Health Benefits for the Uninsured: Design and Early Implementation of the Accelerated Benefits Demonstration

Many Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries have serious and immediate health care needs, but, under current law, most are not eligible for Medicare until 24 months after they start receiving cash benefits. This policy brief describes a new project that is testing whether providing earlier access to health benefits, as well as other services, for new SSDI beneficiaries who have no other health insurance improves employment and health outcomes

Development of Workshop for School Social Workers: A Framework for Addressing Sexually Abused Adolescents

The purpose of this project is to develop a training program to equip school social workers to work effectively with the growing population of adolescents who have suffered sexual abuse. The framework of the program focuses on empowering the victims to move from the mindset of feeling controlled by the victimization to utilizing their freedom to choose positive behaviors and taking responsibility for those choices, despite their suffering. A workshop was developed for presentation to school social workers. The workshop educates social workers on a framework from which to address the adolescent victim. It presents an overview of sexual abuse, instruction on utilizing the framework, and application guidelines for use with individual students and small groups. The framework offers hope to both student victims and practitioners

Combining Teletherapy and On-line Language Exercises in the Treatment of Chronic Aphasia: An Outcome Study

We report a 12-week outcome study in which nine persons with long-term chronic aphasia received individual and group speech-language teletherapy services, and also used on-line language exercises to practice from home between therapy sessions.  Participants were assessed at study initiation and completion using the Western Aphasia Battery, a portion of the Communicative Effectiveness Index, ASHA National Outcome Measurement System, and RIC Communication Confidence Rating Scale for Aphasia; additionally participants were polled regarding satisfaction at discharge.  Pre-treatment and post-treatment means were calculated and compared, and matched t-tests were used to determine significance of improvements following treatment, with patterns of independent on-line activity analyzed.  Analysis of scores shows that means improved on most measures following treatment, generally significantly: the WAB AQ improved +3.5 (p = .057); the CETI Overall (of items administered) — +17.8 (p = .01), and CCRSA Overall — + 10.4 (p = .0004).  Independent work increased with time, and user satisfaction following participation was high

Perceived Readiness for Hospital Discharge in Adult Medical-Surgical Patients

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify predictors and outcomes of adult medical-surgical patients\u27 perceptions of their readiness for hospital discharge. Design: A correlational, prospective, longitudinal design with path analyses was used to explore relationships among transition theory-related variables. Setting: Midwestern tertiary medical center. Sample: 147 adult medical-surgical patients. Methods: Predictor variables included patient characteristics, hospitalization factors, and nursing practices that were measured prior to hospital discharge using a study enrollment form, the Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale, and the Care Coordination Scale. Discharge readiness was measured using the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale administered within 4 hours prior to discharge. Outcomes were measured 3 weeks postdischarge with the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale and self-reported utilization of health services. Findings: Living alone, discharge teaching (amount of content received and nurses\u27 skill in teaching delivery), and care coordination explained 51% of readiness for discharge score variance. Patient age and discharge readiness explained 16% of variance in postdischarge coping difficulty. Greater readiness for discharge was predictive of fewer readmissions. Conclusions: Quality of the delivery of discharge teaching was the strongest predictor of discharge readiness. Study results provided support for Meleis\u27 transitions theory as a useful model for conceptualizing and investigating the discharge transition. Implications for Practice: The study results have implications for the CNS role in patient and staff education, system building for the postdischarge transition, and measurement of clinical care outcomes

