Psychologists and Medications in the Era of Interprofessional Care: Collaboration is Less Problematic and Costly Than Prescribing

Increasing emphasis on interprofessionalism and teamwork in healthcare renders psychologists’ collaborations critical and invites reexamination of psychologists’ roles related to medications. The Collaboration Level outlined by the APA’s Ad Hoc Task Force is more achievable and in synch with health reform than prescription privileges (RxP). RxP remains controversial due to training and safety concerns, lacking support from health professionals, psychologists, and consumers. Differences in educational preparation of psychologists relative to prescribing professionals are discussed. Enactment of only three of 170 RxP initiatives reveals RxP to be a costly, ineffectual agenda. Alternatives (e.g., integrated care, collaboration, telehealth) increase access without risks associated with lesser medical knowledge. Concerns about RxP and the movement toward team-based care warrant reconsideration of the profession’s objectives regarding psychopharmacology

1-year mortality following contrast-induced nephropathy

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the 1-year mortality risk subsequent to Contrast-Induced Nephropathy (CIN) following CECT imaging, relative to other well-recognized predictors of mortality. Methods: We followed a prospective, consecutive cohort of ambulatory patients who received intravenous contrast for CECT for the outcome of death from any cause within 1 year. In a multivariate analysis, we compared CIN with other predictors of mortality: active malignancy, coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure (CHF) and age ≥70 years. Anticipating that terminal cancers would account for the majority of deaths in this population, we also analyzed the subset of patients without an active malignancy at the time of enrollment. Results: We followed 633 patients and 46 died (7%, 95%CI: 5-9%) within 1 year. The incidence of CIN was 11% (95%CI: 8-14%). Active malignancy (HR 9.2, 95%CI: 5.1-16.8), CIN (HR 2.4, 95%CI: 1.3-4.6), CHF (HR 2.1, 95%CI: 1.0-4.2), CAD (HR 2.2, 95%CI: 1.0-5.5) and age ≥70 years (HR 1.8, 95%CI: 1.0-3.8) were significant predictors of all-cause mortality. Among patients without active malignancies, the mortality rate was 4% (25/580, 95%CI: 3-6%) and CIN (HR 4.0, 95%CI: 1.7-9.6) and age ≥70 years (HR 3.7, 95%CI: 1.4-9.7) were significantly associated with death, whereas CAD (HR 2.5, 95%CI: 0.8-7.7) and CHF (HR 1.8, 95%CI: 0.6-5.3) were not. Conclusions: The development of CIN following CECT is associated with an increased likelihood of death at 1 year among patients with and without active malignancies, comparable to CAD, CHF and advanced age

Using Speech Recognition Software to Increase Writing Fluency for Individuals with Physical Disabilities

Writing is an important skill that is necessary throughout school and life. Many students with physical disabilities, however, have difficulty with writing skills due to disability-specific factors, such as motor coordination problems. Due to the difficulties these individuals have with writing, assistive technology is often utilized. One piece of assistive technology, speech recognition software, may help remove the motor demand of writing and help students become more fluent writers. Past research on the use of speech recognition software, however, reveals little information regarding its impact on individuals with physical disabilities. Therefore, this study involved students of high school age with physical disabilities that affected hand use. Using an alternating treatments design to compare the use of word processing with the use of speech recognition software, this study analyzed first-draft writing samples in the areas of fluency, accuracy, type of word errors, recall of intended meaning, and length. Data on fluency, calculated in words correct per minute (wcpm) indicated that all participants wrote much faster with speech recognition compared to word processing. However, accuracy, calculated as percent correct, was much lower when participants used speech recognition compared to word processing. Word errors and recall of intended meaning were coded based on type and varied across participants. In terms of length, all participants wrote longer drafts when using speech recognition software, primarily because their fluency was higher, and they were able, therefore, to write more words. Although the results of this study indicated that participants wrote more fluently with speech recognition, because their accuracy was low, it is difficult to determine whether or not speech recognition is a viable solution for all individuals with physical disabilities. Therefore, additional research is needed that takes into consideration the editing and error correction time when using speech recognition software

