Alumni Remember

This publication includes PSU alumni stories and photographs from the Portland State University Archives. This diverse range of alumni memories provides an intimate portrait of the University’s evolution, from its unlikely origins in the doomed city of Vanport to its integration into downtown Portland to its current status as the most populous university in Oregon.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/alumremember/1000/thumbnail.jp

A mobile phone text messaging intervention to manage fatigue for people with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and stroke: Development and usability testing

BACKGROUND: Fatigue significantly affects daily functioning in persons with disabilities. Fatigue management can be challenging, and the information provided during routine physician visits to manage fatigue can be overwhelming. One way to address fatigue is to increase knowledge, skills, and confidence for self-management (ie, patient activation). Self-management programs have shown promising effects in targeting fatigue in persons with disabilities. However, satisfaction with self-management programs is low for persons with disabilities, and tailoring interventions to personalized needs has been recommended. SMS text messaging is increasingly being used to implement health behavior change interventions in a person\u27s natural environment. Little has been done to link mobile health approaches with patient activation and self-management to address fatigue in persons with disabilities. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and test a mobile phone-based fatigue self-management SMS text messaging intervention targeting patient activation in 3 groups of persons with disabilities: persons with multiple sclerosis, persons who had a stroke, and persons with a spinal cord injury. METHODS: We used evidence-based resources and input from a consumer advisory board (CAB; composed of 2 participants from each of the 3 disability groups) and a neurologist to develop the intervention. The study was conducted using a 4-step process: development of the initial SMS text messaging library and categorization of the content into 9 content areas, review and modification of the SMS text messages by the neurologist and CAB, integration of the content library into a digital platform, and utility testing by CAB members. RESULTS: A total of 6 CAB participants rated SMS text messages covering 9 domain areas of fatigue self-management with good clarity (mean ratings=3.5-5.0 out of 5) and relevance (mean ratings=3.2-5.0 out of 5). Overall, SMS text messaging content was reported by CAB participants as helpful, clear, and well suited for a mobile health intervention. The CAB reached consensus on the time of day that SMS text messages should be sent (morning) and their frequency (once per day). This feedback led the research team to narrow down the program to deliver 48 SMS text messages, 1 per day, Monday through Thursday only, a total of 4 SMS text messages per week, over a 12-week period. The final set of SMS text messages was programmed into a digital platform with a predefined delivery schedule. The usability of the intervention was high, with 55 (83%) out of 66 responses endorsing the highest rating. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a step-by-step process for developing a fatigue self-management SMS text messaging intervention for persons with disabilities. For this population, whose access to health services is often limited, this intervention provides an alternative delivery model to increase access to fatigue information and deliver content that aligns with the person\u27s needs

Plant This Not That: A Tool for Improving Invasive Species Identification and Expanding the Use of Sustainable Alternatives in Florida, USA, Landscaping

The newly released “Plant This Not That: A Guide to Avoiding Invasive Plant Species in Florida” booklet emerges as a crucial tool in cultivating a comprehensive understanding of invasive species, facilitating informed decision-making in plant selection. Its unique focus on illustrating alternatives to invasive plants, coupled with its accessible format, can empower individuals to contribute to the preservation of Florida, USA, ecosystems. The booklet’s impact was displayed through an in-service training for 58 University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences extension personnel. Following the in-service training, attendees demonstrated statistically significant improvements in their perceived knowledge of four key invasive species concepts. This study highlights the booklet and accompanying training’s potential as a valuable resource for mitigating the impacts of invasive plant species

Use of small animal PET-CT imaging for in vivo assessment of tendon-to-bone healing: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND The availability of non-invasive means to evaluate and monitor tendon-bone healing processes in-vivo is limited. Micro Positron-Emission-Tomography (µPET) using 18F-Fluoride is a minimally invasive imaging modality, with which osteoblast activity and bone turnover can be assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of serial in-vivo µPET/CT scans to evaluate bone turnover along the graft-tunnel interface in a rat ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction model. METHODS Unilateral autograft ACL reconstruction was performed in six rats. µPET/CT-scans using 18F-Fluoride were performed 7, 14, 21, and 28 days postoperatively. Standard uptake values (SUV) were calculated for three tunnel regions (intraarticular aperture (IAA), mid-tunnel, and extraarticular aperture (EAA)) of the proximal tibia. Animals were sacrificed at 28 days and evaluated with µCT and histological analysis. RESULTS SUVs in both bone tunnels showed an increased 18F-Fluoride uptake at 7 days when compared to 14, 21, and 28 days. SUVs showed a gradient on the tibial side, with most bone turnover in the IAA and least in the EAA. At 7, 14, 21, and 28 days, there were significantly higher SUV values in the IAA compared to the EAA (p = .01, < .01, < .01, < .01). SUVs positively correlated with new bone volumetric density obtained with μCT (r = 0.449, p = .013). Volumetric density of newly formed bone detected on μCT correlated with osteoblast numbers observed along the tunnels in histological sections (r = 0.452, p < .016). CONCLUSIONS Serial in-vivo µPET/CT-scanning has the potential to provide insight into bone turnover and therefore osteoblastic activity during the healing process. As a result, it allows us to directly measure the effect of interventional strategies in tendon-bone healing

