A Grounded Theory of Lesbian and Gay Leadership Self-Efficacy Development

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of gay and lesbian college students engaged in leadership and the meaning they made of their leadership self-efficacy development, particularly as it related to their identity development and various environmental assisters and constraints. The study sought to identity what shaped the development of leadership self-efficacy for these students and generated additional questions for future research. Using Grounded Theory Methodology, this study explored the primary research question: How do gay and lesbian college students engaged in leadership develop their leadership self-efficacy? Three interviews were held each with 10 students who self-identified as gay, lesbian, queer, or sexually fluid who were highly involved in leadership activities on campus. The theory that emerged from the participants' experiences centered on the individual's self-efficacy to engage in leadership defined within the context of their beliefs about the nature of leadership engagement. The self-efficacy of the students was enhanced by support, success, and deep and broad involvement and was diminished by failure and active criticism. The students‟ gay, lesbian, or queer identities served to either improve self-efficacy or leadership or had no demonstrable effect, according to the participants‟ stories. Sexual orientation served to improve self-efficacy for engagement in leadership by broadening perspectives, improving relationships and comfort within groups, allowing the participants to bring their full selves to their experiences, creating empathy and understanding, and improving personal awareness. Participants also shared that their identities were integral to their involvements, that being out increased their overall self-confidence, that greater comfort led to greater involvement, and that visibility and voice was important to their leadership self-efficacy. Students also shared that their sexual orientation did not have an appreciable effect on their leadership self-efficacy when they already had a great deal of confidence to engage in leadership, when they had already integrated their sexual orientations, when situations did not relate to their sexual orientations, or when the saliency of their sexual orientations was lower than other aspects of their personality

Investigating the effects of tau mutations in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons

Microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) is a neuronal protein which promotes microtubule assembly and stabilisation. The MAPT gene is alternatively spliced to give six tau isoforms: three with 3 microtubule-binding repeats (3R, excluding exon 10) and three with 4 microtubule-binding repeats (4R, including exon 10). MAPT mutations cause the progressive, degenerative disorder fronto-temporal dementia with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17T), in which tau becomes abnormally phosphorylated and aggregates. FTDP-17T related MAPT mutations can either alter exon 10 splicing and the 3R:4R tau isoform ratio (such as N279K), or affect tau’s biochemical properties (such as P301L and V337M). In this project, I differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from control subjects and people with the N279K or V337M MAPT mutations to monolayer neurons. There was an increase in the proportion of neurons containing tau phosphorylated at the AT8 epitope in N279K cultures after 50 days, and more 4R tau was detected earlier in the N279K cultures than in controls, confirming the action of the N279K mutation. All monolayer neural cultures matured at similar rates in terms of synapse formation, neuronal marker expression and astrocyte production, and I did not detect other FTDP-17T-relevant phenotypes in MAPT-mutant cultures, perhaps due to the time points (50 and 80-100 days) at which I examined them. To investigate the effects of the N279K mutation independent of iPSC line genetic background, I attempted to create isogenic iPSC lines using CRISPR. This was not successful, but I obtained isogenic control and P301L iPSCs from Axol Bioscience, from which, along with the patient-derived P301L MAPT-mutant iPSCs, I made cerebral organoids (COs). Similar amounts of neuronal, astrocyte, and synaptic proteins were detected in the control and MAPT-mutant COs, as were cortical layer markers indicating a forebrain-like fate. Phosphorylation at the AT8 epitope was detected in the control and MAPT-mutant COs, as was tau misfolding, detected using the MC-1 antibody. In conclusion, some alterations similar to those observed in FTDP-17T brains can be observed in monolayer iPSC-derived neurons and perhaps in iPSC-derived COs. However, some phenotypes may be masked by experimental variability which needs to be addressed in the future.Funded by the MRC-DTP and the Sackler Foundatio

Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the Primary Care Setting in Philadelphia: A Retrospective Review

