Improving Skin Cancer Knowledge and Prevention Among College Students: A Quality Improvement Project

Skin cancer is among the most common diagnosed cancers worldwide, as incidence rates have continued to be on the surge (Compres et al., 2020). Incidents of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and malignant melanoma (MM) are still increasing. This trend can be counteracted by means of primary and secondary prevention because the main risk factor for skin cancer is ultraviolent (UV) exposure. Thus, early detection of skin cancer can be cured successfully. Despite suggestions of early screening, lack of knowledge and behaviors regarding skin cancer prevention and awareness are still prevalent among the college student population. Clinicians play a critical role in detecting signs of skin cancer and educating their patients. Therefore, it is imperative for the young adult population to understand concepts that can guide them to the identification of skin cancer warning signs. Following the completion of a literature review, thirteen studies were selected. The studies emphasized that skin cancers can be mainly prevented through the proper use of sun-safety measures, regular application of sunscreen, eye protection, and avoiding times of maximum incidence of UV radiation. The literature indicates that the young adult college students have a decreased understanding on skin cancer prevention strategies. Based on the findings of the literature review, a quality improvement (QI) project was conducted at the Florida International University Student Health Center to increase college students’ awareness and knowledge to identify and prevent skin cancer. An evidence-based educational intervention was designed and delivered in-person via PowerPoint Presentation. Pre-test and post-test surveys were analyzed using a paired samples t-test. Following the educational intervention, the overall post-test scores improved in both knowledge (pre mean score 7.1, post mean score 8.0) and behaviors (pre mean score 3.9, post mean score 5.0). This QI project supports the notion that educational programs can be an effective strategy to alert patients to the possibility of identifying and preventing skin cancer

Appraisal of effectiveness and comparison of parent-child interaction therapy and parent management training on symptom improvement of ADHD among boys with ADHD

Parenting a child who has ADHD presents most parents with many challenges. The aim of study was to appraise the effectiveness and comparison of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) and parent management training (PMT) to mothers in symptom improvement of 8-10 year old boys with ADHD in Urmia. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group was used. The population consisted of all mothers of 8-10 year old boys with ADHD in Urmia in 2012 who were referred to the counseling and treatment centers and their children received ADHD combined type diagnosis. Children who had the highest scores in Conner's Rating Scale (teachers & parents) were considered as ADHD patients that 45 patients were selected by convenience sampling method and were assigned randomly into two experimental groups (n=15)and a control group. Then, experimental groups were trained by Eyberg's PCIT and Patterson's PMT during 9 sessions which were held once a week. The control group received no intervention. In order to collect the study's data Conners Scales and the SWAN Rating Scale for ADHD were used. Data analysis was done by analysis of covariance with SPSS-16 software. The results showed that the difference between pretest and posttest scores of control group is equal to F=185.23 that it is significant (p<0.01). Results of Tukey's test showed that there was significant difference between the PCIT and PMT at level of 0.05 and this effect was stronger for PCIT group. Overall, it can be concluded that both of the programs were effective in relieving the ADHD symptoms but the PCIT was more effective

Application of the functional renormalization group method to classical free energy models

A simple functional renormalization group method is presented to correct the behavior of classical free energy models near the critical point. This approach is applied to the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state to illustrate its ability to better reproduce the phase behavior of simple fluids and to understand the influence of its parameters on the shape of the vapor-liquid phase diagram. The method is then extended to account for the correlations induced by intramolecular bonds. It is then applied to a first order thermodynamic perturbation theory for chain fluids to examine fluids composed of linearly bonded Lennard-Jones atoms. Unlike previous approaches for applying renormalization group corrections to chain fluids, this is able to accurately reproduce the critical point without predicting an overly flat liquid-vapor coexistence region

Benefits of Full-scale Physical Models in Civil Engineering Education

Engineering students, usually, show a greater interest in topics which are demonstrated physically rather than those that are explained using the so called ‘chalk and talk’ methods, that is, by oral presentations and blackboard/whiteboard/OHP. Also, students are motivated by hands-on experience and by linking concepts and physical models to real engineering problems. A hands-on project has been designed by the Author for civil engineering students to improve their practical considerations in designing structures. The project is about Design, Assembly and Dismantling (DAD) of a full-scale lattice structure. A specific teaching kit including prefabricated full-scale tubular steel members, as well as required connectors has been designed and manufactured for the DAD Project and the participants design a structure using (all or part of) the provided structural components. The project is modified to suite the participants at different levels, i.e. postgraduate or undergraduate levels. Also, a simpler version has been offered as a part of the ‘University Promotional Programmes’ for secondary school students. This paper provides further information about the background of the DAD Project and discusses the Project in more detail. Also, relevant literature is reviewed and a methodology is proposed to assess the potential benefits of using full-scale physical models as a part of a master degree module offered in the academic year 2015-16. Finally, the outcomes of the research, as well as further recommendations are provided

Geometrical data for lattice spatial structures : regularity, historical background and education.