Transcriptome analysis of two buffalograss cultivars

Background: Buffalograss [Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engel. syn. Bouteloua dactyloides (Nutt.) Columbus] is a United States native turfgrass species that requires less irrigation, fungicides and pesticides compared to more commonly used turfgrass species. In areas where water is limited, interest in this grass species for lawns is increasing. While several buffalograss cultivars have been developed through buffalograss breeding, the timeframe for new cultivar development is long and is limited by a lack of useful genetic resources. Two high throughput next-generation sequencing techniques were used to increase the genomic resources available for buffalograss. Results: Total RNA was extracted and purified from leaf samples of two buffalograss cultivars. ‘378’ and ‘Prestige’ cDNA libraries were subjected to high throughput sequencing on the Illumina GA and Roche 454 Titanium FLX sequencing platforms. The 454 platform (3 samples) produced 1,300,885 reads and the Illumina platform (12 samples) generated approximately 332 million reads. The multiple k-mer technique for de novo assembly using Velvet and Oases was applied. A total of 121,288 contigs were assembled that were similar to previously reported Ensembl commelinid sequences. Original Illumina reads were also mapped to the high quality assembly to estimate expression levels of buffalograss transcripts. There were a total of 325 differentially expressed genes between the two buffalograss cultivars. A glycosyl transferase, serine threonine kinase, and nb-arc domain containing transcripts were among those differentially expressed between the two cultivars. These genes have been previously implicated in defense response pathways and may in part explain some of the performance differences between ‘Prestige’ and ‘378’. Conclusions: To date, this is the first high throughput sequencing experiment conducted on buffalograss. In total, 121,288 high quality transcripts were assembled, significantly expanding the limited genetic resources available for buffalograss genetic studies. Additionally, 325 differentially expressed sequences were identified which may contribute to performance or morphological differences between ‘Prestige’ and ‘378’ buffalograss cultivars

Power research in adaptive water governance and beyond: a review

Power dynamics are widely recognized as key contributors to poor outcomes of environmental governance broadly and specifically for adaptive water governance. Water governance processes are shifting, with increased emphasis on collaboration and learning. Understanding how power dynamics impact these processes in adaptive governance is hence critical to improve governance outcomes. Power dynamics in the context of adaptive water governance are complex and highly variable and so are power theories that offer potential explanations for poor governance outcomes. This study aimed to build an understanding of the use of power theory in water and environmental governance and establish a foundation for future research by identifying power foci and variables that are used by researchers in this regard. We conducted a systematic literature review using the Web of Science Core Collection and the ProQuest Political Science databases to understand how power is studied (foci, variables of interest, and methods) and which theories are being applied in the water governance field and in the environmental governance field more broadly. The resulting review can serve as a practical reference for (adaptive) water governance inquiries that seek to study power in depth or intend to integrate power considerations into their research. The identified power variables add to a much needed groundwork for research that investigates the role of power dynamics in collaboration and learning processes. Furthermore, they offer a substantive base for empirical research on power dynamics in adaptive water governance.The Brock Library Open Access Publishing Fun

Evaluation of Greenbug and Yellow Sugarcane Aphid Feeding Behavior on Resistant and Susceptible Switchgrass Cultivars

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is an emerging biofuel crop that serves as host for aphids. To discern the effects of plant age and possible resistance mechanisms, the feeding behavior of greenbugs (Schizaphis graminum Rondani.) and the yellow sugarcane aphid (Sipha flava Forbes.) was monitored on three diverse switchgrasses by the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. Callose deposition and genes associated with callose metabolism were also analyzed to discern their association with plant resistance. There was a strong host effect on greenbugs feeding on lowland cultivar Kanlow at the V3 stage of development, as compared to the greenbug-susceptible upland cultivar Summer and plants derived from Kanlow (♂) × Summer (♀) (K×S) crosses. These data confirmed that Kanlow at the V3 stage had antibiosis to greenbugs, which was absent in the Summer and K×S plants. In contrast, similar effects were not observed for yellow sugarcane aphids, excluding significant differences in the time to first probe on Kanlow plants at the V1 stage and reduction in time spent on pathway processes on Kanlow plants at the V3 stage. These data demonstrated that Kanlow plants may have multiple sources of resistance to the two aphids, and possibly some were phloem based. Microscopy of leaf sections stained with aniline blue for callose was suggestive of increased callose deposition in the sieve elements in Kanlow plants relative to Summer and K×S plants. RT-qPCR analysis of several genes associated with callose metabolism in infested plants was equivocal. Overall, these studies suggest the presence of multiple defense mechanisms against aphids in Kanlow plants, relative to Summer and K×S plants