Mindfulness Training in Emergency Department Nurses: Review of Literature

Introduction: Compassion fatigue is prevalent among nurses. Nurses and patients are negatively impacted by the occurrence of compassion fatigue. Research has indicated that nurses working in high-acuity areas, such as the emergency department, are more likely to experience compassion fatigue. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce symptoms of compassion fatigue. The goal of this project was to examine the effect of mindfulness training on Professional Quality of Life V (ProQOL-V-V) subscale scores. Evidence Summary: An evidence search was conducted using the EBSCO Megafile, CINAHL, APA PsychArticles, and APA PsychInfo databases. Keywords: Professional Quality of Life, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, Coppenhagen Burnout Inventory, burnout, compassion fatigue, and mindfulness. Articles were limited to publication dates of 2010-2020, full-text availability, peer-reviewed items, and the English language. Review articles were excluded. The literature suggests that the profession of nursing and systems where nursing occurs should be aware of compassion fatigue and take measures to recognize and prevent it. Gaps: Further research is needed to identify accurate methods of identifying, measuring, and preventing compassion fatigue. Recommendations for Practice: There are multiple tools that can be used to assess compassion fatigue. Mindfulness training is a valid option for preventing and reducing compassion fatigue

Sexual Communication: An Exploration of How Couples Communicate and Consent to Sexual Behaviors

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. January 2018. Major: Family Social Science. Advisor: Steven Harris. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 91 pages.Communication is an important aspect of sexual relationships. As relationships change over the course of the lifespan, life events (e.g., birth of a child) and sexual problems (e.g., low sexual desire; erectile dysfunction) affect couple sexuality. Moreover, sexual miscommunication between couples can lead to unhealthy, frustrating and unsatisfying exchanges between partners and in some cases is one potential pathway to sexual assault. Examining how couples communicate and negotiate sexual behaviors may contribute to more effective sex therapy interventions and even sexual assault prevention strategies. The present research examines how couples communicate about sex and aims to understand the cues couples use to signal consent when engaging in sexual intercourse. In order to investigate sexual communication, I first conducted a critical review of the existing empirical literature on how couples communicate and negotiate sexual behaviors. Through this review I found that sex researchers have investigated how anxiety, types of sexual language, and sexual attitudes affect sexual communication. A major finding is that sexual self-disclosure (i.e., sharing one’s sexual likes and dislikes with their partner) is highly important for relationship and sexual satisfaction. However, few statements can be made to describe the specific communication patterns that couples use to discuss sexual topics. Based on the review I suggest that this finding may be attributed to the limitations of sexual script theory (one commonly used theory with which to view sexual communication) and the research’s historical emphasis on individual, rather than couple-oriented interventions for sexual problems. To identify how individuals use and interpret cues to engage in sexual intercourse, I conducted a cross-sectional study. Using Amazon Mechanical Turk, I surveyed individuals on how they indicate and interpret verbal and nonverbal cues to engage in sexual consent. Given that individuals in relationships may be more effective at signaling and reading their partner’s sexual cues, analysis of variance and regression equations were used to investigate how relationship length, sexual self-disclosure, and the interaction of the two affected their verbal and nonverbal communication patterns. The models suggest that gender, and not relationship satisfaction affect how individuals communicate consent. Surprisingly, statements about intoxication were also forms of communication that males and females used to signal consent to their partners. Currently, efforts to prevent sexual miscommunication have centered on affirmative sexual consent policies and dating education programs for children in middle school. The results of this study suggest that psychoeducation programs developed to prevent sexual communication should include information about how alcohol is used to signal consent and take into account gender differences that exist for how individuals signal and interpret communication cues. Implications of these two studies highlight the importance for understanding how couples communicate about sexual behaviors. Identifying specific combinations of verbal and nonverbal cues will address the limitations of sexual script theory and may classify patterns of sexual communication that reduce the chance of sexual assault. Future studies may benefit from diary study designs or the infusion of technology, such as virtual reality, in research designs to answer these questions.Newstrom, Nicholas. (2018). Sexual Communication: An Exploration of How Couples Communicate and Consent to Sexual Behaviors. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/194563