“It doesn’t matter if we’re the most amazing professionals in the world…” A qualitative study of professionals’ perspectives on parent-child interaction assessment with deaf infants

Introduction: Parent child interaction (PCI) is positively associated with deaf children’s language development. However, there are no known, deaf-specific tools to observe how a parent interacts with their deaf child aged 0–3 years. Without a framework for professionals to use with families, it is unknown how professionals assess PCI, what they assess, why they assess, and how the assessment results relate to case management. Methods: Eighteen hearing and deaf professionals, who work with deaf and hard of hearing infants aged 0–3 years and their families, attended online focus groups. The aim of the study was to gain insight into the professional assessment of PCI. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: Six themes were generated from the dataset. Professionals discussed how central parents were in the support offered to families in the home, the importance of knowing and understanding the individual family, and accounting for and supporting parental wellbeing. Descriptions on how to administer a best practice PCI assessment included which parent behaviors to assess and how to make adaptations for different populations. Professionals shared how the assessment and review process could be used to inform and upskill parents through video reflection and goal setting. Discussion: This study provides insight into the mechanisms and motivations for professionals assessing the interactive behaviors of parents who have deaf children aged 0–3. Professionals acknowledged that family life is multi-faceted, and that support is most meaningful to families when professionals worked with these differences and incorporated them into assessment, goal setting, and intervention plans

Bacterial Communities in Women with Bacterial Vaginosis: High Resolution Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Relationships of Microbiota to Clinical Criteria

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common condition that is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes and is characterized by poorly understood changes in the vaginal microbiota. We sought to describe the composition and diversity of the vaginal bacterial biota in women with BV using deep sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene coupled with species-level taxonomic identification. We investigated the associations between the presence of individual bacterial species and clinical diagnostic characteristics of BV.Broad-range 16S rRNA gene PCR and pyrosequencing were performed on vaginal swabs from 220 women with and without BV. BV was assessed by Amsel's clinical criteria and confirmed by Gram stain. Taxonomic classification was performed using phylogenetic placement tools that assigned 99% of query sequence reads to the species level. Women with BV had heterogeneous vaginal bacterial communities that were usually not dominated by a single taxon. In the absence of BV, vaginal bacterial communities were dominated by either Lactobacillus crispatus or Lactobacillus iners. Leptotrichia amnionii and Eggerthella sp. were the only two BV-associated bacteria (BVABs) significantly associated with each of the four Amsel's criteria. Co-occurrence analysis revealed the presence of several sub-groups of BVABs suggesting metabolic co-dependencies. Greater abundance of several BVABs was observed in Black women without BV.The human vaginal bacterial biota is heterogeneous and marked by greater species richness and diversity in women with BV; no species is universally present. Different bacterial species have different associations with the four clinical criteria, which may account for discrepancies often observed between Amsel and Nugent (Gram stain) diagnostic criteria. Several BVABs exhibited race-dependent prevalence when analyzed in separate groups by BV status which may contribute to increased incidence of BV in Black women. Tools developed in this project can be used to study microbial ecology in diverse settings at high resolution

Networks and landscapes: a framework for setting goals and evaluating performance at the large landscape scale

The objective of large landscape conservation is to mitigate complex ecological problems through interventions at multiple and overlapping scales. Implementation requires coordination among a diverse network of individuals and organizations to integrate local‐scale conservation activities with broad‐scale goals. This requires an understanding of the governance options and how governance regimes achieve objectives or provide performance evaluation across both space and time. However, empirical assessments measuring network‐governance performance in large landscape conservation are limited. We describe a well‐established large landscape conservation network in North America, the Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent, to explore the application of a social–ecological performance evaluation framework. Systematic approaches to setting goals, tracking progress, and collecting data for feedback can help guide adaptation. Applying the established framework to our case study provides a means of evaluating the effectiveness of network governance in large landscape conservation