The Impact of Providing Rehab Mobility Equipment to Those in Need

Educational Objectives 1. Discuss the need to provide rehabilitation mobility equipment at no cost to those who have no other means to obtain it. 2. Assess the impact on a community when mobility equipment for underinsured impaired persons (“at risk”) cannot be secured. 3. Describe a successful recycling program that provides free rehabilitation mobility equipment. 4. Explain the importance of a community- based model to provide rehabilitation equipment

Final Report for the Advanced Concept Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transports Entering Service in the 2030 to 2035 Period, N+3 Supersonic Program

The N+3 Final Report documents the work and progress made by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in response to the NASA sponsored program "N+3 NRA Advanced Concept Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transports Entering Service in the 2030 to 2035 Period." The key technical objective of this effort was to generate promising supersonic concepts for the 2030 to 2035 timeframe and to develop plans for maturing the technologies required to make those concepts a reality. The N+3 program is aligned with NASA's Supersonic Project and is focused on providing alternative system-level solutions capable of overcoming the efficiency, environmental, and performance barriers to practical supersonic fligh

Evaluation of an Emotional Support Service for the Visually Impaired

Purpose. To evaluate the impact of a facilitated peer group emotional support service on visual quality of life (VQoL). Methods. Consecutive participants in an emotional support service delivered to groups of up to 6 and facilitated by trained counsellors were recruited (n=29). The VCM1 instrument was administered to participants at the start of the service, at the end of the service, and 6 months after completion of the service. Results. For the group as a whole, VQoL significantly improved between the beginning of the service and the end (F(1, 23) =16.43, p=.000), but was no better than at the start six months later (F(1,23)=3.60, p=.07). However, those with poorer initial VQoL showed significantly greater improvements after six months (1.74±2.21 logits) than those with higher initial VQoL (-0.12±0.71 logits) (t(23)=2.89, p=.008). The effect size of the intervention for those with poor initial VQoL was 1.10 at the end of service, and 0.92 after six months. The items which became and remained easier were feeling lonely or isolated due to eyesight, feeling sad or low due to eyesight, and feeling worried about general safety outside the home. Conclusions. This facilitated peer group emotional support service significantly improves VQoL as assessed with the VCM1 over at least 6 months for those with poorer initial VQoL. Different interventions may be needed for those with initially good VQoL, and to improve other aspects of quality of life not influenced by the service

Role of dystrophin in airway smooth muscle phenotype, contraction and lung function

Dystrophin links the transmembrane dystrophin-glycoprotein complex to the actin cytoskeleton. We have shown that dystrophin-glycoprotein complex subunits are markers for airway smooth muscle phenotype maturation and together with caveolin-1, play an important role in calcium homeostasis. We tested if dystrophin affects phenotype maturation, tracheal contraction and lung physiology. We used dystrophin deficient Golden Retriever dogs (GRMD) and mdx mice vs healthy control animals in our approach. We found significant reduction of contractile protein markers: smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (smMHC) and calponin and reduced Ca2+ response to contractile agonist in dystrophin deficient cells. Immunocytochemistry revealed reduced stress fibers and number of smMHC positive cells in dystrophin-deficient cells, when compared to control. Immunoblot analysis of Akt1, GSK3β and mTOR phosphorylation further revealed that downstream PI3K signaling, which is essential for phenotype maturation, was suppressed in dystrophin deficient cell cultures. Tracheal rings from mdx mice showed significant reduction in the isometric contraction to methacholine (MCh) when compared to genetic control BL10ScSnJ mice (wild-type). In vivo lung function studies using a small animal ventilator revealed a significant reduction in peak airway resistance induced by maximum concentrations of inhaled MCh in mdx mice, while there was no change in other lung function parameters. These data show that the lack of dystrophin is associated with a concomitant suppression of ASM cell phenotype maturation in vitro, ASM contraction ex vivo and lung function in vivo, indicating that a linkage between the DGC and the actin cytoskeleton via dystrophin is a determinant of the phenotype and functional properties of ASM. © 2014 Sharma et al

