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The Impact Of Nurse Leader Learning Labs On Nurse Managers' Perception Of Leadership Competency In The Acute Care Setting, Carolyn Rivers Swinton

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Problem Statement: It is critically important that our nurse managers (NMs) have the leadership skills to support the care team in providing safe care to patients. Historically, nurse managers have received minimal training in the leadership role. Failure to address NMs’ coaching needs can compromise the organization's ability to achieve operational goals. Purpose: The project's primary aim was to improve NMs’ perceptions of leadership competency in the acute care setting through experiential nurse leader learning labs. The secondary aim was to demonstrate that the confident and prepared nurse manager can achieve organizational goals in the acute care setting. Method: There …

Expanding The Discharge Bundle To Reduce Preventable Readmission Among Adult Patients With Heart Failure, Leah Caccam Ramos

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Individuals with a heart failure (HF) diagnosis have a high risk of readmission following hospital discharge, increasing care costs. In an academic medical center (AMC) in Charleston, SC, the all-patient-related DRG of HF had 576 30-day readmissions for FY 2020, equivalent to a 26.3% readmission rate. This project aimed to decrease the readmission rate of adult patients diagnosed with HF admitted to cardiac units in the AMC by expanding the discharge bundle. The current discharge process is not bundled. The discharge bundle elements include HF education, pharmacy medication reconciliation, medication counseling, and appointment to the HF clinic prior to discharge. …

Application Of Digital Transformation In The Water Desalination Industry To Develop Smart Desalination Plants, Ibrahim Yousif

Theses and Dissertations

Fresh water shortage threatens the development and prosperity of many countries including several areas in the United States. Sea and ground water reverse osmosis desalination is rapidly becoming a dominant technology for overcoming water shortage threats by providing cost-effective freshwater production. Digital transformation can be used to help facilitate and advance water treatment technologies by reducing costs and minimizing downtime. Digital transformation is a process that encapsulates digital tools and technologies such as cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and virtual/augmented reality. It is a process where objects in the physical world are given virtual replicas …

Association Between The Beta Band Neural Response And The Behavioral Performance In Aphasic And Neurologically Intact Individuals, Yilun Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

The complex motor act of speech requires integrating linguistic and sensorimotor processes. Sensorimotor interaction mainly supports speech production in the form of state feedback control architecture. While speaking, subjects react to perturbations in the pitch of voice auditory feedback by changing their tone in the opposite direction to pitch-shift stimuli to compensate for the perceived pitch shift. Aphasia is a communication impairment affecting patients’ speaking, understanding, reading, and writing. The present study aims to examine the association between brain neural activity and the ability for speech auditory feedback error correction in both post-stroke aphasia and neurologically intact individuals. There are …

Leveraging Digital Transformation To Build The Technology Of Tomorrow Using Yesterday’S Equipment, Evan Barnett

Theses and Dissertations

Today’s industry sectors are filled with machines developed years ago. Healthcare, manufacturing, sustainment operations, and many others have equipment that may be reliable, but lacks certain capabilities that the newest technology delivers. The digital environment is becoming a necessity for users who want greater insights into how to improve their processes. A solution to this problem would be to purchase the newest equipment that contains robust measures to generate, collect, and analyze data. However, this solution may not be financially feasible for some and for others may sacrifice machine downtime and reliability. To combat these issues, this research focuses on …

Mechanical Strength Of Sic Composite Tubing Under Uniaxial And Multiaxial Loading, Colton Corley

Theses and Dissertations

Silicon carbide fiber reinforced silicon carbide matrix composite is one of the candidate materials for accident tolerant nuclear fuel cladding concepts. In a Nuclear power plant, the reactions between the fuel, cladding, and coolant in a potential loss of coolant accident(LOCA) are of utmost importance to ensure safety in the accident tolerance of such plants. It is for this reason that SiC(silicon carbide) composite tubes have been selected as a possible alternative to the older Zirconium based cladding methods currently used in the industry, which were a partial cause of the Fukushima 2011 meltdown. To serve as fuel cladding, a …

Purification Of Uranium Tetrafluoride Using Ammonium Bifluoride, Kyle Robert Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Molten salt reactors are being deployed as one of the Generation IV nuclear reactor concepts starting in 2025. While their applications and safety potential are considered extremely advantageous, there is a lack of operating history to draw on, so thorough understanding of proposed molten salt materials’ thermochemical behavior is crucial to their successful implementation.

The most prominent fissile fuel proposed for molten salts is uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) using ²³³U of the thorium fuel cycle. UF₄ is extremely hygroscopic, meaning it will react with moisture and oxygen in its environment, so as-received powders contain significant levels of impurity. In …

Computer Vision-Based Automatic Railroad Crossing Monitoring And Track Inspection, Feng Guo

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there are many imminent challenges in the railroad infrastructure system of the United States, impacting the operation, safety, and management of railroad transportation. In this work, three major challenges which are overcrowded traffic congestion at the grade crossing, low-efficiency and accuracy on inspection of missing or broken rail track components, and dense rail surface defects without quantification, respectively are studied. The congested railroad grade crossing not only introduces significant traffic delays to travelers but also brings potential safety concerns to the first responders. However, limited studies have been devoted on developing an intelligent traffic monitoring system which is significant …

Increased Detectivity And Low Temperature Performance Analysis Of Sub-20Μm Micropixel Array A1gan Uv Photodiodes, Samia Islam

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is divided into two sections. At first, we demonstrate ~1.5x detectivity increase in AlGaN photodiodes on sapphire using distributed micropixel arrays with 5-15 µm pixel diameter. This is due to the ~10x larger chip footprint of the 5um diameter micropixel arrays compared to planar control structures with identical p contact area. The responsivity of the larger areas was the same as that of the control structure despite the larger footprint while the dark currents, an indicator of noise, remained unchanged. The photocurrent generated between pixels was collected due to transmission line effects connecting the pixels separated by 5um, …

Utilization Of Remote Sensing To Analyze Aedes Mosquito Egg Abundance With Combined Weather Variables In Two Southeastern Coastal Cities, Danielle M. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Several vector-borne diseases have recently resurfaced, and many have suddenly spread to new areas in the United States (U.S.) due to climate change and tropicalization. Two vectors of public health importance are Aedes aegyptiand Aedes albopictus. The Southeastern region of the U.S. appears to be a preferential ecological niche for both Aedes species. Aedes aegyptiand Aedes albopictus are highly susceptible to environmental conditions, such as humidity, precipitation, temperature. Remote sensing technology has proven to be useful for estimating vector populations. Miami-Dade County is an established hotspot for disease transmission. Charleston County is newly vulnerable due to similar …

The Effects Of Affirming And Constructive Peer Editing Feedback On High School Student Perceptions And Essay Revisions, Lorin Koch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a novel strategy for peer editing of student essays in a high school English language arts classroom. The peer editing method used in this study provided more positive feedback to lower-level writers and more negative feedback to higher-level writers, with grade-level writers getting a blend of both positive and negative feedback. Incorporating an action research design, this study included data collection through student standardized test scores, student writing samples, comments left on other students’ papers, responses to peer editing sessions, and individual interviews. Qualitative data were collected over the …

Fine Points For Broad Bumps: The Extension Of Rietveld Refinement For Benchtop Powder Xrd Analysis Of Ultra-Small Supported Nanoparticles, Jeremiah W. Lipp

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this work is to demonstrate the capabilities of benchtop Bragg diffraction in characterizing ultra-small (< 2nm) nanoparticles. To this end we have established a method for accurately separating the background, adjusting for relevant intensity effects, and analyzing the results with Rietveld refinement. This method is applied to the characterization of six silica-supported “noble” metals under ambient conditions: Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, Ru, and Au. Surprisingly, Bragg diffraction is capable of shining light on this difficult-to-characterize size region – revealing the propensity of these metal nanoparticles to oxidize at room temperature. Preliminary findings for future work are also discussed: extending our method to crystalline supports and fluorescent samples.

What We Do: The Life And Work Of The Legal Writing Professor, David I.C. Thompson

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

High-Order Deterministic Sensitivity Analysis And Uncertainty Quantification: Review And New Developments, Dan Gabriel Cacuci

Faculty Publications

This work reviews the state-of-the-art methodologies for the deterministic sensitivity analysis of nonlinear systems and deterministic quantification of uncertainties induced in model responses by uncertainties in the model parameters. The need for computing high-order sensitivities is underscored by presenting an analytically solvable model of neutron scattering in a hydrogenous medium, for which all of the response’s relative sensitivities have the same absolute value of unity. It is shown that the wider the distribution of model parameters, the higher the order of sensitivities needed to achieve a desired level of accuracy in representing the response and in computing the response’s expectation, …

The Classification Of Basket Neural Cells In The Mammalian Neocortex, Sreya Pudi

Senior Theses

Basket neuronal cells of the mammalian neocortex have been classically categorized into two or more groups. Originally, it was thought that the large and small types are the naturally occurring groups that emerge from reasons that relate to neurobiological function and anatomical position. Later, a study based on anatomical and physiological features of these neurons introduced a third type, the net basket cell which is intermediate in size as compared to the large and small types. In this study, multivariate analysis was used to test the hypothesis that the large and small types are morphologically distinct groups. The results of …

Real Time Simulation And Hardware In The Loop Methods For Power Electronics Power Distribution Systems, Michele Difronzo

Theses and Dissertations

System level testing of Power Electronics Power Distribution Systems (PEPDS) can be challenging when fine temporal resolution is required (time step below 100-200ns). In the recent years, our research group has proposed various methods to simulate in real-time PEPDS using FPGAs and time step as small as 50ns. While the proposed methods allow achieving the desired temporal resolution, they are extremely demanding in terms of resources usage and the size of the PEPDS that can be simulated on a single FPGA is strongly limited.

