Digital Commons Network^™

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: Youth Prevention And Cessation Discussions By Primary Care Providers, Sarah Hutton Christianson

Nursing

Youth use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has increased over the last several years, necessitating proactive steps by primary care providers (PCP) including discussing ENDS health effects with youth and providing cessation counseling. The CDC recommends that people under age 25 should not use ENDS. Brief counseling about use of tobacco products is cost-effective and beneficial to patients’ health. PCPs need current, accurate information about ENDS to deliver comprehensive preventive services and cessation counseling to a vulnerable adolescent population. The purposes of this practice improvement project were to increase PCPs’ knowledge, patient discussions, and cessation referrals related to ENDS …

Advanced Practice Provider Experiences Precepting Nurse Practitioner Students, Carly Rose Kaspari

Nursing

Preceptors for nurse practitioner (NP) students are in increasingly short supply. Enrollment in NP programs has increased at 14.5% from 2008-2017 each year. The increase in NP students has created an increased demand for qualified preceptors and increased competition among other healthcare professional programs for clinical placements. Additionally, clinical preceptors, specifically advanced practice providers (APP) often report feeling unsupported in the role of a preceptor. Support and understanding for preceptors from clinical leadership is imperative as the demand for preceptors continues to grow, clinic leadership must understand preceptor experiences and how to best support APPs who serve in this role.The …

Adverse Childhood Experiences Among College Students: Best-Practice Recommendations For Student Health Clinicians, Rachel Marie Ostlund

Nursing

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are highly prevalent and considered a global public health crisis (Forgash, 2015). ACEs are associated with toxic stress resulting in severe impairment of the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems (Asmussen et al., 2020). Consequently, the ten categories of ACEs have been linked to multiple risk factors for unhealthy behaviors and nine of the 10 leading causes of death in adults (Asmussen et al., 2020). A crucial component to mitigating the effects of ACEs is through identification of those exposed. Ideally, screening for ACEs occurs after the age of 18 years and prior to the onset of …

Emergency Care Skills Preparedness Of Rural Nurse Practitioners, Erika Marie Stueve

Nursing

In the rural setting, emergencies present as high stress situations and can have significant consequences for the patient, family, provider, and hospital staff involved. Many rural hospitals rely heavily on nurse practitioners (NPs) to provide care for the community as well as covering the emergency department. Thorough education in emergency training and skill competencies are essential when taking on the role of a provider in rural facilities and critical access hospitals. When a critically ill patient presents to a rural emergency department, an NP may be the only provider available, therefore, having increased education and continued sustainment of emergency care …

C.O.P.E. Influence On Resiliency And Self-Efficacy In A Rural North Dakota School (Creating Opportunities For Personal Empowerment), Ariel Kristine Schwarzrock

Nursing

One in three teens is estimated to experience an anxiety disorder between 13 to 18 years of age. Developed mental health burdens in adolescents can go undetected and untreated. About 50% of those with mental health disorders noted in adulthood started by age 14 years. Therefore, adolescence may be a critical phase for developing positive coping mechanisms and one where nurse practitioners can proactively impact outcomes. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based strategy effective in decreasing mental health burden. Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment (COPE) is a program created for pediatrics using CBT strategies to manage emotions and promote …

Improving Hepatitis C Screening Rates In A Primary Care Setting, Katie Jean Thompson

Nursing

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is the most common blood borne infection in the United States and frequently develops into a chronic disease, which can lead to serious health complications including liver damage, cirrhosis, cancer, and death. Due to vague symptomology associated with HCV, half of people with chronic HCV are unaware of their condition. New HCV infections are most common in persons who inject drugs (PWID) and chronic infection is currently most prevalent in baby boomers (birth age 1945 to 1965). The purpose of this project was to increase health care professionals’ comfort level and knowledge regarding HCV screening guidelines …

Exploring The Effects Of Interleaving On Mind-Wandering, Alyssa Lynn Miller

Psychology

Research has shown that interleaving (a study technique where two topics are practiced in an alternating fashion) enhances learning and memory. However, it is unclear whether interleaving impacts the frequency of mind-wandering. The current research explores the extent to which interleaving reduces mind-wandering using a between-subjects design. Participants completed the experiment remotely and learned 40 bird images from 8 distinct families. Bird images were presented in pairs from two different families (e.g., interleaved) or individually from one family (e.g., blocked). After a brief distractor task, participants completed a final classification test. Participants also completed a post-assessment questionnaire regarding the level …

Managing Economically Important Diseases Of Sunflower And Oilseed Rape In North Dakota, California, And Schleswig-Holstein, Brandt Gregory Berghuis

