A Manualized Occupational Therapy Mindfulness Module for Clients with PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) adversely impacts an individual’s functioning across areas of daily occupation. There is a paucity of literature addressing occupational therapy (OT) for people with PTSD. The literature has advocated for the development of a manualized OT intervention with the inclusion of mindfulness as one of its components. To date, a mindfulness-based OT treatment guide or manualized program specifically for clients with PTSD has not yet been developed. The aim of this paper is to bridge a gap in the literature and to develop a resource for occupational therapists to employ mindfulness as a clinical intervention with clients impacted by PTSD. This paper presents a manualized mindfulness-based OT intervention for clients with PTSD

Robotic Arm Manipulation to Perform Rock Skipping in Simulation

Rock skipping is a highly dynamic and relatively complex task that can easily be performed by humans. This project aims to bring rock skipping into a robotic setting, utilizing the lessons we learned in Robotic Manipulation. Specifically, this project implements a system consisting of a robotic arm and dynamic environment to perform rock skipping in simulation. By varying important parameters such as release velocity, we hope to use our system to gain insight into the most important factors for maximizing the total number of skips. In addition, by implementing the system in simulation, we have a more rigorous and precise testing approach over these varied test parameters. However, this project experienced some limitations due to gripping inefficiencies and problems with release height trajectories which is further discussed in our report

Inference for double Pareto lognormal queues with applications

In this article we describe a method for carrying out Bayesian inference for the double Pareto lognormal (dPlN) distribution which has recently been proposed as a model for heavy-tailed phenomena. We apply our approach to inference for the dPlN/M/1 and M/dPlN/1 queueing systems. These systems cannot be analyzed using standard techniques due to the fact that the dPlN distribution does not posses a Laplace transform in closed form. This difficulty is overcome using some recent approximations for the Laplace transform for the Pareto/M/1 system. Our procedure is illustrated with applications in internet traffic analysis and risk theory.Heavy tails, Bayesian inference, Queueing theory

Schwinger-Keldysh superspace in quantum mechanics

We examine, in a quantum mechanical setting, the Hilbert space representation of the BRST symmetry associated with Schwinger-Keldysh path integrals. This structure had been postulated to encode important constraints on influence functionals in coarse-grained systems with dissipation, or in open quantum systems. Operationally, this entails uplifting the standard Schwinger-Keldysh two-copy formalism into superspace by appending BRST ghost degrees of freedom. These statements were previously argued at the level of the correlation functions. We provide herein a complementary perspective by working out the Hilbert space structure explicitly. Our analysis clarifies two crucial issues not evident in earlier works: firstly, certain background ghost insertions necessary to reproduce the correct Schwinger-Keldysh correlators arise naturally. Secondly, the Schwinger-Keldysh difference operators are systematically dressed by the ghost bilinears, which turn out to be necessary to give rise to a consistent operator algebra. We also elaborate on the structure of the final state (which is BRST closed) and the future boundary condition of the ghost fields.Comment: 30 page

Antimicrobial stewardship practices in Virginia

The Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the President\u27s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recognize the need to combat antimicrobial resistance through the promotion of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Health care facilities in Virginia were surveyed using a 23-item survey focused on facility characteristics and antimicrobial stewardship strategies. Antimicrobial stewardship activities were highly variable and many are missing key personnel and resources

Quantum order by disorder in frustrated diamond lattice antiferromagnets

We present a quantum theory of frustrated diamond lattice antiferromagnets. Considering quantum fluctuations as the predominant mechanism relieving spin frustration, we find a rich phase diagram comprising of six phases with coplanar spiral ordering in addition to the N\'eel phase. By computing the specific heat of these ordered phases, we obtain a remarkable agreement between $(k,k,0)$-spiral ordering and the experimental specific heat data for the diamond lattice spinel compounds MnSc$_2$S$_4$, Co$_3$O$_4$ and CoRh$_2$O$_4$, i.e. specific heat data is a strong evidence for $(k,k,0)$-spiral ordering in all of these materials. This prediction can be tested in future neutron scattering experiments on Co$_3$O$_4$ and CoRh$_2$O$_4$, and is consistent with existing neutron scattering data on MnSc$_2$S$_4$. Based on this agreement we infer a monotonically increasing relationship between frustration and the strength of quantum fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, version published in PR

How did conservation agriculture go to scale? : A case study in utilization-focused evaluation

Background The Foodgrains Bank has an established record working in agriculture and food security with resource constrained, marginalized farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The three outcome areas of the Scaling-Up Conservation Agriculture in East Africa (SUCA) Program were: the adoption of conservation agriculture systems, an enabling institutional environment, and the promotion of enabling policies. These program areas were expected to yield intermediate outcomes that, together, would lead to the ultimate outcome of improved food security and sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farming households in East Africa. This case study reports on the end-line evaluation of the five-year program. Purpose To illustrate the overlap between utilization-focused evaluation (UFE) and collaborative approaches to evaluation (CAE). The case study profiles an agricultural intervention, and explores how the evaluation design accommodated the systemic nature of the program. Setting Scaling-Up Conservation Agriculture in East Africa (SUCA) was a five-year program of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank implemented from 2015-2020 to expand the size and scope of Foodgrains Bank’s work in conservation agriculture in East Africa. The program supported local partners with a target of 50,000 male and female farmers practicing a minimum of 2 of 3 conservation agriculture principles, and to improve food security and sustainable livelihoods for 18,000 of these farmers’ households across three countries.  Research design The Foodgrains Bank was directly involved in the evaluation design through the definition of evaluation uses and key evaluation questions. Eleven implementing partners in East Africa were involved in primary data collection and some initial analysis. Data collection and analysis A mixed method approach was used combining quantitative, qualitative, and participatory / visual data collection tools. A robust, intersectional gender lens was applied to the data collection instruments in the form of gender disaggregated data collection and gender-focused questions across most data collection instruments.  Findings The collaborative process confirmed a sense of ownership by the primary evaluation users over the evaluation design. The evaluation design combined outcome and learning uses that took advantages of the implementing organizations’ commitment to learning. The findings demonstrated the value of the program and produced a framework illustrating the multi-disciplinary approach underlying its success