In this dissertation -work that takes as an example application the US Navy electric Ship Zonal …

Preface To Ssl 47.1, Patrick Scott, Tony Jarrells

Studies in Scottish Literature

Introduces the issue contents, pays brief tribute to six long-time Scottish literature scholars who have recently died (Michael Timko, Priscilla Bawcutt, Greg Kratzmann, Robert Donaldson, Thorne Compton, and Dorothy McMillan), notes that the journal has now surpassed 400,000 article downloads, and describes plans for forthcoming issues.

Thomas Mcgrugar’S ‘Letters Of Zeno’: Patriotic Print & Constitutional Improvement In The Caledonian Mercury, 1782-1783, Alex Benchimol

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses a series of five newspaper letters by Thomas McGrugar (1751-1810), published in an Edinburgh newspaper the Caledonian Mercury, which urged increased representation of the Scottish burghs in the U.K. parliament, and argues that in them McGrugar used print culture to create an alternative political forum to existing political structures.

Boswell’S 'The Cub' And The Shadow Of Augustan Satire, Robert G. Walker

Studies in Scottish Literature

Reassesses James Boswell's satiric poem, and self-portrait, "The Cub" (1762), and Boswell's known affinity for the writings of Sterne, arguing for a wider satiric context in early Augustan satiric poetry, in Pope and especially Swift, and analysing the poem's multiple shifts of satiric viewpoint and allusion.

The Sobieski Stuarts And The Royal Lady’S Magazine: Some Newly-Attributed Tales, Craig Buchanan

Studies in Scottish Literature

Identifies and describes19 previously unrecorded periodical tales, some in multiple parts, contributed to the Royal Lady's Magazine in 1831-34, by the prolific early Victorian Stuart pretenders John and Charles Sobieski Stuart, providing evidence for the attributions and the brothers' pen-names, and quadrupling their known literary output.

'I'M In Full Control': Muriel Spark's The Finishing School, Robert E. Hosmer

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the special issues for reviewers treating an author's late work, analyzes Muriel's Spark's last novel, The Finishing School (2004) and its reception, and draws on correspondence in the Spark archives at the National Library of Scotland to document Spark's firm control over the text of her work.

On The Need To Determine Accurately The Impact Of Higher-Order Sensitivities On Model Sensitivity Analysis, Uncertainty Quantification And Best-Estimate Predictions, Dan Gabriel Cacuci

Faculty Publications

This work aims at underscoring the need for the accurate quantification of the sensitivities (i.e., functional derivatives) of the results (a.k.a. “responses”) produced by large-scale computational models with respect to the models’ parameters, which are seldom known perfectly in practice. The large impact that can arise from sensitivities of order higher than first has been highlighted by the results of a third-order sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of an OECD/NEA reactor physics benchmark, which will be briefly reviewed in this work to underscore that neglecting the higherorder sensitivities causes substantial errors in predicting the expectation and variance of model responses. The …

Racial Disparities In Gestational Weight Gain, Body Mass Index, And Physical Activity During Pregnancy And After Delivery, Marcey Acacia Jiles

Theses and Dissertations

Background & Purpose: African American women have higher rates of obesity than white women. Pregnancy is characterized by rapid weight gain, and 48.8% of women in South Carolina exceed recommended limits. Prenatal exercise is recommended and may help prevent excessive gestational weight gain (GWG). Our purpose was to determine whether GWG and prenatal exercise levels differed between African American and Caucasian women.

