Digital Commons Network^™

Metabolic Syndrome Screening In Seriously Mentally Ill Patients: A Quality Improvement Project, Annabel Moreno

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Seriously mentally ill patients who are taking second-generation antipsychotics have a high risk of metabolic complications, including obesity, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Guidelines to screen for metabolic syndrome were established by the American Diabetes Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and North American Association for the Study of Obesity (Clark, 2004). Compliance with implementing the guidelines to screen and monitor for metabolic syndrome vary from regular monitoring to little or none. This quality improvement project provided an educational intervention on screening and monitoring for metabolic syndrome in patients who were seriously mentally ill. The …

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Prescribed Exercise Program Led By A Nurse Practitioner, Leigh Aurora Keefer

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Insufficient physical exercise contributes to many disease processes and increases mortality and morbidity rates worldwide. If the world population were to adhere to recommended levels of physical activity, health outcomes would improve. To that end, clinical practices need to consider exercise interventions to improve patient self-efficacy to adhere to recommended physical activity guidelines. A family nurse practitioner led such an intervention in a primary care clinic in Anchorage, Alaska. It evaluated a prescriptive-exercise program using the Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine. This pilot targeted healthy adults between 18 and 64 years old who …

Acute Kidney Injury: Continuous Quality Improvement For Systems Change, Robin Bassett

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is reduced kidney function over hours to days which can be reversible but can lead to renal failure and death. AKI is diagnosed using serum creatinine and urine output but these factors are not sensitive or specific, and no biomarker has been found for more accurate diagnosis. International guidelines for AKI diagnosis and treatment were released in 2012 by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) group. Many providers are not aware of AKI and guidelines for treatment have not been implemented in practice. The purpose of this continuous quality improvement (CQI) project was to improve …

Looking Backward, Looking Forward: The Long, Torturous Struggle With Mosquitoes, Gordon M. Patterson

Arts and Communication Faculty Publications

The American anti-mosquito movement grew out of the discovery of the role of mosquitoes in transferring pathogens and public concern about pest and nuisance mosquitoes in the late 1800s. In the 20th century, organized mosquito control in the United States passed through three eras: mechanical, chemical, and integrated mosquito control. Mosquito control in the 21st century faces the challenge of emerging pathogens, invasive mosquito species, and balancing concerns about the environment with effective control strategies.

Molecular Measurement Of Toxicity In Fish; Case Examples And Policy Implications, Jessica A. Freedman

Senior Honors Projects

Stormwater and oil are common urban contaminants that can be harmful to fish species. One way of recognizing exposed and impaired fish is by monitoring gene expression and gene induction. This study focused on the identification and validation of reference genes for measuring contaminant-induced changes in gene expression due to urban influence. In this study, reference genes (which are genes used to normalize data and remain consistent in varying exposures regardless of organism and tissue type) were established. Six genes were identified as reference genes (ef1a, wdtc1, mtm1, spop, rxrba and tuba1) from a longer list of potential …

Improving Our Understanding Of Ocean Circulation: A Modeling Study, Nicole M. Flecchia

Senior Honors Projects

The Gulf Stream is not a rigidly contained ocean current; it curves and meanders in a manner that causes portions of it to go unstable, breaking off to form warm core rings. These rings travel west – due to the earth’s rotation - through the Slope Sea and onto the southern New England shelfbreak, affecting various physical parameters of our coastal waters as well as the biogeochemical and ecological properties (i.e. the ‘health’) of the those waters. Where a warm core ring lands along the east coast and the time of year it appears varies with each ring, causing each …

Strange Bedfellows: Can Insurers Play A Role In Advancing Gideon's Promise, Jacqueline Mcmurtrie

Hofstra Law Review

The article discusses the role of insurers in advancing the principle of public defenders set out in the U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, specifically the role of the group the Washington Cities Insurance Association (WCIA) in working with municipalities such as Mount Vernon, Washington, and Burlington, Washington, to bring public defense contracts into compliance with the decision in the Washington Supreme Court case Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon.

Better Keep Your Hands On The Wheel In That Autonomous Car: Examining Society's Need To Navigate The Cybersecurity Roadblocks For Intelligent Vehicles, Christopher Wing

Hofstra Law Review

The article discusses the potential societal and legal impact of autonomous vehicles, particularly the lack of regulation concerning potential cyber hackers of autonomous vehicles. The article also argues in favor of regulation of autonomous vehicle liability via a U.S. federal statute that takes into account various elements, specifically specialized operations licenses. The article discusses the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1970.

Susceptibility Of Anopheles Gambiae To Insecticides Used For Malaria Vector Control In Rwanda, Emmanuel Hakizimana, Corine Karema, Dunia Munyakanage, Gad Iranzi, John Githure, Jon Eric Tongren, Willem Takken, Agnes Binagwaho, Constantianus J.M. Koenraadt

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background:

The widespread emergence of resistance to pyrethroids is a major threat to the gains made in malaria control. To monitor the presence and possible emergence of resistance against a variety of insecticides used for malaria control in Rwanda, nationwide insecticide resistance surveys were conducted in 2011 and 2013.

