Employee Benefits Managers’ Understanding of Occupational Therapy and Their Influence on Employees’ Knowledge

This study investigated what employee benefits managers know about occupational therapy and the influence they have on employees’ knowledge of, and access to, occupational therapy services. This qualitative research focused on what employee benefits managers know about occupational therapy, how they learned what they know, how they prefer to learn about healthcare services in general, and the reasons they would or would not recommend occupational therapy services to their employees. The study included ten semi-structured interviews with ten employee benefits managers who were employed at nine different organizations. The interviews were coded and analyzed to develop categories and themes in accordance with grounded theory principles. Four primary results emerged from the data. The participants had little or no knowledge of occupational therapy. They learned about occupational therapy through informal, inconsistent methods while at their current job. The participants’ preferred sources for healthcare related information; benefits brokers, seminars/webinars, and employee benefits manager-related organizations, had not provided them with any education on occupational therapy. The participants consistently reported that employee benefits managers could influence what their employees know about occupational therapy and employee access to occupational therapy services, but they did not know enough about occupational therapy to discuss it with employees. These findings can help guide future research, education, and advocacy efforts to improve stakeholders’ knowledge of occupational therapy and the ability for potential clients to learn about and access occupational therapy services

International Workshop on Nutrient Balances for Sustainable Agricultural Production and Natural Resource Management in Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, 20-22 February 2001: selected papers and presentations

Soil management / Soil properties / Soil fertility / Soil degradation / Crop production / Farmers / Agricultural extension / Farming systems / Sustainability / Rice / Cassava / Vegetables / Maize / Fertilizers / Decision support tools / Economic aspects

Higgs Self-Coupling as a Probe of Electroweak Phase Transition

We argue that, within a broad class of extensions of the Standard Model, there is a tight corellation between the dynamics of the electroweak phase transition and the cubic self-coupling of the Higgs boson: Models which exhibit a strong first-order EWPT predict a large deviation of the Higgs self-coupling from the Standard Model prediction, as long as no accidental cancellations occur. Order-one deviations are typical. This shift would be observable at the Large Hadron Collider if the proposed luminosity or energy upgrades are realized, as well as at a future electron-positron collider such as the proposed International Linear Collider. These measurements would provide a laboratory test of the dynamics of the electroweak phase transition.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures; minor changes to clarify a few point

Narrow Line Cooling and Momentum-Space Crystals

Narrow line laser cooling is advancing the frontier for experiments ranging from studies of fundamental atomic physics to high precision optical frequency standards. In this paper, we present an extensive description of the systems and techniques necessary to realize 689 nm 1S0 - 3P1 narrow line cooling of atomic 88Sr. Narrow line cooling and trapping dynamics are also studied in detail. By controlling the relative size of the power broadened transition linewidth and the single-photon recoil frequency shift, we show that it is possible to continuously bridge the gap between semiclassical and quantum mechanical cooling. Novel semiclassical cooling process, some of which are intimately linked to gravity, are also explored. Moreover, for laser frequencies tuned above the atomic resonance, we demonstrate momentum-space crystals containing up to 26 well defined lattice points. Gravitationally assisted cooling is also achieved with blue-detuned light. Theoretically, we find the blue detuned dynamics are universal to Doppler limited systems. This paper offers the most comprehensive study of narrow line laser cooling to date.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure

Scoping study on natural resources and climate change in Southeast Asia with a focus on agriculture. Final report

Climate change / Natural resources / Environmental effects / Agroecology / Agricultural production / Crops / Cropping systems / Farming systems / Livestock / Fisheries / Food security / Water management / Economic aspects / Rural poverty / Policy / Nutrient management / South East Asia / Cambodia / Laos / Thailand / Vietnam / Myanmar / China / Greater Mekong Subregion / Tonle Sap / Yunnan

Climate change, water and agriculture in the Greater Mekong subregion

Climate change / Adaptation / Indicators / Water resource management / River basins / Water availability / Water quality / Groundwater / Fisheries / Ecosystems / Water power / Population growth / Land use / Biofuels / Sea level / South East Asia / Cambodia / Laos / Myanmar / Thailand / Vietnam / China / Greater Mekong Subregion / Yunnan Province

Tropical deltas and coastal zones: food production, communities and environment at the land-water interface

Aquaculture / Fisheries / Rice / Coastal area / Cropping systems / Salinity / Food production / Food security / South East Asia / Vietnam / Philippines / Bangladesh / Thailand / India / Indonesia / Sri Lanka / West Africa / Brazil

Intramuscular fat in ambulant young adults with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy

BACKGROUND: It is known that individuals with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (BSCP) have small and weak muscles. However, no studies to date have investigated intramuscular fat infiltration in this group. The objective of this study is to determine whether adults with BSCP have greater adiposity in and around their skeletal muscles than their typically developing (TD) peers as this may have significant functional and cardio-metabolic implications for this patient group. METHODS: 10 young adults with BSCP (7 male, mean age 22.5 years, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I-III), and 10 TD young adults (6 male, mean age 22.8 years) took part in this study. 11 cm sections of the left leg of all subjects were imaged using multi-echo gradient echo chemical shift imaging (mDixon). Percentage intermuscular fat (IMAT), intramuscular fat (IntraMF) and a subcutaneous fat to muscle volume ratio (SF/M) were calculated. RESULTS: IntraMF was higher with BSCP for all muscles (p = 0.001-0.013) and was significantly different between GMFCS levels (p < 0.001), with GMFCS level III having the highest IntraMF content. IMAT was also higher with BSCP p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed in SF/M between groups. CONCLUSION: Young adults with BSCP have increased intermuscular and intramuscular fat compared to their TD peers. The relationship between these findings and potential cardio-metabolic and functional sequelae are yet to be investigated

Interdisciplinary Fall Risk Screening and Assessment: An Evidence-Based Practice Project

This project sought to answer the following Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) question: What occupational therapy and interdisciplinary assessments have the best psychometric characteristics and are most effective for screening or evaluating person and environment fall risk factors and measuring the outcomes of fall prevention programs