Potential for Photoacoustic Imaging of Neonatal Brain

Photoacoustic imaging is a hybrid imaging technique that combines many of the merits of both optical and ultrasound imaging. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) has been hypothesized as a technique for imaging neonatal brain. However, PAI of the brain is more challenging than traditional methods (e.g. near infrared spectroscopy) due to the presence of the skull layer. To evaluate the potential limits the skull places on 3D PAI of the neonatal brain, we constructed a neonatal skull phantom (~1.52-mm thick) with a mixture of epoxy and titanium dioxide powder that provided acoustic insertion loss (1-5MHz) similar to human infant skull bone. The phantom was molded into a realistic infant skull shape by means of a CNC-machined mold that was based upon a 3D CAD model. Then, propagation of photoacoustic (PA) signals through the skull phantom was examined. A photoacoustic point source was raster-scanned within the imaging cavity of a 128-channel PAI system to capture the imaging operator with and without the intervening skull phantom layer. Then, effects of the skull phantom on PA signals and consequently on PA images was evaluated in detail. We captured 3D photoacoustic images of tubes filled with indocyanine green (ICG). The system was capable of reconstructing an image of a tube filled with 50 μM ICG in presence of the skull. Image processing method was developed to correct photoacoustic images from the effects of the skull. The method was tested on an image of an object captured through the skull, which demonstrated that the effects of the skull on PA images are predictable and modifiable

Contraception Education in Brookfield, CT

I decided to educate the population on contraceptives because Danbury, CT is a heavily populated area with a low socioeconomic status and from 2002-2014 Connecticut as a whole has had 46-52% of all pregnancies considered unplanned or unintended compared to the 51% nationally. Patient knowledge regarding contraceptives is not at the level one would expect. Targeting contraceptive education is an effective primary prevention strategy for unplanned or unintended pregnancies.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1096/thumbnail.jp

The role of working memory and contextual constraints in children's processing of relative clauses

An auditory sentence comprehension task investigated the extent to which the integration of contextual and structural cues was mediated by verbal memory span with 32 English-speaking 6- to 8-year old children. Spoken relative clause sentences were accompanied by visual context pictures which fully (depicting the actions described within the relative clause) or partially (depicting several referents) met the pragmatic assumptions of relativisation. Comprehension of the main and relative clauses of centre-embedded and right-branching structures was compared for each context. Pragmatically-appropriate contexts exerted a positive effect on relative clause comprehension, but children with higher memory spans demonstrated a further benefit for main clauses. Comprehension for centre-embedded main clauses was found to be very poor, independently of either context or memory span. The results suggest that children have access to adult-like linguistic processing mechanisms, and that sensitivity to extra-linguistic cues is evident in young children and develops as cognitive capacity increases

Comparison of Autonomic Control of Blood Pressure During Standing and Artificial Gravity Induced via Short-Arm Human Centrifuge

Autonomic control of blood pressure is essential toward maintenance of cerebral perfusion during standing, failure of which could lead to fainting. Long-term exposure to microgravity deteriorates autonomic control of blood pressure. Consequently, astronauts experience orthostatic intolerance on their return to gravitational environment. Ground-based studies suggest sporadic training in artificial hypergravity can mitigate spaceflight deconditioning. In this regard, short-arm human centrifuge (SAHC), capable of creating artificial hypergravity of different g-loads, provides an auspicious training tool. Here, we compare autonomic control of blood pressure during centrifugation creating 1-g and 2-g at feet with standing in natural gravity. Continuous blood pressure was acquired simultaneously from 13 healthy participants during supine baseline, standing, supine recovery, centrifugation of 1-g, and 2-g, from which heart rate (RR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were derived. The autonomic blood pressure regulation was assessed via spectral analysis of RR and SBP, spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity, and non-linear heart rate and blood pressure causality (RR↔SBP). While majority of these blood pressure regulatory indices were significantly different (p < 0.05) during standing and 2-g centrifugation compared to baseline, no change (p > 0.05) was observed in the same indices during 2-g centrifugation compared to standing. The findings of the study highlight the capability of artificial gravity (2-g at feet) created via SAHC toward evoking blood pressure regulatory controls analogous to standing, therefore, a potential utility toward mitigating deleterious effects of microgravity on cardiovascular performance and minimizing post-flight orthostatic intolerance in astronauts