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The Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention Program Pilot Study: High School Implementation Recommendations
Get PDFSuicide is the second leading cause of death for high school aged youth. There are many suicide prevention programs available, but few are evidence-based. The Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention Program is one of the few youth suicide prevention programs that have shown improvement in students’ knowledge and adaptive attitudes about suicide risk and depression, including a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts. With this being the high school’s first formal attempt at implementing a psychoeducation prevention program, they wanted to use an evidence-based program targeting a primary mental health concern – depression and suicide. One goal of the initial implementation of psychoeducation based on the SOS prevention program was to increase students’ basic knowledge and self-awareness of depression and suicide. The other goal was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation process based on recommendations from previous years. A pilot study of the SOS prevention program was implemented over three years with data collection across grades 9-12. Results showed that psychoeducation based on the SOS prevention program was effective in enhancing students’ knowledge and awareness of depression and suicide, including learning how to seek help for themselves and their peers. It also appears that the modifications to the psychoeducation program and implementation process based on recommendations from the previous pilot study years (one and two) were effective in maintaining students’ gains in the following years (two and three). Practice implications and future research considerations are also provided by integrating key themes relevant to this study within the wider context of implementing future suicide prevention programs like SOS
Review of \u3cem\u3eJewish Exiles and European Thought in the Shadow of the Third Reich: Baron, Popper, Strauss, Auerbach\u3c/em\u3e by David Weinstein and Avihu Zakai
Get PDFBiodiversity of Microscopic Green Algae from Desert Soil Crusts
Get PDFIn the desert ecosystem, the ground is covered with soil crusts. Several organisms exist here, such as cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, fungi, bacteria, and green algae. This most superficial layer of the soil contains several primary producers of the food web in this ecosystem, which stabilize the soil, facilitate plant growth, protect from water and wind erosion, and provide water filtration and nitrogen fixation. Researching the biodiversity of green algae in the soil crusts can provide more context about the importance of the soil crusts. Little is known about the species of green algae that live there, and through DNA-based phylogeny and microscopy, more can be understood. In this study, DNA was extracted from algal cultures newly isolated from desert soil crusts in New Mexico and California. Through PCR reactions, the 18S and rbcL genes were amplified and sequenced for analysis. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to observe biodiversity in the collection site and genetic relatedness to previously collected soil algae from New Hampshire. The analyzed strains belong to the classes Chlorophyceae and Trebouxiophyceae, representing several genera and potentially novel species. These results show that biodiversity of soil crusts, both desert and temperate, is still in need of further study and may yield new discoveries in the future
Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency
Get PDFOn January 30th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Italy has been one of the most affected countries in the world. To contain further spread of the virus, the Italian government has imposed an unprecedented long-period lockdown for the entire country. This dramatic scenario may have caused a strong psychological distress, with potential negative long-term mental health consequences. The aim of the present study is to report the prevalence of high psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population, especially considering that this aspect is consistently associated with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the present study aims to identify the risk factors for high PTSD symptoms, including individual differences and subjective perception of both economic and psychological aspects. We administered an online survey to 1253 participants during the peak period of the contagion in Italy. A logistic regression on the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) scores was used to test the risk factors that predict the possibility to develop PTSD symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender (female), lower perceived economic stability, higher neuroticism, and fear and consequences of contagion were predictors of high PTSD symptomatology. The results, highlighted in the present study, extend our understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the population’s mental health, by identifying individuals at high-risk of developing PTSD. This may help with the implementation of specific protocols to prevent the possibility of developing symptoms of PTSD in target populations
\u3cem\u3eDispora Speciosa\u3c/em\u3e, A New Addition to the Genus \u3cem\u3eParallela\u3c/em\u3e and the First Coccoid Member of the Family Microsporaceae