Translating the Biology of IL-9 into the Pathogenesis of Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory disease of the nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa that can have profound effects on patient quality of life and US healthcare costs. Increased IL-9 expression has been identified in CRS patients, particularly those with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) or eosinophilic CRS (ECRS). Il-9 gene expression has been found to be uniquely regulated by super enhancer RNA (eRNA). Aim 1: Perform an in-depth literature review to summarize the current understanding of IL-9 biology, with an emphasis on IL-9’s contribution to CRS pathology. Aim 2: Use antisense treatment of mouse Th9 cells in vitro to suppress IL-9 as initial validation of a possible immunotherapeutic treatment strategy for CRS patients. Methods: CD4+ T-cells harvested from mouse lymph nodes and spleen were cultured under Th9 polarizing conditions, confirming Th9 differentiation with flow cytometry. Best strategies for robust baseline IL-9 and super enhancer RNA expression were determined by comparing qPCR values with various IL-9 stimulating conditions and RNA extraction methods. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting the Il-9 gene and super enhancer eRNA were designed using the UCSC In-Silico PCR tool and IDT’s OligoAnalyzer tool and were introduced to Th9 cell cultures using electroporation with the Lonza Nucelofector 2b. The fold decrease in gene expression in ASO vs. control conditions were determined using qPCR relative quantification. Results: Baseline super enhancer expression was 8.9, 7.6, and 3.8 times higher for 3 different super enhancer targets using organic extraction compared to a spin column method for RNA extraction, and 6.8, 7.5, and 6.5 times higher in culture conditions utilizing anti-GITR stimulation compared to OX40L stimulation. Preliminary results of unmodified ASO knockdown studies showed ~2-fold decrease in IL-9 expression in ASO conditions, but this was not consistent across all conditions. Conclusions: The addition of anti-GITR to Th9 cultures lead to the greatest baseline super enhancer expression and super enhancer RNA was best isolated using organic extraction methods. Though preliminary ASO studies are promising for IL-9 suppression, additional testing is necessary to determine the ideal concentrations of ASOs and timing of ASO introduction to cell cultures, as well as replicate experiments with modified ASOs

Patterns of plant phenology in Amazonian seasonally flooded and unflooded forests

Few studies have successfully monitored community-wide phenological patterns in seasonally flooded Amazonian várzea forests, where a prolonged annual flood pulse arguably generates the greatest degree of seasonality of any low-latitude ecosystem on Earth. We monitored the vegetative and reproductive plant phenology of várzea (VZ) floodplain and adjacent terra firme (TF) forests within two contiguous protected areas in western Brazilian Amazonia, using three complementary methods: monthly canopy observations of 1056 individuals (TF: 556, VZ: 500), twice monthly collections from 0.5-m2 litterfall traps within two 100-ha plots (1 TF, 1 VZ; 96 traps per plot), and monthly ground surveys of residual fruit-fall along transect-grids within each 100-ha plot (12 km per plot). Surveys encompassed the entire annual flood cycle and employed a floating trap design to cope with fluctuating water levels. Phenology patterns were generally similar in both forest types. Leaffall peaked during the aquatic phase in várzea forest and the dry season in terra firme. Flowering typically followed leaffall and leaf flush, extending into the onset of the terrestrial phase and rainy season in várzea and terra firme, respectively. Abiotic seed dispersal modes were relatively more prevalent in várzea than terra firme; the main contrast in fruiting seasonality was more likely a result of differences in community composition and relative abundance of seed dispersal modes than differences within individual genera. We emphasize the difficulty in distinguishing the role of the flood pulse from other seasonal environmental variables without multiannual data or spatially replicated studies across the spectrum of Amazonian forest types

Expressions 1979

Expressions contains selected work from the 1979 Creative Writing Contest winners and honorable mentions along with Commercial Art students at Des Moines Area Community College. Design, typography and layout was done by Journalism students.https://openspace.dmacc.edu/expressions/1001/thumbnail.jp

Reproductive phenology of 233 species from four herbaceous–shrubby communities in the Gran Sabana Plateau of Venezuela

The reproductive phenology of 233 species from four herbaceous-shrubby communities in the Venezuelan Guayana Highlands (shrublands, secondary bush, savanna, and broad-leaved meadow) exhibited non-seasonal patterns of variability These were found to be related to composition of life-forms, precipitation regime and soil type