Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

Participation is a crucial part of learning. It is important for students to express their opinions and ask questions to enhance their knowledge of the topic. The current study is a longitudinal naturalistic observational study of ten different classrooms at Kent State over a period of five weeks. We hypothesize that students will participate more in upper division compared to lower division classes. Data collection is ongoing and will conclude in the middle of March.

DESIGN

As a senior fashion design major, this research project was conducted in the form of a senior collection. The thesis collection explores the relationship between architecture and fashion design; investigating the challenges of creating garments with sculptural and architectural forms. In order to explore the relationship between fashion design and architecture, it was first necessary to gain an understanding of the field of architecture, including historical movements and governing rules and principles. With a basic understanding of the field, comparisons were made between the process of designing buildings and garments, identifying characteristics of the design process that overlap across the two industries. The approach to designing garments started with analyzing the forms of various buildings and posing the questions, “What if this form was placed on the human body? How could it be adapted for movement?” A key component to designing clothing based on architecture is the selection of materiality. Research was conducted to evaluate which fabrics and construction techniques were best suited to achieve structure and body. Two rounds of muslins were created to test and revise each garment’s construction. The final collection is a reflection of thorough research and experimentation on the study of integrating the fields of fashion design and architecture.

Down Syndrome is a complex developmental disorder resulting from the triplication of human chromosome 21. There are many phenotypes of Down Syndrome including distinct facial features, slow wound healing, and intellectual disability. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these phenotypes is limited. Here, we used fibroblasts from individuals that are apparently healthy (euploid fibroblasts) and have Down Syndrome (T21 fibroblasts) to examine changes in cellular morphology and adhesion. We found that there was a significant increase in area and perimeter of the T21 fibroblasts. Because cellular morphology is regulated by adhesion complexes, we next examined focal adhesions, which link the extracellular matrix to the intracellular cytoskeleton. Focal adhesions are made up of many proteins, including paxillin, receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1), vinculin, and talin. We found that all of these proteins were significantly increased in T21 fibroblasts. This implies that there are more focal adhesions in Down Syndrome, which affects cellular morphology and motility. We are currently knocking-down the expression of RACK1 and paxillin to determine if this can rescue the cellular morphology defects in T21 fibroblasts. Notably, these results also have implications for neurons, which use similar mechanisms to regulate cell motility. We have previously demonstrated that overexpression of adhesion proteins in neurons results in decreased axon length, and this could alter neuronal connectivity and contribute to the intellectual disability phenotype of Down Syndrome. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the altered morphology and adhesion in Down syndrome provides important knowledge about multiple phenotypes of this disorder.

Introduction: The impact of current abortion legislation is of concern to many Ohioans and their health care providers. Abortion Regulation changed during the 132cd Ohio Congress. This project seeks to understand the themes regarding changes in abortion regulation in Ohio and the potential health impact on those seeking abortion as an important first step in developing an evidence based approach to patient care.

Methods: A literature review including a selective Legiscan search, two independent CINAHL searches and a Google Scholar search were analyzed for historical significance and identification of themes.

Results: Ohio legislation has been consistent with other states regarding regulation of abortion. Recent changes moved Ohio to a more restrictive regulatory approach. Impact of these legislative requirements is emerging. Themes related to the provision of health care include: social determinants, access, safety of woman and child, contraception, regulatory barriers, mental health, and stratified legitimacy.

Discussion: Abortion rates in Ohio have decreased since 2014. The cause of the decrease and the impact of recent legislation is unknown. Health literature identifies that negative emotional, financial and physical outcomes remain consistent in families who seek abortion in the face of prescriptive regulation.

Conclusion: Regulation of abortion has mental health, physical and financial consequences on the families of Ohio. Understanding the lived experience of women facing the decision of abortion is a next step in understanding the health related sequale secondary to that regulation.

Key words: (abortion, regulation, law, impact, health, consequences)