Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Sexual Victimization as Predictors of Suicidality among U.S. High School Students: Results from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Introduction: In 2015, suicide was the second leading cause of death among youth aged 15-24 years old in the United States. In the U.S., data shows substantial gender differences in suicidality reporting. Yet, it is unknown if these gender differences in suicidality reporting remain among certain high-risk groups. Aim: The purpose of this study is to 1) examine if there are gender differences in reported suicidal ideation and behaviors among U.S. high school students; 2) assess if any initially observed gender differences remain across sexual orientations and among those with previous history of sexual victimization among a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students using results from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Methods: Data from the 2015 YRBS was used to conduct secondary analyses (N = 15,624). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed using SAS 9.4 statistical software to determine if there were significant gender differences in reported suicidal ideation and behaviors (consideration, planning, attempt, injurious attempt). Results: Sex, sexual orientation and sexual victimization were significantly associated with all four suicide outcomes of interest. Compared to males, heterosexual/straight and gay or lesbian females had significantly increased odds of suicide consideration. Moreover, when compared to males, females that had ever experienced sexual victimization had significantly increased odds of suicide consideration and planning compared to male peers. Conclusion: There were significant gender differences observed for suicidality when sex alone was considered. Hence, more targeted messaging is necessary to ensure all sub-populations at risk are being effectively reached

Creating Connection through Dance/Movement Therapy among Older Adults with Dementia: Development of a Method

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the use of Dance/movement therapy (D/MT) with a focus on sensory stimulation among individuals living with dementia to promote a higher level of engagement, connection, and reminiscence. This thesis will provide a literature review on the challenges that individuals living with dementia experience and the importance of a person-centered approach to care that is grounded in relationship (Newman-Bluestein & Chang, 2017). Additionally, the role that Dance/movement therapy plays among people with dementia and the benefits of sensory stimulation within this population are also included. Finally, a Dance/movement therapy intervention that was implemented at an affordable housing community in the Boston area among a diverse, low-income group of older adults with mild to severe dementia in February and March 2020 will be presented. A Chacian structure was implemented with a focus on touch through the use of props, hand holding, and self-massage, as well as stimulation through music, encouraging reminiscence. The observations indicated valuable benefits for group participants, confirming a need for further research to be conducted on the benefits of D/MT among this specific population

Endogenous human brain dynamics recover slowly following cognitive effort

In functional magnetic resonance imaging, the brain's response to experimental cognitive tasks is usually assumed to be independent of endogenous oscillations. To test this assumption, we measured fractal scaling of fMRI time-series before and after a working memory task. Prolonged and task difficulty-related changes in post-task 'resting' data suggest that brain dynamics recover slowly from cognitive effort, contrary to the reflexive model that background oscillations are independent of task performance

Development and Evaluation of Quantitative Methods of Analysing Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Blood Flow Images of the Brain

Development and evaluation of quantitative methods of analysing single photon emission computed tomography blood flow images of the brain. This thesis presents the investigations carried out on a particular method of functional human brain mapping (FHBM) analysis (SPM)1 as to its applicability to a routine nuclear medicine neuroimaging department. Principally designed for the investigation into positron emission tomography (PET) radiolabelled water studies of normal brain function during neuroactivation experiments the technique is still relatively novel for the purposes of interpreting single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images of brain function. This thesis investigates whether the functional brain mapping technique (SPM) can be extended to embrace the widely available imaging technique of SPECT and to determine whether this combination can contribute to routine diagnosis of abnormalities in brain function and to research investgiations involving functional neuroactivation. Validation of the image standardisation facility of SPM96 applied to oblique or incomplete image data sets. The image standardisation component of SPM96 was validated by subjecting it to a series of challenge conditions created from simulated data. The challenge conditions were chosen to reflect those that occur in clinical scans, for example, extreme misalignments to a standard reference orientation resulting in axial truncation of the image volume. The results of the software performance under these challenges showed that the image standardisation component of this software had particular problems correcting for large (1

