Questimonial: Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children\u27s Crusade, A Graphic Novel Adaptation

The novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is often hailed as a classic anti-war novel due to its realistic portrayal of the devastation caused by war. But its creative use of fantastical elements from science fiction also show how trauma can “unstick” a human being from the natural order of things. The graphic novel adaptation, written by Ryan North with art by Albert Monteys, was published in 2020 and brings with it a fresh new way to enjoy this classic.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/questimonials/1000/thumbnail.jp

Digital Commons Report for Fiscal Years 2017-18 Through 2019-20

This report studies the growth of Ursinus College\u27s institutional repository over a three year period. It includes readership statistics, growth activity and a collections analysis. It also discusses opportunities for the repository to support the curriculum and mission of Ursinus College

E-Resource Collection Development: A Survey of Current Practices in Academic Libraries

The extent of e-resources available for libraries to purchase is overwhelming. This survey examined how libraries are managing their e-collections. The authors looked at how collection development decisions are made; the role of librarians, administrators, faculty, students, and consortia; and what criteria are being used. The authors finish with suggestions for best practices

COMPARING JUMP HEIGHT ESTIMATED FROM A VIRTUAL REALITY HEAD-MOUNTED-DISPLAY AND A FORCE PLATE

This study aims to determine the accuracy in measuring jump height by using a head-mounted display (HMD) compared to a force plate and a standard optical motion capture system. A total of 178 counter movement jumps were recorded. Results reveal a high correlation (r = 0.86) between HMD and force plate measurements, with a significant bias of 6.7 cm. Regarding the HMD’s spatial tracking ability, results demonstrated a very high correlation (r=0.99) and a minimal bias of 0.3 cm compared to motion capture. Our preliminary data suggest that varying head orientation during jumping potentially influence jump height measured via an HMD. Results underscore the idea of using HMD for jump assessment, but more specific algorithms are needed for accurately assess of jump height solely by an HMD

The relationship between lgbtq identity, service utilization, and mental health and substance use impairment over time among homeless youth

Homeless youth who identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) face considerable issues including victimization, mental health needs, and substance use, yet are less likely than their heterosexual, cisgender homeless peers to utilize services. Although research in this area is growing, studies are largely cross-sectional and tend to focus on the experiences and service use of homeless youth in drop-in or emergency shelters, instead of longer-term transitional living programs (TLPs). Therefore, the purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to examine the differences in sociodemographic characteristics, victimization, mental health and substance use histories, and service utilization patterns by LGBTQ identity of homeless youth in a TLP, and 2) explore the relationships between their LGBTQ identity, service utilization, and mental health and substance use impairment over time. This study used secondary longitudinal data, which I extracted from the closed case files of runaway and homeless youth (N = 101) between the ages of 16 and 20 who accessed services in a mid-Michigan TLP between 2011 and 2018. I used independent sample t-tests and Chi-square to assess differences by LGBTQ identity in sociodemographic characteristics, victimization, mental health, and substance use histories. I used multilevel modeling (MLM) to examine the relationship between LGBTQ identity, service utilization and mental health and substance use impairment over time. LGBTQ homeless youth in this sample were more likely than their heterosexual, cisgender homeless peers to identity as female, report being sexually victimized, and have greater mental health-related issues. Overall, youth underutilized available services, but LGBTQ youth had higher mental health impairment at intake and their use of services did not reflect this difference. LGBTQ identity was associated with increased mental health impairment at intake, but not substance use impairment at intake. LGBTQ identity was not associated with a change in mental health or substance use impairment over time. Number of months in the program was inversely related to mental health and substance use impairment over time, regardless of LGBTQ identity. Utilization of substance use treatment was associated with a decrease in mental health and substance use impairment over time for all youth. Finally, average number of clinical sessions per week was inversely related to substance use impairment over time for both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ youth, but no relationship was found between average number of clinical sessions per week and mental health impairment over time. The findings from this exploratory study confirm the vulnerability of LGBTQ homeless youth in TLPs and provide essential information regarding service utilization for homeless youth practitioners and policy makers including the need for trauma-informed and LGBTQ-specific services. Additionally, the data suggest that service providers must engage and encourage youth participation in services that are offered within TLPs. Future studies should include larger and more diverse samples of homeless LGBTQ youth in TLPs, examine youth experiences sequentially in relation to identity disclosure, and include youth perception of the usefulness of services within TLPs.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Social Work, 2019Includes bibliographical references (pages 108-119

Correlation chemical shift imaging with low-power adiabatic pulses and constant-density spiral trajectories

In this work we introduce the concept of correlation chemical shift imaging (CCSI). Novel CCSI pulse sequences are demonstrated on clinical scanners for two-dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy (COSY) and Total Correlation Spectroscopy (TOCSY) imaging experiments. To date there has been limited progress reported towards a feasible and robust multivoxel 2D COSY. Localized 2D TOCSY imaging is shown for the first time in this work. Excitation with adiabatic GOIA-W(16,4) pulses (Gradient Offset Independent Adiabaticity Wurst modulation) provides minimal chemical shift displacement error, reduced lipid contamination from subcutaneous fat, uniform optimal flip angles, and efficient mixing for coupled spins, while enabling short repetition times due to low power requirements. Constant-density spiral readout trajectories are used to acquire simultaneously two spatial dimensions and f2 frequency dimension in (kx,ky,t2) space in order to speed up data collection, while f1 frequency dimension is encoded by consecutive time increments of t1 in (kx,ky,t1,t2) space. The efficient spiral sampling of the k-space enables the acquisition of a single-slice 2D COSY dataset with an 8 × 8 matrix in 8:32 min on 3 T clinical scanners, which makes it feasible for in vivo studies on human subjects. Here we present the first results obtained on phantoms, human volunteers and patients with brain tumors. The patient data obtained by us represent the first clinical demonstration of a feasible and robust multivoxel 2D COSY. Compared to the 2D J-resolved method, 2D COSY and TOCSY provide increased spectral dispersion which scales up with increasing main magnetic field strength and may have improved ability to unambiguously identify overlapping metabolites. It is expected that the new developments presented in this work will facilitate in vivo application of 2D chemical shift correlation MRS in basic science and clinical studies.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant R01 1200-206456)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant R01 EB007942)Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Siemens-MIT Alliance

A Survey of Methods for Volumetric Scene Reconstruction from Photographs

Scene reconstruction, the task of generating a 3D model of a scene given multiple 2D photographs taken of the scene, is an old and difficult problem in computer vision. Since its introduction, scene reconstruction has found application in many fields, including robotics, virtual reality, and entertainment. Volumetric models are a natural choice for scene reconstruction. Three broad classes of volumetric reconstruction techniques have been developed based on geometric intersections, color consistency, and pair-wise matching. Some of these techniques have spawned a number of variations and undergone considerable refinement. This paper is a survey of techniques for volumetric scene reconstruction