Study of Sputum Collection and Evaluation in the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study (PLuSS)

Lung cancer remains a significant public health problem in 2006, despite efforts aimed at educating individuals about the dangers of tobacco and the successes of smoking cessation programs. No screening methods aimed at high risk individuals are currently supported by the National Cancer Institute or other medical organizations. Since the risk for lung cancer persists even after smoking cessation, studies of methods to detect lung cancer in its early stages, when it is amenable to cure, are clearly needed. This study examined a novel method of sputum collection and processing to determine whether the adequacy of the samples collected was improved over conventional preparation methods. We also examined lung function as a possible predictor of cytologic abnormality in the sputum of individuals at high risk for lung cancer, and studied the potential of a molecular biomarker for the early detection of lung cancer. This study employed a cross-sectional design and utilized quantitative methods for exploring the relationships between the variables, particularly those of lung function, cytologic diagnosis and gene mutation status, with personal risk factors for developing lung cancer. This study demonstrated an association between lung function and cytologic diagnosis of moderate or worse atypia in the sputum collected from these participants and examined at the University of Colorado. We also demonstrated a higher rate of sputum specimen adequacy than has been previously reported from conventional clinical experience. We examined the feasibility of conducting somatic gene mutation analysis on the samples collected by this novel method. We achieved some success in studying K-ras mutations, but were unsuccessful in our analysis of DNA methylation. From these experiences we have gathered information upon which to base further studies.The importance of these findings from a public health perspective is that there is an opportunity for early detection of lung cancer via analysis of cellular and molecular changes in sputum. We have demonstrated that the Thin Prep® methodology, applied to sputum, produces material suitable for cytologic examination and, under certain circumstances, material suitable for molecular analysis. Patients at high risk for lung cancer will benefit from continued research into novel screening methods

PILOT STUDY OF MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS IN COLLEGIATE ATHLETES: THE INFLUENCE OF RESILIENCE ACROSS A COMPETITIVE SEASON

Objectives: We explored associations between training load (TL) and mental health symptoms (MHS) throughout a competitive season. Secondly, we examined resilience as an influencer on these associations. Participants: 114 student-athletes between 18-23 years old. Methods: We measured MHS and resilience at 3 timepoints throughout a competitive season with psychometric questionnaires. We collected TL daily then calculated average acute to chronic workload ratios (ACWR) and total TLs. Results: None of our hypothesized variables predicted the change in flourishing mental health or anxiety. Total TL at timepoint 3 had a positive main effect. Those who had greater total TL had greater increases in depression (t = 2.14, p = 0.035). Individuals with greater total TL at timepoint 3 and lower average resilience tended to report the greatest increases in depression (t = -2.75, p = 0.007). Conclusion: Results suggests the importance of evaluation of student-athlete resilience and follow-up evaluation of depression.Master of Art

The abstraction transition taxonomy: developing desired learning outcomes through the lens of situated cognition

We report on a post-hoc analysis of introductory programming lecture materials. The purpose of this analysis is to identify what knowledge and skills we are asking students to acquire, as situated in the activity, tools, and culture of what programmers do and how they think. The specific materials analyzed are the 133 Peer Instruction questions used in lecture to support cognitive apprenticeship -- honoring the situated nature of knowledge. We propose an Abstraction Transition Taxonomy for classifying the kinds of knowing and practices we engage students in as we seek to apprentice them into the programming world. We find students are asked to answer questions expressed using three levels of abstraction: English, CS Speak, and Code. Moreover, many questions involve asking students to transition between levels of abstraction within the context of a computational problem. Finally, by applying our taxonomy in classifying a range of introductory programming exams, we find that summative assessments (including our own) tend to emphasize a small range of the skills fostered in students during the formative/apprenticeship phase

Visitor from Forest Hills; The Man with the Flower in his Mouth; Finale Two

John Carroll University\u27s Little Theatre Workshop presented three one-acts in April of 1978. The Visitor From Forest Hills is the third act of Neil Simon\u27s Plaza Suite, The Man With the Flower in His Mouth by Luigi Pirandello, and Finale II, directed and conceived by Beth Joseph comprised the show. Read the review from the Carroll News (page 10).https://collected.jcu.edu/plays/1080/thumbnail.jp

Quantifying Geomorphic Controls on Time in Weathering Systems

AbstractThe time minerals spend in the weathering zone is crucial in determining soil biogeochemical cycles, solid state chemistry and soil texture. This length of time is closely related to erosion rates and can be modulated by sediment transport, mixing rates within the soil and the temporal evolution of erosion. Here we describe how time length can be approximated using geomorphic metrics and how topography reveals changing residence times of minerals within soils. We also show model simulations from a field site in California that can reproduce observed solid state geochemistry in the eroding portion of the landscape

Cometary Ionospheres: An Updated Tutorial

This chapter aims at providing the tools and knowledge to understand and model the plasma environment surrounding comets in the innermost part near the nucleus. In particular, our goal is to give an updated post-Rosetta view of this ionised environment: what we knew, what we confirmed, what we overturned, and what we still do not understand.Comment: 41 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables; To be published in Comets III (2023), K. J. Meech and M. Combi (Eds.), University of Arizona Press, Tucso