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Effects of Reward Loss on c-Fos Expression: Building a Neural Connectome
No full textReward loss and the accompanying emotional responses have been the subject of extensive research in psychology and neuroscience. The experience of reward loss is associated with a range of negative emotions and stress responses, which have implications for substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, and depression. This investigation employs c-Fos as a marker of neuronal activation to examine the early responses of the brain to reward loss. A Pavlovian successive negative contract (pSNC) paradigm was implemented to induce anticipatory behavior and free choice influenced by reward loss. The results of the pSNC paradigm demonstrated altered neuronal patterns and significant correlations between brain regions in response to reward downshift. These findings contribute to the neural circuity underlying reward loss and the potential engagement of multiple brain areas in reward processing and emotional regulation
Examining Muscle Quality Indicies Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery
No full textBetween 2002 and 2014, the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction increased by 22%. Additionally, the risk of ACL reinjury is six times greater than that of first-time risk of injury. Because of this, novel metrics for physical therapists to use for protocol clearance should be examined. Ultrasonography is becoming more accessible, affordable and provides measures of both muscle size and muscle quality that could be beneficial for practitioners. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in ultrasonographic measures of muscle thickness and echo intensity (EI) in the ACL population compared to healthy controls. Twenty-six individuals who have undergone ACL reconstruction (males: n=12, females: n=14, age: 23±3.55) and twenty healthy controls (males: n=10, females: n=10, age: 25±3.62) were pulled from various ACL studies conducted within the lab. Longitudinal images displaying the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius (VI) were collected and analyzed for the thickness and EI (raw and corrected) of both muscles. The average time since reconstruction was 48±38 months and ranged from 3 to 120 months. Results showed that the RF was unaffected in the ACL group (p=1.000) whereas the VI experienced significant atrophy (p<0.001). There was no statistical difference between groups for raw EI, but corrected EI displayed a significant interaction between legs and groups (p=0.024). Overall, this data indicates that with the growing accessibility of ultrasound technology, its ability to provide data on muscle size and quality could be a novel metric for practitioners to utilize for clearance of their patients to return to daily activities
Dissipating in the sublime: recovering our mattered vitality in the modern environmental movement, American ski culture, and the psychedelic counterculture for a posthuman ethic
No full textDissipating in the Sublime is a project of paradox: I argue that we need to lose our minds to develop an environmental conscience. I target the mind/body dualism at the heart of Western ideology by examining the phenomenon of dissipating in the sublime, which occurs when particularly lively and agentic matter overwhelms the seemingly bounded individual with such extreme affective force that the constructed boundaries between the mind and body temporarily evaporate to produce a material, posthuman, collective, intra-active subjectivity: the mindbody. This subjectivity embodies the contact zone of mind/body and feels the materiality of the immaterial, the nonhumanity of the human, the leakiness of the borders, and the flow of becoming-with the posthuman community. Understanding the seemingly immaterial, intangible, and ineffable components of the human condition, like cognition, as material phenomena – while admittedly risking existential crisis – is necessary to understanding how to truly exist as material beings in a material world. I focus not on the vitality of matter, but on the materiality of vitality. I approach this research through the lens of new materialism, environmental justice, and feminism, and focus on three sociological trends in the United States that contain sublime dissipation: the modern environmental movement, American ski culture, and the psychedelic counterculture. The literary archive ranges from the non-anthropogenic to the wildly affective to the wondrously speculative, including the most innovative forms as well as the most traditional. The diversity of the archive speaks to the disorienting attempt to reconcile material embodied knowledge with rational thought. Dissipating in the sublime becomes a theoretical framework for reading both the experiences and the literature of sublime dissipation in more productive ways, effectively cultivating a non-anthropocentric and posthuman onto-epistemology and extending the limits of human ethical obligation
Faking it or making it: emotional labor, individual and organizational well-being in student affairs professionals
No full textThe study aimed to achieve two main objectives: first, to investigate the presence and nature of emotional labor within student affairs; and second, to explore the correlations between emotional labor and both individual and organizational well-being among student affairs professionals. This research examines the intricate interconnections between emotional labor and a range of psychological, emotional, and occupational challenges. It adopts a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to well-being, encompassing individual facets such as emotional, social, and psychological well-being, as well as burnout dimensions like emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Additionally, it examines organizational well-being markers including job stress, overall job satisfaction, and turnover intention. The research methodology employed a quantitative approach, using an online survey for data collection and multiple regression for analysis. The findings offer initial insights into emotional labor within student affairs roles, illuminating the relationships between discordant and concordant emotional regulation strategies and various outcomes related to well-being
