Factors Related to Enrollment in a Counseling Program

Little is known about economic factors associated with a student’s decision to enroll into a graduate-level counseling program. A pilot survey was conducted with 101 graduate students at a Northeastern, CACREP-accredited counseling program. The results of this study indicate that accreditation, tuition costs, and geographical proximity of the program were important factors in the decision to enroll in their graduate counseling program. Also, students with undergraduate student loan debt report higher levels of anxiety over debt upon entering a graduate-level counseling program

Common Lower Extremity Injury Sites Among Service Members and Combat Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review

Title: Common Lower Extremity Injury Sites Among Service Members and Combat Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review Luke McCarthy, Tyler Hansen, Shane Murphy Purpose: Athletic training services continue to expand into nontraditional settings, with a substantial growth in treating military service members and combat sport athletes (e.g., tae kwon do, MMA, karate). Although more athletic trainers are asked to work with these populations, location and frequency of injuries within these populations is not widely disseminated in athletic training education curriculum. This systematic review was conducted to discover if common injury sites exist between service members and combat sport athletes. We hypothesized that the two cohorts shared many common injury sites, though the mechanism of injury would likely be different. Methods: A systematic review of studies between 2008 and 2020 were examined via PubMed in October of 2020. Key words used in the search include population (e.g. military OR martial arts OR MMA), anatomical area (e.g., lower extremity OR LE), and injury occurrence rate; returning 76 articles. Two independent reviewers utilized a PRISMA flowchart to select the articles to be included in the final analysis. The level of evidence was initially assessed for all included articles, with no uncontrolled cohort studies, case series, or expert opinions being included in the final analysis. Studies that did not identify injury sites were excluded, with only studies providing lower extremity injury site and frequency being selected. Injury site and frequency were extracted from articles focusing on either service members or combat sport athletes. Originality: This research is novel, in that it provides athletic trainers in these emerging settings the ability to forecast what injuries they are most likely to encounter, given the setting (e.g., training, competition, and combat). Each of these settings, as well as the age and skill level of the athletes involves different injury types (chronic versus acute). During the systematic review, there were no articles found comparing military service members and combat sport athletes. Significances: As more athletic trainers begin working in these emerging settings, knowledge about how each cohort sustains their injuries will be important. Being able to treat injuries when they occur, as well as prevent injuries from happening, will reduce the amount of time lost to rehabilitation. This increased time in rehabilitation translates to increased medical costs and strain on our healthcare system as a whole. Preventing injuries will reduce medical spending both for the individual athletes and for the federal/state government, in the case of service members. Service members and combat sport athletes sustain lower extremity injuries at both the ankle and knee; however, they differ in general mechanism. Due to the stresses of prolonged load carriage versus forceful striking, clinicians will face unique challenges working with either population. By understanding the environment service members and combat athletes are operating in, athletic trainers can have necessary supplies on hand for treatment of acute injuries, as well as plans to rehabilitate chronic injuries. Future research should focus on methods of reducing acute injuries in combat sports and more effective chronic injury prevention among service members

Mobility in the built environment: age-related changes in gait characteristics when walking on complex terrain

BACKGROUND: An understanding of how common features in the built environment influence how people walk is needed to maintain mobility for older people. METHODS: The study included 71 healthy subjects with an age range of 18 to 92 years. Using inertial measurement units, participants’ gaits were assessed while walking across a complex terrain created in a controlled laboratory environment. RESULTS: Participants found stair climbing and stepping on obstacles to be the most challenging activities, as judged by step time. These activities also showed the most significant age-related changes, with significant effects in both step time and shank angle at touch down being observed from around the age of 60 years. CONCLUSIONS: The changes observed in this study are consistent with decreasing muscle power causing limited ability to negotiate stairs

Test & Evaluation Best Practices for Machine Learning-Enabled Systems

Machine learning (ML) - based software systems are rapidly gaining adoption across various domains, making it increasingly essential to ensure they perform as intended. This report presents best practices for the Test and Evaluation (T&E) of ML-enabled software systems across its lifecycle. We categorize the lifecycle of ML-enabled software systems into three stages: component, integration and deployment, and post-deployment. At the component level, the primary objective is to test and evaluate the ML model as a standalone component. Next, in the integration and deployment stage, the goal is to evaluate an integrated ML-enabled system consisting of both ML and non-ML components. Finally, once the ML-enabled software system is deployed and operationalized, the T&E objective is to ensure the system performs as intended. Maintenance activities for ML-enabled software systems span the lifecycle and involve maintaining various assets of ML-enabled software systems. Given its unique characteristics, the T&E of ML-enabled software systems is challenging. While significant research has been reported on T&E at the component level, limited work is reported on T&E in the remaining two stages. Furthermore, in many cases, there is a lack of systematic T&E strategies throughout the ML-enabled system's lifecycle. This leads practitioners to resort to ad-hoc T&E practices, which can undermine user confidence in the reliability of ML-enabled software systems. New systematic testing approaches, adequacy measurements, and metrics are required to address the T&E challenges across all stages of the ML-enabled system lifecycle

