Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy

This poster focuses on chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and the complex pathophysiological processes associated with the disorder. CIDP is an autoimmune disease impacting the peripheral nervous system by attacking the myelin sheath that surrounds nerves. Specifically, T lymphocytes use many mechanisms to promote cytotoxic attacks on the myelin sheath. Symptoms present over a period of several months and usually begin with motor weakness. Several treatments are available such as corticosteroids, IVIG, and immunomodulating drugs. However, as many subtypes of CIDP exist, more research is needed to provide patient-specific treatment regimens. An overview of the pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, treatments, and implications for nursing care are provided

Embracing Active Curiosity: How It Benefits the Stage Manager

There are many traits associated with a good stage manager: organization, punctuality, decorum, intelligence, and the ability to handle stressful situations to name a few. All of these and more are necessary for a stage manager to perform his or her job effectively. But what of those stage managers who want to go beyond “good” and “effective” to “great” and “integral”? I believe the most important quality for a great stage manager to have is not a trait so much as it is a drive—curiosity. Curiosity is often ignored in favor of the above-mentioned traits, but it is essential to gathering and cultivating the many skills and attributes valued in a professional and experienced stage manager. This paper will set out to prove that it is possible to actively train curiosity like any other skill, and that this conscious fostering of curiosity is of great use to the professional stage manager. The first section defines the psychological classifications of curiosity as well as what I term ‘active curiosity’. This section also examines the concept of curiosity through a sociocultural filter as a means to demonstrate its nature as a trainable trait. The second section explores areas of brain science—neuronal plasticity and learning—evidencing that active curiosity not only causes conscious learning, but can also assist in the fuller absorption of information. The third section transitions into a more direct focus on how active curiosity can benefit the stage manager, first through the most obvious route: the continual acquisition of new skills as a jack-of-all-trades. The fourth section delves into the effect of curiosity on interpersonal relationships and leadership/management styles, specifically within the theatre. Finally, this essay will turn its focus to the personal, emotional, and health benefits that can be gained from employing active curiosity over time

Internship at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Cryogenic Test laboratory

NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is known for hosting all of the United States manned rocket launches as well as many unmanned launches at low inclinations. Even though the Space Shuttle recently retired, they are continuing to support unmanned launches and modifying manned launch facilities. Before a rocket can be launched, it has to go through months of preparation, called processing. Pieces of a rocket and its payload may come in from anywhere in the nation or even the world. The facilities all around the center help integrate the rocket and prepare it for launch. As NASA prepares for the Space Launch System, a rocket designed to take astronauts beyond Low Earth Orbit throughout the solar system, technology development is crucial for enhancing launch capabilities at the KSC. The Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center greatly contributes to cryogenic research and technology development. The engineers and technicians that work there come up with new ways to efficiently store and transfer liquid cryogens. NASA has a great need for this research and technology development as it deals with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for rocket fuel, as well as long term space flight applications. Additionally, in this new era of space exploration, the Cryogenics Test Laboratory works with the commercial sector. One technology development project is the Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Ground Operations Demonstration Unit (GODU). LH2 GODU intends to demonstrate increased efficiency in storing and transferring liquid hydrogen during processing, loading, launch and spaceflight of a spacecraft. During the Shuttle Program, only 55% of hydrogen purchased was used by the Space Shuttle Main Engines. GODU's goal is to demonstrate that this percentage can be increased to 75%. Figure 2 shows the GODU layout when I concluded my internship. The site will include a 33,000 gallon hydrogen tank (shown in cyan) with a heat exchanger inside the hydrogen tank attached to a refrigerator capable of removing 850 Watts at 20 Kelvin (shown in green). The refrigerator and most of its supporting equipment will be kept in a standard shipping container (shown in pink). Currently, GODU is in the fabrication process and some of the large components have already been purchased

Students with Orthopedic Impairments\u27 Perspectives Toward Integrated Physical Education

Students with disabilities are educated in general physical education classes with their same aged peers more now than ever before (Governmental Accountability Office [GAO], 2010), yet little is known about how those with orthopedic impairments experience these integrated classes. Additionally, while a plethora of strategies are described as promoting ‘inclusion’, very few ‘inclusive’ strategies have been problematized. This dissertation followed a two-study format. The first study explored the lived experiences of students with orthopedic impairments in integrated physical education classes, and the second study examined how students with orthopedic impairments experienced strategies identified in the literature to support ‘inclusion’. An interpretative phenomenological analysis research approach was used in each, and six students with orthopedic impairments (age 10-14 years) served as participants. Data sources included semi-structured, audiotaped interviews, reflective interview notes, and a written prompt. Based on data analysis, three themes developed in the first study: “Without it, they probably would like, just treat me normal”: visibility, disclosure, and expectations; “I sit out”: limited participation and a lack of modifications/accommodations; and “PE doesn’t feel great”: social interactions and perception of self; and four themes arose in the second study: “It’s kind of embarrassing”: experiences with support; “I don’t want to be different”: equipment, activity, and rule modifications; “I like to be a part of the conversation”: autonomy and choice in PE; and “I would rather be like the other students”: discussing disability. The themes highlight the marginalization and lack of access that the participants encountered during their integrated physical education classes, indicating that physical education professionals may benefit from reflecting on personal biases, as well as their instructional practices in an effort to improve the quality of physical education experiences for their students. Further, the differential effects of these explicated ‘inclusive’ strategies were emphasized, whereas each strategy contributed to feelings of inclusion, as well as marginalization. The findings indicate that ‘inclusive’ strategies should not be considered as blanket recommendations; instead, attempts to promote ‘inclusion’ of students with disabilities should start with a reflexive look at the unique needs of each individual student

