Digital Commons Network^™

As The Clothing Industry Is A Major Polluter, Sustainable Fashion Is Rising, Gabe Herman

Capstones

That the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world is one of the industry’s best-kept secrets — it uses a quarter of the chemicals produced globally, and its share of the world’s CO2 emissions is expected to rise from 2 percent to 26 percent in the next 30 years. Developing nations — where many factories are located — are most affected. Every year in Bangladesh, for example, tanneries dump enough toxic waste into rivers to fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools. Advocates and some in the fashion world are working to not only get the word out, …

Nursing Partnership With Patients, Parents And Families For Safety Through Simulation, Courtnay Caufield

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Problem: The importance of communication between nurses, patients, and their family members with respect to treating each other as partners in safety cannot be overstated. It is imperative that families and patients feel empowered to speak up and report clinical errors at any time and be able to communicate effectively to prevent harm and encourage communication.

Context: This is especially important in the acute care setting, where patients may be in contact with multiple people and processes daily. Attention to this safety partnership can be established through improvements in patient satisfaction scores, which are usually collected from patients and …

Caritas Intervention To Reduce Stress And Increase Resilience Among Caregivers, Randy L. Williams Ii

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem

Workplace stress and burnout consistently rank among the highest concerns in surveys of caregivers. A gap analysis was conducted among a group of patient care coordinators and medical social workers. The gap analysis identified a need for tools to address stress, feelings of being overworked, and irritability.

Context

The setting is an acute care trauma facility providing care to general medical–surgical adult patients, cardiac care, pediatrics, and maternal child care. This facility exists within a larger integrated health care system, consisting of more than 20 acute care facilities in Northern California. The participants were patient care coordinators and medical …

Implementing A Surgical Infection Prevention Practice In An Integrated Healthcare System, Tammy Peacock

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: One of the most preventable health care associated infections (HAI) is surgical site infection (SSI). Approximately sixty percent of SSI’s could be prevented. The devastation of an SSI to the patient can be catastrophic. The cost to the health care system for treating SSI’s can be substantial (Ban et al., 2017).

Context: The rate of surgical site infections has been on the increase over the past three years. The concern for the amount of harm affecting our patients was worrisome. The cost of reputation and the bottom line to the organization was recognized by senior leadership. The support from …

Teamstepps: A Foundation For Shared Governance In A High-Risk Obstetrical/Neonatal Service Line, Genevieve Wright

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Problem: Declining registered nurse (RN) engagement in the maternal child health (MCH) department, despite improvements in RN staffing, some reductions in nurse-patient ratios, the addition of support staff resources, and a focus on quality and safety.

Context: The project setting is an MCH department of a 184-bed community hospital, part of a large national organization, serving a diverse population in Northern California. The initial stakeholders included RNs, managers, and assistant managers; the team was later expanded as the project developed (see Appendix A).

Intervention: The original aim of this project was to improve nurse engagement among frontline nurses through …

Improving Management Of Obstetrical Emergencies: Using Simulation-Based Training, Amira Amatullah

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The aim of this Executive Leadership Doctorate in Nursing Practice project was to assess the effectiveness of simulation-based training as a strategy to ensure patient safety and quality care by improving the knowledge and confidence of obstetric nursing staff. Collateral goals included the development of a simulation-based interactive training program to improve staff response to obstetric emergencies and the establishment of an Interprofessional Simulation Training Center.

The use of simulation-based training is widely accepted ans used in healthcare education. Several benefits of simulation-based training include a learner-centered approach, safe acquisition of technical skills training and development of effective communication skills. …

New Treatment Options For Tardive Dyskinesia, Haron N. Manwa

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

How To Avoid Becoming The Accomplice To Your Own Murderers: Reading James Baldwin As A Critical Pedagogue, Breana Shrease Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

James Baldwin is a well-known author and activist in American literature. He had long been a champion of civil rights, using his platform to speak about the iniquities and issues affecting black people in America. Though his work is read often in literary circles, his writing could serve to supplement the field of critical pedagogy with Rhetoric and Composition. Paulo Freire, the conceiver of critical pedagogy through his foundational text Pedagogy of the Oppressed, identified the pitfalls of educational systems that see teachers as knowledge-givers and students as knowledge receptacles based on his experiences teaching illiterate adults in Brazil under …

Left Ventricular Hemodynamics With Reduced Ejection Fraction: An In-Vitro Piv Study Using An Implanted Assisting Device, Elizabeth Jermyn

