Analysis of the Boston University test of hearing sounds in words,

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Associations Between Cannabis, Psychosis, and Schizophrenia in Adolescents

The effects of cannabis use on the brain, mind, and body have been studied for decades. The developing brain, particularly the adolescent and young adult brain, undergoes critical development that makes it especially susceptible to the effects of cannabis use. Among the adverse effects of cannabis use in adolescence and young adulthood, psychosis and psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) have been examined. The association of cannabis use with schizophrenia was first elucidated in a Swedish study of army conscripts. Specifically, conscripts reported their cannabis use exposure and were followed longitudinally to assess the emergence of schizophrenia. The authors found that those who reported persistent cannabis use during adolescence had higher rates of schizophrenia diagnoses. Notwithstanding this correlation, a causal relationship has not yet been established between adolescent cannabis use and schizophrenia. Some believe that in the premorbid phase of schizophrenia, one may self-medicate with cannabis, accounting for the correlational relationship. However, this evidence is not supported by the literature. Prolonged, frequent use of exogenous cannabinoids such as phytocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids perturb the endocannabinoid system, particularly during the critical period of adolescence. Many researchers believe this perturbation contributes to psychosis and the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In this review, I demonstrate how cannabis may contribute to symptoms of psychosis and associated with diagnoses of schizophrenia. PubMed and Google Scholar were used with the following search terms cannabis-induced psychosis AND schizophrenia. These search terms were narrowed by clicking on adolescent. Also, based on the diathesis-stress model, I explored how cannabis may be one of many neurological insults leading to the onset of schizophrenia. In the future, research should be conducted focusing on other drugs as a trigger for schizophrenia

Exploring the Relationship Between Maladaptive Daydreaming and Adverse Childhood Experiences

This study explores the intricate relationship between maladaptive daydreaming (MD) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). MD, characterized by immersive daydreaming that may disrupt daily functioning, has garnered attention as a potential coping mechanism for trauma. ACEs encompass a range of traumatic experiences, such as abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction, which have been associated with various mental health challenges. Using the MD Scale (MDS-16) and the ACEs scale, data were collected from a sample of N = 386 individuals. Significant positive correlations were found between MD and specific ACEs, including verbal abuse, mental illness or suicide, sexual abuse, and physical neglect. Regression analyses revealed that individuals with higher levels of ACEs were more likely to engage in MD. The relationship between ACEs and MD may involve MD serving as a psychological escape or coping strategy for the emotional and psychological impacts of trauma. Conversely, separation or divorce was found to have a negative association with MD scores, suggesting that different types of ACEs may affect MD tendencies differently. These findings highlight the importance of addressing childhood trauma in interventions targeting MD behaviors. Future research should delve deeper into the specific types of ACEs and their differential impacts on MD to better inform targeted interventions. This study highlights the critical role of childhood experiences in shaping MD behaviors and emphasizes the need for trauma-informed approaches in clinical practice

Examining Coping Skills, Anxiety, and Depression Dynamics Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

This cross-sectional study, conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, delves into the intricate connections between coping strategies and levels of anxiety and depression, presenting vital implications for medical, clinical, and broader societal contexts. As crises like the pandemic highlight the importance of adaptive coping, this investigation underscores the imperative to comprehend and address maladaptive coping strategies. The study utilized a diverse sample of 386 participants during the pandemic's peak, employing online platforms for recruitment and ensuring broad demographic representation. Data were collected through self-report measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) for depression and anxiety symptoms and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) inventory to assess coping skills across various domains. The coping skills assessment measured strategies such as Self-Distraction, Active Coping, Denial, Substance Use, Emotional and Instrumental Support, Behavioral Disengagement, Venting, Positive Reframing, Planning, Humor, Acceptance, Religion, and Self-Blame. The Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board prioritized and approved ethical considerations, and participants provided informed consent. Data analysis involved rigorous cleaning, recoding, and quantitative analysis using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, regression analyses, and correlation analyses were employed to uncover nuanced relationships between coping strategies and mental health outcomes, contributing to understanding the phenomena under investigation within the context of the pandemic. The findings highlight the pivotal role of individualized approaches and the potential of humor as an essential coping mechanism, emphasizing the need for tailored interventions during crises

\u3ci\u3eJust a Moment\u3c/i\u3e Vol 2, No 35

Just a Moment volume 2, number 35 advertising a revival at the Church of Christ at Ola, Texas, with George Bailey as evangelist and Emmett Long, Jr. as song leader. Date of creation is estimated

The outcome and impact evaluation of Concern Worldwide community feeding program in Nyanga Distrcit, Zimbabwe