An Introduction to Theatrical Scent Design as Compared to Traditional Design Areas with a Consideration for the Scientifically Notated Physical and Emotional Effects on the Human body as it Potentially Relates to Future Creative Endeavors: A Framework

Traditional areas of theatrical design are established to the point of having a solid foundation for current and future designers to rely on as they strive to innovate. The same cannot be said for scent. I believe that art, like science, is a sector where the imagination is used to push the boundaries of what we currently know and can do. Artists are therefore entrusted with the responsibility to continue testing those boundaries, and that is what my topic lays the foundation for when it comes to scent. With my topic, I plan to look at the practical and ethical challenges of scent design through the phenomenon of sense memory, its potential effects on the audience physically and emotionally, and the possibilities for its use in the future

Inspirational and Worthy of Charity: (Mis)Representations of Disability in Sport Media

This study explored how one United States-based sports media company (SMC) represents disability through their Twitter account. A directed content analysis approach was utilized to analyze the tweets of the SMC for calendar year 2019. Of 6080 tweets reviewed, 126 (2.1%) were determined to represent disabled athletes or individuals. 43 (34.1%) tweets represented disabled athletes or individuals in participant roles while 83 (65.9%) represented disabled individuals in spectator or nonathlete roles. The tweets were coded into one of four categories of disability portrayal (Garland-Thomson, 2002): wonderous (n = 73), sentimental (n = 43), realistic (n = 7), and exotic (n = 3). They were then open coded into relevant subcategories to provide more context. Findings demonstrate that despite the flexibility and opportunity to feature more diverse sports and athletes through one of their social media platforms (Twitter), the SMC chooses to continue the hegemonic practices deployed in their traditional outlets that focus on nondisabled athletes, popular sports, and representing disabled athletes and individuals through ableist and charity-focused narratives. By drawing attention to these inequities, we may be able to promote change and more equitable opportunities for disabled athletes as sports journalism is cemented in digital platforms

Asylum in Ireland - a public health perspective

This report has two elements, first a review of the literature on refugees and asylum seekrs, with particular to the legal and practical situation in Ireland, and secondly a report of a survey of refugees and asylum seekers carried out in part fulfillment of the requirments for the MPH. The survey had two elements, one a quantitaitve stuy carried out in Dublin and Ennis, and the second a series of focus groups

Puzzle Pieces: Neural Structure and Function in Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of genomic imprinting, presenting with a behavioural phenotype encompassing hyperphagia, intellectual disability, social and behavioural difficulties, and propensity to psychiatric illness. Research has tended to focus on the cognitive and behavioural investigation of these features, and, with the exception of eating behaviour, the neural physiology is currently less well understood. A systematic review was undertaken to explore findings relating to neural structure and function in PWS, using search terms designed to encompass all published articles concerning both in vivo and post-mortem studies of neural structure and function in PWS. This supported the general paucity of research in this area, with many articles reporting case studies and qualitative descriptions or focusing solely on the overeating behaviour, although a number of systematic investigations were also identified. Research to date implicates a combination of subcortical and higher order structures in PWS, including those involved in processing reward, motivation, affect and higher order cognitive functions, with both anatomical and functional investigations indicating abnormalities. It appears likely that PWS involves aberrant activity across distributed neural networks. The characterisation of neural structure and function warrants both replication and further systematic study

Regulation of cholesterol transport processes in the liver by dietary citrus flavonoids [abstract]

Abstract only availableOver the past few years, the importance of diet management and moderation has become a focal point of everyday life. Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high blood cholesterol can all result from poor nutrition decisions. High plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the particle which contains cholesterol, are of particular interest as this condition has been classified as one of the most prevalent risk factors for heart disease. Individuals affected by high levels of LDL are commonly encouraged to maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine while also receiving medication to expedite the cholesterol reduction. Although several treatment options for high cholesterol have come into common use in recent years, there are always continuing efforts to develop more effective therapies. Recent research on natural food constituents has suggested that citrus flavonoids, found in oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits, may reduce the amount of LDL in the blood. The process of cholesterol metabolism takes place primarily in the liver and, thereby, it is appropriate to analyze the effect of flavonoid treatment on hepatocytes. The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) control the amount of LDL circulating in the blood. The genes coding for these two proteins are believed to be regulated by the transcriptional regulatory protein, sterol regulatory element binding protein. Citrus flavonoids induce the expression of LDLR mRNA and suppress that for MTTP. This action will increase the amount of LDLR protein and decrease the amount of MTTP protein in liver cells, thus resulting in lower plasma levels of LDL. To determine the roles of LDLR and MTTP mRNA expression in the mechanism of flavonoid activity in the liver, we have used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions in dose response studies to determine the most effective concentration of citrus flavonoid treatment.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra