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This study looks at Purdue University's Integrated First-Year Experience of Design Thinking in Technology, Fundamentals of Speech Communication, and First-Year Composition and its effects on oral communication. We examined whether this three-course integration inspired by writing-across-the-curriculum and communication-across-the-curriculum would lead students to develop more effective oral communication skills than a nonintegrated course. Frameworks for 21st century skills and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2017) have pinpointed the importance of oral and written communication skills and initiatives. Still, research has produced mixed results on how well universities are preparing students for the workplace. Our study investigated whether the integrated program had better end-of-semester group oral presentations than student groups enrolled only in our Design Thinking in Technology course. A quasi-experimental design and post-only analysis revealed that integrated sections has more effective oral presentations than the nonintegrated sections.

Much recent STEM research indicates that course integration improves the student learning experience and fosters stronger connections among concepts and skills; this study attempts to evaluate whether or not students learn the design process more fully in the integrated version of a required first-year course, Design Thinking in Technology. Drawing from an ongoing assessment of an Integrated First-Year Experience at Purdue University, this article reports on the challenges of teaching design thinking and analyzes whether students in an interdisciplinary course integration can demonstrate the work of their design processes more completely and effectively compared to students in a non-integrated version of the course. We employ a modified version of the Engineering Design Process Portfolio Scoring Rubric (EDPPSR) as a method of evaluating students' design portfolios. Our initial and follow-up analyses show that students in both versions of the course struggle to complete design journal assignments satisfactorily. We assess and analyze the impact of STEM-humanities integration on students' abilities to document and contextualize the design process using journals, and also offer discussion and suggestions about our findings.

Sex trafficking is the fastest‐growing organized criminal activity. Trafficking organizations are driven by profit and provide a service due to existing demand. We examined the feasibility of applying risk assessment methods to understand the problem of sex trafficking from a systems perspective. Focusing on Indiana, we recruited and trained subject matter experts (SMEs) in risk assessment methodologies utilized in Six Sigma (SS); specifically Cause and Effect (C&E) Matrix and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). The research team developed a sex trafficking business process map (BPM) and prioritized activities by applying a C&E Matrix to identify the process steps with the potential for disruption. The most common failure modes (FMEA) identified by the SMEs included the trafficker or customer being caught followed by the victim being rescued. We conclude that an SS risk assessment approach is a viable framework in understanding the system of sex trafficking. Limitations and future research suggestions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify novel late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) risk genes, we have analysed Amish populations of Ohio and Indiana. We performed genome-wide SNP linkage and association studies on 798 individuals (109 with LOAD). We tested association using the Modified Quasi-Likelihood Score test and also performed two-point and multipoint linkage analyses. We found that LOAD was significantly associated with APOE ( P= 9.0 × 10-6) in all our ascertainment regions except for the Adams County, Indiana, community ( P= 0.55). Genome-wide, the most strongly associated SNP was rs12361953 ( P= 7.92 × 10-7). A very strong, genome-wide significant multipoint peak [recessive heterogeneity multipoint LOD (HLOD) = 6.14, dominant HLOD = 6.05] was detected on 2p12. Three additional loci with multipoint HLOD scores >3 were detected on 3q26, 9q31 and 18p11. Converging linkage and association results, the most significantly associated SNP under the 2p12 peak was at rs2974151 ( P= 1.29 × 10-4). This SNP is located in CTNNA2, which encodes catenin alpha 2, a neuronal-specific catenin known to have function in the developing brain. These results identify CTNNA2 as a novel candidate LOAD gene, and implicate three other regions of the genome as novel LOAD loci. These results underscore the utility of using family-based linkage and association analyses in isolated populations to identify novel loci for traits with complex genetic architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avoiding disease, maintaining physical and cognitive function, and continued social engagement in long-lived individuals describe successful aging (SA). Mitochondrial lineages described by patterns of common genetic variants ('haplogroups') have been associated with increased longevity in different populations. We investigated the influence of mitochondrial haplogroups on SA in an Amish community sample. Cognitively intact volunteers aged ≥80 years ( n = 261) were enrolled in a door-to-door survey of Amish communities in Indiana and Ohio. Individuals scoring in the top third for lower extremity function, needing little assistance with self-care tasks, having no depression symptoms, and expressing high life satisfaction were considered SA ( n = 74). The remainder ( n = 187) were retained as controls. These individuals descend from 51 matrilines in a single 13-generation pedigree. Mitochondrial haplogroups were assigned using the ten mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) defining the nine most common European haplogroups. An additional 17 mtSNPs from a genome-wide association panel were also investigated. Associations between haplogroups, mtSNPs, and SA were determined by logistic regression models accounting for sex, age, body mass index, and matriline via generalized estimating equations. SA cases were more likely to carry Haplogroup X (OR = 7.56, p = 0.0015), and less likely to carry Haplogroup J (OR = 0.40, p = 0.0003). Our results represent a novel association of Haplogroup X with SA and suggest that variants in the mitochondrial genome may promote maintenance of both physical and cognitive function in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]