFβ alone. Of all dual treatments, those with the RXR agonist Bexarotene, resulted in the highest level of phosphorylated Smad2, a 7-fold increase over TGFβ2 alone. Additionally, during dual treatment phosphorylation of Smad2 occurs via the TGFβ type I receptor but not by increased activation of the receptor. As loss of RXRα results in increased levels of Smad2 phosphorylation in response to TGFβ treatment and since nuclear accumulation of phosphorylated Smad2 is decreased during dual treatment, we propose that RXRα directly regulates the activities of Smad2. These data show retinoid signaling influences the TGFβ pathway in an acute and direct manner that has been unappreciated until now

An updated systematic review of stroke clinical practice guidelines to inform aphasia management

Background: Aphasia is a common consequence of stroke, and people who live with this condition experience poor outcomes. Adherence to clinical practice guidelines can promote high-quality service delivery and optimize patient outcomes. However, there are currently no high-quality guidelines specific to post-stroke aphasia management. Aims: To identify and evaluate recommendations from high-quality stroke guidelines that can inform aphasia management. Summary of review: We conducted an updated systematic review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines to identify high-quality clinical guidelines published between January 2015 and October 2022. Primary searches were performed using electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science. Gray literature searches were conducted using Google Scholar, guideline databases, and stroke websites. Clinical practice guidelines were evaluated using the Appraisal of Guidelines and Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) tool. Recommendations were extracted from high-quality guidelines (scored \u3e 66.7% on Domain 3: “Rigor of Development”), classified as aphasia-specific or aphasia-related, and categorized into clinical practice areas. Evidence ratings and source citations were assessed, and similar recommendations were grouped. Twenty-three stroke clinical practice guidelines were identified and 9 (39%) met our criteria for rigor of development. From these guidelines, 82 recommendations for aphasia management were extracted: 31 were aphasia-specific, 51 aphasia-related, 67 evidence-based, and 15 consensus-based. Conclusion: More than half of stroke clinical practice guidelines identified did not meet our criteria for rigorous development. We identified 9 high-quality guidelines and 82 recommendations to inform aphasia management. Most recommendations were aphasia-related; aphasia-specific recommendation gaps were identified in three clinical practice areas: “accessing community supports,” “return to work, leisure, driving,” and “interprofessional practice.