Factors Influencing Teacher and Adminstrators\u27 Knowledge and Attitudes about Adolescent Depression, Suicide, and Prevention

To date, research has yet to be conducted that examines U.S. secondary school teachers\u27 and administrators\u27 attitudes toward intervening with potentially depressed and/or suicidal students. Additionally, research is needed to identify the demographic characteristics of educators that are associated with general knowledge of adolescent suicide and the risk factors and warning signs that often accompany it. The purpose of the present study was to examine the following hypotheses: 1) certain characteristics (e.g. gender, years of experience with educating children, the amount of training received on adolescent depression/suicide, and knowledge of adolescent suicide and depression) are better predictors of attitudes toward adolescent depression and suicide, and 2) teachers and administrators who are more knowledgeable about adolescent depression and suicide are more likely to report positive attitudes toward preventing these acts in the school setting. Participants included 122 teachers, administrators, and staff members from secondary schools in Illinois. Participants responded to a 47-item questionnaire that contained items from four different survey scales: the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS), the Suicide Stigma Scale (SSS), the Attitudes Toward Suicide Prevention Scale (ASPS), and the Suicide Knowledge Survey (SKS). Results indicated that knowledge of adolescent depression and suicide was the best predictor of participants\u27 scores on survey scales that measured depression stigma, suicide stigma, and attitudes toward suicide prevention. Overall, greater knowledge of adolescent depression and suicide was associated with less stigmatized attitudes toward depression and suicide, and more positive attitudes toward suicide prevention. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are also discussed

Regions of beta 2 and beta 4 responsible for differences between the steady state dose-response relationships of the alpha 3 beta 2 and alpha 3 beta 4 neuronal nicotinic receptors

We constructed chimeras of the rat beta 2 and beta 4 neuronal nicotinic subunits to locate the regions that contribute to differences between the acetylcholine (ACh) dose-response relationships of the alpha 3 beta 2 and alpha 3 beta 4 receptors. Expressed in Xenopus oocytes, the alpha 3 beta 2 receptor displays an EC50 for ACh approximately 20-fold less than the EC50 of the alpha 3 beta 4 receptor. The apparent Hill slope (n(app)) of alpha 3 beta 2 is near one whereas the alpha 3 beta 4 receptor displays an n(app) near two. Substitutions within the first 120 residues convert the EC50 for ACh from one wild-type value to the other. Exchanging just beta 2:104-120 for the corresponding region of beta 4 shifts the EC50 of ACh dose-response relationship in the expected direction but does not completely convert the EC50 of the dose- response relationship from one wild-type value to the other. However, substitutions in the beta 2:104-120 region do account for the relative sensitivity of the alpha 3 beta 2 receptor to cytisine, tetramethylammonium, and ACh. The expression of beta 4-like (strong) cooperativity requires an extensive region of beta 4 (beta 4:1-301). Relatively short beta 2 substitutions (beta 2:104-120) can reduce cooperativity to beta 2-like values. The results suggest that amino acids within the first 120 residues of beta 2 and the corresponding region of beta 4 contribute to an agonist binding site that bridges the alpha and beta subunits in neuronal nicotinic receptors

Decoupling of silicon carbide optical sensor response for temperature and pressure measurements (Erratum)

Single crystal silicon carbide is a chemically inert transparent material with superior oxidation-resistant properties at elevated temperatures compared to black polycrystalline silicon carbide substrates. These improved properties make crystalline silicon carbide a good optical sensor material for harsh environments such as combustion chambers and turbine systems. Interferometric optical sensors are orders of magnitude more sensitive than electrical sensors and are proposed for these applications. Silicon carbide itself behaves as a Fabry-Perot etalon eliminating the need for an external interferometer for any measurement using this silicon carbide as a sensor. The principle of the optical sensor in this study is the temperature- and pressure-dependent refractive index of silicon carbide, which can be used to determine the temperatures and pressures of gases that are in contact with silicon carbide. Interference patterns produced by a silicon carbide (4H-SiC) wafer due to multiple reflections of a helium-neon laser beam of wavelength of 632.8 nm have been obtained at temperatures up to 500 degrees C and pressures up to 600 psi. The pattern changes for the same gas at different temperatures and pressures and for different gases at the same temperature and pressure. The refractive index at the wafer-gas interface is calculated from the interference pattern and the refractive index gradients with respect to temperature and pressure, respectively, are also determined. Decoupling temperature and pressure using these gradients and the measured reflectivity data are discussed in this paper

