Appreciation Day for Clinical Staff at VNA Hospice

VNA Hospice of the Central Coast is a nonprofit that was created back in 1951. The staff at VNA are visiting about 75,000 homes per year. Throughout the years the staff have been seeing patients who reached the requirement of having 6 months or less to live. Working with Hospice patients can be hard for everyone but, the staff at VNA are seeing the patients from good days and bad days. Depression is known to negatively impact the clinical staff at VNA Hospice. Staff are working long hours which leads to sleep disturbance and chronic stress. Some staff are also experiencing misdiagnoses of their mental health. Which causes the staff to have lower work performance, burnouts and suffering from compassion fatigue. The project is creating an Appreciation Day package for all of the clinical staff at VNA, to decrease some depression. The findings of the results shows that with the Appreciation Day package clinical staff have decreased some depression. With some changes to the program it could be possible to decrease more than just some depression. One recommendation towards the future of this project is to edit the project just a tad. Instead of just a care package being delivered, maybe making Appreciation Day into a day of letting the staff do activities that are stress relievers

Evaluation of the Terminal Sequencing and Spacing System for Performance Based Navigation Arrivals

NASA has developed the Terminal Sequencing and Spacing (TSS) system, a suite of advanced arrival management technologies combining timebased scheduling and controller precision spacing tools. TSS is a ground-based controller automation tool that facilitates sequencing and merging arrivals that have both current standard ATC routes and terminal Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) routes, especially during highly congested demand periods. In collaboration with the FAA and MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), TSS system performance was evaluated in human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations with currently active controllers as participants. Traffic scenarios had mixed Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) equipage, where the more advanced RNP-equipped aircraft had preferential treatment with a shorter approach option. Simulation results indicate the TSS system achieved benefits by enabling PBN, while maintaining high throughput rates-10% above baseline demand levels. Flight path predictability improved, where path deviation was reduced by 2 NM on average and variance in the downwind leg length was 75% less. Arrivals flew more fuel-efficient descents for longer, spending an average of 39 seconds less in step-down level altitude segments. Self-reported controller workload was reduced, with statistically significant differences at the p less than 0.01 level. The RNP-equipped arrivals were also able to more frequently capitalize on the benefits of being "Best-Equipped, Best- Served" (BEBS), where less vectoring was needed and nearly all RNP approaches were conducted without interruption

Upper Temperature Limits of Tropical Marine Ectotherms: Global Warming Implications

Animal physiology, ecology and evolution are affected by temperature and it is expected that community structure will be strongly influenced by global warming. This is particularly relevant in the tropics, where organisms are already living close to their upper temperature limits and hence are highly vulnerable to rising temperature. Here we present data on upper temperature limits of 34 tropical marine ectotherm species from seven phyla living in intertidal and subtidal habitats. Short term thermal tolerances and vertical distributions were correlated, i.e., upper shore animals have higher thermal tolerance than lower shore and subtidal animals; however, animals, despite their respective tidal height, were susceptible to the same temperature in the long term. When temperatures were raised by 1°C hour−1, the upper lethal temperature range of intertidal ectotherms was 41–52°C, but this range was narrower and reduced to 37–41°C in subtidal animals. The rate of temperature change, however, affected intertidal and subtidal animals differently. In chronic heating experiments when temperature was raised weekly or monthly instead of every hour, upper temperature limits of subtidal species decreased from 40°C to 35.4°C, while the decrease was more than 10°C in high shore organisms. Hence in the long term, activity and survival of tropical marine organisms could be compromised just 2–3°C above present seawater temperatures. Differences between animals from environments that experience different levels of temperature variability suggest that the physiological mechanisms underlying thermal sensitivity may vary at different rates of warming

Evaluation of the Controller-Managed Spacing Tools, Flight-Deck Interval Management and Terminal Area Metering Capabilities for the ATM Technology Demonstration #1

NASA has developed a suite of advanced arrival management technologies combining time-based scheduling with controller- and flight deck-based precision spacing capabilities that allow fuel-efficient arrival operations during periods of high throughput. An operational demonstration of these integrated technologies, i.e., the ATM Technology Demonstration #1 (ATD-1), is slated for 2016. Human-in-the-loop simulations were conducted to evaluate the performance of the ATD-1 system and validate operational feasibility. The ATD-1 system was found to be robust to scenarios with saturated demand levels and high levels of system delay. High throughput, 10 above baseline demand levels, and schedule conformance less than 20 seconds at the 75th percentile were achievable. The flight-deck interval management capabilities also improved the median schedule conformance at the final approach fix from 5 to 3 seconds with less variance

2023 State of the Commonwealth Report

This is Old Dominion University\u27s ninth annual State of the Commonwealth Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the University, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian Hemphill, Ph.D., the board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy. Our work seeks to contribute to the conversation about how Virginia can foster growth across the Commonwealth without glossing over the challenges we face. Instead of retreating into partisan enclaves where affirmation is sought over information, we want to encourage difficult conversations to improve economic outcomes for all of Virginia\u27s residents

The State of the Region: Hampton Roads 2024

This is Old Dominion University’s 25th annual State of the Region Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian Hemphill, Ph.D., the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business, or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy. The news, especially when compared to the previous decade, is mostly good. The region’s economy grew in 2023 and will likely grow for a fourth consecutive year in 2024. Even after accounting for inflation, average wages in Hampton Roads were higher than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we also cannot ignore the data that our region’s economic performance continues to lag its peer and aspirant metropolitan areas. We are running faster than before, but still not as fast as we need to win the economic race. Since its inception in 1999, the State of the Region Report has sought to inform without minimizing the challenges facing the region or downplaying the opportunities that could spur economic growth. Leveraging opportunities and surmounting challenge will require us to lean into regional solutions. We applaud the progress made so far and commend efforts to build one region out of the many localities that call Hampton Roads home

