Marital Adjustment in Parents of Multiple Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The current study investigated the relationship between raising multiple children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and martial adjustment and whether perceived social support moderates this relationship. The sample (n = 115) consisted of 77 parents of a single child diagnosed with an ASD and 44 parents of 2 or more children diagnosed with an ASD. There was no significant difference in martial adjustment between the parents of single versus multiple children with ASDs and no significant relationship between number of children with an ASD within a family and marital adjustment. Although the main hypotheses were not supported, data from experimental questions indicated that a majority of participants believed their marriage was affected by their child\u27s ASD diagnosis and most rated this effect negatively. Further, for parents of multiple children with ASDs, the rating of degree of impact upon their marital relationship after the first diagnosis was significantly positively related to their marital impact rating following the second diagnosis, suggesting that parents who view the effects of the first diagnosis as negative are likely to view the effects of the second diagnosis negatively as well. Since there was no a significant relationship between number of children with and ASD and marital adjustment, social support was not tested as a moderator. However, there was a significant positive relationship between dyadic adjustment and perceived social support. Further research examining the effects of parenting multiple children with ASDs is warranted

A Study of Happiness

In the fall of 2012, I undertook a two-week study to test the impact friendships have on my happiness. My overall intention for this experiment was to change how I approached and treated my friendships. The experiment consisted of focusing my attention on my friend’s happiness before my own and to track my behavioral changes towards others. Throughout the two weeks, I tested multiple theories to see if, in fact, they affected my happiness. The most interesting finding in this study was that a variety of social groups are the most influential and important aspect to increasing my own happiness. Only through conducting my own experiment could I confirm other author’s theories are true. Overall, I learned that through hard work, planning and determination happiness is accessible for everyone. Though I realize that happiness is subjective to each individual, my research and experiment proved that friendships are the most influential on one’s happiness

Symbiotic unicellular cyanobacteria fix nitrogen in the Arctic Ocean.

Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation is an important source of nitrogen (N) in low-latitude open oceans. The unusual N2-fixing unicellular cyanobacteria (UCYN-A)/haptophyte symbiosis has been found in an increasing number of unexpected environments, including northern waters of the Danish Straight and Bering and Chukchi Seas. We used nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) to measure 15N2 uptake into UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis and found that UCYN-A strains identical to low-latitude strains are fixing N2 in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, at rates comparable to subtropical waters. These results show definitively that cyanobacterial N2 fixation is not constrained to subtropical waters, challenging paradigms and models of global N2 fixation. The Arctic is particularly sensitive to climate change, and N2 fixation may increase in Arctic waters under future climate scenarios

Low‐temperature fluid flow through sulfidic sediments from TAG: Modification of fluid chemistry and alteration of mineral deposits

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94945/1/grl9672.pd

Applying modern Omic technologies to the Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses

The Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses are a group of severe and progressive neurodegenerative disorders, which generally present during childhood. With new treatments emerging on the horizon, there is a growing need to understand the specific disease mechanisms as well as identify prospective biomarkers for use to stratify patients and monitor treatment. The use of Omics technologies to NCLs has the potential to address this need. We discuss the recent use and outcomes of Omics to various forms of NCL including identification of interactomes, affected biological pathways and potential biomarker candidates. We also identify common pathways affected in NCL across the reviewed studies