Participatory Evaluation of the Tribal Victim Assistance Programs at the Lummi Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe

The high rate of crime in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and/or against AI/AN people reflected in numerous studies in the last three decades, demonstrates the need for victim assistance programs in Indian Country to help victims cope with and heal from violent crime (Wolk 1982; Allen 1985; Sacred Shawl Women’s Society, no date; McIntire 1988; DeBruyn, Lujan & May 1995; Norton & Manson 1995; Fairchild et. al 1998; Greenfield & Smith 1999; Alba, Zieseniss, et al 2003; Perry 2004). The U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) became aware of the lack of resources available to AI/AN crime victims living on Indian lands. OVC, acknowledging the intense and extensive need for culturally relevant resources on reservations, established the Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) Discretionary Program in 1988, which later became the Tribal Victim Assistance Program (TVA). OVC initiated this program to establish “on-reservation” victim assistance programs that would provide permanent, accessible, and responsive victim assistance services on tribal lands. Recognizing the need for evaluation of promising victim services programs operating in Indian Country, OVC, in collaboration with the USDOJ National Institute of Justice (NIJ) supported an evaluation of two TVA programs—the Lummi Victims of Crime (LVOC) Program in Washington and the Passamaquoddy Tribal Victim Outreach Advocate (TVOA) Program in Maine. This report summarizes the results of the participatory evaluation conducted at these two sites

What's It Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors

Analyzes, by college major, gender and racial/ethnic distribution, median annual earnings, likelihood of unemployment and advanced degree attainment, and occupation and industry, as well as earnings differences within majors by race/ethnicity and gender

Students and Social Networking Sites: A Model of Inappropriate Posting

Social networking sites have become one of the most widely used social media applications, especially among college students. Unfortunately, students often post content on these sites which could be viewed as inappropriate. This is especially true when considering that employers now use social networking sites to perform background checks on job candidates. Although research has shown that students are aware employers may be viewing their profiles, they continue to post inappropriate content despite the possible negative consequences. This “posting paradox” needs to be examined so we can better understand the factors behind the phenomenon. Towards that goal, this paper draws on existing research to propose a new model of inappropriate posting. The model describes how time to graduation, online image concern, privacy concern, and trust in technology affect a student’s decision to post inappropriate content. After developing the model, the paper ends with a discussion of areas for future research

Alexa Skill Voice Interface For The Moodle Learning Management System

Most educational and training organizations today use some type of learning management system (LMS) to make course material available. Learning management system users want easy and fast access to learning materials. LMS access is typically provided through an online interface or a mobile application, both of which require the use of touch and sight on a computer or device. The last decade has brought considerable progress in voice technology, making the use of voice-enabled devices more common. Since both technology and usage are continuing to grow, voice interfaces will become even more important for modern applications. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a voice user interface for a learning management system: specifically, an Amazon Alexa skill for Moodle. The research thoroughly outlines the process of developing an Alexa skill for Moodle. An Alexa skill integration with Moodle will allow users to more quickly and conveniently access information from the LMS. Immediate benefits of the project include providing site announcements to all users, course announcements to students and teachers, and overall course grades and upcoming due dates to students. In the future, the application may be expanded to implement instructor capabilities and additional course content for students

ARL Digital Scholarship Institute

This poster reflects on the Association of Research Libraries’ (ARL) upcoming inaugural week-long Digital Scholarship Institute for library professionals. Held in June 2017 at Boston College, the Institute introduced librarians and staff who are not currently involved in digital scholarship to the methodologies and considerations of such work. This multi-institutional initiative will provide an opportunity for broader transformation in the academic library ecosystem at the level necessary to create a strong community of practice around digital scholarship wor

Interprofessional Team Development in Student Led Clinics in Rural Northeast Tennessee

Background/Rationale - East Tennessee State University developed four interprofessional (IP) team-based education and practice clinics from within an already established network of nine nurse-managed clinics. The purpose of these IP clinic teams is to build capacity for interprofessional practice (IPP) and deliver effective health management to patients with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) through evidence-based practice to improve health outcomes in underserved populations. Description of Innovative Approach - This project took the innovative approach of acknowledging the specialized knowledge, skills, and contributions of nursing, pharmacy, and nutrition specialties, empowering each discipline to be an active decision-maker in the healthcare team. The IP team embedded themselves in existing nurse managed clinics, conducting “student led” clinics at the various sites. A Clinical Fellows Model was utilized to enhance the students learning experience and to promote IPP upon graduation. Challenges and Strategies of IP Team Development - During the first year of the project, the IP team overcame barriers with purposeful strategy which has created unique opportunities for the remaining grant period. Challenges and barriers were overcome with attention to building team collaboration through education and familiarity with working in the interprofessional setting. Discussion – The Clinical Fellows Model was derived from four IP competencies: roles and responsibilities, values and ethics, teamwork, and communication. The student led IP clinics have grown in the number of sites and disciplines supporting East Tennessee State University’s vision of true interprofessional education and practice for managing patients with MCC

Comprehensive genetic analysis of the human lipidome identifies loci associated with lipid homeostasis with links to coronary artery disease

We integrated lipidomics and genomics to unravel the genetic architecture of lipid metabolism and identify genetic variants associated with lipid species putatively in the mechanistic pathway for coronary artery disease (CAD). We quantified 596 lipid species in serum from 4,492 individuals from the Busselton Health Study. The discovery GWAS identified 3,361 independent lipid-loci associations, involving 667 genomic regions (479 previously unreported), with validation in two independent cohorts. A meta-analysis revealed an additional 70 independent genomic regions associated with lipid species. We identified 134 lipid endophenotypes for CAD associated with 186 genomic loci. Associations between independent lipid-loci with coronary atherosclerosis were assessed in ∼456,000 individuals from the UK Biobank. Of the 53 lipid-loci that showed evidence of association (P \u3c 1 × 10−3), 43 loci were associated with at least one lipid endophenotype. These findings illustrate the value of integrative biology to investigate the aetiology of atherosclerosis and CAD, with implications for other complex diseases

Effects of an in-frame deletion of the 6k gene locus from the genome of Ross River virus

The alphaviral 6k gene region encodes the two structural proteins 6K protein and, due to a ribosomal frameshift event, the transframe protein (TF). Here, we characterized the role of the 6k proteins in the arthritogenic alphavirus Ross River virus (RRV) in infected cells and in mice, using a novel 6k in-frame deletion mutant. Comprehensive microscopic analysis revealed that the 6k proteins were predominantly localized at the endoplasmic reticulum of RRV-infected cells. RRV virions that lack the 6k proteins 6K and TF [RRV-(6K)] were more vulnerable to changes in pH, and the corresponding virus had increased sensitivity to a higher temperature. While the 6k deletion did not reduce RRV particle production in BHK-21 cells, it affected virion release from the host cell. Subsequent in vivo studies demonstrated that RRV-(6K) caused a milder disease than wild-type virus, with viral titers being reduced in infected mice. Immunization of mice with RRV-(6K) resulted in a reduced viral load and accelerated viral elimination upon secondary infection with wild-type RRV or another alphavirus, chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Our results show that the 6k proteins may contribute to alphaviral disease manifestations and suggest that manipulation of the 6k gene may be a potential strategy to facilitate viral vaccine development

Comprehensive genetic analysis of the human lipidome identifies loci associated with lipid homeostasis with links to coronary artery disease

We integrated lipidomics and genomics to unravel the genetic architecture of lipid metabolism and identify genetic variants associated with lipid species putatively in the mechanistic pathway for coronary artery disease (CAD). We quantified 596 lipid species in serum from 4,492 individuals from the Busselton Health Study. The discovery GWAS identified 3,361 independent lipid-loci associations, involving 667 genomic regions (479 previously unreported), with validation in two independent cohorts. A meta-analysis revealed an additional 70 independent genomic regions associated with lipid species. We identified 134 lipid endophenotypes for CAD associated with 186 genomic loci. Associations between independent lipid-loci with coronary atherosclerosis were assessed in ∼ 456,000 individuals from the UK Biobank. Of the 53 lipid-loci that showed evidence of association (P \u3c 1 × 10−3), 43 loci were associated with at least one lipid endophenotype. These findings illustrate the value of integrative biology to investigate the aetiology of atherosclerosis and CAD, with implications for other complex diseases

Amplified centrosomes and mitotic index display poor concordance between patient tumors and cultured cancer cells

Centrosome aberrations (CA) and abnormal mitoses are considered beacons of malignancy. Cancer cell doubling times in patient tumors are longer than in cultures, but differences in CA between tumors and cultured cells are uncharacterized. We compare mitoses and CA in patient tumors, xenografts, and tumor cell lines. We find that mitoses are rare in patient tumors compared with xenografts and cell lines. Contrastingly, CA is more extensive in patient tumors and xenografts (~35–50% cells) than cell lines (~5–15%), although CA declines in patient-derived tumor cells over time. Intratumoral hypoxia may explain elevated CA in vivo because exposure of cultured cells to hypoxia or mimicking hypoxia pharmacologically or genetically increases CA, and HIF-1α and hypoxic gene signature expression correlate with CA and centrosomal gene signature expression in breast tumors. These results highlight the importance of utilizing low-passage-number patient-derived cell lines in studying CA to more faithfully recapitulate in vivo cellular phenotypes