Understanding the Role that the Internet and Social Media Plays in Suicide Survivor Bereavement

Every year more than 47,000 individuals die by suicide in the United States, leaving behind numerous family and friends who become suicide survivors. While there are prodigious amounts of research on suicidal behavior, little research has focused on what the surviving family members, friends, and community members need after the loss. Many suicide survivors use social media to address their grief and pain in a very public manner. A constructionist social theory of grief and existential phenomenology provided the framework for this qualitative study to examine the use of the Internet and social media as a forum for those grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide. Suicide survivors were recruited through purposeful sampling and interviewed about their experiences using the Internet and social media as a coping tool for dealing with their loss. Four themes emerged from the research: intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and societal. These themes identified how positive social change can result from survivorship and the use of the Internet and social media as a tool for growth. Through this study, I contribute to social change by providing more knowledge about how suicide survivors can address their needs after losing a loved one. Additional research will allow mental health professionals, medical providers, and natural supports (e.g., friends, family, or clergy) to understand this population\u27s needs. This new knowledge also provides insight for website designers who work with groups such as the American Foundation on Suicide Prevention and others in providing online opportunities for grieving, making their efforts more effective, especially for those living in rural areas

Changes Over Time in Masters Level School Counselor Education Programs

A national survey regarding the preparation of entry-level school counseling students was conducted to assess changes over time that may have occurred in the credit hours, screening methods, faculty experiences, course content, fieldwork requirements, and importance of The Education Trust concepts. Key findings include increases in the number of faculty with school counseling experience and the number of programs requiring practicum and internship to be completed in a school setting, and decreases in the number of courses designed specifically for school counseling students and the importance of supervision

Changes Over Time in Masters Level School Counselor Education Programs

A national survey regarding the preparation of entry-level school counseling students was conducted to assess changes over time that may have occurred in the credit hours, screening methods, faculty experiences, course content, fieldwork requirements, and importance of The Education Trust concepts. Key findings include increases in the number of faculty with school counseling experience and the number of programs requiring practicum and internship to be completed in a school setting, and decreases in the number of courses designed specifically for school counseling students and the importance of supervision

The Importance and Implementation of Eight Components of College and Career Readiness Counseling in School Counselor Education Programs

School counselor education program administrators (N = 131) responded to an online questionnaire where the importance and extent of implementation of The College Board’s National Office of School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA) Eight Components of College and Career Readiness in their school counselor education program were assessed. The mean importance of the components was rated between ‘moderately important’ and ‘very important’ by participants, and the components were ‘usually’ implemented in the curriculum of their programs. Implications of this study include the need for increased attention in graduate-level school counselor training programs on equity-focused college and career readiness counseling and knowledge of current national initiatives

Genetic and environmental influences on eating behaviors in 2.5-and 9-year-old children: a longitudinal twin study

Peer reviewe

Detecting transcriptionally active regions using genomic tiling arrays

We have developed a method for interpreting genomic tiling array data, implemented as the program TranscriptionDetector. Probed loci expressed above background are identified by combining replicates in a way that makes minimal assumptions about the data. We performed medium-resolution Anopheles gambiae tiling array experiments and found extensive transcription of both coding and non-coding regions. Our method also showed improved detection of transcriptional units when applied to high-density tiling array data for ten human chromosomes

INSIG1 influences obesity-related hypertriglyceridemia in humans

In our analysis of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for plasma triglyceride (TG) levels [logarithm of odds (LOD) = 3.7] on human chromosome 7q36, we examined 29 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across INSIG1, a biological candidate gene in the region. Insulin-induced genes (INSIGs) are feedback mediators of cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis in animals, but their role in human lipid regulation is unclear. In our cohort, the INSIG1 promoter SNP rs2721 was associated with TG levels (P = 2 × 10−3 in 1,560 individuals of the original linkage cohort, P = 8 × 10−4 in 920 unrelated individuals of the replication cohort, combined P = 9.9 × 10−6). Individuals homozygous for the T allele had 9% higher TG levels and 2-fold lower expression of INSIG1 in surgical liver biopsy samples when compared with individuals homozygous for the G allele. Also, the T allele showed additional binding of nuclear proteins from HepG2 liver cells in gel shift assays. Finally, the variant rs7566605 in INSIG2, the only homolog of INSIG1, enhances the effect of rs2721 (P = 0.00117). The variant rs2721 alone explains 5.4% of the observed linkage in our cohort, suggesting that additional, yet-undiscovered genes and sequence variants in the QTL interval also contribute to alterations in TG levels in humans

Diagnosis of oral pigmentations and malignant transformations

AbstractBackgroundOral pigmentation is a common finding in the mouth. Pigmentation can be either normal or abnormal discoloration of oral mucous membrane. The purpose of this review mainly focuses on the main oral pigmented lesions, in order to help the clinicians establish a better approach towards the patients with pigmented oral lesions and to provide thorough knowledge regarding such lesions for patient reassurance, early definitive diagnosis and prompt treatment.MethodsRelevant data concerning oral pigmented lesions, clinical features and the possibility of malignant transformation of such lesions were reviewed thoroughly from pubmed literature published in English. Pigmented lesions affecting the skin were not included in our review.ResultsFew pigmented lesions have been identified and their tendency to become malignant has been reported in the literature. The oral lesions showing malignant transformation reported were mostly case series. Unfortunately, due to lack of long-term studies, follow ups and randomized controlled studies in this respect it was difficult to draw a statistical analysis. This information is quite crucial for general dental practitioners to improve their understanding regarding oral lesions and to differentiate between normal and diseased conditions, so that they can master the skill of differential diagnosis, definitive diagnosis and prompt treatment.ConclusionOral pigmentation may present as focal, multifocal or diffused macular or tumefactive lesions. They may greatly vary in color as blue, purple, brown, gray or black depending on the quantity and site of melanin in the tissues [1]. Etiology of pigmentation can be multi factorial. Mostly pigmentation is physiologic but at times it can be a precursor of severe diseases.Lesions may be caused by localized harmless accumulations of melanin, hemosiderin or exogenous metals or they may be a sign of underlying systemic or genetic disease. A few lesions may be associated with life-threatening medical conditions that require immediate intervention. The differential diagnosis for any pigmented lesion is extensive, as it includes examples of endogenous and exogenous pigmentations. Although biopsy is a helpful and necessary aid in the diagnosis of focally pigmented lesions, with diffuse pigmentation lesions require a thorough dental and medical history and laboratory investigations

Genetic and social influences on starting to smoke: a study of Dutch adolescent twins and their parents

In a study of 1600 Dutch adolescent twin pairs we found that 59% of the inter‐individual variation in smoking behaviour could be attributed to shared environmental influences and 31% to genetic factors. The magnitude of the genetic and environmental effects did not differ between boys and girls. However, environmental effects shared by male twins and environmental effects shared by female twins were imperfectly correlated in twins from opposite‐sex pairs, indicating that different environmental factors influence smoking in adolescent boys and girls. In the parents of these twins, the correlation between husband and wife for‘currently smoking’(r = 0.43) was larger than for‘ever smoked’(r = 0.18). There was no evidence that smoking of parents (at present or in the past) encouraged smoking in their offspring. Resemblance between parents and offspring was significant but rather low and could be accounted for completely by their genetic relatedness. Moreover, the association between‘currently smoking’in the parents and smoking behaviour in their children was not larger than the association between‘ever smoking’in parents and smoking in their children. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve