CBT May Help Children Cope with Anxiety at School and in Social Settings

CBT, when delivered in groups, may help anxious children function better in social settings and the classroom, but the changes may be too small to be captured by questionnaires.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

The Effectiveness of Community-Based CBT for Childhood Anxiety

Community mental health centres are often the first place that children and parents seek treatment and thus it is critical that these centres be offering the most effective treatment to their clients. The results of this study suggest that CBT, as run under typical conditions in the community, is indeed an effective way to treat childhood anxiety.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Evolution and resurrection ecology of a foundational coastal marsh plant

Stratified storage of dormant seeds in soil can result in natural archives useful for studying evolutionary responses to environmental change. However, few studies leverage soil-stored seed banks as natural archives, in part because of concerns over attrition, bias, and sediment mixing. Here, I examine the persistent seed bank of Schoenoplectus americanus, a foundational brackish marsh sedge, to a) determine whether it can serve as a resource for reconstructing demographic and population genetic/genomic variation, b) whether and how evolution may be occurring across a century. After extracting seeds from radionuclide-dated soil cores taken across the Chesapeake Bay, I “resurrected” age cohorts spanning the 20th century. In Chapter 1, I use microsatellites to assess genetic diversity/differentiation among age cohorts, drawing comparisons to extant plants at the study site and to extant plants in nearby and more distant marshes. I found genotypic differences among cohorts and between cohorts and extant plants. Genetic diversity did not decline with depth, suggesting differentiation is likely not due to attrition. In Chapter 2, I use SNPs to examine population diversity/differentiation for resurrected plants taken from multiple marshes to understand how regional-scale geography interacts with temporal change. I found that location explained genetic clustering better than temporal differences, suggesting that habitat differences between marshes are consequential for S. americanus evolution. In Chapter 3, I deployed 2 resurrected age cohorts from one marsh in a greenhouse experiment to assess phenotypic differences. I cloned plants across triply-crossed conditions: simulated sea level rise (salinity, inundation) and competition. Biomass by treatment did not significantly differ when averaging by cohort. However, variance was smaller for young versus old cohorts, suggesting reduction in phenotypic plasticity across time. I also compared gene expression differences in response to salinity for stem/root tissue and between cohorts. I found that salinity treatment resulted in significantly different expression levels and some evidence of differentiation by age cohort, but only for root tissue. Overall, this work describes complex, geographically variable, and small evolutionary shifts across time in S americanus. This suggests that local population and/or habitat differences mitigate change through time, which may be in response to climate change corollaries

Evaluation of phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium content in commercially available foods formulated for healthy cats.

BackgroundHigh dietary phosphorus (P) and low calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (Ca:P) are associated with kidney damage in cats. There are no established guidelines for dietary P maximum for cats.ObjectivesTo quantify crude protein, P, Ca, and magnesium (Mg) concentrations in cat foods and compare among food formats (dry, canned, raw), primary protein ingredients, protein concentrations (low, moderate, high), grain-free versus grain-containing foods, foods intended for adult maintenance versus all life stages, and cost.SamplesEighty-two commercial nonprescription cat foods.MethodsDescriptive study. Mineral concentrations were measured using inductively coupled argon plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Crude protein was measured using the Dumas nitrogen combustion method. Mineral and crude protein concentrations were compared among food categories.ResultsTwenty-seven foods contained ≥3.6 g P/1000 kcal metabolizable energy (ME), of which 7 exceeded 4.8 g/1000 kcal ME. Thirteen foods had low Ca:P ratio (≤1.0). The low-protein diet group had no products ≥3.6 g P/1000 kcal ME, which was significantly different compared to the high-protein diet group (52% of products had ≥3.6 g P/1000 kcal ME; P = .01). No significant differences in P content and Ca:P ratio were found among other diet categories. Canned foods had significantly lower Mg compared to dry (P < .001) and raw (P = .007) foods. Declared minimum P and Ca were significantly lower than analyzed concentrations (P = .0005 and P = .003, respectively).Conclusions and clinical importanceThe high number of foods with high P and low Ca suggest that pet food regulatory reform should be considered

A Call for Occupational Justice: Amending Medicare Policy

This advocacy project titled, A Call for Occupational Justice: Amending Medicare Policy focuses on advocating for increased access to occupational therapy (OT) services for elderly individuals within home health settings and bridging the health equity gap. The student was able to collaborate with the AOTA Federal Affairs Department throughout their capstone advocacy experience. They began the process of addressing Medicare home health policy serving as an environmental barrier for quality of life within this population through preparing to introduce legislation amending Medicare policy. This Medicare home health legislation would allow OT to be recognized as a Medicare qualifying home health service, meaning that OT could provide home health services to Medicare recipients standing alone. The student created a white paper as the final product discussing chronic condition mismanagement, the impact within home health settings and OT’s role in mitigating this crisis through effective chronic condition management with this new legislation. The white paper consisted of a culmination of anecdotes, and evidence from the literature to maximize advocacy efforts to support this legislation. The AOTA Federal Affairs Department will utilize this resource to further legislative efforts toward this bill.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstones-spring2022/1011/thumbnail.jp

