Digital Commons Network^™

Interventions To Increase Vaccination Rates In Homeless Adults Aged 50 Years And Older In A Shelter-Based Clinic, Rubeena Smith

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Pronounced disparities in adult immunizations exist across the country. In homeless adults over 50 years of age with chronic diseases, coverage rates for influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations falls at 30% as compared to the 60% coverage rate found in the general public. Hepatitis B immunization rates are also significantly lower in the elderly homeless population. Increased prevalence of chronic diseases in the elderly homeless shelter residents’ increase their risk for severe complications following influenza, hepatitis B and meningococcal infections. To prevent disease epidemics and further disability in the homeless population, the need for appropriate and timely vaccinations is critical. Attitudes …

Improved Medication Management For Elderly Patients Through Increased Review And Documentation, Esmeralda Rivera

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve medication management processes for patients in a wellness center. Medication reconciliation is a safe practice shown to reduce the potential for patient harm by preventing prescribing errors and adverse drug effects. Medication reconciliation includes assessment of medications, development of medication lists, education, and medication counseling for patients (Snyderman, Salzman, Mills, Hersh, & Parks, 2014). Assessment of medication reconciliation in a geriatric wellness center revealed poor medication management. Education on medication management was provided to staff (N = 10) and the workflow was altered to improve processes. Electronic medical records of …

A Systems Intervention For The Transition Of Postpartum Women To Primary Care, Charlotte Jeannette Matthews

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The Institute of Medicine (2001) describes the United States’ healthcare system as poorly organized and difficult for patients to navigate. Patients are often lost during the transition between providers, failing to establish subsequent care (Thomas, 2015). Gaps in care lead to worsening conditions that result in billions of dollars in healthcare costs (National Quality Forum, 2016). Following discharge from the care of the obstetrician, postpartum women should establish care with a primary care provider (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2016). The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that postpartum women transition to a primary care provider within the …

Improving Foot Care And Kidney Disease Screening Through Implementation Of American Diabetes Association Standards–2016 In The Primary Care Setting, Maricela Hernandez

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase adherence to the American Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2016 recommendations for foot care and kidney disease screening for patients with diabetes mellitus type II in a primary care setting. Diabetes mellitus type II affects approximately 18.9-19.9 million, or 90-95%, of all diagnosed cases in the United States. Early detection and management decrease the risk of developing microvascular complications that may lead to neuropathy and nephropathy. Adults with diabetes mellitus type II, 20 years of age and older, accounted for approximately 73,000 non-traumatic lower-extremity amputations in 2011. Diabetes …

An Initiative To Improve Primary Prevention Of Heart Disease In Adults With Type Ii Diabetes Based On The Acc/Aha (2013) And Ada (2016) Guidelines, Litzie Garza

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and in Texas. Hyperlipidemia is a precursor to cardiovascular disease and is a highly manageable and treatable acute and chronic disease in the outpatient primary care setting. This project is designed to increase clinicians’ adherence to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (2013) and American Diabetes Association (2016) clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of heart disease in 40 to 75 year old adults with type II diabetes through interactive education, an electronic alert, and quality improvement sessions on the treatment and management of cholesterol in a …

Implementation Of Quality Improvement Interventions To Increase Provider Adherence To Standards Of Medical Care In Diabetes, Elizabeth A. Betz

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Purpose: To improve a South Texas primary care clinic’s diabetes management system by implementation of a quality improvement intervention to help staff and medical providers increase adherence to the American Diabetes Association standards of care related to screening referrals and orders for urine microalbumin, in order to improve self-care and health outcomes for adult patients with diabetes. Background and Problem: Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States and the cause of vision loss, amputations, and end-stage renal disease. The patients at the Wellness Center do not consistently receive routine screenings for neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy, microalbumin, …

Forage News [2016-12], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Bale Grazing Can Spread Nutrients
• Quote of the Month: "Before Anything Else, Preparation is the Key to Success" ~ Alexander Graham Bell
• Novel Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop to be held in Lexington March 9th
• Financial Assistance for Establishing Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue on Pastures
• Heart of America Grazing Conference Coming Up!
• AFGC Tour of New Zealand 2016
• Featured Publication: Using Dry Lots to Conserve Pastures and Reduce Pollution Potential (ID-171)
• Dallisgrass Makes Rare Impact on KY Horse Farm
• Small Ruminant Grazing Conference

Reintroducing Environmental Change Drivers In Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Research., Frederik De Laender, Jason R. Rohr, Roman Ashauer, Donald J Baird, Uta Berger, Nico Eisenhauer, Volker Grimm, Udo Hommen, Lorraine Maltby, Carlos J Meliàn

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

For the past 20 years, research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (B-EF) has only implicitly considered the underlying role of environmental change. We illustrate that explicitly reintroducing environmental change drivers in B-EF research is needed to predict the functioning of ecosystems facing changes in biodiversity. Next we show how this reintroduction improves experimental control over community composition and structure, which helps to provide mechanistic insight on how multiple aspects of biodiversity relate to function and how biodiversity and function relate in food webs. We also highlight challenges for the proposed reintroduction and suggest analyses and experiments to better understand how …

2016 Study Of Current Conditions Of Kentucky County Animal Shelters And Degree Of Compliance With Kentucky Animal Shelter Laws, Cynthia L. Gaskill, Rachel Cullman-Clark, Liane Lachiewicz, Matt Lamarre, Brad Rohleder, Kristin Sadler, Rachel Sparling, Craig N. Carter

Veterinary Science Reports

Kentucky’s county animal shelter conditions have not been studied for over 20 years. Major goals of this study were to assess current conditions in Kentucky’s county shelters and determine the degree of compliance with Kentucky shelter laws. Additional information was gathered to determine the major problems and needs identified by shelter personnel and researchers. Data was used to determine if additional state funds or refinements and additions to current laws are warranted to ensure humane care of animals in Kentucky’s county shelters. Researchers consisted of a group of 6 veterinary students who traveled to all Kentucky county animal shelters. Ninety …

Cutr Connections [December 2016], Cutr

CUTR Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Business Outlook, Vol. 32, No. 4, December 2016

Business Outlook for West Michigan

No abstract provided.

Masthead Volume 119, Issue 2

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jude's Enochian Apocalypse, Lucian López Osb

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

Jude’s was an apocalyptic imagination much like that of the writer of Revelation, but he had no need to write his own apocalypse. In his brief epistle, written sometime before 62 CE, Jude revealed that the apocalyptic imagery fueling his own mythos was none other than that of Enoch and various other ancient stories of the Hebrew people.

Why Experience Matters, Kathleen A. Cahalan

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fabricating Suspended Carbon Structures Using Su-8 Photolithography, Emanuele Giogli

All Theses

The phenomenon of T-topping has been deemed as an imperfection of the SU-8 photolithography process, due to light diffraction, overexposure of the SU-8, and other process parameters. The first objective of this work is to demonstrate that T-topping can be used as a microfabrication resource to produce suspended structures between photo-patterned high aspect ratio SU-8 posts, as precursors for carbon wires (width>1µm) and bridges (width>1µm). Such carbon structures could be used in a number of applications, such as the fabrication of nanowire based biosensors for the medical and food industry. The second objective is to develop a model …

A Performance Focused, Development Friendly And Model Aided Parallelization Strategy For Scientific Applications, Anagha S. Joshi

All Theses

The amelioration of high performance computing platforms has provided unprecedented computing power with the evolution of multi-core CPUs, massively parallel architectures such as General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPUs) and Many Integrated Core (MIC) architectures such as Intel's Xeon phi coprocessor. However, it is a great challenge to leverage capabilities of such advanced supercomputing hardware, as it requires efficient and effective parallelization of scientific applications. This task is difficult mainly due to complexity of scientific algorithms coupled with the variety of available hardware and disparate programming models. To address the aforementioned challenges, this thesis presents a parallelization strategy to accelerate …

Evaluating Language-Learning Mobile Apps For Second-Language Learners, Xiaojun Chen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

As mobile technologies become more affordable and more advanced in function, researchers suggest that using mobile apps to assist English language learning are appropriate. This three-step evaluation study (designing a theory-driven rubric, selecting apps, and evaluating the apps) aims to investigate and evaluate the affordances of English language learning mobile apps for adult learners. The results of this evaluation study contribute to the literature of mobile learning targeting adult learners, and also broaden the knowledge body of integrating mobile learning into English Language Learning (ELL) classes.

Does Empowerment Matter? Perceptions Of Nursing Leaders In Pakistan Through Qualitative Approach, Saleema A. Gulzar, Rozina Karmaliani Professor, Kausar S. Khan Ms, Rubina Barolia, Shirin Rahim, Aneeta Pasha

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: In a patriarchal society like Pakistan, where women are oppressed, women dominating professions like nursing is mostly seen as disempowered and requires considerable struggle to achieve its due recognition and respect.
Aim: This study aims to explore the experiences of empowerment among the nursing leaders of Pakistan. Methods: This study uses a qualitative descriptive design. Total of twelve Pakistani Nursing leaders were interviewed using semi-structured interview guideline to explore their experiences of empowerment.
Results: The study findings revealed five major categories which include: status of a nurse, nursing profession, power relationships, value-belief system, and leadership and management.
Conclusions: Nurses’ …

Shining A Light On Nursing Art In Pakistan, Shirin Rahim, Rafat Jan Ruknuddin, Kathryn L. Gramling

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Nursing is considered both science and art. Artful nursing has been essential for holistic nursing practice since the time of Nightingale, but it is getting neglected and has been lately limited to nursing literature (Gramling, 2004). This qualitative study seeks to gain an understanding of the perceptions of active nurses in Pakistan about nursing art and yields four major themes: artful nursing is embedded in humane responsiveness, artful nursing has healing power, artful nursing is a satisfying experience, and artful nursing is invisible in nursing practice. Study participants valued nursing art, and their perceptions illuminate Watson's Theory of Human Caring …

Ogilvie's Syndrome, Muhammad Waqas Khan, Sanniya Khan Ghauri, Sara Shamim

Department of Emergency Medicine

Ogilvie's syndrome, also known as 'paralytic ileus of the colon', is characterised by pseudo-obstruction of the large intestine in the absence of any mechanical obstructing component; and presents as a massively distended abdomen. If left untreated, it may lead to bowel perforation or ischemia. Ogilvie's syndrome usually presents as a postsurgical complication, mainly due to the lack and/or restriction of movement coupled with a possible electrolyte imbalance. Here, we present a case of a pre-surgical 63-year lady, having a right hip fracture, who came with complaints of severe abdominal pain and distension for 4 days. Abdominal X-rays showed massively dilated …

The Effect Of Melatonin Upon Post-Acute Withdrawal Among Males In A Residential Treatment Program (M-Paws): A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial, Corry D. Bondi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study goal was to assess melatonin as an adjuvant treatment along with current pharmaco- and behavioral therapy for 28 days on weekly self-reported severity of anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep complaints as well as how sleep is affecting daily life in a sample of males in recovery from chemical dependency at a single, residential treatment site, Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in Pittsburgh, PA. This study was a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial of 28 days. Participants were randomized to melatonin (5 mg) or placebo and instructed to administer the intervention nightly at bedtime. Primary self-reported outcome …

Career Decision Self‐Efficacy Of Transgender People: Pre‐ And Posttransition, Lore M. Dickey, Daniel Walinsky, Crystal Rofkahr, Kara Richardson‐Cline, Cindy L. Juntunen

