Final Report: Turtle Creek Park

During the Spring 2023 semester, we worked as a group with East Buffalo Township supervisors to develop plans for newly-acquired Turtle Creek Park. Specifically, our project centered on facilitating community engagement with Phase One of the restoration plan and helping the Supervisors lay a foundation for future phases of the park\u27s revitalization. Our report details our work on mapping the park\u27s trail system, identifying and mapping areas of poor drainage, and creating a series of interpretive signs for public education about the park, its natural history, and its ecology

The current state of Nursing Informatics – An international cross-sectional survey

An international survey to explore current and future trends in Nursing Informatics (NI) was done in 2015. This article explores responses to questions about: what should be done to further develop NI as an independent discipline; existing policies and standards influencing NI; perceived support towards NI as a discipline; and advice from NI specialists to students and emerging professionals. Nurse and allied health professionals in academia and practice were reached with snowball sampling. Open-ended questions were analysed with thematic content analysis and the mean and standard deviation is reported for the perceived support towards NI (scale ranging from 1 (not at all supportive) to 10 (very supportive)). A total of 507 respondents from 46 countries responded to the survey. Respondents reported mediocre support towards NI from the environment (M 5.79, SD 2.60). Results showed that NI education needs development to better meet practice demands, that current NI resources seem insufficient, that NI expertise is not used to its full potential in health institutions and the community, and that NI needs to show its value through research and increase visibility to be recognised among stakeholders worldwide. In conclusion, there is a need to clarify NI as a discipline and a need for strong leadership to impact policy making. An increase in NI teaching at undergraduate level in nursing as well as an increase in postgraduate NI programmes worldwide would better support practice demands. National policies and international white papers in NI are needed to guide resource distribution to better support practice.An international survey to explore current and future trends in Nursing Informatics (NI) was done in 2015. This article explores responses to questions about: what should be done to further develop NI as an independent discipline; existing policies and standards influencing NI; perceived support towards NI as a discipline; and advice from NI specialists to students and emerging professionals. Nurse and allied health professionals in academia and practice were reached with snowball sampling. Open-ended questions were analysed with thematic content analysis and the mean and standard deviation is reported for the perceived support towards NI (scale ranging from 1 (not at all supportive) to 10 (very supportive)). A total of 507 respondents from 46 countries responded to the survey. Respondents reported mediocre support towards NI from the environment (M 5.79, SD 2.60). Results showed that NI education needs development to better meet practice demands, that current NI resources seem insufficient, that NI expertise is not used to its full potential in health institutions and the community, and that NI needs to show its value through research and increase visibility to be recognised among stakeholders worldwide. In conclusion, there is a need to clarify NI as a discipline and a need for strong leadership to impact policy making. An increase in NI teaching at undergraduate level in nursing as well as an increase in postgraduate NI programmes worldwide would better support practice demands. National policies and international white papers in NI are needed to guide resource distribution to better support practice

Maternal Sensitivity And Latency To Positive Emotion Following Challenge: Pathways Through Effortful Control

The ability to self‐generate positive emotions is an important component of emotion regulation. In this study, we focus on children's latency to express positive emotions following challenging situations and assess whether this ability operates through early maternal sensitivity and children's effortful control. Longitudinal relations between maternal sensitivity, infant negative affect, effortful control, and latency to positive emotion following challenge were examined in 156 children who were 33 months of age. Structural equation models supported the hypothesis that maternal sensitivity during infancy predicted better effortful control and, in turn, shorter latencies to positive emotions following challenge at 33 months. Directions for future research are discussed. RESUMEN La habilidad para autogenerar emociones positivas es un componente importante de la regulación de la emoción. En este estudio, nos enfocamos en el estado latente de los niños para expresar emociones positivas después de situaciones desafiantes y evaluar si esta habilidad opera a través de la temprana sensibilidad maternal y el esforzado control de los niños. Se examinaron las relaciones longitudinales entre la sensibilidad maternal, el efecto negativo del infante, el control esforzado, y el estado latente hacia la emoción positiva después de situaciones desafiantes, en 156 niños de 33 meses. Los modelos de ecuación estructural apoyaron la hipótesis de que la sensibilidad maternal durante la infancia predijo un mejor control esforzado y, a la vuelta, los más cortos estados latentes hacia emociones positivas después de situaciones desafiantes a los 33 meses. Se discuten las directrices para la investigación futura. RÉSUMÉ La capacité à auto‐générer des émotions positives est une composante importante de la régulation des émotions. Dans cette étude nous nous concentrons sur la latence des enfants à exprimer des émotions positives après des situations difficiles et nous évaluons si cette capacité opère à travers une sensibilité maternelle précoce et le contrôle fait avec effort des enfants. Les relations longitudinales entre la sensibilité maternelle, l’affect négatif du nourrisson, le contrôle fait avec effort et la latence et l’émotion positive après des difficultés ont été examinés chez 156 enfants de 33 mois. Des modèles d’équation structurelle ont soutenu l’hypothèse selon laquelle la sensibilité maternelle durant la petite enfance prédisait un meilleur contrôle avec effort et ensuite des latences plus courtes vers des émotions positives après des difficultés à 33 mois. Des directions pour des recherches à venir sont discutées. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die Fähigkeit, positive Emotionen selbst zu erzeugen, ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Emotionsregulation. In dieser Studie fokussieren wir auf die Latenzzeit von Kindern, positive Emotionen nach herausfordernden Situationen zu zeigen, und beurteilen, ob diese Fähigkeit durch frühe mütterliche Feinfühligkeit und bewusste Kontrolle der Kinder beeinflusst wird. Longitudinale Beziehungen zwischen mütterlicher Feinfühligkeit, dem negativen Affekt des Säuglings, bewusster Kontrolle und der Latenzzeit hinichtlich positiver Emotionen nach einer Herausforderung wurden bei 156 Kindern im Alter von 33 Monaten untersucht. Strukturgleichungsmodelle unterstützten die Hypothese, dass die Feinfühligkeit der Mütter während des Säuglingsalters eine bewusstere Kontrolle und wiederum kürzere Latenzzeiten für positive Emotionen nach einer Herausforderung im Alter von 33 Monaten voraussagen konnte. Hinweise für die zukünftige Forschung werden diskutiert. ABSTRACT The ability to self‐generate positive emotions is an important component of emotion regulation. In this study, we focus on children's latency to express positive emotions following challenging situations and assess whether this ability operates through early maternal sensitivity and children's effortful control. 抄録：ポジティブな情緒を自己生成する能力ability to self‐generate positive emotionsは、情緒調節の重要な構成要素である。この研究で、私たちは困難な状況の後に、子どもがポジティブな情緒を表出するまでの潜伏時間に焦点付け、この能力が早期の母親の感受性と子どもの努力したコントロールを通して作用するかどうかを評価する。母親の感受性、乳児のネガティブな感情、努力したコントロール、および困難後のポジティブな情緒表出潜時の縦断的な関係が、156人の33か月児について調査された。構造方程式モデルによって、乳児期の母親の感受性が、33か月時のより良い努力したコントロールと、次に、より短い困難後のポジティブな情緒表出潜時を予測するという仮説が支持された。Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106874/1/imhj21445.pd

Effects of betaine on lipopolysaccharide-induced memory impairment in mice and the involvement of GABA transporter 2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Betaine (glycine betaine or trimethylglycine) plays important roles as an osmolyte and a methyl donor in animals. While betaine is reported to suppress expression of proinflammatory molecules and reduce oxidative stress in aged rat kidney, the effects of betaine on the central nervous system are not well known. In this study, we investigated the effects of betaine on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced memory impairment and on mRNA expression levels of proinflammatory molecules, glial markers, and GABA transporter 2 (GAT2), a betaine/GABA transporter.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice were continuously treated with betaine for 13 days starting 1 day before they were injected with LPS, or received subacute or acute administration of betaine shortly before or after LPS injection. Then, their memory function was evaluated using Y-maze and novel object recognition tests 7 and 10-12 days after LPS injection (30 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), respectively. In addition, mRNA expression levels in hippocampus were measured by real-time RT-PCR at different time points.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Repeated administration of betaine (0.163 mmol/kg, s.c.) prevented LPS-induced memory impairment. GAT2 mRNA levels were significantly increased in hippocampus 24 hr after LPS injection, and administration of betaine blocked this increase. However, betaine did not affect LPS-induced increases in levels of mRNA related to inflammatory responses. Both subacute administration (1 hr before, and 1 and 24 hr after LPS injection) and acute administration (1 hr after LPS injection) of betaine also prevented LPS-induced memory impairment in the Y-maze test.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data suggest that betaine has protective effects against LPS-induced memory impairment and that prevention of LPS-induced changes in GAT2 mRNA expression is crucial to this ameliorating effect.</p

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work

Bringing People Back into Public Health Data: Community Feedback on a Set of Visualization Tools - Summary Report

This course-based study is a product of the University of Denver’s Spring 2022 The Social Determination of Health (ANTH 2424) class. The study aimed to understand how well a set of public health visualization tools tells the data stories about people in Colorado, and about important public health problems. For this, a team of almost sixty undergraduate students taking the class, coordinated by three graduate teaching assistants, and directed by the course instructor interviewed a total of fifty-six people from Colorado, qualitatively analyzed those interviews, and wrote reports that draw conclusions and recommendations

