The study of neonatal neuroanatomy is a complex field because of the rapid changes occurring continuously. The physical development of tissues is critical to understanding the cognitive development of behavior and learning in the neonate. These structures can be visualized and analyzed with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The hippocampal structure in particular is vital to memory consolidation and is therefore key to understanding how newborns build upon acquired knowledge and how this affects their behavior as they grow. This strucure has been studied at many different ages with parallel work analyzing how changes in anatomy result in observable cognitive differences and developments. This study in particular has a rare cohort of scans that were taken shortly after birth. Prematurity is an especially important factor to consider here as it affects physical and behavioral growth. Here we looked at 42 premature MRI subjects and used these to build a temporal model of brain development. Our primary aims of the study are to: (1) develop a protocol for labeling the hippocampus in premature neonate scans, (2) create a growth over time model of the structure in order to automatically segment a larger number of scans and (3) observe how volume varies with behavior as projected by Bayley's Scale of Infant and Toddler Development. So far aim 1 has been achieved and current work is increasing the previous atlas size of 32 scans to 42 in order to improve automatic segmentation. The overarching goal of premature neonatal MRI segmentation is to provide further data for early diagnosis of behavior abnormalities that could develop later in the subject. Results here could produce a meaningful indicator of cognitive development through MRI analysis as well as assist in improving the accuracy of MRI automatic segmentation algorithms. 

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria (AOA, AOB) are important contributors to soil ecosystem function, as they convert nitrogen (N) as ammonium (NH4+) into nitrate (NO3-), a more readily available form for plant uptake. This study examines the abundance of AOA and AOB in forest soils of the Pacific Northwest that have experienced wildfire 31, 7, and 5 years previously. Charcoal, a common residue of wildfire, may play a significant role in stimulating nitrification in soils, possibly by adsorbing monoterpenes that may inhibit mono-oxegynase activity in nitrifying organisms. The goal of this study was twofold. We first hypothesized that charcoal would increase the quantity and quality of AOB and/or AOA in wildfire-affected soils. To test this hypothesis, we extracted and compared DNA between burned and unburned sites using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). We expect to find a greater abundance of AOA and AOB nucleotides in the burned sites indicated by qPCR, and a larger array of species indicated by DGGE analysis. Secondly, we will introduce monoterpenes (α-pinene) into soils with charcoal present, and soils void of charcoal to assess the interaction between the terpenes and charcoal surfaces. We hypothesize that the addition of terpene will readily adsorb onto charcoal surfaces. Therefore, burned soils will show reduced nitrification inhibition compared to soils without charcoal present and result in higher nitrification rates. These data will be matched with an assessment of the AOA and AOB from the burned and unburned soils, with and without the addition of charcoal in order to reach a better understanding of wildfire effects on forest soils.

Pain catastrophizing has been associated with increased pain experience and expression in children with chronic pain. Parental catastrophizing about child pain has been associated with increased parental distress and overprotection. This study sought to understand how catastrophizing might be reflected in pain-related parent-child communication. 70 children with chronic abdominal pain and their mothers participated. Mothers and children independently completed child- and parent-report versions of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Dyads then conversed for 10 minutes about the child’s pain. Conversations were audio-recorded, transcribed and reduced using a linguistic analysis program. Dependent variables were the percentage of negative affect words uttered, including anxiety, sad and angry words such as worried, grief and mad, respectively. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model assessing the effects of role (mother versus child) and catastrophizing on the percentage of negative affect words uttered during the conversation. Main effects of role emerged for the higher level category of negative emotion words and the subcategory of sad words (p values < .001), such that mothers uttered more of these words than did children. A main effect of catastrophizing also emerged for negative emotion words, such that those higher in catastrophizing uttered more negative emotion words than did those lower in catastrophizing, regardless of role (p < .01). The analysis for anger words was more complex, yielding role x actor and role x partner interactions (p values < .05). In essence, maternal catastrophizing was positively associated with both maternal and child anger word usage, whereas child catastrophizing was inversely associated with maternal anger word usage. Findings extend the literature on behavioral and interpersonal correlates of catastrophizing. Future research is needed to fully elucidate parent-child interactional patterns in the context of chronic pain. Findings could inform the design of cognitive-behavioral interventions aimed at reducing symptoms and disability.

