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At Last, Restoration of Maine\u27s Longest River
Get PDFThis talk will provide an overview of one of the largest environmental cleanups underway in Maine, designed to reduce exposure to mercury in the Penobscot River estuary - the state\u27s longest river. In 2022, the U.S. District Court in Maine approved a Consent Decree that created and funded two environmental response trusts to settle the 20-year lawsuit by Maine People\u27s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council against Mallinckrodt US LLC for discharging mercury into the Penobscot River Estuary. The Penobscot Estuary Mercury Remediation Trust is charged with implementing measures to remediate mercury contamination in Estuary sediments using funds of at least 247 million provided by Mallinckrodt. The second trust, the Penobscot Estuary Beneficial Environmental Projects Trust, was created to fund environmental projects intended to mitigate or offset potential adverse impacts caused by mercury contamination in the Penobscot Estuary
Paid Student Internship Opportunity
Get PDFThe Innovate for Maine Fellows Program connects the most passionate and curious Maine college students with Maine’s most exciting, growing companies/startups and business leaders for a summer internship experience. Emphasizing innovation and entrepreneurship, the program prepares students to collaborate with companies on innovation projects that accelerate company growth and give students a paid, meaningful, hands-on internship experience
A Roadmap for More Renewable Energy
Get PDFIn the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, William Harwood, former Maine Public Advocate, describes a roadmap for increasing renewable energy while keeping electricity costs affordable
Upcoming Arts Events
Get PDFThe UMaine Arts Initiative is pleased to inform you about upcoming campus arts events. This compilation will be shared once per month to elevate awareness of opportunities to engage with the arts at UMaine
VEMI Newsletter, February 2025
Get PDFVEMI kicked off 2025 with Rapid Research Week, our annual immersive research experience for students. This year, five interdisciplinary teams tackled questions including: How does a lack of vision impact the perceived direction of movement in an AV simulator?; How does anthropomorphism affect etiquette when interfacing with an AI?; and How does gamification of exercise affect cognition (e.g., attention, memory) and fatigue? Teams completed posters to showcase their results, which will be displayed at next month’s UMaine Student Symposium. Shoutout to all the researchers for their hard work and creative thinking
Use of Non-Slip Socks to Improve Patient Safety in a Hospital Setting
Get PDFDuring inpatient hospital stays, ensuring patient safety is always a top priority, with particular emphasis on minimizing the risk of falls. One key strategy for preventing falls is the use of non- slip socks, among various other methods This literature review examines whether non-slip socks, in comparison to standard socks or slippers, help reduce the incidence of falls among hospitalized individuals during their inpatient stay. While non-slip socks effectively reduce the number of falls in the hospital, this literature review suggests they may also increase the risk of bacterial transmission or infection. A search was conducted in CINAHL, PubMed, National Institute of Health, and Nursing Reference Center Plus. Search terms included non-slip socks, grip socks, bacteria, hospital floors, fall risk, proper footwear, and transmission. Excluded articles included those older than five years, those focused on outpatient facilities, and articles that did not discuss the effectiveness of socks in fall prevention. Recommendations include changing non-slip socks each time a patient returns to bed after ambulating and providing non-slip slippers for patients who ambulate independently, ensuring they are worn only while walking and not while in bed. This would help minimize the transmission of bacteria from the floor to the bed, ultimately lowering the risk of hospital-acquired infections In conclusion, the literature review highlights a reduction in falls associated with the use of non-slip socks. However, recommendations also emphasize the importance of wearing supportive footwear and removing dirty socks before returning to bed to minimize the risk of bacterial transmission from the floor to improve patient safety
Effects of Music and Animal-Assisted Therapy on Opioid Use Disorder
