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Purpose: In this article, the authors discuss best strategies for recruitment and retention among faculty of color, international faculty, and women to diversify rehabilitation counselor education faculty. Method: Based on a comprehensive literature review, we have provided the reader with a brief review of the status of faculty of color, international faculty, and women in academia, issues in recruitment and retention, and strategies that may be beneficial in diversifying rehabilitation counselor education faculty. Results: Researchers in higher education have shown that a diverse faculty is not only beneficial to academia, but to communities as well. The authors have provided recruitment and retention strategies that have been used in other disciplines. Coupled with a sincere commitment by university administrators, faculty, students, and communities, these strategies may be beneficial in increasing diversity among the faculty ranks in rehabilitation counselor education programs. Conclusion: In order to increase diversity in our training and education programs, it is imperative that recruitment and retention plans are created and implemented. Various recruitment and retention strategies were discussed in this article that have been shown to be effective in other disciplines. Future research should explore the presence and use of recruitment and retention plans in rehabilitation counselor education programs. In addition, qualitative research is warranted to explore the experiences of faculty of color, international faculty, and women.

BackgroundPatients with chronic pain often have limited access to comprehensive care that includes behavioral pain management strategies. Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology and emerging digital behavioral pain therapy with analgesic efficacy for acute pain. We found no scientific literature on skills-based VR behavioral programs for chronic pain populations. ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a self-administered VR program that included content and skills informed by evidence-based behavioral treatment for chronic pain. The secondary aim is to determine the preliminary efficacy of the VR program in terms of average pain intensity and pain-related interference with activity, stress, mood, and sleep, and its impact on pain-related cognition and self-efficacy. The tertiary aim was to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and compare the VR treatment with an audio-only treatment. This comparison isolated the immersive effects of the VR program, thereby informing potential mechanisms of effect. MethodsWe conducted an RCT involving a web-based convenience sample of adults (N=97) aged 18-75 years with self-reported chronic nonmalignant low back pain or fibromyalgia, with an average pain intensity >4 over the past month and chronic pain duration >6 months. Enrolled participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 unblinded treatments: (1) VR: a 21-day, skills-based VR program for chronic pain; and (2) audio: an audio-only version of the 21-day VR program. The analytic data set included participants who completed at least 1 of 8 surveys administered during the intervention period: VR (n=39) and audio (n=35). ResultsThe VR and audio groups launched a total of 1067 and 1048 sessions, respectively. The majority of VR participants (n=19/25, 76%) reported no nausea or motion sickness. High satisfaction ratings were reported for VR (n=24/29, 83%) and audio (n=26/33, 72%). For VR efficacy, symptom improvement over time was found for each pain variable (all P

Outlines effective partnership for promoting student success through the creation of residential learning communities called Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs). Answers questions on how collaboration got started, how the need for such was determined, what form it took, problems encountered, and how the program was evaluated. Recommendations for launching FIG programs are given. (Author/JDM)

Abstract Background The genome of coronaviruses contains structural and non-structural genes, including several so-called accessory genes. All group 1b coronaviruses encode a single accessory protein between the spike and envelope genes, except for human coronavirus (HCoV) 229E. The prototype virus has a split gene, encoding the putative ORF4a and ORF4b proteins. To determine whether primary HCoV-229E isolates exhibit this unusual genome organization, we analyzed the ORF4a/b region of five current clinical isolates from The Netherlands and three early isolates collected at the Common Cold Unit (CCU) in Salisbury, UK. Results All Dutch isolates were identical in the ORF4a/b region at amino acid level. All CCU isolates are only 98% identical to the Dutch isolates at the nucleotide level, but more closely related to the prototype HCoV-229E (>98%). Remarkably, our analyses revealed that the laboratory adapted, prototype HCoV-229E has a 2-nucleotide deletion in the ORF4a/b region, whereas all clinical isolates carry a single ORF, 660 nt in size, encoding a single protein of 219 amino acids, which is a homologue of the ORF3 proteins encoded by HCoV-NL63 and PEDV. Conclusion Thus, the genome organization of the group 1b coronaviruses HCoV-NL63, PEDV and HCoV-229E is identical. It is possible that extensive culturing of the HCoV-229E laboratory strain resulted in truncation of ORF4. This may indicate that the protein is not essential in cell culture, but the highly conserved amino acid sequence of the ORF4 protein among clinical isolates suggests that the protein plays an important role in vivo.

Purpose: In this article, the authors discuss best strategies for recruitment and retention among faculty of color, international faculty, and women to diversify rehabilitation counselor education faculty. Method: Based on a comprehensive literature review, we have provided the reader with a brief review of the status of faculty of color, international faculty, and women in academia, issues in recruitment and retention, and strategies that may be beneficial in diversifying rehabilitation counselor education faculty. Results: Researchers in higher education have shown that a diverse faculty is not only beneficial to academia, but to communities as well. The authors have provided recruitment and retention strategies that have been used in other disciplines. Coupled with a sincere commitment by university administrators, faculty, students, and communities, these strategies may be beneficial in increasing diversity among the faculty ranks in rehabilitation counselor education programs. Conclusion: In order to increase diversity in our training and education programs, it is imperative that recruitment and retention plans are created and implemented. Various recruitment and retention strategies were discussed in this article that have been shown to be effective in other disciplines. Future research should explore the presence and use of recruitment and retention plans in rehabilitation counselor education programs. In addition, qualitative research is warranted to explore the experiences of faculty of color, international faculty, and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]