Theses and Dissertations

A left ventricular assist device is a mechanical pump implanted in patients with heart failure that continuously takes blood from the left ventricle and delivers it to the aorta, thus decreasing ventricular load. The device is typically considered as a ‘bridge to transplant’, i.e. as a temporary therapy, and involves several risks. Modified ventricular hemodynamics due to a heart pump implantation is studied in-vitro using an elastic ventricle. The ventricle is incorporated into a pulse duplicator setup, which prescribes realistic pulsatile inflow/outflow to mimic a weak ejection fraction. A continuous axial pump mimics a ventricular assist device and its effect …

The Struggle Is Eternal, Joseph R. Fitzgerald

Civil Rights

Many prominent and well-known figures greatly impacted the civil rights movement, but one of the most influential and unsung leaders of that period was Gloria Richardson. As the leader of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC), a multifaceted liberation campaign formed to target segregation and racial inequality in Cambridge, Maryland, Richardson advocated for economic justice and tactics beyond nonviolent demonstrations. Her philosophies and strategies—including her belief that black people had a right to self–defense—were adopted, often without credit, by a number of civil rights and black power leaders and activists.

The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation explores …

2018 Fall Commencement Program: Winona State University, Winona State University

WSU Commencement Programs

This is the Winona State University Fall 2017 commencement program. Commencement was on Friday, December 14, 2018.

Identifying Inclusive Practices On U.S. University Campuses That Create Engagement For Diverse Populations, Brandon Tatum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interactions between diversity and inclusion have been incompletely studied on U.S. college campuses. Previous researchers have also demonstrated an incomplete understanding of these two constructs, resulting in uneven attempts to create inclusion on college campuses. Diversity and inclusion research on college life is needed because inclusion is relatively new and unexplored, student diversity in U.S. higher education is increasing, and practical models and programs for enhancing campus inclusion are lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify best practices and student attitudes regarding inclusion and group memberships with Generation Z and Millennial college students in the United States, …

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Georgia Southern professor appointed to U.S. Breastfeeding Committee

• Artist brings unique collection to Georgia Southern Statesboro Campus

Student Perspectives On Working In Interdisciplinary Teams To Implement Mhealth, Elina Chun

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Interprofessional education of students in healthcare professions can lead to positive outcomes for students that are unique in a university setting. The purpose of this thesis is to describe benefits and challenges students encounter when working with students of other majors. This study used a convenience sample of students working on a university project to implement mHealth. Participants responded to two surveys with quantitative and qualitative questions. Students reported greater appreciation for diversity, the necessity of communication skills, and self-awareness of their own responsibilities in a team.

The First-Year Seminar: A Program Evaluation Of Students’ Public-Affairs Awareness, Yasuko Kanamori, Tracey A. Glaessgen, Jeffrey H. D. Cornelius-White

eJournal of Public Affairs

Similar to the public-welfare aim of many universities, Missouri State University (MSU) was granted a specific statewide public affairs mission in 1995 comprising three pillars: community engagement, cultural competence, and ethical leadership. Since the implementation of this mission, the university has engaged in various efforts to promote and foster public-affairs awareness among students, including through its first-year seminar (FYS). This article details a study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the FYS in enhancing students’ public-affairs awareness. The researchers solicited input from students in the first and last weeks of their first semester at MSU using the Public Affairs Scale–Short …

Improving Nursing Communication Outcomes Through The Tell-Us Card, Brittney Pilker, Jillian Cule, Laura Le, Nina Park, Jeffrey Salao, Maricarmen Reyes

Master's Projects and Capstones

Nursing communication plays a pivotal role in patient-centered care. However, statistics have shown that failures in communication exist in more than 20% of all hospital settings (Sethi & Rani, 2017). Within the explored microsystem, a gap in patient communication was identified through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys. Reports revealed that the microsystem was performing at 69%, which is 11% below the national average for nursing communication (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS], 2018). After performing a microsystem assessment, there was a measurable communication opportunity between the patients and nurses. It was determined that …

Multilingual Museums: A Proposal To Increase Linguistic Diversity In Contemporary Art Museums, Jennifer Cha

Master's Projects and Capstones

The U.S. population is becoming more ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse. It is estimated that by the year 2050, the U.S. will shift to a majority-minority population, meaning that the total minority population will become the majority of the U.S. population. But while the U.S. is diversifying, the current museum visitorship demographic is not representative of or on track to measure up to these changes in the future. If museums are valuable civic spaces with several associated health, social, and educational benefits, and a large percentage of the population have low-English proficiency and cannot access the information, then there is …

Perceptions And Clinical Applications Of Feedback Type If Dental Hygiene, Elmer Eleazar Gonzalez

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Purpose/Objectives: The study assesses whether or not feedback type and feedback delivery method play a significant role in students’ learning and clinical performance. The study explores Ego Stroking Sandwich feedback and Non-Sandwich feedback as the feedback types and Instructors feedback vs. Scoring guide feedback as the feedback delivery method. Students’ perceptions and clinical applications were considered as part of the study.

