Medical Art Therapy

This research explores the experiences and practices of Medical Art Therapists; specifically, how working with clients in a medical setting, often as a part of a multidisciplinary team, impacts the work of an Art Therapist. Researchers reviewed the general literature regarding children and adults’ experiences of hospitalization and utilization of psychosocial services. Medical Art Therapy literature is reviewed next, emphasizing work with children, families, and adults. Informed by the literature, researchers invited Medical Art Therapists to participate in a focus group and/or follow-up survey. Researchers conducted a focus group in which participants discussed their experiences and created response art. A survey was then sent to focus group participants and other respondents who were unavailable for the focus group. Researchers identified four categories that emerged from the survey data: “art as self-expression,” “categorization of Art Therapy,” “considerations specific to the medical setting,” and “range of utility” of Medical Art Therapy. Researchers used these categories to analyze data from the focus group and response art. An additional category emerged from these two data sets: “personal experience.” The response art naturally offered another category for analysis: “features of the art.” Researchers compared findings across all data sets and discovered meanings by setting these findings in the context of the general and Medical Art Therapy literature. Further research is warranted to support expansion in the field of Medical Art Therapy

Examining the Role of the Catholic Environment in Students’ Search for Meaning

Emerging research illustrates that undergraduate students are searching for meaning in their lives, yet postsecondary institutions generally do little to support them in exploring such issues (Astin et al., 2005b). We speculated that religiously affiliated institutions might offer guidance on supporting students’ spiritual development, and thus examined students in the context of Catholic postsecondary environments, focusing on whether the students’ religious affiliations and perceptions of their institution as supporting their spiritual development affected their search for meaning. Further, we examined the aspects of the environment that strengthened students’ perceptions of their college environment as closely aligned with the Catholic mission, and thus supportive of their spiritual development. We discuss implications for secular and religious institutions

The Intersection of Aging and Pet Guardianship: Influences of Health and Social Support

Studies of the human-animal bond show many positive health effects for pet guardians including a sense of companionship, reduced depression and loneliness, and higher activity levels, yet few studies have examined factors such as how the pet guardians’ health, age, and social networks influence their relationship with and ability to care for their pet. These health factors may affect the ability of older adults to care for their pets, therefore inhibiting them from reaping positive benefits associated with pet guardianship. This qualitative study involved 21 in-depth interviews with older adults, aged 60+, who were pet guardians. Four themes emerged from the one-on- one, in-depth interviews: Accommodations to Aging Changes; Pets and Mental Health; Importance of Formal and Informal Social Supports; and Dogs as Activity Catalysts. Participants reported unique ways in which they adapted their care of pets to limitations as a result of their changing health. Participants reported positive and negative mental health effects of caring for a pet, such as reduced depression and an increase in sadness related to loss. They also reported their pets influence their level of physical activity and frequency of social engagement. Dogs are especially helpful as a means with which to engage with others and increase physical activity. Pet guardianship becomes increasingly difficult with declining health that is often related to aging, but perhaps becomes more important as well. Older adults can utilize formal and informal supports to adapt to age-related difficulties with pet guardianship, thereby enabling them to experience the benefits of caring for pets

Twelve and a Half Years of Observations of Centaurus A with RXTE

The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer has observed the nearest radio galaxy, Centaurus A, in 13 intervals from 1966 August to 2009 February over the 3--200 keV band. Spectra accumulated over the 13 intervals were well described with an absorbed power law and iron line. Cut-off power laws and Compton reflection from cold matter did not provide a better description. For the 2009 January observation, we set a lower limit on the cut-off energy at over 2 MeV. The power spectral density function was generated from RXTE/ASM and PCA data, as well as an XMM-Newton long look, and clear evidence for a break at 18+10-7 days (68% conf.) was seen. Given Cen A's high black hole mass and very low value of Lx/LEdd, the break was a factor of 17+/-9 times higher than the break frequency predicted by the McHardy and co-workers' relation, which was empirically derived for a sample of objects, which are radio-quiet and accreting at relatively high values of Lbol/LEdd. We have interpreted our observations in the context of a clumpy molecular torus. The variability characteristics and the broadband spectral energy distribution, when compared to Seyferts, imply that the bright hard X-ray continuum emission may originate at the base of the jet, yet from behind the absorbing line of sight material, in contrast to what is commonly observed from blazars.Comment: 56 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, revised manuscript submitted to The Astrophysical Journa

Critical properties of the double exchange ferromagnet Nd0.4Pb0.4MnO3

Results of a study of dc-magnetization M(T, H), performed on a Nd0.6Pb0.4MnO3 single crystal in the temperature range around T_C (Curie temperature) which embraces the critical region | epsilon | = |T -T_C |/T_C <= 0.05 are reported. The magnetic data analyzed in the critical region using the Kouvel-Fisher method give the values for the T_C =156.47 +/- 0.06 K and the critical exponents, beta = 0.374 +/- 0.006 (from the temperature dependence of magnetization), and gamma = 1.329 +/- 0.003 (from the temperature dependence of initial susceptibility). The critical isotherm M(T_C, H) gives delta = 4.547 +/- 0.1. Thus the scaling law gamma+beta=delta beta is fulfilled. The critical exponents obey the single scaling-equation of state M(H, epsilon) = epsilon^b f_+/- (H/epsilon^(beta + gamma)) where, f_+ for T > T_C and f_- for T< T_C. The exponent values are very close to those expected for the universality class of 3D Heisenberg ferromagnets with short-range interactions.Comment: 19 pages, including 6 figure

5-Fluorouracil: A Metabolism Model of the Rat Liver

A metabolism model of 5-fluorouracil (FU), a nucleotide synthesis interference chemical, was created based on rat liver metabolism data. The model of the adult rat predicted that 0.1% of the original FU dose will become 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP), a thymidine synthetase inhibiting metabolite. Model parameters were derived from enzyme activity information. It can be concluded from the results of this model that a very small percentage of the initial FU dose actually becomes the metabolite FdUMP. This is the first model to focus on the anabolism portion of the overall metabolism of FU. The overall goal of the research program is to help in the develop of a pharmacokinetic, biologically based dose-response model of FU to test the feasibility for modeling nucleotide synthesis inhibitors. The rat liver metabolism is merely one part of the modeling picture which is needed to look at developmental effects due to interference with nucleotide synthesis, but it is a place to begin.Master of Science in Public Healt

Measuring Urinary Sensation with Current Perception Threshold: A Comparison between Method of Limits and Method of Levels

Purpose. To determine the association between the two methods of obtaining current perception thresholds (CPTs) in the lower urinary tract (LUT). Materials and Methods. Twenty-one women undergoing pelvic surgery underwent CPT determinations of the urethra. CPTs were measured at 2,000, 250, and 5 Hz (corresponding to A-β, A-δ, and C fibers, resp.) both pre- and postoperatively. Threshold values were obtained in all patients by using the method of limits and the method of levels. Results. CPT values obtained by using the method of levels and the methods of limits were highly correlated at all frequencies before and after surgery (ρ = 0.93–0.99, P < 0.0001). The mean threshold values obtained by the method of levels were significantly lower at all frequencies compared with those obtained by the method of limits. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the method of levels is more sensitive for the detection of CPTs compared to the method of limits

Music Appreciation (GGC)

This Grants Collection for Music Appreciation was created under a Round Five ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process. Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials: Linked Syllabus Initial Proposal Final Reporthttps://oer.galileo.usg.edu/arts-collections/1004/thumbnail.jp