The Impact of Bullying Victimization and Sexual Orientation on the Severity of Suicidal Behavior

Background: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth face a disproportionate risk of suicidal ideation and attempt compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The Minority Stress Theory and Interpersonal Theory of Suicide posit that chronic stress, which can occur as a result of bullying victimization, can lead to loneliness, self-hate, and suicidal ideation. The escalation from ideation to attempt can occur quickly, and most youth who survive suicide attempts pursue subsequent, riskier attempts. It is crucial to intervene when behaviors are less severe. The primary aim of this study was to compare the magnitudes of association between independent variables (bullying and sexual orientation subtypes) and three progressively worsening suicidal behaviors: suicidal ideation, attempt, and attempt resulting in a medical injury. A secondary aim was to examine potential interactions between (bullying x sexual orientation) and between (bullying x sexual orientation x gender). Method: A secondary analysis of the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N=14,765) was performed. Outcome variables were suicidal ideation, attempt, and attempt resulting in a medical injury. Main independent variables included cyberbullying, in-school bullying, sexual orientation and gender. Race/ethnicity, age, screen time, and sadness were controlled. Outcomes were evaluated through chi-square tests and binomial logistic regressions. Interactions were tested for significance. A cumulative ordinal logistic regression determined which characteristics were associated with progressively worse forms of suicidal behavior. Results: Bivariate results indicated that bisexual youth experienced suicidal ideation and attempts more often than lesbian, gay, heterosexual, and youth who were unsure of their orientation. However, when an attempt was made, lesbian and gay youth were more likely to sustain a medical injury. With bullying and other covariates controlled, LGB youth were approximately three times as likely to ideate and twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual youth. The severity of suicidal behavior was greatest when adolescents were bullied both in school and online. Sexual orientation significantly modified the effect of bullying on suicidal ideation when 1) the bullying occurred at school and the victim identified as bisexual, and 2) when the bullying occurred via cyberspace and the victim identified as lesbian/gay. Gender did not interact with bullying or sexual orientation. Conclusion: Additional assessment is required to uncover the tipping points that escalate decisions from ideation to attempt, and from less injurious to more lethal forms of attempt. Lesbian and gay youth may face a higher risk of engaging in lethal forms of suicide attempt compared to other sexual minority subtypes. Bullying victimization formats may affect sexual minority subtypes differently, underscoring the need to examine them as distinct groups. Many LGB high school youth were bullied both in school and online, emphasizing the need to create cultures of acceptance at school

Becoming Rabbit: Living with and Knowing Rabbits

Rabbits, like all animals (human and non-human), have rich internal lives, as people who live intimately with rabbits can attest.1 Living with house rabbits—where rabbits live indoors, without a cage or with minimal caging, as part of the human family—is, to me, the best way to gain some understanding of the rabbit psyche. In addition, living closely with rabbits opens up the possibilities of the humanrabbit relationship—a relationship which, until very recently, was one-sided and based on exploitation. Today, however, with the rise of the house rabbit movement, the subjectivity of rabbits has been exposed, leading to the possibility of a human-animal relationship that is rich with possibilities—both for human and for rabbit

Social Activism with Extra Sauce: How Food Communication Increases Political Awareness in Social Media

This project explores the combination of social media and food communication and challenges the prevailing belief that food on social media is trivial, frivolous, and unmeaning. This paper will explain why social media, as well as food communication, are both influential and powerful tools for activism. To prove this, I analyze Twitter posts through Storify. Ultimately, I draw conclusions about the influence of food in activism on social media. The lack of and restrictions on data available are discussed as examples of how valuable and crucial this information is, ultimately displaying that social media is not as democratic as currently perceived

Becoming Rabbit: Living with and Knowing Rabbits

Rabbits, like all animals (human and non-human), have rich internal lives, as people who live intimately with rabbits can attest.1 Living with house rabbits—where rabbits live indoors, without a cage or with minimal caging, as part of the human family—is, to me, the best way to gain some understanding of the rabbit psyche. In addition, living closely with rabbits opens up the possibilities of the humanrabbit relationship—a relationship which, until very recently, was one-sided and based on exploitation. Today, however, with the rise of the house rabbit movement, the subjectivity of rabbits has been exposed, leading to the possibility of a human-animal relationship that is rich with possibilities—both for human and for rabbit