Plant Pathology

Rust, caused by Puccinia helianthi, and blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, are economically important diseases on sunflower and oilseed rape, respectively. In order to recommend the most effective disease management practices to growers, management strategies need to be evaluated as new tools are developed and pathogen populations change. The objectives of these studies were to; 1) evaluate the efficacy of foliar fungicides on rust in confection and oilseed sunflowers in the U.S. Northern Great Plains, 2) determine virulence phenotypes of Puccinia helianthi in the sunflower seed production region of Northern California, and 3) evaluate the seed applied fungicide adepidyn for …

Understanding Programmed Cell Death Pathways By Characterizing Barley Disease Lesion Mimic Mutants, Wail Alsolami

Plant Pathology

Programmed cell death (PCD) in plants refers to rapid and localized cell death that occurs as a result of regular biological processes, or in response to infection or injury. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of PCD will fill key knowledge gaps in regard to plant development or resistance mechanisms. Upon pathogen invasion salicylic acid and reactive oxygen intermediate (ROI) signaling responses are triggered that contribute to the PCD outcome. Substantial research efforts have been conducted to identify genes involved in these PCD pathways including the generation and characterization of disease lesion mimic mutants (DLMMs) that spontaneously express PCD and necrotic lesions …

Past Flooding Events And A 400+ Year Ring-Width Chronology Of Bur Oak Along The Red River In North Dakota And Minnesota, Matthew Bruce Schlauderaff

Natural Resources Management

A paleoflood record of the United States portion of the Red River of the North was created utilizing rings of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.). Emphasis was placed on the flood of 1826. Samples were collected from standing trees and historic log buildings. All samples were observed for flood rings and measurements were taken for 90% of physical samples. Flood rings for 1826 were disproportionately found at one specific site near Shelly, MN. Ring width measurements were taken from 179 physical samples and combined into a ring-width chronology spanning from modern times back to 1601. The results suggest that the …

Patch-Burn Grazing In Southwestern North Dakota: Assessing Above- And Belowground Rangeland Ecosystem Responses, Jonathan Wesley Spiess

Natural Resources Management

Rangelands are heterogeneous working landscapes capable of supporting livestock production and biodiversity conservation, and heterogeneity-based rangeland management balances the potentially opposing production and conservation goals in these working landscapes. Within fire-dependent ecosystems, patch-burn grazing aims to create landscape patterns analogous to pre-European rangelands. Little work has tested the efficacy of patch-burn grazing in northern US Great Plains. We investigated patch contrast in above and belowground ecosystem properties and processes during the summer grazing seasons from 2017 – 2020 on three patch-burn pastures stocked with cow-calf pairs and three patch-burn pastures stocked with sheep. We focused on vegetation structure, plant community …

Rationally Reconstructed And Attenuated Vaccines For Epidemic Response, Agm Rakibuzzaman

Microbiological Sciences

Most of the recent viral outbreaks were caused by highly mutating RNA and single stranded DNA viruses. The availability of safe and effective rapid response vaccines early on in an epidemic situation, along with good vaccine delivery systems, is critical for pandemic response plans. Additionally, immunodominance patterns in the host response to epitopes in vaccine antigens can complicate immune responses to vaccines. In this thesis, using porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) as a model, we have focused on changing viral immunodominance patterns to rationally improve vaccine efficacy. We hypothesized that rational alteration of the immunodominant decoy epitope would remove nonprotective …

Water Quality Observations Of A Headwater Watershed In The Red River Basin And Value Of An Interdisciplinary Majors Capstone Course In The Natural Resource Sciences, Zachary Anderson

Natural Resources Management

Understanding how change and adaptive management plays a role in natural resource sciences is key to preforming well in the field, as well as evaluating effects of management changes. Therefore, two studies were conducted: 1) to determine the value of skills taught in an interdisciplinary capstone course; and 2) to understand baseline water quality parameters in order to gauge subsurface drainages role in alterations in water quality. Overall, participants surveyed in the capstone course agreed the interdisciplinary approach of the class and skills taught was helpful following graduation. The study also shed light on areas that could be improved to …

The Response Of Salmonella Enterica And Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli In Low-Moisture Environments, Jessica Rae Lauer

Microbiological Sciences

The recent increase in outbreaks of low-moisture foods due to contamination with foodborne pathogens has led to an increase in interest of the response of these pathogens to low-moisture environments. In addition, knowledge of the response of foodborne pathogens to immediate desiccation stress is sparce. The first objective was to evaluate the long-term survival of enteric pathogens on wheat grain over the course of a year. Hard red spring wheat was inoculated with strains of Salmonella enterica and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and their survival was monitored for a year. Strains of Salmonella enterica were detected over the course of …

Improving Data And Understanding Of Public Water Supply In North Dakota Through Municipal And Industrial Water-Use Information Specifically Focusing On The Bakken Region 2000-2018, Joseph Connor Cleys

