It\u27s the Way You Sing It : Translating Music Therapy for Isolated Older Adults Affected by Covid-19 to the Television Screen

The current Covid-19 pandemic has increased the likelihood of loneliness and social isolation among older adults due to the restrictions on movement and visitations in care facilities. Loneliness and social isolation have consistently been identified as risk factors for poor mental and physical health in older people. Meanwhile, a growing number of older adults are utilizing technological resources to enhance their interpersonal relationships and overall quality of life. In the winter of 2020/2021, an innovative music therapy-informed television program was designed and produced for isolated older adults in need of mental and emotional support. This project, produced jointly by a senior living facility and a community television station in Haverhill, Massachusetts, resulted in a 6-episode television program which offered music, trivia, and discussions organized around the themes of the holidays, friendship, self-care, gratitude, resilience, and loss. Results demonstrated that the use of music to engage older adults virtually through a television program was effective in decreasing symptoms of loneliness in participating individuals as well as in increasing interest in musical engagement. Results also demonstrated increased self-confidence among residents of the senior living facility who were featured on the television program, as well as increased interest in peer socialization. Operating from a resource-oriented framework and informed by community music therapy, this research project advocates for a strengths-based rather than a pathology-based approach to health and questions the traditional boundaries between a performance space and a therapeutic space. Through this capstone thesis, this author advocates for innovation and creativity in resourcing technology to meet the growing mental health needs of older adults

Embedded Librarians in the Classroom: A Case Study at HKUST Library

The introduction of new 4-year undergraduate program has unprecedented impacts on the curriculum design, pedagogies and student learning styles for higher education institutions in Hong Kong. In order to prepare for this challenging reform, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has strategically redeveloped its undergraduate curriculum. The new curriculum also emphasizes the student-centric approach, with new teaching initiatives to enhance students learning and personal development. Apart from equipping students with sound knowledge in specialized subject areas, graduates are also expected to develop high-level, transferable competencies including critical thinking, leadership, teamwork and information literacy. For many years, the Library has been offering information literacy instructions in all means through orientation programs, course-related classes, credit-bearing information literacy course, database workshops and web-based tutorials. To support the new pedagogical reforms, the Library must be proactive in promoting ourselves to faculty and students as their partners in teaching, learning and research. The librarians must also recognize users’ information needs and behaviors in order to deliver effective, relevant and creative services. In spring, 2011, two reference librarians were invited to join a newly developed engineering course; worked closely with undergraduate students and faculty on solutions to real world challenges throughout the semester. It was the first time HKUST librarians embedded in a course. This collaboration not only strengthened our relationship with faculty and students, it also helped us better understand the learning and information-seeking behaviors of our young generations, and gave us directions on what and how to support student learning in the future. This paper chronicles the faculty-librarian collaboration; follows by the discussion of emerging opportunities and challenges for embedded librarianship in one of the signature courses at the HKUST

Using intervention strategies to engage tertiary biology students in their development of numeric skills

Tertiary Biology students are expected to calculate parameters from their experimental data gathered in practical classes, interpret the meaning(s) of these biological parameters and then discuss their findings in the context of the published literature. As teachers we expect students to have developed sound numeracy skills from their previous studies and be able to transfer these numeracy skills into their studies in Biology. However, Biology students are less than confident about performing calculations. Using research on student anxiety of learning mathematical skills (Meece , Wigfield and Eccles 1990; Boyd, Cullen, Bass, Pittman and Regan 1998; Klinger 2004) and self-efficacy intervention strategies (Hattie, Biggs and Purdie 1996; Pajares, Miller and Johnson 1999; Phan and Walker 2000; Schulz 2005), a numeric skills task was designed for second year plant science students and has been implemented since 2001. The numeric skills task allows each student to determine their confidence in: (a) their understanding of numeric concepts; (b) their understanding of quantities used in plant physiology; and, (c) their ability to calculate and convert between units of measure. An evaluation of the task shows that although all students were able to demonstrate their understanding of a physical parameter (e.g., volume), 32% of students were not confident with applying this understanding to estimating volumes, e.g., the volume of the tutorial room. A high proportion of students (47%) lacked confidence with converting between cubic metres and litres. Feedback from open-ended responses was categorised to measure student engagement with the task. Students who were the least confident with their answers had high levels of engagement with the numeracy task compared with those students who were more confident with their numeracy skills, indicating that students most likely to benefit from the task had been successfully targeted. Enabling students to engage in their own skills development appears to be a useful approach, particularly for students lacking confidence. This work is an analysis of a current assessment practice, and is being extended into a research project to help define the numeracy threshold of students in the Life Sciences

