Tutor Training Program on the Importance of Confidence in Education

A recent study done by the University of Rhode Island Mental Accounting and Pricing Lab (MAP Lab) found that the relationship between financial education and positive financial behavioral outcomes is mediated through confidence. Prior to this study, the field tended to assume that it would be education’s impact on knowledge that had the most significant effect on behavioral outcomes. The findings of the MAP Lab study emphasize the need for educators to make conscious and targeted efforts to boost students’ confidence when delivering educational material. Failing to do so will result in only a short-term change in the students’ behaviors and attitudes towards the topic. For my Honors Project I sought to apply the findings of the MAP Lab study in practice and to disseminate awareness of the importance of confidence in education within the University of Rhode Island community. I considered the scope of the original study and evaluated which pieces of it would be applicable for all learners, not just those within the realm of financial education. I looked specifically at how the structure of the study was analogous the structure of URI tutoring programs, primarily at the Academic Enhancement Center, where I am a lead mathematics tutor. With the AEC in mind, I designed a training program that would inform tutors on the findings of the study, demonstrate the relevance of the findings, and discuss ways for tutors to practice instilling confidence in students during tutoring sessions. This last part was vital: tutors are always looking for ways to enthuse and excite students about a subject, and knowing how to do so through confidence will bring about in students the positive attitudes and academic results that the AEC strives to deliver. The training program was successfully presented to over seventy-five URI campus tutors

Relationships Between Dietary Habits, Demographics, And Hike Outcome Among 2015 Pacific Crest Trail Backpackers

This quantitative research study explores the relationship between dietary patterns, hiker demographics, and total miles hiked during a backpacking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Long hiking distances, low rate of thru-hike completion, consumption of processed and ready to eat foods, weight loss, and large time and monetary strains are comthemes accepted anecdotally by the backpacking population11. However, these themes have yet to be adequately researched and validated for long distance backpackers and PCT backpackers specifically. The online survey gathered data from 151 backpackers who hiked the PCT in 2015. Significant positive correlational relationships were found between the number of times per day the participants ate ready to eat commercially prepared foods, and total miles hiked (r(151) =.198, p =.015), times per day participants ate commercially prepared foods that needed to be cooked, rehydrated, or prepared before eating, and total miles hiked (r(151) =.171, p =.021), and finally the average amount of water consumed in liters per day, and the total miles hiked (r(151) =.188, p =.021). Participants who were out of work by choice also had a significant relationship to total miles hiked, compared to other employment statuses (r(151) =.182, p =.025). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, there were significant predictive relationships between miles hiked, ready to eat foods that were home made, commercially prepared foods that needed to be cooked, rehydrated, or prepared before eating, average daily water intake, and hikers who were out of work by choice. All findings are indented to stimulate further research of dietary habits and their relationships with hike outcomes among this population

Effects Of Delays And Reminders On Time-Based Prospective Memory

Recent research has focused on event- and time-based prospective memory (PM) studied in lab settings. The current study focuses on scarcely studied naturalistic time-based PM tasks. Time-based PM is defined as remembering to carry out a task at a specific time in the future (Einstein & McDaniel, 1990, 2005). Two experiments were performed to compare the effects of various delays and types of reminders on time-based PM. In the first experiment, participants underwent a time-based PM task at a 1-, 3-, or 6-day delay in a naturalistic setting. Half of the participants were asked to repeat the delay and half were not in order to examine whether requiring a second response would have an effect on time-based PM. In the second experiment, participants underwent a 1- or 6-day delay in a naturalistic setting and were given an explicit or an implicit reminder. Results of Experiment 1 showed that there was a significant decline in PM performance between the 1- and 6-day delays. When the delay periods were repeated, there was no effect on PM accuracy. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that a long delay decreases PM performance in naturalistic settings. In addition, it also appears that when PM tasks are repeated, there was no significant increase in PM accuracy. Data for Experiment 2 are currently being collected.https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/urs2021psych/1006/thumbnail.jp

Investigation of the pathological mechanisms in canine degenerative myelopathy and the potential involvement of extracellular vesicles in disease progression

