Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Nurse Engagement Through Unit Practice Councils: A Literature Review, Pavna Sloan

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: According to The Advisory Board Company, nurses are the least engaged group of healthcare employees (The Advisory Board Company, 2014). This finding concerns healthcare organizations because those with a high percentage of disengaged nurses have increased nurse turnover rates and decreased patient satisfaction and safety scores (Kutney-Lee et al., 2016). Shared governance, in the form of the Unit Practice Councils (UPC), is a model healthcare organizations implement to increase nurse engagement. A review of the current literature is needed to evaluate if the model is effective.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive literature …

2020 Fall - Commencement Program, Office Of The Registrar, East Tennessee State University

ETSU Commencement Ceremonies and Programs

No abstract provided.

2020-12-12_Michigandaily_Covidmap, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Daily Michigan COVID-19 Update

The "WHERE WE STAND WITH COVID-19" map was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated daily at 3p.m., Monday - Saturday.

The State of Michigan is working around the clock to test and treat COVID-19 patients. Below is the most recent data healthcare experts across the state have compiled.

The image contained a map, indicating total cases by county, and also provides statistics on Total Confirmed Cases, Total COVID-19 Deaths, Daily Confirmed Cases, and Daily COVID-19 Deaths. There …

2020-12-12_Michiganoverview_Covidstats, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Cumulative Michigan COVID-19 Data

The COVID Overview page was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https:/www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98163-520743--,00.html.

The State of Michigan is working around the clock to test and treat COVID-19 patients. Below is the most recent data healthcare experts across the state have compiled. It is updated Monday - Saturday.
This report is provisional and subject to change. City of Detroit and Wayne County are reported separately. MDHHS began tracking probable cases April 5, 2020. FCI indicates federal correctional institute. MDOC indicates Michigan Department of Corrections. Diagnostic tests, including nucleic acid amplification/real-time polymerase chain reaction (NAAT/RT-PCR) and rapid virus antigen detection point of …

The Clean Air Act: How It Can Be Localized To Promote Both Environmental And Social Justice, Tate Kirk

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

Legislators attempt to achieve intended goals by enacting laws that provide for regulatory enforcement. However, many times laws are unable to achieve their stated goals and in some ways may create new or exacerbate existing issues. Luckily, upon review, many of these issues can be fixed with quick modifications to either their implementation or enforcement mechanisms. In its current form, the Clean Air Act does not effectively account for differences in regional climate patterns, and, moreover, it perpetuates environmental injustice. If local governments were given more autonomy to enforce the Clean Air Act, they could shape its enforcement to more …

Wildlife Trade And Covid-19: Towards A Criminology Of Anthropogenic Pathogen Spillover, Piers Beirne Phd

Department of Criminology

The general remit of this paper is the role of wildlife trade in pathogen spillover. Its underlying assumption is that, so far from being the exclusive domain of the life sciences, the study of pathogen spillover will be greatly enhanced by multi-perspectival approaches, including One Health and those employed here, namely, non-speciesist green criminology and critical animal studies. The paper moves from discussions of zoonosis, anthroponosis and wildlife trade to the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. The paper recommends the abolition of all wildlife trade and the reclamation of wildlife habitat and broaches discussion of the extension of legal …

Assessing Moringa Oleifera Plants As Exposure Pathways For Heavy Metals In Highly Contaminated Areas, Marissa Louise Mayfield*

Biology Theses

This study examined the uptake of heavy metals by Moringa oleifera trees in both field and laboratory settings. The main goal of this study was to determine whether using Moringa, grown in heavily contaminated areas, as food or herbal supplements increases the risk of heavy metal exposure. The field component of this study was carried out in the Southern part of Kabwe, Zambia where a lead-zinc mine has left a legacy of severe environmental pollution in the neighboring areas. Moringa trees have several medicinal properties which is one of the reasons they were first introduced to the area. The trees …

Towards Understanding Power Grid Resilience To Early-Time (E1) High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulses, Rodrigo Elias Llanes

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Fast transient electromagnetic disturbances can occur in the atmosphere from natural occurrences such as lightning and solar flares as well as those from manmade events such as that associated with a nuclear bomb detonation. These radiated signals couple into the transmission lines and components within the electric power grid. This has prompted an increased interest in grid resilience to the Early-Time (E1) High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP). Three activities were conducted which further grid resilience research. First, power substations in the United States were assessed to develop accurate layouts to be used in radiated transmission line coupling studies. Second, three pre-existing …

2020-12-12_Michiganoverview_Covidsymptoms, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance System Data

The Syndromic Surveillance System Data report was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 dashboard, from under the link "​Coronavirus Symptoms": https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated daily.