Methods: Eleven participants were included in the study. One group was the Ego Stroking Sandwich type feedback (n=5) and the other was the Non-Sandwich Type feedback (n=6). Each group performed two dental impressions (a maxillary and a mandibular) while …

Early Career Physical Therapy Faculty Networking And Scholarly Productivity: A Mixed-Methods Study, Betsy J. Becker

Theses & Dissertations

While it is well-known that physical therapist (PT) faculty must retain a scholarly agenda, few report being activity engaged and many programs have low scholarly dissemination. There is evidence that knowledge of the make-up of a faculty network leads to improved performance and innovation. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore agency (behaviors and perspectives about career advancement) and the professional network structure and composition of early career PT faculty as they relate to scholarly activity. This dissertation research study included 50 early career faculty who worked in accredited entry-level physical therapy programs.

The quantitative …

Delivery Of Microrna With Cxcr4-Targeted Nanoparticles In Metastatic Cancer Treatment, Ying Xie

Theses & Dissertations

Metastasis is the main contributor to cancer-associated deaths. Inhibition of CXCR4 emerged as one promising approach in metastatic cancer therapy. MiRNAs represent a new class of therapeutics for cancer treatment through RNA interference-mediated gene silencing. Polymeric CXCR4 antagonist (PCX) is a dual-functional polycation to inhibit CXCR4 and deliver nucleic acids. This dissertation hypothesized that blockade of CXCR4 by PCX combined with delivery of miRNA cooperatively enhances metastatic cancer therapy.

In chapter 1, an overview of CXCR4 inhibition, miRNA delivery and CXCR4 targeted nanomedicine in cancer therapy is given.

Chapter 2 reports that PCX can effectively deliver miR-200c mimic and that …

Development Of Chloroquine-Containing Hpma Copolymers For Drug Delivery, Fei Yu

Theses & Dissertations

Abstract

Development of Chloroquine-containing HPMA Copolymers for Drug Delivery

Fei Yu, Ph.D.

University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2018

Supervisor: David Oupický, Ph.D.

Synthetic polymers have been extensively explored for improved delivery of anticancer agents. Polymers can be designed as either carriers of existing drugs or as polymeric drugs with intrinsic pharmacological activity. Advantages of such polymeric drugs include common positive features of polymer-drug conjugates, such as targeted delivery of drugs, altered pharmacokinetic and biodistribution, improved drug safety, but also favorable pharmacological activities due to multivalent receptor-ligand interactions.

Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are safe drugs that have been in clinical …

Development Of Glucocorticoid Prodrug For The Treatment Of Lupus Nephritis, Xiaobei Wang

Theses & Dissertations

Nephritis is one of the major complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). While glucocorticoids (GC) are frequently used as the first line treatment for lupus nephritis, long-term GC usage is often complicated by severe adverse effects. To address this challenge, we have developed a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based macromolecular prodrug (ZSJ-0228) of dexamethasone, which self-assembles into micelles in aqueous media. When compared to the dose equivalent daily dexamethasone 21-phosphate disodium (Dex) treatment, monthly intravenous administration of ZSJ-0228 for two months significantly improved the survival of lupus-prone NZB/W F1 mice and was much more effective in normalizing proteinuria, with clear histological evidence …

Development Of Macromolecular Prodrugs For The Treatment Of Chronic Inflammatory Pain, Laura Weber

Theses & Dissertations

Chronic pain afflicts millions of people worldwide. Particularly, the inflammatory conditions in the incurable disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA) generate persistent pain in its sufferers, for which a number of different analgesics have been prescribed, such as glucocorticoids (GCs) and opioids. However, administration of these pain- mitigating pharmaceutics is implicated in the development of adverse systemic effects due to their non-specific tissue distribution and quick excretion, eliciting the need for high dosing frequencies. To address this issue, this thesis is focused on the development of prodrugs based on a macromolecular design approach to instill preferential inflammation-targeting and retentive properties to common …

Quantification Of Lutein + Zeaxanthin Presence In Human Placenta And Correlations With Blood Levels And Maternal Dietary Intake, Melissa Thoene

