Open Access Journals at IU Indianapolis
Not a member yet
23580 research outputs found
Sort by
Subjective Measures of Career Outcomes from National Surveys in the United Kingdom and Australia
Get PDFThis article considers various subjective and qualitative measurements of career outcomes and success found in national-level graduate surveys in the United Kingdom and Australia. It reviews how these measures might add to our broader understanding of career success aligned with social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 2002) and reflects on the concept of “scarring” (Borland, 2020). These considerations help assess the value of measuring subjective and qualitative information on graduate career outcomes and how such insights might inform career and employability services and inclusive and integrated career-focused activities in higher education
Effect of Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Use on White Matter Tract Integrity
Get PDFBackground:Cigarette smoking (CS) is highly comorbid with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Both are associated with lower white matter (WM) integrity, with potentially additive effects. This study is a starting point to determine the individual and combined effects of CS and AUD on WM integrity.
Methods:Thirty subjects with varying CS and alcohol use (40.0 ± 12.9 years, 13 females, 17 males) underwent structural (T1-weighted) and diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Indices of WM integrity, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were calculated at a voxel-wise level. Parametric maps of FA and MD were spatially normalized to Montreal Neurological Institute space. Average FA and MD values were extracted for 48 WM tracts from the Johns Hopkins University WM tract atlas.
Alcohol drinking and CS were characterized by: DSM-5 AUD symptom checklist, Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS, including obsessive and compulsive subscales), Timeline Followback (TLFB; drinks/drinking day and drinks/week), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), self-reported pack years, and cigarettes/day. Linear regression was performed between FA and MD with alcohol and CS metrics.
Results:We found significant negative correlations (p<0.01) between bilateral cingulate gyri FA and total OCDS score and subscales, drinks/drinking day, drinks/week, and AUDIT. Right inferior cerebellar peduncle FA was negatively correlated with FTND and cigarettes/day. Bilateral superior cerebellar peduncle MD was positively correlated with FTND and cigarettes/day. Left cingulate hippocampus MD was positively correlated with OCDS compulsivity.
Conclusion:Alcohol use was negatively correlated with cingulate gyrus WM FA, which is implicated in goal-directed behavior and salience attribution. CS was negatively correlated with cerebellar peduncle FA; however, the interpretation of this is unclear. Our results support the hypothesis that both CS and AUD negatively impact WM integrity. Future work will determine the potentially additive effects of smoking and alcohol use
Evolving Trends in Intervention Types for Pediatric Pancreatic Pseudocysts
Get PDFBackground: Pancreatic pseudocysts (PP) have various treatment options, including careful monitoring without intervention and procedural interventions (endoscopic, percutaneous, surgical excision). The composition of procedures and optimal management in pediatric patients remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to (1) identify characteristics and outcomes of patients associated with PP intervention types and (2) evaluate trends over time of intervention types for pediatric PP.
Methods: The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database was used to evaluate patient characteristics, procedures, and outcomes. Identification codes (ICD-9 and -10) identified patients less than 18 yo with PP from 2005-2022 and their associated interventions. Interventions related to their pseudocysts were categorized as endoscopy, interventional radiology (IR), surgery, or multiple and were compared using bivariate analysis.
Results: Data was analyzed from 2718 patients of which 697 had a procedural intervention. Most patients were Male (52%), Caucasian (51%), not Hispanic or Latino (58%), and had a mean age of 12.2 years (SD 7.6 years). Procedures consisted of surgery (48%), endoscopy (23%), IR (20%), and multiple (9%). There were no differences in gender across intervention subtypes. Patients were significantly younger for those undergoing surgical intervention (11.5±8years) versus endoscopy (14.0±7.2years) and IR (12.2±7.7years) (p<0.001). More endoscopy procedures were performed in PHIS hospitals in the Midwest (29%) and South (34%) vs the Northeast (13%) and West (24%). The proportion of patients undergoing a procedure has decreased from 30% to 18% from 2005-2022. Surgical procedure proportion has decreased over time from 18% to 5% of patients. Whereas endoscopic procedures have increased over time from 2% to 15% of patients. This increase began around 2014 and has been steadily increasing since then.
