The Role of Spirituality and Religiosity in Persons Living With Sickle Cell Disease

Purpose: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious debilitating chronic illness, affecting approximately 90,000 Americans and millions globally. Spirituality and religiosity (S/R) may ease the burden faced by persons living with SCD. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of S/R in adolescents and adults living with SCD in the research literature. Method: The electronic databases Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Health Source Nursing/Academic, ProQuest Health Module, PsycINFO, Medline, PubMed, and the American Theological Library Association were searched from January 1995 to December 2014. Findings: Of the 89 studies retrieved, 11 articles between 2001 and 2013 met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Four themes emerged. The themes included (a) S/R as sources of coping, (b) S/R enhance pain management, (c) S/R influence health care utilization, and (d) S/R improve quality of life. Discussion: Use of S/R may be significant in coping with SCD, managing pain, affecting hospitalizations, and affecting quality of life. This review can direct researchers exploring S/R in adolescents and adults living with SCD

Research in Architectural Education: Theory and Practice of Visual Training

Today, the significance of vision is often considered from multiple points of view including perceptual, cognitive, imaginative, historical, technical, ethical, cultural, and critical perspectives.  Visual Studies, Visual Communication and Visual Design are popular courses of study found in many programs of higher education. This paper centers on a course called Visual Training within the domain of architectural education. To illustrate the pedagogical significance of the 78-year old practice, a methodology of Visual Training as it has been conducted at Illinois Institute of Technology is presented.  The paper describes the program of exercises used, and through an interpretation of the course outcomes, it reveals the course structure and pedagogical theory. The discussion shows how Visual Training establishes grounds for architectural critique based on visual perception and aesthetic judgment. In looking at this case of Visual Training, the paper revisits some of the fundamental premises of architectural pedagogy – from methods to ideals – and challenges assumptions about the role of vision in education by calling attention to existing biases shaping many of today's programs

The Mystery of the Cone Head Mummies: Human or Aliens?

Undergraduate Basi

Hispanic cultural considerations in acute stroke care

BACKGROUND: Hispanics make up one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States, and this traditionally underrepresented group faces medical and health disparities that make their disease burden disproportionally high. For stroke, this burden presents as increased incidence and increase negative outcomes. This burden is partially due to Hispanics taking longer to present to the hospital with their stroke symptoms, resulting in no rt-PA administration. LITERATURE REVIEW: The research shows that this increased time to presentation is due to poor understanding of the United States healthcare system, language barriers, and decreased access to healthcare. Poor understanding of the medical system stems from a higher level of fear and mistrust. The language barrier for Spanish-speaking Hispanics results from a lack of interpreter access as well as poor quality interpreters. Lastly, the majority of healthcare access issues result from higher rates of uninsured. However, there is limited data looking at what barriers Hispanic stroke patients cite as causing delays in stroke care. PROJECT AND METHODS: This study proposes to identify and analyze the barriers reported by Hispanics with a past medical history of stroke. In order to do so, patients will engage in open-ended interviews that will aim to cover barriers discussed in the literature. After the interviews, the qualitative data will undergo theme analysis, and then the themes will be organized via frequency. CONCLUSION: The advantage of this study design is the ability to more accurately identify the barriers in placed. The study design is not without limitations, which include selection bias, interviewer bias, and recall bias. SIGNIFICANCE: Once the study allows for accurate identification of the barriers, more effective Public Health campaigns can be created to target the Hispanic population. These more precise campaigns will work to lower time delay in acute stroke care thus increasing positive outcomes

Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors Affecting Coral Health

Plastic pollution is a large and growing problem in our ever producing world. Not only does it litter our cities, but it is cluttering up the natural world as well, the largest being our oceans. Plastic is dumped into the seas where it floats and slowly breaks down into microplastics that are then ingested by marine animals. I will conduct an experiment to test the effects of micro plastics on coral health by subjecting palythoa corals to different plastic levels in a controlled environment. I hypothesize that corals will ingest micro plastics and will suffer health consequences, leading to a further threat to marine environments and the organisms that rely on a healthy ecosystem. Another human threat to marine ecosystems is the use of sunscreen by swimmers and divers enjoying the sight of ocean reefs. Sunscreen emits harmful chemicals that are detrimental to coral health, even in small amounts. To address this concern, I also tested the effects of a small amount of normal sunscreen and coral safe sunscreen in order to determine their effect on coral health and survivability. I hypothesize that the normal sunscreen will cause damage to the corals, and the coral safe sunscreen will behave like the control, with no detrimental health effects

