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An Educational Model for Promoting Human-Centered Thinking in High School Students
No full textThe goal of this study was to determine whether the modules in the Beacon Engineering Academy summer camp for high school students promoted human-centered thinking in engineering design. Thirteen high school students were assigned to five teams and received training on basic engineering skills using KEEN’s URSkilled training modules. By leveraging the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) framework from occupational therapy practice, and with support from Valparaiso Occupational Therapy faculty, each team applied these skills to address a client-based scenario and subsequently engineered either a body-powered or myoelectric prosthesis for created personas with defined clinical requirements. Iterative feedback was provided by both the research assistants portraying the personas and real-life prosthesis users. Students formally presented their devices and explained the deliberate human-centered elements of their design. Additionally, students subjected prototypes to strength, durability, and fine-motor tests, and were evaluated by practicing prosthetists and real-life prosthesis users. Learner experiences were examined through two pre-/post-camp surveys, which assessed students\u27 definitions and knowledge of bioengineering, as well as the inclusion of human-centered design elements. When asked what they think bioengineering includes, 9% in the pre-survey mentioned helping people, as opposed to the 18% in the post-survey. Average student confidence in building things for real people also increased from 4.82 to 5.27 on a 6-point scale between before and after camp. The preliminary analysis of the results suggested that the model used in the camp somewhat enhanced students’ human-centered thinking, but more work is needed to confirm these claims
Retinal Imaging as an Innovative Modality for CKD Screening
No full textAbstract
Objective: This study evaluates the potential use of retinal imaging as a screening tool for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Since CKD is often caused by systemic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, the microvascular damage found in the kidneys may also appear in the retina. This research explores whether retinal microvascular changes correlate with CKD indicators, potentially offering a non-invasive alternative or adjunct to traditional laboratory screening.
Methods: A structured literature search was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE with full text, and Google Scholar. Search terms included combinations of Retinal Imaging, Retinopathy, CKD, and Risk. PubMed yielded 39 results for Retinal Imaging AND CKD, and 197 for Retinopathy AND CKD. MEDLINE produced 7 and 193 results for related terms, and Google Scholar returned over 30,000 combined hits. Inclusion criteria limited studies to adults without prior CKD; those with diagnosed CKD were excluded. Primary outcomes included CKD risk, prevalence, incidence, and renal function impairment.
Results: Multiple studies found correlations between retinal vascular changes and CKD, particularly between decreasing eGFR and retinal vessel alterations. However, inconsistent methodologies, imaging models, and definitions limited generalizability. Other renal markers such as serum creatinine and albumin-to-creatinine ratios showed variable correlations.
Conclusion: Retinal imaging shows promise as a non-invasive adjunct in CKD screening. Although not yet viable as a standalone method, it may help guide further research in at-risk patients. Larger, more standardized studies are needed to confirm its clinical utility.
Keywords: retinal imaging, chronic kidney disease, microvascular changes, eGFR, non-invasive screening, retinopath
Fresh Frozen Plasma Ratio and Its Effect on Trauma Patient Survival
No full textObjective: This study aimed to evaluate whether a high fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to red blood cell (RBC) ratio transfusion reduces mortality rates compared to a lower ratio in trauma patients, focusing on 24-hour, in-hospital, and 30-day mortality outcomes.
Methods: A systematic literature review was performed using Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Valparaiso University catalog. Keywords included “FFP/RBC ratio,” “trauma patients,” and “mortality rate,” resulting in 5,140, 39, and 1,660 articles respectively. Inclusion criteria limited studies to those published from 2019 onward, in English, peer-reviewed, with full-text availability, and focused on trauma patients receiving FFP to RBC ratio. Excluded studies involved non-trauma populations, platelet-to-red blood cell ratios, or lacked relevant mortality data. The primary outcome assessed was 24-hour mortality, with secondary outcomes including in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates.
Results: Five studies met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Two studies demonstrated statistically significant reductions in 24-hour mortality with high FFP to RBC ratios. Similarly, two studies showed statistically significant decreases of in-hospital mortality associated with higher ratios. One study reported a statistically significant reduction in 30-day mortality for patients receiving a higher FFP to RBC ratio.
Conclusion: A higher FFP to RBC is associated with reduced mortality at 24-hours, during hospitalization, and at 30-day follow-up in trauma patients. These findings suggest that optimizing the FFP to RBC ratio may improve survival outcomes across various trauma types.
