“Everything Will Be as It Is Now, Just a Little Different”: Affectively Imagining Alternative Worlds in Ben Lerner’s \u3ci\u3e10:04\u3c/i\u3e

One of the most crucial concerns of cultural criticism today is the question of how to grapple with what Mark Fisher refers to as the “malaise” of the present; the pervasive belief that capitalism is the only viable option, that there is no alternative ‘other.’ However, there remains a vibrant scholarship committed to resisting such pessimism that theorizes the possibility of alternative, utopian futures that lie athwart the apocalyptic present. This thesis explores the question of how one begins to imagine such alternative futures from within a capitalist order that constantly works to pre-emptively subsume any possibilities of resistance. Art and fiction specifically play a vital role in this conversation; Ben Lerner’s 10:04 goes beyond dominant modes of resistance by exploring the ‘revolutionary’ possibilities of aesthetic resistance. The novel’s nameless narrator experiences various aesthetic moments in which crises—both punctual and durative—open up a space in which he is able to articulate affective dispositions which make visible the glimmers of alternatives amidst the heterotemporal present. It is a confrontation with shame specifically that allows the narrator to affectively register the apocalyptic state of the present. Shame is registered first as an instantaneous experience that alters one’s perception of the world, and then as a quotidian process of reflection and resistance. Various modes of art liberated from market logic and commodification within 10:04 illuminate the overlap of apocalypse and utopia, evoking in the narrator the euphoric possibility of alternative futures where “everything will be as it is now, just a little different.” Finally, the narrator (and/as Lerner) reveals through his artistic decision to write his/this novel, 10:04, that responding meaningfully to a capitalist order is not necessarily radicalization, but a change in perception that enables the imagining of alternative futures beyond capitalism

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 936: Accessibility of Electronic Textbooks

The economic and social consequences of the lack of access to technology for students in the Commonwealth of Virginia are real and significant. This report provides a legislative racial impact analysis of House Bill (HB) 936, a proposed bill in the Virginia General Assembly, prohibiting school boards from making electronic textbooks available for students, unless the school board adopts a plan to ensure that e-textbooks are available on or before July 1, 2017. The bill focuses solely on developing a plan for installing prior to implementing electronic textbooks in K-12 classrooms. Electronic textbooks are important as they offer updated content, ease of accessibility, multimedia features to enhance the learning experience, and the ability for educators to customize learning. Delegating this decision to each local school board in Virginia raises important potential racial implications, including the digital divide. Previous research suggests a correlation between the number of students receiving free and reduced lunch and the lack of availability of electronic textbooks. Districts with high rates of students on free and reduced lunch have a high population of minority students. This analysis provides maps that capture the trends on the probability of providing electronic textbooks for high minority areas across the state. The primary recommendation is to advance policy approaches that make electronic textbooks available to all K‐12 students in the Commonwealth of Virginia

JustRun - Social GPS Running Game

With advances in technology allowing people to live more sedentary lives, more and more people are struggling to live a healthy active lifestyle. In the efforts to combat unhealthy styles of living, we wish to introduce a mobile app that takes advantage of motivational game mechanics to motivate players will make go on runs regularly

