The Experience of Participating in a Mentor Training Course and its Effects on Mentoring People with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Community-based mentoring programs for people with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have been found to have several benefits, including decreasing social isolation, improving behavioral control, and increasing quality of life. There is limited literature, however, regarding the experiences of the mentors who participate in these programs. This qualitative study was completed to examine the lived experience of three mentors of people with TBIs following a training program to enhance mentoring skills. Four key themes emerged that included: Readiness to Learn, Density and Complexity of Content, You Got Something Out of It, and Time of Day. This information may help occupational therapists educate clients and caregivers more effectively, and also help them to evaluate community-based mentoring programs that may be beneficial for clients who no longer qualify for occupational therapy services

WATER QUALITY AND PRODUCTION POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF CELLULOSIC BIOFUEL CROPS GROWN ON MARGINAL LAND

With an increasing global demand for fossil fuels, there is a growing amount of concern about greenhouse gas releases. Concurrently, interest in alternative sources of energy, including bioenergy has expanded considerably in the recent years. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates that 136.3 billion liters of biofuels must be produced, with 60.5 billion liters coming from cellulosic biofuel crops by 2022. Potential sources of cellulosic biomass are: maize residue, sorghum, switchgrass, Miscanthus, and woody crops. The increase in biofuel crop production required to meet the mandate raises questions regarding the additional amount of agricultural land area needed, as well as the potential competition for land with food and feed production. The utilization of marginal lands, lands not suitable for crop growth due to infertility, slope, soil degradation or poor yields of common annual crops such as corn, is an alternative, but could come at a higher environmental cost. There has been little field research investigating the environmental consequences of using marginal land for biofuel crop production. The objectives of this research were to quantify surface and subsurface nutrient losses and determine production potential of six crops (Miscanthus

Connecticut Thrives: Reimagining Community Health Workers - A Gap Analysis For Pediatric Behavioral Health In Connecticut And Proposed Workforce Recommendations

Children and families across the United States are facing incredible obstacles as they navigate siloed systems, like healthcare and education, to achieve overall health. This program projection analyzes current local and national trends in pediatric mental and behavioral health services in order to make a recommendation for the state of Connecticut to achieve more supportive and holistic care for children, with behavioral health needs, and their families. The program projected here is: Connecticut Thrives. This program is intended to work with existing state structures to utilize Community Health Workers for the intended purpose of ensuring seamless healthcare. Taking a social determinants of health lens, the program operates in a sustainable function to promote overall wellbeing for children and families in the state. CT Thrives is committed to help sustainably ensure children and families across Connecticut receive adequate services to meet mental health needs with the understanding that there is a multilayer system at play. This objective is met by implementing barrier reduction to social services, with comprehensive care coordination and support for the entire family. In partnership with a proposed framework called the Health Enhancement Communities (HEC), CT Thrives will comprehensively and sustainably meet the needs of Connecticut families to create the conditions for thriving children. The program functions on 4 essential components: connections between schools, families and home, use of community health workers, an innovative funding stream, and operating on positive aspects of previous state programs

Dark Stars: Improved Models and First Pulsation Results

We use the stellar evolution code MESA to study dark stars. Dark stars (DSs), which are powered by dark matter (DM) self-annihilation rather than by nuclear fusion, may be the first stars to form in the Universe. We compute stellar models for accreting DSs with masses up to 10^6 M_{sun}. The heating due to DM annihilation is self-consistently included, assuming extended adiabatic contraction of DM within the minihalos in which DSs form. We find remarkably good overall agreement with previous models, which assumed polytropic interiors. There are some differences in the details, with positive implications for observability. We found that, in the mass range of 10^4 -10^5 M_{sun}, our DSs are hotter by a factor of 1.5 than those in Freese et al.(2010), are smaller in radius by a factor of 0.6, denser by a factor of 3 - 4, and more luminous by a factor of 2. Our models also confirm previous results, according to which supermassive DSs are very well approximated by (n=3)-polytropes. We also perform a first study of dark star pulsations. Our DS models have pulsation modes with timescales ranging from less than a day to more than two years in their rest frames, at z ~ 15, depending on DM particle mass and overtone number. Such pulsations may someday be used to identify bright, cool objects uniquely as DSs; if properly calibrated, they might, in principle, also supply novel standard candles for cosmological studies.Comment: 17 pages; 11 figures; revised version; accepted by Ap

Final Design Review Report: The Underdogs

Aspen is a three-legged dog with mobility issues from Berkeley, California. She was hit by a car and her rear left leg was amputated at the hip. Robin Swanson, Aspen\u27s owner, and her friend, Audrey Beil, are the sponsors for this project. Jack Montgomery, Katherine Thomas, and Parker Johnson, “The Underdogs”, are tasked with helping Aspen regain some of her mobility and the ability to go on walks. Research was done into the problem by talking with the sponsors and looking into existing products, designs, and patents. This document, the Final Design Review Report, outlines the background information, problem specification, design, manufacturing, and testing process used to develop a solution for Aspen. The final design, its operation, and the necessary manufacturing process are discussed in full detail. A design verification plan is included for testing procedures

Understanding OA Ebook Usage: Toward a Common Framework

Redacted version of narrative for a proposal to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the development of international standards and practices for measuring and reporting usage of open-access ebooksSubmitted to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on April 27, 2018https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143840/1/Redacted Grant Narrative - OA Ebook Usage_FINAL SUBMISSION_042718.pdfDescription of Redacted Grant Narrative - OA Ebook Usage_FINAL SUBMISSION_042718.pdf : Grant Narrativ

A Streamlined Strategy for Aglycone Assembly and Glycosylation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102108/1/ange_201307680_sm_miscellaneous_information.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102108/2/13892_ftp.pd

A Streamlined Strategy for Aglycone Assembly and Glycosylation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102092/1/13647_ftp.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102092/2/anie_201307680_sm_miscellaneous_information.pd