Conclusion: For pediatric patients with PP, surgical procedures are more common in younger patients. Endoscopic procedures have become most frequently utilized for intervention for PP, while surgical procedures have decreased over time
UGT2B10 Variant Effects on Dexmedetomidine Metabolism Using Nicotine Studies
Get PDFBackground:Dexmedetomidine is a procedural sedative primarily metabolized by the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 2B10. UGT2B10 also contributes to nicotine metabolism. Most research on the effect of gene variants on UGT2B10’s glucuronidation efficacy has focused on nicotine. This study outlines current data on the relationship between UGT2B10 pharmacogenomics, nicotine pharmacokinetics, and race, then extrapolates that information to dexmedetomidine.
Methods:A literature review was conducted on UGT2B10 variants and dexmedetomidine or nicotine in PubMed. Due to lack of studies on dexmedetomidine glucuronidation, studies using nicotine were used to classify variants as poor, intermediate, or extensive metabolizers; characterize their expression in African/African Americans (AA) and Europeans (C), and establish their respective activity based on nicotine metabolite percentages.
Results:UGT2B10 accounts for about 20% of nicotine metabolism. The UGT2B10 variants rs61750900 (AA= 37.62%; C=0.18%) and rs2942857 (AA=4.42%; C=9.28%) are nonfunctional. Poor metabolizers (PM) are homozygous for one of these variants and see a 97% decrease in UGT2B10 metabolites. Intermediate metabolizers (IM) have one variant allele and one wild-type allele, with a 32% decrease in UGT2B10 metabolites. Extensive metabolizers (EM), have two wild-type alleles. Metabolites from other pathways increase as UGT2B10 metabolites decrease. These results were superimposed onto dexmedetomidine metabolism to predict metabolite percentages in UGT2B10 IM and PM. In PM, only 1.02% of dexmedetomidine metabolites were predicted to be from UGT2B10.
Conclusion:Nicotine metabolism data suggests variants of UGT2B10 significantly impact dexmedetomidine metabolism. PMs have 97% decreased nicotine UGT2B10 metabolism and a compensatory increase in nicotine’s other metabolites. UGT2B10 accounts for the largest portion of dexmedetomidine metabolism. Thus, UGT2B10 PMs may have decreased glucuronide metabolites, with increased proportion of other pathways.
Giving the same dose of dexmedetomidine to PM or ultrarapid metabolizers (UM) may result in toxicity or undersedation, respectively. More research needs to be done on UGT2B10 variants to optimize patient care
Spatial Transcriptomics Demonstrates Tissue-Specific Differential Gene Expression in a Mouse Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Get PDFBackground: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disease resulting from insufficient survival motor neuron (SMN) protein that afflicts ~1 in 10,000 births. Motoneurons are specifically sensitive to low SMN levels and motoneuron death is the hallmark of SMA. We investigated how low SMN levels affect the gene expression profile in multiple tissue types at an early symptomatic disease state.
Methods: Spatial transcriptomic data using the Visium platform, collected from lumbar spinal column sections at postnatal day 4 from female normal and severe SMA mice (n=4 each), were analyzed. Systematic literature review identified tissue-specific biomarkers, which were compared to biomarkers calculated from graph-based clustering and compared to microanatomy using Loupe Browser. Clustering and differential gene expression analysis were performed in Partek Flow.
Results: Clusters were annotated using biomarker expression patterns. Significant gene expression changes across thirteen tissue types were observed at this early disease state. For example, muscles clustered into type 1, type 2b, and tendon-associated and were significantly affected in SMA mice. Several transcripts associated with muscle atrophy were increased in SMA while hypertrophy mRNAs were unchanged. Interestingly, genes associated with bone resorption and osteoporosis were overexpressed in SMA bone, which may be important as clinical studies show decreased bone density and frequent fractures in children with SMA. Preliminary clustering of ST data from neuronal subtypes and other cells within the spinal cord reveal transcriptional changes in SMA mice.
