ADULT PERSPECTIVES OF KALEIDOSCOPE CONNECT: A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL PROGRAM AIMED AT PROMOTING RESILIENCE AMONG YOUTH

Purpose. The current study explored the perspectives of adults who participate in Kaleidoscope Connect, and specifically, to understand how effective adults perceive the program in its attempt to promote resilience, school safety, and the psychological well-being of youth. Background. Youth who encounter stressful life circumstances or experience trauma often experience negative life outcomes, such as lower academic achievement, mental illness, and perpetrating violence (Liu, Reed & Girard, 2016). Research, however, has demonstrated that some youth who have these experiences have more positive outcomes, including psychological health, strong academic achievement, and financial stability (Zolkoski & Bullock, 2012). Resilience is a dynamic process described as a person’s ability to overcome adverse conditions and thrive despite those obstacles (Ungar & Leibenberg, 2011). Researchers have been interested in identifying the mechanisms that underlie the promotion of resilience among young people who face challenging life circumstances (Zolkoski & Bullock, 2012). The presence of strong adult-youth bonds has been identified as a powerful contributor to the promotion and maintenance of resilience (Criss, Smith, Morris, Liu & Hubbard, 2017). One program that aims to strengthen the bond between youth and adults in their community is Kaleidoscope Connect, which, among other states and countries, has been implemented in rural communities of Alaska and Montana; two states with a high prevalence of mental health concerns (CDC, 2017). Methods. Adult perspectives were explored through survey responses, from which descriptive and frequency data were provided. Then, focus groups were conducted and qualitatively analyzed, identifying prominent and consistent themes endorsed by adult participants in the program. Results. Results showed that participants believed that Kaleidoscope Connect curriculum (moderately to significantly) increases closeness between adults and youth, reduces suicidality among youth, promotes positive school climate and enhances community safety. Furthermore, participants overwhelming reported that the program is feasible in its implementation, primarily due to its flexibility of dissemination and relationships with Brightways Learning. Participants also discussed ways in which all of these domains may be enhanced. Conclusions. These data may enhance the implementation of Kaleidoscope Connect and contribute to its successful and effective dissemination across rural communities in Alaska, Montana, and other similar areas

Putting Lab into Lecture

Engineering classes at any level are separated into two separate components, lecture and lab. Often these two classes have little to no direct relationship, being taught by two different instructors with different objectives. Students struggle to see the relationship between the theory from lecture and the applications in lab. To bridge the gap, lab must be brought into the lecture. Students must experience the theory by building, measuring, and exploring the concepts. Instructors can bring these experiences into the classroom by breaking labs up into smaller activities that are closely related to the theory. This is not to say that larger labs should be eliminated but augmented with these minilabs embedded in the class. Example applications from electrical engineering courses are to be shared and discussion of how to apply this in various courses

Native tree species regulate nitrous oxide fluxes in tropical plantations

Secondary and managed plantation forests comprise a rapidly increasing portion of the humid tropical forest biome, a region that, in turn, is a major source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions to the atmosphere. Previous work has demonstrated reduced N2O emissions in regenerating secondary stands compared to mature forests, yet the importance of species composition in regulating N2O production in young forests remains unclear. We measured N2O fluxes beneath four native tree species planted in replicated, 21-yr-old monodominant stands in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica in comparison with nearby mature forest and abandoned pasture sites at two time points (wetter and drier seasons). We found that species differed eight-fold in their production of N2O, with slower growing, late-successional species (including one legume) promoting high N2O fluxes similar to mature forest, and faster growing, early successional species maintaining low N2O fluxes similar to abandoned pasture. Across all species, N2O flux was positively correlated with soil nitrate concentration in the wetter season and with soil water-filled pore space (WFPS) in the drier season. However, the strongest predictor of N2O fluxes was fine-root growth rate, which was negatively correlated with N2O emissions at both time points. We suggest that tree-specific variation in growth habits creates differences in both N demand and soil water conditions that may exert significant control on N2O fluxes from tropical forests. With the advent of REDD+ and related strategies for fostering climate mitigation via tropical forest regrowth and plantations, we note that species-specific traits as they relate to N2O fluxes may be an important consideration in estimating overall climate benefits

Nitric oxide production from nitrite by a series of zeolites produced via the ADOR route

We would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), University of St Andrews, and CRITICAT Centre for Doctoral Training for financial support [Ph.D. studentship to SR; Grant code: EP/L016419/1]. We also thank the EPSRC for funding part of this work through grant EP/K025112/1. R.E.M. would like to acknowledge OP VVV "Excellent Research Teams", project No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000417 – CUCAM.The nitric oxide (NO) production for a series of aluminosilicate zeolites, prepared using the ADOR method, was investigated. Al-UTL and Al-IPC-2,-4 and −6 were prepared and characterised to determine their elemental composition. Positive trends were found to exist between zeolite pore size and the rate and total amount of NO produced. A trend between the number of acid sites and the initial rate of NO produced by the zeolite was also discovered.PostprintPeer reviewe

