Attention, memory, and self-efficacy differences between ADHD and aging individuals

Attention and memory abilities decline with age. Although a similar pattern of attentional and memory decrement has been observed in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these two populations have never been directly compared. The present study examined performance on attention, self-efficacy (SE), and memory tasks by ADHD young adults and non-ADHD younger and older adults. ADHD adults displayed lower attentional SE than both non-ADHD younger and older adults, but performed comparably to older adults on an attention task on which non-ADHD younger adults outperformed both groups. ADHD adults and older adults had lower memory SE than non-AD HD younger adults, but ADHD and non-AD HD younger adults both performed better than older adults on a category cued-recall task. These results suggest that the attentional deficits that characterize both a clinical population and an aging population have similar features. Future directions for research comparing clinical and aging populations on tests of cognitive function are addressed

Rebirthday: Self-presentation, Suppression and Externally Excessive Expression

Rebirthday Self-presentation, Suppression and Externally Excessive Expression (hereafter referred to as “Rebirthday”) shines a light on the glamourous side of queer resistance. This thesis project seeks to complicate notions of marginality by exploring the long tradition of self-fashioned glamour as a survival tactic and form of world-making for non-normative people. Rebirthday investigates the evolution of my shifting identity by using self-fashioning and costuming as ways to manipulate the expression of my gender and identity. Rebirthday materializes the personal interconnectedness between my artwork and my lived experiences. I re-imagine my social identity by combining sculptural installations with live performance and wearable objects. Through the customization and assemblage of found objects, my sculptures and performances engage with ideas of masking, mutation and self-making. Rebirthday uses self- reflexivity as a methodology for asserting and acknowledging my positioning within this thesis project. As a methodology, self-reflexivity enables me to consciously and actively reference the artificiality of my identity through performance. Within this document, the differentiation between self-reflexivity and reflectivity is rooted in the idea that my reflexive positioning is embodied. I locate myself within the scope of my research via a reflective process. Rebirthday is informed by Sara Ahmed’s writings on queer phenomenology concerning the relationship between bodies and objects, Dan Graham’s performance entitled Performer / Audience / Mirror (1975) involving his reflection on our perceptions of identity and Judith Butler’s feminist theories that reveal how our bodies perform and enact gender and identity. The primary point of my investigation is my own gendered identity and expression. My conceptual process is extremely anecdotal and autobiographical. I use my selfhood to explore the in-betweenness of my gender, my queerness and my shifting identity. For me, rebirthday is every day. I am performing at all times; my life alive, is a live performance

A Systems Approach to Hemostasis: How the Feedback Between Thrombus Structure and Molecular Transport Regulates the Hemostatic Response

After vascular injury numerous chemical signals are released to induce platelet activation, coagulation, and post-hemostatic events. This thesis aims to investigate the interplay between thrombus structure and the spatiotemporal distribution and transport of biologically relevant solutes, and how this impacts thrombus formation in vivo. Using intravital microscopy we have previously described a characteristic architecture of thrombi formed in vivo. The architecture consists of a core of highly-activated and tightly packed platelets covered by a loose shell of less activated platelets. Initially, we developed a novel platelet-targeted sensor capable of reporting on thrombin activity, a potent platelet agonist, within thrombi formed ex vivo or in vivo. We found that thrombin activity was high in the core region, but restricted from the shell. We then designed another sensor capable of tracking soluble protein transport within thrombi formed in vivo, and found significant retention of soluble proteins within the platelets that would go on to form the core region. Using computational methods we found that the platelet packing density between the platelets restricted the diffusion of proteins within the core region, and allowed for rapid elution of proteins that made it to the shell. To test this in vivo we used mice with a defect in platelet retraction, but not platelet sensitivity to agonists. The mutant mice showed a much faster rate of solute elution using our transport sensor, and we also observed decreased platelet activation and thrombin activity within the thrombus. Next, we extended this model of thrombi as regulators of protein transport by examining how thrombus architecture altered the leakage of plasma proteins into the surrounding tissue. We found that extravascular solute gradients were sensitive to commonly used anti-platelet agents as well as small changes in platelet packing densities. Finally, we developed a new intravital imaging technique to visualize thrombus architecture formation in the mouse femoral artery and vein to extend our observations into the macrocirculation. Together, this thesis proposes a novel mechanism of thrombus regulation, which is dependent upon molecular transport properties shaped by the local hemodynamics and the intrathrombus microenvironment

Fertilizing Woody Ornamentals.

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Fertilizing Woody Ornamentals.

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p120-Catenin Down-Regulation and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Overexpression Results in a Transformed Epithelium That Mimics Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis due to its highly invasive and metastatic potential. The molecular pathogenesis underlying the invasive mechanism of ESCC is not well known because of the lack of existing models to study this disease. p120-Catenin (p120ctn) and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have each been implicated in several cancers, including ESCC. p120ctn is down-regulated in 60% of ESCC tumors, whereas EGFR is the most commonly overexpressed oncogene in ESCC. For these reasons, we investigated the cooperation between p120ctn and EGFR and its effect on ESCC invasion. We show that p120ctn down-regulation is commonly associated with EGFR overexpression. By using a three-dimensional culture system, we demonstrate that the inverse relationship between p120ctn and EGFR has biological implications. Specifically, p120ctn down-regulation coupled with EGFR overexpression in human esophageal keratinocytes (EPC1-PE) was required to promote invasion. Morphological comparison of EPC1-PE cells grown in three-dimensional culture and human ESCC revealed identical features, including significantly increased cellularity, nuclear grade, and proliferation. Molecular characteristics were measured by keratin expression patterns, which were nearly identical between EPC1-PE cells in three-dimensional culture and ESCC samples. Altogether, our analyses have demonstrated that p120ctn down-regulation and EGFR overexpression are able to mimic human ESCC in a relevant three-dimensional culture model

Development of the Barriers to Error Disclosure Assessment Tool

OBJECTIVES: An interprofessional group of health colleges' faculty created and piloted the Barriers to Error Disclosure Assessment tool as an instrument to measure barriers to medical error disclosure among health care providers. METHODS: A review of the literature guided the creation of items describing influences on the decision to disclose a medical error. Local and national experts in error disclosure used a modified Delphi process to gain consensus on the items included in the pilot. After receiving university institutional review board approval, researchers distributed the tool to a convenience sample of physicians (n = 19), pharmacists (n = 20), and nurses (n = 20) from an academic medical center. Means and SDs were used to describe the sample. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to examine test-retest correspondence between the continuous items on the scale. Factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine factor loadings and examine internal consistency reliability. Cronbach α coefficients were calculated during initial and subsequent administrations to assess test-retest reliability. RESULTS: After omitting 2 items with intraclass correlation coefficient of less than 0.40, intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.43 to 0.70, indicating fair to good test-retest correspondence between the continuous items on the final draft. Factor analysis revealed the following factors during the initial administration: confidence and knowledge barriers, institutional barriers, psychological barriers, and financial concern barriers to medical error disclosure. α Coefficients of 0.85 to 0.93 at time 1 and 0.82 to 0.95 at time 2 supported test-retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The final version of the 31-item tool can be used to measure perceptions about abilities for disclosing, impressions regarding institutional policies and climate, and specific barriers that inhibit disclosure by health care providers. Preliminary evidence supports the tool's validity and reliability for measuring disclosure variables

Horticultural Update

Monthly newsletter of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service discussing plants that are cultivated in the state, news, and other topics related to gardening in Texas