Transition Programs for Student Veterans

Many times, student veterans are returning to, or entering for the first time, an institution of higher education at an older age than the traditional student, and with very different background experiences. As institutions prepare a welcoming environment for their matriculating students, an orientation program for student veterans, supplemental to the already existing orientation, is suggested. Doing so provides all the necessary information to the student veteran about the institution, along with a separate time to create a support group with their peers. The program described was implemented at a four-year, public, Midwestern university in the fall semester of 2011. Through a multi-pronged approach, student veterans were offered a variety of resources to help ease their transition from “boots to books.” An analysis of the data on the students who participated in the activities was compared to data on the students who were not involved. The results of the analysis show positive support for continuing the specialized orientation program

A supplemental orientation program for student veterans

The purpose of this creative project was to create a supplemental orientation program specifically for student veterans at higher education institutions. Through the orientation program, students would be able to have a more hands-on experience to the resources available such as the Scholarships and Financial Aid office, academic advising, the Career Center, and the Counseling Center, among many others. The orientation program would be a supplemental, three-part orientation program to the already existing orientation program done by the Office of Orientation. Providing the opportunity for students to have more one-on-one connection with different offices on campus allows for students to be more connected to the campus, and utilize the resources to their benefit. Student veterans often are unaware or not confident in utilizing resources that are offered to them on campus, and sometimes are unable to complete a degree due to these struggles. By providing an online orientation program prior to the summer orientation program, students are introduced with the resources available before stepping on campus. After the initial on-campus orientation program, student veterans would attend an orientation program the weekend before fall semester classes begin, with individuals that would serve as contacts from the various offices on campus to have a one-on-one interaction with them and learn what is available. Also during this supplemental orientation program, students would be able to connect and network with other student veterans to create a community of support for these students.Thesis (M.A.)Department of Educational Studie

“You Feel a Sense of Accomplishment”: Outdoor Adventure Experiences of Youths with Visual Impairments during a One-Week Sports Camp

There are many cognitive, physical, and social–emotional benefits for youths from participating in outdoor adventure activities. However, youths with visual impairments are not given the same opportunities to participate in outdoor adventure activities as their peers without disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the outdoor adventure experiences of youths with visual impairments participating in a week-long sports camp. Thirty-seven youths with visual impairment (ages 9–19 years) attending a one-week sports camp participated in this study. Participants engaged in a variety of outdoor adventure activities throughout the week of camp (e.g., sailing, hiking, rock climbing, biking, kayaking). Participants provided written accounts about their outdoor adventure experiences and were observed throughout the week during each activity to examine instructional strategies and task modifications. Additionally, 10 randomly chosen athletes, their one-on-one coaches, and five outdoor recreation specialists participated in focus group interviews. The data analysis revealed three major themes: (1) Benefits, (2) Support, and (3) Barriers. The subthemes of benefits were enjoyment, independence, and relationships; the subthemes of support were instructional strategies and task modifications; and subthemes for barriers were fear and anxiety, exclusion and low expectations, and lack of equipment. These findings support the inclusion of youths with visual impairments in all outdoor adventure programming with appropriate instruction and modification

“You Feel a Sense of Accomplishment”: Outdoor Adventure Experiences of Youths with Visual Impairments during a One-Week Sports Camp

There are many cognitive, physical, and social–emotional benefits for youths from participating in outdoor adventure activities. However, youths with visual impairments are not given the same opportunities to participate in outdoor adventure activities as their peers without disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the outdoor adventure experiences of youths with visual impairments participating in a week-long sports camp. Thirty-seven youths with visual impairment (ages 9–19 years) attending a one-week sports camp participated in this study. Participants engaged in a variety of outdoor adventure activities throughout the week of camp (e.g., sailing, hiking, rock climbing, biking, kayaking). Participants provided written accounts about their outdoor adventure experiences and were observed throughout the week during each activity to examine instructional strategies and task modifications. Additionally, 10 randomly chosen athletes, their one-on-one coaches, and five outdoor recreation specialists participated in focus group interviews. The data analysis revealed three major themes: (1) Benefits, (2) Support, and (3) Barriers. The subthemes of benefits were enjoyment, independence, and relationships; the subthemes of support were instructional strategies and task modifications; and subthemes for barriers were fear and anxiety, exclusion and low expectations, and lack of equipment. These findings support the inclusion of youths with visual impairments in all outdoor adventure programming with appropriate instruction and modification