Reclaiming Communities and Languages

This article discusses efforts by tribal leaders and members of Cochiti Pueblo, one of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, to restore aspects of community life that had been damaged by federal programs-programs that had been carried out without careful study of how they might affect the community. The construction of a dam above the Pueblo by the Army Corps of Engineers nearly three decades ago resulted in the destruction of the pueblo\u27s farmlands. It caused profound disruptions in the lives of the people in this agrarian community, not only in economic terms but in nearly every other aspect of life in the Pueblo. The loss of the indigenous language since the building of the dam is viewed by community leaders as the most crucial change because the language was the key to participation in the life of the community. This article documents these changes, and discusses steps being taken to revitalize the language, and to reclaim the community\u27s future

Battery Separator Characterization and Evaluation Procedures for NASA's Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries

To address the future performance and safety requirements for the electrical energy storage technologies that will enhance and enable future NASA manned aerospace missions, advanced rechargeable, lithium-ion battery technology development is being pursued within the scope of the NASA Exploration Technology Development Program s (ETDP's) Energy Storage Project. A critical cell-level component of a lithium-ion battery which significantly impacts both overall electrochemical performance and safety is the porous separator that is sandwiched between the two active cell electrodes. To support the selection of the optimal cell separator material(s) for the advanced battery technology and chemistries under development, laboratory characterization and screening procedures were established to assess and compare separator material-level attributes and associated separator performance characteristics

The growing gap between demand and availability of clinical psychology in Paediatric Gastroenterology: a retrospective analysis of clinical routine care.

Funder: University of CambridgeClinical psychology intervention in paediatric gastroenterology is vital given the biopsychosocial aetiology of paediatric functional gastrointestinal disorders, and the psychological impact of chronic conditions. The aim was to assess the availability and benefit of clinical psychology in paediatric gastroenterology across the UK and Germany. A retrospective assessment of referrals (n = 936 referrals) to clinical psychology was performed at our tertiary paediatric gastroenterology centre between 2010 and 2018. The availability of clinical psychologists and outcome of psychology intervention for children with functional abdominal pain were also assessed. Access to clinical psychology across the UK and Germany was assessed using an online questionnaire. We observed a substantial rise in the number of clinical psychology referrals between 2010 and 2018. Increasing demand was not matched by sufficient increase in availability of clinical psychology, leading to longer waiting times. A major benefit of clinical psychology intervention was highlighted with 95% of patients (n = 20) reporting a significant reduction in symptoms. Of the 12 centres who responded, 11 centres have direct access to clinical psychology with a mean of 13% of patients requiring psychology referrals annually.Conclusion: Despite evidence of its benefit and increasing demand, there is insufficient access to clinical psychological services, highlighting the urgent need to address this important issue. What is known: • The biopsychosocial pathophysiology of functional gastrointestinal disorders involves a disordered brain-gut interaction, which emphasizes the close link between psychological factors and altered gut function. • Psychological intervention, as an adjunct to medical treatment, improves outcomes in paediatric patients with gastrointestinal (GI) disease such as functional gastrointestinal disorders and inflammatory bowel diseases What is new: • There is a rising number of referrals from paediatric gastroenterology to clinical psychology in our centre which is not met by a sufficient increase in the availability of clinical psychologists. Similarly, access to clinical psychological services is lacking in several paediatric gastroenterology centres in the UK and Germany. • Strategic action is required to address this important gap in the care of children suffering from GI diseases