Metal Resistance and Lithoautotrophy in the Extreme Thermoacidophile \u3ci\u3eMetallosphaera sedula\u3c/i\u3e

Archaea such as Metallosphaera sedula are thermophilic lithoautotrophs that occupy unusually acidic and metal-rich environments. These traits are thought to underlie their industrial importance for bioleaching of base and precious metals. In this study, a genetic approach was taken to investigate the specific relationship between metal resistance and lithoautotrophy during biotransformation of the primary copper ore, chalcopyrite (CuFeS2). In this study, a genetic system was developed for M. sedula to investigate parameters that limit bioleaching of chalcopyrite. The functional role of the M. sedula copRTA operon was demonstrated by cross-species complementation of a copper-sensitive Sulfolobus solfataricus copR mutant. Inactivation of the gene encoding the M. sedula copper efflux protein, copA, using targeted recombination compromised metal resistance and eliminated chalcopyrite bioleaching. In contrast, a spontaneous M. sedula mutant (CuR1) with elevated metal resistance transformed chalcopyrite at an accelerated rate without affecting chemoheterotrophic growth. Proteomic analysis of CuR1 identified pleiotropic changes, including altered abundance of transport proteins having AAA-ATPase motifs. Addition of the insoluble carbonate mineral witherite (BaCO3) further stimulated chalcopyrite lithotrophy, indicating that carbon was a limiting factor. Since both mineral types were actively colonized, enhanced metal leaching may arise from the cooperative exchange of energy and carbon between surface-adhered populations. Genetic approaches provide a new means of improving the efficiency of metal bioleaching by enhancing the mechanistic understanding of thermophilic lithoautotrophy

Determining Gene Specific Chromatin Differences in \u3ci\u3eSulfolobus solfataricus\u3c/i\u3e: Expression of MerR Protein for Targeted-ChIP Antibody Production

In this project the repressor protein MerR from the Sulfolobus solfataricus mercury resistance operon was cloned into pET28b and transformed into Roetta 2 E.coli strains for overexpression and purification. Large quantities of recombinant MerR will be used for subsequent injection into a mammalian host for antibody production. These antibodies will be used in targeted-ChIP studies in which gene specific chromatin modification states will be analyzed. The overproduction of MerR is part of a larger project where future research could produce data on whether gene expression levels and chromatin modifiation states could be correlated at an individual gene level, possibly suggesting a novel epigenetic mechanism in Archaea

Determining Gene Specific Chromatin Differences in \u3ci\u3eSulfolobus solfataricus\u3c/i\u3e: Expression of MerR Protein for Targeted-ChIP Antibody Production

In this project the repressor protein MerR from the Sulfolobus solfataricus mercury resistance operon was cloned into pET28b and transformed into Roetta 2 E.coli strains for overexpression and purification. Large quantities of recombinant MerR will be used for subsequent injection into a mammalian host for antibody production. These antibodies will be used in targeted-ChIP studies in which gene specific chromatin modification states will be analyzed. The overproduction of MerR is part of a larger project where future research could produce data on whether gene expression levels and chromatin modifiation states could be correlated at an individual gene level, possibly suggesting a novel epigenetic mechanism in Archaea

Myogenic Progenitor Cells Control Extracellular Matrix Production by Fibroblasts during Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

Satellite cells, the predominant stem cell population in adult skeletal muscle, are activated in response to hypertrophic stimuli and give rise to myogenic progenitor cells (MPCs) within the extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds myofibers. This ECM is composed largely of collagens secreted by interstitial fibrogenic cells, which influence satellite cell activity and muscle repair during hypertrophy and aging. Here we show that MPCs interact with interstitial fibrogenic cells to ensure proper ECM deposition and optimal muscle remodeling in response to hypertrophic stimuli. MPC-dependent ECM remodeling during the first week of a growth stimulus is sufficient to ensure long-term myofiber hypertrophy. MPCs secrete exosomes containing miR-206, which represses Rrbp1, a master regulator of collagen biosynthesis, in fibrogenic cells to prevent excessive ECM deposition. These findings provide insights into how skeletal stem and progenitor cells interact with other cell types to actively regulate their extracellular environments for tissue maintenance and adaptation