The Effect of Graded Exercise and Exposure on Post-Injury Fear: A Case Study

Undergraduate Applie

Factors Influencing Employee Participation and Nonparticipation in a Rural Hospital\u27s Employer-Sponsored Wellness Program

Employer-sponsored wellness programs are important tools for keeping employees healthy, reducing an organization\u27s healthcare expenses, mitigating risk factors, and promoting health and well-being. Little research is available on the factors associated with employees\u27 participation in wellness programs in rural hospitals. Pender\u27s health promotion model was used to determine how employees who participated in a rural hospital\u27s wellness program differed from those who did not participate in terms of demographics, perceptions of personal health, general health behaviors, health locus of control, self-motivation, and situational barriers. A descriptive, correlational replication with the Hallion and Haignere questionnaire was used to survey employees. Of the survey\u27s 186 participants, 29% participated in the wellness program. The reasons for not participating were scheduled program times (n = 51, 33.6%) and lack of interest (n = 31, 20.4%). As shown by logistic regression analysis, overall employee wellness and employee payment status were statistically significant predictors of participation. The Pearson chi square showed a statistically significant difference between program participants and nonparticipants in terms of responsibility for children/elders (p = .047) and shift worked (p = .016). These findings suggest that, when developing and implementing a comprehensive wellness program, the characteristics and needs of employees, along with organizational culture, must be considered. The successful implementation and engagement of staff in an employer sponsored wellness plan improve health through lifestyle change and risk reduction, thus promoting positive social change and leading to healthier communities. The findings of the study were incorporated into the recommendations for the hospital\u27s wellness program

When Technology takes the Wheel Is the CMR ready to meet the demand for Autonomous Transportation?

Vehicles, machines that helped people to succeed in throwing of the shackles of human- or animal-powered transportation, have long been developing but stayed fundamentally the same. Save for technological innovations, vehicles have remained dependent on humans. New, conceptually different vehicles have started cropping up because of their Artificial Intelligent (A.I.) systems. These systems enable autonomous operating vehicles. What is peculiar to the autonomous vehicles is that they will no longer be depended on human control but operate at the same level as humans. In the light of that, judges are about to face emerging problems connected with adapting legislation to the technology development. The notion ‘adapting’ should be stressed here due to the fact that creating the convention which will always comply with the technology development is almost impossible. At the level of international conventions the framework for their interpretation based on Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) allows for stretching the currently existing concepts and adapting them among the others to technological change. This, however, has some boundaries because the interpretation needs always to be imbedded in parties’ will. The judges will also need to consider the evolving initiatives concerning autonomous vehicles, because these might collide with mandatory international conventions. The aim of this article is to analyze whether the CMR is future-proof for autonomous transportation. The functional aspects of dealing with autonomous vehicles are compiled with the instruments for the treaty interpretation to investigate what the consequences of adapting the concept of vehicle are. Within the CMR convention, the use of autonomous vehicles seems to stretch the current concepts and framework to its limits, giving rise to the question when the moment comes when stretching the framework leads to breaking the framework of the CMR convention

Investigating Infant Crying Persistence and Cry Acoustic Features as Early Risk Indicators for Social Adjustment: Developmental Associations with Infant Vagal Tone and Attachment Stress

