Hocking College

Baylisascaris procyonis, the ubiquitous roundworm of raccoons (Procyon lotor), is a threat to remaining populations of Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister). The distribution of anthelmintic baits has been shown to be an effective management tool to support woodrat recovery. We compared the prevalence of B. procyonis eggs in raccoon feces across occupied woodrat habitat in Ohio for 3 y before and 6 y after the implementation of anthelmintic baiting. Baiting significantly reduced prevalence of B. procyonis at woodrat habitats, even in years when baiting was not implemented. We recommend anthelmintic baiting as an effective conservation strategy in areas where Allegheny woodrat populations are vulnerable.

Training to improve high school sport coaches’ and athletic directors’ knowledge, skills, and competencies to address and respond to rising mental health concerns is more important than ever. High school student-athletes are at increased risk for mental health concerns, given the pressures of balancing sport, school, and other responsibilities. This paper describes a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study that guided two years of public impact and social change efforts to improve coach education and training in one large Midwestern state in the United States. Our collective goal was to empower coaches and athletic directors to coach “beyond the Xs and Os.” Using a CBPR framework, we describe the decision-making process that led to the co-development and implementation of a mental health training program piloted with 147 high school coaches and athletic directors. We also describe intermediate outcomes associated with our collective change efforts demonstrating the value of using a CBPR approach. Our “Coach Beyond” processes and outputs showcase how CBPR can lead to transformative action and social change to reorient sport as a context focused on the holistic health, wellness, and development of student-athletes.

Cinematic-virtual reality (cine-VR) has demonstrated improvements in cultural self-efficacy, diabetes attitudes, and empathy among healthcare providers, but its impact on health professional students is unknown. The purpose of the single-arm pre-post study was to examine the feasibility of this cine-VR diabetes training program as well as to assess changes in cultural self-efficacy, diabetes attitudes, and empathy among health professional students. Participants viewed 12 cine-VR 12 simulations about a 72-year-old patient with type 2 diabetes. Pre-training and post-training, they completed the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool, Diabetes Attitude Scale-3, and Jefferson Scale of Empathy. All 92 participants completed the full training. No participants reported technological difficulties or adverse events. For the assessment, 66 participants completed the pre-post measures for a response rate of 71.7% (mean age = 21.1 ± 1.9 years, 82.6% [n = 57] women; 84.1% [n = 58] white). We observed positive improvements in all three cultural self-efficacy subscales: "Cognitive" (t value = -4.705, P < .001), "Practical" (mean change = -.99, t value = -4.240, P < .001), and "Affective" (t value = -2.763, P = .008). Similarly, we observed positive improvements in four of the five diabetes attitude subscales: "Need for special training" (Z = -4.281, P < .001), "Seriousness of type 2 diabetes" (Z = -3.951, P < .001), "Value of tight glucose control" (Z = -1.676, P = .094), "Psychosocial impact of diabetes" (Z = -5.892, P < .001), and "Attitude toward patient autonomy" (Z = -2.889, P = .005). Finally, we observed a positive improvement in empathy (t value = -5.151, P < .001). Findings suggest that the cine-VR diabetes training program has the potential to improve cultural self-efficacy, diabetes attitudes, and empathy among health professional students. A randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm its effectiveness.

The concept of nature experienced an important shift from the 19th into the early 20th century as people started to conceive conservation as a scientific and even professional endeavor. The tradition of finding truth by observing nature and developing explanations of its workings, which had existed in Western European cultures since the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle’s time (4th Century BC,) became later an important aspect of modernity. However, modern views have become increasingly mechanistic in their understanding, leading to a disenchantment with nature (Botkin in The Moon in the Nautilus Shell: discordant harmonies reconsidered. Oxford University Press, 2012).

