A Pilot Investigation of Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Students of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Speech-language pathologists use critical thinking on a daily basis to identify, evaluate, and implement evidence-based practices with their clients. Currently, however, there are minimal data describing the critical thinking of undergraduate students in the field of communication sciences and disorders. Without these data, it is unclear if and how students’ critical thinking differs at various points during their pre-service training. In the present study, we used the Cornell Critical Thinking Test – Level Z to describe the general critical thinking skills of 142 undergraduate students enrolled in two lower- (n = 95) and upper- (n = 47) level courses at a single university. We found no statistically significant differences between these two groups on the CCTT regarding their overall critical thinking performance (p = .068) or their skills of induction (p = .970), deduction (p = .160), observation (p = .384), assumptions (p = .342), or meaning interpretation (p = .155). Upper-level students, however, did consistently score slightly higher than their lower-level counterparts. Faculty should continue to develop undergraduate students’ critical thinking during their course of study. Although critical thinking appears to develop over the course of students’ undergraduate careers, formal instruction might be necessary to develop the skills necessary for successful practice as speech-language pathologists

Influence of Acute Turkesterone Dosing on Resting Metabolic Rate and Substrate Utilization in Recreationally-active Males

Turkesterone is a relatively novel phytoecdysteroid compound that has become increasingly popular amongst recreationally active adults seeking to improve body composition. Although many of the these hypothetical benefits arose from prior rodent data demonstrating enhanced substrate utilization, no data presently exist amongst humans in this regard. PURPOSE: to determine the effect of multiple turkesterone doses on both resting metabolic rate (RMR) and substrate utilization in a healthy human population. METHODS: Eleven recreationally active males (23.3±2.2y) visited the laboratory on three occasions separated by at least seven days and were randomized in single-blind, placebo-controlled, and counter-balanced crossover fashion to either 2000mg cellulose placebo (PLA), 1000mg turkesterone + 1000mg placebo, (1000T) or 2000mg (2000T) turkesterone. RMR and respiratory exchange ratio were assessed using a metabolic cart for 20 minutes prior to supplement provision (i.e. baseline [PRE)), as well as 60-minutes (POST60M), 120-minutes (POST120M), and 180-minutes (POST180M) post-acute supplementation timepoints at each visit. RMR, as well as both carbohydrate (CHO) and Fat (FAT) oxidation were analyzed using a two-way (condition [PLA, 1000T, 2000T] x time [PRE, POST60M, POST120M, POST180M) ANOVA with repeated measures at a significance level of pRESULTS: Analyses failed to reveal any significant condition, time, nor interaction effects for RMR, nor CHO or FAT oxidation (p\u3e0.05). Nonetheless, both 1000T (2.7%, 5.6%, and 7.8%) and 2000T (0.7%, 4.2%, and 3.6%) increased mean RMR above baseline at POST60M, POST120M, and POST180M timepoints, respectively. Conversely, PLA decreased mean RMR by 0.9% and 0.7% at POST60M and POST120M, respectively. Incidentally, the 1000T condition displayed increased mean FAT oxidation by 1.85, 5.34, and 7.96% at the POST60M, POST120M, and POST180M timepoints, respectively, and when compared to the consistent decreases observed with both PLA and 2000T. CONCLUSION: Although these data fail to display a significant turkesterone-mediated enhancement in the investigated metabolic parameters, there were interesting mean differences that should be further explored to determine any longitudinal and/or exercise-dependent permissive impacts on RMR and substrate utilization

Influence of Acute Turkesterone Dosing on Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) and Subjective Digestibility Scores in Recreationally-active Males

Turkesterone is a relatively novel phytoecdysteroid compound that has become increasingly popular amongst recreationally active demographics. Despite prior in vitro data suggesting that this compound may support enhanced body composition via both insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)-mediated protein synthesis, no human evidence exists in this regard nor how well its digestibility is tolerated. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of multiple turkesterone doses on serum IGF-1 and to report any gastrointestinal (GI) distress symptoms in a healthy human sample. METHODS: Eleven recreationally active males (23.3±2.2y) visited the laboratory on three occasions separated by at least seven days and were randomized in single-blind, placebo-controlled, and counter-balanced crossover fashion to either 2000mg cellulose placebo (PLA), 1000mg turkesterone + 1000mg placebo, (1000T) or 2000mg (2000T) turkesterone. Venous blood was sampled to determine serum IGF-1 concentrations and a GI distress questionnaire was (nausea, vomiting, heartburn symptoms, etc.) administered both at baseline (PRE), as well as 3-hours (POST3H) and 24-hours (POST24H) post-acute supplementation at each visit. Serum IGF-1 was analyzed using a two-way (condition [PLA, 1000T, 2000T] x time [PRE, POST3H, POST24H]) ANOVA with repeated measures at a significance level of pRESULTS: Analyses failed to reveal any significant condition (p=.180; ηp2=0.228), time (p=0.227; ηp2=.390), nor interaction effects (p=0.547; ηp2=0.211) for serum IGF-1. Moreover, no participants reported any GI distress symptoms across any condition and/or time permutation. CONCLUSION: Although the current study did not find any significant IGF-1-associated serum alterations to multiple acute turkesterone doses in the times assessed, there were fortunately no adverse GI symptoms experienced by the participants across any dose throughout the investigation. Nevertheless, these data support turkesterone supplementation is well tolerated and thus future research should build upon our analysis by employing a longitudinal supplementation regimen alongside an exercise intervention to elucidate the potential long-term and anabolism-permissive impacts of this compound on the presently-explored and additional associated parameters