Addressing the Global Expertise Gap in Radiation Oncology: The Radiation Planning Assistant

PURPOSE: Automation, including the use of artificial intelligence, has been identified as a possible opportunity to help reduce the gap in access and quality for radiotherapy and other aspects of cancer care. The Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA) project was conceived in 2015 (and funded in 2016) to use automated contouring and treatment planning algorithms to support the efforts of oncologists in low- and middle-income countries, allowing them to scale their efforts and treat more patients safely and efficiently (to increase access). DESIGN: In this review, we discuss the development of the RPA, with a particular focus on clinical acceptability and safety/risk across jurisdictions as these are important indicators for the successful future deployment of the RPA to increase radiotherapy availability and ameliorate global disparities in access to radiation oncology. RESULTS: RPA tools will be offered through a webpage, where users can upload computed tomography data sets and download automatically generated contours and treatment plans. All interfaces have been designed to maximize ease of use and minimize risk. The current version of the RPA includes automated contouring and planning for head and neck cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, and metastases to the brain. CONCLUSION: The RPA has been designed to bring high-quality treatment planning to more patients across the world, and it may encourage greater investment in treatment devices and other aspects of cancer treatment

Cerebral oximetry during cardiac arrest : a multicenter study of neurologic outcomes and survival

OBJECTIVES Cardiac arrest is associated with morbidity and mortality because of cerebral ischemia. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that higher regional cerebral oxygenation during resuscitation is associated with improved return of spontaneous circulation, survival, and neurologic outcomes at hospital discharge. We further examined the validity of regional cerebral oxygenation as a test to predict these outcomes. DESIGN Multicenter prospective study of in-hospital cardiac arrest. SETTING Five medical centers in the United States and the United Kingdom. PATIENTS Inclusion criteria are as follows: in-hospital cardiac arrest, age 18 years old or older, and prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation greater than or equal to 5 minutes. Patients were recruited consecutively during working hours between August 2011 and September 2014. Survival with a favorable neurologic outcome was defined as a cerebral performance category 1-2. INTERVENTIONS Cerebral oximetry monitoring. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Among 504 in-hospital cardiac arrest events, 183 (36%) met inclusion criteria. Overall, 62 of 183 (33.9%) achieved return of spontaneous circulation, whereas 13 of 183 (7.1%) achieved cerebral performance category 1-2 at discharge. Higher mean ± SD regional cerebral oxygenation was associated with return of spontaneous circulation versus no return of spontaneous circulation (51.8% ± 11.2% vs 40.9% ± 12.3%) and cerebral performance category 1-2 versus cerebral performance category 3-5 (56.1% ± 10.0% vs 43.8% ± 12.8%) (both p < 0.001). Mean regional cerebral oxygenation during the last 5 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation best predicted the return of spontaneous circulation (area under the curve, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.69-0.83); regional cerebral oxygenation greater than or equal to 25% provided 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 94-100) and 100% negative predictive value (95% CI, 79-100); regional cerebral oxygenation greater than or equal to 65% provided 99% specificity (95% CI, 95-100) and 93% positive predictive value (95% CI, 66-100) for return of spontaneous circulation. Time with regional cerebral oxygenation greater than 50% during cardiopulmonary resuscitation best predicted cerebral performance category 1-2 (area under the curve, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.70-0.88). Specifically, greater than or equal to 60% cardiopulmonary resuscitation time with regional cerebral oxygenation greater than 50% provided 77% sensitivity (95% CI,:46-95), 72% specificity (95% CI, 65-79), and 98% negative predictive value (95% CI, 93-100) for cerebral performance category 1-2. CONCLUSIONS Cerebral oximetry allows real-time, noninvasive cerebral oxygenation monitoring during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Higher cerebral oxygenation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation is associated with return of spontaneous circulation and neurologically favorable survival to hospital discharge. Achieving higher regional cerebral oxygenation during resuscitation may optimize the chances of cardiac arrest favorable outcomes

Scaling up small-scale food processing for therapeutic and complementary foods for children in Vietnam

“This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC).”Vietnam’s National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) is working with Ryerson University (Canada) researchers to bring sustainable solutions to rural Vietnam. These include the direct procurement of crops from smallholder women farmers, the decentralized production of fortified foods in small local food processing facilities, and a reliable commercial supply chain that sees products purchased by hundreds of nutrition counseling centres. This two-page policy brief/brochure outlines the project strategy

The Blueprint: #BlackInTheArts

The Black Musicians Coalition is pleased to present The Blueprint: #blackinthearts, an interdisciplinary Black History celebration that incorporates new and old aspects of Black art and the impact that it has on current music and art styles. The production features an original arrangement of the Black National Anthem and multiple choreographed dance numbers all by KSU students as well as performances by KSU SOM faculty member Tyrone Jackson. This event is brought together by a collaboration of student leaders from each school in the College of the Arts: Music, Theater, Dance and Visual Arts. The acts highlight the students’ contributions to their disciplinary fields as well as their experiences being Black and in the arts.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2373/thumbnail.jp