Kaizen Programming with Enhanced Feature Discovery: An Automated Approach to Feature Selection and Feature Discovery for Prediction Models

Feature selection (FS) is the process of finding an ideal set of features for a prediction model from a set of candidate features. A key step in designing a prediction model is reducing the size of the input feature set while increasing its usefulness. This reduces the complexity of a model, making the model run more quickly while allowing one to explain the usefulness of each individual feature more easily. Despite the desire to determine an ideal feature set, the process of FS can be time consuming and yield mixed results. FS is often partially automated with the use of algorithms. The quality of FS algorithms varies with many requiring long run times to produce mixed results. Few FS algorithms have an intuitive method of exploring a feature space, with most requiring one to determine a finite list of features to begin the algorithm. To address the shortcomings of many FS algorithms, Kaizen Programming with Enhanced Feature Discovery (KP-EFD) has been developed. KP-EFD is an evolutionary tool that uses a Genetic Programming (GP) framework combined with concepts of Continuous Improvement from Kaizen, a Japanese methodology, to intuitively expand and search a feature space for an ideal feature set. KP-EFD was tested for use with continuous or binary variables for the purpose of interpolating or extrapolating. The method performed well for some datasets and model types while falling short of acceptable for others; however, with additional improvements, KP-EFD has the potential to become very versatile, saving time and frustration when working with any type of data and prediction algorithm

Weaponized Police Drones and Their Effect on Police Use of Force

Abstrac

IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES TO ALIGN U.S. AIR FORCE AND U.S. ARMY MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF INTEGRATED DETERRENCE: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DETERRENCE AND MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS

The objective of this capstone is to identify readings that can suggest doctrinal changes to better align U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force concepts of multi-domain operations. Currently, there is no joint consensus on how to conceptualize multi-domain operations, nor how they should support the 2022 National Security Strategy. This capstone identifies readings related to two areas of potential alignment between U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force doctrine: Deterrence Theories, and Multi-Domain Operations. It also suggests designating service leads for long-range fires and command and control, and furthering development of common technological standards. Future research could study the readings identified in this capstone to refine and develop multi-domain operations doctrine.Captain, United States Air ForceApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Effect of rehabilitation worker input on visual function outcomes in individuals with low vision: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Visual Rehabilitation Officers help people with a visual impairment maintain their independence. This intervention adopts a flexible, goal-centred approach, which may include training in mobility, use of optical and non-optical aids, and performance of activities of daily living. Although Visual Rehabilitation Officers are an integral part of the low vision service in the United Kingdom, evidence that they are effective is lacking. The purpose of this exploratory trial is to estimate the impact of a Visual Rehabilitation Officer on self-reported visual function, psychosocial and quality-of-life outcomes in individuals with low vision. METHODS/DESIGN: In this exploratory, assessor-masked, parallel group, randomised controlled trial, participants will be allocated either to receive home visits from a Visual Rehabilitation Officer (n = 30) or to a waiting list control group (n = 30) in a 1:1 ratio. Adult volunteers with a visual impairment, who have been identified as needing rehabilitation officer input by a social worker, will take part. Those with an urgent need for a Visual Rehabilitation Officer or who have a cognitive impairment will be excluded. The primary outcome measure will be self-reported visual function (48-item Veterans Affairs Low Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire). Secondary outcome measures will include psychological and quality-of-life metrics: the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), the Adjustment to Age-related Visual Loss Scale (AVL-12), the Standardised Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire (EQ-5D) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The interviewer collecting the outcomes will be masked to the group allocations. The analysis will be undertaken on a complete case and intention-to-treat basis. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) will be applied to follow-up questionnaire scores, with the baseline score as a covariate. DISCUSSION: This trial is expected to provide robust effect size estimates of the intervention effect. The data will be used to design a large-scale randomised controlled trial to evaluate fully the Visual Rehabilitation Officer intervention. A rigorous evaluation of Rehabilitation Officer input is vital to direct a future low vision rehabilitation strategy and to help direct government resources. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered with ( ISRCTN44807874 ) on 9 March 2015