Syndromic Surveillance System data is obtained from approximately 183 facilities participating in syndromic surveillance (132 Emergency Departments (ED), 51 Urgent Cares) across the State of Michigan. The reporting is based on individuals who present at EDs and may not be representative of the overall population. The coronavirus-like symptoms query searches visit free-text (chief complaint, triage notes, and clinical impression) for fever or …

An Invasive Species As A Threat To Native Biodiversity: Larval Competition Between Native Anurans And An Invasive Treefrog, Mckenzie Wasley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) are established in Florida and Louisiana and have invasive potential further westward, possibly impacting native anurans at multiple life stages. In anurans, competition at the larval stage can decrease adult fitness through slower development and smaller size at metamorphosis, ultimately decreasing recruitment rates. To examine the potential impacts of O. septentrionalis at the larval life-history stage, I quantified activity levels and growth of their tadpoles and those of two anurans native to eastern Texas: Green Treefrogs (Hyla cinerea) and Gulf Coast Toads (Incilius nebulifer). Tadpoles of the three species were …

Dissecting Regulation Mechanism Of Interdomain Electron Transfer In Nitric Oxide Synthases, Huayu Zheng

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Nitric oxide (NO) is generated by one of the three isoforms of mammalian NO synthases (NOSs), neuronal, endothelial and inducible NOS (nNOS, eNOS, and iNOS, respectively). Dysregulated NOS is implicated in pathologies of numerous severe diseases including Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases. Molecular mechanisms of NOS regulation, once fully understood, are potentially key targets for development of selective new pharmaceuticals for treating these diseases that currently lack effective treatments.

Despite recent developments, there are significant gaps in current understanding of the regulation mechanism of the FMN-heme interdomain electron transfer (IET), an essential step in NOS, by its key regulators such as …

Winter Commencement, 2020, Marshall University

Marshall University Commencement

Program for the one hundred and eighty-third commencement at Marshall University.

Experienced Esl Teachers' Attitudes Towards Using Phonetic Symbols In Teaching English Pronunciation To Adult Esl Students, Oxana Kodirova

Theses and Dissertations

Different opinions exist about the use of phonetic alphabet symbols in teaching English pronunciation to second language learners. Some authors and researchers believe phonetic symbols can benefit students in many ways; others consider this tool hardly recommendable. However, little empirical research has been done to find out what ESL teachers think about the use of this linguistic tool. Thus, via an online survey this study sought to identify ESL teachers' attitudes towards the use of phonetic symbols in teaching ESL pronunciation. A total of 120 teachers took the survey and most of them were experienced in teaching pronunciation to adult …

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters Transcriptional Expression Of Stress And Tlr4-Related Immune Signaling Factors In The Brain Following Early Life Stress, Chaselyn D. Ruffaner-Hanson

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Background: Depression and anxiety disorders, believed to be caused by stress-related neuropeptides and pro-inflammatory molecules in the brain, are prevalent comorbidities of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Methods: Brain tissue was collected following a 4-hour maternal separation stress during the early postnatal period, postnatal days 10 and 12, from mice subjected to 1^st and 2^nd trimester prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE).

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that PAE leads to glucocorticoid receptor insensitivity, stress molecule overexpression, and potentiated toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway inflammatory responses in the brain following early life stress.

Results: PAE and stress increased mRNA expression of TLR4 …

Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis As A Potential Therapeutic Target In Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Kymberly Cheyanne Gustus

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

This dissertation aims to determine if adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a potential therapeutic target in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs). Adult hippocampal neurogenesis plays important and unique roles in certain aspects of learning, memory, and mood (Anacker & Hen, 2017). Individuals with FASDs often demonstrate dysregulation in these arenas (Lewis et al., 2015; Temple, Cook, Unsworth, Rajani, & Mela, 2019). Previous work in our lab using a mouse model of prenatal alcohol exposure demonstrated impairment in enrichment-mediated adult hippocampal neurogenesis (Irene Y. Choi, Andrea M. Allan, & Lee Anna Cunningham, 2005; K. Kajimoto, A. Allan, & L. A. Cunningham, 2013). …