Methods:

Larvae of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato mosquitoes were collected in 12 sentinel sites throughout Rwanda. These were reared to adults and analysed for knock-down and mortality using WHO insecticide test papers with standard diagnostic doses of the recommended insecticides. A sub-sample of tested specimens was analysed for the presence of …

The Role Of Nutrition Education And Active Choice To Increase Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Among Second Grade Students During Lunchtime, Robyn M. Cafiero

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Fruit and vegetable intake within the United States is considerably lower than the standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture. With this information, there is no surprise that these rates are especially low for school aged children. Although many studies have tried to incorporate programs that would effectively increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables among youngsters, many have fallen short with being able to sustain consumption over time. This study provided a way to increase fruit and vegetable consumption during lunchtime for second grade students by using a dual module of the Social Cognitive Theory and active …

Faculty Senate Chronicle For November 3, 2016, Jon Miller

The University of Akron Faculty Senate Chronicle

Minutes of the regular meeting of The University of Akron Faculty Senate on November 3, 2016.

The Weekly Challenger, December 1, 2016, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The December 1, 2016, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Are States That Legalized Physician-Assisted Death Also More Lenient Towards Abortion?, Young Sun Kim

Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

The Stethoscoop, December 2016, Mennonite College Of Nursing

The Stethoscoop

The Stethoscoop is the newsletter for Mennonite College of Nursing students.

Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers And Scientists Association (Oceesa) Report, Dec 2016., Yung-Tse Hung, Wen-Chi Ku, Lawrence K. Wang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association (OCEESA) report is 2016 Directory of Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association (OCEESA), Report number: OCEESA/JL-2016/33D1, December 2016, ISSN 1072 -7248. This report was prepared by Yung-Tse Hung, Permanent Executive Director, OCEESA. This report includes OCEESA contact information, list of OCEESA Directors, list of OCEESA past presidents, OCEESA membership data, constitutions and by laws of OCEESA (5 November 2000 edition), constitutions and by laws of OCEESA (14 February 2006 edition), constitutions and by laws of OCEESA (27 October 2013 edition), membership application form, letter from Wen-Chi Ku to confirm Yung-Tse Hung …

Pass-Through And The Prediction Of Merger Price Effects, N. H. Miller, Marc Remer, C. Ryan, G. Sheu

Economics Faculty Works

We use Monte Carlo experiments to study how pass-through can improve merger price predictions, focusing on the first order approximation (FOA) proposed in Jaffe and Weyl [2013]. FOA addresses the functional form misspecification that can exist in standard merger simulations. We find that the predictions of FOA are tightly distributed around the true price effects if pass-through is precise, but that measurement error in pass-through diminishes accuracy. As a comparison to FOA, we also study a methodology that uses pass-through to select among functional forms for use in simulation. This alternative also increases accuracy relative to standard merger simulation and …

Regulating Secrecy, W. Nicholson Price Ii

Washington Law Review

Inventors face a stark choice between two intellectual property systems of protecting innovative ideas: patents and trade secrecy. But accounts of this choice underexplore the role of the regulators that dominate some areas of innovation. Regulation interacts with intellectual property exclusivity in socially problematic ways by encouraging secrecy at the expense of innovation, efficiency, and competition. This Article theorizes how regulation empowers intellectual property generally, explains why this strengthening is problematic for trade secrecy but not for patents, and offers the solution of regulator-enforced disclosure. When a regulator defines a product or a process, it becomes much harder to successfully …

Second Look Commission 2016 Annual Report, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Second Look Commission Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Creative Movement And Dance Integration: Their Connection To Learning Third Grade Math Concepts, Lashandria L. Redman

Master's Theses

In education, there are various methods of instruction used to engage students and strengthen learning of academic concepts. One method that can be used is arts integration. Arts integration is a pathway to learning that integrates an art form with another subject. Using movement and dance to help teach concepts that are part of an academic discipline is dance integration. This thesis involves dance integration and examines creating and presenting a movement and dance-integrated curriculum that teaches concepts that are part of the math discipline. The study explores how the movement and a dance-integrated curriculum affects student behavior and learning, …

Chemoprevention For Primary Breast Cancer Risk Reduction For Women At High Risk Of Breast Cancer: Implementing An Evidence-Based Recommendation, Linda M. Kottman

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

This capstone project was an evidence-based quality improvement project with three objectives: (a) to understand current practice of primary breast cancer chemoprevention in an integrated health system; (b) to evaluate the most current evidence available and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s (2013) Breast Cancer: Medications for Risk Reduction recommendation; and (c) to plan for implementation of the recommendation as a clinical practice guideline and evaluate the guideline outcomes through a future pilot study. The pilot study was not part of the capstone but included for planning purposes. Evidence exists of the effectiveness of selective estrogen receptor modulators and aromatase …

Connection Between Involvement In Dance And Building Character: An Analysis Of Student Behavior, Megan L. Hoggarth

