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The Closet of My Tennessee Mountain Home
No full textThe following collection of poems explores Dolly Parton, country music, self-love, hypersexuality, loneliness, alcoholism, Appalachian heritage, Queer ecstaticism, and domestic violence. The preface details the author’s deeply rooted Appalachian upbringing, exploring how music, specifically Bluegrass and Country, influences the radical self-love it takes to be a Queer body in a heteronormative world. The author outlines the duality of Appalachia and the Closet, bringing in poetic influences such as Walt Whitman, Benjamin Garcia, Sam Sax, and Morgan Parker with others. Almost all of the poems in this collection are written in free verse with several persona poems. The poems are organized across five sections, set apart by song titles and lyrics by Dolly Parton. The collection is written in English, and contains a critical preface, a table of contents, and 45 poems. From start to finish, the collection takes about two hours to read
E-Cigarette Aerosol’s Effect on the Force Degradation of Elastomeric Chain: An in Vitro Study
Get PDFAbstract
E-Cigarette Aerosol’s Effect on the Force Degradation of Elastomeric Chain: An in Vitro Study
Joshua Lokant D.D.S. Background and Objectives
Orthodontic elastomeric chain is used in orthodontic treatment for various applications such as closing spaces, aligning teeth, correcting midlines, promoting even spaces, and retracting teeth. Ideally, this force is light, continuous, and maintains a constant force between orthodontic appointments. There are many companies that manufacture polyurethane power chain, and their proprietary formulas give rise to different force levels and constancy of force. When the power chain is in the mouth, it is subject to food, liquids, temperature changes, pH changes, toothbrushing, and many other environmental factors. The use of e-cigarettes among the youth has increased to an alarming epidemic North America. Unfortunately, this same age group is also receiving orthodontic care. There is insufficient information in the literature on how e-cigarette aerosols affect the force degradation of power. The objective of this study was to evaluate the force degradation of elastic chains from two different companies when exposed to e-cigarettes. This information could help clinicians know which type of elastic chains should be used for orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods
There were two elastomeric chains tested, Rocky Mountain Orthodontic Energy Chain® and Ultra-Chain. For RMO Energy Chain®, there were two control groups and two test group. The first control group of elastomeric chain was only exposed to ambient air on a benchtop. The second control group was exposed to a simulated oral environment only. The first test group was only exposed to the e-cigarette aerosol, JUUL 5% Menthol e-cigarette aerosol. The second test group was exposed to both e-cigarette aerosol and a simulated oral saliva. The simulated oral environment was maintained at the temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, pH (6.8), and artificial saliva. An exposure device consisting of an aerosol trap, exposure chamber, flow meter, and particle sensor was used to expose the elastomeric chains to the JUUL e-cigarette aerosol. For Ultra-Chain, there was a control group of ambient air and a test group of exposure to e-cigarette aerosol only. The Ultra-Chain was compared to the RMO for e-cigarette ambient air and exposure only. Each group of 20 samples consisted of 5 links with a half link on each side placed on an acrylic jig at a distance set at 32.8mm. The samples were placed on an Instron machine for testing of force to evaluate the degradation over time at time intervals: initial, 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks. Results
Significant differences in force degradation were found when exposing RMO chain elastics for 1, 2, or 4 weeks (58.3 grams, 19.2 grams, and 24.1 grams, respectively and p Conclusion
There is no increase in force degradation of RMO Energy chain exposed to JUUL Menthol 5% e-cigarette aerosol and a simulated oral environment compared to being exposed to only a simulated oral environment over a 4-week time period. The exposure of JUUL Menthol 5% e-cigarette aerosol on RMO Energy Chain did not have any significance at the end of four weeks. However, the exposure of JUUL Menthol 5% e-cigarette aerosol on Ultra Chain had a statistically significant effect at week 1, 2, and 4. Further studies are needed to assess more products susceptibility to e-cigarette aerosol and simulated oral environments as well as other clinical scenarios that clinically significant force reductions are foun