Barbershop Talk Therapy Project: A Quality Improvement Study on Therapy-Led Focus Groups for Minority Males in Community-Driven Safe Spaces
No full textResearch Question: Can implementing therapy-led focus groups in barbershops, as community-driven safe spaces, effectively contribute to improving mental health outcomes for minority males, particularly in underserved communities such as Fort Worth, TX.Background and Significance: Men’s mental health, particularly in communities of color, is an unkempt public health issue. In the United States, 1 in 8 men are likely to be diagnosed with a mental health illness, but compared to their women counterparts, are 33% less likely to reach out for intervention from a healthcare professional for mental or general health. What’s more, men are 3.56 times more likely to commit suicide than women. These numbers are hyper intense in Fort Worth, TX and intervention is desperately needed. Our project goal is to utilize volunteer mental health professionals to provide focus groups, education, and health screening services to barbershops in underserved communities in Fort Worth, TX. The hope is that men of color will be able to have talk therapy during their haircut while receiving resources and support that they would/could not otherwise acquire. We will measure the likelihood of men seeking mental health services after acquiring resources during their haircut, and how important safe spaces like the barbershop are vital in dismantling barriers to access resources.Materials and Methods: A 26 question electronic survey that gauges participants’ knowledge and accessibility to mental health resources in FW was developed. PHQ2 is incorporated into the survey and was completed to gauge if follow up with MH professionals is needed during or after the project. The screening was administered via electronic survey on iPad. Surveys provided a participant ID to privately follow up and/or refer participants with anonymity. We evaluated the emotional impact the project had on the patrons who visited that day. Additionally, we measured the likelihood that individuals who attended follow up received mental health or general health services in the subsequent month.Results: Survey results from 45 individuals demonstrated that 68% percent deny promoting wellness in their everyday life. Over 53% denote moderate stressors being their occupation (n=24) and 33% severe stressors being Social injustice/race/class (n=18). Twenty-two point 2 percent do not confide with anyone when they feel overwhelmed, 15% do not feel safe anywhere, 42% screened positive for depression via PHQ2, 59% believe their barber is like a therapist, and 59% talk to their barbers about sensitive topics they do not talk to anyone else about. Ninety-three percent feel more optimistic and less stress after leaving the barbershop. Fifty-seven percent felt more reassured about accessing mental health resources after the conclusion of the project. Seventy-four percent stated it is important for them to have a therapist that looks like them. Fifty-three percent stated that after the barbershop event, they probably and/or definitely would consider seeking a mental health provider. Forty-six percent stated barbershops are important to communities because haircuts make you feel better about yourself and 46% stated that barbershops are a place we can strategize how to be better for our community.Conclusion: The Barbershop Talk Therapy Project demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing community-driven safe spaces for mental health initiatives. Barbershops, in this context, emerge as powerful settings for destigmatizing mental health among men from minority communities. The positive outcomes, such as increased optimism, stress reduction, and improved willingness to seek mental health services, underscore the importance of tailoring interventions to cultural contexts. To further enhance the impact of such initiatives, future directions should involve creating a network of diverse therapists and providing training sessions for barbers to identify and address mental health concerns effectively. This approach ensures a holistic and culturally competent approach to mental health support in community-driven spaces
Navigating reproductive autonomy in the context of intimate partner violence: Perspectives of survivors and service providers
No full textThis dissertation comprises three articles examining the ways in which women in intimate
partner violence (IPV) relationships navigate decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive
health (SRH), with a focus on informing SRH services within IPV agencies. The first article
presents findings from a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS) of existing literature,
exploring the reproductive decision-making processes of women experiencing abuse. The
subsequent articles report on empirical studies exploring the responsiveness of IPV service
agencies in assessing the SRH needs of their clients. Utilizing individual interviews and focus
groups, both survivors and service providers contribute insights into their experiences with SRH
discussions, identify barriers to screening within current agency protocols, and propose
