Probing white-matter microstructure with higher-order diffusion tensors and susceptibility tensor MRI.

Diffusion MRI has become an invaluable tool for studying white matter microstructure and brain connectivity. The emergence of quantitative susceptibility mapping and susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) has provided another unique tool for assessing the structure of white matter. In the highly ordered white matter structure, diffusion MRI measures hindered water mobility induced by various tissue and cell membranes, while susceptibility sensitizes to the molecular composition and axonal arrangement. Integrating these two methods may produce new insights into the complex physiology of white matter. In this study, we investigated the relationship between diffusion and magnetic susceptibility in the white matter. Experiments were conducted on phantoms and human brains in vivo. Diffusion properties were quantified with the diffusion tensor model and also with the higher order tensor model based on the cumulant expansion. Frequency shift and susceptibility tensor were measured with quantitative susceptibility mapping and susceptibility tensor imaging. These diffusion and susceptibility quantities were compared and correlated in regions of single fiber bundles and regions of multiple fiber orientations. Relationships were established with similarities and differences identified. It is believed that diffusion MRI and susceptibility MRI provide complementary information of the microstructure of white matter. Together, they allow a more complete assessment of healthy and diseased brains

Life After Nursing School: A Qualitative Study Examining the Traditional B.S.N. Student\u27s Experience of Choosing an Initial Area of Practice

The purpose of this study was to explore the traditional BSN student\u27s experience in choosing an initial area of practice and influences on this choice. Understanding of this experience is important for educators and healthcare agencies so they may utilize this information to improve the initial area of practice experience. This qualitative phenomenological study was based on van Manen\u27s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Data were collected through participant interviews that were analyzed for themes related to participant experiences of choosing an initial area of practice. The data were simultaneously transcribed and analyzed to extract themes for each participant. Analysis identified three essential themes, eight variations, and two influences. The three themes were: 1) strong preference of initial area of practice in last semester of nursing school, 2) all participants chose an initial area of practice in area of previous clinical exposure, and 3) increased exposure to populations informed the initial area of practice decision. Influences on the experience of choosing an initial area of practice included other nurses and the desire for a broad foundation for future nursing practice

The Climate Impact of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

This study uses an atmospheric general circulation model to examine the regional and global climate response to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) roughly 6 Ma. During this time, the tectonic collision of the African and European plates isolated the Mediterranean Sea (MedSea) from the Atlantic Ocean. MedSea level is estimated to have fallen between 1000-2000 m and desiccation may have lasted for 90 kyr. Our results show that the substantial MedSea depression generates planetary-scale atmospheric waves responsible for significant climate effects throughout the Northern Hemisphere. A notable deepening of the Aleutian Low and a significant equator-ward shift in the Atlantic jet stream are evident. Cyclical patterns in Messinian sediments suggest alternating wet and dry climate during the MSC. These cycles have been attributed to variations in the Earth's precession. This is the first study to detail how reduced MedSea level alters orbitally-driven climate change during the Late Miocene. Reduced MedSea level results in wetter conditions to the Northeast, in particular the Alps, consistent with proxy data. This signal is robust under all precession signals and is supported by evidence of greater weathering of the Alps during the MSC. Desiccation and lowered MedSea level results in greater precipitation over the Guinea Coast region of North Africa. Greater runoff from this region is supported by proxy evidence of higher monsoon intensity and enhanced total organic carbon accumulation throughout the Messinian. We couple our model to an online aerosol model to examine the response of dust to varying orbital parameters and to MedSea desiccation. Modeling dust source and transport changes in response to decreased dustiness during precession minimum shows that warmer tropical North Atlantic SSTs, attributed to increased insolation in the absence of dust, enhances evaporation and favors more precipitation over the western tropical North Atlantic. This stresses the importance of allowing dust to respond to climate change and including prognostic dust in paleo-simulations that examine changes in the West African monsoon. Enhanced dust loading over the tropical North Atlantic Ocean occurs when the Mediterranean is desiccated. This reduces the net radiative flux at the surface, which cools SSTs north of the Equator and shifts the ITCZ towards the Southern Hemisphere, consistent with theories that link African dust with extended Sahel droughts. Greater ocean productivity results from nutrient rich iron-laden dust waters, which is consistent with increased benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates off the African coast between 5.8 Ma and 5.25 Ma. The dustier Northern Hemisphere inhibits convective precipitation in the tropical North Atlantic and large-scale precipitation over Eastern Europe and into Central Asia, in agreement with proxy evidence of greater aridity in these regions between 6.2 and 5 Ma. Our results show that a desiccated Mediterranean has a significant impact on Northern Hemisphere sea-ice formation during precession maximum, which agrees with &delta18O proxies. Sea ice growth spreads southward, especially in the Labrador and Bering Seas. Interestingly, proxy data studies show discontinuous sea-ice in the Labrador Sea and south of Greenland, as well as concurrent ice-rafting in both the northwest Pacific and Gulf of Alaska sites in the late Miocene, a few million years prior to Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Class negotiations : poverty, welfare policy, and American television

