Mental Health First Aid Training in Rural Maryland during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Program Implementation through Virtual Delivery

The growing mental health concerns during COVID-19, particularly among rural residents, is a public health emergency. Rural residents are at an elevated risk, as rurality has been associated with various disparities, including lower accessibility to mental health services. Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA; Maryland Extension) aimed to address this issue by delivering evidence-based programs on opioid misuse and mental health to rural community members and practitioners throughout Maryland when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and all research activities had to transition to the virtual setting. The current study provides an overview of the implementation process of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program and reports the findings from the evaluation efforts. Participants (N = 398) completed a one-time online survey and answered open-ended questions, reporting high satisfaction rates and positive experiences with the virtual delivery of the program. Results suggested that the virtual format was still effective in program content delivery and that virtual delivery of evidence-based programs may be an opportune strategy to reach more rural residents. Recommendations for future research and practice efforts include building sustainable partnerships with local community organizations and considering rurality and prolonged-pandemic factors for effective program implementation

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Understanding the informal help-seeking process of Korean emerging adults living in the U.S.: Influence of the family context

Korean Americans are a major Asian subgroup in the U.S., and epidemiological data demonstrate that rates of mental health symptoms are higher among Korean American emerging adults compared to other Asian American counterparts. Seeking and receiving appropriate support are important ways to cope with mental health burden, but there is a dearth of literature on how Asian Americans seek help from friends and family members. Available studies suggest that various sociocultural factors influence the informal help-seeking process among Asian Americans. As family context has a significant impact on children’s sociocultural development, examining such contextual factors can help understand some of the mechanisms and correlates of informal help-seeking. In this dissertation study, I explored the characteristics and associations among family communication patterns, relevant sociocultural factors (i.e., perceived parental support, emotional self-control, relational concerns, face loss concerns), and informal help-seeking intentions using a sample of 201 Korean American emerging adults (ages 18 – 29) drawn from an online survey. In paper 1, factor analysis showed that different help sources can be grouped into three domains (i.e., formal sources, family members, and partner and friends), with intention to seek help being the highest towards partner and friends, followed by family members and formal sources. Characteristics of higher acculturation were positively associated with help-seeking intention towards partner and friends. In paper 2, mediation analyses revealed that participants with parents fostering unrestrained communications perceived receiving more informational support from parents, which in turn was associated with higher intention to seek parental support. Participants with parents emphasizing conformity in beliefs and values perceived receiving less emotional and implicit support from parents, which in turn was associated with lower intention to seek parental support. The negative association between conformity orientation and perceived emotional support was only significant among participants identifying as American or bi-cultural. In paper 3, bivariate analyses showed that conversation orientation was positively associated with informal help-seeking intention, while conformity orientation, emotional self-control, relational concerns, and face loss concerns were negatively associated. Mediation analyses indicated that participants with parents stressing conformity in beliefs and values were more likely to endorse suppression of emotional expression and be concerned with potential loss of face from help-seeking, which in turn were associated with lower intention to seek help from family and friends. Findings from this dissertation study point to the utility of examining family contextual factors to better understand the informal help-seeking process among Korean American emerging adults. More studies on Asian Americans’ informal help-seeking are needed to find more culturally appropriate ways to address the mental health needs of this population

Low-temperature growth of Ga2O3 thin films on Si substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition and their electrical characteristics

In this paper, Ga2O3 thin films were grown on n-type Si substrates at various growth temperatures of 500, 550, 600, 650, and 700 °C. The Ga2O3 thin films grown at 500 and 550 °C were characterized by featureless flat surfaces. Films grown at higher temperatures of 600, 650, and 700 °C showed a very rough surface morphology. To determine the effect of annealing on the thin films grown at relatively low temperatures (500, 550, 600, 650, and 700 °C), the Ga2O3 films were thermally treated at 900 °C for 10 min. The crystal structure of the Ga2O3 films grown at 500 and 550 °C changed from amorphous to polycrystalline with a flat surface. The Ga2O3 film grown at 550 °C was chosen for the fabrication of a Schottky barrier diode, whose electrical properties were evaluated before and after thermal treatment. A metal–semiconductor–metal-type photodetector was fabricated using a Ga2O3 thin film grown at low temperatures, whose photocurrent under 266-nm UV illumination wavelength was 5.32 times higher than the dark current under an operating voltage of 10 V

Beneficial effects of the conditioned medium of adipose tissue-derived stem cells on human follicular cells

Background: Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) produce many kinds of growth factors including insulin-like growth factor binding protein precursors, VEGF, hepatocyte growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor and keratinocyte growth factor. These factors are documented to be related to hair growth stimulation.