Fertility and hatchability of inbred barred Plymouth Rocks

Data are reported on fertility and habitability studies for the 1949 and 1949 hatching seasons. This study was carried out with open-bred New Hampshire, White Plymouth Rock, Single Comb White Leghorn, and inbred Barred Plymouth Rock chickens, involving 11,112 eggs from 62 open-bred birds and 295 inbred birds. During these two years, data were recorded on fertility, hatchability and the number of malpositions and anomalies encountered in 1919 broken out embryos

Assigning stranded bottlenose dolphins to source stocks using stable isotope ratios following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The potential for stranded dolphins to serve as a tool for monitoring free-ranging populations would be enhanced if their stocks of origin were known. We used stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur from skin to assign stranded bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus to different habitats, as a proxy for stocks (demographically independent populations), following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Model results from biopsy samples collected from dolphins from known habitats (n = 205) resulted in an 80.5% probability of correct assignment. These results were applied to data from stranded dolphins (n = 217), resulting in predicted assignment probabilities of 0.473, 0.172, and 0.355 to Estuarine, Barrier Island (BI), and Coastal stocks, respectively. Differences were found west and east of the Mississippi River, with more Coastal dolphins stranding in western Louisiana and more Estuarine dolphins stranding in Mississippi. Within the Estuarine East Stock, 2 groups were identified, one predominantly associated with Mississippi and Alabama estuaries and another with western Florida. δ15N values were higher in stranded samples for both Estuarine and BI stocks, potentially indicating nutritional stress. High probabilities of correct assignment of the biopsy samples indicate predictable variation in stable isotopes and fidelity to habitat. The power of δ34S to discriminate habitats relative to salinity was essential. Stable isotopes may provide guidance regarding where additional testing is warranted to confirm demographic independence and aid in determining the source habitat of stranded dolphins, thus increasing the value of biological data collected from stranded individuals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

“This Is a Quiet Library, Except When It’s Not:” On the Lack of Neurodiversity Awareness in Librarianship

This is an original manuscript/preprint of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Music Reference Services Quarterly on 11 February 2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10588167.2019.1575017.While much has been written about diversity, disability, and specific neurominorities in information studies and music, the subject of neurodiversity as a whole has remained relatively untouched since it first appeared 20 years ago. This paper briefly reviews what few pieces do exist, then begins to fill that gap by laying a foundation for future scholarship. The history and vocabulary of neurodiversity are outlined, concepts from Disability Studies are introduced (like identity-first language and models of disability), and neurodivergent voices (besides the author’s own) are promoted. The author would like to state that as a neurodivergent person, his writing style may not meet traditional (i.e., neurotypical) standards, especially those in academia, which can be a particularly exclusionary and ableist environment. While he does not wish to be a “bad writer,” he also does not believe in altering his authentic, disabled voice simply to make it more palatable for the able-bodied and minded. He would like to thank the editors of this journal for their inclusivity and encourage readers to always seek out and privilege the voices of self-advocates over advocates

Framing Future of Work Considerations through Climate and Built Environment Assessment of Volunteer Work Practices in the United States Equine Assisted Services

The foundation of healthy workplace design is an understanding of work practices. Volunteers comprise the majority of the workforce in care centers using horses to address human health issues. Documentation is lacking on protections for worker well-being in equestrian microenvironments which are known to have the potential for dust exposures. Climate acts as a master variable in equestrian facility design and ventilation usage to address dust and temperature concerns. Using climate as an independent variable, our objective was to characterize space usage, safety, environmental control, and organizational practices through a national survey of equine assisted programs. We found that more fully enclosed indoor arena spaces were in cold/very cold and mixed-humid climates (p = 0.0114). Annually more volunteers (p = 0.0073) work in these two climate groups averaging 100 volunteers per location. A total of 34% of all facilities, regardless of climate, do not use mechanical ventilation systems (e.g., fans). As volunteer worker time in the arena increased, time in the barn microenvironment tended to decrease (p = 0.0538). We identified facility designs, ventilation usage, and worker arrangements to refine the scalability of future air contaminant monitoring and to provide frameworks for education, workplace design, and prevention of exposure to dust