Digital Commons Network^™

An Evaluation Of Discharge Policies At A Generic Acute Care Hospital, Elizabeth A. Crawford

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One of the main issues faced within the U.S. healthcare continuum is ineffective care transition. Ineffective transitions from one area of care to the next can lead to a reduction in quality of care, an increased risk of readmission, and an increase in healthcare costs. According to the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC), as many as 42% of the hospitals surveyed reported that care transitions during coordinated care delivery do not go as planned. One of the primary reasons for ineffective care transition is poor discharge planning. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of various …

Assessing The Drivers Of Adaptive Radiation In A Complex Of Gall Midges: A Multitrophic Perspective On Ecological Speciation, Jeremy J. Heath

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Natural enemies as selective forces maintaining and shaping morphological, physiological, and behavioral divergence in adaptive radiations have received very little attention. Until recently, the focus has been on primary resource competition as a major driver of trait divergence in adaptive radiations. Here I consider the role of natural enemies specifically in driving trait divergence in a complex of gall midges in the nominal species Asteromyia carbonifera (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which appears to be in the throes of an incipient adaptive radiation on its host plant, goldenrod (Solidago). This galler uses a symbiotic fungus (Botryosphaeria dothidae) as a …

Trading Resistance For Vigor: A Potential Mechanism For Invasion By The Asian Grass Microstegium Vimineum, Matthew Dickinson

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The Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) hypothesis predicts that subsequent to introduction, non-native plants escape enemies and selection favors genotypes that invest more in growth and reproduction and less in resistance. Here, I evaluated if the invasive Asian grass Microstegium vimineum has developed decreased resistance in its introduced range of the eastern US, as predicted by the EICA hypothesis. Asian and US genotypes were evaluated for differences in enemy damage, leaf toughness, specific leaf area (SLA), and flowering in a common garden experiment. Leaf damage, SLA, and flower production were greater and leaf toughness lower in US plants. These …

A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To Childhood Obesity, Erinn J. Wright

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In the past two decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has risen throughout the world. Factors that put children at risk for childhood obesity include genetics, parental weight and lifestyle, gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Various disciplines address treatment of childhood obesity differently. For example, the medical community focuses on potential consequences of childhood obesity; the mental health field conceptualizes the issue behaviorally, and social work research highlights the sociopolitical factors of the issue. Results of a needs assessment performed in the Dayton, Ohio and Montgomery County region from 2009-2010 revealed a lack of collaboration between various disciplines involved in …

Optimization Of Spectrum Allocation In Cognitive Radio And Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks, Tao Zhang

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Spectrum has become a treasured commodity. However, many licensed frequency bands exclusively assigned to the primary license holders (also called primary users) remain relatively unused or under-utilized for most of the time. Allowing other users (also called secondary users) without a license to operate in these bands with no interference becomes a promising way to satisfy the fast growing needs for frequency spectrum resources. A cognitive radio adapts to the environment it operates in by sensing the spectrum and quickly decides on appropriate frequency bands and transmission parameters to use in order to achieve certain performance goals. One of the …

Health Care Industry Developments - 2012/13; Audit Risk Alerts, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants (Aicpa)

Industry Guides (AAGs), Risk Alerts, and Checklists

No abstract provided.

2012-2013 Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook, Morehead State University. Nursing Department.

Nursing Department Publications Archive

2012-2013 Undergraduate Student Handbook of the Department of Nursing at Morehead State University.

Feeling Our Way Through The Clean Water Act: Pre-Enforcement Judicial Review Of The Epa Compliance Orders Under Sackett V. Environmental Protection Agency, Susan L. Stephens, Miguel Collazo Iii

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Dynamics Of Reproductive Rate, Offspring Survivorship And Growth In The Lined Seahorse, Hippocampus Erectus Perry, 1810, Qiang Lin, Gang Li, Geng Qin, Liangmin Huang, Hushan Sun, Peiyong Feng

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Seahorses are the vertebrate group with the embryonic development occurring within a special pouch in males. To understand the reproductive efficiency of the lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus Perry, 1810 under controlled breeding experiments, we investigated the dynamics of reproductive rate, offspring survivorship and growth over births by the same male seahorses. The mean brood size of the 1-year old pairs in the 1st birth was 85.4±56.9 per brood, which was significantly smaller than that in the 6th birth (465.9±136.4 per brood) (P<0.001). The offspring survivorship and growth rate increased with the births. The fecundity was positively correlated with the length of brood pouches of males and trunk of females. The fecundity of 1-year old male and 2-year old female pairs was significantly higher than that from 1-year old couples (P<0.001). The brood size (552.7±150.4) of the males who mated with females that were isolated for the gamete-preparation, was larger than those (467.8±141.2) from the long-term pairs (P<0.05). Moreover, the offspring from the isolated females had higher survival and growth rates. Our results showed that the potential reproductive rate of seahorses H. erectus increased with the brood pouch development.