Get PDFDue to high relapse rates in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD), the current traditional treatment modalities for SUD (pharmacological therapy in conjunction with counseling) have proven to have a low success rate. Expansion in alternative therapy methods is necessary to combat the likelihood of relapsing. Among people with opioid use disorder (OUD), ages 18-40 years old, what are the effects of additional music and animal-assisted therapy (AAT), when compared to counseling and pharmacological intervention alone, on overall opioid use over the course of three months? This literature review examines the effect of using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities, specifically AAT and music therapy, in conjunction with traditional OUD treatments on recovery outcomes. A total of 11 peer-reviewed studies published from 2019 to 2025 were synthesized to understand the impact of these CAM modalities on treatment outcomes in those with SUD, specifically OUD. The research was taken from electronic databases, including Cochrane Library, PubMed, and PsycInfo. The search was limited to studies that specifically focused on opioid use. Results indicated that Music therapy helped reduce cravings and stress while also decreasing withdrawal. AAT significantly improved retention rates and treatment completion for individuals with OUD. Additionally, participants in the AAT groups demonstrated higher levels of emotional well-being and self-efficacy, suggesting the potential for integrating these therapies into traditional OUD treatments to enhance recovery outcomes. By implementing CAM, in conjunction with pharmacological intervention, opioid cravings can be combated. Therefore, recovering from OUD is more achievable
Scallop Aquaculture in the Gulf of Maine : Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned
Get PDFGlobal scallop production has rapidly transitioned from a wild-capture fishery to an aquaculture industry over the past several decades. However, aquaculture of the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) in the Gulf of Maine has remained limited by the high labor burden and costs within the United States and Canada, particularly when using traditional lantern net culture. Although we have a robust wild fishery for sea scallops, we still import at least 50% of our scallops. To increase domestic production and secure seed supply in the future, our team has been focused on technology transfer from Asia and Europe as well as developing scallop hatchery protocols. Sea scallops aquaculture has increased 6-fold in the last three years. In this talk, Brady will discuss the development, challenges, and opportunities of this emerging aquaculture industry in Maine
Targeted Training For Dedicated Education Unit Preceptors
Get PDFTransitioning from nursing student to newly graduated nurse (NGN) is challenging. 17-30% of NGNs leave their first job within a year. NGNs report insufficient clinical preparedness secondary to increased stress and limited ability to transition knowledge to practice. The current traditional clinical model is eight students to one instructor, which leaves little time for individualized learning. An alternative model is the Dedicated Education Unit (DEU), where two students are paired with a unit staff nurse, providing more individualized training and full clinical immersion. The DEU model is two students to one DEU preceptor and one-unit clinical instructor. Effective implementation requires staff nurses to receive targeted training on working with students. This pilot study evaluates the DEU preceptors’ self-assessment before attending a professional development course for DEU preceptors and a post-course self-assessment. The Preceptor Self-Assessment Tool (PSAT-40) is a validated measurement tool utilized for this study. The PSAT-40 assesses three domains. The domains include (1) Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Skills; (2) Attitudes, Knowledge, and Understanding; and (3) Administrative Resources and Support. This study had four participants. Post training, participants demonstrated an average growth of 8.9% in all three domains, with individual improvement ranging from 5% to 16%. These findings provide a framework for further DEU preceptor training to help enhance the staff nurses’ preparedness and effectiveness to work directly with nursing students. Continued collaboration between nursing programs and healthcare institutions is essential to optimize the NGN transition to practice
Ecology, Mythology, and Ecomyth in Robert Frost
Get PDFMany of Robert Frost’s poems feature scenes of rural New England life and nature, and as such, he is appropriately known as the New England poet. Traditionally, his poetry’s emphasis on New England’s landscape and ecology, along with his usage of myth, has been considered as pastoral, a poetic genre that idealizes rural life and anthropocentrically romanticizes nature. In contrast, this Honors Thesis argues that Robert Frost creates his own mythic struggle based on an understanding of what Jane Bennett calls the vital force. Frost’s usage of myths directly relates to his usage of landscape and ecology; this transforms his myths into what I call ecomyth. This thesis defines ecomyth as typically (1) oral and/or fluid in its telling, (2) saying something unknowable in terms of something knowable, (3) creating a momentary stay against confusion to therefore help us better understand the world around us, and (4) (attempting to) identify or represent a vital force as found in nature. To prove this, this Honors Thesis analyzes the intersection of ecology and mythology within three Robert Frost poems: “Mending Wall,” “Pan With Us,” and “Paul’s Wife.” This Honors Thesis concludes that Frost’s ecomyth encourages a mutual, dialogic relationship between nature and humans and discourages exploitation of land and resources