Population level inference for multivariate MEG analysis

Multivariate analysis is a very general and powerful technique for analysing Magnetoencephalography (MEG) data. An outstanding problem however is how to make inferences that are consistent over a group of subjects as to whether there are condition-specific differences in data features, and what are those features that maximise these differences. Here we propose a solution based on Canonical Variates Analysis (CVA) model scoring at the subject level and random effects Bayesian model selection at the group level. We apply this approach to beamformer reconstructed MEG data in source space. CVA estimates those multivariate patterns of activation that correlate most highly with the experimental design; the order of a CVA model is then determined by the number of significant canonical vectors. Random effects Bayesian model comparison then provides machinery for inferring the optimal order over the group of subjects. Absence of a multivariate dependence is indicated by the null model being the most likely. This approach can also be applied to CVA models with a fixed number of canonical vectors but supplied with different feature sets. We illustrate the method by identifying feature sets based on variable-dimension MEG power spectra in the primary visual cortex and fusiform gyrus that are maximally discriminative of data epochs before versus after visual stimulation

Practicability in ascertaining children’s views: superseding ‘the default position’

This paper considers the issue of ‘practicability’ in ascertaining the views of children in family proceedings with reference to the recent, and noteworthy, Scottish Inner House judgment of M v C. As each of the is UK nations contemplate more fully incorporating and implementing the UNCRC, it is argued that statutory provision alone does not guarantee children’s rights will be honoured in practice. How the judiciary interpret and balance the child’s Convention rights will be crucial

Working memory replay prioritizes weakly attended events

One view of working memory posits that maintaining a series of events requires their sequential and equal mnemonic replay. Another view is that the content of working memory maintenance is prioritized by attention. We decoded the dynamics for retaining a sequence of items using magnetoencephalography, wherein participants encoded sequences of three stimuli depicting a face, a manufactured object, or a natural item and maintained them in working memory for 5000 ms. Memory for sequence position and stimulus details were probed at the end of the maintenance period. Decoding of brain activity revealed that one of the three stimuli dominated maintenance independent of its sequence position or category; and memory was enhanced for the selectively replayed stimulus. Analysis of event-related responses during the encoding of the sequence showed that the selectively replayed stimuli were determined by the degree of attention at encoding. The selectively replayed stimuli had the weakest initial encoding indexed by weaker visual attention signals at encoding. These findings do not rule out sequential mnemonic replay but reveal that attention influences the content of working memory maintenance by prioritizing replay of weakly encoded events. We propose that the prioritization of weakly encoded stimuli protects them from interference during the maintenance period, whereas the more strongly encoded stimuli can be retrieved from long-term memory at the end of the delay period

Risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading contributors to cancer mortality worldwide and is a leading cause of death in individuals with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. It is uncertain how the presence of other metabolic factors and comorbidities influences HCC risk in HBV. Therefore, we performed a systematic literature review and meta‐analysis to seek evidence for significant associations. MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched from 1 January 2000 to 24 June 2020 for studies investigating associations of metabolic factors and comorbidities with HCC risk in individuals with chronic HBV infection, written in English. We extracted data for meta‐analysis and generated pooled effect estimates from a fixed‐effects model. Pooled estimates from a random‐effects model were also generated if significant heterogeneity was present. We identified 40 observational studies reporting on associations of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, dyslipidaemia and obesity with HCC risk. Only DM had a sufficient number of studies for meta‐analysis. DM was associated with >25% increase in hazards of HCC (fixed‐effects hazards ratio [HR] 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–1.32, random‐effects HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.23–1.49). This association was attenuated towards the null in a sensitivity analysis restricted to studies adjusted for metformin use. In conclusion, in adults with chronic HBV infection, DM is a significant risk factor for HCC, but further investigation of the influence of antidiabetic drug use and glycaemic control on this association is needed. Enhanced screening of individuals with HBV and diabetes may be warranted

Piano Night at the Movies: A Recital

This is the poster and program from the recital, Piano Night at the Movies, held on October 30, 2020, at the OBU Amphitheater