The Effect Of Board Links, Audit Partner Tenure, And Related Party Transactions On Misstatements: Evidence From Chile, Sakthi Mahenthiran, Berta Silva Palavecinos, Hanns De La Fuente-Mella

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Companies restate when material misstatements are identified in previously issued financial statements. Misstatement research in Latin America is sparse, even though they are an important context to study this phenomenon. Chile’s corporate governance regulations are considered exemplars for Latin American countries but its auditing profession is not well developed. Thus, Chile provides an interesting context to study the complementary roles of audit and board governance affecting misstatements. Using a sample of 104 Chilean listed firms over seven years, our study finds that the board links and audit partner tenure negatively affect misstatements. Specifically, given the prevalence of related party transactions …

A Case Study Regarding Induction Supports And Activities And Their Impact On Successful Teacher Retention, Alicia Ponds

Doctorate in Education

At the end of every school year, new teachers either stay or leave public classrooms. Multiple challenges drive these new teacher choices. State, district, and local administrators struggle to fill teacher vacancies. New teacher departures challenge schools with the maintenance of an attractive work environment and provision of quality student education. This case study shares how five successful Minnesota educators apply extrinsic activities and intrinsic supports to not only meet these challenges, but effectively respond to the 2019-2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through research interviews, this qualitative study analyzes intrinsic supports and extrinsic activities in relation to positive teaching …

Improving Clinical Communication And Collaboration Through Technology, Michelle Machon

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: Over the last 30 years, clinical communication methodologies in healthcare have evolved to become such disparate systems that they lead to confusion, wasted time, and clinician dissatisfaction. The Joint Commission (2016) reports up to 78% of sentinel events in hospitals are linked to communication failures, which have obvious implications for hospital systems in the quality and safety of their current communication systems.

Context: The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of implementing a unified clinical communication technology platform in an acute care hospital setting and to make recommendations from that implementation to the organization’s larger health …

Fault Lines: An Empirical Legal Study Of California Secession, Bill Tomlinson, Andrew W. Torrance

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

Over the last decade, multiple initiatives have proposed that California should secede from the United States. This article examines the legal aspects of California secession and integrates that analysis with findings from an empirical study of public perceptions of such secession. There is no provision in the United States Constitution allowing states, or other political or geographical units, to secede unilaterally. The Civil War was fought to uphold this principle, and the United States Supreme Court confirmed it in its 1869 Texas v. White decision. Nevertheless, numerous instances of secession, both legal and extralegal, have occurred across human history, and …

When Duty Calls. A Faith & Health Collaborative Response To Covid 19 And Social Justice: A Commentary, Joe Bohn, Karen Liller

Florida Public Health Review

We provide information pertaining to an interdisciplinary collaboration in West Central Florida that launched a faith & wellness teleconference intervention in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The collaborative partners engaged from across the 4-county region upon community lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 crisis and later addressing calls for social justice due to the deaths of George Floyd and other African Americans. For 17-weeks Christian and Muslim faith leaders provided live messages of hope along with community partners providing wellness (mental health and wellbeing) focused strategies for coping with the crisis. Thematic analysis of anecdoctal comments revealed …

Evaluation Of Keyston Design Perforator Island Flap In Treatment Of Soft Tissue Loss, Mohammed Dawood, Redha Tahir

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

BACKGROUND: Closure of skin and soft tissue defects is a main stream procedure in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery .Keystone perforator island flap is a curvilinear trapezoidal shape. It is essentially elliptical in shape and it is long axis adjacent and parallel to long axis of defect. We focused in this study specifically on pressure ulcer and traumatic wound as an example of chronic and difficult wounds. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate keystone design perforator island flap as reliable versatile method for closure of soft tissue defect. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective study,  keystone perforator island flap applied to …

Feasibility Of Minilaparoscopic Cholecystectomy. A Pilot Study, Yasser Zidan, Sahir Al-Azawii, Muthanna Al-Sharbaty

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

BACKGROUND: Cholecystectomy  is the defacto standard operation for cholelithiasis and there are continuous attempts to do it through a less invasive incision known as mini laparoscopic cholecystectomy (MLC). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of MLC in our center.  PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a pilot study involving 6 selected patients for whom MLC was performed at Al-Jamhory teaching hospital after acquiring the ethical committee permission and patients’ informed consent. RESULTS: The study includes six patients, their average age is 27 years and their average BMI is 28kg\m2. The average operative time is …

Awareness Of Elderly Abuse Among Patients Attending Geriatric Clinic In Medical City, Zahraa Ismaeel, Eman Mohammed