The Control Room, Grace Cox

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

Ecosystem Impacts Of The Invasive Shrub Lonicera Maackii Are Influenced By Associations With Native Tree Species, Megan Marie Poulette

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Invasive species are significant drivers of global environmental change, altering the stability and functioning of numerous ecosystems. The exotic shrub Lonicera maackii is an aggressive invader throughout much of the eastern United States. While much is known about its population and community impacts, little is known about effects on ecosystem processes.

This dissertation documents changes in ecosystem processes associated with L. maackii growing beneath three native tree species (Fraxinus quadrangulata, Quercus muehlenbergii, Carya ovata) in a savanna in Kentucky. Like many invasive plants, L. maackii litter decomposed and lost nitrogen (N) rapidly, especially in comparison with …

Empirical And Conceptual Approaches To Life-History Trade-Offs: The Size And Number Of Offspring In Broods Of A Parasitoid Wasp, Yoriko Saeki

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Trade-offs in resource allocation underlie key life history traits of organisms. My dissertation focuses on the size-number trade-off in clonal broods of offspring using the polyembryonic wasp, Copidosoma bakeri parasitizing immature stages of the moth Agrotis ipsilon. I aim to characterize responses of wasp brood size and individual body mass by manipulating the environments in order to understand the allocation pattern in the size number trade-off. In reviewing the functional forms of trade-off relationships in relation to resource constraints, I distinguish among three main trade-off types based on graphical representations of the relationship between the trade-off variables: linear, convex …

Ecology Of Mating Patterns And Sexual Selection In Dickcissels Breeding In Managed Prairie, Bridget Frances Sousa

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Males of many species have elaborate phenotypes that are absent in females and that are thought to be the result of sexual selection. Sexual selection requires: (i) variance in male mating success, (ii) variation in male phenotype, and (iii) covariation between male mating success and male phenotype. Environmental conditions influence these factors, and management practices that alter environmental conditions have the potential to shape mating patterns and sexual selection. I investigated the hypothesis that the frequency of fire, used to manage tallgrass prairie, affects the mating patterns and process of sexual selection in the organisms breeding in managed prairies.

I …

Transcriptome Characterization Of The Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Laccaria Bicolor To Understand Metabolic Reprogramming During Symbiotic Interaction With Populus Tremuloides, Geetika Trivedi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adult Bmi Change And Risk Of Colon Cancer In Postmenopausal Women, Lyla Blake-Gumbs, Zhengyi Chen, Cheryl L. Thompson, Nathan A. Berger, Thomas C. Tucker, Li Li

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Purpose. We recently reported an association of adult BMI change with colon cancer risk. Here, we sought to further explore this association with respect to postmenopausal HRT use in a larger study population. Methods. We included 1,457 postmenopausal women participating in an ongoing population-based case-control study of colon cancer. Results. We confirmed a previously reported association of adulthood weight gain and increased risk of colon cancer: compared to those with <5 kg/m² change of BMI, women who reported moderate (5–10 kg/m²) and large (>10 kg/m²) BMI changes since their 20s had OR estimates …

Amerigas V. Opinion Corp., United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Pennsylvania

Historical and Topical Legal Documents

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Secondary Education: What Implications For Counsellors Lie In The Stories Of Indigenous Adults, Who As Children, Left Their Home Communities To Attend School?, Suzanne Jenkins

Theses

Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of the peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that the child of a farm worker can become the president of a great nation. Nelson Mandela

Access to a ‘good’ education is often argued as deserving of the highest priority. The available research pertaining to the educational experience of Australian Indigenous students, however, too often reflects a picture of profound disadvantage, particularly in relation to their non-Indigenous counterparts. In 2008, Prime Minister Rudd announced …

Striking A Balance: Revising Usda Regulations To Promote Competition Without Stifling Innovation, Amanda Welters

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Soybean Aphid, Aphis Glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae): Population Dynamics On Edamame Soybeans In Nebraska, Usa, Bamphitlhi Tiroesele, Thomas E. Hunt, Robert J. Wright, Erin E. Blankenship, John E. Foster