Forensic Investigation of Google Assistant

Google Nest devices have seen a rise in demand especially with Google’s huge advantage in search engine results and a complex ecosystem that consists of a range of companion devices and compatible mobile applications integrated and interacting with its virtual assistant, Google Assistant. This study undertakes the forensics extraction and analysis of client-centric and cloud-native data remnants left behind on Android smartphones by the Google Home and Google Assistant apps used to control a Google Nest device. We identified the main database and file system storage location central to the Google Assistant ecosystem. From our analysis, we show forensic artifacts of interest associated with user account information, the chronology and copies of past voice conversations exchanged, and record of deleted data. The findings from this study describe forensic artifacts that could assist forensic investigators and can facilitate a criminal investigation

The Use of Maleic Hydrazide for Effective Hybridization of Setaria viridis

An efficient method for crossing green foxtail (Setaria viridis) is currently lacking. S. viridis is considered to be the new model plant for the study of C4 system in monocots and so an effective crossing protocol is urgently needed. S. viridis is a small grass with C4-NADP (ME) type of photosynthesis and has the advantage of having small genome of about 515 Mb, small plant stature, short life cycle, multiple tillers, and profuse seed set, and hence is an ideal model species for research. The objectives of this project were to develop efficient methods of emasculation and pollination, and to speed up generation advancement. We assessed the response of S. viridis flowers to hot water treatment (48°C) and to different concentrations of gibberellic acid, abscisic acid, maleic hydrazide (MH), and kinetin. We found that 500 μM of MH was effective in the emasculation of S. viridis, whilst still retaining the receptivity of the stigma to pollination. We also report effective ways to accelerate the breeding cycle of S. viridis for research through the germination of mature as well as immature seeds in optimized culture media. We believe these findings will be of great interest to researchers using Setaria

The City: Art and the Urban Environment

The City: Art and the Urban Environment is the fifth annual exhibition curated by students enrolled in the Art History Methods class. This exhibition draws on the students’ newly developed expertise in art-historical methodologies and provides an opportunity for sustained research and an engaged curatorial experience. Working with a selection of paintings, prints, and photographs, students Angelique Acevedo ’19, Sidney Caccioppoli ’21, Abigail Coakley ’20, Chris Condon ’18, Alyssa DiMaria ’19, Carolyn Hauk ’21, Lucas Kiesel ’20, Noa Leibson ’20, Erin O’Brien ’19, Elise Quick ’21, Sara Rinehart ’19, and Emily Roush ’21 carefully consider depictions of the urban environment in relation to significant social, economic, artistic, and aesthetic developments. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1029/thumbnail.jp

Regions of β4·β2 subunit chimeras that contribute to the agonist selectivity of neuronal nicotinic receptors

AbstractFifteen chimeric nicotinic receptors β subunits were constructed consisting of N-terminal neuronal β4 sequences and C-terminal β2 sequences. Responses to cytisine, nicotine, or tetramethylammonium were compared to acetylcholine responses for these subunits expressed in Xenopus oocytes with α3 subunits. The results show that (i) two residues in the extracellular domain of chimeric β4·β2 subunits (108β2F/β4V, 110β2S/β4T) account for much of the relative cytisine sensitivity; and (ii) four extracellular residues of chimeric β4·β2 subunits (112β2A/β4V, 113β2V/β4I and 115β2S/β4R, 116β2Y/β4S) account for most of the relative tetramethylammonium sensitivity. The data did not permit localization of nicotine sensitivity to any particular region

Disentangling Fun and Enjoyment in Exergames Using an Expanded Design, Play, Experience Framework: A Narrative Review

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