Connecticut Thrives: Reimagining Community Health Workers - A Gap Analysis For Pediatric Behavioral Health In Connecticut And Proposed Workforce Recommendations

Children and families across the United States are facing incredible obstacles as they navigate siloed systems, like healthcare and education, to achieve overall health. This program projection analyzes current local and national trends in pediatric mental and behavioral health services in order to make a recommendation for the state of Connecticut to achieve more supportive and holistic care for children, with behavioral health needs, and their families. The program projected here is: Connecticut Thrives. This program is intended to work with existing state structures to utilize Community Health Workers for the intended purpose of ensuring seamless healthcare. Taking a social determinants of health lens, the program operates in a sustainable function to promote overall wellbeing for children and families in the state. CT Thrives is committed to help sustainably ensure children and families across Connecticut receive adequate services to meet mental health needs with the understanding that there is a multilayer system at play. This objective is met by implementing barrier reduction to social services, with comprehensive care coordination and support for the entire family. In partnership with a proposed framework called the Health Enhancement Communities (HEC), CT Thrives will comprehensively and sustainably meet the needs of Connecticut families to create the conditions for thriving children. The program functions on 4 essential components: connections between schools, families and home, use of community health workers, an innovative funding stream, and operating on positive aspects of previous state programs

Defect-free assembly of 2D clusters of more than 100 single-atom quantum systems

We demonstrate the defect-free assembly of versatile target patterns of up 111 neutral atoms, building on a 361-site subset of a micro-optical architecture that readily provides thousands of sites for single-atom quantum systems. By performing multiple assembly cycles in rapid succession, we drastically increase achievable structure sizes and success probabilities. We implement repeated target pattern reconstruction after atom loss and deterministic transport of partial atom clusters necessary for distributing entanglement in large-scale systems. This technique will propel assembled-atom architectures beyond the threshold of quantum advantage and into a regime with abundant applications in quantum sensing and metrology, Rydberg-state mediated quantum simulation, and error-corrected quantum computation

Laser Technologies for Applications in Quantum Information Science

Scientific progress in experimental physics is inevitably dependent on continuing advances in the underlying technologies. Laser technologies enable controlled coherent and dissipative atom-light interactions and micro-optical technologies allow for the implementation of versatile optical systems not accessible with standard optics. This thesis reports on important advances in both technologies with targeted applications ranging from Rydberg-state mediated quantum simulation and computation with individual atoms in arrays of optical tweezers to high-resolution spectroscopy of highly-charged ions. A wide range of advances in laser technologies are reported: The long-term stability and maintainability of external-cavity diode laser systems is improved significantly by introducing a mechanically adjustable lens mount. Tapered-amplifier modules based on a similar lens mount are developed. The diode laser systems are complemented by digital controllers for laser frequency and intensity stabilisation. The controllers offer a bandwidth of up to 1.25 MHz and a noise performance set by the commercial STEMlab platform. In addition, shot-noise limited photodetectors optimised for intensity stabilisation and Pound-Drever-Hall frequency stabilisation as well as a fiber based detector for beat notes in the MHz-regime are developed. The capabilities of the presented techniques are demonstrated by analysing the performance of a laser system used for laser cooling of Rb85 at a wavelength of 780 nm. A reference laser system is stabilised to a spectroscopic reference provided by modulation transfer spectroscopy. This spectroscopy scheme is analysed finding optimal operation at high modulation indices. A suitable signal is generated with a compact and cost-efficient module. A scheme for laser offset-frequency stabilisation based on an optical phase-locked loop is realised. All frequency locks derived from the reference laser system offer a Lorentzian linewidth of 60 kHz (FWHM) in combination with a long-term stability of 130 kHz peak-to-peak within 10 days. Intensity stabilisation based on acousto-optic modulators in combination with the digital controller allows for real-time intensity control on microsecond time scales complemented by a sample and hold feature with a response time of 150 ns. High demands on the spectral properties of the laser systems are put forward for the coherent excitation of quantum states. In this thesis, the performance of active frequency stabilisation is enhanced by introducing a novel current modulation technique for diode lasers. A flat response from DC to 100 MHz and a phase lag below 90° up to 25 MHz are achieved extending the bandwidth available for laserfrequency stabilisation. Applying this technique in combination with a fast proportional-derivative controller, two laser fields with a relative phase noise of 42 mrad for driving rubidium ground state transitions are realised. A laser system for coherent Rydberg excitation via a two-photon scheme provides light at 780 nm and at 480 nm via frequency-doubling from 960 nm. An output power of 0.6 W at 480 nm from a single-mode optical fiber is obtained . The frequencies of both laser systems are stabilised to a high-finesse reference cavity resulting in a linewidth of 1.02 kHz (FWHM) at 960 nm. Numerical simulations quantify the effect of the finite linewidth on the coherence of Rydberg Rabi-oscillations. A laser system similar to the 480 nm Rydberg system is developed for spectroscopy on highly charged bismuth. Advanced optical technologies are also at the heart of the micro-optical generation of tweezer arrays that offer unprecedented scalability of the system size. By using an optimised lens system in combination with an automatic evaluation routine, a tweezer array with several thousand sites and trap waists below 1 μm is demonstrated. A similar performance is achieved with a microlens array produced in an additive manufacturing process. The microlens design is optimised for the manufacturing process. Furthermore, scattering rates in dipole traps due to suppressed resonant light are analysed proving the feasibility of dipole trap generation using tapered amplifier systems

