43618 research outputs found
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Changing Intimate Partner Violence Screening and Intervention: Focus Group Perspectives
No full textBackground: Many survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) remain unconnected to professional help. Screenings in health settings may improve connections to support services.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gather data to help inform an IPV screening intervention in an obstetrics/gynecology health clinic.
Methods: A qualitative analysis was employed using a summative content analysis approach of the transcripts of 2 focus groups consisting of health care providers, advocates, and survivors of IPV.
Results: Four thematic categories and additional subcategories emerged from the analysis, including (1) current process (what is done); (2) need (what is not done); (3) concerns (roadblocks); and (4) suggestions (next steps).
Conclusions: Information obtained from this analysis was used to inform our intervention. Specifically, all clinic providers and staff received training on IPV, screening for IPV was done on all patients using an IPV screening tool, and patients were privately screened.
Link to video abstract
Towards Relationship: A Trinitarian Model in Defense of Human Embryo Adoption
No full textIn the 1987 document, Donum vitae, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) addressed bioethical questions on new reproductive technologies, including fate of “spare” embryos from in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. The CDF concluded that these embryos were subject to an “absurd fate” with “no licit means” of resolution. In a follow-up document in 2008, Dignitas personae, the CDF addressed the question of “spare” embryos again, with the possibility of “prenatal adoption”, whereby genetically unrelated parents adopt embryos to gestate, birth, and raise them as their own. While deemed praiseworthy, the CDF determined that embryo adoption suffers from problems relating to the rights and goods of marriage. This juxtaposition, of right to life versus rights of spouses, set the stage for the present debate on embryo adoption. No solution has been reached with these opposing sets of rights. This project charts a new course in discussing embryo adoption. Rather than relying on the rights-based arguments that have dominated Catholic debates, this work recenters the argument on theological anthropology, thereby introducing a relationship-based argument in favor of embryo adoption. This work takes as its central argument that because human persons are made in the image and likeness of a triune God—a God who is relationship—we are called to imitate this relational God in our relationships, including embryos. This relational model considers love as the missing component in the debates on embryo adoption. The trinitarian argument proposed in this work is based on the theology of Bernard Lonergan, as furthered by Robert M. Doran. The work concludes that trinitarian love, as expressed in graced human love, is the necessary addition to the debate on embryo adoption. The four-point hypothesis of the Trinity is the foundational trinitarian theology. Touching on a theological theory of history, a study of theological anthropology, and a theology of grace, this trinitarian theology provides a framework for healing in history. This healing includes addressing all situations of injustice, including “spare” embryos. This work therefore applies Lonergan’s theology, furthering Lonergan studies, but also moves the conversation forward on embryo adoption
Comparison of Hand-Wrist and CVMS Methods for Craniofacial Growth Spurt Assessment
No full textObjective: Hand-wrist (HW) radiographs are considered the most accurate method for assessing pubertal growth spurts in orthodontics but have declined in use due to added radiation exposure and the expertise required. Cervical vertebral maturation staging (CVMS) is now commonly used, given the routine availability of lateral cephalograms. However, the validity of CVMS remains uncertain. A recent study reported only 66% inter-observer reliability across time periods (Ingersoll, 2024). This follow-up study aims to evaluate CVMS as a predictor of growth to guide clinical decision-making. Methods: With protocol approval (MU HR-4695), this retrospective study followed a design modeled after a prior study to reduce bias. Two trained observers assessed 129 HW radiographs from the Burlington Growth sample. These radiographs were matched to lateral cephalograms used in the earlier CVMS study. All images were randomly sorted, renamed, and anonymized. Observers used the Bjork system (Hashim et al., 2018) to classify HW radiographs into pre-, peak-, or post-pubertal growth phases. These classifications were compared with the original CVMS-based classifications to evaluate validity. Results: Statistical analysis showed high inter- and intra-observer reliability (p \u3c 0.0001). However, the percent agreement between HW and CVMS classifications was relatively low. Conclusion: While observer consistency was high, agreement between HW and CVMS methods was limited. Clinicians should exercise caution when relying solely on CVMS and consider supplementing assessments with HW radiographs or additional indicators like secondary sexual characteristics
The Effects of Internalizing Symptoms and Attentional Difficulties on Adolescent Outcomes of the PEERS Intervention
