An evaluation of specialist mentoring for university students with autism spectrum disorders and mental health conditions

Mentoring is often recommended to universities as a way of supporting students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or mental health conditions (MHC), but there is little literature on optimising this support. We used mixed-methods to evaluate mentees’ and mentors’ experiences of a specialist mentoring programme. Mentees experienced academic, social and emotional support, although subtle group differences emerged between students with ASD and MHC. The quality of the mentee-mentor relationship was especially important. Mentors also reported benefits. Thematic analysis identified that effective mentoring requires a tailored partnership, which involves a personal relationship, empowerment, and building bridges into the university experience. Mentoring can effectively support students with ASD and/or MHC, but this is highly dependent on the development of tailored mentee-mentor partnerships

Design of a slender tuned ultrasonic needle for bone penetration

This paper reports on an ultrasonic bone biopsy needle, particularly focusing on design guidelines applicable for any slender tuned ultrasonic device component. Ultrasonic surgical devices are routinely used to cut a range of biological tissues, such as bone. However the realisation of an ultrasonic bone biopsy needle is particularly challenging. This is due to the requirement to generate sufficient vibrational amplitude capable of penetrating mineralised tissue, while avoiding flexural vibrational responses, which are known to reduce the performance and reliability of slender ultrasonic devices. This investigation uses finite element analysis (FEA) to predict the vibrational behaviour of a resonant needle which has dimensions that match closely to an 8Gx4inch bone marrow biopsy needle. Features of the needle, including changes in material and repeated changes in diameter, have been included and systematically altered to demonstrate that the location of and geometry of these features can significantly affect the resonant frequency of bending and torsional modes of vibration while having a limited effect on the frequency and shape of the tuned longitudinal mode. Experimental modal analysis was used to identify the modal parameters of the selected needle design, validating the FEA model predictions of the longitudinal mode and the close flexural modes. This verifies that modal coupling can be avoided by judicious small geometry modifications. Finally, the tuned needle assembly was driven under typical operational excitation conditions to demonstrate that an ultrasonic biopsy needle can be designed to operate in a purely longitudinal motion

The Southern Appalachian adolescent female\u27s experience of being violent

The focus of this study was on a specific facet of youth violence that has not been addressed or studied in a comprehensive manner—the violent adolescent female; more specifically, Southern Appalachian, adolescent females. There is very little research on violent girls and even less research on violent girls living in the region of Southern Appalachia. Ten interviews were conducted with adolescent females, ages 12-18, who lived in Southern Appalachia for at least ten years. Using phenomenological interview procedures, participants were asked to describe their experiences of being violent. Analysis revealed that participants described themselves in the context of self in relation to others: I am a good girl, who can be bad. I am scared and alone. I am weak. The following experiential themes described the participants\u27 experience of being violent: When I am violent, I black out. When I am violent, I grow bigger/stronger. When I am violent, I explode like a hall of fire. Taken in totality, the contextual and experiential themes comprise the meaning of the phenomenon of female adolescent violence. The meaning of this experience appears as an episode emerging against a ground, supported by contextual themes, and the corresponding experiential themes. Exploring girls\u27 lived experiences of violence sheds light on a rarely studied phenomenon. By asking girls to describe their experiences of being violent, a description of what it is like for them in the moment of being violent was obtained. A description of this phenomenon from the perspective of the experiencer yields some valuable information. The participants described specific episodes of being violent and what that experience was like for them. Ten Southern Appalachian, adolescent females were interviewed. Ten complicated, moving stories were shared yielding a single experience of being violent. Participants told of being disconnected from family, friends, and society. In the episode of violence, a connection is made although not a positive one. Each participant spoke of the importance of family and kin. All problems discussed existed against the background of family. Also revealed was a continuing cycle of abuse/runaway/detention for many of these girls. They expressed frustration with the agencies of social control who arrest and detain them for running away from abuser and then release them to those abusers when time has been served. A final finding concerns the importance of voice. By asking participants to describe the experience of being violent, valuable information is gained that would not otherwise be known. These findings are discussed in the context of the impact on the systems most involved in the lives of young, at-risk girls—family, schools, and juvenile justice. The full-service school concept is offered as a model of human service delivery that can meet the unique needs of the violent. Southern Appalachian, adolescent female. By involving schools and juvenile justice systems in a collaborative partnership—along with other agencies of social control—the desired population is served and families are impacted