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) affects approximately 30,000 people each year and accounts for 1-7% of all strokes. Current SAH therapies globally affect blood pressure, potentially causing hypotension and reduced cranial perfusion. Alternatively, our approach is to locally reduce constriction of the blood vessels in the brain by targeting heat shock protein 20 (HSP 20) which plays a role in the thin filament pathway for contraction and relaxation. To this end, we developed nanoparticles for delivery of a locked nucleic acid (LNA, LNA-NPs) designed to inhibit miR-320, an endogenous negative regulator of HSP 20 expression in vascular tissue. We hypothesized that LNA-NP-enabled anti-miR-320 therapy would increase HSP 20 expression, reducing vessel contraction and increasing vessel relaxation. LNA-NPs were formulated with a PEGylated, endosomolytic polymer which has been previously optimized for systemic siRNA delivery (Fig. 1A). In this study, LNA-NPs efficiently complexed LNA (Fig. 1B) and formed ~100 nm diameter LNA-loaded nanoparticles (Fig. 1C). Efficient cytosolic delivery of LNA by LNA-NPs resulted in ~2.5-fold (n = 3, Fig. 1D) and 21% (n = 4, Fig. 1E) increased HSP 20 protein expression compared to LNA alone in rat aortic smooth muscle cells and rat aortic vessels, respectively. Functionally, LNA-NP treated tissue showed a 21% reduction in phenylephrine induced contraction relative to maximal 110 mM KCl-induced contraction (n = 4, Fig. 1F). Rat aorta treated with LNA-NPs also showed increased relaxation within the vessels to sodium nitroprusside by 8.1% (n=4, Fig. 1F). In sum, this approach allowed inhibition of miR-320 and direct modulation of HSP 20 in a translationally relevant organ culture model of vascular disease. Future studies will focus on inhibiting miR-320 in human saphenous vein ex vivo and in a pre-clinical model of SAH after systemic delivery.

Objective The human saphenous vein (HSV) is the most effective conduit for infrainguinal peripheral bypass grafting. Optimal vein graft preparation is critical to vein graft patency. Graft marking using surgical skin markers is detrimental to endothelial and smooth muscle function of the graft. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of FD&amp;C Brilliant Blue No. 1 (FCF) as an alternative for vein graft marking. Methods Segments of HSV were collected after typical harvest and graft preparation. The tissues were cut into rings and either left unmarked or marked with FCF (2.6 mM). The functional viability of the rings was determined in a muscle bath. Results Marking with FCF did not impair contractility of the smooth muscle (Figure 1A). Contractility was restored in HSV segments that had no functional contractile responses after harvest and preparation (Figure 1B). To determine the mechanism of this protective effect of FCF, purinergic receptors were activated with BzATP with and without pre-incubation with FCF (50μM) or a purinergic receptor antagonist (oATP, control) and the rise in [Ca 2+ ] i was measured. FCF and oATP reduced the BZATP-evoked rise in [Ca 2+ ] i (Figure 1C), suggesting that the salutary effects of FCF were due to inhibition of a P2X or P2Y receptor. Conclusions FCF is a non-toxic alternative to surgical skin markers that antagonizes purinergic receptors in HSV. FCF restored functional viability to injured vascular smooth muscle. FCF may protect HSV against injury-elicited ‘danger’ signals such as extracellular ATP that is released during injury-induced preparation.

In this case study, research was conducted in an integrated preschool setting, which included children with a variety of disabilities as well as children who were considered to be typically developing. “Jay,” the subject of this study, was a 3-year-old boy who, at 2 years of age, had been diagnosed as having autism and a “global delay,” meaning he had a delay in all areas of development. Participant observation research was used in this study. Play skills were taught in a structured teaching method, which was modeled after Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children, otherwise known as division TEACCH. Researchers sought answers to questions such as, “If play strategies are taught (such as how to play with age-appropriate toys), what would be the effect on social interaction of the autistic child with typically developing peers?” Observations were conducted during structured teaching, free choice play time, and group activities. At the end of the nine-week period, the data were analyzed by looking at the patterns and categories that emerged. In assessing the results of teaching play strategies in an integrated preschool setting, significant changes were observed in how Jay engaged in social play with adults and peers.