Enhancing student learning and engagement of scientific concepts through case studies in integrated science

Context-based learning activities, such as case studies, that bring to light the relevance of science increase student engagement, improve student performance, and attract students to study science at the university level. Meanwhile, integrated science education is based on an approach that emphasizes the interconnectedness of scientific fields, such as astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, Earth sciences, and computer science. By incorporating case studies in integrated science courses, students are provided with real-world scenarios that enable them to explore the interdisciplinary nature of science while acquiring a deeper understanding of foundational scientific concepts and their application to real-world situations. These case studies foster active and collaborative learning, helping students develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills by analyzing and interpreting data from multiple scientific perspectives. Furthermore, this approach can stimulate students to formulate innovative solutions to problems, enhancing their creativity and scientific curiosity. Overall, an integrated science approach that centers on case studies creates a more engaging and effective learning environment that can lead to improved outcomes in science education. This presentation discusses the implementation of this approach at the university level and provides practical ideas on its implementation

A multinuclear NMR and quantum chemical study of solid trimethylammonium chloride

The solid salt, trimethylammonium chloride (TMAC), is investigated by a combination of NMR spectroscopic techniques and quantum chemical calculations. Chemical shift and nuclear quadrupolar interaction parameters have been measured for 35Cl, 1H/2H, and 15N/14N. These parameters have also been calculated as a function of the hydrogen position in the N\u2022\u2022\u2022H\u2022\u2022\u2022Cl fragment. Overall, the measured parameters are consistent with a structure in which the hydrogen is completely transferred to the nitrogen (i.e., N\u2013H\u2022\u2022\u2022Cl). The high hydrogen chemical shift (10.9 ppm by 2H CP/MAS) and relatively small deuterium quadrupolar coupling constant (127 kHz) indicate a moderately strong N\u2013H\u2022\u2022\u2022Cl hydrogen bond. A pronounced deuterium isotope effect on the 35Cl quadrupolar coupling constant is observed.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Interpreting Cancer Genomes Using Systematic Host Perturbations by Tumour Virus Proteins

Genotypic differences greatly influence susceptibility and resistance to disease. Understanding genotype-phenotype relationships requires that phenotypes be viewed as manifestations of network properties, rather than simply as the result of individual genomic variations. Genome sequencing efforts have identified numerous germline mutations associated with cancer predisposition and large numbers of somatic genomic alterations. However, it remains challenging to distinguish between background, or “passenger” and causal, or “driver” cancer mutations in these datasets. Human viruses intrinsically depend on their host cell during the course of infection and can elicit pathological phenotypes similar to those arising from mutations. To test the hypothesis that genomic variations and tumour viruses may cause cancer via related mechanisms, we systematically examined host interactome and transcriptome network perturbations caused by DNA tumour virus proteins. The resulting integrated viral perturbation data reflects rewiring of the host cell networks, and highlights pathways that go awry in cancer, such as Notch signalling and apoptosis. We show that systematic analyses of host targets of viral proteins can identify cancer genes with a success rate on par with their identification through functional genomics and large-scale cataloguing of tumour mutations. Together, these complementary approaches result in increased specificity for cancer gene identification. Combining systems-level studies of pathogen-encoded gene products with genomic approaches will facilitate prioritization of cancer-causing driver genes so as to advance understanding of the genetic basis of human cancer