Introduction: The opioid crisis continues to be a growing public health concern across the United States. Americans struggling with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) can seek different resources to help curtail their addiction. These include abstinence -based programs such as Narcotics Anonymous and Specialty treatment facilities including methadone and suboxone clinics. It has been shown that increased availability of drugs to treat opioid use addiction, such as methadone and buprenorphine, is linked to a lower likelihood of relapse and fatal overdoses. Therefore, medication assisted treatment (MAT) is a valuable asset because it combines behavioral therapy and medications to treat opioid use disorder. Despite the potential benefit of primary care MATs, there are factors leading to low access and utilization of these programs. They include limited number of trained prescribers, policy barriers such as insurance coverage, and both and provider stigma associated with MAT. Demographics from the MAT program of Project HOME Health Services of Philadelphia were reviewed for this project. Objective: To conduct a retrospective review of MAT program participant demographics at Project HOME Health Services in North Philadelphia. The goal is to identify the key demographics of patients enrolled in the program from July 2017- July 2018. Methods: A review of an Electronic Medical Record database from a population of 108 patients enrolled in the MAT program at Project HOME Health Services from July 2017-2018. The planned analysis is demographic descriptive statistics. Results: The age range of patients was 27-71. Of the 108 patients, 39 were considered active participants in the program (21 male, 18 female). Twenty-five percent of the patient population reported their homeless status as shelter, street, transitional, supportive housing, or formerly homeless. Sixty-nine patients received a hepatitis C virus antibody test, with 26 reporting results suggesting of a possible Hepatitis C, 8 positive, and 20 with negative testing. In the total population, there were 39% reported hypertension, 54% reported depression, and 94% reported current tobacco use. Conclusion: The reported findings describe the demographics of the MAT participants of Project Home of Philadelphia. This data will be utilized in conjunction with other research that assesses adherence to MAT programs and quality of life. Future areas for research involve statistical comparisons to determine factors leading to patient retention in the program. Another project would be to review the patients’ urine toxicology screens for additional information, including the number of months in the program until only the prescribed drugs are in the urine and how many drug screens were positive for fentanyl. Finally, further research may determine specific additional primary care needs of the participants

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLANS: Engaging Students as Agents in Their Own Development

Students need look no further than their immediate surroundings to see global connections to their daily lives. Their clothes are made across the world; their classmates, neighbors, and coworkers represent a wide range of nationalities; their friends are posted overseas in the Peace Corps, the military, and with humanitarian organizations; and issues of human rights at home and abroad are broadcast daily on their TVs and favorite blogs. From business and politics, to environmental activism and social change, issues are seldom contained within the borders of a nation state. They seep and soar across borders and across cultures to impact us in ways we may not even realize. It is within this global context that our students live, so it’s vital that our students have competencies to flourish as the global leaders of tomorrow (or, for that matter, the global leaders of today)

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLANS: Engaging Students as Agents in Their Own Development

Students need look no further than their immediate surroundings to see global connections to their daily lives. Their clothes are made across the world; their classmates, neighbors, and coworkers represent a wide range of nationalities; their friends are posted overseas in the Peace Corps, the military, and with humanitarian organizations; and issues of human rights at home and abroad are broadcast daily on their TVs and favorite blogs. From business and politics, to environmental activism and social change, issues are seldom contained within the borders of a nation state. They seep and soar across borders and across cultures to impact us in ways we may not even realize. It is within this global context that our students live, so it’s vital that our students have competencies to flourish as the global leaders of tomorrow (or, for that matter, the global leaders of today)

Second Impact Syndrome

A controversial term first described by Saunders and Harbaugh1 in 1984, Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) consists of two events. Typically, it involves an athlete suffering post-concussive symptoms following a head injury.2 If, within several weeks, the athlete returns to play and sustains a second head injury, diffuse cerebral swelling, brain herniation, and death can occur. SIS can occur with any two events involving head trauma. While rare, it is devastating in that young, healthy patients may die within a few minutes. Emergency physicians should be aware of this syndrome and counsel patients and their parents concerning when to allow an athlete to return to play. Furthermore, we present guidelines for appropriate follow up and evaluation by a specialist when necessary.[WestJEM. 2009;10:6-10.

Second Impact Syndrome

A controversial term first described by Saunders and Harbaugh1 in 1984, Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) consists of two events. Typically, it involves an athlete suffering post-concussive symptoms following a head injury.2 If, within several weeks, the athlete returns to play and sustains a second head injury, diffuse cerebral swelling, brain herniation, and death can occur. SIS can occur with any two events involving head trauma. While rare, it is devastating in that young, healthy patients may die within a few minutes. Emergency physicians should be aware of this syndrome and counsel patients and their parents concerning when to allow an athlete to return to play. Furthermore, we present guidelines for appropriate follow up and evaluation by a specialist when necessary.[WestJEM. 2009;10:6-10.