Creative Methods for Improving Health Literacy in Underserved Communities

In 2003, Recovery Café was founded with the goal of providing long-term recovery support to those in the margins, including those experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges (Recovery Café, 2022). Recovery Café provides members with the support needed to gain and maintain access to housing, social and health services, healthy relationships, education, and employment (Recovery Café, 2022). Recovery Café provides this support by offering a safe space, with nutritious meals, fostering a loving community, and providing resources such as educational opportunities, 12-step meetings, and referral services (Recovery Café, 2022). In 2022, the Seattle Pacific University Lydia Green Nursing Program partnered with Recovery Café to determine and fulfill an unmet need of the organization and its members. After visiting Recovery Café and completing a windshield survey, the undergraduate nursing students determined a need for health information, presented in an appealing and accessible way. To address this need, a collection of double-sided educational sheets, with a word search puzzle on the front and information on the back, were created on the following topics: COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis. These sheets were designed to provide an educational resource about relevant health topics that is creative, fun, and utilizes easy readability and inclusive language. Background Health literacy refers to the ability of people to access, understand, and use information to make decisions related to their health (Castro-Sanchez et al., 2016). It has been estimated that a third of adults in the United States are considered low level in terms of health literacy, with prevalence in the populations of older adults, those with low income, and those with low education level (Netemeyer et al., 2019). Consequently, low health literacy levels are associated with poorer health outcomes, including increased use of emergency services, lower adherence to health protocols, and inaccurate assessments of disease risk (Netemeyer et al., 2019). Unfortunately, public health entities do not always take health literacy levels into consideration when developing and dispersing complex public health information to communities. In the process of determining community health needs at Recovery Café, it was found that 69% of members at the café were experiencing homelessness in 2020, while 87% of members had experienced homelessness sometime in the past (“2019-20 Annual Report”, 2021). A vast majority of members also possessed education and reading levels lower than the high-school level. These demographic statistics speak to the income and education level of members at Recovery Café, demonstrating how health literacy levels may be low as well. Considering the health literacy level of this community and the subsequent need for improved accessibility to appropriate public health information, the nursing students created digestible health education fact sheets with activities to increase understanding. Activities Studies have shown that crossword and word search puzzles are effective self-learning tools that can reinforce previously acquired knowledge (Nirmal et al., 2020). Utilizing this study, the team developed six educational fact sheets focused on community health needs with corresponding word search puzzles. The primary goal of the word search puzzles was to increase engagement with health material and increase information retention. Community health needs were determined through interviewing Recovery Café members and staff, leading students to focus on COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis. Each fact sheet provides essential health information and resources for the Recovery Café members, while the corresponding word search reinforces the material. The primary nursing diagnosis associated with the Recovery Café population was deficient knowledge of health topics. The team utilized up-to-date and peer-reviewed information to create our health sheets to increase health literacy in this population. The educational level of Recovery Café members also led to the decision to refine health information and present it so that any member, regardless of literacy level, could comprehend the information. The health education word searches were placed alongside the coloring sheets and community resources on the main activity table of Recovery Café. This puzzle-based learning engages the members of Recovery Café in the fact sheet\u27s material, thereby increasing their competence with the topic and their ability to retain the material (Nirmal et al., 2020). Outcomes The project’s first outcome goal was to educate the members of Recovery Café about different health concerns (e.g., COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis). A limitation was that there are many health concerns at Recovery Café that need to be addressed. To address this limitation, each group member focused on a specific health problem so that education could be provided on as many topics as possible. The next outcome goal was to create fact sheets that improve the health literacy among the members. A limitation to this goal was that most members at the Recovery Café read between 5th to 8th grade levels. To avoid these limitations, everyone took medical terms and simplified them as much as possible, and gave definitions within the word searches on words that might be harder to understand. The last outcome goal was to provide an incentive or an activity to keep the members engaged and want to learn more about these health concerns. A limitation was finding an activity that will encourage members to pick up the fact sheets and keep their interest. Avoiding this limitation was quite difficult, but since the Recovery Café has coloring nights, karaoke nights, and other engaging activities available, the team decided that a word search with the fact sheets might be the best way to keep the members engaged. However, due to time constraints, these are the desired outcomes, and the team will not be able to evaluate whether they have been met. Conclusion In conclusion, the student\u27s mission was to meet with the individuals at Recovery Café and discover what nursing students could do to provide the organization with the help that they might need. Learning about the history of this community center encouraged students to become more engaged in terms of figuring out some new methods to further provide for this community. The population at Recovery Café described a need for health education in a way that members can easily understand. This includes topics such as COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis. The idea of creating word search puzzles and fact sheets adequately demonstrates the main information these individuals need to know. Taking into consideration their education level and condition, the team made sure to create pieces of information that would make sense to them, are appealing to the eye, and would encourage them to become more engaged in learning more about these health topics. This method will further improve their knowledge deficit regarding topics that are important for them to be wary about and improve overall health literacy. References American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Help with insulin is a phone call away. https://insulinhelp.org/ Banta-Green, C., Kuszler, P., Coffin, P., & Schoeppe, J. (2011). Washington’s 911 Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Law - Initial Evaluation Results. Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington. http://adai.uw.edu/pubs/infobriefs/ADAI-IB-2011-05.pdf Carusone, S. C., Guta, A., Robinson, S., Tan, D. H., Cooper, C., O’Leary, B., Prinse, K. D., Cobb, G., Upshur, R., & Strike, C. (2019). Maybe if I stop the drugs, then maybe they’d care? —hospital care experiences of people who use drugs. Harm Reduction Journal, 16(1). https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-019-0285-7#citeas Castro-Sánchez, E., Chang, P. W. S., Vila-Candel, R., Escobedo, A. A., & Holmes, A. H. (2016). Health Literacy and Infectious Diseases: Why does it matter? International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 43, 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2015.12.019 Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (March 25, 2022). COVID-19 information for specific groups of people. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra- precautions/index.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (April 15, 2022). Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2020, September 9). Hepatitis B vaccines. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/hepatitis-b-vaccine.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (Feb 25, 2022). How to protect yourself & others. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (July 14, 2021). How COVID-19 Spreads. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid- spreads.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2021, November 18). Key facts about seasonal flu vaccine.https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm#:~:text=to%2060%20percent.-,Flu%20vaccination%20has%20been%20shown%20in%20several%20studies%20to%20reduce,to%20those%20who%20were%20unvaccinated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, April 12). STD Facts - HIV/AIDS & stds. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/std/hiv/stdfact-std-hiv.htm Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (March 22, 2022). Symptoms of COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2021, August 6). Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) Vaccine: What You Need to Know. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/tdap.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, September 27). Viral Hepatitis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/index.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, July 28). What is Viral Hepatitis? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/abc/index.htm Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (March 22, 2022). What to do if you are sick. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2022, April 27). Why get a covid-19 vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html Country Doctor Community Health Centers. (2021). Country Doctor Community Clinic. https://cdchc.org/clinic/country-doctor/ Country Doctor Community Health Centers. (2021). After Hours Clinic. https://cdchc.org/clinic/after-hours-clinic/ Goyal, R., & Jialal, I. (2021, September 28). Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. National Library of Medicine: StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513253/ Hawk, M., Coulter, R. W., Egan, J. E., Fisk, S., Reuel Friedman, M., Tula, M., & Kinsky, S. (2017). Harm reduction principles for healthcare settings. Harm Reduction Journal, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-017-0196-4 HealthPoint. (2022). Evergreen. https://www.healthpointchc.org/find-clinics/evergreen-campus HealthPoint. (2022). Cynthia A. Green family center. https://www.healthpointchc.org/find-clinics/cynthia-a-green-family-center Hinkle, J. L., Cheever, K. K. (2018). Assessment and management of patients with hepatic disorders. Lippincott’s CoursePoint for Hinkle & Cheever: Brunner & Suddarth’s Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, 14, 1377-1426. Koepsel, E. R. (2016). The power in pleasure: Practical implementation of pleasure in sex education classrooms. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 11(3), 205–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2016.1209451 Naisteter, M. A., & Sitron, J. A. (2010). Minimizing harm and maximizing pleasure: Considering the harm reduction paradigm for sexuality education. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 5(2), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2010.491046 Netemeyer, R. G., Dobolyi, D. G., Abbasi, A., Clifford, G., & Taylor, H. (2019). Health Literacy, health numeracy, and trust in doctor: Effects on key patient health outcomes. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 54(1), 3–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12267 Nirmal, L., Muthu, M., & Prasad, M. (2020). Use of Puzzles as an Effective Teaching-Learning Method for Dental Undergraduates. International Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, 13(6), 606–10. https://dx.doi.org/10.5005%2Fjp-journals-10005-1834 Miller, L. (2022, April 19). Drug overdose symptoms: What happens when you overdose. American Addiction Centers. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/overdose Our World In Data. (May 3, 2022). Cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer? facet=none&uniformYAxis=0&Metric=Confirmed+cases&Interval=Cumulative&Relative+to+Population=false&Color+by+test+positivity=false&country=~USA Recovery Café. (2021, January 6). 2019-20 annual report. Recovery Café. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://recoverycafe.org/blog/rc_report/2019-20-annual-report/ Recovery Café. (2022). History/About. Recovery Café. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://recoverycafe.org/about/history/ Washington State Department of Health. (n.d.). Overdose education and Naloxone distribution. https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/drug-user-health/overdose-education-naloxone-distributio