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Edamame are soybeans harvested at a physiologically immature (R6) stage as a specialty food item for fresh and processed (frozen) markets. The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, is a newly introduced insect pest of soybeans in North America. This field study was to provide baseline information on the impact of A. glycines on the edamame soybean. This study determined the population growth rate of A. glycines on two edamame soybean cultivars, ‘Butterbeans’ and ‘Envy,’ at two planting dates during 2004 and 2005 in Nebraska. Aphid population growth was significantly higher on 'Butterbeans' than on 'Envy' for the first planting date …

Comparative Toxicity Of Acaricides To Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Workers And Queens, Lizette Dahlgren, Reed M. Johnson, Blair D. Siegfried, Marion D. Ellis

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Acaricides are used to treat honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies to control the varroa mite (Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman), a worldwide threat to honey bee health. Although acaricides control a serious honey bee parasite and mitigate bee loss, they may cause harm to bees as well. We topically applied five acaricides, each with a different mode of action, to young adult queen and worker bees to generate dose-response curves and LD₅₀. Twenty-four hours after treatment, queens were found to be three times more tolerant of tau-fluvalinate and six times more tolerant of thymol than …

A Comparison Of Dung Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Attraction To Native And Exotic Mammal Dung, Sean D. Whipple, W. Wyatt Hoback

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Although the preference of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) for specific types and conditions of dung has been given substantial attention, little has been done to investigate the potential effects of exotic mammal introduction for game farms or rewilding projects. We used pitfall traps baited with various native and exotic herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore dung to evaluate dung beetle preference in the Great Plains of North America. Additionally, we analyzed the nutrient quality of each dung type. In total, 9,089 dung beetles from 15 species were captured in 2 yr of sampling. We found significant differences (P < 0.05) in mean dung beetle capture among omnivore, herbivore, and carnivore dung as well as differences in individual species preference for dung type. Omnivore dung was the most attractive with chimpanzee and human dung having the highest mean capture (291.1 ± 27.6 and 287.5 ± 28.5 respectively). Carrion also was highly attractive with a mean of 231.9 ± 20.6 beetles per trap (N = 8). …

Clinical Use Of Probiotics In Pediatric Allergy (Cuppa): A World Allergy Organization Position Paper, Alessandro Fiocchi, Wesley Burks, Sami L. Bahna, Leonard Bielory, Robert J. Boyle, Renata Cocco, Sten Dreborg, Richard E. Goodman, Mikael Kuitunen, Tari Haahtela, Ralf G. Heine, Gideon Lack, David A. Osborn, Hugh Sampson, Gerald W. Tannock, Bee Wah Lee

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Probiotic administration has been proposed for the prevention and treatment of specific allergic manifestations such as eczema, rhinitis, gastrointestinal allergy, food allergy, and asthma. However, published statements and scientific opinions disagree about the clinical usefulness.

Objective: A World Allergy Organization Special Committee on Food Allergy and Nutrition review of the evidence regarding the use of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of allergy.

Methods: A qualitative and narrative review of the literature on probiotic treatment of allergic disease was carried out to address the diversity and variable quality of relevant studies. This variability precluded systematization, and an expert …

Green Tea As An Agricultural Based Health Promoting Food: The Past Five To Ten Years, Qin-Yin Shi, Vicki Schlegel

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The consumption of tea originated in ancient China over 4000 years ago and is currently the second most popular beverage in the world after water. Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The link between tea intake, most notably green tea, and health has resulted in intense research on the components responsible for preventing the onset of several chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis, cancer, obesity and diabetes. In particular, the high levels of chemically diverse phenols (e.g., phenolic acids, flavonoids) present in tea exhibit potent protective properties against many of …

Marine Vertebrates From The Hartland Shale (Upper Cretaceous: Upper Cenomanian) In Southeastern Colorado, Usa, Matthew Nagrodski, Kenshu Shimada, Bruce A. Schumacher

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The Hartland Shale Member of the Greenhorn Limestone was deposited in the middle of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America. Rock samples rich in micro-vertebrate fossils were collected from the lower part of the Hartland Shale (ca. 94.6 Ma: early Late Cenomanian) in southeastern Colorado, USA. Through acid treatment of the rock samples, 25 marine vertebrate taxa are identified including chondrichthyans, osteichthyans, and a reptile. Chondrichthyans are represented by seven species: Ptychodus anonymus, Squalicorax curvatus, Carcharias saskatchewanensis, Archaeolamna kopingensis, Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Cretomanta canadensis, and Rhinobatos incertus. Osteichthyan fishes consist of 17 taxa: Micropycnodon kansasensis, cf. Palaeobalistum …