Integrated communications curriculum design for a bachelor's degree program

This creative project outlines the course sequencing, curriculum requirements, course descriptions, and learning outcomes for an Integrated Communications Bachelor’s Degree program. The curriculum meets the accreditation standards of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. It also incorporates a new, blended set of tactical skills required by current entry-level positions in the fields of public relations, communication, and marketing. The curriculum is designed in three sections so students will gain specific skill competencies while advancing through the degree. The 120 credit hour degree program is divided into foundation courses, advanced theory courses, and professional practical courses.Thesis (M.A.)Department of Journalis

The Utilization of Sex Hormone Antibodies for Screening and Separation of Trace Biological Mixtures

Touch or trace evidence consists of epidermal cells deposited by contact with items such as handled objects, touched surfaces, or worn clothes. This type of evidence has surpassed most other sample types submitted to forensic labs and typically consists of low quantities of DNA and multiple contributors. In this study epithelial skin cells, i.e., “touch/trace evidence,” were used as they are estimated to constitute approximately half of the casework evidence items submitted for DNA analysis. For the optimization of antibody staining, male and female skin epithelial samples from donors were incubated and hybridized with antibodies of various concentrations of Alexa 488-conjugated anti-testosterone antibody (7.00E-4 µg/µL), FITC-conjugated anti-DHT antibody (4.10E-4 µg/µL) Alexa 647-conjugated anti-estradiol antibody (2.00E-4 µg/µL), and Alexa 647-conjugated anti-testosterone (5.00E-4 µg/µL) separately at varying volumes (1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10 µL). They were also hybridized with combined Alexa 488-conjugated anti-testosterone and FITC-conjugated anti-DHT antibody (1.11E-3 µg/µL) at varying volumes (2.5 and 5 µL). Antibody binding efficiency was assessed by analyzing stained single-source male, female, and control epithelial skin cells through flow cytometry to determine if the staining to the specific target was significant when compared to the unstained control. The objective was to maximize differential binding between contributors, and to increase fluorescent signal versus noise for antibody binding. Once a staining condition was established, male and female samples were collected from different individuals and stained to determine if the staining conditions were consistent with different individuals. It was determined that not all individuals could be differentiated after staining. However, if an improved signal was observed as demonstrated by an increased median fluorescence and separation between male and female samples visualized by overlaying the histograms, then the testing moved forward to FACS analysis. The results from this study demonstrate that certain contributor cell populations derived from the epidermis may be differentiated by targeting testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and estradiol sex hormones within cell populations as demonstrated by flow cytometry. This study resulted in a protocol for differentially labeling contributors with anti-steroid antibodies when compared to the unstained controls. This study has potential application for casework samples to simplify complex trace mixtures prior to DNA profiling

Continuing education for certified athletic trainers working in the traditional setting: perceived utility based on adult learning theory

The purpose of this mixed methods program impact evaluation is to determine the perceived utility of continuing education for athletic trainers working in the traditional setting. Data were collected via survey and interviews. Based on adult learning theory, hands-on learning fulfilled the learners' Need to Know and valued learner experiences best. Online learning was deemed the best modality for learners when it came to Readiness to Learn and Orientation to Learning. The learner's Self-Concept seemed favorable for all three modes of learning. The Learner's Motivation needs further research to determine which modality serves learners best The Value of Learner Experiences seems to be an area of improvement for the structure of CE, with over half of participants choosing an unfavorable response. The other tenets of Adult Learning Theory fared well among the participants regarding the structure of CE. For certified athletic trainers working in the traditional setting, continuing education is generally perceived to be useful to athletic trainers. The current structure of continuing education requirements was also perceived as useful overall among the participants of the study. There are however some areas to improve.Includes bibliographical references