Maine\u27s Sustainability Science Initiative

Goals: Maine\u27s Sustainability Science Initiative (SSI) seeks to catalyze and expand the state\u27s interdisciplinary research capacity for understanding the coupled dynamics of social-ecological systems (SES) and determining how such knowledge can best inform stakeholders and their decision-making processes. The core SSI objective is to create a new statewide Center for Sustainability Solutions (CSS) where place-based systems research, knowledge to action focus, and strong stakeholder partnerships will serve as a testbed for developing solutions to sustainable development challenges in and beyond Maine. The research focuses on three interacting drivers of landscape change (urbanization, forest ecosystem management, and climate change) that affect Maine and other regions. Although Maine has faced some serious environmental challenges, its ecosystems have not reached crisis points. As a result, Maine can be a valuable model for exploring proactive, cost-effective approaches to sustainable development, The proposed research will employ three innovative strategies: 1) model development and testing based on an integrated analysis of interactions among drivers of landscape change; 2) a quasi-experimental approach to evaluate the ability of alternative modeling techniques to account for SES thresholds, feedbacks, and resilience; and 3) close stakeholder partnerships to ensure that the work is shaped by the demands of social and institutional systems to enhance the value of the research for decision-making. These strategies depend upon a high-level of interdisciplinary integration, and build on past EPSCoR investments that created research teams characterized by diverse expertise. This project aims to increase the capacity and productivity of those teams, and create the foundation for a green innovation economy in Maine. In concert with the novel approach to innovative research, the project activities effectively integrate research and education to bolster the STEM training and scientific expertise of Maine\u27s future workforce. In collaboration with Maine STEM Coalition Initiative , the project engages K-12 students, integrates the Center for Sustainability Solutions\u27 research (a center that would be created with funding requested in this proposal) with K-12 education, and coordinates teacher professional development. At the postsecondary education levels, the project includes design of new courses that emphasize interdisciplinary and systems modeling and that integrate stakeholders into service-learning activities; development of interdisciplinary academic research and private sector internships; design of a mentoring program; and engagement of students in the development of use of innovative technology

Review of antimicrobial resistance in the environment and its relevance to environmental regulators

The environment is increasingly being recognised for the role it might play in the global spread of clinically-relevant antibiotic resistance. Environmental regulators monitor and control many of the pathways responsible for the release of resistance-driving chemicals into the environment (e.g., antimicrobials, metals, biocides). Hence, environmental regulators should be contributing significantly to the development of global and national antimicrobial resistance (AMR) action plans. It is argued that the lack of environment-facing mitigation actions included in existing AMR action plans is likely a function of our poor fundamental understanding of many of the key issues. Here, we aim to present the problem with AMR in the environment through the lens of an environmental regulator, using the Environment Agency (England’s regulator) as an example from which parallels can be drawn globally. The issues that are pertinent to environmental regulators are drawn out to answer: What are the drivers and pathways of AMR? How do these relate to the normal work, powers and duties of environmental regulators? What are the knowledge gaps that hinder the delivery of environmental protection from AMR? We offer several thought experiments for how different mitigation strategies might proceed. We conclude that: 1) AMR Action Plans do not tackle all the potentially relevant pathways and drivers of AMR in the environment; and 2) AMR Action Plans are deficient, in part, because the science to inform policy is lacking and this needs to be addressed

Personal Health and Community Safety Perceptions and their Association with Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines

Objective: To examine whether Vermonters’ perceptions of physical health, mental health, and community safety are associated with meeting Healthy Vermonters’ (HV) 2020 goals.1,2,3 Data was collected in 2017 and utilized for the present study, completed May 2020. Methods: Predictor variables for logistic regression analysis were the 4,393 respondents’ selfreported 1) physical health, 2) mental health, and 3) community safety for walking. Outcome variables were achievement of the HV 2020 goals for 1) aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity and 2) engagement in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). Results: The odds of meeting the HV 2020 guidelines for aerobic and muscle strengthening activity for those who ranked their community as “Extremely safe” for walking were higher than for those who ranked their community as “Not at all safe” (OR = 2.48; p = .012). Similarly, the odds of engaging in LTPA were higher for those who ranked their community “Extremely safe” than for those who ranked their community “Not at all safe”. (OR = 1.7; p = .046). Conclusion: Perception of neighborhood safety appears to be significantly related to meeting physical activity goals

Electronic Health Record's Effects on the Outpatient Office Visit and Clinical Education

Background: During an office visit, the provider has the important cognitive task of attending to the patient while actively using the electronic health record (EHR).  Prior literature suggests that EHR may have a positive effect on simple tasks, but a negative effect on tasks that require complex cognitive processes.  No study has examined the provider’s perception of EHR on multiple distinct aspects of the office visit.Methods: We surveyed providers/preceptors regarding their perception of EHR on multiple aspects of the office visit.  We summarized their EHR utilization history and their perceptions of the EHR during the visit using descriptive statistics.  We tested for associations between time spent using the EHR and distinct aspects of the visit using Chi-square tests of association.Results: In total, 83 providers/preceptors reported use of EHR (response rate 52%). Provider/preceptors reported an overall negative effect of EHR on the patient-provider connection, but an overall positive effect on the review of medications/medical records, communication between providers, review of results with patients and review of follow-up to testing results with patients. The effect of EHR on history taking and teaching students was neutral.  We observed no correlation between the provider’s time spent using the EHR and their perception of its effectiveness.Conclusions:  Providers reported a positive perception of EHR on aspects of the office visit that involved a single cognitive task.  However, providers reported a negative perception of EHR on patient-provider connection, which involves a high degree of cognitive processing