Primary care experiences of providing mental healthcare for children in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: The increased demand for mental healthcare associated with the COVID-19 pandemic adds to the already high unmet mental health needs among paediatric patients, resulting in a declared ‘mental health emergency’. The study objective was to describe paediatric primary care providers (PCPs’) experience of meeting their patients’ needs for mental healthcare during the pandemic and to identify opportunities to optimise care. METHODS: 19 paediatricians and 2 nurse practitioners completed a 30 min video interview in May 2021. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and transcripts were analysed using consensual qualitative research methods. RESULTS: Participants reported marked increases in patient mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included new diagnoses of anxiety and depression and increased treatment needs for patients with a prior mental health diagnosis. They identified that the mental health needs of their patients were greater, more severe and more challenging to manage with the resources currently available. While they were frustrated with the lack of communication and support from their mental health colleagues, and felt isolated and overwhelmed, they approached the increased demand for mental healthcare with a growth mindset. This outlook included providing care, seeking help to improve their skills and engaging with local resources such as the Child Psychiatry Access Project (CPAP). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that urgent action is needed to better support paediatric PCPs to provide mental healthcare in our community. Providers identified an ongoing need for timely access to and effective communication with mental health providers to guide care in the medical home. This need could be addressed immediately by providing training for new and experienced clinicians, expanding the scope of CPAP programmes to include patient assessment and supporting implementation of integrated behavioural health programmes into the medical home

Structure–Activity Relationships of the Tetrapeptide Ac-His-Arg-(<i>p</i>I)DPhe-Tic-NH₂ at the Mouse Melanocortin Receptors: Modification at the (<i>p</i>I)DPhe Position Leads to mMC3R Versus mMC4R Selective Ligands

The five melanocortin receptors (MC1R&#8211;MC5R) are involved in numerous biological pathways, including steroidogenesis, pigmentation, and food intake. In particular, MC3R and MC4R knockout mice suggest that the MC3R and MC4R regulate energy homeostasis in a non-redundant manner. While MC4R-selective agonists have been utilized as appetite modulating agents, the lack of MC3R-selective agonists has impeded progress in modulating this receptor in vivo. In this study, the (pI)DPhe position of the tetrapeptide Ac-His-Arg-(pI)DPhe-Tic-NH2 (an MC3R agonist/MC4R antagonist ligand) was investigated with a library of 12 compounds. The compounds in this library were found to have higher agonist efficacy and potency at the mouse (m) MC3R compared to the MC4R, indicating that the Arg-DPhe motif preferentially activates the mMC3R over the mMC4R. This observation may be used in the design of new MC3R-selective ligands, leading to novel probe and therapeutic lead compounds that will be useful for treating metabolic disorders

A Macrocyclic Agouti-Related Protein/[Nle⁴,DPhe⁷]α-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone Chimeric Scaffold Produces Subnanomolar Melanocortin Receptor Ligands

The melanocortin system consists of five receptor subtypes, endogenous agonists, and naturally occurring antagonists. These receptors and ligands have been implicated in numerous biological pathways including processes linked to obesity and food intake. Herein, a truncation structure–activity relationship study of chimeric agouti-related protein (AGRP)/[Nle4,DPhe7]­α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (NDP-MSH) ligands is reported. The tetrapeptide His-DPhe-Arg-Trp or tripeptide DPhe-Arg-Trp replaced the Arg-Phe-Phe sequence in the AGRP active loop derivative c­[Pro-Arg-Phe-Phe-Xxx-Ala-Phe-DPro], where Xxx was the native Asn of AGRP or a diaminopropionic (Dap) acid residue previously shown to increase antagonist potency at the mMC4R. The Phe, Ala, and Dap/Asn residues were successively removed to generate a 14-member library that was assayed for agonist activity at the mouse MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, and MC5R. Two compounds possessed nanomolar agonist potency at the mMC4R, c­[Pro-His-DPhe-Arg-Trp-Asn-Ala-Phe-DPro] and c­[Pro-His-DPhe-Arg-Trp-Dap-Ala-DPro], and may be further developed to generate novel melanocortin probes and ligands for understanding and treating obesity

Incorporation of Agouti-Related Protein (AgRP) Human Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the AgRP-Derived Macrocyclic Scaffold c[Pro-Arg-Phe-Phe-Asn-Ala-Phe-dPro] Decreases Melanocortin-4 Receptor Antagonist Potency and Results in the Discovery of Melanocortin-5 Receptor Antagonists

While the melanocortin receptors (MCRs) are known to be involved in numerous biological pathways, the potential roles of the MC5R have not been clearly elucidated in humans. Agouti-related protein (AgRP), an MC3R/MC4R antagonist and MC4R inverse agonist, contains an exposed β-hairpin loop composed of six residues (Arg-Phe-Phe-Asn-Ala-Phe) that is imperative for binding and function. Within this active loop of AgRP, four human missense polymorphisms were deposited into the NIH Variation Viewer database. These polymorphisms, Arg111Cys, Arg111His, Phe112Tyr, and Ala115Val (AgRP full-length numbering), were incorporated into the peptide macrocycles c[Pro-Arg-Phe-Phe-Xaa-Ala-Phe-dPro], where Xaa was Dap or Asn, to explore the functional effects of these naturally occurring substitutions in a simplified AgRP scaffold. All peptides lowered potency at least 10-fold in a cAMP accumulation assay compared to the parent sequences at the MC4Rs. Compounds MDE 6-82-3c, ZMK 2-82, MDE 6-82-1c, ZMK 2-85, and ZMK 2-112 are also the first AgRP-based chemotypes that antagonize the MC5R