Get PDFThe clade that currently represents the green algal family Microsporaceae is one of the few filament-forming groups of Chlorophyceae. Molecular phylogenies show this clade containing the genus Microspora and the more recently circumscribed Parallela, whose filaments are loosely arranged and often multiseriate. We initially investigated the enigmatic bog-loving Dispora speciosa as a commonly accepted member of the mucilage-forming Radiococcaceae or a putative member of crucigenoid chlorophytes (a non-monophyletic group formerly placed in Scenedesmaceae) based on its two-dimensional colony formation. However, our plastid and nuclear ribosomal phylogenies confidently placed Dispora within the genus Parallela instead, and therefore distantly related to both Radiococcaceae and crucigenoids. Upon further examination of the cell morphology and ultrastructure, we found several corresponding features between Dispora and Parallela, despite Dispora’s apparent coccoid-colonial gross morphology. Both genera have cells with a parietal plastid positioned around a large central nucleus. The loose, multiseriate filament formation in Parallela can be interpreted as similar to Dispora’s flat colony formation in its natural state. Because we only present data from one non-type species and strain of Dispora, we cannot merge the entire genus with Parallela. We do however argue that D. speciosa, of which this strain is the sole available, morphologically and ecologically faithful representative, should be transferred into Parallela, and the specimen prepared from strain ACOI 1508 be designated as type. Our study also impacts the current view on evolution of multicellular (colonial and filamentous) forms in Chlorophyceae
JC Polyomavirus Uses Extracellular Vesicles To Infect Target Cells
Get PDFThe endemic human JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in immune-suppressed patients. The mechanisms of virus infection in vivo are not understood because the major target cells for virus in the brain do not express virus receptors and do not bind virus. We found that JCPyV associates with extracellular vesicles (EVs) and can infect target cells independently of virus receptors. Virus particles were found packaged inside extracellular vesicles and attached to the outer side of vesicles. Anti-JCPyV antisera reduced infection by purified virus but had no effect on infection by EV-associated virus. Treatment of cells with the receptor-destroying enzyme neuraminidase inhibited infection with purified virus but did not inhibit infection by EV-associated virus. Mutant pseudoviruses defective in sialic acid receptor binding could not transduce cells as purified pseudovirions but could do so when associated with EVs. This alternative mechanism of infection likely plays a critical role in the dissemination and spread of JCPyV both to and within the central nervous system
An Investigation into the Impact of Acute Stress on Encoding in Older Adults
Get PDFAcute psychological stress commonly occurs in young and older adults’ lives. Though several studies have examined the influence of stress on how young adults learn new information, the present study is the first to directly examine these effects in older adults. Fifty older adults (M age = 71.9) were subjected to either stress induction or a control task before learning two types of information: a short video and a series of pictures. Twenty-four hours later, they were exposed to misleading information about the video and then completed memory tests for the video and pictures. Heart rate and cortisol measures suggest that a physiological stress response was successfully induced. Though pre-encoding stress had little impact on memory accuracy, stress did influence errors of omission on the cued recall test for the video. Findings are discussed in the context of previous research examining the effects of stress on memory in older adults
2019 Commencement Program
No full textContains the names of degree recipients and commencement speakers, an order of exercises, and other related information.https://digitalcommons.assumption.edu/commencement-programs/1074/thumbnail.jp
The Sociology of Music and Social Distinctions: P!NK\u27s Career as an Example of Social Linkage
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to examine musician’s potential to conduct positive social change because of their ability to connect multiple social distinctions. This study will highlight a number of social distinctions that musicians encounter throughout their career and how they either become well-placed individuals through the linkage of these distinctions, or link social distinctions due to their power status. In addition, this study is meant to stand as a testament to the power of musicians and music to conduct effective social change through active and creative means versus those of other well-placed individuals in society, for example politicians, actors, authors or even activists. Furthermore, this study focuses on the career of a musician who has been labeled as a “trailblazer” and “music outsider” due to her unapologetic behavior and work. This artist also takes very uncustomary routes for conducting change and is still a contemporary voice involved with social activism. For these reasons, including the number of social distinctions encountered in her career, this artist was chosen to be a centerpiece of the explanation concerning musicians and social change. In this study, the artist whose career serves as an example of the linkage of social distinctions is known as Alecia Beth Moore, or P!NK to the entertainment world. Portions of the study will also explain how P!NK differs from similar artists in the music industry and their capacity to conduct social change