The Effects of Psychosocial Factors on Career and Workforce Development for Students with Learning Disabilities

Individuals with learning disabilities are at a disadvantage when it comes to career and workforce development. Certain factors such as socioeconomic factors, parent’s educational level and occupations, as well as grade point average and previous work/volunteer experience affect factors that are imperative to the successful transition from school to work such as decision making, problem solving and career exploration. This segment of the population holds much potential for the advancement of our workforce and economy; however, they seem to be an untapped resource even though certain laws and incentives have been put into place to increase the hiring of these individuals. After identifying factors that negatively affect their workforce development, it is important that courses and/or workshops are put into place that will assist them when maneuvering through the challenges that come along with making decisions about careers and eventually moving into the workforce

Texas Groundwater: Reconciling the Rule of Capture with Environmental and Community Demands Comment.

In order to avert the depletion of water resources, many states have attempted to enact legislation aimed at promoting water conservation. Such legislation has been known to conflict with outdated principles of property ownership, namely the rule of capture. The rule of capture vests landowners with property rights in water located directly beneath their land. Texas categorizes water based on whether the water flows above or below the surface. Surface water is typically the property of the state, with property owners having no possessory interest in the surface water. Yet, the opposite is true for groundwater, where all rights to groundwater belong to the capturer or landowner. This allows landowners to use as much groundwater beneath their land as they choose. The Texas Legislature enacted the Edwards Aquifer Act (EAA) and Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1) which limit the amount of water which may be pumped from the Edwards Aquifer and implemented research of groundwater districts. Despite the Legislature’s contentions that EAA and S.B. 1 are valid and reasonable, landowners have challenged the legislation, asserting it amounts to a taking under the state and federal constitutions. Additionally, both pieces of legislation abrogate strict application of the rule of capture. Yet, neither of them goes far enough. Thus, if the state of groundwater law remains the same, communities will be injured by individual landowners withdrawing unlimited amounts of groundwater. As early as 1917, the State of Texas recognized the need to protect natural resources. The antiquated doctrine of the rule of capture is incompatible with current water needs of the twenty-first century. The rule of capture must change if sustainability of water resources is a goal for the future. The Texas Legislature must enact comprehensive groundwater management programs which gives the State ultimately property rights to both ground and surface water

Design and Fabrication of a Passive-Function, Cylindrical Grasp Terminal Device

To assist upper extremity amputees with achieving stable grasps of cylindrical tools, this article describes the development and testing of a prosthetic device for recreational kayak paddling. Initial development included participation of a non-amputee expert kayakist. Subsequent testing of the device used a pseudo-prosthesis for testing on a non-amputee subject, followed by qualitative feedback on the device from a unilateral transradial amputee. The device was evaluated by exploring whether subjects could independently don the terminal device, apply the paddle and use it in a pool and on a river. A semi-hinged, two hemi-cylinder sleeve was designed to be fitted onto a kayak paddle. The terminal device\u27s frame, a second (larger) semi-hinged two hemi-cylinder sleeve, attached the device to the prosthesis. This second sleeve had internal edges that prevent lateral shifting. This component allowed smooth paddle rotation while preventing lateral shift and maintaining grasp. The non-amputee subject was successful at donning the pseudo-prosthesis and paddling. Similarly, the amputee subject was also able to don the prosthesis and paddle using the device. The design reported here is a viable option for fabricating a cylindrical grasp, passive function terminal device for kayaking. It is adaptable to other cylindrical grasp functions such as lifting an exercise weight

Fallopian tube secreted protein affects ovarian metabolites in high grade serous ovarian cancer

High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the most lethal histotype of ovarian cancer, frequently arises from fallopian tube epithelial cells (FTE). Once transformed, tumorigenic FTE often migrate specifically to the ovary, completing the crucial primary metastatic step and allowing the formation of the ovarian tumors after which HGSOC was originally named. As only the fimbriated distal ends of the fallopian tube that reside in close proximity to the ovary develop precursor lesions such as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas, this suggests that the process of transformation and primary metastasis to the ovary is impacted by the local microenvironment. We hypothesize that chemical cues, including small molecules and proteins, may help stimulate the migration of tumorigenic FTE to the ovary. However, the specific mediators of this process are still poorly understood, despite a recent growth in interest in the tumor microenvironment. Our previous work utilized imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) to identify the release of norepinephrine (NE) from the ovary in co-cultures of tumorigenic FTE cells with an ovarian explant. We predicted that tumorigenic FTE cells secreted a biomolecule, not produced or produced with low expression by non-tumorigenic cells, that stimulated the ovary to release NE. As such, we utilized an IMS mass-guided bioassay, using NE release as our biological marker, and bottom-up proteomics to demonstrate that a secreted protein, SPARC, is a factor produced by tumorigenic FTE responsible for enhancing release of ovarian NE and influencing primary metastasis of HGSOC. This discovery highlights the bidirectional interplay between different types of biomolecules in the fallopian tube and ovarian microenvironment and their combined roles in primary metastasis and disease progression

DataSheet1_Fallopian tube secreted protein affects ovarian metabolites in high grade serous ovarian cancer.pdf

High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the most lethal histotype of ovarian cancer, frequently arises from fallopian tube epithelial cells (FTE). Once transformed, tumorigenic FTE often migrate specifically to the ovary, completing the crucial primary metastatic step and allowing the formation of the ovarian tumors after which HGSOC was originally named. As only the fimbriated distal ends of the fallopian tube that reside in close proximity to the ovary develop precursor lesions such as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas, this suggests that the process of transformation and primary metastasis to the ovary is impacted by the local microenvironment. We hypothesize that chemical cues, including small molecules and proteins, may help stimulate the migration of tumorigenic FTE to the ovary. However, the specific mediators of this process are still poorly understood, despite a recent growth in interest in the tumor microenvironment. Our previous work utilized imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) to identify the release of norepinephrine (NE) from the ovary in co-cultures of tumorigenic FTE cells with an ovarian explant. We predicted that tumorigenic FTE cells secreted a biomolecule, not produced or produced with low expression by non-tumorigenic cells, that stimulated the ovary to release NE. As such, we utilized an IMS mass-guided bioassay, using NE release as our biological marker, and bottom-up proteomics to demonstrate that a secreted protein, SPARC, is a factor produced by tumorigenic FTE responsible for enhancing release of ovarian NE and influencing primary metastasis of HGSOC. This discovery highlights the bidirectional interplay between different types of biomolecules in the fallopian tube and ovarian microenvironment and their combined roles in primary metastasis and disease progression.</p