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Telehealth Workshops based on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with various symptoms that interfere with functioning requiring intensive early intervention; however, many families experience barriers to accessing behavioral services due to provider shortages, cost of treatment, and lack of transportation. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has demonstrated effectiveness as a supplemental treatment for disruptive behaviors in children on the autism spectrum. The current study aims to determine the efficacy of a 2-day group telehealth parent-only workshop based on PCIT for improving caregivers’ use of positive parenting skills, child disruptive behavior, compliance to caregiver commands, and child psychosocial functioning. Thirty-three caregivers and their autistic children aged 2 to 7 years with co-occurring disruptive behaviors were assigned to PCIT-based workshop or waitlist control groups. Within-between subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests determined that participants in the PCIT-based workshop groups demonstrated greater improvement in positive parenting skills from pre-treatment to post-treatment than waitlist control group families. There were no immediate improvements observed in negative parenting skills, child behavior, or child psychosocial functioning. Participants reported moderately high perceptions of treatment efficacy and satisfaction with the intervention. Findings from this study contribute to the growing body of literature evaluating PCIT for families of autistic children and may aid in the development of alternative formats of treatment to increase access to behavioral services. Limitations of the study and future directions are discussed
Lived Experiences of Mauritanian Immigrant Families in Columbus, Ohio: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study
No full textAbstract Lived Experiences of Mauritanian Immigrant Families in Columbus, Ohio: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study
Adama S. Warr
Immigrants have to deal with challenges of integration into a larger society. These challenges may be greater for immigrants of different race, ethnicity, and or religion, and there may be additional challenges if they are living with younger children. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the lived experiences of the Mauritanian immigrant families in Columbus, Ohio. A qualitative method of descriptive phenomenology is utilized and centered on these immigrant families. Seven dyads (parent with his/her child as one dyad) were interviewed together and separately. All interviews were analyzed. The findings of this research indicate while the two generations generally had positive immigrant experiences, they diverged on the issue of integration. The first-generation seem to still be dealing with the psychic cost of migration. They were selective in their integration approach because of their cultural and religious backgrounds. The second-generation believed their parents’ selective integration approach was limiting. Therefore, both generations experienced conflict of cultures. This research suggests that first-generation Mauritanian immigrant should be proactive in understanding and addressing the cultural and psychological challenges their children face. Additional recommendations include: schools should adopt strategies to reduce bullying, enhance cultural understanding, and provide targeted academic support for immigrant students, and policymakers should implement measures such as mandatory English and American culture classes for the first-generation, recognize foreign qualifications, and support educational and conflict resolution initiatives for this Mauritanian immigrants community, particularly focusing on the needs of Mauritanian immigrant women. The findings of this research are important in filling a gap in the literature related to the integration of communities of non-European immigrant families in the U.S
An Approach for Robotic Pollination that Utilizes Imitation Learning
Get PDFThe global decline in pollinator populations poses a significant threat to agriculture, motivating the development of robotic pollination systems. Previous works demonstrated successful robotic pollination of bramble flowers using visual servoing; however, pollination was limited to specific flower orientations. As such, the objective of this work is to develop a robotic pollination system that is capable of pollinating a wider range of orientations.
This research introduces an imitation learning-based framework for robotic pollination that positions the manipulator to view chosen flowers in specific orientations. The developed model leverages object detection (YOLOv8) to identify individual flowers and a convolutional neural network (CNN) to produce manipulator actions. To generate training data, this work proposes a novel methodology where expert trajectories are recorded in reverse. This method involves sampling random points around a known flower pose and recording demonstrations from the goal configuration back to these points. This approach frees the expert from manually managing the camera\u27s view to ensure it sees the flower, while also allowing the data collection process to be autonomous.
