Loneliness During Mass Social Distancing: An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Loneliness in College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique environment to study loneliness in college students. Loneliness has a deeply rooted history in psychology and sociology where both attempt to explain it as either a lack of physical contact, a discrepancy in one’s actual quality or type of relationships and the quality or type of sought-after relationships, or as an emotional reaction to social factors. One way that psychologists have attempted to quantify loneliness is with the UCLA loneliness scale. Previous research has focused on the conceptualization and definition of loneliness, social stress theory regarding studying mental health, and the strength of interpersonal ties with a move to predominantly online communication. To build on this research, I conducted mixed-method research interviewing 16 students ages 19 to 24 and utilized the UCLA loneliness scale to inform my qualitative data. The interviews in this study address stress through major life events, chronic strains, and daily hassles known as social stress theory. They also discuss the strength of different relationships due to social distancing. My analysis demonstrates that many students define loneliness during the pandemic with different parts of existing academic theories. My findings suggest that, within social stress theory, the pandemic is a major life event that has resulted in other stressful events which in turn causes chronic strain as it persists—stress proliferation. My interviews also tend to highlight instability within online relationships potentially due to a lack of social cues or face-to-face context. Interventions based on these findings may include creating new online methods of community building for new and returning students, promoting safe outdoor activities, and establishing support groups aimed specifically at those who feel lonely or isolated

Sex Differences in Health Related Quality of Life in Head & Neck Cancer One Year After Treatment

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) makes up about 3% of all cancers and is treated with systemic therapy, radiation, surgery, or a combination of these. HNC treatment can be associated with decreased patient reported health related quality of life (HR-QoL), which can lead to depression. The majority of studies found that females reported worse patient reported HR-QoL than males, however, there were a few that did not have a significant difference in overall patient reported QoL. With the discovery of patient oriented outcomes (PROs) in clinical practice affecting patient satisfaction, provider-patient relationship, and overall patient mortality, it is vital to include PROs in the creation of treatment plans. Objectives: The objectives of this project are to highlight the differences in HR-QoL between men and women. Ultimately, using these PROs clinically will help to improve patient care, augment patient-provider trust, and optimize treatment plans. Using PROs and recognizing where unconscious biases of providers come into play is pinnacle, and this project aims to highlight how men and women\u27s experiences are different in the treatment of HNC. Methods: Participants were given the FACT-H&N instrument one year after treatment for head and neck cancer at a single tertiary academic center to assess different aspects of Hr-QoL. Sex differences were analyzed between the groups. A Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was performed to assess associations with sex and survey responses, as well as to assess associations with total laryngectomy and survey responses. Results: There were 100 participants from a single academic center of which 73% were men and 27% women. Several of the questions had significant differences between men and women: I feel ill (P=0.0299), I am satisfied with my family communication about my illness P=0.0075), I am satisfied with my sex life (P=0.0496), My voice has its usual quality and strength (P=0.0057), I can swallow naturally and easily (P=0.0437), and I can eat solid foods (P=0.0248). There were no significant differences between men and women with laryngectomies. Conclusions: Overall, men felt more ill, were less satisfied with their sex lives, were less likely to feel a normal strength and quality of voice, felt decreased ability to swallow normally, and felt they could not eat solid foods; women were less satisfied with communication about their disease to their families. For those who had undergone laryngectomy, there were no significant differences between men and women. Different aspects of quality of life for men and women are affected by head and neck cancer. Monitoring PROs are becoming increasingly standard of care for patients, and providers need to be equipped understand how to interpret data accordingly and understand the inherent biases

Teacher Showcase Video

This video is a group of STEM Teacher Leaders sharing their implementation of STEM integration in their early childhood classrooms. Their presentations include their lessons learned and student data.https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/stem_practice/1002/thumbnail.jp

SharePoint Portal - Lehman Connect Master’s Thesis Repository Library – IT Strategic Partnership

Lehman College’s Leonard Lief Library and Information Technology Division launched the Lehman Master’s Thesis Repository on its new Sharepoint portal in September 2011. The project team consisted of two librarians and three IT engineers. The presentation will outline the project’s development including rationale, the decision to host the repository on the Sharepoint portal, access issues, migration of data, custom programming, best practices and conclusions on the benefits of Library-IT collaboration

Cardiac Vagal Tone Impairment is Associated with Reduced Cerebral Blood Flow in Collegiate Athletes Following Concussion

Reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) is linked to functional disturbances following concussion. Since cardiac vagal tone (an index of cardiac health) is associated with disturbances in the autonomic nervous system, deficits in CBF are likely associated with cardiac vagal tone impairment post-concussion. PURPOSE: The current study examined cardiac vagal tone and CBF on days 3, 21 and 90 following concussion in comparison to non-injured control athletes. The association between these two variables was also evaluated. METHODS: Concussed male and female collegiate athletes were evaluated day-3 (N=29), day-21 (N=25) and day-90 (N=17) post concussion and matched controls were enrolled (N=29). A 3-lead electrocardiogram was used to assess cardiac vagal tone in the high frequency domain (HF; 0.15-0.4 Hz). Beat-to-beat mean arterial pressure (MAP) was obtained via finger photoplethysmography and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) was used to assess middle cerebral blood flow velocity (MCAV). To measure vascular tone, cerebrovascular conductance index (CVCi) was estimated by dividing MCAV with MAP. Symptom severity and cognition were assessed using the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool-3rd Edition (SCAT-3) and executive function was assessed with the Trails test A & B. RESULTS: On day-3, concussed athletes had lower cognition (SAC 28±1vs.26±2,P=0.0005; Trails B 48±8vs.58±15sec,P=0.006) and HF power (52±12vs.36±14,P=0.006) compared to controls. On days 21 and 90, values were comparable to the controls. However, concussed participants were also categorized based on day-3 MCAV (divided at the median), into low and high MCAV groups. On day-3, the group with lower MCAV exhibited lower HF power (29±13vs.42±11.P=0.006) and lower CVCi (0.60±0.13vs.0.88±0.13,PCONCLUSION:Cardiac vagal tone was impaired 3 days following concussion compared to controls. Lower CBF was also associated with higher cerebrovascular tone. Additionally, lower CBF was linked to blunted cardiac vagal tone and functional outcome on day-21. On day-90, CBF recovered with normalization of functional outcome. Future studies with large sample are recommended to validate these findings

Resting Subtropical Grasslands from Grazing in the Wet Season Boosts Biocrust Hotspots to Improve Soil Health

Effective grazing management in Australia’s semi-arid rangelands requires monitoring landscape conditions and identifying sustainable and productive practice through understanding the interactions of environmental factors and management of soil health. Challenges include extreme rainfall variability, intensifying drought, and inherently nutrient-poor soils. We investigated the impacts of grazing strategies on landscape function—specifically soil health—as the foundation for productive pastures, integrating the heterogenous nature of grass tussocks and the interspaces that naturally exist in between them. At Wambiana—a long-term research site in north-eastern Australia—we studied two soil types, two stocking rates (high, moderate), and resting land from grazing during wet seasons (rotational spelling). Rotational spelling had the highest biocrust (living soil cover), in interspaces and under grass tussocks. Biocrusts were dominated by cyanobacteria that binds soil particles, reduces erosion, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, and improves soil fertility. Rotational spelling with a moderate stocking rate emerged as best practice at these sites, with adjustment of stocking rates in line with rainfall and soil type recommended. In drought-prone environments, monitoring the presence and integrity of biocrusts connects landscape function and soil health. Biocrusts that protect and enrich the soil will support long-term ecosystem integrity and economic profitability of cattle production in rangelands

Wettability and Bactericidal Properties of Bioinspired ZnO Nanopillar Surfaces

Nanomaterials of zinc oxide (ZnO) exhibit antibacterial activities under ambient illumination that result in cell membrane permeability and disorganization, representing an important opportunity for health-related applications. However, the development of antibiofouling surfaces incorporating ZnO nanomaterials has remained limited. In this work, we fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces based on ZnO nanopillars. Water droplets on these superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit small contact angle hysteresis (within 2-3°) and a minimal tilting angle of 1°. Further, falling droplets bounce off when impacting the superhydrophobic ZnO surfaces with a range of Weber numbers (8-46), demonstrating that the surface facilitates a robust Cassie-Baxter wetting state. In addition, the antibiofouling efficacy of the surfaces has been established against model pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli). No viable colonies of E. coli were recoverable on the superhydrophobic surfaces of ZnO nanopillars incubated with cultured bacterial solutions for 18 h. Further, our tests demonstrate a substantial reduction in the quantity of S. aureus that attached to the superhydrophobic ZnO nanopillars. Thus, the superhydrophobic ZnO surfaces offer a viable design of antibiofouling materials that do not require additional UV illumination or antimicrobial agents.</p

Body odours as lures for stoats Mustela erminea: Captive and field trials

Eradication and control methods to limit damage caused to native biota in New Zealand by the stoat (Mustela erminea) rely on effective lures for trapping and detection devices, such as cameras. Long-life semiochemical lures have the potential for targeting stoats in situations where food-based lures are of limited success. The attractiveness of body odours of captive stoats was tested in a series of captive animal and extensive field trials to investigate their potential as trapping and monitoring lures. Stoats approached and spent significantly more time sniffing stoat urine and scats and bedding from oestrous female stoats than a non-treatment control. The bedding odours were attractive in both the breeding and the non-breeding season. Stoats also spent significantly more time sniffing oestrous stoat bedding than female ferret bedding, but the ferret odour also produced a significant response by stoats. In the field trials, there were no significant differences between the number of stoats caught with food lures (long-life rabbit or hen eggs) compared with oestrous female or male stoat bedding lures. These results indicate the potential of both stoat bedding odour and the scent of another mustelid species as stoat trapping lures that likely act as a general odour attractant rather than a specific chemical signal of oestrus