Do your patients trust you? A sociological understanding of the implications of patient mistrust in healthcare professionals

The trust that patients invest in healthcare professionals and their advice has been shown to facilitate positive clinical outcomes, although there is evidence that patient trust in expertise, including healthcare professionals, has been declining over the years. Questions about whether or not to trust healthcare professionals have been raised recently in international media by Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue, who spoke of her alleged initial misdiagnosis with breast cancer and went on to tell women that they should ‘follow their intuition’ rather than placing unquestioning trust in doctors or medical advice. Given the power of the media in shaping public opinion, there is a potential for such stories to further impact on the already potentially friable doctor-patient relationships, with questions of trust taking centre-stage. Therefore, an understanding of the nature of trust, in addition to the reasons for the decline in patient trust, is exceedingly important for health professionals. This paper presents an overview of social theories of trust that provide a lens through which we can analyse the development of mistrust in healthcare, and identifies ways in which healthcare professionals may aim to facilitate and sustain patient trust

Reworking the sociology of trust: making a semantic distinction between trust and dependence

Trust, as a sociological construct, has become increasingly important in recent times but an agreed definition is yet to be found. A potentially useful way of ‘defining’ trust is by distinguishing it from other semantically similar concepts. Niklas Luhmann has provided semantic distinctions between trust and familiarity, and trust and confidence. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of a further semantic distinction between trust and dependence. This distinction allows us to further define trust and also to investigate the difference between ‘trust’ and ‘dependence’

Zeolite catalysts for nitric oxide production

This thesis considers the nitric oxide production from a range of zeolite catalysts with either acid or copper active sites. The aim of the research was to find potential candidates for stent coatings that could help to prevent stent thrombosis. Acid site mordenite, ferrierite, SSZ-13 and ZSM-5 are studied in chapter 4 for the catalytic conversion of sodium nitrite to nitric oxide. All zeolites successfully produced nitric oxide, with ranging levels of conversion from 14 – 24 %. Recycled samples revealed the consumption of the acid site, rendering the acid site zeolites non-catalytic. Copper site zeolites were considered in chapters 5 and 6, with copper mordenite, ferrierite, SSZ-13, ZSM-5 and UZM-4 being studied. All zeolites successfully converted sodium nitrite to nitric oxide, with SSZ-13, ZSM-5 and UZM-4 producing around 100 % conversion. The use of cysteine as a sacrificial reductant to activate the copper sites allowed catalytic nitric oxide production. The promising catalytic tests led to further studies of the materials, including copper leaching and toxicology. Chapter 6 looked further into the catalytic copper zeolites with nitric oxide flow studies and polymer incorporation. Flow studies showed sustained levels of nitric oxide production. Incorporation of the zeolite powders into the polymer of intrinsic microporosity, EATB(Me), showed good nitric oxide production from the initial studies. Recycled samples, however, showed a drop in production. Lastly, chapter 7 explored the use of the ADOR (Assembly-Disassembly-Organisation- Reassembly) process to generate a series of zeolites for catalysis. Aluminium was incorporated into zeolites IPC-2, 4 and 6 through the organisation step to create aluminated zeolites. The aforementioned zeolites, as well as Al-UTL, were assessed for nitric oxide production with acid active sites. The results showed an interesting relation between ring size and nitric oxide production, with the largest rings of Al-UTL having the highest production and the smallest rings of Al-IPC-4 having the lowest."I would also like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, University of St Andrews, and CRITICAT CDT for financial support [Grant code: EP/L016419/1]." -- Acknowledgement

Pair distribution function analysis of the reassembly step of the assembly-disassembly-organisation-reassembly (ADOR) process

The authors S. E. R and R. E. M. would like to thank the European Research Council for funding opportunities under the Advanced Grant 787073. We acknowledge Diamond Light Source for time on I15-1 under proposal CY26990.An in situ pair distribution function study assessing the reassembly of three IM-12 (UTL) intermediate materials to the corresponding fully connected materials. A greater level of atomic change is observed at higher temperatures for the reassembly of the fully disconnected intermediate, IPC-1P, compared to the two partially connected intermediates of IPC-2P and IPC-6P.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Does prognosis and socioeconomic status impact on trust in physicians? Interviews with patients with coronary disease in South Australia

Older participants are more likely than their younger counterparts to be unquestioning of medical advice. Higher SES participants are more likely to question medical advice than lower SES participants. Also, unlike primary prevention participants, established pathology increased participants’ trust, or decreased questioning behaviour. Participants who perceived themselves at risk of a poor or uncertain outcome were unlikely to doubt medical advice. Conclusions: Blind trust in physicians remains strong in older participants, participants who perceive their prognosis to be uncertain and a proportion of lower SES participants. This is important for practitioners in terms of patient agency and points to the importance of moral and ethical practice. However, physicians also need to be aware that there are a growing proportion of patients for whom trust needs to be developed, and cannot be assumed