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Assessing the Feasibility of Implementing an Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Program
No full textIntroduction: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) has been used to improve survival in select cardiac arrest patients. Success is linked to patient volume, with centers classified as low (0-6), medium (7-12), or high (\u3e12) volume based on annual cases. We hypothesize that Cooper has a large enough eligible patient population to benefit from implementation of an ECPR program.
Methods: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients transported to Cooper Hospital over six years were assessed for eCPR candidacy via retrospective chart review. In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) eCPR data was also collected and combined with OHCA data to project annual eCPR volume. The crtieria set forth by the ELSO Interim Guideline Consensus Statement was utilized as inclusion criteria with the age criteria lowered from 75 to 65 years old. Exclusion criteria: age over 65, unwitnessed arrest, non-shockable initial rhythm, lack of by-stander CPR, or end-stage medical condition.
Results: Out of 1,399 identified OHCA patients, 30 met eCPR criteria. On average, 5 OHCA patients per year were eligible for eCPR. Additionally, 6 IHCA patients received eCPR in 2023, resulting in a projected volume of 11 eCPR cases annually.
Discussion: With an estimated 11 eCPR cases per year, our center qualifies as a medium-volume facility
IRANIAN DOCTORAL INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES IN U.S. UNIVERSITIES IN THE CURRENT SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
No full textThe United States has long been viewed as a premier destination for international students, attracted by its reputation for academic excellence, research opportunities, and multicultural engagement. However, students from certain countries, particularly Iran, encounter unique and complex challenges shaped by geopolitical tensions and restrictive immigration policies. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study, guided by symbolic interactionism as its analytic framework, explores how Iranian doctoral students at U.S. universities interpret, navigate, and find meaning in their lived experiences within the current socio-political landscape. Findings from in-depth interviews with Iranian doctoral international students reveal five major themes: (1) Confronting Geopolitical Barriers in the US Visa Process, (2) Living with Sanctioned Identities: Financial Mobility and Stress, (3) Cultural Displacement and the Weight of Misrecognition, (4) Silenced Across Broders: Surveillance, Censorship, and Fear, and (5) Findings Meaning Amid Challenges. Female participants, in particular, expressed heightened satisfaction with the freedoms and opportunities available in the U.S., contrasting them with restrictions in Iran. However, their experiences were also shaped by intersectional challenges related to nationality, gender, and religion
EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TIER III RESTORATIVE PRACTICES: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TEACHER-STUDENT MENTORSHIP PROGRAM AND DISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TOWARDS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
No full textThis program evaluation was initiated to determine the effectiveness of a one-on-one mentorship program at Maple Grove Middle School. The program emerged in response to a troubling pattern in disciplinary data from the previous school year, of which 18 students received ten or more discipline referrals in 2023-2024. Notably, 14 of these students were classified with a disability, highlighting a disproportionate rate of disciplinary action towards students receiving special education services. In an effort to address this issue, each student was paired with a mentor, with the intent to provide support for positive behavior, and an improvement in academics. This evaluation specifically focused on five students who were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and were economically disadvantaged. The evaluation examined whether the mentorship program positively influenced their behavior, self-efficacy, and overall engagement with school. As Gregory et al. (2016) remind us, without proper guidance, support, and professional development for teachers, particularly in working with students with disabilities and implementing restorative practices, mentorship programs are unlikely to produce favorable outcomes. Thus, the evaluation considered how well teachers and mentors were equipped to meet the needs of these students through trauma-informed and restorative approaches. Through interviews and focus groups with mentors, teachers, and students, as well as classroom and hallway observations, it became evident that the program is promising, but more than just the mentorship needs to be refined
A Comparative Case Study of Disability Inclusive Curriculum State Policies from Agenda Setting Through Adoption
No full textPolicy actors interested in advancing educational policies can encounter opposition particularly amid divisive political climates. To boost effectiveness, policy actors need to be equipped with proven strategies employed by educational advocates who often work in coalition. Little is understood empirically about advocacy coalition members’ experiences of the educational policy process, specifically the agenda setting through adoption stages. This comparative case study investigates the stories of separate advocacy coalitions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as they championed the adoption of disability inclusive curriculum policies. The policies mandated instruction on disability inclusive curriculum in K-12 schools, including instruction on the social, political, and economic contributions of disabled people. Conceptually, the study employed the Advocacy Coalition and the Disability Studies in Education frameworks and consisted of three phases: (a) document analysis of policy communication and hearing transcripts, (b) interviews with 11 advocacy coalition members, half of which identified as disabled, and (c) narrative writing and analysis. Three articles resulted from the following findings: (a) the advocacy stories followed similar arcs, (b) the Advocacy Coalition Framework is a useful tool in analyzing educational policy, (c) coalition members coalesced around a shared set of beliefs, and (d) coalition members strategically employed similar resources throughout the process. This manuscript concludes with a discussion of the implications for educational research, policy, and practice
Functional Role of Cysteine Residues in VtlR of Agrobacterium tumefaciens
No full textAgrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil-dwelling plant pathogen known for transferring DNA to host plants through a type IV secretion system. Central to its virulence and cellular regulation is the LysR-type transcriptional regulator, VtlR, which controls processes including biofilm formation, motility, tumorigensis, and small RNA expression. Although VtlR’s regulatory role is established, the specific functions of its conserved cysteine residues have only recently begun to be explored. This study investigates VtlR’s four cysteines (C144, C236, C244, and C273) through site-directed mutagenesis and a combination of phenotypic assays and transcriptional profiling. Phenotypic assays confirmed that C144 and C273 are important for proper VtlR control of multiple phenotypes. Transcriptomic analysis via RNA sequencing and differential gene expression profiling confirmed VtlR regulation of hundreds of genes, including many ABC transport systems and redox-sensitive pathways. Substitution of cysteine 144 with serine largely replicated results of a VtlR-null strain. These findings suggest that individual cysteine residues contribute differentially to VtlR function. Collectively, this work provides new insights into cysteine-mediated control of transcriptional networks in VtlR and highlights potential targets for modulating bacterial adaptation and virulence
Introduction to Conference Poster Designs
No full textLearning Objectives:
-Students will be able to design an appealing and communicative research poster in order to present their research more effectively.