No full textThe Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) is effective at improving the social skills of autistic youth. However, few studies have examined the suitability of PEERS for youth with comorbid mental health concerns. Research suggests that autistic youth are highly likely to have co-occurring disorders such as internalizing and attentional disorders, which are linked with poorer social skills in autistic youth. The current study explores the effects of internalizing symptoms and attentional difficulties on outcomes of the PEERS intervention by examining the relationship between these symptoms and 3 composite outcome variables (i.e., social awareness, social interaction, social communication) before and following the intervention. 61 autistic youth ages 12–17 who completed the PEERS program were included in the analysis. Composite outcome variables were calculated using z-score transformations. Paired-samples t-tests examined changes between the pre- and post-intervention timepoints for the three composite variables. All showed an increase from pre- to post-treatment, with moderate to large effect sizes, indicating significant improvement in social skills following the intervention. Hierarchical regression was used to examine whether internalizing symptoms or attentional difficulties predicted participants’ social awareness, interaction, and communication at pre- and post-treatment. Findings from these analyses indicated that gains from pre- to post-treatment in the social interaction domain were potentially hindered by internalizing symptoms but not attentional difficulties. Social awareness was potentially reduced at pre-treatment with higher attentional difficulties, although this effect did not persist following intervention. Social communication did not appear to be affected by either internalizing symptoms or attentional difficulties at either time point. In sum, findings indicate that PEERS is generally suitable for adolescents experiencing comorbid internalizing symptoms and attentional difficulties, as elevated levels of symptoms did not consistently limit gains made from pre- to post-intervention. As such, the present study contributes to a broader understanding of the efficacy of the PEERS intervention. Future work will examine the efficacy of the PEERS program with youth who have confirmed diagnoses of internalizing and attentional disorders
Evaluating the Effectiveness of LLM-Generated Phishing Campaigns
No full textThis paper investigates the effectiveness and security implications of Large Language Models (LLMs) in phishing campaigns. Existing research has explored using LLMs and AI for enterprise security tools and automating phishing email processes. However, few studies evaluated the effectiveness of fine-tuned LLMs in generating phishing email content and measuring real-world user interaction. This research used LLMs to produce the body content of phishing emails with phishing links manually inserted post-generation. The researcher performed three core experiments: (1) evaluating the success rate of jailbreaking three commercial LLMs to generate phishing content, (2) analyzing ChatGPT-4o mini’s phishing emails based on institution-specific context and a historical phishing email, and (3) comparing user email interaction metrics between real-world traditional and LLM-generated phishing campaigns. The results revealed that LLM-generated emails are just as effective or better, under certain conditions, at compromising users by avoiding common phishing indicators such as poor grammar, urgency, and formatting inconsistencies. Fine-tuned phishing emails demonstrated that credibility through writing style transfer, contextual relevance, authority, and timing significantly influence recipient behavior. These findings emphasize the growing threat of AI-assisted phishing and highlight the need for enhanced detection methods, user awareness, and responsible LLM deployment
Biohub reel with Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
No full texthttps://epublications.marquette.edu/zuckerberg_files_videos/1476/thumbnail.jp
Whole Body Angular Momentum Characterizes Reactive Balance Adaptations and Perturbation Intensity
No full textIdentifying measures which accurately quantify reactive balance adaptation during walking is essential to understand how emerging perturbation-based gait paradigms impact stability over the course of an intervention. These perturbation paradigms have shown promise in reducing falls for numerous clinical populations, however tracking progress in objective terms throughout an intervention remains challenging. Whole body angular momentum (H) may be particularly suited to detect subtle adaptations in the reactive balance response and is applicable within numerous perturbation environments. We assessed the ability of young healthy adults to adapt to varying intensities of discrete, unexpected, treadmill-based perturbations directed mediolaterally, anteriorly, and posteriorly during a single session while ambulating at their comfortable walking speed. We assessed corrective step length and width, trunk deviation and flexion, peak H over a stride, peak-to-peak differences in whole-body angular momentum over a stride (HR), and the participants ability to maintain their H trajectory within two standard deviations of their normal (PNT). Measures derived from H, particularly HR and PNT, demonstrated significant changes with increasing intensity and repetition. Corrective step length and width, trunk deviation and flexion, and peak H also demonstrated significant, but weaker, differences with increasing intensity and repetition. Derivatives of H are sensitive to changes in intensity and repetition, particularly when assessed as peak-to-peak differences and ability to maintain a normal trajectory over a stride. These measures may be utilized to detect changes in reactive balance during perturbation-based gait paradigms