Natural Resources Management

The Bakken oil boom 2005–2015 has dominated conversations on North Dakota’s water use in the past two decades. This study focused on municipal and industrial water use across 83 different use categories for the Bakken and non-Bakken areas of the state. A phone survey was conducted to determine how industrial permit holders use their water. Additionally, water use databases from the North Dakota State Water Commission and Southwest Water Authority were analyzed to determine correlations between the oil boom and water use in municipal and industrial categories, and determine differences and similarities between water use in the Bakken and the …

Scenario Development For Niger Environment Based On Risk And Effect Analysis With Drought, Drought Response, And Population Growth As Drivers, Soumaila Mounkaila Siddo

Natural Resources Management

Niger is a landlock country located within the Sahara Desert and Sahel region. The region is subject to extreme climate conditions including heat waves, droughts and floods. Rapid population growth together with institutional incapacity and poor adaptive capacity can exacerbate the consequences of extreme climate. This paper develops four scenarios for the Niger environment based on risk and effect analysis with drought, drought response, and population growth as drivers. Scenario 1 (long-term drought, ineffective institution, rising population) would result in high risks of socioeconomic and environmental consequences as compared to scenarios 2 (long-term drought, effective institution, controlled population growth), 3 …

The Effects Of Dementia Knowledge On Dementia Worry, Attitudes, Social Comfort, Empathic Concern, And Personal Distress, Alexandria Rose Ebert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present study examined the effects of different types of dementia knowledge on attitudes and affective reactions towards persons with dementia. Work has demonstrated that individuals with higher levels of personhood-based knowledge have lower levels of personal dementia fear and higher levels of social comfort. However, to our knowledge, work has not examined dementia attitudes more broadly or differentiated causal relations among different forms of dementia knowledge and attitude outcomes. Participants (N = 334) aged 19-78 (M = 44.53, SD = 16.57) were randomized into one of five experimental conditions: (1) biomedical-knowledge (BK; read biological and medical facts about …

Can Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Improve Core Features Of Autism? Findings From A Comparison Of Pcit For Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder, Robin C. Han

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although there is a small yet growing body of evidence supporting Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) as an effective treatment for disruptive behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Scudder et al., 2019), further study is warranted, particularly with more robust methodology (e.g., larger sample sizes, comparison groups). Furthermore, preliminary studies have demonstrated improvements in symptoms of autism following the completion of PCIT, including improvements in frequency of child verbalizations (Hansen & Shillingsburg, 2016), caregiver report of social skills and social responsiveness (Zlomke et al., 2017), time spent in pretend toy play (Lieneman et al., 2019), and shared positive affect …

Short Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites Manufactured By Stereolithography, Michael John Holthaus

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

The effectiveness of manufacturing short glass fiber composites using stereolithography (SLA) was investigated. Modifications were made to a standard SLA printer to induce a flow field through the resin tank. In this study a 1/32 inch glass fiber content of 15% by volume was printed in combination with a commercial Peopoly SLA UV curable resin. Testing was performed for fiber dispersion and whether the addition of glass fiber would increase the mechanical properties of the composites. While printing it was found the surface finish of the specimens was coarse from the glass fibers. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to …

Experimental Studies Of Pulsatile Flow Characteristics Of Aortic Models Under Normal And Diseased Conditions, Ruihang Zhang

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. Aorta is extremely important because of its critical function in blood circulation. Abnormal hemodynamics of aortic valve and arch is related to many severe diseases and has intrigued a growing of fluid dynamic researches over decades. However, due to the complexity of transient flow and fluid-structure interaction, many aspects of aortic hemodynamics have not been fully understood. The goal of this dissertation is to design and construct an in-vitro cardiovascular flow simulator for PIV hemodynamics research and understand the pulsatile flow characteristics of human aortic valve and arch under normal and …

Understanding The Public Sentiment And Discourse On Covid-19 Vaccine, Kruttika Sutrave, Rajesh Godasu, Jun Liu

Research & Publications

The novel Coronavirus disease has negatively impacted human lives in various aspects leading to the global health crisis and economic fallout. The availability of vaccines in the U.S. is a relief. However, many people are not in favor of the COVID-19 vaccine. The study aimed to identify the emotions and themes of discourse related to the COVID-19 vaccine posted on Twitter. Sentiment analysis and topic modeling techniques were employed to discover the sentiment and prevalent themes. The findings suggest that overall, the public has positive opinions towards the vaccine. Those people that show positive opinions appreciate the efforts of leadership, …

An Empirical Study Of The Impact Of Knowledge Acquisition, Sharing And Utilization On Organizational Performance Of Higher Education Institutions (Heis), And The Moderating Role Of Organizational Culture, Armel Djangone, Omar El-Gayar

Research & Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Prairie Pothole Conditions And Plant Community Composition On Fws Fee-Title Lands, Seth Jones