In the experimental evaluation, the model successfully positioned the end-effector within an acceptable range in 88% of the test cases (44 out of 50 trials), achieving an average positioning time only 38.7% slower than the theoretical optimum. Notably, due to the method\u27s use of only relative and current state information, this approach exhibits the unintended property of effective object tracking. This property is very useful for continuous monitoring and adjustment during pollination tasks. These results demonstrate the potential of using an imitation learning-based approach for robotic pollination that can contribute to the future sustainability of global agriculture
Factors related to adolescent anger in Appalachia: Implications for violence prevention
No full textBackground. Adolescent health outcomes are vitally important for public health. One such outcome includes adolescent violence, a persistent and prevalent public health issue in the United States. Adolescent violence in rural areas is particularly understudied and some measures of rural violence are underreported compared to violence metrics in urban areas. A key risk factor for adolescent violence, is anger. By examining known key risk factors for adolescent anger through a primary prevention and socioecological perspective, it may be possible to reduce or prevent downstream violence in adolescence and later adulthood. Identifying specific systemic, environmental, and interpersonal factors related to anger may help inform interventions to prevent the onset of adolescent anger and therefore mitigate risks for later downstream violence. Aims. This dissertation aimed to: (Aim 1) Develop a conceptual model grounded in theoretical framework that connects systemic, environmental, interpersonal, and individual-level factors that influence adolescent anger; (Aim 2) test the variable relationships within the conceptual model by incorporating its key factors into a cross-sectional quantitative analysis; and (Aim 3) test the conceptual model and examine adolescent anger over time by incorporating key factors into a longitudinal quantitative analysis. Methods. (Aim 1) A conceptual model was designed based on known risk factors for adolescent anger and/or violence. This model organizes and connects risk factors into a novel arrangement previously unavailable in the public health literature. A conceptual manuscript grounded in theoretical framework was then written to advocate for the primary prevention of the structural, community, and interpersonal factors that affect adolescent anger. (Aims 2 and 3) Self-reported survey data from the Young Mountaineer Health Study (YMHS), a cohort study in which middle school students were surveyed twice per year for six years, was used for Aims 2 and 3. (Aim 2) utilized cross-sectional data from Wave 2 of the YMHS cohort (N=1,649). The dependent variable was anger, measured using the SCL-90 scale. Independent variables were inequality, individual socioeconomic status (SES), neighborhood characteristics, family structure, social support from adults at home and school, and harsh parenting. Gender was an effect modifier. Two Poisson regression models were employed, for main effects and gender interaction effects. Parameter estimates were exponentiated and interpreted as Rate Ratios (RR). (Aim 3) utilized all six waves (three years) of the YMHS data (N=2,861 unique cases). As in Aim 2 the dependent variable was anger, measured using the SCL-90 scale. Independent variables were the same as in Aim 2. A series of generalized estimating equation (GEE) Poisson regression models was employed to examine the most significant factors related to anger. The models also examined whether gender was an effect modifier between any of the key factors and anger. Results. (Aim 1) Known risk factors for adolescent anger and/or violence were reviewed and arranged into a singular conceptual model grounded in General Strain Theory, Relative Deprivation Theory, and the Socioecological Model. (Aim 2) Significant main effects between independent variables and anger included perceived safety from crime (RR=0.979, p(Aim 3) At the structural level, SES (RR=.985, pConclusion. This dissertation focused on rural adolescent anger from a primary prevention, socioecological perspective. (Aim 1) The conceptual model in this manuscript proposed that adolescent anger development in rural United States is rooted in systemic economic inequality which drives the epidemic and reproduction of violence in this country. The manuscript called for public health research examining and addressing structural conditions in addition to solely interpersonal experiences that may lead to adolescent anger and downstream violence. (Aim 2) While boys were found to self-report lower anger levels than girls, this study found that harsh parental discipline may be particularly harmful to boys. Further research into gender differences in anger and its associated risk factors among rural adolescents is needed. (Aim 3) Variables measuring SES and inequality were found to be significantly associated with adolescent anger. This finding supports the assertion in the conceptual model that systemic inequality could be ultimately driving adolescent anger which may influence the violence epidemic in America. More research into the myriad factors relating to rural adolescent anger, including gender differences in these relationships, is needed
Characterizing 4,4’-Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate Exposure in Primary Human Epidermal Keratinocytes: A Multi-Omics Approach
No full textExploring the routes of exposure and biological fate of 4,4’-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) has been a challenge for many years. Occupational exposure to MDI can result in the development of occupational asthma (MDI-OA) which results in loss of productivity, large economic costs, and costs to the individual worker. Initially, it was thought that respiratory exposure to MDI was the most likely route leading to MDI-OA. Industries utilizing MDI have been successful at controlling airborne concentrations according to industrial hygiene assessment and newly diagnosed cases of MDI-OA decreased and plateaued. New research suggests that dermal exposures to MDI may explain this plateau. Medical diagnosis of MDI-OA is also challenging since the majority of those diagnosed have no specific IgE to MDI even though the disease has many hallmarks of allergic asthma. The collection of studies presented here were intended to use a discovery approach in the spirit of multi-omics to take a broad biological view of a simulated dermal exposure using primary human epidermal keratinocytes exposed to MDI conjugated to reduced glutathione (GSH), an important antioxidant found in almost every tissue including the epidermis. The conjugation reaction of MDI and GSH has been shown by other researchers to form a more stable chemical entity at physiologic temperatures and pH. Utilizing gene expression, proteomics, and metabolomics the goal of this study was to find gene expression, proteins, and metabolites that could offer insight on pathways that could be involved downstream of a dermal exposure to MDI. This study provided evidence that keratinocytes (the predominant cell in the epidermis) have the capacity to react to MDI exposure. These studies revealed evidence of the activation of innate immune system pathways in the form of gene expression data, label-free quantitative proteomic data, and metabolomic data. Evidence included increased gene expression related to cytokines, chemokines, alarmins including IL1B, TSLP, and IL33. Specifically, TSLP and IL33 are important alarmins that can lead to the activation of innate lymphoid cells type II, a cell that has been shown to play an important role in allergy and asthma. Proteomic data showing an increased expression of the proteins S100A8 and S100A9, important innate immune alarmins and endogenous ligands for receptors for advanced glycation end-products and toll-like receptors. Finally, metabolomics data supported evidence that immune pathways can be activated. When this data is merged into a holistic dataset there is strong evidence that innate pathways may be activated after exposure to MDI-GSH conjugates and that the dermal route of exposure may activate immune pathways. Taken as a whole, these studies show that this type of approach has the potential to shed light on challenging research problems when more targeted approaches have struggled to find answers
LGBTQ+ Clothing Habits in Appalachia
Get PDFThis study investigated clothing preferences among cisgender queer women within Appalachia and whether they used these preferences to identify their own peers. It also further investigated whether they use clothing as a tool to conceal or reveal their own LGBTQ+ identity. Participants were invited for two interviews each. Between interviews, there was a one-week rumination period for each woman. The women reported themes of using clothing to blend in with their hetero-normative surroundings as they grew up and now lean into a more alternative style and less narrow-minded view of clothing. Perspectives gained from interviewees lined up with current knowledge and literature within Queer Theory and Fashion Studies. More research is needed to better understand the contemporary queer style and queer aesthetic
Changes in Psychiatric Diagnosis Associated With SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Predicting the Development of New Psychiatric Illness in COVID Patients by Using Machine Learning Approach: A Study Using the US National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C)
Get PDFThe enduring impact of COVID-19 extends beyond acute illness, with potential long-term psychiatric consequences raising significant concern among healthcare professionals and researchers alike. Emerging evidence suggests a multifaceted relationship between COVID-19 and the development of different psychiatric illnesses like Schizophrenia Spectrum and Psychotic Disorders (SSPD), Depression, Bipolar disorder, Personality disorder, Trauma, and a range of other mental health conditions. Considering these emerging connections, our study endeavors to rigorously assess the associations between COVID-19 and various psychiatric illnesses while simultaneously employing machine learning techniques to predict the development of new psychiatric disorders in individuals affected by the virus. Leveraging the extensive dataset available through the N3C Data Enclave platform, which includes comprehensive information from over 19 million patients, we meticulously construct cohorts to facilitate this analysis. To properly quantify and compare the impacts with groups such as those diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), COVID-positive individuals, and COVID-negative controls, our methodology involves utilizing propensity score matching to ensure cohort comparability. . By examining the hazard ratio (HR) of new-onset psychiatric illnesses across different time intervals post-infection, ranging from the acute phase to long-term follow-up, we aim to elucidate the temporal dynamics of psychiatric illness development following COVID-19 infection. In addition to traditional statistical analyses, we incorporate machine learning algorithms to predict the likelihood of individuals developing psychiatric disorders based on a wide range of demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables. This innovative approach not only enhances our ability to identify at-risk individuals but also enables personalized intervention strategies tailored to individual patient profiles. Through our study, we seek to provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between COVID-19 and psychiatric illness, shedding light on potential risk factors, trajectories, and outcomes associated with mental health disorders in the context of the pandemic. Furthermore, our predictive modeling efforts hold promise for early identification and intervention, potentially mitigating the long-term psychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 and improving patient outcomes. While our findings remain preliminary pending further analysis and validation, we anticipate that our research will have far-reaching implications for clinical practice, public health policy, and future research endeavors. By elucidating the specific role of COVID-19 in the development of psychiatric illnesses and employing cutting-edge machine learning techniques, we aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of Long-COVID and inform targeted interventions to support the mental health and well-being of individuals affected by the pandemic