Ultrasonic needles for bone biopsy

Bone biopsy is an invasive clinical procedure where a bone sample is recovered for analysis during the diagnosis of a medical condition. When the architecture of the bone tissue is required to be preserved, a core-needle biopsy is taken. Although this procedure is performed while the patient is under local anaesthesia, the patient can still experience significant discomfort. Additionally, large haematoma can be induced in the soft tissue surrounding the biopsy site due to the large axial and rotational forces which are applied through the needle to penetrate bone. It is well documented that power ultrasonic surgical devices offer advantages of low cutting force, high accuracy and preservation of soft tissues. This paper reports a study of the design, analysis and test of two novel power ultrasonic needles for bone biopsy that operate using different configurations to penetrate bone. The first utilises micrometric vibrations generated at the distil tip of a full-wavelength resonant ultrasonic device, while the second utilises an ultrasonic-sonic approach where vibrational energy generated by a resonant ultrasonic horn is transferred to a needle via the chaotic motion of a free-mass. It is shown that the dynamic behaviour of the devices identified through experimental techniques closely match the behaviour calculated through numerical and FEA methods, demonstrating that they are effective design tools for these devices. Both devices were able to recover trabecular bone from the metaphysis of an ovine femur, and the biopsy samples were found to be comparable to a sample extracted using a conventional biopsy needle. Furthermore, the resonant needle device was also able to extract a cortical bone sample from the central diaphysis, which is the strongest part of the bone, and the biopsy was found to be superior to the sample recovered by a conventional bone biopsy needle

The Effect of Driving Conditions on the Performance of an Ultrasonic Bone Biopsy Needle

Ultrasonic surgical devices are currently used in various soft and hard tissue surgeries. This study focuses on investigating how modifications of the device driving signal can affect the needle penetration speed. The penetration speed, and therefore time for extraction of a biopsy, should be comparable with a conventional trephine biopsy needle. The ultrasonic bone biopsy device was designed using finite element analysis (FEA) and tuned to operate in a longitudinal mode at 25 kHz. The device was manufactured and experimental modal analysis (EMA) was used to validate the FEA model and measure the modal parameters. A series of tests were carried out, based on the time to perform a 5mm penetration of the needle into a polyurethane foam which acts as a substitute trabecular bone material. During each penetration the temperature and time were recorded. Following this, the study focused on investigating power modulation techniques, as have been widely adopted for phacoemulsification where power modulation in cataract surgery delivers less ultrasound energy to the eye and hence improves visual rehabilitation. It is shown how modifications to the signal shape and power modulation techniques when driving the ultrasonic bone biopsy device effect the penetration speed of an ultrasonic needle device

Can children with Autism Spectrum Disorders learn new vocabulary from linguistic context?

This study investigated whether children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can learn vocabulary from linguistic context. Thirty-five children with ASD (18 with age-appropriate structural language; 17 with language impairment [ALI]) and 29 typically developing peers were taught 20 Science words. Half were presented in linguistic context from which meaning could be inferred, whilst half were accompanied by an explicit definition. Children with ASD were able to learn from context. Condition did not influence phonological learning, but receptive semantic knowledge was greatest in the context condition, and expressive semantic knowledge greatest in the definitional condition. The ALI group learnt less than their peers. This suggests that at least some vocabulary should be taught explicitly, and children with ALI may need additional tuition

Expectations of the university to post-graduation transition of students with mental health conditions

The number and percentage of students with mental health conditions (MHC) attending university is increasing. Students with MHC can be well supported during their time at university, but receive less support with the transition from university to post-graduation. This time is characterised by great change and can be accompanied by mixed feelings. This paper presents preliminary data on the transition expectations and perceptions of 35 students with MHC. High levels of fear and low levels of preparedness regarding the transition were reported. Only 55-60% of students had accessed transition-related or careers-related support, but those who had found it productive. Students suggested that more condition-specific support, and support in the form of workshops, lectures and 1:1 meetings would be beneficial. This knowledge can be used to better support students with MHC with the university to post-graduation transition

Expectations of the university to post-graduation transition of students with mental health conditions

The number and percentage of students with mental health conditions (MHC) attending university is increasing. Students with MHC can be well supported during their time at university, but receive less support with the transition from university to post-graduation. This time is characterised by great change and can be accompanied by mixed feelings. This paper presents preliminary data on the transition expectations and perceptions of 35 students with MHC. High levels of fear and low levels of preparedness regarding the transition were reported. Only 55-60% of students had accessed transition-related or careers-related support, but those who had found it productive. Students suggested that more condition-specific support, and support in the form of workshops, lectures and 1:1 meetings would be beneficial. This knowledge can be used to better support students with MHC with the university to post-graduation transition