Vorbild mit Schwächen

Ökologische Modernisierung ist nicht nur ein politisches Schlagwort der Nachwendezeit – ihre Ergebnisse können seit 1989/90 in den neuen Bundesländern beobachtet werden. Dies gilt insbesondere für die alten industriellen Kerne der DDR wie Bitterfeld, Buna und Leuna und ihre Privatisierung durch die Treuhandanstalt. Was sind die Stärken und Schwächen der gewählten Modernisierungsstrategie, welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich für die Politik? Anhand eines Beispiels aus dem Chemiedreieck lassen sich auch Lehren für Osteuropa ziehen

Pupil Dilation Signals Surprise: Evidence for Noradrenaline’s Role in Decision Making

Our decisions are guided by the rewards we expect. These expectations are often based on incomplete knowledge and are thus subject to uncertainty. While the neurophysiology of expected rewards is well understood, less is known about the physiology of uncertainty. We hypothesize that uncertainty, or more specifically errors in judging uncertainty, are reflected in pupil dilation, a marker that has frequently been associated with decision making, but so far has remained largely elusive to quantitative models. To test this hypothesis, we measure pupil dilation while observers perform an auditory gambling task. This task dissociates two key decision variables – uncertainty and reward – and their errors from each other and from the act of the decision itself. We first demonstrate that the pupil does not signal expected reward or uncertainty per se, but instead signals surprise, that is, errors in judging uncertainty. While this general finding is independent of the precise quantification of these decision variables, we then analyze this effect with respect to a specific mathematical model of uncertainty and surprise, namely risk and risk prediction error. Using this quantification, we find that pupil dilation and risk prediction error are indeed highly correlated. Under the assumption of a tight link between noradrenaline (NA) and pupil size under constant illumination, our data may be interpreted as empirical evidence for the hypothesis that NA plays a similar role for uncertainty as dopamine does for reward, namely the encoding of error signals

Using TIMSS and PIRLS to Construct Global Indicators of Effective Environments for Learning

Thesis advisor: Ina V.S. MullisAs an extension of the effort devoted to updating the questionnaires for TIMSS and PIRLS 2011, this dissertation explored a new reporting strategy for contextual questionnaire data. The study investigated the feasibility of constructing "global indicators" from a large number of diverse background variables, which could provide policy makers and practitioners with meaningful information on effective learning environments. Four broad constructs of effective learning environments were derived from the TIMSS and PIRLS Contextual Frameworks for 2011. These were: 1) effective school environments for learning to read, 2) effective home environments for learning to read, 3) effective classroom environments for learning mathematics, and 4) students' motivation to learn mathematics. Using the TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 Frameworks, the conceptual definitions of the constructs were formulated as constructs maps. Next, relevant questionnaire items were identified that addressed each aspect of the construct maps, capitalizing on the full range of background information in the TIMSS 2007 and PIRLS 2006 International Databases. The questionnaire items were used to create sets of variables for scaling, and subsequent to principal component analysis to confirm scale unidimensionality, the variables were combined into 1-Parameter IRT (Rasch) scales. The idea of conveying the meaning of the broad contextual scales through item mapping was explored, as well as reporting country-by-country results on the global scales. The scaling was successful and it was concluded that contextual information could be reported more globally in future cycles of TIMSS and PIRLS. However, the study also demonstrated that it is extremely complicated to choose background constructs at the right level of aggregation for both analysis and reporting. It is difficult to develop scales that summarize data for educational policy makers without loss of vital information.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation