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Current Challenges In Atrial Fibrillation Ablation, Edward John Davies

Peninsula Medical School Theses

The ablative management of atrial fibrillation, despite a number of landmark discoveries, remains one of the most challenging fields in interventional electrophysiology. It is generally accepted that successful isolation of the pulmonary veins is a highly effective way of managing paroxysmal forms of AF. However, despite almost a decade of research into alternative lesion patterns, the solution to persistent AF remains beyond our grasp. A variety of strategies have been proposed to target key areas in the atria; these use various complex mapping systems, usually based on tailored lesion sets to try and improve outcomes. None have proven to be …

Applying Utaut In Clinical Informatics Research, Kehinde Abayomi Owolabi Mr, Evans Neil Dr, Patrick Thokozani Mhlongo Prof

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper discussed unified theory of acceptance and use of technology UTAUT as theoretical foundation for clinical informatics research. Highlighting the efforts to promote the use of clinical informatics in sub-Sahara Africa cannot be over-emphasized. UTAUT theory has evolved to become a key model in understanding factors that influence human behaviors toward acceptance and rejection of technology.

Qualitative content analysis through conceptual and literature analysis was used to explore previous studies in the research domain. Research has been conducted on application of UTAUT in various fields such as internet use, mobile banking and e-learning. But not much has been done …

Gras-Fed Americans: Sick Of Lax Regulation Of Food Additives, Martha Dragich

Faculty Publications

Americans are “GRAS-fed” because of a “loophole” in the strict regime Congress provided for the regulation of food additives. Additives - and food products containing them - are exempt from this strict regime if they are accorded GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status. The guidelines Congress provided for achieving that status by scientific evidence of safety are no longer observed. Most additives are determined by the producer alone to be GRAS. At the same time, Americans’ consumption of highly processed foods continues to rise, giving rise to long-term health problems that are increasingly tied to diet. The average American’s diet …

Planned Parenthood In Crisis: Social Media Strategies And Frames, Lauren Hudel Goodman

LSU Master's Theses

Planned Parenthood entered crisis mode in the summer of 2015 with the release of videos alleging sales of fetal tissue by the Center for Medical Progress. Its crisis communication strategy was implemented to manage its reputation and influence public opinion regarding the organization and potential defunding by Congress. Through the use of women’s health and abortion framing, Planned Parenthood was able to prime its public’s attitudes towards the organization and potential negative outcomes of removing federal funding from the organization. As discovered through a content analysis, Planned Parenthood specifically addressed the crisis in its press releases, allowing the organization to …

Ethj Vol-54 No-1

East Texas Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

From Corpus Christi's First Lady To Mother Margaret Mary Healy Murphy: Teaching At The Margins, A Transnational Story And Legacy, Cecilia Gutierrez Venable

East Texas Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

Bound For Beaumont: Eleanor Roosevelt's 1939 Train Trip Through East Texas And Beyond, Mary L. Scheer

East Texas Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

Ethj Vol-54 No-2

East Texas Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews

East Texas Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

Anthropogenic Influence On Blackfin Sucker (Thoburnia Atripinnis) Distribution, In The Upper Barren River System, Kentucky And Tennessee, Christa Rose Hurak

Online Theses and Dissertations

We evaluated the effects of land use and cover on endemic blackfin sucker (Thoburnia atripinnis) catch per unit effort and abundance within the Upper Barren River (UBR) system, a priority conservation area, in south-central Kentucky. Anthropogenic impacts have rendered T. atripinnis a “species of greatest conservation need” by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. This study focused on determining if land use surrounding blackfin sucker sampling sites and certain physicochemical parameters could be impacting their inhabitance at these sites. Data collection and ground truthing occurred between September 2015 and June 2016. ArcGIS was used to extract land use …

A Qualitative Pilot Study Of Aging Women’S Physical Activity Experiences In One University Fitness And Wellness Center, Alexis Hobbs

