Organ-izing the Curriculum: Enhancing Knowledge, Attitudes and Interests in Engineering with Biomedical Course Modules

Proposed abstract for the NSF-Grantees Poster Session Organ-izing the Curriculum: enhancing knowledge, attitudes and interests in engineering with biomedical course modules The relatively new discipline of biomedical engineering emerged from informal collaborations between engineers, physicians and life scientists, and is the fastest growing engineering discipline at most universities. Chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineers play an important and expanding role in this burgeoning field because the fundamental core principles of each discipline are critical to biomedical mainstays such as the design of artificial organs. This project introduces hands-on, biomedically-related experiments and course materials into the engineering curriculum, with the aim of increasing core disciplinary knowledge and increasing interest in engineering. This paper describes the biomedical modules that have been developed and integrated into a variety of courses throughout XXXX’s engineering curriculum. Results demonstrate an increase in student’s understanding of engineering concepts in comparison to control groups. At the freshman level, the treatment group that participated in biomedical education showed significantly higher gains in their perception of classroom climate, interest and confidence in biomedical engineering, confidence in engineering, confidence in writing,and perception of engineers’ contribution to society

Parent Reports of Wayfinding by Their Children with Down Syndrome

Background: Navigating the environment, or wayfinding, is integral to independent living. Laboratory studies have consistently indicated an impairment in wayfinding in people with Down syndrome (DS). However, very little is known regarding their real-life wayfinding abilities. Method: Eighty-six parents of children with DS completed an online survey on their children’s wayfinding behaviours and their own feelings and expectations about their children’s wayfinding. Results: Parents reported their children had few wayfinding skills, yet much confidence in their own abilities. Many parents had taught/planned to teach their children wayfinding skills. Parents also expressed concerns over their children’s independent wayfinding. Parents teaching wayfinding and parents’ concern predicted their assessment of their children’s wayfinding competence and knowledge. Children’s age and sex, as well as parents’ concerns predicted assessment of children’s confidence in wayfinding. Conclusions: Our results identified key factors related to wayfinding behaviours in people with DS. Parental factors are especially important in predicting their children’s wayfinding behaviour

Using Twitter Post Data to Ascertain the Sentiment of Alcohol-related Blackouts in the United States

Research shows variability in how alcohol-related blackouts (periods of memory loss during/after drinking) are subjectively evaluated. We accessed 3.5 million original Tweets written in the U.S. between July 2009 and February 2020 that referenced blackouts, and coded the sentiment (positive or negative) of those Tweets, using the machine learning function of a Twitter-sponsored commercial platform. The sentiment of Tweets was examined by day of week and compared to the sentiment of blackout Tweets on certain holidays to non-celebration matched days. Tweets were more likely to have a positive (73%) than negative sentiment, and positive Tweets were more common during weekends. Relative to typical non-celebratory weekends, a greater proportion of blackout Tweets were positive around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, though differences were not observed relative to several other celebratory periods (e.g., Superbowl). Results have implications for online interventions, which can use social networking sites to target alcohol during high-risk periods

Piloting the Alcohol Feedback, Reflection, and Morning Evaluation (A-FRAME) Program : A Smartphone-delivered Alcohol Intervention

Many college students engage in heavy drinking and experience negative consequences, but typically show little motivation to change their drinking behavior. Although personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) show promise, improved effect sizes, engagement, and potential for reach are needed. We developed and pilot-tested a theory-based, smartphone-delivered PFI for heavy-drinking college students that incorporated innovations, including a choice of feedback delivered in multiple doses that occur close in time to drinking events. In an open trial, we delivered the 4-week intervention to 18 heavy-drinking students, followed by individual interviews of participants’ experience. Feasibility was demonstrated by high enrollment and response rates, and acceptability was demonstrated by positive participant ratings and interview responses. Results will inform efforts to continue to develop this novel and scalable mobile intervention for alcohol misuse among college students, with potential impact for the public health problem of high-risk drinking

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Wrist-worn Transdermal Alcohol Biosensor to Collect Data in the Field

Transdermal alcohol monitoring allows for continuous, non-invasive, objective, and remote measurement of alcohol consumption. We evaluated feasibility and acceptability of participant use of the BACtrack Skyn biosensor bracelet in daily life. Heavy drinkers (n=20) wore the Skyn and self-reported drinking behavior for 7 days, followed by an individual interview. Recruitment and retention benchmarks were met, supporting feasibility. Participants provided both positive and constructive feedback on the Skyn during interviews, and usability of the bracelet was deemed “good”. Most missing data were inconsequential (<5 mins), with data available 85% of the time participants were asked to wear it. Missing data was largely expected and due to bracelet removal during bathing or charging. Overall, results indicate promise in our ability to integrate this tool into research and/or clinical practice, passively and objectively monitoring alcohol use in participants and/or patients with minimal burden

The Influence of Interfacial Chemistry on Magnesium Electrodeposition in Non-nucleophilic Electrolytes Using Sulfone-Ether Mixtures

One of the limiting factors in the development of magnesium batteries is the reversibility of magnesium electrodeposition and dissolution at the anode. Often irreversibility is related to impurities and decomposition. Herein we report on the cycling behavior of magnesium metal anodes in different electrolytes, Mg(HMDS)2 – 4 MgCl2 in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and a butyl sulfone/THF mixture. The deposition morphology and anode-electrolyte interface is studied and related to Mg/Mg cell cycling performance. It is found that adding the sulfone caused the formation of a boundary layer at the electrode-electrolyte interface, which, in turn, resulted in a particle-like deposition morphology. This type of deposition has a high surface area, which alters the effective local current density and results in electronically isolated deposits. Extended cycling resulted in magnesium growth through a separator. Electrolyte decomposition is observed with and without the addition of the sulfone, however the addition of the sulfone increased the degree of decomposition