Faculty Perceptions of Combat-Related PTSD and Teaching Post 9/11 Student-Veterans

The purpose of this study was to examine faculty members’ perceptions of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and student veterans. We surveyed 596 faculty members from 28 institutions of higher education regarding their views on PTSD as a disorder, whether PTSD can be effectively treated, and their preparedness to teach student veterans. Results indicate that faculty members do perceive PTSD to be a real disorder confronting student veterans; however, statistically significant results indicate that many faculty members do not consider PTSD to be treatable, nor do they feel prepared to work with these returning students. These results suggest a need for faculty education about PTSD as it relates to this population of students who are veterans of post 9/11 war conflicts

The Cultural Elements of Academic Honesty

We examined the impact of a workshop on Asian international graduate students’ understanding of a U. S. American university’s concept of academic honesty. The workshop, taught from a cultural perspective, explained the U.S. American university’s expectations to 19 participants. Data was obtained from a workshop post-test and from subsequent interviews of three workshop participants who relayed their views of textual practices in their home countries. Sixty-seven graduate students from the general graduate student population completed the workshop post-test without benefit of the workshop. Trends in the data supported the workshop’s effectiveness and pointed to the importance of helping international students understand their host university’s expectations

Distribution, Population Biology, and Trophic Ecology of the Deepwater Demersal Fish Halosauropsis macrochir (Pisces: Halosauridae) on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Halosauropsis macrochir ranked amongst the most abundant and widespread demersal fishes on the mid-Atlantic Ridge of the North Atlantic (Iceland-Azores) with greatest abundance at 1700–3500 m. All sizes, ranging from 10–76 cm total length, occurred in the area without any apparent spatial pattern or depth trend. Using otolith sections displaying growth increments assumed to represent annuli, the age range recorded was 2–36 years, but most individuals were <20 years. Length and weight at age data were used to fit growth models. No differences between sexes in length and weight at age were observed. The majority of samples had a surplus of males. Diet analysis showed that H. macrochir feeds on Crustacea, Teleostei, Polychaeta, and Cephalopoda, but few prey could be identified to lower taxonomical levels. The mid-Atlantic Ridge constitutes a major portion of the North Atlantic living space of the abyssal halosaur where it completes its full life cycle, primarily as an actively foraging euryophagous micronekton/epibenthos and infauna feeder, becoming a partial piscivore with increasing size

Does viewing bullying violence affect the allocation of attention in young adults?

The purpose of the current study was to experimentally test the relationship between symptoms of inattention and vicarious experiences of bullying. The research questions of the current study were: 1) Can vicarious bullying induce symptoms of inattention?; 2) What happens to inattention after multiple exposures to vicarious bullying?; and 3) Are there sex differences in inattention after exposure to bullying experiences? The participants were graduate and undergraduate students from a private university with a 0.2% diagnosis rate of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Participants viewed four videos with three depicting scenarios of bullying, and after each video, the Stroop test was used to assess inattention. Heart rate was also assessed following each video. After finishing participation in the video phase of the experiment, participants completed a demographic survey, a bullying experiences survey, and the Screener for Inattentive Symptoms. The findings indicated exposure to vicarious bullying led to an increase in symptoms of inattention. The effects appeared to be cumulative, such that with additional exposure to vicarious bullying, a participant’s symptoms of inattention increased. The heart rate of participants appeared to mirror the symptoms of inattention, with heart rate increasing over the course of the experiment. There were no significant differences in reaction to vicarious bullying by sex. Implications of the findings include the need to assess experiences with bullying when diagnosing ADHD inattentive.Ph.D

The Effects of Including Aerobic Exercise in the Treatment Protocol of Concussions: A Systemic Review and Meta-analysis

Background of Study: More research studies are being completed advocating for the use of exercise as an intervention and form of treatment for concussions. However, exercise can include many forms of physical activity, intensities, and durations. This systemic review and meta-analysis focused on the use of aerobic exercise, such as cycling or walking, as an intervention and form of treatment for children and young adults suffering from a concussion. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine if the addition of aerobic exercise to an individual concussion treatment makes a significant difference when compared to treatments using flexibility as a form of physical activity or traditional methods of treatment following guidelines from the 2016 Berlin Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport. Method: The search conducted for articles generated 472 studies. Out of these, 5 studies were selected based from the inclusion criteria. Results: Aerobic exercise was shown to significantly decrease the absolute risk difference for the development of prolonged post-concussion symptoms in children and adolescents with concussions when compared to those who reported no physical activity. The mean risk difference for the independent variable (IV) was -0.12 with a 95% confidence interval was reported to be -0.17 to -0.07 and an effect size of Z = 4.94 (P < 0.00001). Aerobic exercise was also shown to have an effect on the change in post-concussion symptom scale scores. The mean IV difference was 8.7 with a 95% confidence interval of 2.05 to 14.35 and an effect size of Z=3.02 (p=0.003). Conclusion: In conclusion, while there is evidence that aerobic exercise is beneficial for children and adolescents with a concussion, more studies need to be completed focusing on this age group and the effects of aerobic exercise on concussion recovery