The present pair of studies used hypotheses derived from the Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2007; 2011) to assess the capacity of infant crying persistence and cry acoustic features to predict social adjustment in toddlerhood, and to elucidate the mechanisms that account for this relation. In view of this theoretical framework, behavioral cry frequency and acoustic features may serve as early markers of the functioning of the neural social engagement system. Importantly, this system integrates the regulation of bodily states, such as cardiac regulation via the vagus nerve, with aspects of social communication such as expressivity in the voice and eyes and the capacity to extract human voices from background noise. Both studies used data from a longitudinal sample of ethnically and economically diverse families with children that were followed from 3 months to 24 months of age. Crying persistence was measured using daily cry diaries at 3 months and retrospective reports. Cardiac vagal tone was indexed using respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Children’s social adjustment was measured by parent reports and observations made in the laboratory. The first study (n = 391) tested a biopsychosocial model of the relation between infant crying and social adjustment as accounted for through two possible paths: the stress imposed on caregivers by persistent crying, and infant vagal activity in free play with the mother at 6 months. Results showed that infant crying persistence negatively predicted social relatedness in toddlerhood and crying persistence was related to higher parent-reported attachment stress which predicted poorer social relatedness. Crying persistence in infancy did not predict vagal tone in infancy and toddlerhood, but higher vagal tone placed children at risk of poorer social relatedness. A second study, based on a subset of the overall study sample (n = 37), assessed infant cries for mean fundamental frequency and its variability, as well as overall cry modulation depth. More smoothly-modulated cries were related to higher RSA during the cry bout as well as higher RSA during a free-play parent-child interaction at 6 months. Behaviorally, children who avoided a stranger in the lab at 24 months had more unstable cries as infants. The results of this pair of studies suggests that infant cry persistence and acoustic cry features may be promising early indices of the developing social engagement system. Examining these cry characteristics at a time when the social behavioral repertoire is still nascent and it organization highly sensitive to the quality of the social context presents a promising new avenue for prospective research on social development.Doctor of Philosoph

Design and Development of a CPCI-Based Electronics Package for Space Station Experiments

The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center is developing a Compact-PCI (CPCI) based electronics package for controlling space experiment hardware on the International Space Station. Goals of this effort include an easily modified, modular design that allows for changes in experiment requirements. Unique aspects of the experiment package include a flexible circuit used for internal interconnections and a separate enclosure (box in a box) for controlling 1 kW of power for experiment fuel heating requirements. This electronics package was developed as part of the FEANICS (Flow Enclosure Accommodating Novel Investigations in Combustion of Solids) mini-facility which is part of the Fluids and Combustion Facility s Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR). The CIR will be the platform for future microgravity combustion experiments and will reside on the Destiny Module of the International Space Station (ISS). The FEANICS mini-facility will be the primary means for conducting solid fuel combustion experiments in the CIR on ISS. The main focus of many of these solid combustion experiments will be to conduct applied scientific investigations in fire-safety to support NASA s future space missions. A description of the electronics package and the results of functional testing are the subjects of this report. The report concludes that the use of innovative packaging methods combined with readily available COTS hardware can provide a modular electronics package which is easily modified for changing experiment requirements

An exploration of psychological trauma and positive adaptation in adults with congenital heart disease during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The growing population of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) often have lifelong experience of dealing with potentially traumatic health crises and medical uncertainty whilst facing increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The COVID-19 pandemic presents additional challenges for this population including increased risk of health complications, shielding and strict social distancing, changes to medical care provision and social stigma. Despite such challenges, adults with CHD have the potential to also experience positive changes, yet little is known as to what helps cultivate positive adaptation and post-traumatic growth (PTG) within this context. Methods: The current study comprised a cross-sectional, anonymous, online study exploring psychosocial measures of traumatic experiences as well as protective factors that mitigate the risks to mental health on the mental health for adults with CHD (n=236) during the pandemic. Closed and open-ended questions and a series of standardised psychosocial measures of traumatic experiences, coping mechanisms, emotional regulation and PTG were measured. Results: Findings suggest the CHD population are at increased risk of PSTD which may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, positive adaptation may promote post traumatic growth. In particular, health adversity is associated with greater appreciation whilst emotional regulation is associated with post-traumatic growth. Conclusions: We recommend a growth-focused, psychologically and trauma-informed approach to medicine and public health, recognising the importance of supporting mental health and promoting living well with CHD during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. These findings are likely generalisable to other lifelong health conditions and shielding populations

Photovoltaic Power Station with Ultracapacitors for Storage

A solar photovoltaic power station in which ultracapacitors, rather than batteries, are used to store energy is discussed. Developments in the semiconductor industry have reduced the cost and increased the attainable efficiency of commercially available photovoltaic panels; as a result, photovoltaic generation of power for diverse applications has become practical. Photovoltaic generation can provide electric power in remote locations where electric power would otherwise not be available. Photovoltaic generation can also afford independence from utility systems. Applications include supplying power to scientific instruments and medical equipment in isolated geographical regions