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Effects of Exercise on Level of Support, Mobility, and Quality of Life in Adults with Down syndrome
No full textDown syndrome (Ds) is a genetic disorder characterized by the autosomal abnormality of a third copy of chromosome 21. Due to the physical and intellectual disabilities that many people with Ds experience, they often need support with (instrumental) activities of daily living. Since adults with Ds are living longer, it is important to determine how exercise can affect mobility and quality of life in the Ds community. The impact on more functional outcomes, such as level of support and quality of life has not been systematically investigated. Therefore, the aim was to investigate whether twelve weeks of a remote, structured exercise program will decrease the need of support provided by caregivers and increase quality of life compared to those doing usual activities. The participants were randomly assigned to a 12-week exercise intervention or a control condition. The exercise intervention was based on the Mann Method PT and consisted of a one-hour exercise session 3 times per week, conducted via Zoom, while the participants in the control condition continued their usual activities. All participants were evaluated before and after the 12 weeks using the following assessments: Supports Intensity Scale for Adults (SIS-A) and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL-IDD). The baseline level of support varied between participants, with no participant being fully dependent. This study did not confirm or reject our hypotheses on the effects of an exercise program when measuring level of support and quality of life in adults with Ds, and further research is necessary to further elucidate this question
The Impact of Anatomy Academy in Underserved Las Vegas Elementary Schools
No full textAnatomy Academy is an interactive, service-learning experience that allows doctoral physical therapy students to pose as educators for elementary-aged adolescents. Through instructional and activity-based learning, mentors formulated the program to encase anatomical, physiological, nutritional, and general health and wellness topics that translate into overall healthy behaviors. The experiment enveloped 7 major sectors of anatomy, including the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, oral cavity/nutrition, gastrointestinal system, sensory system, and central nervous system. Throughout the length of the program, the doctoral candidates reviewed the quality of the content delivered, the engagement of the students and staff, and the effects this had on the children’s interest in future health science professions. The students were anonymously assessed before and after the Anatomy Academy program, however, they did not show significant improvements when compared as a whole. Therefore, while the students did favor the program showing positive recognition, as noted through post-survey results, they did not show remarkable or retained educational gain
Developing a Remote Gamma-Ray Spectra Collection System (RGSCS) by Coupling a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) Detector With a Cosmicguard Background Reduction Device
No full textDespite being widely used for high-resolution spectral analysis and quantifying low activity in natural samples, the operations and data analysis of High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray detectors are seldom fully automated due to the excessive costs associated with commercially available automatic sample changing systems. This paper introduces the design and implementation of a cost-effective, customized remote gamma-ray spectra collection system centered around the HPGe detector coupled to a cosmic-ray veto background reduction device. The HPGe detector system, equipped with a Lynx DSA, is seamlessly integrated with an economically viable automatic sample changer. This sample vial changer is controlled by a high-torque NEMA 34 stepper servo motor from Vention. Web control of the rotary actuator is facilitated through a CAD-based programming tool. The remote-controlled sample pick-and-place procedure is executed using a robotic arm (Trossen Robotics, Viper X 250). The DYNAMIXEL servomotors of the robotic arm are programmed using Python software supported by the Robotic Operating System. Beyond its technical construction, this system is uniquely fashioned for academic research, providing invaluable hands-on experience in gamma spectrometry to both junior researchers and students
Nevada’s Predictable Housing Train Wreck and What To Do About It
No full textNevada is on the cusp of a housing catastrophe, especially in Southern Nevada.
Consider that the state has fewer households than it should. A household is defined as one or more people who have a home of their own. But for price, location, configuration, and other factors, about 60,000 households in Nevada do not exist because there is no home for them. And it’s going to get worse. Including these “missing households,” nearly 470,000 new occupied homes will need to be built between 2020 and 2040 to meet the housing needs of all Nevadans, or about 23,000 per year. The trouble is that even during the robust housing construction period of 2010-2022, the state produced about 16,000 occupied units annually.