I explore the role of Philosophy for Children (P4C) and critical pedagogy in middle-school education and argue that P4C is a crucial component of an emancipatory education. A critical P4C is necessary to provide students what education ought to provide, that is moral reasoning skills, tools for thinking, and ability to engage in discourse. Proponents often justify P4C claims that philosophy lessons in K-12 education by demonstrating the improvement of outcomes in other subjects and gains in cognitive skills. Instead, I argue for an intrinsic value to engaging in philosophy with children. Critical pedagogy, and the methods developed within its framework, are helpful here to examine the structure of educational practice and its role in dehumanization, which "is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human"; critical pedagogy is intended to be a tool for both the oppressors and the oppressed to become aware of their dehumanization. First, I justify P4C by showing that precollege students can understand and engage in philosophical discussion using academic references and my own experience working with middle-school students at the Ivy School in Portland, Oregon. Next I examine the philosophical influences of P4C alongside critical pedagogy to show how they interact and compliment each other. Lastly, I envision pedagogical techniques for carrying out Critical P4C in the classroom. Implementing critical P4C has the capacity to create communities of inquiry around questions of agency and freedom that are central to critical pedagogy. Critical P4C offers strategies for engaging students in socio-political discussions and promises to break the boundaries between "school life" and the students' everyday life outside the classroom.

This project focused on redesigning the application and related sites for mPOWEr, a research project building a mobile post-operative wound evaluator to reduce surgical site infections. The redesign of the application’s overall aesthetic focused on improving usability and creating a more cohesive look. One of the major tasks in redesign was reimagining the patient-facing site. After brainstorming and interacting with the initial patient site, I realized the necessity of a distinct, categorized system for the website instead of a primarily single-document layout. I created basic wireframes, which turned into higher-fidelity prototypes, and eventually culminated in coding the live site. Through group critique, feedback, and continued iterations, the patient-site went through the steps of creative problem-solving to construct a cohesive identity for mPOWEr and provide compelling visuals that match the group’s purposes. After creating a new identity for the patient-facing site, similar design can be applied to the application itself, as well as other of marketing materials, to build cohesive aesthetic and distinctive design across all elements of the project.

While many community mental health agencies have shown increasing emphasis in the direction of evidence-based practices (EBP) for children’s mental health, most training efforts have not included consultation on intervention delivery following training. A rising body of evidence suggests that one-time training workshops do not provide enough support to sufficiently influence clinician adherence with respect to EBP delivery, and that ongoing expert consultation is vital for motivating providers towards satisfactory implementation. Though the literature outlines consultation broadly, the fundamental elements of consultation, to date, remain elusive, and further investigation into the underlying mechanisms of this critical training strategy is warranted. To investigate consultation, biweekly consultant-led call summary emails (N=73) generated by five Ph.D. level expert consultants following EBP trainings were examined via identification of thematic issues addressed among community therapists belonging to six-month-long training cohorts. To ensure inter-rater reliability—improving internal validity—three peer examiners were commissioned to offer concordant verification of identified themes in the coding process. Each coding team member independently reviewed summary transcriptions and developed a list of themes. These subcategory themes were evaluated, discussed, and consolidated by the coding team into a coding scheme for each subcategory. By the day of the symposium presentation, data analysis will reach completion and key findings will be reported. Prospective results may include emergent themes related to EBP delivery (i.e., frequently addressed clinical issues, therapeutic barriers to treatment, etc.) This study contributes to a larger effort of examining core consultation functions, which may have broad applicability in the assessment of the conceptual framework needed to best improve consultant-clinician training initiatives in community mental health.

Circadian rhythms are vital to maintaining proper mental health. This project seeks to determine whether or not cyclic fear stimuli has the ability to override the natural entrainment of the circadian system to the light-dark (LD) cycle. This work is significant because there are few environmental stimuli that are capable of overriding entrainment of circadian rhythms by the LD cycle (e.g., temperature cycles, temporally restricted food access). Our laboratory has shown that nocturnal cyclic fear stimuli are sufficient to induce a shift in the natural nocturnal foraging and feeding activity to diurnal activity. This reflects the output of an endogenous circadian clock that is entrained to the fear stimuli because the timing of these behavioral rhythms is sustained under constant conditions. Our experimental design involves three stages. First, mice are entrained to a 12:12 light-dark cycle over a seven-day period. Then, mice are subjected to random nocturnal footshocks for fourteen days. Finally, mice are released into constant conditions to determine if diurnal behavior is sustained. Future experiments will examine the role of the amygdala and suprachiasmatic nucleus in generating the nocturnal-to-diurnal shift in behavior. Ultimately, if we know how and why fear changes circadian behavior, then we can potentially create new treatments for sleep disturbances associated with mental disorders that result from trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.