Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Associated With The Provision Of Coronary Heart Disease Preventive Careservices, Patricia Carcaise-Edinboro

Theses and Dissertations

The Anderson and Aday access framework (1974) is utilized to investigate the association of individual and community level, predisposing, socio-demographic, and enabling factors, on potential and realized access to coronary heart disease (CHD) preventive care. The cross-sectional study is based on a sample of adults age 18-85 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) who were identified with CHD risk or who had a CHD diagnosis.Variables from the MEPS and the Area Resource File (ARF) are used to test logistic regression models for dependent variables measuring primary and secondary CHD preventive care services. The primary preventive care measures include blood …

The Corbett Pain Scale: A Multidimensional Pain Scale For Adult Intensive Care Patients, Gina M. Corbett

Theses and Dissertations

There are no reliable tools that evaluate pain in adult critical care patients who cannot communicate as a result of sedation or illness. This was an observational study in which postoperative cardiothoracic intensive care patients were assessed for pain using both the newly devised Corbett Pain Scale (CPS) and the Numerical Pain Scale (NPS). The CPS was evaluated for content validity, criterion validity, construct validity, test re-test reliability and internal consistency. Thirteen male and seven female patients (n=20) were enrolled and underwent a maximum of five pain assessments each. The mean total scores of the CPS (.740, SD+1.03) and the …

Assessing Epidermal Growth Factor Expression In The Rodent Hippocampus Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Janice Mabutas Daus

Theses and Dissertations

Hippocampal neurons are vulnerable to injury, as indicated by the prevalence of learning and memory deficits following traumatic brain injury. Research indicates that proliferation of neural precursor cells increases following brain injury, which implies that there is an endogenous response in the hippocampus to replenish neurons and restore cognitive function. Studies show that mitogenic growth factors may drive this proliferative response; one of which is epidermal growth factor. Because adults and the elderly manifest the most enduring deficits following TBI, it is critical to investigate how EGF expression following injury may relate to injury-induced cell proliferation and the degree of …

Anatomical Bases For Auditory Projections To Suprasylvian Visual Areas In The Cat Cerebral Cortex, Giriaj K. Sharma

Theses and Dissertations

How the neural representations of different sensory modalities transition from one to another is an unexplored issue of cortical organization. The present experiments addressed this problem by examining auditory projections to the lateral suprasylvian visual area (LSS) of the cat using neuroanatomical tract tracing methods. Injections of tracer (Biotinylated Dextran Amine, BDA) were made into defined areas of the cat auditory cortex. Following transport and tissue processing, a light microscope with a digitizing stage was used to visualize and plot labeled auditory projections to the LSS. The results showed that all auditory cortices tested demonstrated projections to a restricted portion …

Physical Activity In Elementary School Girls: Implementation And Theory-Based Evaluation Of Girls On The Run, Melanie Kerr Van Ogtrop Bean

Theses and Dissertations

Rates of obesity in children are rising at an alarming rate, particularly among girls and ethnic minorities. Engaging in regular physical activity can help reduce this risk. Little is known about factors associated with physical activity (PA) in preadolescent populations, an age when intervention is ideal. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, this study used a repeated-measures design to examine PA and its correlates, including PA self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and social influences (from parents and peers). Among participants (N = 57) in Girls on the Run, an innovative PA intervention for elementary school girls. Participants (M age = 9.4) predominately include …

Determinants Of Dating Violence Among Youth In The U.S., Candace Hamm

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Physical Dating Violence (PDV) victimization is a major public health concern among adolescents in the United States. Research has shown that determinants of PDV victimization are different for male and female adolescents. However, inconsistent findings entail that further research needs to be done using a representative sample of male and female adolescents.Objective: To identify gender-specific determinants of PDV victimization utilizing a nationally representative sample of high school adolescents.Methods: Data from the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used for this analysis. The study population included 6.951 male and 6,807 female students in grades 9 through 12. Bivariate and …

Southeast Asian Immigrant Women's Perspectives On Domestic Violence, Pataporn Saengkhiew