Carrion Cycling In Food Webs: Comparisons Among Terrestrial And Marine Ecosystems, James C. Beasley, Z. H. Olson, T. L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In light of current global changes to ecosystem function (e.g. climate change, trophic downgrading, and invasive species), there has been a recent surge of interest in exploring differences in nutrient cycling among ecosystem types. In particular, a growing awareness has emerged concerning the importance of scavenging in food web dynamics, although no studies have focused specifically on exploring differences in carrion consumption between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In this forum we synthesize the scavenging literature to elucidate differences in scavenging dynamics between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and identify areas where future research is needed to more clearly understand the role …

Toxoplasma Gondii In Circumpolar People And Wildlife, Stacey A. Elmore, Emily J. Jenkins, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Lydden Polley, J. Jeffrey Root, Chester G. Moore

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Despite extensive worldwide surveillance in populations of both people and wildlife, relatively little is known about Toxoplasma gondii ecology in the circumpolar north. Many northern animals and people demonstrate exposure to T. gondii, but the apparent low densities of domestic or wild felids suggest that additional transmission mechanisms are responsible for T. gondii persistence in high latitudes, whether remote source (from another region), vertical, or dietary. People in these northern communities who practice subsistence hunting might have an increased infection risk due to traditional food preparation techniques and frequent handling of wild game. Recent advances in T. gondii genotyping, …

Do Gastrointestinal Taste Receptors Contribute To Associative Learning And Foraging Behavior?, G. J. Golden, A. M. Hussey, B. A. Kimball

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Foraging behavior is an expression of learning, context, and experience arising from integration of sensory information obtained during feeding with postingestive consequences of food ingestion. Although it has been well established that gustatory and olfactory systems of the mouth and nose provide sensory information to the consumer (in the form of flavor), sweet and bitter taste receptors have recently been identified in the intestinal tract of humans and rodents. It remains possible that sensory information generated in the gut could contribute to the learning process. Thus, a series of experiments was conducted to determine if classical associative learning occurs when …

Modulation Of Kernel Storage Proteins In Grain Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench), Tejinder Kumar, Ismail M. Dweikat, Shirley Sato, Zhengxiang Ge, Natalya Nersesian, Han Chen, Thomas Elthon, Scott Bean, Brian P. Ioerger, Mike Tilley, Thomas E. Clemente

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Sorghum prolamins, termed kafirins, are categorized into subgroups α, β, and γ. The kafirins are co-translationally translocated to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where they are assembled into discrete protein bodies that tend to be poorly digestible with low functionality in food and feed applications. As a means to address the issues surrounding functionality and digestibility in sorghum, we employed a biotechnology approach that is designed to alter protein body structure, with the concomitant synthesis of a co-protein in the endosperm fraction of the grain. Wherein perturbation of protein body architecture may provide a route to impact digestibility by reducing disulphide …

Cover Crop Mixtures For The Western Corn Belt: Opportunities For Increased Productivity And Stability, Samuel E. Wortman, Charles A. Francis, John L. Lindquist

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Achieving agronomic and environmental benefits associated with cover crops oft en depends on reliable establishment of a highly productive cover crop community. The objective of this study was to determine if cover crop mixtures can increase productivity and stability compared to single species cover crops, and to identify those components most active in contributing to or detracting from mixture productivity. A rainfed field experiment was conducted near Mead, Nebraska, United States, in 2010 and 2011. Eight individual cover crop species (in either the Brassicaceae [mustard] or Fabaceae [legume] family) and four mixtures of these species (two, four, six, and eight …

Agriculture And Food In Crisis: Conflict, Resistance, And Renewal [Book Review], Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Edited by Fred Magdoff and Brian Tokar. 2010. Monthly Review Press, New York, New York, United States. 348 p. Paperback, cloth US$ 75.00, paper US$ 18.95, ISBN-13 978-1-58367-226-6.

That doubling of food production over the next four decades will be needed to adequately nourish our human population is not news, but the incredible steps essential to achieve that goal and their political and social implications are less well reported. In this series of 16 essays edited by Fred Magdoff and Brian Tokar, several thoughtful specialists in global food issues explore the historical, biological, economic, energy, political and social dimensions of …