Natural Resources Management

Conditions of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region have been severely degraded due to anthropogenic disturbances, such as cultivation and climate change. To maintain or restore the diversity and integrity of these ecosystems we must first understand what condition they are in and what current factors are driving wetland conditions on a region-wide scale. This study aimed to assess wetland conditions and determine what the major plant community drivers were on FWS fee-title lands. Assessments showed wetlands in native grassland are in better condition than those in reseeded grasslands and seasonal wetlands are in better condition than temporary wetlands. It …

The Development And Dissemination Of The Collaborative Piano Program From The United States To China, Xiang Wei

Music

For over 71 years, the collaborative piano major has been one of the most important music performance programs at American universities and conservatories, such as the University of Southern California, the Julliard School of Music, and the New England Conservatory. For over half a century, these collaborative piano programs have been successful in the United States, and they continue to influence the field of music world-wide. Therefore, the development of collaborative piano programs in the United States not only plays a significant role for students who want to have a career in this field, but it has also influenced universities …

Current Status Of The Biology, Pathogenesis, And Impacts Of Ebola Virus, Dalal Alamri

Microbiological Sciences

Ebola viruses (EV) are single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses belonging to the Filoviridae family. There are 6 species of Ebola, and four of them can cause Ebola virus disease (EVD) in humans. Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever is one of the deadliest diseases known to infect humans and non-human primates. The primary mode of transmission of Ebola has been identified as direct contact with infected animals, humans and body fluids. The early diagnosis of EVD is difficult because of similarities of the initial disease presentation to influenza-like symptoms such as high fever, myalgia, fatigue, headache, and chills. The most common symptoms that …

Effect Of Oxidative Breakers On Organic Matter Degradation, Contaminant Mobility And Critical Mineral Release During Shale-Fracturing Fluid Interactions In The Marcellus Shale, Shaun Donmoyer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Production of oil and gas from organic-rich shale formations has become viable through advancements in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. The decline of shale gas production after the initial days of fracturing operations coupled with falling oil and gas prices, has pushed industry operators to use new chemical additives as an attempt to increase hydrocarbon production. The implementation of highly reactive fracturing fluids that include strong oxidizing agents, pose as a potential solution to increase well productivity. Strong oxidizing chemicals commonly known in fracturing operations as breakers, are used to improve the viscosity of gel-based fluids after the proppant is transported into …

Deep Learning Architectures For Heterogeneous Face Recognition, Seyed Mehdi Iranmanesh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Face recognition has been one of the most challenging areas of research in biometrics and computer vision. Many face recognition algorithms are designed to address illumination and pose problems for visible face images. In recent years, there has been significant amount of research in Heterogeneous Face Recognition (HFR). The large modality gap between faces captured in different spectrum as well as lack of training data makes heterogeneous face recognition (HFR) quite a challenging problem. In this work, we present different deep learning frameworks to address the problem of matching non-visible face photos against a gallery of visible faces.

Algorithms for …

Economic Burden Of Low-Value Healthcare On Patients With Localized Prostate Cancer: Statistical & Machine Learning Approaches, Ryan Fiano

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Adults with incident localized prostate cancer represent a large, medically complex population at risk for low-value care. Evidence-based guidelines recommend conservative management (CM) for localized prostate cancer patients with multimorbidity and limited life expectancy, however, 2 in 3 still choose treatment. This dissertation pursued three Aims to address research gaps related to healthcare practices associated with significant morbidity and economic burden on older men with incident localized prostate cancer: 1) examine the leading predictors of low-value healthcare practice of prostate cancer treatment for low-risk prostate cancer; 2) assess the role of patient‐reported experience with care on high-value prostate cancer management; …

An Analysis Of Amy Beach's Variations On Balkan Themes, Op. 60, Yiwen Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research paper provides an analysis of Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60, one of Amy Beach’s most significant solo piano works. Variations on Balkan Themes exists in four different versions: the 1906 original solo piano version, a 1936 revised solo piano version, a 1942 two-piano version and fragments of an orchestral version. This paper is focused on Beach’s 1906 original solo piano work. The analysis includes descriptions of the character of each variation, the structure, the pianistic figures and selected harmonic analysis as well as information comparing the four different versions. Beach’s biographical information, historical background of the …

Unconventional Gas Pipeline Right-Of-Way Influence On Wildlife, Samuel C. Knopka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The development of horizontal drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in 2004 resulted in rapid exploitation of the play in the Appalachian Basin. This “unconventional” gas well drilling accesses resources deeper beneath the surface and allows for multiple wells to be co-located on a single well pad. This results in fewer, but larger, well pads on the landscape than traditional vertical wells. Pipelines are required to transport the volumes of gas produced by unconventional wells to production facilities and market. The effects of gathering pipelines, which transport gas from well pads to larger transport pipelines, are poorly studied …