Online Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity is one of the driving risk factors for developing health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (World Health Organization, 2003). The prevalence of these diseases increases with the aging process, which renders participation in physical activity crucial among the aging population. There is strong evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of these health disparities and disabilities (Young & Dinan, 2005), however despite these well-documented benefits, aging women still remain sedentary. This study examined the phenomenon of women 55 years of age or older and their lived experiences of participating in physical activity within a university …

The Impact Of Compliance With A Certified Accreditation Standard For Municipal Fire Departments, David Ryan Hickel

Online Theses and Dissertations

This report was conducted to assist public administrators serving in municipal fire departments in making the complex decision to pursue agency accreditation. The research finds that very little information is available to administrators that details the impacts accreditation has on a municipal fire department. The research conducted in this report aims to fill that gap.

Literature was reviewed that focused on the emergence of accreditation within the fire service. Then, an exploratory qualitative research method was utilized for the framework of this research, and interviews were arranged with members of various fire departments possessing unique relationships and experience with the …

A Comparison Of School Suspension Rates And Number Of Days Suspended Between African-American And Caucasian Males, Jeffrey D. Herron-Rodgers

Online Theses and Dissertations

Racial discrimination plays a major role in out-of-school suspensions. Research shows that when students are suspended, they are removed from their learning environment, which can lead to poor academic achievement, lower graduation rates, and higher delinquency. The distribution of racial and ethnic minorities that are being suspended or expelled reveal disparities between the groups. Within the United States public school system, racial disparities have been documented over time to show African-American students are suspended from school at higher rates than any other race (Arcia, 2007; Bulter et al, 2012; Rocque, 2010; Skiba et al, 2002; Townsend, 2000).

School systems should …

Molecular Basis Of Sex Differences In Cardiac Hypertrophy And Heart Failure, Maya James

Online Theses and Dissertations

Transforming growth factor beta ligands and receptors are known to be pro-hypertrophic and pro-fibrotic factors in the heart, and are known to contribute to the development of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. It is well established that premenopausal females possess a lower incidence of these pathologies. We and others have observed a greater level of fibrosis in male hearts compared to female hearts in rodent models of cardiac hypertrophy. It is well established that estrogen is cardioprotective in that it can prevent the development of cardiac hypertrophy, as well as abrogate the development of heart failure following sustained cardiac hypertrophy. …

Female Agency In Religious Disassembly Of Culture: Where Do Women Fit In?, Megan Elizabeth Kirby

Online Theses and Dissertations

A study of The Color Purple and Possessing the Secret of Joy as they relate to cultural disassembly and the relationship to missionaries from Western cultures. Some focus is placed on Alice Walker's views on female genital mutilation and how that was impacted by Christian viewpoints. Theoretical perspectives from Homi Bhabha and Chandra Mohanty emphasize the role of so-called "third world women" in world politics and feminism.

The Deaf Experience In A Hearing Medical World, Sarah Kaylynn Lykins

Online Theses and Dissertations

Background: The purpose of this narrative study was to understand personal experiences of a Deaf individual when communicating with healthcare professionals, to describe personal feelings regarding challenges and successes experienced during healthcare interactions, and express the need for culturally competent healthcare providers with increasingly diverse populations.

Method: The participant interviewed is a member of the Deaf community, uses American Sign Language (ASL), and had multiple decades of major medical treatments. The study was conducted using a semi-structured method with a certified interpreter (CI) present to interpret and was audio and video recorded to account for all aspects of the signed …

Experiences Of Non-Traditional Female College Students With Bipolar Disorder, Taylor Lynn Massie

Online Theses and Dissertations

Background: Although research has been done on many aspects of bipolar disorder, research has not examined the individual living experiences of college students with bipolar disorder. Research looks at the

Methods: In-depth interviews were used to learn the details of the experience of attending college with bipolar disorder. Three volunteers came forward to be interviewed. They had a bipolar disorder diagnosis, and are current students at a southern university. Questions focused on the lived experience of being a student with bipolar disorder, and probing questions were used to learn more about each participant’s particular experience. The first two interviews had …

Nemo's Plight: Political Economy, Green-Cultural Criminology, And Fish Abuse, Jordan Edward Mazurek

Online Theses and Dissertations

Using the Marine Aquarium Fish Trade as a case study, I propose an integrated theoretical framework in green criminology that strengthens the political economic "treadmill of production" theory (see Lynch et al., 2013) by incorporating an analysis of the "cultural grease" that ensures the treadmill’s smooth operation. Choosing fish as a subject matter, though, requires challenging the "thoroughgoing speciesism" (Beirne, 1999) inherent in the mammalian-centric animal abuse literature. To do this I draw from research in marine biology and animal cognition to philosophically establish that fish are moral agents, "subjects-of-a-life" (Regan, 1983) on par with mammals and thus worthy of …

Chaos Criminology: A Critical Inquiry, Adrienne Leigh Mccarthy

Online Theses and Dissertations

There has been a push since the early 1980’s for a paradigm shift in criminology from a Newtonian-based ontology to one of quantum physics. Primarily this effort has taken the form of integrating Chaos Theory into Criminology into what this thesis calls ‘Chaos Criminology’. However, with the melding of any two fields, terms and concepts need to be translated properly, which has yet to be done. In addition to proving a translation between fields, this thesis also uses a set of criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of the current use of Chaos Theory in Criminology. While the results of the …

An Unprecedented Research Project Into The Alcohol Retention Variation Of Flavored Spirits, Armanda Fae Mcfadden

Online Theses and Dissertations

Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions and the influences of these additives on ABV were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given …

Comparative Case Study Analysis Of Combustible Dust Explosions: Determining The Need For An Osha Combustible Dust Standard, Johnna Denise Mckee

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the hazards associated with combustible dust, the need for an OSHA standard to assist in the prevention of combustible dust explosions, and the influence such a standard would have on employers in industries where combustible dust is used. The framework of this study was to compare and evaluate the performance of two companies that experienced a combustible dust explosion. Past Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health (KYOSH) inspection history was reviewed as well as all data collected prior to and after the explosions. The following information was reviewed: OSHA industry standards, OSHA Compliance Directives, NFPA codes and standards, …

Effectiveness Of An Emergency Vehicle Operations Course Component, Visual And Perceptual Skills: Analyzing Student Response To Searching, Identifying, Predicting, Deciding, And Executing Skills, Christopher Bradley Millard

Online Theses and Dissertations

As funding for driver education declines according to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) 2013 Traffic Safety Facts, there were 2,345,719 people injured or killed as a result of vehicle crashes. NHTSA reported that there were a total of 118 people killed in 2013 from accidents involving emergency vehicles. The effectiveness of an Emergency Vehicle Operations Course component of visual and perceptual skills can be measured by administering the Driver Performance Test prior to and after student participation. This study examined the population of the students who participated in the TRS 235: Emergency Vehicle Operations Course at Eastern Kentucky University …

Factors Influencing Pre-Fledging Mass Recession Of Nestling Tree Swallows, Katrina Deann Reeda Moeller

Online Theses and Dissertations

Fledglings of some aerial insectivores experience pre-fledgling mass recession, possibly to achieve an optimum wing loading by the time of fledging. However, studies of aerial insectivores to date have been limited to two species of swifts (Apodidae), and additional studies of species of aerial insectivores are needed to determine if factors contributing to pre-fledging mass recession vary among species. Thus, my objective was to examine factors contributing to pre-fledging mass recession by nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). My study was conducted during the 2015 breeding season at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County, Kentucky. Nestling Tree Swallows (n …

Development And Evaluation Of A Firefighter Physical Performance Program For Undergraduate Fire And Safety Students, Jessica Ann Moody

Online Theses and Dissertations

The number one on-duty cause of death in the fire service is heart attacks. The International Association of Firefighters and the International Association of Fire Chiefs teamed up to create the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). Fire departments across the nation will have consistent physical performance tests to hire more physically capable candidates as part of the Wellness-Fitness Initiative (International Association of Fire Fighters, 2014).

