Traurede Prof. C. F. W. Walthers

Traurede Prof. C. F. W. Walthers (Wedding speech by Prof. C. F. W. Walthers

Life History of Zondra Thompson, MOT OTR/L

This study offers a glimpse into the life of Zondra Thompson from the time she graduated in 1972 from the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of North Dakota to the time she retired in 2007. This life history is one of the 31 life history interviews which are a part of a larger project, Life Histories of Individuals Who Have Been Influential in Developing Occupational Therapy (OT) in North Dakota and Wyoming. The purpose of the project is to gather information about the history and evolution of occupational therapy (OT) practice in North Dakota and Wyoming through life histories of individuals who have been influential in developing OT in these two states. This study is intended to provide current and future generations of occupational therapists a view of the history and how occupational therapy practice has evolved from its inception to current practice in North Dakota and Wyoming.https://commons.und.edu/ot-oral-histories-posters/1059/thumbnail.jp

The Utility of Smart Home Technology within Occupational Therapy Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore occupational therapist practitioners’ (OTPs) utility of smart home technology (SHT) in their practice, as well as to inquire into the facilitators and barriers of utilization of smart home technology within the practice of occupational therapy. Methodology: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, ND. A quantitative, descriptive research design utilizing survey methodology was used. Recruitment was conducted through purposive and convenience sampling. A 30-question Qualtrics survey was distributed to participants via social media and internet pages (OT4OT; AT4OT; CommunOT; and UND OT Alumni page). There was minimal inclusion criteria for the population recruited. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 26. The framework guiding this quantitative research study was the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) (Venkatesh, Thong, & Xu, 2012). Results: A total of 75 surveys were returned, both by occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). Most of the respondents were female (91%, n=68) and were OTs (85%, n=64). Most of the respondents practice in the United States (61%, n=46) working in home health (33%, n=25) and outpatient settings (31%, n=23). Overall, the respondents reported that they do not currently use SHT in practice (63%, n=47), that they are somewhat interested in using SHT (34%, n=21), and that most of their education on SHT is obtained from independent research or study (25%, n=16). When considering availability, respondents stated that they do not have time (57%, n=43) or access (36%, n=22) to incorporate SHT. Lastly, available funding and support are limited as well, with respondents stating they do not have employer (85%, n=52) or other funding (52%, n=31). Most non-financial support comes from co-workers (n=16) and family (n=8). Spearman rho correlations were conducted, finding multiple strong correlations between: the degree of support and who is providing the support (co-workers, family, etc.); level of comfort with utilizing SHT and effectiveness when utilizing SHT; types of funding sources available (private, insurance, etc.) and received amount of funding currently; and received funding and use. Conclusion: Occupational therapy practitioners are more likely to use SHT in practice if they have support in a variety of forms, but especially from their co-workers. Interest is also linked to increased support, increased access to funding, and increased availability. However, interest was not the driving force for being effective when using SHT. It was found that comfort with SHT was the driving force for practitioners to perceive they were effective when using it as an intervention. The most substantial barriers to using SHT that were identified include: lack of funding sources, lack of education, and lack of availability to the devices. These factors do not need to remain barriers and in fact can and should become supports to using SHT. Smart home technology should be used in care and when a practitioner takes a moment to develop interest in the topic, thus developing a better understanding and knowledge base, they will likely have an increase in comfort and therefore, perceived effectiveness when using technologies as interventions. All of these factors assist clients in the long run

Label-free enrichment of adrenal cortical progenitor cells using inertial microfluidics.

Passive and label-free isolation of viable target cells based on intrinsic biophysical cellular properties would allow for cost savings in applications where molecular biomarkers are known as well as potentially enable the separation of cells with little-to-no known molecular biomarkers. We have demonstrated the purification of adrenal cortical progenitor cells from digestions of murine adrenal glands utilizing hydrodynamic inertial lift forces that single cells and multicellular clusters differentially experience as they flow through a microchannel. Fluorescence staining, along with gene expression measurements, confirmed that populations of cells collected in different outlets were distinct from one another. Furthermore, primary murine cells processed through the device remained highly viable and could be cultured for 10 days in vitro. The proposed target cell isolation technique can provide a practical means to collect significant quantities of viable intact cells required to translate stem cell biology to regenerative medicine in a simple label-free manner

