A Manualized Occupational Therapy Communication Skills Module for Clients with PTSD

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience a variety of barriers and challenges that impact their daily occupational performance, engagement, well-being, and quality of life. There is a lack of research in the area of manualized occupational therapy (OT) treatment options for people with PTSD. Literature has expressed a need for the development of a manual-based OT treatment program for people with PTSD with communication skills training as an intervention component. The purpose of this project is to create a manualized OT communication skills intervention module for occupational therapists to implement with clients with PTSD for improved occupational performance and quality of life. This project consisted of a intervention module with five sections, one section specifically designed as a module introduction for occupational therapy practitioners, and four intervention sessions related to topics on communication skills.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2024/1056/thumbnail.jp

Synthesis of analogues of (E)-1-hydroxy-2-methylbut-2-enyl 4-diphosphate, an isoprenoid precursor and human γδ T cell activator

(E)-1-Hydroxy-2-methyl-but-2-enyl 4-diphosphate (HMBPP) is an intermediate in the non-mevalonate pathway for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids and also serves as a very strong activator of human gamma delta T cells expressing V gamma 9V delta 2 receptors. This paper describes the synthesis of analogues of HMBPP, in which the diphosphate group is replaced by potential isosteric moieties, i.e., carbamate, N-acyl-N'-oxy sulfamate, or aminosulfonyl carbamate functionalities. The potential of the synthesized analogues to stimulate V gamma 9/V delta 2 T cell response or to inhibit GcpE and LytB, the last enzymes in the non-mevalonate pathway, was assessed

Comparative Activity of the Codling Moth Granulovirus Against Grapholita molesta and Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The granulovirus of codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., CpGV, is now commercialized for codling moth control in pome fruit in the USA and Canada. It is highly specific for codling moth and related species. Comparative assays of CpGV against neonate larvae of another introduced tortricid pest, the oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta Busck, revealed a 557 and 589 fold lower susceptibility of neonate larvae compared with the LC50 and LC95 values derived for C. pomonella

Biomarkers of human cardiopulmonary response after short-term exposures to medical laser generated particulate matter from simulated procedures: a pilot study

Objective We conducted an exposure chamber study in humans using a simulated clinical procedure lasing porcine tissue to demonstrate evidence of effects of exposure to laser generated particulate matter (LGPM). Methods We measured pre- and post-exposure changes in exhaled nitric oxide (eNO), spirometry, heart rate variability (HRV), and blood markers of inflammation in five volunteers. Results Change in pre- and post-exposure measurements of eNO and spirometry were unremarkable. Neutrophil and lymphocyte counts increased and fibrinogen levels decreased in four of the five subjects. Measures of HRV showed decreases in the standard deviation of normal between beat intervals and sequential five-minute intervals. Conclusion These data represent the first evidence of human physiologic response to LGPM exposure. Further exploration of coagulation effects and HRV are warranted

Cosmological Parameter Estimation Using 21 cm Radiation from the Epoch of Reionization

A number of radio interferometers are currently being planned or constructed to observe 21 cm emission from reionization. Not only will such measurements provide a detailed view of that epoch, but, since the 21 cm emission also traces the distribution of matter in the Universe, this signal can be used to constrain cosmological parameters at 6 < z < 20. The sensitivity of an interferometer to the cosmological information in the signal may depend on how precisely the angular dependence of the 21 cm 3-D power spectrum can be measured. Utilizing an analytic model for reionization, we quantify all the effects that break the spherical symmetry of the 3-D 21 cm power spectrum and produce physically motivated predictions for this power spectrum. We find that upcoming observatories will be sensitive to the 21 cm signal over a wide range of scales, from larger than 100 to as small as 1 comoving Mpc. We consider three methods to measure cosmological parameters from the signal: (1) direct fitting of the density power spectrum to the signal, (2) using only the velocity field fluctuations in the signal, (3) looking at the signal at large enough scales such that all fluctuations trace the density field. With the foremost method, the first generation of 21 cm observations should moderately improve existing constraints on cosmological parameters for certain low-redshift reionization scenarios, and a two year observation with the second generation interferometer MWA5000 can improve constraints on Omega_w, Omega_m h^2, Omega_b h^2, Omega_nu, n_s, and alpha_s. If the Universe is substantially ionized by z = 12 or if spin temperature fluctuations are important, we show that it will be difficult to place competitive constraints on cosmological parameters with any of the considered methods.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Ap

