Luke Neuhedel Foundation

Abstract Date Presented 04/05/2025 This research study examined the impact of an OT-led aerial yoga program on interoceptive awareness and emotional regulation among youth. The study identifies a potential intervention for OTPs to use. Primary Author and Speaker: Isabella Koutsantanou Additional Authors and Speakers: Kelly Lavin, Maria Cerase McKeon

Throughout the history of the United States religious fundamentalism has played a pivotal role in shaping its future. Evangelical Christians have historically been shown to be one of the most prominent religious influences on American governance. From the early days of white settlement of indigenous lands to the political mobilization of Evangelicals in the 1970s Evangelicals discourse has undoubtedly proven to hold strong institutional significance. With Evangelicals making up 25.4% (Religion, 2022) of the population extensive research has been conducted to determine Evangelical political opinion. Despite this documentation, research on individual Evangelical justification is lacking in the general body of knowledge. Through the use of a survey using political polling data followed up with open ended explanation questions, trends with secular and religious justifications were identified. While a small sample size may hinder the conclusiveness of this study, conclusions regarding trends in Evangelical response to gay marriage can be seen as polling data that reflects the general academic consensus. The findings of this survey will serve as a catalyst for further research not only into justifications for Evangelical political opinion but for further research into polling data on underlying justifications for voters in general.

The chapter summarizes current knowledge about the brain structures involved in fear in animals and humans. The periaqueductal gray of the brain stem is the most primitive structure known to be involved in defensive and fear-related behavior in animals and fear in humans. The basal ganglia are also involved in defensive and fear-related behavior in animals, but their role in human fear is not clear. As the chapter explains, the amygdala, which is a part of the limbic system, is the neural nexus of fear in the brain, and it appears to be the primary source of fear in mammals, including humans. Fear as we know it may not have existed before the evolution of the amygdala. The amygdala generates fear as part of its function to assess potential threats of physical harm and to warn us about them. The chapter explains how the amygdala, which is said to operate under the “better safe than sorry principle,” tends to over-react to ambiguous stimuli as if they are threats, and therefore, produces fear even when something may not actually pose a threat of harm. This over-reaction can be countered by the prefrontal cortex, which makes it own threat assessments and can suppress the fear generated by the amygdala if it decides the fear is not justified.

This article discusses statistical measures of variability in relation to measures of central tendency and levels of measurement. Three measures of variability used in healthcare research (the range, the interquartile range, and the standard deviation) are described and compared, including their uses and limitations. The article describes how each of the three measures is calculated, and it provides a step-by-step example of calculating the sums of squares, variance, and standard deviation. Graphs of frequency and percentage distributions are used to show how the interquartile range and the standard deviation represent the variability observed within distributions. The article discusses the properties of the normal curve regarding the distribution of scores around the mean in relation to the standard deviation, and illustrates differences in the shapes of normal curves with the same mean but different standard deviations.

The patient is placed in an upright position, and the injection sites are cleansed with alcohol pads. EMLA cream can be applied to the areas of injection. Local anesthesia is typically not utilized. More experienced practitioners will modify injections to suit patient needs and anatomic variation for best results. Lateral canthal rhytids are evaluated with the patient smiling and squinting. Immediately after the application of Botox, the patient is kept seated, and ice is applied to the treated areas for 10–15 minutes. The patient is asked to not rub or manipulate the injection sites as this may redistribute the Botox into undesirable locations. Facial cosmetic patients typically receive between 25 and 100 units of Botox at 3–6-month intervals. Men typically require more units of Botox than women due to their increased muscle mass and larger brows.

This article summarizes the major types of research designs used in healthcare research, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies. Observational studies are divided into survey studies (descriptive and correlational studies), case-studies and analytic studies, the last of which are commonly used in epidemiology: case-control, retrospective cohort, and prospective cohort studies. Similarities and differences among the research designs are described and the relative strength of evidence they provide is discussed. Emphasis is placed on five criteria for drawing causal inferences that are derived from the writings of the philosopher John Stuart Mill, especially his methods or canons. The application of the criteria to experimentation is explained. Particular attention is given to the degree to which different designs meet the five criteria for making causal inferences. Examples of specific studies that have used various designs in chaplaincy research are provided.

Abstract Autistic disorders are a set of complex syndromes that lead to challenges impacting communication, behavior repertoire, and social skills. The etiology of autism is unknown but is likely epigenetic in nature. It is likely associated with an inflammatory process leading to neuroinflammation in early childhood. Autistic disorders include seizures in approximately one-third of the cases and there are often regions of brain dysfunction associated with neural connectivity anomalies. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is presented as a premiere tool to assess these difficulties due to its' non-invasive nature, availability and utility in detailing these difficulties. Techniques for seizure detection, monitoring, and tracing their propagation are shown. Similar approaches can then be utilized for assessing EEG oscillations, which are at the heart of these neuronal regulation dysfunctions. Autistic disorders are clearly associated with regions of dysfunction and quantitative electroencephalogram strategies for assessing these impairments are shown. These include techniques for increasing the specificity and spatial resolution of the EEG such as source localization and independent components analysis. Lastly, advanced methods for assessing the neural connectivity problems that underlie the difficulties of these children are presented. EEG assessment, when processed and analyzed with the most advanced techniques, can be invaluable in the evaluation of autistic disorders.