Dealing with geometrical information has been an important aspect of the knowledge required for construction of a structure. In particular, data generation techniques appropriate for complex geometries are crucial for the design and construction of spatial structures. This may be referred to as ‘Configuration Processing’ and has been the centre of attention for some researchers in the past few decades. A main focus of this thesis is the ‘regularity’ in structural forms and the present research shows that the ‘metric properties’ of structural forms, suggested by the Author, are fundamental for the study of regularity. Metric properties refer to the geometrical information necessary for design, and in particular, construction of lattice spatial structures. To elaborate, the research addresses the following questions: • What are the metric properties for a lattice structure and how can these be evaluated? • What is the definition of regularity for lattice structures and how can this be quantified? • How could the regularity of a lattice structure be improved? The Author is an architect and structural engineer who has been involved in the design and construction of lattice spatial structures for 20 years. The experience of the actual construction over the years has shown that there are advantages in keeping the number of different types of structural components small. In another front, the study of regularity of forms for lattice structures may involve the ‘visual aspects’, ‘arrangements of elements’ or ‘structural components’. The first two aspects are subjective matters and the latter one, that is the focus of the present work, is an objective matter. The present research shows that the metric properties of structural forms are fundamental for the study of component regularity. There are considerable benefits in terms of the construction of structures which have a high degree of regular components. The benefits include savings in time and cost of construction, as well as a reduction in probability of having a wrong arrangement during assembly. In this sense, the present work could be considered as a research of fundamental importance which provides a basis for the knowledge in this field. Most of the examples in the Thesis are single layer lattice structures with straight elements and further research on other types of lattice structures is recommended. This thesis consists of six chapters, the first of which entitled ‘Introduction’ provides background information about the research and discusses the research aims. Chapter 2 on the ‘Literature Review’ concerns the few available publications relevant to the research. The third chapter entitled ‘Metric Properties’ defines a number of geometrical parameters which are being used to generate the geometrical information. Also, the mathematics involved for the necessary calculations are discussed. This chapter is a major contribution of the thesis and to the available knowledge in terms of introduction a set of well defined geometrical parameters for design and construction of lattice spatial structures. Chapter 4 is dedicated to discussion of different aspects of ‘Regularity’ of lattice structures. To begin with, the idea of regularity is elaborated upon and then the concept of ‘regularity indicators’ are discussed. These indicators help to quantify regularity of components. Here again, this chapter presents a novel idea in the field of lattice spatial structures. Another major contribution of this thesis to the general knowledge is Chapter 5 entitled ‘Sphere Packing’. This is a particular technique for configuration processing developed by the Author to improve the member length regularity of lattice structures. An example of the application of the technique for configuration processing of spherical domes is also discussed in details. Moreover, a comparison on the variation of the member lengths of different dome configurations is discussed which shows that around 50% of the members of a dome created by sphere packing technique are with the same length. This proportion of equal length members is considerably higher than that of the other dome configurations (10%-33%). Finally, Chapter 6 provides the conclusions and some important suggestions for the continuation of the research. In addition to the main body of this thesis, copy of the relevant publications by the Author are provided as Annexes in the following three categories: i. Geometrical data generation for lattice spatial structures is the core of the Annexes A to E, then, ii. Annexes F and G are focusing on the education of spatial structures, and finally, iii. Historical background of spatial structures is discussed in the Annexes H and I

Market imperfections on Stockholm Stock Exchange in conjunktion with cash dividends

Aktiepristeorier påstår att priset justeras proportionerligt med förlorad rätt till utdelning vid köppå ex-dagen. Tidigare studier har gett bevis på prisanomalier i USA, Japan och Oman. Genom attestimera en teoretisk aktiekursrörelse och jämföra den med den faktiska aktiekursrörelsen drar vislutsatsen att prisanomalier förekommit på Stockholmsbörsen under vår undersökta tidsperiod.Vårt resultat visar att ex-dagseffekten är relaterad till kontantutdelningar; den är inte entillfällighet och kan inte helt förklaras av egenskaper på specifika marknader.Stock price theories suggest that prices adjust proportionate to the loss of dividend yields on ex-days.Earlier studies have shown evidence of pricing anomalies in USA, Japan and Oman. By estimating atheoretical stock return and comparing it to the actual returns over a time period close to the ex-dayswe can conclude that pricing anomalies have occurred in Stockholm Stock Exchange during ourmeasured period. Our findings show that the ex-day effect is related to cash dividends; it is notcoincidental and cannot be fully explained by attributes of particular markets

Market imperfections on Stockholm Stock Exchange in conjunktion with cash dividends

Aktiepristeorier påstår att priset justeras proportionerligt med förlorad rätt till utdelning vid köppå ex-dagen. Tidigare studier har gett bevis på prisanomalier i USA, Japan och Oman. Genom attestimera en teoretisk aktiekursrörelse och jämföra den med den faktiska aktiekursrörelsen drar vislutsatsen att prisanomalier förekommit på Stockholmsbörsen under vår undersökta tidsperiod.Vårt resultat visar att ex-dagseffekten är relaterad till kontantutdelningar; den är inte entillfällighet och kan inte helt förklaras av egenskaper på specifika marknader.Stock price theories suggest that prices adjust proportionate to the loss of dividend yields on ex-days.Earlier studies have shown evidence of pricing anomalies in USA, Japan and Oman. By estimating atheoretical stock return and comparing it to the actual returns over a time period close to the ex-dayswe can conclude that pricing anomalies have occurred in Stockholm Stock Exchange during ourmeasured period. Our findings show that the ex-day effect is related to cash dividends; it is notcoincidental and cannot be fully explained by attributes of particular markets