textTelevision impacts the shape of our common culture by depicting our societal fears, myths and hopes in a constantly shifting and negotiated manner. There is a glaring lack of research regarding media representations of children/adolescents in poverty. The study of this intersection is critically important for understanding societal discourse around education, healthcare, government assistance programs and even the opinions and practices of teachers and administrators. Children under 18 years of age represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty in the United States. Among all children, 45 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families. In this thesis, I trace discourse in the mainstream news and popular culture regarding children and poverty through welfare debates and policy changes in the U.S. from the 1990s and 2000s through the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. Subsequently, I analyze the construction of this discourse on narrative television in the shows My So Called Life (ABC, 1994-1995) The O.C. (FOX, 2003-2007) and Shameless (Showtime, 2011-). Through this mapping, I examine how gender, sexuality, race, and age are mobilized in constructing televisual representations of poverty; as well as how shifting discourses and depictions make transparent society’s anxieties regarding poverty.  Women's and Gender Studie

Clinical Effectiveness of an Aquatic Exercise Program on Strength, Balance, Quality of Life and Emotional Well-Being in Those with Visual Impairments: A Protocol Study

As of 2019, at least 2.2 billion people worldwide are living with some degree of visual impairment according to the World Health Organization. Generic physical therapy has been shown to benefit those with visual impairments. In a 2014 systematic review, researchers analyzed multiple studies that focused on the visually impaired population and their progress on strengthening after participating in exercise programs. They found that the generalized PT helped to improve the performance on tests of physical function in those with visual impairments. There has been minimal research on aquatic therapy and those with visual impairments, yet there have been other studies looking at aquatic therapy with other impairments. Due to the lack of previous research on the topic, the purpose of this study was to see how aquatic therapy affects those with visual impairments in the areas of strength, balance, quality of life and emotional well being. Twenty participants with visual impairments intend to be recruited from the Northeast Sight Services in Exeter, PA. These participants will take place in a 6 week exercise program adapted from the Ohio State Aquatic Therapy Exercise Program. Pre and post exercise program measurements will be assessed in the areas of strength via the 30 Second STS test, balance via the BERG balance scale, and quality of life and emotional well being via the SF-36 and additional qualitative questions. The researchers hypothesize that there will be improvements in the post exercise program assessments. This is a protocol study.https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2023/1010/thumbnail.jp

Life After Nursing School: A Qualitative Study Examining the Traditional B.S.N. Student’s Experience of Choosing an Initial Area of Practice

The purpose of this study was to explore the traditional BSN student’s experience in choosing an initial area of practice and influences on this choice. Understanding of this experience is important for educators and healthcare agencies so they may utilize this information to improve the initial area of practice experience. This qualitative phenomenological study was based on van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Data were collected through participant interviews that were analyzed for themes related to participant experiences of choosing an initial area of practice. The data were simultaneously transcribed and analyzed to extract themes for each participant. Analysis identified three essential themes, eight variations, and two influences. The three themes were: 1) strong preference of initial area of practice in last semester of nursing school, 2) all participants chose an initial area of practice in area of previous clinical exposure, and 3) increased exposure to populations informed the initial area of practice decision. Influences on the experience of choosing an initial area of practice included other nurses and the desire for a broad foundation for future nursing practice

Adding value to waste from the aquaculture industry: the development of green processing technologies, characterization, and applications of waste blue mussel shells