The concern is that while demand is robust, producing homes may be more challenging going forward than in the past. In contrast to the pandemic and pre-pandemic periods that benefited from low interest rates, lower cost materials, and more timely supply chains, the post-pandemic period will not have it as well. Indeed, the number of missing households seems poised to double by 2040, leaving a quarter million or more Nevadans without a home of their own home.
This report includes an overview of these concerns, summarizes the headship rate methodology used in analysis, applies the methodology to census data to estimate the current under-supply of occupied housing units, and considers demographic data to estimate occupied housing unit demand to 2040. The report reviews various local, state, and federal policy options to increase housing supply. An assertive policy framework to expand housing especially in Southern Nevada is outlined
Preparing Occupational Therapy Students in a Role-Emerging Private School-Based Setting
No full textThis capstone project occurred in collaboration with Cornerstone Christian Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a role-emerging area of practice, occupational therapy must focus on integrating services in private schools just as much as public schools. The need for resources to support future fieldwork students at Cornerstone Christian Academy makes it difficult for occupational therapy students to enhance their experiential learning opportunities and serve an underserved population of primary and middle school students.
The capstone project consisted of daily engagement with Cornerstone Christian Academy’s educational personnel, attending students, and the parents of the students for 14 weeks to ensure all stakeholders involved will benefit from the capstone project. These interactions resulted in creating an evidence-based fieldwork manual tailored to guide fieldwork students through their experiences. Delivery of occupational therapy services in private institutions such as Cornerstone Christian Academy can serve as a model to bring attention to the limited educational support such institutions may face. Shedding light on the increasing demand for school-based support services in private schools and fieldwork experiences in role-emerging areas provides an opportunity for occupational therapy to fulfill multiple needs to achieve the common goal of academic success
Postmodern Paranoia: Conspiracy Theories as Network Anxieties in Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Underworld
No full textConspiracy theories find their way into a majority of Don DeLillo’s novels, ranging from rumors that reference pop culture to speculations with political consequences. While conspiracies can be found throughout a variety of time periods and cultures, I historicize the specific forms of paranoia that arise in DeLillo’s fiction. In White Noise, disturbances in smalltown America in the form of industrial waste spill are accelerated by mass media culture and lead to a family man’s conversion into an attempted murderer. Underworld sees the reliable concerns of the Cold War become untenable as the American empire expands and events like the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam War lead to more complicated forms of paranoia. The novel traces the full extent of nuclear weapons development, all the way to the destruction of nuclear waste products. It is in these depictions of post-1945 American paranoia that DeLillo engages with the feelings of fear and uncertainty that can result from postmodernity. Both novels show an awareness of global systems intruding into civilian life, forcing their characters to learn how to reorient themselves or fail and succumb to their paranoia. The re-emergence of previously hidden waste proves the conspiracy theorist’s dictum that “everything is connected” to be true. Drawing on DeLillo’s treatment of the topic, I will expand on the sorts of anxieties that these conspiracy theories expose and consider how a subject’s positionality influences their relationship to paranoia. This project also seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of conspiracy as a way of comprehending the world, as it can be both an exaggerated reaction to the uncertainties of postmodernity and a reasonable expression of cynicism toward obscured power structures
The Influence of Dual Sources Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Muscle Fatigue
No full textTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied unilaterally to the cerebellum (ctDCS) can improve several aspects of human motor performance. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of dual source tDCS delivered bilaterally over the cerebellar cortices (dsc-tDCS) on the time to task failure (TTF) of a fatiguing contraction. The study utilized a double-blind, randomized, SHAM-controlled, within-subjects, crossover design and participants were given either dsc-tDCS or SHAM stimulation in two different experiments held 7 days apart. Every aspect of the two experiments was the same except the type of stimulation (dsc-tDCS or SHAM) delivered during the fatiguing contraction. The fatiguing contraction was executed with a precision grip at 15% of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force and participants were instructed to maintain the contraction for as long of time as possible (TTF). The TTF and fatigue index were both similar for the dsc-tDCS and SHAM stimulation conditions. In addition, the electromyographic (EMG) activity, force error, and standard deviation (SD) of force measured during the fatiguing contraction were also not statistically different between the dsctDCS and SHAM stimulation conditions. The findings suggest that dsc-tDCS does not decrease the rate of progression of muscle fatigue