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Although the mental health needs of transgender and gender‐nonconforming (TGNC) people have recently been addressed more directly than in the past (Bockting, Miner, Swinburne Romine, Hamilton, & Coleman, 2013; dickey, Reisner, & Juntunen, 2015; Meier, Pardo, Labuski, & Babcock, 2013), there remains a dearth of information related to vocational development of this population. Some of the considerations in career counseling and vocational development among TGNC people include differences in developmental concerns related to gender transition, gender presentation, passing (e.g., being perceived by others in one's affirmed gender), and binary and fluid gender identities (Beemyn & Rankin, 2011; Harrison, Grant, & …

Genealib Archive 2016-12, Genealib

GENEALIB Archive

No abstract provided.

Incremental And Decremental Svm For Regression, Honorius Gâlmeanu, Lucian Mircea Sasu, Rǎzvan Andonie

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Training a support vector machine (SVM) for regression (function approximation) in an incremental/decremental way consists essentially in migrating the input vectors in and out of the support vector set with specific modification of the associated thresholds. We introduce with full details such a method, which allows for defining the exact increments or decrements associated with the thresholds before vector migrations take place. Two delicate issues are especially addressed: the variation of the regularization parameter (for tuning the model performance) and the extreme situations where the support vector set becomes empty. We experimentally compare our method with several regression methods: the …

Boundary Controllability For One-Dimensional Wave And Heat Equations With Potential, Andrew Walton Green

All Theses

In this thesis we investigate the boundary controllability of the wave and heat equa-tions with bounded potential in one dimension. This is done by way of the observability inequality. For the wave equation, we use the Hilbert Uniqueness Method of J. L. Lions to show the observability inequality is sufficient for exact controllability. Observability is shown by the multiplier method when there is no potential and a special Exchange of Vari-ables technique for when potential is present. Due to limitiations of this method we also use a Carleman Estimate which can be extended to higher dimensions. For the heat equation, …

The Modernization Of The Long Island Rail Road, Derek Stadler

Publications and Research

The history of Long Island embodies what public funding contributes to transportation infrastructure. The article contextualizes the Long Island Rail Road in American railroad history both as a private company and public service. Using the Port Jefferson branch as an example, it argues that state proprietorship was essential for modernization and that recent improvements proved to be a poor investment.

Expanding The Credit Box, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

The mortgage market of the early 2000s provided mortgage credit to too many people who could not make their monthly payments on the terms offered. The pendulum has now swung. Today’s market offers very few unsustainable mortgages, but it fails to provide credit to some who could afford them. That means that the credit box is not at its socially optimal size. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should make it a priority to review the regulatory regime for non-Qualified Mortgages in order to ensure that the functional credit box is expanded to more closely approximate the universe of borrowers who …

Attributes Of Police Vehicle Crashes, David Lambert

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

While overall on-duty law enforcement deaths has decreased moderately from over 160 in 1980 to a level under 120 per year in the late 2000s, fatalities by motor vehicle collisions have steadily increased. This descriptive analysis examines police vehicle crashes during specific conditions such as emergency response, road surface, lighting, and weather in a large statewide police agency. Police vehicle crashes are most likely to occur on dry roads, in daylight conditions, and in clear weather on weekdays as opposed to weekends. Weather and lighting conditions are not the most frequent factors associated with cruiser crashes in this examination.

Narrative Review Of Vitamin D And Its Specific Impact On Balance Capacity In Older Adults, Ray Marks

Publications and Research

Introduction and Aims: Falls injuries among older adults, a widespread well-established contributor to high disability levels, excess morbidity and mortality rates, have many causes. This review examines the association between vitamin D levels and postural stability or balance control—a fairly consistent predictor of falls among older adults.

Materials and Method: All relevant English language peer reviewed research publications detailing the relationship between vitamin D levels and balance control among the elderly were sought. Key words included “Vitamin D and Balance or Postural Control.” Databases used were Academic Search Complete, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Results: Analysis showed no consistent …