The current state of Nursing Informatics - an international cross-sectional survey

An international survey to explore current and future trends in Nursing Informatics (NI) was done in 2015. This article explores responses to questions about: what should be done to further develop NI as an independent discipline; existing policies and standards influencing NI; perceived support towards NI as a discipline; and advice from NI specialists to students and emerging professionals.Nurse and allied health professionals in academia and practice were reached with snowball sampling. Open-ended questions were analysed with thematic content analysis and the mean and standard deviation is reported for the perceived support towards NI (scale ranging from 1 (not at all supportive) to 10 (very supportive)).A total of 507 respondents from 46 countries responded to the survey. Respondents reported mediocre support towards NI from the environment (M 5.79, SD 2.60). Results showed that NI education needs development to better meet practice demands, that current NI resources seem insufficient, that NI expertise is not used to its full potential in health institutions and the community, and that NI needs to show its value through research and increase visibility to be recognised among stakeholders worldwide.In conclusion, there is a need to clarify NI as a discipline and a need for strong leadership to impact policy making. An increase in NI teaching at undergraduate level in nursing as well as an increase in postgraduate NI programmes worldwide would better support practice demands. National policies and international white papers in NI are needed to guide resource distribution to better support practice.</p

Implementing the sterile insect technique with RNA interference – a review

RNA interference (RNAi) of insect pests is reviewed and its potential for implementing Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)-related control is considered. The molecular mechanisms that support RNAi in pest species are reviewed in detail, drawing on literature from a range of species including Drosophila melanogaster and Homo sapiens. The underlying genes that enable RNAi are generally conserved across taxa, although variance exists in both their form and function. RNAi represents a plausible, non-GM system for targeting populations of insects for control purposes, if RNA interference (RNAi) effector molecules can be delivered environmentally (eRNAi). We consider studies of eRNAi from across several insect orders and review to what extent taxonomy, genetics and differing methods of double stranded (ds)RNA synthesis and delivery can influence the efficiency of gene knockdown. Several factors, including the secondary structure of the target mRNA and the specific nucleotide sequence of dsRNA effector molecules, can affect the potency of eRNAi. However, taxonomic relationships between insects cannot be used to reliably forecast the efficiency of an eRNAi response. The mechanisms by which insects acquire dsRNA from their environment require further research, but the evidence to date suggests that endocytosis and transport channels both play key roles. Delivery of RNA molecules packaged in intermediary carriers such as bacteria or nanoparticles may facilitate their entry into and through the gut, and enable the evasion of host defense systems, such as toxic pH, that would otherwise attenuate the potential for RNAi

Nurses and Midwives in the Digital Age

This follow-up survey on trends in Nursing Informatics (NI) was conducted by the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Student and Emerging Professionals (SEP) group as a cross-sectional study in 2019. There were 455 responses from 24 countries. Based on the findings NI research is evolving rapidly. Current ten most common trends include: clinical quality measures, clinical decision support, big data, artificial intelligence, care coordination, education and competencies, patient safety, mobile health, description of nursing practices and evaluation of patient outcomes. The findings help support the efforts to efficiently use resources in the promotion of health care activities, to support the development of informatics education and to grow NI as a profession.</p

A systematic review of clinical trials of pharmacological interventions for acute ischaemic stroke (1955-2008) that were completed, but not published in full

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We assessed the prevalence, and potential impact of, trials of pharmacological agents for acute stroke that were completed but not published in full. Failure to publish trial data is to be deprecated as it sets aside the altruism of participants' consent to be exposed to the risks of experimental interventions, potentially biases the assessment of the effects of therapies, and may lead to premature discontinuation of research into promising treatments.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group's Specialised Register of Trials in June 2008 for completed trials of pharmacological interventions for acute ischaemic stroke, and searched MEDLINE and EMBASE (January 2007 - March 2009) for references to recent full publications. We assessed trial completion status from trial reports, online trials registers and correspondence with experts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 940 trials. Of these, 125 (19.6%, 95% confidence interval 16.5-22.6) were completed but not published in full by the point prevalence date. They included 16,058 participants (16 trials had over 300 participants each) and tested 89 different interventions. Twenty-two trials with a total of 4,251 participants reported the number of deaths. In these trials, 636/4251 (15.0%) died.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that, at the point prevalence date, a substantial body of evidence that was of relevance both to clinical practice in acute stroke and future research in the field was not published in full. Over 16,000 patients had given informed consent and were exposed to the risks of therapy. Responsibility for non-publication lies with investigators, but pharmaceutical companies, research ethics committees, journals and governments can all encourage the timely publication of trial data.</p