Parental absence in early childhood and onset of smoking and alcohol consumption before adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Parental absence, due to death or separation from a parent, has been associated with smoking and alcohol consumption in adolescence and adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether parental absence in early childhood was associated with smoking and alcohol uptake before adolescence. METHODS: Data on 10 940 children from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study were used. Logistic regression was used to test associations between parental absence (0-7 years) and reports of smoking and alcohol consumption at age 11. RESULTS: Children who experienced parental absence were more likely to have smoked (OR=2.58, 95% CI 1.88 to 3.56) and consumed alcohol (OR=1.46, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.72). No differences were found by child sex or age, or parent absent. Children who experienced parental death were less likely to have drunk alcohol but those who had were more likely to have consumed enough to feel drunk. CONCLUSIONS: Parental absence was associated with early uptake of risky health behaviours in a large, nationally representative UK cohort. Children who experience parental absence should be supported in early life in order to prevent smoking and alcohol initiation.European Research Council [Grant IDs: ERC-2011- StG_20101124, ERC-StG-2012-309337_Alcohol-Lifecourse], Economic and Social Research Council International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health (ICLS) [Grant ID: ES/J019119/1], Medical Research Council/Alcohol Research UK [Grant ID: MR/M006638/1]This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from BMJ Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2016-31044

Metal Absorption Lines as Probes of the Intergalactic Medium Prior to the Reionization Epoch

Winds from star-forming galaxies provide the most promising explanation for the enrichment of the intergalactic medium with heavy elements. Theoretical and observational arguments indicate that the pollution may have occurred at z > 6; however, direct observational tests of such a scenario are needed. We model starburst winds in the high-redshift universe and find that the fraction of space filled by enriched material varies strongly with the assumed star formation efficiency f_* and the fraction of supernova energy powering each wind, f_esc. We show that metals carried by these winds can be seen in absorption against bright background sources, such as quasars or gamma-ray bursts, in narrow lines with characteristic equivalent widths ~0.5 < W < 5 Angstrom. We argue that a substantial fraction of the metals in high-redshift winds are likely to reside in low ionization states (CII, OI, SiII, and FeII), but higher ionization states (CIV and SiIV) could also provide useful probes of the winds. The number of such lines can constrain both f_* and f_esc. Statistics of metal absorption lines can also be used to identify whether molecular hydrogen is an efficient coolant in the early universe and to study the initial mass function of stars at high redshifts.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, uses emulateapj, version accepted by ApJ (added some comments and references, main conclusions unchanged

Is Double Reionization Physically Plausible?

Recent observations of z~6 quasars and the cosmic microwave background imply a complex history to cosmic reionization. Such a history requires some form of feedback to extend reionization over a long time interval, but the nature of the feedback and how rapidly it operates remain highly uncertain. Here we focus on one aspect of this complexity: which physical processes can cause the global ionized fraction to evolve non-monotonically with cosmic time? We consider a range of mechanisms and conclude that double reionization is much less likely than a long, but still monotonic, ionization history. We first examine how galactic winds affect the transition from metal-free to normal star formation. Because the transition is actually spatially inhomogeneous and temporally extended, this mechanism cannot be responsible for double reionization given plausible parameters for the winds. We next consider photoheating, which causes the cosmological Jeans mass to increase in ionized regions and hence suppresses galaxy formation there. In this case, double reionization requires that small halos form stars efficiently, that the suppression from photoheating is strong relative to current expectations, and that ionizing photons are preferentially produced outside of previously ionized regions. Finally, we consider H_2 photodissociation, in which the buildup of a soft ultraviolet background suppresses star formation in small halos. This can in principle cause the ionized fraction to temporarily decrease, but only during the earliest stages of reionization. Finally, we briefly consider the effects of some of these feedback mechanisms on the topology of reionization.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, in press at ApJ (reorganized significantly but major conclusions unchanged

Efficient Simulations of Early Structure Formation and Reionization

We present a method to construct semi-numerical ``simulations'', which can efficiently generate realizations of halo distributions and ionization maps at high redshifts. Our procedure combines an excursion-set approach with first-order Lagrangian perturbation theory and operates directly on the linear density and velocity fields. As such, the achievable dynamic range with our algorithm surpasses the current practical limit of N-body codes by orders of magnitude. This is particularly significant in studies of reionization, where the dynamic range is the principal limiting factor. We test our halo-finding and HII bubble-finding algorithms independently against N-body simulations with radiative transfer and obtain excellent agreement. We compute the size distributions of ionized and neutral regions in our maps. We find even larger ionized bubbles than do purely analytic models at the same volume-weighted mean hydrogen neutral fraction. We also generate maps and power spectra of 21-cm brightness temperature fluctuations, which for the first time include corrections due to gas bulk velocities. We find that velocities widen the tails of the temperature distributions and increase small-scale power, though these effects quickly diminish as reionization progresses. We also include some preliminary results from a simulation run with the largest dynamic range to date: a 250 Mpc box that resolves halos with masses M >~ 2.2 x10^8 M_sun. We show that accurately modeling the late stages of reionization requires such large scales. The speed and dynamic range provided by our semi-numerical approach will be extremely useful in the modeling of early structure formation and reionization.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures; ApJ submitte