Self-Efficacy for Independent Living in Retirement

A person\u27s ability to live independently plays an important role in their quality of life. Variables such as perceived health, functional status, retirement preparedness, social support, and leisure activities are considered to play pivotal roles in the belief one can live independently. Therefore, self-efficacy towards living independently in the retirement phase of life will be impacted by the elements that set the framework for a rewarding life. The present paper reviews social cognitive theory, the construct of self efficacy as well as current research in the area of retirement and how the two are related. The review concludes with a proposal of two measurements designed to study self efficacy for independent living of those 65 years old and older for future research. The two independent constructs of self-efficacy and self-esteem will be compared and contrasted. The proposed measurements utilize five constructs; perceived health, functional status, retirement preparedness, social support, and leisure activities. The first instrument aims to measure peoples\u27 self-efficacy towards independent living. The second instrument is intended to measure a caregiver or spouse\u27s evaluation of that person\u27s ability to live independently. Finally the review proposes a comparative analysis would be between the instruments and convergent validity between self-efficacy and self esteem assessed as well as a test of the predictive nature of self-efficacy for life satisfaction to reinforce the validity of the two measures to reduce error

Project Phit: A 10-Week University Intervention Improves Health-Related Variables, Physical Activity, and Nutrition

Despite increasing evidence regarding the benefits of regular physical activity and healthy nutritional habits, a large percentage of the population does not participate in regular exercise or eat the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Previous studies have identified the use of social support as a means to modify health behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a 10-week Project PHIT intervention on university employees’ health behaviors. Grounded in social support theory, Project PHIT was designed to help employees improve health behaviors such as physical activity and nutritional intake, and increase fitness. It was expected that an intervention with activities designed to increase social support would be associated with changes in nutritional intake and physical activity behavior. Data were collected from participants (N= 26, 81% female, age M=41.13, SD= 12.28) before and after a 10-week intervention period. Participants met twice a week for 60 minutes to participate in both educational and physical activity components. Health-related fitness variables measured before and after the intervention included blood pressure, body weight, regular activity participation (e.g., PHIT class days were two days/week), and aerobic fitness (i.e., maximal oxygen uptake). Participants completed four questionnaires: 1) The Demographic and Health History Questionnaire to gather data such as age, health history, and ability to perform physical activity; 2) The Social Support Questionnaire to determine participants’ perceived level of social support relative to nutritional and physical activity habits; 3) the Fitnessgram Physical Activity Questionnaire to detect physical activity changes; and 4) The Block Food Frequency: Rapid Food Screener for Fruits, Vegetables and Fiber to detect nutrition changes, as a result of the intervention. The majority of participants (24 out of 26 or 92.3%) attended at least 86% of the sessions. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variances indicated: (a) significant positive changes in body mass (kilograms) (p=0.01), reduced systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (p=0.033), reduced diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) (p=0.03), and aerobic capacity (VO2 max) (p=0 .01); (b) increased fruit and vegetable servings per day (p=0.03) and fiber (grams) intake (p=0.02); and (c) increased participation (two days/week) in aerobic (p\u3c0.001), muscular strength (p\u3c0.001) and flexibility activities (p =0.01), and average number of steps (p=0.01). Positive changes were also observed in exercise and nutritionrelated social support (p\u3c0.001). Perceived nutrition-based social support was positively correlated with participants’ positive changes in vegetable intake (r= 0.48, p=0.02) and fiber intake (r=0.40, p=0.05). Overall, university employees responded positively to the Project PHIT program. The use of social support as a behavioral change strategy in conjunction with a variety of physical activities within a university setting may be useful for modifying health behaviors

Stable Carbon Isotopic Signatures of Abiotic Organics from Hydrothermal Synthesis Experiments

Stable carbon isotopes can be powerful biogeochemical markers in the study of life's origins. Biogenic carbon fixation produces organics that are depleted in C-13 by about -20 to -30%0. Less attention has been paid to the isotopic signatures of abiotic processes. The possibility of abiotic processes producing organics with morphologies and isotopic signatures in the biogenic range has been at the center of recent debate over the Earth's earliest microfossils. The abiotic synthesis of organic compounds in hydrothermal environments is one possible source of endogenous organic matter to the prebiotic earth. Simulated hydrothermal settings have been shown to synthesize, among other things, single chain amphiphiles and simple lipids from a mix of CO, CO2, and H2. A key characteristic of these amphiphilic molecules is the ability to self-assemble in aqueous phases into more organized structures called vesicles, which form a selectively permeable boundary and serve the function of containing and concentrating other organic molecules. The ability to form cell like structures also makes these compounds more likely to be mistaken for biogenic. Hydrothermal simulation experiments were conducted from oxalic or formic acid in water at 175 C for 72 hr. The molecular and isotopic composition of the products of these reactions were determined and compared to biogenic fractionations . Preliminary results indicate isotopic fractionation during abiotic hydrocarbon synthesis in hydrothermal environments is on par with biological carbon fixation