Targeted Molecular Iron Oxide Contrast Agents for Imaging Atherosclerotic Plaque

Overview: Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with vulnerable plaque rupture the underlying cause of many heart attacks and strokes. Much research is focused on identifying an imaging biomarker to differentiate stable and vulnerable plaque. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-ionising and non-invasive imaging modality with excellent soft tissue contrast. However, MRI has relatively low sensitivity (micromolar) for contrast agent detection compared to nuclear imaging techniques. There is also an increasing emphasis on developing MRI probes that are not based on gadolinium chelates because of increasing concerns over associated systemic toxicity and deposits1. To address the sensitivity and safety concerns of gadolinium this project focused on the development of a high relaxivity probe based on superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for the imaging of atherosclerotic plaque with MRI. With development, this may facilitate differentiating stable and vulnerable plaque in vivo. Aim: To develop a range of MRI contrast agents based on superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), and test them in a murine model of advanced atherosclerosis. Methods: Nanoparticles of four core sizes were synthesised by thermal decomposition and coated with poly(maleicanhydride-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAO), poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) or alendronate, then characterised for core size, hydrodynamic size, surface potential and relaxivity. On the basis of these results, one candidate was selected for further studies. In vivo studies using 10 nm PMAO-coated SPIONs were performed in ApoE-/- mice fed a western diet and instrumented with a perivascular cuff on the left carotid artery. Control ApoE-/- mice were fed a normal chow diet and were not instrumented. Mice were scanned on a 3T MR scanner (Philips Achieva) with the novel SPION contrast agent, and an elastin-targeted gadolinium agent that was shown previously to enable visualisation of plaque burden. Histological analysis was undertaken to confirm imaging findings through staining for macrophages, CX3CL1, elastin, tropoelastin, and iron. Results: The lead SPION agent consisted of a 10 nm iron oxide core with poly(maleicanhydride-alt-1-octadecene), (-36.21 mV, r2 18.806 mmol-1/s-1). The irregular faceting of the iron oxide core resulted in high relaxivity and the PMAO provided a foundation for further functionalisation on surface -COOH groups. The properties of the contrast agent, including the negative surface charge and hydrodynamic size, were designed to maximise circulation time and evade rapid clearance through the renal system or phagocytosis. In vitro testing showed that the SPION agent was non-toxic. In vivo results show that the novel contrast agent accumulates in similar vascular regions to a gadolinium-based contrast agent (Gd-ESMA) targeted to elastin, which accumulates in plaque. There was a significant difference in SPION signal between the instrumented and the contralateral non-instrumented vessels in diseased mice (p = 0.0411, student’s t-test), and between the instrumented diseased vessel and control vessels (p = 0.0043, 0.0022, student’s t-test). There was no significant difference between the uptake of either contrast agent between stable and vulnerable plaques (p = 0.3225, student’s t-test). Histological verification was used to identify plaques, and Berlin Blue staining confirmed the presence of nanoparticle deposits within vulnerable plaques and co-localisation with macrophages. Conclusion: This work presents a new MRI contrast agent for atherosclerosis which uses an under-explored surface ligand, demonstrating promising properties for in vivo behaviour, is still in circulation 24 hours post-injection with limited liver uptake, and shows good accumulation in a murine plaque model

Capacity building for dementia care in community care services: a mixed methods approach

Background The prevalence of dementia is surging that results in huge service demand in the community care services. Dementia care competence of staff working in these settings is fundamental of the care quality. This project aims to examine the effects of staff training on their competence for the anticipated challenges in dementia care and explore how the training influence their care practices. Methods This study adopted a mixed methods triangulation design, including a prospective multi-center study with pre-test post-test evaluations and a narrative analysis of the participants’ reflective essays. Seventeen experienced health and social care professionals were trained as trainers at the Dementia Services Development Centre of the University of Stirling, UK. The trainers provided local facilitator training to staff members by using training materials that were culturally adapted to the local context. The facilitators were required to deliver 12 two-hour in-service training sessions for 6 months to their colleagues in a small group format in their respective workplace. Eventually a total of 1347 staff members from community care centers, day care centers, outreach teams and care homes of 70 non-government organizations in Hong Kong participated in the study between April 2017 and December 2018. Validated instruments were used to measure knowledge, attitude, sense of competence in dementia care and job satisfaction at the baseline and at 12-month follow-up. All participants were required to write a reflective essay to describe their experiences in dementia care by the end of the training. Results A total of 1264 participants, including 195 facilitators and 1069 learners, completed all assessment were included for analysis. Significant improvements were observed in all outcomes at the 12-month follow-up assessment (Ps ≤ .001). The magnitude of improvements in attitudes was the largest. The findings also showed that the effects of the training program significantly varied across different groups of learners in terms of age, occupation, work and training experience. Conclusions This community-wide large-scale project provided evidence that the train-the-trainer model and reflective learning are effective means to facilitate situated learning that promote awareness and understanding of dementia, and consequently enhance sustainability of changes in care practices