Social Contact in Shelter Dogs: Literature Review and Recommendations

Given the large number of dogs housed in animal shelters each year, it is important to consider how the shelter environment impacts a dog’s welfare. Providing shelter-housed dogs social contact with conspecifics can increase the welfare of the dogs and benefit the shelter by increasing adoption rates. Mostly Mutts Pet Rescue and Adoption Center in Kennesaw, Georgia was investigating ways to increase social contact for the dogs in their facility. To assist with this goal, we conducted a literature review that examined the impact of social housing, playgroups, and visual social contact on dog behavior. Social housing and playgroups can provide welfare benefits, including reducing abnormal behavior and decreasing aggression, and can also increase adoption rates. There has been limited research on the effect of visual social contact on behavior, but dogs provided with visual access have been found to spend more time in the front of their crate (which has been shown to increase adoption rates). We also propose that visual access may supply the dogs with a sense of predictability and control over their environment, an important aspect of welfare. This literature review discusses the benefits, cautions of, and requirements for these three modes of increasing welfare via social contact. We conclude with recommendations for Mostly Mutts Pet Rescue and Adoption Center based on observations we conducted on site and the supporting literature. However, the benefits of these recommendations are not restricted to Mostly Mutts, as they may be of benefit to other shelters as well

Impact of Human Presence and Visual Access on Barking Behavior in Shelter Dogs

Shelters can be stressful for dogs due to lack of predictability and control, social isolation, and busy environments. Providing dogs with more social opportunities and environmental predictability may improve their welfare. Barking may indicate stress and contribute to noise levels that are harmful to dogs and people. We investigated the impact of human presence and line of sight on barking. We manipulated line of sight by partially removing a crate barrier to allow the dogs visual access to other dogs and a better view of the room. We collected data on barking on 17 focal dogs as well as overall barking in the room during pre-treatment (no visual access), treatment (visual access), and post-treatment (no visual access) and noted if a person other than the observer was in the room. We found that in-room barking was significantly higher when a person was in the room (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, Z= -4.048, p \u3c .001). Based on these results, shelters should consider limiting the human activity in the room to reduce noise levels. Since barking did not significantly increase with the addition of visual access, shelters may also consider providing the dogs visual access as a way to allow beneficial social interaction

City noise as a potential stressor on the urban bird : an analysis of heterophil/lymphocyte ratios in European Starling nestlings

1 online resource (32 p.) : ill. (some col.)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-32).Anthropogenic disturbances are known to induce stress in a variety of rban species. This study aims to determine if one particular disturbance, ambient urban noise, influences the stress levels of nestling European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Nest boxes were randomly assigned to either an experimental (increased urban noise level) or a control treatment (normal ambient noise). Heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios were determine and used to estimate stress levels of nestlings at 11 and 15 days of age (day 0 being day of hatch). Higher H/L ratios are associated with increased stress levels. I predicted that nestlings in the experimental treatment would have higher H/L ratios than those in the control group. I also predicted that habituation or sensitization to the noise would occur; therefore nestlings would have either lower or higher H/L ratios on day 15 than on day 11. No significant difference in H/L ratios was detected between the two treatments at day 11. However, at day 15, control nestlings had significantly higher H/L ratios than did experimental nestlings. Experimental nestlings tended to have a lower H/L ratio at day 15 than at day 11, but no such pattern was detected in control nestlings. These findings suggest that, contrary to my prediction, constant loud noise may not be as important to inducing stress in urban-­‐thriving European starling nestlings as was previously thought. A future avenue of research would be to examine how the unpredictability of noise affects H/L ratios in this species

Therapist and client discussions of drinking and coping: a sequential analysis of therapy dialogues in three evidence-based alcohol use disorder treatments.

Research into the active ingredients of behavioral interventions for alcohol use disorders (AUD) has focused upon treatment-specific factors, often yielding disappointing results. The present study examines common factors of change in motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and 12-Step facilitation therapy by (1) estimating transitional probabilities between therapist behaviors and subsequent client Change (CT) and Sustain (ST) Talk and (2) examining therapist skillfulness as a potential predictor of transition probability magnitude. Secondary data analysis examined temporal associations in therapy dialogues. United States: data were from Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Homogeneity) (1997). One hundred and twenty-six participants who received motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy or 12-Step facilitation therapy. Therapist behaviors were measured in three categories (exploring, teaching, connecting) and client statements included five categories (CT-distal, ST-distal, CT-proximal, ST-proximal, neutral). Therapist skillfulness was measured using a five-point ordinal scale. Relative to chance, therapist exploratory behaviors predicted subsequent client discussion of distal, drinking behavior [odds ratio (OR) = 1.37-1.78, P < 0.001] while suppressing discussion of proximal coping and neutral content (OR = 0.83-0.90, P < 0.01). Unexpectedly, therapist teaching suppressed distal drinking language (OR = 0.48-0.53, P < 0.001) and predicted neutral content (OR = 1.45, P < 0.001). Connecting behaviors increased both drinking and coping language, particularly language in favor of change (CT OR = 1.15-1.84, P < 0.001). Analyses of exploring and connecting skillfulness revealed that high skillfulness maximized these behaviors effect on client responses, but not teaching skillfulness. In motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-Step facilitation therapy for alcohol use disorders, the therapists who explore and connect with clients appear to be more successful at eliciting discussion about change than therapists who engage in teaching behavior. Therapists who are more skilled achieve better results than those who are less skilled