Canine degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a progressive and lethal adult-onset neurodegenerative disease with nonspecific clinical signs that can end in tetraplegia and respiratory dysfunction. It is frequently identified in German shepherd dogs (GSD) but has been described in other breeds. A definitive diagnosis is reached after histopathological examination of the spinal cord where axon degeneration and demyelination are characterised. Mutations in the gene encoding superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) are thought to have a pathological role in the disease and genotyping of the Sod1 gene can be used with clinical signs and histology to diagnose DM. The genetics, clinical signs and histology of DM suggests it may be a good naturally occurring large animal model for some forms of the human motor neurone disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study aimed to 1) establish if defective cellular clearance pathways play a role in the aggregation of SOD1 and 2) if these defects contribute to the secretion of SOD1 positive extracellular vesicles (EVs) that 3) can spread mutant protein in a prion-like manner. Finally, 4) was to validate these findings with spinal cord tissue from DM cases using proteomics and biochemistry. In vitro studies using a neuroblastoma derived cell line (SK-N-SH) were conducted to assess the effect of disrupting various cell clearance and toxicity pathways on wildtype (WT) and mutant SOD1 aggregation and EV production. The reducing agent dithiothreitol increased the propensity of WT- and DM-SOD1 to aggregate (p ≤ 0.01) but did not have a statistically significant impact on the production of SOD1 positive EVs from cells. The autophagy inhibitor chloroquine increased the percentage of cells with DM-SOD1 aggregates (p ≤ 0.01), but not WT-SOD1 aggregates. EV secretion was not statistically significantly affected by chloroquine treatment in cells with DM-SOD1, but there was a significant increase in the EV marker flotillin-1 from cells containing WT-SOD1 (p ≤ 0.01). The proteasome inhibitor MG312 significantly increased the number of cells with WT- and DM-SOD1 aggregates (p < 0.0001), but they were higher in DM-SOD1 transfected cells (p ≤ 0.05). Flotillin-1 showed a downward trend from treated cells however this was only statistically supported with EVs from WT-SOD1 containing cells (p ≤ 0.01). WT- and DM-SOD1 showed an upwards trend in the EV fraction, but only reached significance in EVs from the cells containing DM-SOD1 (p ≤ 0.01). Overall, disruption to the main protein processing pathways caused the induction of nontypical clearance pathways and some of these appear to be less effective in the presence of the DM associated Sod1 mutation. Further, mutant SOD1 may have an impact on the stabilisation of the cell membrane as indicated by changes to associated proteins and this could have subsequent effects on protein clearance, particularly at the level of the endosome pathway and EVs. Further studies indicated there is a potential for EVs to spread WT- and DM-SOD1 to other cells in culture which suggests EVs could be recruited in DM for the spread of mutant SOD1 to other cells and may contribute to the progression of DM throughout the thoracic spinal cord and to the cervical and lumbar regions. Biochemical and proteomics analysis of spinal cords from control and DM dogs suggested axon and myelin integrity was disrupted and astrocytes were activated at early stages of DM. Evidence suggested these changes were the consequence of altered cellular metabolism, intracellular structure and protein processing. The Sod1 mutation caused an apparent reduction in SOD1 enzyme activity further suggesting the mutation is a contributor to the pathogenesis and progression of DM. Changes to plasma membrane organisation were also highlighted in the ex vivo study and may indicate perturbations to protein and lipid turnover. Ultimately the findings presented in this thesis contribute to the understanding of DM pathogenesis and will aid the search for DM biomarkers to enable earlier diagnosis, monitor disease progression and identify treatment targets

Extracellular matrix remodeling following myocardial infarction influences the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells

INTRODUCTION: Although stem cell therapy is a promising treatment for myocardial infarction, the minimal functional improvements observed clinically limit its widespread application. A need exists to maximize the therapeutic potential of these stem cells by first understanding what factors within the infarct microenvironment affect their ability to regenerate the necrotic tissue. In this study, we assessed both differentiation capacity and paracrine signaling as a function of extracellular matrix remodeling after myocardial infarction. METHODS: Mechanical and compositional changes to the decellularized infarcted myocardium were characterized to understand how the extracellular environment, specifically, was altered as a function of time after coronary artery ligation in Sprague–Dawley rats. These alterations were first modeled in a polyacrylamide gel system to understand how the variables of composition and stiffness drive mesenchymal stem cell differentiation towards a cardiac lineage. Finally, the paracrine secretome was characterized as a function of matrix remodeling through gene and protein expression and conditioned media studies. RESULTS: The decellularized infarct tissue revealed significant alterations in both the mechanical and compositional properties of the ECM with remodeling following infarction. This altered microenvironment dynamically regulates the potential for early cardiac differentiation. Whereas Nkx2.5 expression is limited in the presence of chronic remodeled matrix of increased stiffness, GATA4 expression is enhanced. In addition, the remodeled matrix promotes the expression of several proangiogenic, prosurvival, antifibrotic, and immunomodulatory growth factors. In particular, an increase in HGF and SDF1 expression and secretion by mesenchymal stem cells can rescue oxidatively stressed cardiomyocytes in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that decellularization of diseased tissue allows for the exclusive analysis of the remodeled matrix and its ability to influence significantly the cellular phenotype. Characterization of cell fate as a function of myocardial remodeling following infarction is critical in developing the ideal strategy for cell implantation to maximize tissue regeneration and to ultimately reduce the prevalence and severity of heart failure

Blending and Spending: Financial Influences Impacting Childfree Stepmothers’ Relationship Satisfaction

There exists a need to better understand how monetary factors impact the partnerships of childfree stepmothers in blended families. The present study examines the correlation of couples’ shared financial values and congruence in financial management behaviors with relationship satisfaction among these stepmothers. Participants included 104 childfree stepmothers in blended families. Findings indicated that perceived shared financial values positively predicted relationship satisfaction. In addition, while financial behavior congruence between stepmothers and their partners did predict relationship satisfaction, it did so through a weaker inverse association. Contrary to expectations, financial behavior congruence did not mediate the association between shared financial values and relationship satisfaction. These results reflect the complex role of financial factors in the well-being of childfree stepmothers within blended families and the need for nuanced psychological and financial support tailored to this oft-overlooked group of women

Serving the chain?: De Nederlandsche Bank and the last decades of slavery, 1814-1863

In the nineteenth century, when the principal cultural, political, and financial institutions of the Netherlands were established, slavery was still very much part of the nation’s global imperial structures. Dutch families, institutions, and governments are increasingly interested in the role their predecessors played in this history of colonialism and enslavement. This book is a history of De Nederlandse Bank in which particular attention is paid to its links with slavery, both as a factor in the economy and as a subject of political debate. Because De Nederlandse Bank served the Dutch Ministry of Colonies and consequently followed Dutch trade interests, the bank’s history intersects with the history of slavery. The investigation in this book focuses not only on the DNB’s formal involvement but also on the private involvement of its directors. In addition, it examines whether the bank and its directors played any role in the abolition of slavery.With the cooperation of Zipphora Dors, Leonoor Kemperman, Camilla de Koning and Sakina Mouam

Characterization of cardiac fibroblast-extracellular matrix crosstalk across developmental ages provides insight into age-related changes in cardiac repair

Heart failure afflicts an estimated 6.5 million people in the United States, driven largely by incidents of coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD leads to heart failure due to the inability of adult myocardial tissue to regenerate after myocardial infarction (MI). Instead, immune cells and resident cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), the cells responsible for the maintenance of the cardiac extracellular matrix (cECM), drive an inflammatory wound healing response, which leads to fibrotic scar tissue. However, fibrosis is reduced in fetal and early (&lt;1-week-old) neonatal mammals, which exhibit a transient capability for regenerative tissue remodeling. Recent work by our laboratory and others suggests this is in part due to compositional differences in the cECM and functional differences in CFs with respect to developmental age. Specifically, fetal cECM and CFs appear to mitigate functional loss in MI models and engineered cardiac tissues, compared to adult CFs and cECM. We conducted 2D studies of CFs on solubilized fetal and adult cECM to investigate whether these age-specific functional differences are synergistic with respect to their impact on CF phenotype and, therefore, cardiac wound healing. We found that the CF migration rate and stiffness vary with respect to cell and cECM developmental age and that CF transition to a fibrotic phenotype can be partially attenuated in the fetal cECM. However, this effect was not observed when cells were treated with cytokine TGF-β1, suggesting that inflammatory signaling factors are the dominant driver of the fibroblast phenotype. This information may be valuable for targeted therapies aimed at modifying the CF wound healing response and is broadly applicable to age-related studies of cardiac remodeling

Association Between Hypocholesterolemia and Mortality in Critically Ill Patients With Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the association between cholesterol and triglyceride levels on ICU admission and mortality in patients with sepsis. DATA SOURCES: Systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies on PubMed and Embase. STUDY SELECTION: All observational studies reporting ICU admission cholesterol and triglyceride levels in critically ill patients with sepsis were included. Authors were contacted for further data. DATA EXTRACTION: Eighteen observational studies were identified, including 1,283 patients with a crude overall mortality of 33.3%. Data were assessed using Revman (Version 5.1, Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, United Kingdom) and presented as mean difference (MD) with 95% CIs, p values, and I2 values. DATA SYNTHESIS: Admission levels of total cholesterol (17 studies, 1,204 patients; MD = 0.52 mmol/L [0.27–0.77 mmol/L]; p < 0.001; I2 = 91%), high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (14 studies, 991 patients; MD = 0.08 mmol/L [0.01–0.15 mmol/L]; p = 0.02; I2 = 61%), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (15 studies, 1,017 patients; MD = 0.18 mmol/L [0.04–0.32 mmol/L]; p = 0.01; I2 = 71%) were significantly lower in eventual nonsurvivors compared with survivors. No association was seen between admission triglyceride levels and mortality (15 studies, 1,070 patients; MD = 0.00 mmol/L [–0.16 to 0.15 mmol/L]; p = –0.95; I2 = 79%). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality was associated with lower levels of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol, but not triglyceride levels, in patients admitted to ICU with sepsis. The impact of cholesterol replacement on patient outcomes in sepsis, particularly in at-risk groups, merits investigation. KEYWORDS: cholesterol levels; intensive care unit; lipids; sepsis; triglyceride