Remarkable diversity in a little red dot: a comprehensive checklist of known ant species in Singapore (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with notes on ecology and taxonomy

Despite a legacy of extensive deforestation, the 720 km2 city state of Singapore still harbours impressively diverse flora and fauna. Given increasing evidence of global insect declines, we urgently need to better document and protect local insect diversity. Numerous species of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) have been recorded or described from Singapore since its founding in 1819. However, it has been over a century since Hugo Viehmeyer (1916) documented a total of 159 species found in the country. Here, we present an updated comprehensive checklist of all named species and subspecies of ants found in Singapore, with specimen collection data, and notes on taxonomy and ecology in the local context. We compiled the list based on museum collections material (the Zoological Reference Collection), primary literature sources, and verified records from known overseas repositories. We documented a total of 409 nominal species and subspecies, also a few notable morphospecies, from 10 subfamilies and 100 genera. These include new records for 121 species and 10 genera. Another 96 species and subspecies have types designated from Singapore; of these, 34 are currently considered as endemic. We also raised nine subspecies to species and synonymized two species, providing reasons justifying each status change: 1) Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) carinifer stat. n., 2) Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) tinctus nom rev., 3) Paraparatrechina malaccana stat. n., 4) Aphaenogaster simulans Forel, 1915 stat. n., 5) Myrmicaria adpressipilosa stat. n., 6) Vollenhovia minuta stat. n., 7) Vollenhovia brevicornis (Emery, 1893) = V. fridae Forel, 1913 syn. n., 8) Hypoponera javana stat. n., 9) Hypoponera singaporensis stat. n., 10) Mesoponera javana stat. n. Most species are considered native to Indomalaya, including 13 cosmopolitan tramps. Only 10 other species are presumed exotic to the region. At the time of writing, Singapore can be deemed the city with the highest recorded ant diversity in the world. Despite the sheer numbers, this list remains incomplete, with more species awaiting discovery or taxonomic resolution in future. The immense diversity of ants in Singapore is mainly threatened by continued decimation of remnant forest habitats and encroaching urban developments

Is acupuncture effective in controlling gagging when taking an alginate impressions?

Our community health project aimed to (1) identify the prevalence of gagging among patients attending the Prince Philip Dental Hospital; and to identify socio-demographic variations in reported gagging experiences; and (2) perform a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in the control of gagging in the dental setting. Methods: A survey on reported gagging experiences was conducted among patients attending our hospital involving a convenience sample of 225 patients. Participants who reported to previously gag in the dental setting were invited to participate in a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in controlling gagging when taking an upper alginate impression. Participants were randomized to receive acupuncture stimulation at a site reported to be effective in the control of gagging on the lower lip (point CV 24) or at a sham site on the upper lip (point GV 26) on their first visit and at their second visit to receive the alternative acupuncture stimulation. Results: The response rate to the survey was 81.3% (183/225). Approximately a third (58/183) reported to have experienced gagging in the dental setting and most frequently encountered this when having a dental impression (among approximately a quarter of participants - 44/183). Half (95/183) reported gagging while performing oral self-care. Four in ten participants (73/183) reported some stress visiting the dentist related to gagging. Sociodemographic variations in reported gagging experiences were evident with respect to age, gender and education level. The response rate to the pilot study was 92.3% (36/39). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of gagging when acupuncture was applied to the test site compared to when acupuncture was applied to the sham site on dental examination (p>0.05) or when taking an upper alginate impression (p>0.05). Conclusions: Gagging in a relative common experience reported by patients attending our hospital – in daily life, in the dental setting and in performing oral self-care. Socio-demographic variations in the prevalence of gagging were apparent. The pilot study does not support the use of acupuncture in controlling gagging in the dental setting.published_or_final_versio