Use of Aquatic Based Physical Therapy in Treating an Adolescent with Severe Type II Spinal Muscle Atrophy: A Case Report

Background: Spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disorder of the motor neurons resulting in muscle atrophy and weakness of varying degrees based on severity and type. Although there is current research regarding forms of gene therapy and medications to treat this disease, there is limited research on the most effective physical therapy interventions, especially for more severe types. Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to discuss the therapeutic benefits of aquatic physical therapy in an individual with compromised neuromuscular control, even when gross motor outcome measures did not reflect measureable change. Case Description: The patient was a 17 year old male diagnosed with severe type II spinal muscle atrophy. His primary goals for therapy were to address back, wrist and neck pain. As a child, he never reached any gross motor developmental milestones. He utilized a power-wheelchair for mobility and required maximal assistance for all transfers. Intervention: The patient was seen for one land-based session and one aquatic-based session each week over the course of two years. Outcome Measures: Manual muscle testing and a SMA specific outcomes assessment did not indicate any measurable change in function. However, the PedsQL may be indicated to demonstrate improved quality of life. Discussion: The use of aquatic physical therapy for individuals with degenerative neuromuscular disorders can provide an environment of safety that optimizes their ability to utilize volitional muscular control even in the absence of measureable gross motor gains. Therapeutic benefits of aquatic physical therapy interventions in cases like this may be measured best by use of quality of life measures, such as the PedsQL

The influence of encoding context on the false recognition errors of third graders and adults.

The present study investigated the influence of encoding context on the types of recognition errors that adults and nine-year-olds commit . Encoding context was varied through the use of different orienting questions. In general, it was found that both nine-year-olds and adults were influenced by encoding context. Nine-year-olds, however, committed more contextually related false recognition errors only when they both answered orienting questions and generated related words, while adults were influenced by context only after answering orienting questions. When adults were asked to generate words in addition to answering questions, the encoding context effect disappeared. Two hypotheses were proposed to explain these results. The first suggested that children failed to process stimuli as elaborately as adults, and were thus less likely to incorrectly recognize more contextually related foils, unless they were explicitly required to generate related words (often foils) . The second hypothesis suggested that the retrieval strategies of adults and children differed. Children probably picked words on the test based on familiarity, and unless they generated foils, the context effect would not be expected to appear. Adults, however, may have employed more sophisticated test-taking strategies. After iv simply answering orienting questions, they may have selected some foils based on the context of remembered orienting questions. However, after generating related words, some subjects may have avoided choosing those words (usually foils) on the recognition memory test, resulting in the disappearance of the context effec

The Evolution of a Professional Coach

This thesis describes my journey of self discovery and renewal as I reinvented myself from my position as a sales and marketing manager in a corporate setting to that of a professional coach in private practice. I discuss my rationale for change and what precipitated it, how I became a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and how the Organizational Dynamics program prepared me to become a coach. I will also detail the role an undiagnosed learning disability played in my life and how I tapped its gifts and utilized my strengths to become my best self. The psychological foundations for change and my role in each of the steps are outlined. The coaching process is thoroughly examined as I coached my first client using the Wilkinsky Normative 9-Step Coaching model. I present my behavioral coaching model and discuss the principles upon which it is based. Real life coaching situations illustrate how the model was applied. Highlights from five professional coaching engagements provide insights into the types of coaching that I am currently practicing. I conclude with insights for readers who may be contemplating following in my path with questions and exercises to start them on their own path toward their passion. Finally, I discuss my future in coaching and where my endeavors may lead me

Eligibility to Receive Death Benefits Plus Accrued Compensation; State ex rel. Nyitray v. Industrial Commission

In State ex re. Nyitray v. Industrial Commission, the Ohio Supreme Court recently overruled State ex rel. Spiker v. Industrial Commission, a forty year-old case which had interpreted two important sections of the Ohio Workers\u27 Compensation Act. Under the new ruling, dependents of workers who die from work-related injuries or occupational diseases will be eligible to receive death benefits as well as compensation which had accrued to the worker up until the time of his death

Identification of Factors Associated with Fume Events Using Text Mining and Data Mining Methods