Factors controlling fluxes of volatile sulfur compounds in Sphagnum peatlands

Exchange of DMS and OCS between the surface of Sphagnum peatlands and the atmosphere were measured with dynamic (S-free sweep air) and static enclosures. DMS emission rates determined by both methods were comparable. The dynamic method provided positive OCS flux rates (emission) for measurements performed at sites containing Sphagnum. Conversely, data from the static method indicated that OCS was consumed from the atmosphere. Short and long-term impacts of increased S deposition on fluxes of volatile S compounds (VSC's) from Sphagnum peatlands were investigated in a poor fen (Mire 239) at the Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario, Canada. Additional experiments were conducted in a poor fen (Sallie's Fen in Barrington, NH, USA). At Mire 239, emissions of VSC's were monitored, before and after acidification, at control and experimental sections within two major physiographic areas of the mire (oligotrophic and minerotrophic). DMS was the predominant VSC released from Mire 239 and varied largely with time and space. Sulfur addition did not affect DMS emissions in a period of hours to a few days. DMS emissions in the experimental oligotrophic area of the mire was approximately 3-fold greater than in the control oligotrophic area, and approximately 10-fold greater than in the minerotrophic zones. These differences could be due to a combination of differences in types of vegetation, nutritional status, and S input. At Sallie's Fen, DMS fluxes were not significantly affected by sulfate amendments, while DMS and MSH concentrations increased greatly with time in the top 10 cm of the peat column. The major environmental factors controlling fluxes of DMS in a Sphagnum-dominated peatland were investigated in Sallie's Fen, NH. DMS emissions from the surface of the peatland varied greatly over 24 hours and seasonally. Temperature seemed to be the major environmental factor controlling these variabilities. Concentrations of dissolved VSC's varied with time and space throughout the fen. Dissolved DMS, MSH, and OCS in the surface of the water table were supersaturated with respect to their concentrations in the atmosphere. Sphagnum mosses did not appear to be a direct source of VSC's, however they increase transport of DMS from the peat surface to the atmosphere

Bacterial Cellulose Templates for Nano-Hydroxyapatite Fibre Synthesis

Guided bone regeneration is a medical procedure which induces in vivo re-growth of bone using membranes and osteopromoting fillers. In this work, bacterial cellulose fibers were isolated and used as a basis for biomimetic hydroxyapatite growth, with the ultimate goal of producing GBR filler materials. Acetobacter xylinum generated BC using various carbon sources. Fibers were treated with phosphoric acid to phosphorylate functional groups and preconditioned with calcium to nucleate the HA. Simulated body fluid (SBF) furthered the growth. Over 14 days, the product was characterized via EDX, SEM, FTIR, and XRD. The effect of media composition, phosphorylation time, pretreatment, and structure on the resultant composites was examined. Samples possessed a Ca-to-P ratio as high as 1.45±0.92, encompassing the HA standard of 1.67. Higher ratios were observed on the surface of pellicles, implying crystal deposition. Results indicate potential in three-dimensional samples and a basis for further BC-HA scaffold optimization for GBR

Gastroparesis: A Literature Review of Disease Manifestations and Existing Treatment Methods

Gastroparesis is a chronic disease that causes paralysis of the stomach and intestines. Although gastroparesis can sometimes be caused by trauma or as a result of abdominal surgery the majority of cases are idiopathic, meaning that the cause of onset is unknown. Patients with the disease experience nausea, vomiting of undigested good, malnutrition, and dehydration. A large percentage of IG (idiopathic gastroparesis) patients have to rely on a feeding tube for their nutrients because of their lack of ability to digest food, which is messy, cumbersome, and noisy. There are several methods of symptom management for IG, but no cure. Current treatments include the use of medications to try and stimulate gastric motility as well as more obscure experimental treatments such as using botulinum toxin to lessen the paralysis. This thesis serves as a literature review of current studies on IG and the frequently used methods of managing the disease. The thesis also serves as an opportunity to look at an often neglected aspect of IG, which is the effect that the illness has on the mental health of its sufferers. The illness leaves patients socially isolated, which leads to increased rates of mental illness such as anxiety and depression. Nursing is not only about caring for the patient’s illness, but caring for the patient on a holistic level, which means looking out for their mental, emotional, and spiritual health as well as the physical. I want to use this thesis as a way to call attention to the struggles that IG sufferers face on both the physical and mental plane in an attempt to raise awareness for this illness through educating the public

Worcester Emergency Band Data Acquisition Project

Interoperability and overcrowding of the emergency band channels have led to mixed communication in crisis situations. Despite FCC regulations and policies, the problem has persisted and is being addressed more critically since September 11th and Hurricane Katrina. The goal of this MQP is to begin work on a data collection and processing tool that will allow for emergency bands to be monitored and channel bandwidth usage to be calculated. Data gathered and the code used can also be used in conjuction with further WPI projects in this area