Perceptions of a Community-Based Playgroup to Promote Caregiver Knowledge of Resources and Prevention of Developmental Delays in a Rural Setting
No full textFor children living in rural communities, the likelihood of having a developmental delay substantially increases compared to children living in urban areas (Weglarz-Ward et al., 2019). This can be due to a lack of access to resources, limited education, and geographical isolation. Despite the rising trend of developmental delays among rural children, there is a noteworthy lack of early intervention resources for both the child and their family. This trend of minimal resources is demonstrated in Lincoln County, Nevada. Using an occupational therapy lens, a community-based playgroup program was developed for residents in Lincoln County. Community-based playgroups involve a structured interaction between caregivers and their child/children in a community context and incorporate the occupation of play, socialization, and caregiver education. This is consequential as there are currently no community-based programs in place within Lincoln County, Nevada. Semi-structured interviews, clinical observations, and a needs assessment were completed to gather information on where the disparities in resources are and how the program can fill them. The guiding question throughout this project was as follows: “What are the perceptions of stakeholders of children ages zero to three regarding the development of an occupational therapy-based playgroup that focuses on enhancing their understanding of developmental milestones?” Utilizing the information gathered from caregivers, teachers, and stakeholders, a community-based playgroup was developed to meet the needs of the community, thereby increasing the feasibility of caregivers to attend
Barriers to a Real Second Chance: Seeking Redemption While Set Up for Failure
No full textWith the enactment of the Second Chance Act in 2008, there has been a need to better understand the effectiveness of prisoner reentry programs and the services that are provided within these programs. Since then, numerous articles have described the barriers that previously incarcerated persons encounter during reentry and how this increases the likelihood of recidivism. The goal of this current study is to understand what current barriers exist for individuals within a local reentry program and then to suggest future implementations that could reduce the impact of these barriers. To achieve this goal, qualitative research methods are employed to understand the experiences of 24 clients within a local reentry program. In this study, secondary interview data collected in 2022 is reexamined to extract themes that explore the barriers that reentry clients encounter when returning back to the community and to gain an understanding of what resources are needed for this specific population. These thematic findings overlap with the relevant literature and theoretical frameworks presented in this project, which demonstrates why services are inaccessible for this population and how stigmatization negatively impacts the reentry process for previously justice-involved individuals. Future implications explore how altering modern policies could limit the impact of reentry barriers and how conducting additional studies could provide more solutions for overcoming reentry barriers
Heat Transfer Enhancement in Heat Exchangers Using Compound Enhancement
No full textThis research will try to investigate the enhancement of heat transfer in a heat exchanger that is made of a corrugated tube that has a twisted plate inserted in it, the corrugation, and twisted plate are expected to increase the amount of heat transfer since the plate is acting as a connection between the center of the flow and the edges of the tube. The turbulence will cause an increase in pressure drop along the channel length, so the investigation will try to find the best compromise between the gain in heat transfer and loss of hydraulic energy by using well-established metrics. A positive heat transfer gain has been achieved if that metric indicates a value equal to or greater than 1. This CFD research will be compared with the experimental results by Zimparov (2012). After validating the CFD results it is proposed to investigate a new insert geometry to further improve the efficiency of the said heat exchanger.
The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted to investigate and validate the CFD model, which evaluates the heat transfer performance in a spirally corrugated tube that has a twisted tape inserted. The heat transfer was then compared to a simple corrugated tube without the twisted tape and to a smooth tube with no corrugations and no twisted tape