A Program Development and Evaluation Project for Provider Use of Buprenorphine Maintenance

Background: Buprenorphine (BNX) is used in Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) deterrence. Optimal long-term duration with BNX is unclear, but evidence shows that there is a high risk for relapse when medicine is discontinued even if maintenance has been stable for some time. Outcomes: The purpose of this project was to decrease barriers for providers implementing BNX therapy for individuals diagnosed with OUD. Outcomes measured included: (1) knowledge of and barriers to implementing current guidelines, (2) factors preventing use of guidelines, (3) recommendations for BNX maintenance as per guidelines. Methods: Using a pre-post intervention design, participant knowledge on BNX guidelines, factors preventing use and motivation for practice change were measured using non-standardized questionnaires. Participants were instructed on current guidelines and recommendations to overcome barriers. Results: Both providers completed surveys in full. Both providers showed consistency and knowledge in the field. DEA limitations with lack of resources and poor treatment models contributing to poor guideline adherence was a concern for both providers. One provider believed it is beneficial to discontinue BNX at some point while the other encourages more long-term use. The clinic was pursuing expansion of resources and more providers to alleviate barriers. Conclusions: Adhering to BNX guidelines have implications on quality of care impacting clinical, policy, leadership, and ultimately safety levels placing relapse wellbeing states at risk. Results were of value as they discussed important factors necessary to address and ways to improve such thus improving outcomes. Greater attention to guidelines and continuous advocation is vital for sustainability

The Figurines of Tureng Tepe: Ceramic Bodies and Social Life at a Bronze Age site in northeastern Iran

The figurines of Tureng Tepe are a remarkable collection of terracotta anthropomorphs that are unique in both a micro- and macro-regional context. Their significance has long been recognized, but systematic investigation into this corpus of figurines has not been forthcoming. Previous scholars who have engaged with this material have generally agreed that these figurines are evidence of various kinds of Goddess worship. This study calls that assumption into question on theoretical and empirical grounds. In order to 'test' this hypothesis, this thesis documents the figurines through a revised typology, as well as morphological, stylistic, and contextual analyses. It finds that based on these figurines there is no evidence to suggest the existence of worship of a Mother Goddess. The corollary of performing this analysis was that a reformulation of the fundamental questions at the heart of figurine studies from "what" questions to "how" questions. This shift allows for not only an anthropological analysis of the significance of these figurines vis-a-vis the negotiation of different social identities, but also in terms of cross-cultural analysis. It is proposed that by investigating the semeiotic ideologies that were materialized through figurines, we can begin to build a picture of the process of identity negotiation in the Ancient Near East at both a local and regional scale during the Bronze Age.Social and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research Grant (Autumn 2010, Spring 2011)Undergraduate Student Government Spring Academic Enrichment Grant (Spring 2011)Elizabeth Kiss Amstutz Humanities Merit Scholarship (Spring 2011)Undergraduate Research Office Summer Research Fellowship (Spring 2011)Arts & Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Grant (Spring/Summer 2011)No embarg

A measurement system for large, complex software programs

This paper describes measurement systems required to forecast, measure, and control activities for large, complex software development and support programs. Initial software cost and quality analysis provides the foundation for meaningful management decisions as a project evolves. In modeling the cost and quality of software systems, the relationship between the functionality, quality, cost, and schedule of the product must be considered. This explicit relationship is dictated by the criticality of the software being developed. This balance between cost and quality is a viable software engineering trade-off throughout the life cycle. Therefore, the ability to accurately estimate the cost and quality of software systems is essential to providing reliable software on time and within budget. Software cost models relate the product error rate to the percent of the project labor that is required for independent verification and validation. The criticality of the software determines which cost model is used to estimate the labor required to develop the software. Software quality models yield an expected error discovery rate based on the software size, criticality, software development environment, and the level of competence of the project and developers with respect to the processes being employed

Applying Coaching Strategies to Support Youth- and Family-Focused Extension Programming

In this article, we describe how a peer-coaching model has been applied to support community-based Extension programming through the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) initiative. We describe the general approaches to coaching that have been used to help with CYFAR program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability efforts; we discuss strategies coaches use to maintain effective relationships with CYFAR stakeholders; and we review common characteristics of effective coaches. Finally, we discuss implications that coaching strategies might have for Extension programming in general and present future directions for research and practice related to peer coaching

A Formative Evaluation of the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Coaching Model

In this article, we describe the results of a formative evaluation of a coaching model designed to support recipients of funding through the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) initiative. Results indicate that CYFAR coaches draw from a variety of types of coaching and that CYFAR principle investigators (PIs) are generally satisfied with the coaches\u27 methods. Areas in which PIs would like to see changes to the coaching model include amount of technical coaching and amount of help with specific CYFAR funding requirements. We review strategies for incorporating this feedback into practice and discuss implications for CYFAR and for Extension in general