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

BACKGROUND: Elder abuse or elder mistreatment is one of the most important problems encountered by the elderly. It includes harms by people the older person knows such as spouse, partner, family members, neighbor or people that older person relies on for services. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the abuse to which elder people were exposed and its relation with age, sex, marital status, economic income and education. The study increased awareness and helping families, relatives of the elderly, professionals, social workers, nurses, doctors and counselors about elder abuse. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present cross- sectional study …

Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membranes And The Value Of Serum Ferritin During Pregnancy, Maha Al Bayati, Baidaa Mohammed

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

BACKGROUND: Preterm premature rupture of membranes occurring from 24-37 weeks gestation. Ferritin is an acute phase reactant as it increases during inflammation that inflammation can predispose to preterm premature rupture of membranes during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of serum ferritin as a marker for preterm premature rupture of membrane. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study includes 150 pregnant women attending the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with a gestational age ranging from 28+0 – 36+6 weeks. 50 of them presented with Preterm premature rupture of membrane (group A), 50 women were presented with spontaneous preterm labor (group B), and …

Copper Electrodeposition In Full Wafer Thickness Through-Silicon Vias, Rebecca P. Schmitt

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

Through-silicon vias (TSVs) are a key interconnect technology for advanced packaging of microelectronic devices, and full wafer thickness TSVs are required for certain microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications. In this work, electrolytes containing copper sulfate, an acid, chloride, and Tetronic 701 suppressor were implemented for Cu filling of high aspect ratio (10:1), full wafer thickness TSVs. For each electrolyte system, rotating disk electrode voltammetry was used to identify a voltage range for bottom-up Cu filling in the TSVs. Die level feature filling was performed using voltage ramping, which moved active deposition through the vias to yield void-free Cu features. During voltage-controlled …

Oil, Climate Change, And Human Rights: A Case Study Of Norway With Comparative Analysis, Kate Sjovold

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

The Arctic region is simultaneously facing profound, negative ecological impacts of climate change and is also subject to expanding oil and gas exploration and extraction. Facing a critical decision involving Arctic oil expansion, Norway is contending with its position as a global leader in the environmental movement and its historic and continued economic reliance on the oil and gas industry. This research contextualizes Norway within the Arctic region, discusses Norway as a petroleum exporting country, and addresses how value and identity play a role in environmental policy creation. Recent human rights-based climate change litigation in Norway, People v. Arctic Oil, …

More Than Just Video Games: Analyzing Japanese Game Design 1985 - 1995, Gerald Demattia

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis is an exploration of how the Japanese experience in the second half of the 20^th century shaped video game design in Japan from 1985-1995 – particularly the formation of the Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) genre. To understand the connection between the Japanese experience and JRPGs, research for this thesis was conducted around specific game developers and their creations, namely: Yuji Horii and Dragon Quest; Shigesato Itoi and Mother 1 & 2; and Tajiri Satoshi and the Pokémon games. The crux of this paper centers on primary source interviews with developers where social commentary was cited …

Ensuring Justice For All, Jonathan Scott

University of Mississippi News

UM Class of '47 alumna creates fund to assist law students so they can assist others

The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis Of Its Inequitable Impacts Towards The Black Population With Recommendations To Dismantling Institutional Racism, Elena Peterson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Due to the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the 2020 coronavirus disease pandemic uncovered health inequities throughout the United States. This paper explores institutional racism as the reasoning behind these health inequities. A discussion of the United States’ failure to implement preventative precautions once notified initially of the coronavirus is featured. Events that took place after the recognition of the coronavirus, such as the economic impacts and passed legislation, are highlighted as well. An overview of the Trump Administration’s lack of focus towards vulnerable populations, which includes the Black communities, is included. Also, there are highlights on …

Role Of The Acid Sensing Ion Channel 1a In The Systemic Circulation, Selina M. Garcia

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is a non-selective cation channel that is expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells. However, little is known about the contribution of ASIC1a to vascular reactivity and cardiovascular homeostasis. We have previously shown that ASIC1a contributes to pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) Ca²⁺ entry and vasoconstriction as well as chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. However, a role of ASIC1a in the systemic circulation is unclear. Previous reports have shown that ASIC1a is expressed in femoral and cerebral arteries, however, these studies suggest that ASIC1a contributes to vascular reactivity through neuronal regulation rather than vascular. Therefore, …