Neurologic Complications after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children: Analysis of Prognostic Factors

AbstractNeurologic complications are serious complications after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical features and prognosis in pediatric patients who had neurologic complications after allogeneic HSCT. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children and adolescents (19 years old or younger) who underwent allogeneic HSCT at our institution from 2000 to 2012. A total of 383 patients underwent 430 allogeneic transplantations. Among them, 73 episodes of neurologic complications occurred in 70 patients. The cumulative incidence of neurologic complications at day 400 was 20.0%. Almost two thirds of the episodes (63.0%, 46 of 73) occurred within 100 days after transplantation. Calcineurin inhibitor–related neurotoxicity was observed as the most common cause of neurotoxicity (47.9%, 35 of 73) and was significantly associated with earlier onset neurologic complications, seizure, and tremor. It also showed a significant association with lower probability of headache, abnormality of cranial nerve, and neurologic sequelae. In a multivariate analysis, days to neutrophil engraftment after HSCT, extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and the existence of neurologic sequelae were identified as risk factors for mortality in patients who had neurologic complications (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02 to 1.15; P = .011; HR, 5.98; 95% CI, 1.71 to 20.90; P = .005; and HR, 4.37; 95% CI, 1.12 to 17.05; P = .034, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the 5-year overall survival between the patients who had neurologic complications without sequelae and the patients who did not have any neurologic complications (57.3% versus 61.8%, P = .906). In conclusion, we found that the major significant risk factors for mortality in pediatric recipients with neurologic complications were the existence of neurologic sequelae and extensive chronic GVHD

Clinical and imaging findings of systemic hyalinosis: two cases presenting with congenital arthrogryposis

Systemic hyalinosis is a rare, multisystem, progressive, autosomal recessive disorder of connective tissue characterized by diffuse hyaline deposition in the skin, bone or viscera. Owing to its rarity and initial manifestations that resemble arthrogryposis congenital multiplexa, correct diagnosis can be elusive and often delayed. We present the computed tomography (CT) and whole-body (WB) magnetic resonance (MR) findings in two unrelated children with systemic hyalinosis who came to medical attention because of multiple joint contractures and limitation of motion in early infancy.Ribeiro SLE, 2009, ACTA REUMATOL PORT, V34, P128Huang YC, 2007, BRIT J DERMATOL, V156, P602, DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2006.07701.xMuniz ML, 2006, PEDIATR DERMATOL, V23, P458SHIEH JT, 2006, PEDIATRICS, V118, P1485Al-Mayouf SM, 2005, CLIN EXP RHEUMATOL, V23, P717Lee JYY, 2005, CLIN EXP DERMATOL, V30, P176, DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2230.2004.01698.xHanks S, 2003, AM J HUM GENET, V73, P791Dowling O, 2003, AM J HUM GENET, V73, P957Buyukgebiz B, 2003, TURKISH J PEDIATR, V45, P258Rahman N, 2002, AM J HUM GENET, V71, P975Robbin MR, 2001, RADIOGRAPHICS, V21, P585Ahn JM, 2000, CLIN RADIOL, V55, P19EIGH GF, 1998, PEDIATR RADIOL, V28, P500SAHN EE, 1994, PEDIATR DERMATOL, V11, P52JABRA AA, 1993, PEDIATR RADIOL, V23, P425KAN AE, 1989, PEDIATR DERMATOL, V6, P68WISWELL TE, 1988, J PEDIATR SURG, V23, P315FAYAD MN, 1987, AM J MED GENET, V26, P123LANDING BH, 1986, PEDIATR PATHOL, V6, P55MURRAY J, 1873, MED CHIR T, V38, P235

Real-world treatment intensities and pathways of macular edema following retinal vein occlusion in Korea from Common Data Model in ophthalmology

Despite many studies, optimal treatment sequences or intervals are still questionable in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) macular edema. The aim of this study was to examine the real-world treatment patterns of RVO macular edema. A retrospective analysis of the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model, a distributed research network, of four large tertiary referral centers (n = 9,202,032) identified 3286 eligible. We visualized treatment pathways (prescription volume and treatment sequence) with sunburst and Sankey diagrams. We calculated the average number of intravitreal injections per patient in the first and second years to evaluate the treatment intensities. Bevacizumab was the most popular first-line drug (80.9%), followed by triamcinolone (15.1%) and dexamethasone (2.28%). Triamcinolone was the most popular drug (8.88%), followed by dexamethasone (6.08%) in patients who began treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents. The average number of all intravitreal injections per person decreased in the second year compared with the first year. The average number of injections per person in the first year increased throughout the study. Bevacizumab was the most popular first-line drug and steroids were considered the most common as second-line drugs in patients first treated with anti-VEGF agents. Intensive treatment patterns may cause an increase in intravitreal injections.N