Practice Patterns Contributing to Positive Patient Outcomes by Nurse Practitioners

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify NP practice patterns most important for positive patient outcomes. Data Sources: A convenience sample (n = 93) of Nurse Practitioners attending the 2005 California Association for Nurse Practitioners Conference (N = 535) completed the survey. Conclusions: The most important practice patterns identified were associated with patient-centered care. When analyzed with years in practice, patient-centered practice patterns continued to be the most important. This study suggests that patient-centered practice patterns are most important to positive patient outcomes for NPs. Implications for practice: Identifying the practice patterns that are most important to positive patient outcomes creates a distinct picture of the quality of care that is unique to nursing. As the role of NP continues to expand and be defined, these practice patterns will provide evidence of the unique quality of care given by the NP profession

Interpretive Freedom: A Necessary Component of Article III Judging

As judges have debated the best method of constitutional and statutory interpretation, scholars have begun calling for increased constraints on the methodological freedoms of Article III judges. This Note rejects such proposals on constitutional grounds. Drawing upon the jurisprudence and scholarship on inherent powers, I argue that interpretive choice is an inherent judicial power. The drafting and ratification history of Article III demonstrates that the Framers expected federal judges to interpret the law. To accomplish this task, however, judges must have some methodological approach to help them prioritize interpretive evidence. Thus, imposition of a binding interpretive methodology upon federal judges would pose two constitutional problems. First, it would infringe the essential judicial function of interpretive deliberation. Second, it would prevent the judiciary as a whole from engaging in its most powerful constitutional check on the excesses of the political branches. Because interpretive freedom is necessary to the fulfillment of the Article III judicial function, that freedom must be considered an inherent power vested in all federal judges

Performance evaluation of electrochemical concentration cell ozonesondes

Laboratory calibrations of more than a hundred electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozonesondes were determined relative to UV-photometry. The average intercept and slope, 0 plus or minus 5 nb and 0.96 plus or minus 0.06, respectively, indicate reasonable agreement with UV photometry, but with considerable variation from one ECC ozonesonde to another. The time required to reach 85% of the final reaction to a step-change in ozone concentration was found to average 51 seconds. Application of the individual calibrations to 20 sets of 1976 flight data reduced the average of the differences between ozonesonde and Dobson spectrophotometric measurements of total ozone from 3.9 to 1.3%. A similar treatment of a set of 10 1977 flight records improved the average ECC-Dobson agreement from -8.5 to -1.4%. Although systematic differences were reduced, no significant effect on the random variations was evident

Performance tests on the Kohmyr ECC ozone sonde

The reliability and accuracy of the Kohmyr ECC ozone sonde are determined. Emphasis is placed on establishing and testing for leak-free connections and stable pump flow rates as well as properly adjusting the pumping pressure. Calibration of the Kohmyr ECC ozone sondes and Dasibi monitors is described. Raw ordinate data and ozone connection data are presented in tabular form. The results of a linear regression treatment of the sonde-indicated ozone concentration vs. Dasibi readings for each switch position are included along with averages of the regression parameters over the six sequencing switch positions. It is suggested that sondes and Dasibi monitors be individually calibrated before flight

Harriet Bandy Papers - Accession 1393

The Harriet Bandy Papers consist of scrapbooks, photographs and photograph albums, yearbooks, plaques and award certificates, display boards, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, patches, programs, correspondence, and biographical information relating to Harriet “Boots” Bandy, a 1958 graduate of Winthrop. Boots Bandy was a legendary basketball coach in the state of South Carolina and was later inducted into the South Carolina Coaches Association Hall of Fame and Winthrop Hall of Fame.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/manuscriptcollection_findingaids/1189/thumbnail.jp

Transport of sulfur dioxide from the Asian Pacific Rim to the North Pacific troposphere

The NASA Pacific Exploratory Mission over the Western Pacific Ocean (PEM-West B) field experiment provided an opportunity to study sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the troposphere over the western Pacific Ocean from the tropics to 60°N during February–March 1993. The large suite of chemical and physical measurements yielded a complex matrix in which to understand the distribution of sulfur dioxide over the western Pacific region. In contrast to the late summer period of Pacific Exploratory Mission-West A (PEM-West A) (1991) over this same area, SO2showed little increase with altitude, and concentrations were much lower in the free troposphere than during the PEM-West B period. Volcanic impacts on the upper troposphere were again found as a result of deep convection in the tropics. Extensive emission of SO2 from the Pacific Rim land masses were primarily observed in the lower well-mixed part of the boundary layer but also in the upper part of the boundary layer. Analyses of the SO2 data with aerosol sulfate, beryllium-7, and lead-210 indicated that SO2 contributed to half or more of the observed total oxidized sulfur (SO2 plus aerosol sulfate) in free tropospheric air. The combined data set suggests that SO2 above 8.5 km is transported from the surface but with aerosol sulfate being removed more effectively than SO2. Cloud processing and rain appeared to be responsible for lower SO2 levels between 3 and 8.5 km than above or below this region

The impact of burn injuries on circadian rhythm and mental health

Background: Burn injuries are well-established to cause severe, systemic repercussions within the human body, leaving few systems unaffected. These consequences extend to include psychiatric health, with studies showing that burns victims are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with an axis one mental disorder. Disruption in circadian rhythm, characterised by sleep changes and hormone secretion abnormalities, among other symptoms, exist as a commonality between the two conditions, being a documented consequence of burn injuries and an enduring theory for the aetiology and maintenance of psychiatric disorders. Hypothesis: As measured by CBT, there will be a significant difference between the circadian rhythm of the Sham and Excision groups in comparison with the Burn group. After the procedure, burn injury mice will have significantly changed circadian rhythms both acutely (days) and chronically (weeks). Abnormal circadian cycles as a result of thermal injuries could lead to increased rates of mental illness. Methods: Eight-week-old female mice (n =15) were implanted with a temperature logger into the peritoneal cavity to record core body temperature (CBT) for three months. Two weeks after implantation, surviving mice received a burn injury (n = 6) to 7-8% total body surface area (TBSA), an excision injury (n = 5) to the same surface area or a sham procedure in which no injury was inflicted (n = 5). The animals were euthanised after three months and thermologgers collected. Attained data was manipulated to attain the mesor, amplitude and acrophase parameters per day. Results: There was a difference in circadian rhythm between Sham and Excision as well as Sham and Burn treatments. Burn injury was the only group to show an acute difference after procedural surgery in all parameters though Excision values also acutely changed after surgery for mesor alone. All three groups differed chronically after surgery, though only the Burn group had significantly altered acrophase in the last time-point of the experiment. Conclusion: Circadian rhythm disruptions occur after surgery. Given that surgery is so common after burn injuries, in subsequent experiments it would be logical to assess circadian rhythm changes after the procedure using gene analysis as well as by testing other parameters such as melatonin and cortisol. To link circadian rhythm disruptions to mental health problems, indicators such as mood and sleep in humans both acutely and chronically after burns and surgery should be recorded and compared with before the procedure and with healthy control populations

Property Q

Some properties of property Q are stated, some new results are proved and implications to totally metacompact and totally paracompact are obtained