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For Political Science majors who wish to pursue a UMBC faculty-led summer special sessions study abroad program in any area; awards are for $1,000 to be applied to the cost of the study    abroad program. Applications are due by April 15th  Apply Here 

• Arthur Johnson Transfer Scholarship

• – The scholarship is awarded to a student who has transferred from another college or university, is majoring in Political Science, has a minimum 3.00 UMBC cumulative GPA, and has at least 24 UMBC credits. The deadline is April15th to be considered for support in the following academic year. Financial support of $3,000-3,500 is anticipated. Applicants should apply through the Scholarship and Financial Aid Office and provide the following information with their application.
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The URCAD Selfie Contest Winner for Best Overall Selfie is Olivia Hutchinson! Olivia will receive a $100 gift card to the UMBC Bookstore.

Olivia took this selfie before the start of the poster session and sent it to her mom, who asked, "Are you nervous?" Her reply: "I don't know, do I look nervous??" Olivia, you were great, but we love your sense of humor!

Effects of Child Abuse and Acute Stress on the Experience of Emotion in People with Schizophrenia

Olivia Hutchinson, Psychology, Jacob Nudelman1, Eric Neutzling, Gabrielle Pakravan², Adriann Lai¹, Elie Holzel^1
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, ²University of Maryland, College Park
Raimi Quiton, Psychology; James Waltz, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Early-life adversity and psychosis can alter sensitivity to stimuli. We used images from the International Affective Pictures Set (IAPS) to examine how diagnosis and abuse history influence picture ratings under stress. We hypothesized that stress would heighten reactivity to unpleasant stimuli and reduce reactivity to pleasant ones.

52 people with schizophrenia (PSZ) and 32 healthy volunteers (HVs) performed the Emotional Experience Task (EET) – requiring subjects to view and rate the “positivity” and “negativity” of emotions evoked by pictures twice – once after experiencing an acute stressor and once after a neutral event. We assess abuse history with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

PSZ exhibited reduced rating range, relative to HVs. PSZ rated positive pictures as less positive (t = 1.958; p = 0.05) and negative pictures as less negative (t = 2.711; p = 0.008) than HVs. Physical abuse (PA) scores correlated with aversive image ratings (r = 0.309; p = 0.035) and the acute stressor’s impact on positive (r = 0.333; p = 0.022) and neutral stimuli (r = 0.300; p = 0.040). Higher PA was associated with greater stressor impact on IAPS ratings.

Diagnosis and abuse history impacted affective picture ratings. These factors did not interact in influencing picture ratings.

Excerpt from:

Machine Learning for Bioprocess Sensor Innovation

By Gareth John Macdonald - January 31, 2024

Machine learning (ML) could allow drug firms to create predictive process models that optimize development, production, and quality control. But, before embracing ML on the factory floor, manufacturers will need data to “train” the computer algorithms that drive the approach. And this means having process sensors sophisticated enough to track multiple parameters in real-time in highly complex cell cultures according to an industry expert.

Machine learning is a specialized form of artificial intelligence in which computer programs learn to solve tasks or understand the dynamics of complex systems with minimal or no direction. The process is iterative, and the solutions improve over time as more data is introduced.

This need for training data is driving innovation in process sensors, says Govind Rao, PhD, who is director of the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

“At the end of the day, AI/ML tools will allow for process monitoring to be simplified once data are generated at scale to relate process conditions to critical quality attributes. The need to run QC tests on quarantined bulk drug substance will be greatly reduced,” he explains. “However, to get there will require high-density process monitoring to allow ML/AI algorithms to relate process conditions to off-line measurements such as glycosylation, aggregation, etc.”

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