Methods: We included 79 women who delivered a singleton infant 6 months - 3 years ago and were free from smoking, type 1 or 2 diabetes, or use of steroids or protease inhibitors (mean age =31.3 yrs; mean …

The Effect Of Low Dose Penicillin On Tumor Development In ApcMin/+ Mice, Kinsey Ann Sierra Meggett

Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotics have been our most effective weapon against bacterial infections since their discovery in the early 1900s. Their use has been critical in reducing mortality rate from infectious diseases. However, in the last few decades, the overuse of antibiotics, beginning at an early age and into adulthood, has become a growing concern globally. Penicillin is one of many extensively used antibiotics in early childhood that has been used to treat childhood infections. Recent studies showed that exposure to low dose penicillin can have adverse effects leading to chronic illness such as diabetes, allergies, inflammation, and susceptibility to obesity, with the …

Recent Advances In Catalytic Ethylene Epoxidation: Synthesis, Characterization, And Evaluation, Benjamin Thomas Egelske

Theses and Dissertations

First synthesized in 1859 by French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz, ethylene oxide (EO) is produced from the direct epoxidation of ethylene and molecular oxygen over a low surface area α-Al₂O₃ supported silver (Ag) catalyst [1-6]. With a production capacity over 35 Mt/year, EO is the largest chemical by volume synthesized from a heterogeneously catalyzed process and is used in the production of ethylene glycol, ethoxylates, and ethanolamines [6, 7]. State-of-the-art catalyst formulations contain high loadings of Ag, typically 12-30wt%, required to recover activity in the presence of promoter elements which increase EO selectivity from ~75% for unsupported Ag to 80% for …

Impaired Metabolic Flexibility In A Mouse Model Of Leigh Syndrome, Richard Sterling Mccain Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Metabolic dysfunction burdens tissues with high energy demands, particularly the brain. Leigh syndrome is a mitochondrial encephalopathy stemming from genetic defects in the electron transport chain. Leigh syndrome patients develop lactic acidosis, ataxia, bilateral necrotizing lesions in the brainstem and basal ganglia, lesion microgliosis, and eventually death due to respiratory failure. The NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] iron-sulfur protein 4 (NDUFS4) knockout mouse is an established model of Leigh syndrome due to impaired assembly of mitochondrial Complex I that develops motoric deficits and necrotizing lesions in the brainstem vestibular nuclei and olfactory bulb. In addition to the Complex I-derived bioenergetics defect, altered …

Structure And Stability Of Ag-Ir Bimetallic Catalysts Prepared By Electroless Deposition And Synthesis And Performance Of High Selectivity Movnbsbteox Mixed Oxides For Oxidative Dehydrogenation Of Ethane, Mozhdeh Parizad

Theses and Dissertations

Improvements in industrial thermal conversions can be realized through comprehensive catalytic studies, where enhanced catalyst stability and activity are desired. Catalyst performance can be greatly affected by structural changes at high temperatures. In the case of supported Ag-Ir particles, the surface free energy (SFE) can determine preferred arrangement of the component metals. The well-established methods of strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) and electroless deposition (ED) have been used to synthesize highly-dispersed Ag/Ir on different alumina supports (δ,θ-Al2O3 and γ-Al2O3). Surface thermodynamics dictate that the Ir-Ag system should conform to minimize free energy resulting in a low SFE Ag layer localized on …

Marginally Interpretable Models And Multilevel Models For Quantile Regression With Random-Effects, Nahid Sultana Sumi

Theses and Dissertations

The quantile regression model is an active area of statistical research that has received a lot of attention. This complements the most widely used statistical tool, that is, mean regression analysis. Quantile regression analysis It has become more flexible because of its properties that include no assumption on the distribution of the response variable, equivalent to monotone transformations, and robustness to outliers. However, regression analysis offers methodological challenges if the observations are not independent. Cluster, multilevel, and repeated measures (longitudinal data) designs introduce such dependence. The correlation between observations on the same units or clusters should be accounted for to …

Develop Or Diminish? An Exploration Of Adolescent Athlete Flow Experiences, Hayes Mayfield Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of flow was birthed from positive psychology specifically to uncover individuals’ most positive experiences and “understand the roots of happiness” (Csikszentmihalyi, 2004). Because of the nature of flow experiences, individuals continually seek out opportunities to have more of these experiences (Seifert & Hedderson, 2010; Swann et al., 2018), however, little is known regarding how adolescents experience flow. For early-adolescents (11-14 years old: Holt, 2007), sports represent an environment that often produces physical, psychological, and social benefits (Crane & Temple, 2015), and combats negative factors (Pluhar et al., 2019). Unfortunately, adolescent athletes are particularly vulnerable to burnout and sports …

Creating Crescent: Using Youth Participatory Action Research (Ypar) And Public Media To Promote Epistemic Agency Among Black Girls In South Carolina, Salandra Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses womanist methodology and youth participatory action research (YPAR), centering the ways of knowing of Black girls, with a focus on epistemic agency, to engage Black girls in the production of educational media. Such a study is necessary because Black girls are underrepresented in educational media, overrepresented in cases of school discipline, and overrepresented in reports of physical violence in schools. As public media is recognized as a transformative intervention in improving learning outcomes for children, addressing the underrepresentation of Black girlhood therein creates opportunities to address these intersecting issues and create humanizing educational media for all students. …