Eastern Kentucky University is a nationally recognized school for its fire science program; however students are not required to take educational classes to better prepare them for physical performance tests. Students starting in a training …

Strain And The School Shooter: A Theoretical Approach To The Offender's Perspective, Jessica Suzanne Palumbo

Online Theses and Dissertations

To quote the renowned criminologist, Dr. Robert Agnew (1992, p. 69), “there are two major types of behavioral coping: those that seek to minimize or eliminate the source of strain and those that seek to satisfy the need for revenge.” In some cases, those who seek satisfaction for their vengeful feelings can become deadly when healthy means of coping fail; many have turned to violence upon their peers in pursuit of resolution. The inability to properly cope with strain might explain why some individuals commit seemingly inexplicable acts of mass violence such as school shootings.

Incidents such as Columbine have …

The Exploration Of Machiavellianism, Logan Taylor Penticuff

Online Theses and Dissertations

Dyads, whether in an academic or practical setting, are commonplace. Workforces and academic settings alike are often comprised of groups of two or more individuals working together towards a common goal. As these interactions continue to be prevalent and important in the various settings, the context in which these interactions takes place and the people involved, influence the efficiency of these pairings. More specifically, the realm of business harbors more individuals considered high in a personality trait referred to as Machiavellianism (i.e., Mach) than other common professions. To better understand how Machiavellianism influences commonplace dyads in settings applicable to everyday …

Biotic Assessment Of Two Central Kentucky Streams: Examining The Effects Of Wastewater Treatment And Anthropogenic Disturbance, Daniel John Ratterman

Online Theses and Dissertations

Globally, anthropogenic disturbance has altered many aquatic habitats, including lotic waters. Flowing, fresh water sustains life on Earth yet suffers the resulting waste products. Native, locally adapted ecosystems integrate or eliminate the byproducts of life. However an increase of human population, poor agricultural practices, accelerated overland runoff, a non-point source of pollution, and wastewater treatment plants (WTP), a point source of pollution, have all placed a strain on the world’s flowing, fresh, waters. The de-commissioning of two WTPs in the Kentucky River basin, and the commissioning of a new WTP in an adjacent watershed, provided an opportunity to examine the …

Factors That Affect Developmental Education In Rural Appalachia, Erin Leigh Reasor

Online Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation depicts the lives of ten students who are enrolled in developmental education courses at a rural community college in Appalachian Mountains. They share their home life, life experiences and struggles faced; however, they want to better themselves and that motivation keeps them going. This study is important study due to the fact little qualitative research has been conducted in the past reflecting the lives of the Appalachian student. Also, this dissertation provides a historical background of developmental education and how it plays an essential role in community colleges. The problem is that students are coming to college unprepared …

Enzyme Analysis Of Oxidatively Modified Proteins Post-Tbi, Brittany Rice

Online Theses and Dissertations

The brain is one of the most important organs in the body. It functions as a control center by regulating and coordinating actions and reactions, which is facilitated via signal transduction pathways. Its function is primarily dependent upon sufficient supply of glucose for energy metabolism. The dysfunction of the brain resulting from an external force is known as traumatic brain injury (TBI). Symptoms range from physical to psychological and effects can be mild, moderate, or severe depending on the extent of injury. TBI is associated with oxidative damage, the overproduction of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. Reduced energy metabolism is a consequence …

Transitioning An On-Campus Graduate Nursing Program To A Distance Learning Environment: Do Online Students Perform As Well?, Brandi Stocker

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the academic success rates of online graduate nursing students by comparing them to the on-campus cohort of students prior to the program transitioning online. Analysis was conducted by identifying and comparing final course grades in four required MSN courses. Data was extracted from the university’s BANNER system. Results reveal that both cohorts of course delivery modes yield academically successful MSN students. The study also shows that online students are performing almost nearly as well as the on-campus students in the program once did. Each course is different and yielded different results, but it can be concluded that …