Supporting Breastfeeding Among Women Residing In Homeless Shelters

In general, homeless women face many challenges including intimate partner violence, abuse history, mental illness, chemical dependence, alcohol abuse, smoking, medical co-morbidities, lack of permanent address, or any combination of the aforementioned (Vijayaraghavan, et al., 2012). Adding pregnancy and a newborn into shelter living further heightens the vulnerability for this population. Women who reside in homeless shelters are likely to have minimal access to breastfeeding support services and thus low rates of sustained breastfeeding. The purpose of this DNP capstone project is to examine current breastfeeding support within homeless shelters in Brooklyn, New York by conducting assessments of services through surveys of shelter staff, community workers and residents who are breastfeeding. A program will be developed to support breastfeeding and piloted at one volunteer shelter. A needs assessment about breastfeeding support will be conducted by individual and/or small group meetings with five shelter directors (in Brooklyn, New York), shelter residents, and health workers who have attended shelter residents. Questionnaires will provide much needed demographic information about the shelter residents and identify service gaps. All participants will have the opportunity to contribute to the needs assessment. The program will take place at a Tier II family shelter that provides housing support as well as social support services to families and their children, such as social support services including child care, entitlements and life skills. Ultimately, the data from the questionnaires will be analyzed for gaps in breastfeeding support services. It will include descriptive statistics and categorization of their descriptions of the supportive and challenges. Using the information categorized in the survey results, a pilot program will be developed to support breastfeeding in partnership with shelter directors and residents at one volunteer shelter. Findings will be disseminated locally among Brooklyn shelters, and a plan will be developed to expand the program to other shelters. References Vijayaraghavan, M., Tochterman, A., Hsu, E., Johnson, K., Marcus, S, & Caton, C.L.M. (2012). Health, Access to Health Care, and Health Care Use Among Women with a History of Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Community Health, 37, 1032-39

Design of a setup for plasma plume experiments

The project involves the design, analysis and fabrication of a setup for electric propulsion plume experiments and its integration onto WPI's large vacuum tank. The setup includes a fixed-stand to hold a plasma source and a probe-stand to hold a retarding potential analyzer. The probe-stand allows alignment of the probe with the plasma-source centerline and is placed on a manual translation table to allow measurements at various plume positions. The stands are designed to withstand forces and tank vibrations

Intervening against mental illness stigma and its internalisation: an organising framework

Reviews of interventions targeting of interpersonal stigma and internalised stigma have each identified several methods. Education about mental illness, contact between people with and without experience of mental illness, and protest against stigma have been identified as three means of reducing interpersonal stigma. While there is evidence that education and contact can be effective both separately and in combination, protest has been discouraged because of evidence suggesting that it can be counterproductive. Further there is little research directly addressing the question of whether education and contact are effective for structural level discrimination. On the other hand, the effectiveness of some types of protests against stigmatising organisational decisions suggests researchers should give further consideration to protest. Reviews of interventions targeting internalised stigma identified the following methods as the most used ones in effective interventions: cognitive; narrative; behavioural decision making, and psychoeducational. Since these reviews, recent work has begun to identify contact as effective for reducing internalised stigma. This article aims to synthesise these fields with the following objectives: (i) to highlight the similarities between interventions targeted to interpersonal and internalised stigma and the implications of these similarities; (ii) to draw attention to the need to evaluate structural level interventions; (iii) to create a comprehensive model for intervening against stigma using the ‘cycle of oppression' model which is widely applied in diversity and inclusion training. This model is proposed to be useful both to inform decisions about designing and targeting interventions, but can also be used as content for an intervention to reduce internalised stigma and help people with mental illness and their ‘allies' to intervene against stigma themselves

Abstract 2556: A Comparative Analysis of Outcomes for Pediatric Patients with Biopsy-Proven Myocarditis, Clinically-Diagnosed Myocarditis and Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Background: Data on outcomes in children with myocarditis is sparse and challenging to interpret given no ``gold standard” for diagnosis. The NHLBI Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry provides a large, multi-center cohort with clinical and echocardiographic follow-up of up to 16 years. Methods/Results : We compared cases of biopsy-confirmed myocarditis (BCM, N=119) and clinically-diagnosed myocarditis (CDM, N=253), with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM, N=1123). BCM and CDM patients were older at diagnosis than those with IDCM (median age 1.6, 1.9, 1.2 yr, respectively). For BCM, heart failure symptoms (86%) and admission (97%) at diagnosis were more common (p2) in 71% with myocarditis and 86% with IDCM. Systolic function was impaired in all groups, with a median fractional shortening (FS) Z score of -9 for myocarditis and -10 for IDCM; 23% of myocarditis patients had impaired function without dilation. Two-year death/transplant rates were 24% (BCM), 24% (CDM), and 47% (IDCM). Of myocarditis survivors, 46% had normalization of both EDD and FS Z-scores at 2 years vs. 25% for IDCM (p<.0001). Baseline echo status was strongly associated with later echo status for IDCM pts. Recovery from myocarditis at 2 years was not strongly associated with baseline echocardiographic characteristics, but transplant-free survival was lower in myocarditis patients when both baseline FS and EDD were abnormal (logrank p=.03). When therapeutic data were available, the BCM group received IVIG/steroids most often (44% vs. 23% CDM, 6% IDCM); this was not significantly associated with 2-year echo recovery or transplant-free survival, but power was limited. Conclusions : In this dataset, children with BCM and CDM have similar profiles and a better outcome than those with IDCM, with 76% surviving without transplant at 2 years. Nearly 1 / 2 have normalization of LV size and function, but the presence of both dilation and poor function at presentation is associated with increased risk for death or transplant. Echocardiographic normalization occurs in 25% of IDCM survivors by 2 years. This study is limited by being an analysis of available information in a database collected for other purposes