Simple LAMP PCR design for low resource setting and minimal environmental footprint

The present invention provides a device and method for testing a material for the presence of DNA. The system includes a centrifuge, a microchip performing cell lysis and an enclosure that contains an isothermal ballast material and chromogenic agent that melts at a specific temperature and displays a color change, respectively

An Interprofessional End of Life Simulation Using a Movie/Discussion Format

An Interprofessional End of Life Simulation Using a Movie/Discussion Format Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Congress Cape Town, South Africa July 25, 2016 Mary Val Palumbo, DNP, MSN, BS, APRN, GNP-BC1 Christina S. Melvin, MS, BS, PHCNS, BC, CHPN1 Nancy P. LeMieux, MSN, BSEd, RN1 Deborah A. O\u27Rouke, PhD, MA, MClSc, BSc, PT2 Jean Beatson, EdD, MS, RN3 Patricia A. Prelock, PhD, MA, BS, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL4 Kelly A. Melekis, PhD, MSW, LMSW5 Mary Alice Favro, MA, BS, CCC-SLP6 Vicki Hart, PhD7 (1)Department of Nursing, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (2)Dept. of Rehabilitation and Movement Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (3)Vermont Interdisciplinary Leadership Education for Health Professionals Program, University Of Vermont, Burlington, VT (4)Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (5)Department of Social Work, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (6)Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, VT (7)Office of Health Promotion Research, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT Purpose: The interprofessional team’s role in end of life care provides a unique opportunity for an educational simulation. Novel ways to teach this content to a large number of students were needed. This research evaluated a palliative care interprofessional educational activity for healthcare students from six disciplines using an in-person movie/discussion format. Methods: Healthcare provider assessment visits and a death scene were pilot tested in actual simulations using twenty four students with standardized patients portraying a patient with ALS and his husband. Scripts were written from recordings of these simulations and were used in the dialogue of the movie which had standardized patient actors playing the patient, husband, sister and the student healthcare providers. The movie portrayed a patient with ALS and his husband in five scenes: assessment of patient and family needs by nursing, physical therapy, social work and speech language pathology; and a death scene. The movie was then edited to be used for discussion by large student groups. An evaluation survey was developed with 14 questions scored on a Likert scale and related to Interprofessional Competency Domains of 1. Values/Ethics, 2. Roles/Responsibilities, 3. Interprofessional communication, and 4. Teams/teamwork. These competencies provided a structure for the evaluation questions, and a review by faculty in each discipline also provided content validity. Reliability of the survey instrument was not tested or established. Graduate nurse practitioner, medical, communication sciences and disorders, social work and physical therapy students as well as undergraduate nursing students participated together in end of life movie discussions in four sessions held in a classroom equipped with tables of six. Survey responses were compared across disciplines and across the four interprofessional competency domains using a Chi-square test and adjusting for multiple comparisons. Significant differences were established at p Results: Student evaluations of the end of life simulations were consistently positive. Eighty percent of the participants (n=162) strongly agreed that they recognize the necessity of utilizing a healthcare team when providing care for patients at the end of life. All participants agreed that they would continue to forge relationships with other healthcare professionals to improve care for elders. Physical therapy students were consistently had the most positive responses; however, significant differences were only observed in three of the 14 questions. There were no significant differences between disciplines across the four interprofessional competency domains. A summary of qualitative data from the open ended questions will be also be presented. Conclusion: Interprofessional end of life care can be simulated in a carefully planned activity. The value of the experience was expressed by all students. Nurse practitioner students valued being able to practice supervising a palliative care team and facilitating the team discussion. Other students appreciated a safe place to discuss how to care for a dying patient and their family. Regarding the evaluation, small sample sizes in some disciplines may have limited the ability to detect significant differences between groups. Production of a movie and the discussion of the different scenes helped lower the cost of the simulation and scale up the activity for use with large groups of students. Interprofessional education requires innovative pedagogy that must be evaluated and disseminated. Consistent evaluation of interprofessional practice competency domains must be included in all educational activities

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Bionic bodies, posthuman violence and the disembodied criminal subject

This article examines how the so-called disembodied criminal subject is given structure and form through the law of homicide and assault. By analysing how the body is materialised through the criminal law’s enactment of death and injury, this article suggests that the biological positioning of these harms of violence as uncontroversial, natural, and universal conditions of being ‘human’ cannot fully appreciate what makes violence wrongful for us, as embodied entities. Absent a theory of the body, and a consideration of corporeality, the criminal law risks marginalising, or altogether eliding, experiences of violence that do not align with its paradigmatic vision of what bodies can and must do when suffering its effects. Here I consider how the bionic body disrupts the criminal law’s understanding of human violence by being a body that is both organic and inorganic, and capable of experiencing and performing violence in unexpected ways. I propose that a criminal law that is more receptive to the changing, technologically mediated conditions of human existence would be one that takes the corporeal dimensions of violence more seriously and, as an extension of this, adopts an embodied, embedded, and relational understanding of human vulnerability to violence