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dance involvement on

high school students’ behaviors. This quantitative and qualitative study was designed to answer the three essential questions and to determine the connection if any between involvement in dance class, and changes in students’ character traits and behaviors. The research instruments were a student character trait survey, student interviews, and observation forms. The study is based from the seven character traits listed in Paul Tough’s book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character and from the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). The seven …

The Link Between Greek Involvement And Alcohol Consumption: A Utilization Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Examine Fundamental Influences, Alex Knoll

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Elevated levels of alcohol consumption among college students associated with Greek life are a well-documented occurrence in the United States (Baer, 1994; Capone et al., 2007). Many studies have sought to understand the precise influence(s) responsible for facilitating such inflated amounts of alcohol consumption behaviors. This study utilized the theory of planned behavior in an attempt to ascertain the most salient influences that may be contributing to Greek and non-Greek collegiate alcohol consumption. Specifically, one’s attitudes, perception of acceptable norms, and their perceived level of control over their behaviors were examined in relation to alcohol consumption.

An undergraduate collegiate sample …

Optimized Codons Of Polar Tube Protein 1 Gene Of Encephalitozoon Cuniculi To Enhance Protein Expression In Escherichia Coli, Waraporn Sinsuwonkwat, Pornchai Sanyathitiseree, Sakuna Phattanakunanan, Siriluk Jala, Preeda Lertwatcharasarakul

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) is an intracellular zoonotic parasite that is recognized as a common parasite of rabbits. Infected rabbits show neurological and renal disorder. The polar tube protein 1 of the spore is revealed to be antigenicity. The present study aimed to produce a recombinant polar tube protein 1 (rPTP1) for which the codon usage of a native ptp1 gene was optimized and synthesized for protein production in Escherichia coli (E. coli). Both a native ptp1 gene amplified by PCR technique and an optimized ptp1 gene were ligated into a pQE30 expression vector and transformed into an E. coli …

Examination Of Pseudomonas Fluorescence As A Recombinant Expression Host: Cloning, Expression, And Chromatography, Ahmed K.Ali Elmasheiti

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to expand the pool of bacterium useful for biotechnology applications, Pseudomonas fluorescens, a common gram negative microbe, was examined for its ability to function in a recombinant setting. P. fluorescens is ubiquitous in nature and was initially identified as a soil bacterium found in dirt and is typically associated with plant material. Past literature indicates that it shared characteristics common to Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, including simple growth conditions and potential cloning vectors, providing motivation to look into both the upstream and downstream characteristics of this bacterium. First, it was demonstrated that P. fluorescens could be …

Information Outlook, November/December 2016, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2016

Volume 20, Issue 6

Timber Talk, Vol. 54, No. 4, December 2016

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

In This Issue

Lumber Market Reports 1

Hardwood Lumber Prices 2

Note from the Editor - EAB Meeting Discussion 3

THE CHALLENGE - Using Forest Residues from Forest Operations 4

2016 Tax Tips Bulletin Available 4

Nebraska Forest Industry Spotlight 5

Alaska Airlines’ first flight with biofuel made from forest residuals 7

The Four “P’s” of Marketing Your Small Sawmill Business 7

Trading Post 8

Continuous Long-Term Health Monitoring Using Ultrasonic Wave Propagation, Ece Erdogmus

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Volumetry Of Low-Contrast Liver Lesions With Ct: Investigation Of Estimation Uncertainties In A Phantom Study, Qin Li, Yongguang Liang, Qiao Huang, Min Zong, Benjamin Berman, Marios A. Gavrielides, Lawrence H. Schwartz, Binsheng Zhao, Nicholas Petrick

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of lesion volumetry in hepatic CT as a function of various imaging acquisition parameters.

Methods: An anthropomorphic abdominal phantom with removable liver inserts was designed for this study. Two liver inserts, each containing 19 synthetic lesions with varying diameter (6–40 mm), shape, contrast (10–65 HU), and both homogenous and mixed-density were designed to have background and lesion CT values corresponding to arterial and portal-venous phase imaging, respectively. The two phantoms were scanned using two commercial CT scanners (GE 750 HD and Siemens Biograph mCT) across a set of imaging protocols (four slice thicknesses, …

Sustainability Program Director, Dave Larsen

College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

The University of Dayton appointed Rebecca Potter as the first director of the newly established sustainability program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Potter is an associate professor of English who joined the faculty in 2002. She begins her new role in January.

Implementation Of Shared Medical Appointments To Address Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Patients With Metabolic Syndrome, Jill Rife

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which the components – central adiposity, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and elevated blood pressure - confer increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A pilot clinical practice improvement project was developed and implemented using shared medical appointments to address cardiovascular disease risk in adult patients at a rural health care clinic on the southern Kenai Peninsula, Alaska who met the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. Statistically significant improvement in self-reported minutes of exercise was demonstrated for the nominal group of participants. Participants were at least as satisfied or more satisfied with shared medical appointments compared to …