Perspectives on Traceability and BSE Testing in the U.S. Beef Industry

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

A Collection and Analysis of Local Middle Grade Math Projects for the Common Core

The State of Utah has changed the mathematics core curriculum several times over the past decade. The latest change was the adoption of the Common Core State Standards introducing both grade level content standards and standards of mathematical practice that emphasize how students are to study and reason with mathematics at all grade levels. According to state officials, these standards require more mathematical reasoning, problem solving, and deeper understanding than previous core curriculum documents. One way to address this change is for teachers to educate using projects during their instruction as unit starters, daily lessons, and for evaluation purposes. Yet finding instructional materials takes considerable time and effort; hence, I have gathered, analyzed, and classified several projects teachers currently use in their classrooms according to the Common Core State Standards and presented them here in this report. This report contains five projects that cover different mathematical components of the new core. The Invention Project is a statistics lesson comprised of a student survey along with several types of statistical follow-up questions that allow students to represent, display and interpret data. The Dilation project is an application based on dilating a greeting card with a scale factor by using proportions and similar figures. The Interior and Exterior Angles Project leads students to find the sum of interior and exterior angles of convex polygons after students have learned the Triangle Sum Theorem. The Celebrity Project uses an applet to show lines of best fit, and then engages the students in creating their own data of ordered pairs in a scatterplot, once the data is obtained students learn the procedure for generating a regression line. The Kite Flying Project allows for multiple learning levels as students pursue the Pythagorean Theorem with a hands-on approach. Materials for project implementation such as student task sheets, scoring rubrics, and the alignment with Common Core State Standards are included in this report

Let’s Talk about Weight Bias Attitudes among Future Health Professionals

Weight bias has been linked with obesity epidemic and other weight-related concerns such as eating disorders in our society. Previous studies have found that healthcare providers such as medical doctors, nurses, and dieticians showed stigmatizing attitudes toward patients who are categorized as overweight or obese individuals. Due to those professionals’ negative attitudes toward the particular vulnerable population, patients expressed lack of willingness to seek out for help or students experienced negative psychological states. To find needs of weight bias training for undergraduate students in health education and related fields, we investigated weight bias attitudes among undergraduate students in the rocky mountain area. A cross-sectional design using the Photographic Figure Rating Scale and the Anti-fat Attitudes Scale (AFA) was conducted to examine students’ body perceptions toward their own body weight and others and also explicit weight bias attitudes. Following the removal of 59 cases with substantial missing data, the sample consisted of 199 participants (61 male, Mage = 25.03, SD = 6.47; 138 women, Mage = 23.17 years, SD = 5.85). One-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine whether career-focused groups such patient care, health education/public health, teaching, and others were associated with negative body perceptions in general. For example, all mean scores of the AFA were higher than previous studies and male mean scores of the AFA subscales (Dislike, Fear of Fat, Willpower) were significantly higher than scores among male participants in the original AFA study (i.e., M = 5.02, SD = 2.74, t(1,58) = 4.13 p \u3c .001). Additionally, there was no gender difference on the AFA scores, which was also unexpected finding compared to the original AFA study. In our study, statistical analyses did not show significant differences between men and women on Dislike and Fear of Fat

Guiding Language Students to Self-Sustained Learning

This portfolio is a compilation of written pieces which express the author’s beliefs about excellence in second language teaching. The views expressed here have been shaped by the author’s personal experience and by his time in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program and are supported by relevant research throughout. This portfolio contains three sections: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) annotated bibliographies. The teaching perspective section is centered on the author’s teaching philosophy, which emphasizes communication in the target language, classroom community, and student motivation. The second section consists of three research papers written over the course of the MSLT program. The final section includes three annotated bibliographies that review research literature regarding student motivation, nonnative vs native teachers, and the teaching of vocabulary

Laboratory evaluation of a novel anaesthesia delivery device

Here, we describe proof of concept of a novel method for delivering volatile anaesthetics, where the liquid anaesthetic (sevoflurane or isoflurane) is formulated into an emulsion that is contained in a compact, lightweight device through which carrier gas flows. Release of anaesthetic is achieved by stirring of the formulation, allowing controlled and responsive release of anaesthetic at a variety of fixed flow rates between 0.5 l.min−1 and 5 l.min−1, with ventilated, non-ventilated and draw-over breathing systems. Anaesthetic release was evaluated using target anaesthetic concentrations ranging from 0.5% v/v to 8% v/v to mimic those typically required for induction and maintenance of anaesthesia, and lower concentrations suitable for sedation. Under all conditions, output could be maintained within 0.1% v/v of the intended setting, and the device could deliver a controlled level of anaesthetic for at least 60 min, with compensation for different ambient temperatures (10–30 °C) and carrier gas flow rates. This device offers a simple, inexpensive method of delivering safe concentrations of volatile anaesthetics for a wide range of applications

Reamer Irrigator Aspirator intraoperative ruler accuracy of femoral isthmus diameter

Introduction: Over the past two decades, bone graft harvest with the Reamer Irrigator Aspirator (RIA) from the femoral canal has grown in popularity. Intra-operative measurement of the femoral canal is taken with a metallic ruler (RIA ruler) in conjunction with C-arm fluoroscopy.Research Question/Hypothesis: Our study aims to evaluate the accuracy of the RIA ruler in judging the femoral canal diameter compared to two other measurements.Study Design: Utilizing 6 fresh frozen human cadavers, each cadaveric femur is imaged in the operative suite in the supine position with C-Arm fluoroscopy. The femoral diameter is then measured with the RIA ruler in AP and lateral plane at all three reference points by multiple surgeons. CT scans of each individual femur were then performed. The cadaveric femurs were then transected at all the guide pins and direct caliper measurements were taken in the AP and Lateral plane.Results: There was no significant difference in mean AP diameter measured by CT canal measurement and Canal Caliper measurement (p=0.6276). Our AP measurements using the RIA ruler were similar to those of both the CT canal and canal caliper (13.000mm vs 12.167mm vs 12.439mm) respectively. Additionally, our lateral measurements were very similar between the RIA ruler and CT canal (14.644mm vs 14.606mm), however lateral RIA ruler measurements were significantly different than the canal caliper method (14.644mm vs 11.947mm).Conclusion: Our results suggest we are able to reliably estimate the femoral canal size near the isthmus with the RIA ruler on both the AP and Lateral images compared to the CT scan measurements

Effects of opioid prescribing laws on drug use in trauma patients

Background: On November 1st, 2018 Oklahoma Bill 1446 went into effect: limiting the total days of initial opioid prescriptions, follow up opioid prescriptions, chronic opioid prescriptions, mandating prescription monitoring program checking, prescribing opioids to minors, and the need to establish drug contracts and urine drug screening of your patients taking opioids. We believe that with the new rigid opioid prescribing laws in Oklahoma and difficult access to prescription pain medications, abandoned pain patients will turn to illicit drugs because of cheap cost and ease of access. We are assessing the illicit drug usage outcomes after a prescribing law going into effect in patients aged 18-65 reported in level II trauma registries.Methods: Data base search of all patients admitted to the trauma service at a level II trauma center from November 1st 2017 to November 1st 2019. We will assess de-identified patient data regarding injury severity score, mechanism of injury, urine drugs screen results, time spent in hospital and emergency department, prehospital prescriptions, emergency department medications, BMI, age, gender, mechanism of injury, surgical services, type and number of procedures performed, and disposition.Results: Currently we are building the search based on the above criteria of the trauma registry. We expect the results to demonstrate that illicit drug usage will rise in trauma patients after Bill 1446 went into effect due to decreased access of prescription opioids. Based on our current study design urine drug screen for opioids alone will not be enough information because many patients transferred into the trauma center may have received prescription opioids prior to arrival at the hospital via EMS or transferring facility. We expect a rise in urine drug screen's positive for illicit drugs. We also expect patients that did test positive for illicit drugs to have longer hospital admissions, higher injury severity scores, more surgeries/procedures required, and worse mechanism of injuries.Conclusions: We believe that with the new rigid opioid prescribing laws in Oklahoma and difficult access to prescription pain medications, many patients will turn to illicit drugs after Bill 1446 went into effect. Our study is aimed to determine how the Opioid Prescribing Laws in Oklahoma affected illicit drug use in trauma patients. The primary goal for implementing the Opioid Prescribing Laws was to combat the Opioid Epidemic across the United States, however we believe law makers may have been too stringent on the implementation of the Opioid Prescribing Laws. We believe our study will help guide politician and law makers in the future when assessing the possible secondary effects of these drugs laws

Prevalence of Deep Surgical Site Infection After Repair of Periarticular Knee Fractures: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Importance Surgical management of periarticular knee fractures can be challenging, and adverse outcomes may be severe. Recent literature indicates that the rate of periarticular knee surgical site infection (SSI) may range from 2% to 88% depending on the fracture site. Objective To examine the prevalence of deep SSI and the rate of septic arthritis after surgical repair of fractures around the knee. Data Sources The electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from their inception to July 1, 2018. Study Selection Eligible studies had to specifically report deep SSI rates and include fractures in the distal femur, patella, tibial plateau, or proximal tibia. Risk factors that were associated with increased the risk of deep SSI were also examined. Data Extraction and Synthesis This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline. Data were extracted by multiple investigators. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software was used for the pooling of data, using either random-effects or fixed-effects models, with respect to the degree of statistical heterogeneity present. Data analyses were conducted in October 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was overall prevalence of deep SSI after periarticular knee fracture repair. The secondary outcomes were the overall prevalence of septic arthritis, risk factors associated with deep SSI, and the most commonly cultured bacteria specimens found periarticular knee infections. Results Of 6928 articles screened, 117 articles met inclusion criteria and were included in analysis. Among 11 432 patients included in analysis, 653 patients (5.7%) experienced deep SSIs, most commonly among patients with proximal tibia fractures (56 of 872 patients [6.4%]). Among studies that included information on septic arthritis, 38 of 1567 patients (2.4%) experienced septic arthritis. The 2 most commonly reported bacteria were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, found in 67 SSIs, and methicillin-susceptible S aureus, found in 53 SSIs. Sixty-two studies (53.0%) in the sample received a Coleman Methodological Score of poor (<50 points). Conclusions and Relevance Deep SSIs occurred in nearly 6% of periarticular knee fracture repairs, and 2.4% of SSIs were associated with septic arthritis. Surgeons managing these injuries should be vigilant when wounds are not pristine. Efforts should be made to elevate the quality of research conducted not only in this subject but also in orthopedic surgery as a whole