This study is an outcome and impact evaluation of Concern Worldwide (CW) community feeding program. Concern Worldwide conducted a community feeding program in Nyanga District in 2012. It was responding to the National Food Report (2011) issued by the government on the food shortages in Nyanga District. The feeding program supported Nyanga communities with nutritional supplements and food provisions to households. The goal of Concern Worldwide was to address the problems of hunger, household food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty which were affecting people in Nyanga. Four evaluation questions about program outcomes were used as a framework for the evaluation and included: How feasible are livelihood feeding schemes as methods of providing food safety net?; How are short-term emergency programmes converted into long term benefits for communities?; What are the interventions available in the program to ensure fulfilment of goals and community empowerment?; What lessons can be derived from the projects that can be used in future by Concern Worldwide and other NGOs involved in emergency and other developmental projects? For the purposes of the study three data sources were consulted. These included program documents, CW officials and beneficiaries. Data collection methods used included face to face interviews and both closed and open ended questionnaires. The qualitative data was analysed through content analysis and presented graphically and descriptively. The findings showed that the community feeding program made some impact through food provisions and agriculture inputs to the beneficiaries which was highly regarded and appreciated. It also managed to provide training on drought resistant crop farming and management of harvests. Monitoring and evaluation of the feeding program was identified as a critical tool in creating efficiency and accountability of the program. Although training was provided to all the beneficiaries, not all were directly involved in the daily routine activities of the program a goal that is not achievable in the context of community feeding program

Scaling up vaccine production through ‘copying exactly’

Waiving intellectual property rights and donating vaccines are not enough to vaccinate the world quickly, write Arnab Acharya, Aaron Moment (Columbia), Sanjay Reddy (The New School) and Venkat Venkatasubramanian (Columbia). The solution is to scale up production by sharing production methods freely, giving companies a financial incentive where necessary

"Holy Handstands"

It (art) isn't any more or less important than any other part of my life or of my twenty - four hour day-- I can't justify it. It is what I like to do. It keeps me satisfied. When someone asks me what I do, I can say proudly that I am an artist. I am proud of that fact because it keeps me satisfied. All that I value in art cannot be talked about. It is the magic, the mystery, the invisible - -that which I have never seen before, that which I have always known, that which takes one's breath away, that which makes one's eyes dilate. If one could explain a mystery, there wouldn't be any. A poem might come closer, but a poem is a poem and art is art. &nbsp;</p

Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino cross section with IceCube using Earth absorption

Neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating. However, the theoretical neutrino-nucleon interaction cross section rises with energy such that, at energies above 40 TeV, neutrinos are expected to be absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross section has been measured only at the relatively low energies (below 400 GeV) available at neutrino beams from accelerators \cite{Agashe:2014kda, Formaggio:2013kya}. Here we report the first measurement of neutrino absorption in the Earth, using a sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons observed with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that follows shorter trajectories through the Earth. Using a fit to the two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the cross section for neutrino energies between 6.3 TeV and 980 TeV, more than an order of magnitude higher in energy than previous measurements. The measured cross section is $1.30^{+0.21}_{-0.19}$ (stat.) $^{+0.39}_{-0.43}$ (syst.) times the prediction of the Standard Model \cite{CooperSarkar:2011pa}, consistent with the expectation for charged and neutral current interactions. We do not observe a dramatic increase in the cross section, expected in some speculative models, including those invoking new compact dimensions \cite{AlvarezMuniz:2002ga} or the production of leptoquarks \cite{Romero:2009vu}.Comment: Preprint version of Nature paper 10.1038/nature2445

Bayesian Adaptive Spectrum Estimation: Long AR models and Fast Kalman filters

Adaptive spectrum estimation is based on a local stationarity assumption for the studied process, and uses methods of the stationary case with data windows of reduced length, But conventional least squares methods and parsimony principle (for example Akaïke's criterion) preclude use of long AR models necessary for a good spectral resolution . We developed a Bayesian adaptive spectrum estimation method using long AR models and normal prior distributions expressing a smoothness priors on the solution . This is now a classical approach to spectrum estimation . The main originality of our approach lies in the order choice and in the computation of the solution wich is performed by a fast Kalman filter of the Chandrasekhar type with a reduced complexity of 0 (p) per recursion, p being the model order . The likelihood of the regularizing factor which weights the smoothness priors is maximized to obtain the best data-dependent priors and is computed recursively as a by product of our fast Kalman filter, which facilitates the determination of the hyperparameters . The method performances are illustrated by examples of adaptive spectrum estimation for simulated signais .L'hypothèse d'une stationnarité locale du processus étudié est à la base de l'analyse spectrale adaptative qui utilise des méthodes issues du cas stationnaire avec des fenêtres d'analyse de longueur réduite . Mais le choix usuel de méthodes d'estimation des moindres-carrés interdit l'utilisation de modèles autorégressifs (AR) longs pourtant nécessaires à une bonne résolution . Nous avons développé une méthode bayésienne utilisant un modèle AR long dont les paramètres ont une loi a priori normale traduisant un a priori de douceur sur la solution . Cette approche est devenue classique en statistique bayésienne . La principale originalité de notre méthode réside dans le choix de l'ordre p du modèle et dans le calcul de la solution qui est effectué en associant un modèle d'état au problème et en utilisant un filtre de Kalman rapide obtenu par factorisation de Chandrasekhar . La complexité numérique de la méthode est de 0 (p) par récursion . Un autre avantage de la méthode réside dans le fait que le filtre de Kalman permet le calcul en ligne de la log-vraisemblance du coefficient de régularisation qui règle l'équilibre entre l'a priori et les données . Cette propriété facilite la détermination de sa valeur optimale à partir des données. L'article est illustré par une apllication de la méthode aux signaux-tests élaborés par le groupe de travail « Analyse Spectrale » du Gréco « Systèmes Adaptatifs » du CNRS