College of the Holy Cross Libraries Annual Report 2015-2016

At the end of the fiscal year, the Director of the Holy Cross Libraries issues an annual report that provides a review of library services, details budgets and regular operations, and highlights programs, projects and activities that were initiated, sponsored or assisted by the Libraries

College of the Holy Cross Libraries Annual Report 2014-2015

At the end of the fiscal year, the Director of the Holy Cross Libraries issues an annual report that provides a review of library services, details budgets and regular operations, and highlights programs, projects and activities that were initiated, sponsored or assisted by the Libraries

Changing ideas about others' intentions: updating prior expectations tunes activity in the human motor system

Predicting intentions from observing another agent’s behaviours is often thought to depend on motor resonance – i.e., the motor system’s response to a perceived movement by the activation of its stored motor counterpart, but observers might also rely on prior expectations, especially when actions take place in perceptually uncertain situations. Here we assessed motor resonance during an action prediction task using transcranial magnetic stimulation to probe corticospinal excitability (CSE) and report that experimentally-induced updates in observers’ prior expectations modulate CSE when predictions are made under situations of perceptual uncertainty. We show that prior expectations are updated on the basis of both biomechanical and probabilistic prior information and that the magnitude of the CSE modulation observed across participants is explained by the magnitude of change in their prior expectations. These findings provide the first evidence that when observers predict others’ intentions, motor resonance mechanisms adapt to changes in their prior expectations. We propose that this adaptive adjustment might reflect a regulatory control mechanism that shares some similarities with that observed during action selection. Such a mechanism could help arbitrate the competition between biomechanical and probabilistic prior information when appropriate for prediction

An investigation into students’ engagement with employability support

Incorporating graduate outcomes into external league tables has made employability an indicator of teaching quality. There is also the view that maximising the employability of our students is the morally right thing to do (Kofler, 2021). Consequently, universities implement various initiatives to enhance students’ employability. However, it has been observed that some students are reluctant to utilise the employability support services provided by their institutions (Bradley et al, 2021). To explore this issue, our project examines the engagement of students with employability support, drawing on Simon's theory of bounded rationality (1964). We have used an online survey to collect data from second-year students in the School of Accounting, Finance, and Economics at a modern UK university. Additionally, we have conducted student focus groups to gain further insights. Our poster will present an initial analysis of the survey responses alongside the findings obtained from the focus groups

Endothelial Lipase Concentrations Are Increased in Metabolic Syndrome and Associated with Coronary Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND: Endothelial lipase (EL), a new member of the lipase family, has been shown to modulate high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) metabolism and atherosclerosis in mouse models. We hypothesized that EL concentrations would be associated with decreased HDL-C and increased atherosclerosis in humans. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Healthy individuals with a family history of premature coronary heart disease (n = 858) were recruited as part of the Study of the Inherited Risk of Atherosclerosis. Blood was drawn in the fasting state before and, in a subgroup (n = 510), after administration of a single dose of intravenous heparin. Plasma lipids were measured enzymatically, lipoprotein subclasses were assessed by nuclear magnetic resonance, and coronary artery calcification (CAC) was quantified by electron beam computed tomography. Plasma EL mass was measured using a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Median EL mass in pre-heparin plasma was 442 (interquartile range = 324–617) ng/ml. Median post-heparin mass was approximately 3-fold higher, 1,313 (888–1,927) ng/ml. The correlation between pre-heparin EL mass and post-heparin EL mass was 0.46 (p < 0.001). EL mass concentrations in both pre- and post-heparin plasma significantly correlated with all NCEP ATPIII-defined metabolic syndrome factors: waist circumference (r = 0.28 and 0.22, respectively, p < 0.001 for each), blood pressure (r = 0.18 and 0.24, p < 0.001 for each), triglycerides (r = 0.22, p < 0.001; and 0.13, p = 0.004), HDL cholesterol (r = –0.11, p = 0.002; and –0.18, p < 0.001), and fasting glucose (r = 0.11 and 0.16, p = 0.001 for both). EL mass in both routine (odds ratio [OR] = 1.67, p = 0.01) and post-heparin (OR = 2.42, p = 0.003) plasma was associated with CAC as determined by ordinal regression after adjustment for age, gender, waist circumference, vasoactive medications, hormone replacement therapy (women), and established cardiovascular risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: We report, to our knowledge for the first time, that human plasma EL concentrations, in both post-heparin and routine pre-heparin plasma, are significantly associated with metabolic syndrome features and with subclinical atherosclerosis. EL may be a pro-atherogenic factor in humans, especially in overweight individuals and those with metabolic syndrome

Touch improvement at the hand transfers to the face

SummaryThe hand–face border is one of the most prominent features of the primate somatosensory cortex. A reduction of somatosensory input, following amputation or anesthesia, induces perceptual changes across this border that are explained by plastic competitive mechanisms [1–4]. Whether cross-border plasticity can be induced by learning processes relying on increased somatosensory input has been unclear. Here we report that training-independent learning [5] improves tactile perception, not only at the stimulated index finger, but also at the unstimulated face. These findings demonstrate that learning-induced tactile improvement can cross the hand–face border, suggesting that facilitation-based plasticity may operate in the healthy human brain

Quality Care for People with Intellectual Disability and Advanced Dementia: Guidance on Service Provision

Purpose of Report: The International Summit on Intellectual Disability and Dementia (Glasgow, Scotland; October 2016) noted that advanced dementia can be categorized as that stage of dementia progression characterized by significant losses in cognitive and physical function, including a high probability of further deterioration and leading to death. The questions before the summit were whether there were similarities and differences in expressions of advanced dementia between adults with intellectual disability (ID) and adults in the general population. Findings: The summit noted challenges in the staging of advanced dementia in people with ID with the criteria in measures designed to stage dementia in the general population heavily weighted on notable impairment in activities of daily living. For many people with an ID, there is already dependence in these domains generally related to the individuals pre-existing level of intellectual impairment, that is, totally unrelated to dementia. Hence, the summit agreed that it is imperative that change is measured from the person’s prior functioning in combination with clinical impressions of decline and of increasing comorbidity including particular attention to late onset epilepsy in people with Down syndrome. It was further noted that quality care planning must recognize the greater likelihood of physical symptoms, comorbidities, immobility, and neuropathological deterioration. Summary: The summit recommended an investment in research to more clearly identify measures for ascertaining advanced dementia, inform practice guidelines to aid clinicians and service providers, and identify additional markers that may help signal decline and progression into advanced dementia among people with various levels of pre-existing intellectual impairment.Additional listed co-author: Advanced Dementia Working of the International Summit on Intellectual Disability and Dementi