recommendations for the formation of a comprehensive SRH assessment framework aimed at
facilitating these conversations
Hormonal contraceptive use is associated with differences in women's inflammatory and psychological reactivity to an acute social stressor
No full textWomen using hormonal contraceptives (HCs) exhibit numerous signs of chronic inflammation, including elevated C-reactive protein levels and greater risk of developing mood and autoimmune disorders. However, users and non-users of HCs often have similar circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels, making the mechanism of association unclear. One possible explanation for this paradox is that HC users exhibit differences in their inflammatory responses to psychosocial stress that, over time, could contribute to chronic inflammation and its pathologies. Here, we tested this possibility by examining women's glucocorticoid, inflammatory, and psychological responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in 67 naturally cycling (NC) and 60 oral HC-using women (Mage = 19.31, SDage = 1.95). As hypothesized, HC users and NC women exhibited different glucocorticoid and proinflammatory cytokine responses to the TSST. For NC women, TSST-induced increases in glucocorticoids were uncommon, and increases in glucocorticoids were accompanied by elevations in IL-6. In contrast, for women using HCs, increases in glucocorticoids in response to the TSST were common, and increases in glucocorticoids were accompanied by increases in TNF-alpha. HC users and NC women also differed in their psychological responses to the TSST, with HC users reporting elevated stress levels compared to NC women. Together, these results suggest that HC use impacts women's glucocorticoid, inflammatory, and psychological responses to psychosocial stress, potentially contributing to observed differences in these women's mental and physical health
In Vitro Study of The Effect of PALB2 Phosphorylation on BRCA1-PALB2 Dimerization
No full textBRCA1 and PALB2 are two proteins that bind to efficiently repair DNA damage through homologous recombination. The inability of these proteins to dimerize due to genetic variations can increase an individual?s risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Currently, most PALB2 genetic variants are classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS) due to insufficient data to predict pathogenicity. In vivo methods to predict pathogenicity of these variants are time consuming and costly. As a result, we aimed to create a high-throughput and cell-free assay to test the effect of VUS on the BRCA1-PALB2 binding interaction. Importantly, we wanted to recreate any relevant cellular conditions to obtain the most accurate data, and currently, it is unknown how one such cellular condition, the phosphorylation of PALB2, would affect the BRCA1-PALB2 binding interaction in vitro. To determine if phosphorylation affects the binding interaction, we mimic the phosphorylation states of PALB2 using site-directed mutagenesis and test their effect on BRCA1 binding using isothermal titration calorimetry. Our results indicate a surprising finding: PALB2 phosphorylation does not significantly alter the strength of the BRCA1-PALB2 binding interaction with minimized constructs in vitro. Thus, we hypothesize it is not critical to recreate the phosphorylation states of PALB2 when testing the effect of VUSs on the BRCA1-PALB2 binding interaction
THE EFFECTS OF MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS ON WORK BEHAVIOR
No full textOverworking is a common problem often attributed to hard work and dedication. However, overworking has not been found to be beneficial to an individual yet has continued to persist despite generations of societal change. This paper aims to explore the motivations behind overworking in terms of Alderfer's ERG Theory that focuses on an individual?s existence, relatedness, and growth needs. To study this, 94 full-time employees completed a survey that highlighted their work behaviors and possible motivating factors using a Likert scale. The study looked at correlations between work behaviors and motivations and found the strongest correlation between overworking and existence needs. Growth needs were the least likely to motivate overworking behaviors. Raising awareness about these motivations can help mitigate potentially problematic behaviors. Since overworking is generally understudied, this research aims to highlight motivators as a way to elevate awareness about overworking and call for continued investigation across more specific demographics
Storytelling and user experience design: How stories shape design and how design shapes everythying
No full textIncreasingly, classic storytelling techniques are being used in the technological space to communicate ideas or ideals that would be otherwise hard to communicate. Previously, storytelling is a specifically liberal arts, literature-based focus, and computing and the internet was left to computer scientists or other technical professions. There was little scholarship that provided a link between the two, highlighting how storytelling techniques are being used by technological leaders to mislead and manipulate the public at-large, creating culture on the fly through digital artifacts. This study leans on creative writing, philosophical theories, social science, as well as cultural observations/scholars to critique and make apparent this manipulation in a variety of forms and styles. The findings of this research encourages awareness and understanding of how the modern internet operates via storytelling in an effort to teach readers on how to understand how this manipulation operates, identify where it exists, and ultimately, reject in the favor of truth