Mussels (Mytilus edulis) are a high protein food grown using aquacultural methods around the world. By-product streams from this industry include raw discards (small or damaged product) and cooked shells that retain their posterior adductor muscle. The shell by-product streams from aquaculture could be used in a range of applications but shell storage without protein removal is problematic. An environmentally friendly shell cleaning protocol was developed using two industrial available food grade enzymes (Multifect PR 6L and PR 7L) to remove protein from mussel shells and is described in Chapter 2. This process was optimized using a Design of Experiments approach and could be performed in seawater or tap water using raw or cooked mussels. This method provides two product streams: a biorenewable calcium carbonate and protein hydrolysate. Characterization of the shells, including by ¹H MAS NMR spectroscopy, is described in Chapter 3. Heat treatment of blue mussel shells yields four CaCO₃ materials with differing ratios of aragonite and calcite. Heat treatment (220 °C, 48 h) of the shells caused a large decrease in organic matrix levels as shown by ¹H MAS NMR spectroscopy and this reduction in matrix content leads to a simple way to separate the prismatic calcite layer from the nacreous layer, allowing easy isolation of natural platelets of nacre. Using mussel protein hydrolysate from the shell cleaning protocol as an additive, synthetic nacre was prepared using a CaCl₂ and Na₂CO₃ mixing method. The preparation of calcium acetate from mussel shell materials and acetic acid is described in Chapter 4. An exploratory central composite design compared the yield of Ca(CH₃COO)₂ with respect to shell material used, concentration of CH₃COOH, and time. The yield of Ca(CH₃COO)₂·H₂O was optimized further using heated, crushed shells using a custom optimal design. A maximum yield of 93% was reached after 32 h using 9% CH₃COOH and food-grade white vinegar gave an 85% yield of Ca(CH₃COO)₂·H₂O after 24 h. De-icing experiments showed that the Ca(CH₃COO)₂·H₂O produced from waste blue mussel shells melted 10-13 wt.% of ice in 15 min at concentrations of 20-30% (m/v) at –16 °C. During the synthesis of calcium acetate, a new material was discovered (Chapter 5), which was formed by the reassembly of calcite prisms held together by the organic matrix ‘glue’ as evidenced by NMR spectroscopy. This self-assembled calcite (SAC) material has a nest-like morphology and can absorb 10 times its mass in water. This inorganic sponge was used to adsorb dyes from aqueous solution (24 wt% of fabric dye) and absorb crude oil. SAC had an average crude oil absorption capacity of 978% +/- 84.3% with no consequence on crude oil absorption over 10 cycles of re-use. The SAC material was also used as an inorganic filler in ionic liquid gel polymer electrolytes (Chapter 6). The addition of SAC resulted in mechanically and thermally stable films with good conductivity and large electrochemical window. Cell capacitors fabricated using this material had very good capacitance, 110 F/g at a current density of 2 A/g. The maximum energy density and power density of the device containing SAC was 28 Wh/kg and 8.1 kW/kg at 0.5 and 10 A/g, respectively

Recruitment of childhood leukaemia patients to clinical trials in Great Britain during 1980-2007: variation by birth weight, congenital malformation, socioeconomic status and ethnicity.

OBJECTIVE: To assess recruitment of children to national clinical trials for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in Great Britain during 1980-2007 and describe variation by some factors that might influence trial entry. DESIGN AND SETTING: Records of leukaemia patients aged 0-14 years at diagnosis were identified in the National Registry of Childhood Tumours and linked to birth registrations, Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group records, Hospital Episode Statistics and Medical Research Council clinical trial registers. Trial entry rates were compared between categories of birth weight, congenital malformation, socioeconomic status and ethnicity. RESULTS: 9147 ALL and 1466 AML patients were eligible for national clinical trials during 1980-2007. Overall recruitment rates were 81% and 60% respectively. For ALL, rates varied significantly with congenital malformation (Down syndrome 61%, other malformations 80%, none 82%; p4000 g 67%; p=0.001) and congenital malformation (Down syndrome 28%, other malformations 56%, none 63%; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although recruitment rates to clinical trials for childhood leukaemia are high, future trials should monitor possible variation by birth weight, ethnicity and presence of congenital malformations