Early Intervention Service Delivery via Telehealth During COVID-19: A Research-Practice Partnership

Coaching has been identified as a best practice for early intervention (EI) services provided through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C. The current study describes the establishment and progress of a research-relationship partnership to deliver coaching via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community-based EI providers implemented 9-weeks of telehealth coaching and evaluated the extent to which child and caregiver outcomes differed between families that had previously received in-person services versus telehealth only. Four EI providers completed the intervention with n=17 families of children aged 6-34 months during the pandemic (April-August 2020). We used the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) to collect outcomes on caregiver identified goals; we used Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests to examine pre- to post-intervention data. Results showed significant improvements in parent satisfaction, child performance, and goal attainment (all p<.01). Findings suggest that telehealth coaching procedures implemented by community-based EI providers resulted in improvements in caregiver identified goals for young children

Exploring Condensed Phase Equilibrium Dynamics via Ultrafast Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy.

Understanding condensed phase equilibrium dynamics is essential to describing and predicting chemical reactions and their outcomes. To gain insight into equilibrium dynamics, ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy is applied to metal carbonyl systems in order to observe two dynamic equilibrium processes: picosecond isomerization and intramolecular vibrational energy transfer. The picosecond isomerization between two different isomers of a fluxional metal carbonyl complex, dicobalt octacarbonyl, is characterized using 2DIR spectroscopy. The isomerization times are extracted from the congested spectra using the well characterized coherent modulation –a signature of non-exchanging signals – to isolate the exchange contribution to the signal. From temperature dependent 2DIR spectra, the temperature dependent rate constants are extracted. Analysis of these rate constants through the Arrhenius and Eyring equations enables the extraction of both the activation energy and the entropic contribution associated with the barrier crossing process. Using this well characterized reaction as a probe, the solvent’s influence on a barrier crossing process is systematically investigated. It was found that for a series of linear alkanes, the potential energy surface does not change as a function of the solvent, indicating that any changes in solvent-dependent rate constants are solely due to the dynamic solvent effect. Through a combination of linear FT-IR measurements and quantum and classical computations, the static and dynamic contributions to the rate constant are separated, enabling the first direct test of Kramers theory in the time domain on a picosecond reaction occurring on the ground electronic state. The experimental data show agreement with a simple Markovian Kramers theory for the isomerization rate constant’s dependence on solvent viscosity. Intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) in two metal complexes, (Cp)2Fe2(CO)4 and its ruthenium analog, (Cp)2Ru2(CO)4, is also studied via 2DIR spectroscopy. The equilibrium energy transfer dynamics between different vibrational modes of the cis-B (Cp)2Fe2(CO)4 and the gauche-NB (Cp)2Ru2(CO)4 isomers is observed. Treating the energy transfer as an equilibrium process, rate constants associated with both the uphill and downhill transfer of vibrational energy are obtained. It was found that the difference in the rate constants maps to the difference in the energy gap between the two modes involved in IVR.Ph.D.ChemistryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86299/1/jmanna_1.pd

Expanding Workplace Inclusion of Employees Who Are Parents of Children with Disabilities through Diversity Training

Employed parents raising children with disabilities manage exceptional care responsibilities along with their work careers. This study examines the effects of targeted diversity training on human resource (HR) professionals’ knowledge of the work–family experiences of these parents, and on their self-efficacy in providing workplace supports. Using computer-based training in field settings, 64 U.S. human resource professionals in an international company participated in two diversity training sessions. Data related to knowledge and efficacy of dependent and disability care were collected before the first training and immediately after the second. HR participants demonstrated significant increases from pretest to posttest on the trained items: knowledge of dependent and disability care and self-efficacy regarding provision of workplace supports. There was no change in relevant but untrained variables over time. Training HR professionals on parents’ exceptional care responsibilities, specific community resources, and heightened self-efficacy promoted their likelihood to grant flexible work arrangements. Results suggest HR self-efficacy is developmental, building on prior knowledge of dependent care and tenure in HR positions. This is one of the first studies that address the effects of HR diversity training regarding employees providing exceptional care. Theoretical developments and implications for inclusive practices are discussed

BAF180 promotes cohesion and prevents genome instability and aneuploidy

BAF180, a subunit of the PBAF chromatin remodeling complex, is frequently mutated in cancer. Although PBAF regulates transcription, it remains unclear whether this is what drives tumorigenesis in cells lacking BAF180. Based on data from yeast, we hypothesized that BAF180 may prevent tumorigenesis by promoting cohesion. Here, we show BAF180 is required for centromeric cohesion in mouse and human cells. Mutations identified in tumor samples are unable to support this activity, and also compromise cohesion-dependent functions in yeast. We provide evidence of genome instability in line with loss of cohesion, and importantly, we find dynamic chromosome instability following DNA damage in cells lacking BAF180. These data demonstrate a function for BAF180 in promoting genome stability that is distinct from its well-characterized role in transcriptional regulation, uncovering a potent mechanism for its tumor-suppressor activity

Chasing Lions: Co-Designing Human-Drone Interaction in Sub-Saharan Africa

Drones are an exciting technology that is quickly being adopted in the global consumer market. Africa has become a center of deployment with the first drone airport established in Rwanda and drones currently being used for applications such as medical deliveries, agriculture, and wildlife monitoring. Despite this increasing presence of drones, there is a lack of research on stakeholders' perspectives from this region. We ran a human-drone interaction user study (N=15) with experts from several sub-Saharan countries using a co-design methodology. Participants described novel applications and identified important design aspects for the integration of drones in this context. Our results highlight the potential of drones to address real world problems, the need for them to be culturally situated, and the importance of considering the social aspects of their interaction with humans. This research highlights the need for diverse perspectives in the human-drone interaction design process.Comment: To be published in the ACM conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS '20

The Impact of Free Health Screenings at Community Pharmacies on Diabetes

Diabetes is a prevalent issue in the United States, with an estimated 8.1 million people un-diagnosed as of 2012. Health screenings have been proven to identify diseases earlier, thereby resulting in earlier and more satisfactory treatment. Community pharmacies can offer many of the same screenings as those in doctor offices. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of free health screenings in community pharmacies on patient follow-up, perceptions, and knowledge of diabetes through blood glucose screenings and patient education. The study design was a pre-post observational study using surveys, blood sugar screenings, and patient education on diabetes. Participants were voluntary patients from four REM Corporation pharmacies in Ohio who were 18 or older, not recently tested for diabetes, non-diabetic, not pregnant, and without disorders that could hinder survey responses and education. Pre- and post-surveys assessed both patient perceptions on free health screenings in community pharmacies and on diabetes knowledge. Results among the 26 participants showed there was no statistically significant difference between patient perception pre- and post-surveys (all p-values ≥ 0.05), however there was a statistically significant difference between pre and post diabetes knowledge surveys (p \u3c 0.001). Limitations of this study were the small sample size due to the relatively small pharmacies utilized and short length of study time. Future directions should focus on using more demographically diverse pharmacies and a longer study time. Due to patients already having highly positive perceptions of health screenings in community pharmacies, future research should assess patient knowledge of diseases and the impact of patient education on overall health outcomes. Results of the study showed patients had positive opinions on free health screenings in community pharmacies and these screenings can help patients understand disease states and be more aware of their health