Conclusion: These data demonstrate that low SMN protein levels are associated with extensive tissue-specific gene expression changes early during disease progression. This implies that SMN deficiency may progress to involve multiple organ systems as children treated for SMA live longer. Validation of identified key genes will contribute to understanding of SMA pathogenesis and offer insights for novel treatments to improve outcomes in all stages of SMA
The Connection Between Anxiety and Empathy in Social Work Students
Get PDFAnxiety and empathy are familiar concepts for social work students. This study explored levels of anxiety and empathy in a group of students to understand if there was a connection between the two. The participants were current social work students studying at the undergraduate or graduate level. They were studying in in-person and online classrooms. A total of sixty-five participants completed two instruments, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale for anxiety, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) for empathy. Within this sample of social work students, anxiety and empathy were moderately correlated. At p<.05, GAD-7 scores were significantly correlated with total IRI scores (r = .38, p < .01), as well as sub-scores for Fantasy (r = .34, p < .01), Personal Distress (r=.30, p < .05), and Empathic Concern (r = .31, p < .05). GAD-7 scores were not significantly correlated with Perspective Taking. Findings suggest that both educators and practitioners have roles to play in helping emerging professionals develop awareness of their reactions to those with whom they work. Through developing awareness, social workers may be better able to minimize emotional burden and maximize the advantages that come from empathic engagement
Supply Chains as Conduits of Anchor Engagement
Get PDFThis paper explains how Leeds Beckett University (LBU) has developed a supply chain “collective” to deliver on its anchor mission. The supply chain collective is made up of 300 small and medium enterprises who trade with LBU. These organizations by subscribing to anchor principles, have access to LBU’s specialist business support advice and consultancy services provided by its Business School. This partnership arrangement offers the following benefits: it supports a shift to local purchasing and carbon reduction, provides direct business support to help small local businesses grow, and creates enriched service-learning opportunities for students and researchers.
This paper briefly explains how LBU defines its role within the Leeds City Anchor Network, how it has adapted its purchasing strategy to incorporate social value considerations, how it developed part of its supply chain as a small and medium enterprise (SME) “collective”, and how the Leeds Business School has begun to build mutually beneficial relationships by using this new supply chain as a conduit for positive regional engagement
You Can’t Cheer That: NCAA Division I FBS Stadium Speech Policies and the First Amendment
Get PDFFan behavior at college sporting events has long been a concern for administrators. Particularly, fan speech—including inappropriate signs, vulgar cheers, and rude images on clothing—has proven difficult for policymakers to address. Yet, as previous scholarship has demonstrated, speech policies at public university spaces intending to curtail such behavior frequently violate the First Amendment protections of students and spectators (see, e.g., Calvert & Richards, 2004; Ulian, 2016). Using a comparative analysis of speech policies published on the athletic department websites for every public university in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), we determined that 94 of the 102 evaluated institutions had speech codes for one or more of their sports facilities that could be used to violate the First Amendment rights of spectators. We discuss the implications of such policies for potential litigation against universities and offer recommendations for crafting better policies for fan behavior at university athletic events
Remote Recurrence/Metastasis of Acinic Cell Carcinoma: a Case Series and Literature Review
Get PDFBackground:Acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) is a relatively indolent salivary gland tumor with recurrence usually occurring within the first five years after the primary resection. Delayed recurrence/metastasis after more than 10 years is rare and often poses diagnostic and treatment challenges.
Methods:The study was approved by Indiana University Institutional Review Board. Six patients with remote recurrence/metastasis were identified from 1/2000 to 5/2024. Clinicoradiologic presentation, pathologic findings, treatment, and follow-up were reviewed. Case reports in literature since 1960 were also summarized.
Results:The six patients comprised five females and one male (age range: 22 to 47 years). All tumors arose from the parotid gland. The interval between primary resection to recurrence ranged from 10 to 45 years. The most common recurrent/metastatic locations were scalp, lung, bone, and ear canal. High grade transformation was identified in one case. Two of six patients died of the disease including the case with high grade transformation, three patients were still alive, and one died from unrelated condition.
Another six cases identified from the literature also involved the parotid gland, including five females and one male (age range: 15 to 60 years). The interval ranged from 11 to 30 years. Bone, lung and cutaneous sites were involved. Four of six patients were still alive, and the follow-up was not available in two patients.
Conclusions:Remote recurrence/metastasis of ACC after 10 years of primary resection is very rare. This phenomenon predominantly affects females. Local recurrence usually involves structures near tumor beds. Distant metastasis affects scalp, lung, bone, or skin. Diagnosis can be challenging if patients and/or physicians are unaware of the original diagnosis.
Scientific/Clinical/Policy Impact and Implications:The study raises awareness of an unusual clinical and pathological characteristic of ACC. A comprehensive review of medical history is crucial for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate clinical management