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the question, "What is the lived experience of Southeast Asian immigrant women who live in the United States related to domestic violence, including the relationships with their partners, their knowledge of domestic violence, and the existence of domestic violence in the Asian community?" Fourteen Thai women engaged in semistructured interviews during which they were asked to describe their experience. This study chose the phenomenological approach, using content analysis that identified six major themes representing essential aspects of the experience, as described by the participants: (a) Knowledge about Domestic Violence and Sources of Information, (b) The experience of …

A Needs Assessment For Annual Physical Examination For Selected Richmond Public School Children, Aimee Gibbs

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The following risk factors have found to be associated with inadequate health care and have been found to affect the well-being of children: racial or ethnic minority, poverty status, median family income, family structure of household, maternal education level, and parental employment status. Also, there has found to be health indicators including, teen pregnancy, asthma hospitalization, and lead poisoning cases that affect the well-being of a child and are associated with the presence of these risk factors in a population. Objectives: The objectives of this study is to (1) compare the presence of risk factors and health indicators in …

Active Learning: Stratagies In Nursing Education, Loretta Vobr

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Surface Area-Basin Volume Relationships For Prairie Potholes, Mike A. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Establishing a relationship between surface area and volume of prairie potholes provides a simple method to estimate changes in water storage across the landscape. Applications include better prediction of floods and improved design for wetland restoration. Length, width, depth, surface area, and volumes were surveyed for eighty two potholes within the upper Turtle River watershed which lies sixty kilometers west of Grand Forks, ND. These data were used to determine the relationship and uncertainty between pothole surface and volume. Chi squared tests defined distributions of each variable. F and T statistical tests resolved similarities in variance and mean. The eighty …

Presenting Information Regarding Regional Anesthetic Consent, Samuel J. Mitzel

Theses and Dissertations

Many people have surgical procedures everyday without sufficient knowledge to make a proper informed consent to the different types of anesthesia available. The purpose of this independent study project was to review the different types of regional anesthesia and present them to individuals who will be having surgery, so these individuals can be informed as they give consent to anesthesia. Highlighted positive and negative aspects of both regional and general anesthesia are included along with indications and contraindications of each type of anesthesia.

The information presented is focused on the adult population who will be asked to make consent for …

Independent Practice For Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists In The Rural Setting, Amber L. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are competent in delivering cost-effective, quality anesthesia care. Therefore, rural communities rely on CRNAs to provide anesthesia care in their facilities. With the shortage of CRNAs and anesthesiologists recruiting anesthesia providers to the rural communities has become a major issue. Without anesthesia services many rural facilities are unable to provide their community members with procedures that require anesthesia monitoring.

Rural communities, unlike urban, are unable to recruit CRNAs using financial incentives. This project will provide CRNAs information needed to practice independently in the rural setting. The sole anesthesia providers in many rural medical facilities are …

Modeling Groundwater Denitrification By Ferrous Iron Using Phreeqc, Tedros Tesfay

Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants, and ingesting it leads to potential health risks. Denitrification, the only effective process to eliminate nitrate, is limited by the abundance of biologically available electron donors. Thus, understanding the natural denitrification capacity of aquifers, through the analysis of all the major electron donors, is essential.

A better way to estimate groundwater denitrification reactions is to compute the mass balance of the redox sensitive species. The University of North Dakota (UND) denitrification team installed mesocosms (ISMs) to understand the fate of nitrate in field conditions. Accordingly, the team has shown the significant …

Wellbore Stability In Water-Sensitive Shales, Qingfeng Tao

Theses and Dissertations

Wellbore instability is a widespread problem, especially when drilling in deep, low strength shale formations at high temperature and pressure. The instability can be caused by the high compressive effective stress or tensile stress due to the stress concentration and pore pressure increase while drilling. In addition to the in-situ stress and shale strength, shale instability is affected by drilling mud properties including mud weight, temperature and salinity. To assess wellbore stability in these situations, Diek and Ghassemi (2004) developed a non-linear coupled chemo-poro-thermoelasticity theory. The linearized version of the theory allows one to analytically investigate the coupled impacts of …