Outcomes of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy in Childhood and the Influence of Phenotype

Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) has been associated with poor prognosis in childhood. The goal of the present analysis was to use the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry to analyze outcomes of childhood RCM, with a focus on the impact of phenotype comparing pure RCM with cases that have additional features of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We analyzed the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry database (1990-2008; N=3375) for cases of RCM. Cases were defined as pure when RCM was the only assigned diagnosis. Additional documentation of HCM at any time was used as the criterion for RCM/HCM phenotype. RCM accounted for 4.5% of cases of cardiomyopathy. In 101 (66%), pure RCM was diagnosed; in 51 (34%), there was a mixed phenotype. Age at diagnosis was not different between groups, but 10% of the pure RCM group was diagnosed in infancy versus 24% of the RCM/HCM group. Freedom from death was comparable between groups with 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival of RCM 82%, 80%, and 68% versus RCM/HCM 77%, 74%, and 68%. Transplant-free survival was 48%, 34%, and 22% and 65%, 53%, and 43%, respectively (P=0.011). Independent risk factors at diagnosis for lower transplant-free survival were heart failure (hazard ratio 2.20, P=0.005), lower fractional shortening z score (hazard ratio 1.12 per 1 SD decrease in z score, P=0.014), and higher posterior wall thickness in the RCM/HCM group only (hazard ratio 1.32, P<0.001). Overall, outcomes were worse than for all other forms of cardiomyopathy. Transplant-free survival is poor for RCM in childhood. Survival is independent of phenotype; however, the RCM/HCM phenotype has significantly better transplant-free survival. URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique Identifier: NCT00005391

Recovery of Echocardiographic Function in Children With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine the incidence and predictors of recovery of normal echocardiographic function among children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).BackgroundMost children with idiopathic DCM have poor outcomes; however, some improve.MethodsWe studied children <18 years of age from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry who had both depressed left ventricular (LV) function (fractional shortening or ejection fraction z-score <–2) and LV dilation (end-diastolic dimension [LVEDD] z-score >2) at diagnosis and who had at least 1 follow-up echocardiogram 30 days to 2 years from the initial echocardiogram. We estimated the cumulative incidence and predictors of normalization.ResultsAmong 868 children who met the inclusion criteria, 741 (85%) had both echocardiograms. At 2 years, 22% had recovered normal LV function and size; 51% had died or undergone heart transplantation (median, 3.2 months), and 27% had persistently abnormal echocardiograms. Younger age (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88 to 0.97) and lower LVEDD z-score (HR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.70 to 0.87) independently predicted normalization. Nine children (9%) with normal LV function and size within 2 years of diagnosis later underwent heart transplantation or died.ConclusionsDespite marked LV dilation and depressed function initially, children with idiopathic DCM can recover normal LV size and function, particularly those younger and with less LV dilation at diagnosis. Investigations related to predictors of recovery, such as genetic associations, serum markers, and the impact of medical therapy or ventricular unloading with assist devices are important next steps. Longer follow-up after normalization is warranted as cardiac failure can recur. (Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry; NCT00005391