Pilots, flight attendants, and passengers can be exposed to toxic compounds when the bleed air that supplies the cabin and flight deck is contaminated with pyrolyzed hydraulic fluid or oil from turbine jet engines. These fume events occur sporadically and can result in acute or chronic exposure in air crews and can have catastrophic consequences if flight crew members become impaired or incapacitated. The purpose of this research was to explore unstructured textual data and identify important factors associated with these events. Models using machine learning algorithms were developed and tested using variables gleaned from the text mining process and variables found in self-reported aviation incidents. Safety reports from flight and cabin crews working in 14 C.F.R. § 121 Domestic, Flag, and Supplemental Operations during 2015-2019 were downloaded from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Narratives from these reports were explored using the text mining process in SAS®Text Miner to identify potentially new factors associated with the occurrence of fume events. The text mining process included text parsing, text filtering, text clustering, and text topic. The identified factors were combined with variables from the ASRS reports to develop six models. These models used decision tree, gradient boosting, logistic regression, and random forest algorithms. Values for misclassification rate, receiver operating characteristic curves, and lift curves were used to assess model accuracy and predictive power to determine the best-performing model. Four models produced similar results with accuracy above 96 percent. The top four performing models were gradient boosting, random forest, logistic regression, and a 7-branch decision tree model. Sensory perception was found to be the most important factor in all four top-ranking models for the occurrence of fume events. The cabin affected and power change factors were also listed in the top ten factors in four of the models with varying degrees of importance. Four other factors, including aircraft action, passenger disruption, system anomaly, and engine issue, were associated with the occurrence of fume events in three of the top four models. The identification of sensory perception, power change, aircraft action, and engine issue is consistent with previous research in fume events. This research identified three new factors associated with the occurrence of fume events: cabin affected, passenger disruption, and system anomaly. These factors can be used in the identification of fume events and to educate and increase awareness of potential events for flight and cabin crew members. They can also be included as variable fields in a national database to capture information regarding the occurrence of these events. Each of these activities could contribute to the health and safety of crews and passengers, reduce flight disruptions due to fume events, and limit financial losses due to flight disruptions

The Rhetoric of Refugees: Literacy, Narrative and Identity for Somali Women

This dissertation is a project in the recovery of the subjugated voices of Somali women who are living in the United States as a result of forced migration. Using a transactional, reflective, and activist methodology, I interviewed Somali women in an effort to recognize how multiples discourses of power impact assimilation and identity formation in their lives. I hope to influence how members of dominant cultures, particularly western cultures, research and write about refugees. This study considers the aspects of being Somali, a refugee, and a woman in the United States. As a contribution to academic discourse, I hope the way I approach and present my research will offer a new appreciation for refugees and their contributions to our communities

Prioritizing seagrass meadows for biodiversity conservation based on landscape connectivity

The spatial configuration of habitat and biological dispersal traits affect how organisms move across heterogenous landscapes, connecting populations and maintaining biodiversity. Quantifying this connectivity is critical to understanding and managing marine biodiversity. Despite its importance, for most regions, we lack estimates of connectivity and consideration of how habitat loss or restoration scenarios change connectivity and thereby affect diversity. We simulated dispersal and connectivity in several habitat change scenarios for seagrass habitats in the Salish Sea of British Columbia and Washington. We used a spatially explicit biophysical model to track passive larval dispersal in oceanographic currents for select life history traits. The resulting potential connections were compared to field-sampled biodiversity data. We found spatial variation in connectivity, and that only a few meadows were either highly connected or acted overwhelmingly as sources of dispersing individuals, while most meadows were only sources to meadows in their immediate vicinity. This approach provides a strategy to describe patterns of connectivity and simulate scenarios of habitat reconfiguration (restoration, loss) to identify meadows important for maintaining connectivity and diversity. Understanding connectivity of seagrass meadows could provide tools, based mostly on ocean current models and some life history information, that would allow MPA designs to consider connectivity

The Domain of Social Work: What is It

Cast within a framework derived from general systems theory, the authors examine the domain of the social work profession. Domain is first defined as having several components. These are specified and fully expanded as Claimed Domain, Domain Competition, Emerging Domain and Unclaimed Domain. This elaboration is followed by a discussion of some of the constraints that impinge upon the profession\u27s ability to define and to choose its domain