Master’s and Doctoral Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions of Research Integration in Their Programs

This is a pilot study with the intent of identifying occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) and master’s (MOT) students’ perceptions of research in their coursework. A cross-sectional study was conducted through a survey of OTD and MOT students. The Student Perception of Research Integration Questionnaire (SPRIQ) was emailed to graduate occupational therapy programs in the United States. An unpaired single tailed t-test was used to compare the mean scores between the MOT and OTD student responses for each scale and subscale. Two hundred and twenty-six students filled out the questionnaire. Both the OTD and MOT students had a favorable perception of the integration of research into the curriculum with a mean score of 3.63 (MOT) and 3.85 (OTD) out of five. An independent t-test found there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores for two of the subscales for research integration (current research subscale p = .000 and motivation subscale p = .02) and for the beliefs scale (p = .002). Students enrolled in both MOT and OTD programs have a favorable perception of research being integrated into their curriculums. The OTD students have a more favorable perception of the integration of research in their curriculums, with a 0.30 mean difference between all items on the scale

Chemical Vapour Deposition of Amorphous Ru(P) Thin Films from Ru Trialkylphosphite Hydride Complexes

The ruthenium phosphite hydride complexes H2Ru(P(OR)(3))(4) (R = Me (1), Et (2), Pr-i (3)) were used as CVD precursors for the deposition of films of amorphous ruthenium-phosphorus alloys. The as-deposited films were X-ray amorphous and XPS analysis revealed that they were predominantly comprised of Ru and P in zero oxidation states. XPS analysis also showed the presence of small amounts of oxidized ruthenium and phosphorus. The composition of the films was found to depend on ligand chemistry as well as the deposition conditions. The use of H-2 as the carrier gas had the effect of increasing the relative concentrations of P and O for all films. Annealing films to 700 degrees C under vacuum produced films of polycrystalline hcp Ru while a flowing stream of H-2 resulted in polycrystalline hcp RuP.Welch Foundation F-816Petroleum Research FundAmerican Chemical Society 47014-ACSNSF 0741973Chemistr

Metabolic syndrome increases risk of venous thromboembolism recurrence after acute deep vein thrombosis

An improved understanding of which patients are at higher risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) is important to designing interventions to reduce degraded quality of life after VTE. Although metabolic syndrome (MetS), the clustering of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and obesity has been associated with a hypofibrinolytic state, data linking VTE recurrence with MetS remain limited. The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of MetS in patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) across a large population and determine its effect on VTE recurrence. This was a retrospective analysis of a large statewide database from 2004 to 2017. We measured the frequency with which patients with DVT carried a comorbid International Coding of Diseases diagnosis of MetS components. Association of MetS with VTE recurrence was tested with a multiple logistic regression model and VTE recurrence as the dependent variable. Risk of VTE recurrence conferred by each MetS component was assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves with the log-rank statistic. A total of 151 054 patients with DVT were included in this analysis. Recurrence of VTE occurred in 17% overall and increased stepwise with each criterion for MetS. All 4 components of MetS had significant adjusted odds ratios (OR) for VTE recurrence, with hyperlipidemia having the largest (OR, 1.8), representing the 4 largest ORs of all possible explanatory variables. All 4 MetS variables were significant on Kaplan-Meier analysis for recurrence of VTE. These data imply a role for appropriate therapies to reduce the effects of MetS as a way to reduce risk of VTE recurrence

Potential for rabies control through dog vaccination in wildlife-abundant communities of Tanzania

Canine vaccination has been successful in controlling rabies in diverse settings worldwide. However, concerns remain that coverage levels which have previously been sufficient might be insufficient in systems where transmission occurs both between and within populations of domestic dogs and other carnivores. To evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination targeted at domestic dogs when wildlife also contributes to transmission, we applied a next-generation matrix model based on contract tracing data from the Ngorongoro and Serengeti Districts in northwest Tanzania. We calculated corresponding values of R0, and determined, for policy purposes, the probabilities that various annual vaccination targets would control the disease, taking into account the empirical uncertainty in our field data. We found that transition rate estimates and corresponding probabilities of vaccination-based control indicate that rabies transmission in this region is driven by transmission within domestic dogs. Different patterns of rabies transmission between the two districts exist, with wildlife playing a more important part in Ngorongoro and leading to higher recommended coverage levels in that district. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that an annual dog vaccination campaign achieving the WHO-recommended target of 70% will control rabies in both districts with a high level of certainty. Our results support the feasibility of controlling rabies in Tanzania through dog vaccination

Evaluation of lens distortion errors using an underwater camera system for video-based motion analysis

Video-based motion analysis systems are widely employed to study human movement, using computers to capture, store, process, and analyze video data. This data can be collected in any environment where cameras can be located. One of the NASA facilities where human performance research is conducted is the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF), a pool of water which simulates zero-gravity with neutral buoyance. Underwater video collection in the WETF poses some unique problems. This project evaluates the error caused by the lens distortion of the WETF cameras. A grid of points of known dimensions was constructed and videotaped using a video vault underwater system. Recorded images were played back on a VCR and a personal computer grabbed and stored the images on disk. These images were then digitized to give calculated coordinates for the grid points. Errors were calculated as the distance from the known coordinates of the points to the calculated coordinates. It was demonstrated that errors from lens distortion could be as high as 8 percent. By avoiding the outermost regions of a wide-angle lens, the error can be kept smaller

The Influence of Macroscale Stress Concentrations on the Near-Resonant Thermomechanics of Mock Energetic Materials

The characterization of particulate composite energetic materials, both with and without stress concentration, is currently of great interest to the defense community. This work seeks to further characterize the self-heating effect of composite energetic plates, particularly around regions of high stress, when subjected to harmonic excitation near resonance. Mock energetic plates with macroscale stress concentrations are prepared in various compositions based on the PBXN-109 formulation, and are tested near the first resonant frequency using an electrodynamic shaker. The resulting mechanical and thermal responses are recorded using a laser Doppler vibrometer and an infrared camera, respectively. Upon comparison between the regions of heightened strain and stress, a strong correlation was found between the respective areas of heightened response. Additionally, the effect of the type of stress concentration on the resulting levels of stress and strain is discussed. This characterization will aid the defense community in their mission to better understand particulate composite energetic materials