-Students will be able to create appealing and illustrative data visualizations in order to streamline their research in visual form.
An overview, tips and tricks, for designing posters and data visualizations to take to conferences. Transferable skills from physical posters to a presentation slide deck. Software used will include: PowerPoint, Canva, and Google slides
Soccer In-Game Event Classification Using Spatio-Temporal Data
No full textClassifying soccer ball events, such as pass, shot, ball loss, and ball out, are crucial for advancing game analytics and tactical insights. This thesis investigates the application of machine learning to classify these ball events using player and ball spatio-temporal data, as well as additional features. We implement and compare traditional machine learning algorithms (AdaBoost, Logistic Regression, and Random Forest) with several deep learning approaches, including Feed-Forward Neural Network (FFNN), sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) recurrent models (Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU)), and Transformer. Our experiments, evaluated on a dataset comprising of three professional soccer matches using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, demonstrate that the Transformer model performs the best. It outperforms all other models by effectively capturing the complex, long-range spatio-temporal dependencies inherent in player and ball movements. This study shows the effectiveness of Transformer models for soccer event classification and provides a baseline benchmark for future research in spatio-temporal sports analytics
EDUCATIONAL POLICY, IMPLEMENTATION, AND CHALLENGES: A CASE STUDY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE IN USING STUDENT GROWTH MEASURES FOR INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN A K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICT IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
No full textThis qualitative single holistic case study explores how school administrators in a Northern New Jersey district implement student growth measures (SGMs) mandated by the New Jersey Department of Education. Grounded in Lipsky’s (1980) theory of street-level bureaucracy, Wright’s Connected Actions Roadmap (2022), and Argyris and Schön’s (1978) theory of action, this work examines how administrators in the case study navigate policy mandates while addressing the demands of leading their schools. Data was collected through two rounds of semi-structured interviews with eleven administrators, supplemented by field notes. Thematic analysis revealed five areas: administrative agency in balancing compliance and authenticity, collaboration as a catalyst for instructional improvement, substandard implementation linked to gaps in assessment literacy, creating responsive systems of support, and structural and attitudinal barriers impeding meaningful implementation. Participants identified time constraints, limited professional development, and inconsistent policy guidance as major obstacles. The research contributes to ongoing conversations about educational leadership, policy enactment, and the necessary conditions for transforming evaluation tools into meaningful levers for instructional improvement
Novel Synthetic Circuits for Cellular Theranostic Applications
No full textCancer is a complex disease that leads to over 600,000 deaths in the United States each year. Immunoengineering, the process of harnessing a patient\u27s immune system to treat disease, has proven to be a promising therapeutic approach for cancer. For example, the FDA has approved seven chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. However, these therapies address less than 11% of cancers diagnosed in the United States. In this work, we develop innovative tools to enhance immunoengineering and the efficacy of cell therapies like CAR-T. We introduce and validate synthetic phosphorylation networks with fluorescent and luminescent extension (SPN-FLUX), a synthetic receptor applicable to both immunoengineering and broader synthetic biology tools. We modify SPN-FLUX to function as a biosensor for hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment, an intrinsic feature of nearly all solid cancers and investigate whether we can exploit the native dynamics of hypoxia as a mechanism for cellular therapies to discriminate between healthy and cancerous tissues. Finally, we begin to translate the techniques used in synthetic receptor and biosensor development into computational methodologies. Using computational modeling and docking software, we generate predictions that align with the experimentally obtained preclinical data that were utilized to initiate the Brainchild-01 clinical trial, thereby demonstrating the exciting potential for this in-silico methodology to accelerate the development of life-saving therapies