Theses & Dissertations

Lutein + zeaxanthin are carotenoids most recognized in eye health, but less is known about their status and transfer during pregnancy. While quantified in maternal and umbilical cord blood, they have never been analyzed in placenta tissue. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to firstly quantify lutein + zeaxanthin concentrations in human placenta and to later correlate with levels in maternal dietary intake, maternal serum, and umbilical cord blood. Proportions of lutein + zeaxanthin will also be compared within diet, placenta, maternal serum, and umbilical cord blood among additionally analyzed carotenoids including lycopene, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, and β-carotene. Lutein + …

Association Between Systemic Inflammation And Nutritional Compounds In Maternal-Infant Dyads, Jessica N. Snowden

Theses & Dissertations

Many events during pregnancy and early infancy can affect infant brain development. Inflammation during pregnancy, around delivery and during early infancy appears to adversely affect infant brain development. As the brain is rapidly growing and developing from conception through early childhood, it is particularly vulnerable during this time to inflammatory insults, which may be exacerbated or ameliorated by nutritional factors. Inflammatory compounds, as well as many nutritional compounds, can be either pro- or anti-inflammatory. These compounds are of particular importance in preterm infants, who are at risk of deficiency in anti-inflammatory micronutrients typically stored as a result of prenatal maternal …

Effects Of Class Ii Correctors And Functional Appliances On The Periodontal Health Of The Mandibular Incisors – A Prospective Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (Cbct) Study, David C. Duevel

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of Class II correctors and functional appliances on the dentoalveolar support of the mandibular incisors during orthodontic treatment. Twenty six patients who were treated with a Forsus^TM, Herbst, or MARA participated this study. Lateral cephalometric radiographs, limited field-of-view CBCTs, and periodontal measurements were collected both the day of appliance activation and day of appliance deactivation. Ten hard tissue measurements on all four mandibular incisors were collected at each time point on CBCT images. Bone thickness increased at 6 and 9 mm apical from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) on …

The Opposing Roles Of Glun2c And Glun2d Nmda Receptor Subunits In Modulating Neuronal Oscillations, Zhihao Mao

Theses & Dissertations

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ligand-gated ion channels consisting of two GluN1 subunits and two other subunits from among GluN2A-2D and GluN3A-3B subunits. NMDARs play critical roles in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, and higher brain function such as cognition and perception. Dysfunction of NMDARs (hyper-function and hypo-function of NMDARs) are related to various diseases, including stroke, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and others. However, to date, NMDARs antagonists have mostly failed in clinical trials due to adverse effects.

NMDARs antagonists replicate the core symptoms of schizophrenia which may underlie its ability to alter neuronal oscillations in the neural circuitry of different brain …

Neuronal And Glial Expression Of Glun2c And Glun2d Nmda Receptor Subunit Mrna In Different Regions Of The Mouse Forebrain, Hassan Alsaad

Theses & Dissertations

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are a subtype of glutamate receptors that are widely expressed in the brain, where they mediate critical functions. While the actions of the predominate GluN2 NMDAR subunits, GluN2A and GluN2B are relatively well understood, the function of GluN2C and GluN2D in the telencephalon is largely unknown. To better understand the possible role of GluN2C and GluN2D subunits, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization together with multiple cell markers to define the distribution and type of cells expressing GluN2C and GluN2D mRNA. Also, a GluN2C-KO mouse was used as a negative control.

GluN2C mRNA expression was only found …

Developing Of Micellar Drug Carriers For The Treatment Of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis, Tong Liu

Theses & Dissertations

Breast cancer (BC) remains one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide. Bone is one of the most common sites and often the first clinical indication of metastatic progression of BC. Current treatments including radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy are rarely curative with limited effect in overall survival. The challenge is true especially for patients with triple-negative BC that are not responsive to receptor-targeted therapy, or patients who had exposure to chemotherapy before and might already gain the resistance to some of the drugs.

Here we took advantage of the aminobisphosphonate, alendronate (ALN), that can bind to the bone mineral efficiently …

Influence Of External Peer Reviewer Scores For Funding Applications On Funding Board Decisions: A Retrospective Analysis Of 1561 Reviews, Lexy Sorrell, Nicola Mcardle, Taeko Becque, Helen Payne, Beth Stuart, Sheila Turner, Jeremy C. Wyatt

Peninsula Medical School

ObjectivesTo evaluate the influence of external peer reviewer scores on the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) research funding board decisions by the number of reviewers and type of reviewer expertise.DesignRetrospective analysis of external peer review scores for shortlisted full applications for funding (280 funding applications, 1236 individual reviewers, 1561 review scores).SettingFour applied health research funding programmes of NIHR, UK.Main outcome measuresBoard decision to fund or not fund research applications.ResultsThe mean score of reviewers predicted funding decisions better than individual reviewer scores (area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve 0.75, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.81 compared with 0.62, CI …