Expansion Thoracoplasty Affects Lung Growth and Morphology in a Rabbit Model: A Pilot Study

Background: Thoracic insufficiency syndrome represents a novel form of postnatal restrictive respiratory disease occurring in children with early-onset scoliosis and chest wall anomalies. Expansion thoracoplasty improves lung volumes in children with thoracic insufficiency syndrome; however, how it affects lung development is unknown. Questions/purposes: Using a rabbit model of thoracic insufficiency syndrome, we evaluated the effect of expansion thoracoplasty on the response of biologic mechanisms in the alveolar microstructure. Methods: Using archived material from a previous experiment, 10 4-week-old New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: normal (n = 3), disease (n = 3), and treated (n = 4). Left ribs four to eight were tethered in seven rabbits at age 5 weeks to induce hypoplasia of the left hemithorax (disease). At age 10 weeks, four of these rabbits were treated by expansion thoracoplasty (treated). At age 24 weeks, lungs were excised and processed. Alveolar density and parenchymal airspace were measured on histologic sections. Immunohistochemistry was performed for vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (angiogenesis), KI-67 (cell proliferation), and RAM-11 (macrophages). Results: Alveolar walls were poorly perfused and airspace fraction was larger (emphysematous) in disease rabbits than normal or treated rabbits. Immunohistochemistry provided inconclusive evidence to support the concept that pulmonary hypoplasia is induced by thoracic insufficiency syndrome and controlled by expansion thoracoplasty. Conclusions: Treatment of thoracic insufficiency syndrome by expansion thoracoplasty may prevent emphysematous changes in the alveolar microstructure, thereby enhancing gas exchange

Guidance, Navigation, and Control for NASA Lunar Pallet Lander

The NASA Lander Technology project is leading the development and integration of the Lunar Pallet Lander (LPL) concept. The objective is to demonstrate precision landing by delivering a payload to the lunar surface within 100 meters of a landing target. Potential landing sites are selected near the lunar pole where water may be present in permanently shadowed regions that could enable future in-situ resource utilization. The LPL is part of a sequence of missions aimed at maturing the necessary technologies, such as lunar precision landing sensors, that will enable the next generation of multi-ton lunar payloads and human landers. This paper provides an overview of the Mission Design, Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) algorithms, and sensor suite. The results show the LPL simulated trajectory and landing precision performance under nominal and dispersed conditions. The landing precision simulation confirms the need to rely on high-accuracy navigation techniques and sensors such as Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) and the Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL), currently being developed for space applications. The results also demonstrate the ability of the guidance and control system to perform a soft lunar touchdown by combining thrust vector control during the solid rocket motor deceleration phase, and pulse engine control, for the liquid powered descent phase

A global transcriptional network connecting noncoding mutations to changes in tumor gene expression.

Although cancer genomes are replete with noncoding mutations, the effects of these mutations remain poorly characterized. Here we perform an integrative analysis of 930 tumor whole genomes and matched transcriptomes, identifying a network of 193 noncoding loci in which mutations disrupt target gene expression. These 'somatic eQTLs' (expression quantitative trait loci) are frequently mutated in specific cancer tissues, and the majority can be validated in an independent cohort of 3,382 tumors. Among these, we find that the effects of noncoding mutations on DAAM1, MTG2 and HYI transcription are recapitulated in multiple cancer cell lines and that increasing DAAM1 expression leads to invasive cell migration. Collectively, the noncoding loci converge on a set of core pathways, permitting a classification of tumors into pathway-based subtypes. The somatic eQTL network is disrupted in 88% of tumors, suggesting widespread impact of noncoding mutations in cancer

Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity.

Atrophy of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in the pathophysiology of depression and related disorders. The ability to promote both structural and functional plasticity in the PFC has been hypothesized to underlie the fast-acting antidepressant properties of the dissociative anesthetic ketamine. Here, we report that, like ketamine, serotonergic psychedelics are capable of robustly increasing neuritogenesis and/or spinogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. These changes in neuronal structure are accompanied by increased synapse number and function, as measured by fluorescence microscopy and electrophysiology. The structural changes induced by psychedelics appear to result from stimulation of the TrkB, mTOR, and 5-HT2A signaling pathways and could possibly explain the clinical effectiveness of these compounds. Our results underscore the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and, importantly, identify several lead scaffolds for medicinal chemistry efforts focused on developing plasticity-promoting compounds as safe, effective, and fast-acting treatments for depression and related disorders