Keywords: Fresh frozen plasma, Trauma patients, Mortality rates, Blood transfusion ratio, Survival outcome
Rediscovery of Eucerceris zonata (Say, 1823) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), a Species thought to be Extirpated in Canada
Full text linkEucerceris zonata (Say) (Hymenoptera: Philanthidae), a weevil wasp species that was thought to be extirpated in Canada is rediscovered in Manitoba and Quebec. Collection records and validated citizen science observations confirm the continued presence of E. zonata in Canada during the last decade and a half. The newly discovered populations inhabit sand areas both in Manitoba and Quebec. Potential threats to the species at these sites are discussed
Monstrous Feminine, Deviant Mother: Tolkien’s Shelob and the Grotesque Maternal
Full text linkJ.R.R. Tolkien’s menacing character of Shelob embodies the ultimate danger that faces Frodo on his journey to destroy the Ring of Power. Her actions, in combination with the language that Tolkien uses to describe her, invite the reader to view Shelob with revulsion and horror, designating her as Other. However, Shelob is also undeniably a mother, a term laden with social and cultural expectation. This paper explores Shelob as a representation of what Barbara Creed, in her article “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, has termed the ‘monstrous-feminine’, examining Shelob’s presentation within the text as not only identified as female, but more specifically as a mother, queering this gendered space
Wizard, Demon, Cat; Reformer, Satanist, Bureaucrat: a Diachronic Analysis of Three Modes of Sauron in the Legendarium in Light of The Book of Lost Tales
Full text linkThis paper argues that Sauron is a metatextual shape-shifter. Through diachronic analysis it identifies and charts three distinct “modes” of Sauron coexisting in Tolkien’s legendarium. While Sauron’s most robust First Age appearance (in the tale of Beren and Lúthien) remained relatively unchanged from his introduction in the 1920s until Tolkien’s death, Sauron’s role in the Legendarium expanded significantly across Tolkien’s lifetime as Sauron became the primary antagonist of two additional Ages of Middle-earth. Some of the evolutions that accompanied this expansion are not retroactively reflected in the tales already written, hence these “modes” of Sauron could be said to remain in tension. This paper posits explanations for this lack of synthesis and also argues that aspects of each of these modes can be traced back to abandoned characters who appear in The Book of Lost Tales
Introduction to Special Issue on Tolkien and Psychology
Full text linkThis introduction to the special issue on Tolkien and Psychology describes the history of the University of Vermont Tolkien Conference, highlighting the 2024 conference from which these paper originated
The Moral Function of Invented Languages in J.R.R Tolkien\u27s Legendarium
Full text linkFor J. R. R. Tolkien, the languages he invented for Middle-earth came first, the stories second. Much of his linguistic creation was based on the idea that the sound of a language can create a sense of pleasure or displeasure in those hearing it, irrespective of the meaning behind the words. This can be seen in the ways the sound of the elvish languages on the one hand and Tolkien’s other invented languages such as Khuzdul or the Black Speech on the other, are described not only by Tolkien himself but also by readers of his works. The way a language sounds often serves as a sort of shorthand for the moral function of its speakers. In this essay, I will analyse these phonoaesthetic associations more closely and show that they are highly subjective and generally based on cultural, ethical, and linguistic differences
Túrin Was Dead: To Begin With. Death, Fate, And A Happy Ending In \u3ci\u3eThe Book of Lost Tales\u3c/i\u3e
No full textThe final weight of the Tale of the Children of Húrin is crushing. Only the prophecy that Túrin will slay Melkor in the Last Battle offers any relief. Yet its first version, “Turambar and the Foalókë,” has an ending one might call happy. For Túrin’s death is not the end of his story, but its turning point. A coda details the afterlife of Túrin and Nienor, which begins in sorrow and ends in joy, but it is Fionwë, not Túrin, who kills Melkor (LT I 219; II 116). By the “Sketch of the Mythology” in 1926 Túrin has replaced Fionwë, and all the other details of his afterlife have vanished. Seen as a turning point Túrin’s death opens unexplored paths into Tolkien’s early views on death and fate; into Ilúvatar’s original gift to Men, the “free virtue” to act beyond the Music; into the name “Turambar” as the fraught expression of this virtue