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

Building Inclusive Student Innovation Competitions, Exhibitions, and Training Programs

There has been an emerging trend of expanding entrepreneurship educational programs/events to broader student populations. Similarly, the focus of this paper is broadening participation in student innovation competitions, exhibitions, and training programs. Therefore, through student surveys, factors and barriers affecting student participation in these co-curricular programs were explored, with a particular interest being students who are underrepresented in entrepreneurship. The survey items were crafted based on the known scales and theories in the literature, such as the Expectancy-Value-Cost Scale and Self-Determination Theory. The findings revealed that the time commitment and lack of awareness were significant barriers to participation in these activities. To make student innovation competitions, exhibitions, and training programs more accessible and relatable to all students, higher education institutions should consider reframing these events and developing them, requiring less time commitment. The Expectancy-Value-Cost-based framework used in this study is also promising to study students’ engagement with entrepreneurship and innovation-focused co-curricular activities