Creative Methods for Improving Health Literacy in Underserved Communities

Creative Methods for Improving Health Literacy in Underserved Communities In 2003, Recovery Café was founded with the goal of providing long-term recovery support to those in the margins, including those experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges (Recovery Café, 2022). Recovery Café provides members with the support needed to gain and maintain access to housing, social and health services, healthy relationships, education, and employment (Recovery Café, 2022). Recovery Café provides this support by offering a safe space, with nutritious meals, fostering a loving community, and providing resources such as educational opportunities, 12-step meetings, and referral services (Recovery Café, 2022). In 2022, the Seattle Pacific University Lydia Green Nursing Program partnered with Recovery Café to determine and fulfill an unmet need of the organization and its members. After visiting Recovery Café and completing a windshield survey, the undergraduate nursing students determined a need for health information, presented in an appealing and accessible way. To address this need, a collection of double-sided educational sheets with a word search puzzle on the front and information on the back, were created on the following topics: COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis. These sheets were designed to provide an educational resource about relevant health topics that is creative, fun, and utilizes easy readability and inclusive language. Background Health literacy refers to the ability of people to access, understand, and use information to make decisions related to their health (Castro-Sanchez et al., 2016). It has been estimated that a third of adults in the United States are considered low level in terms of health literacy, with prevalence in the populations of older adults, those with low income, and those with low education level (Netemeyer et al., 2019). Consequently, low health literacy levels are associated with poorer health outcomes, including increased use of emergency services, lower adherence to health protocols, and inaccurate assessments of disease risk (Netemeyer et al., 2019). Unfortunately, public health entities do not always take health literacy levels into consideration when developing and dispersing complex public health information to communities. In the process of determining community health needs at Recovery Café, it was found that 69% of members at the café were experiencing homelessness in 2020, while 87% of members had experienced homelessness sometime in the past (“2019-20 Annual Report”, 2021). A vast majority of members also possessed education and reading levels lower than the high-school level. These demographic statistics speak to the income and education level of members at Recovery Café, demonstrating how health literacy levels may be low as well. Considering the health literacy level of this community and the subsequent need for improved accessibility to appropriate public health information, the nursing students created digestible health education fact sheets with activities to increase understanding. Activities Studies have shown that crossword and word search puzzles are effective self-learning tools that can reinforce previously acquired knowledge (Nirmal et al., 2020). Utilizing this study, the team developed six educational fact sheets focused on community health needs with corresponding word search puzzles. The primary goal of the word search puzzles was to increase engagement with health material and increase information retention. Community health needs were determined through interviewing Recovery Café members and staff, leading the students to focus on COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis. Each fact sheet provides essential health information and resources for the Recovery Café members, while the corresponding word search reinforces the material. The primary nursing diagnosis associated with the Recovery Café population was deficient knowledge of health topics. The team utilized up-to-date and peer-reviewed information to create our health sheets to increase health literacy in this population. The educational level of Recovery Café members also led to the decision to refine our health information and present it so that any member, regardless of literacy level, could comprehend the information. The health education word searches were placed alongside the coloring sheets and community resources on the main activity table of Recovery Café. This puzzle-based learning engages the members of Recovery Café in the fact sheet\u27s material, thereby increasing their competence with the topic and their ability to retain the material (Nirmal et al., 2020). Outcomes The project’s first outcome goal was to educate the members of Recovery Café about different health concerns (e.g., COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis). A limitation was that there are many health concerns at Recovery Café that need to be addressed. To address this limitation, each group member focused on a specific health problem so that education could be provided on as many topics as possible. The next outcome goal was to create fact sheets that improve the health literacy among the members. A limitation to this goal was that most members at the Recovery Café read between 5th to 8th grade levels. To avoid these limitations, the students took medical terms and simplified them as much as possible and gave definitions within the word searches on words that might be harder to understand. The last outcome goal was to provide an incentive or an activity to keep the members engaged and want to learn more about these health concerns. A limitation was finding an activity that will encourage members to pick up the fact sheets and keep their interest. Avoiding this limitation was quite difficult, but since the Recovery Café has coloring nights, karaoke nights and other engaging activities available, the team decided that a word search with the fact sheets might be the best way to keep the members engaged. However, due to time constraints, these are the desired outcomes, and the team will not be able to evaluate whether they have been met. Conclusion In conclusion, the mission was to meet with the individuals at Recovery Café and discover what nursing students could do to provide them with the help that they might need. Learning about the history of this community center encouraged us to become more engaged in terms of figuring out some new methods to further provide for this community. The population at Recovery Café described a need for health education in a way that members can easily understand. This includes topics such as COVID-19, drug overdose prevention, sexual health, Type 2 Diabetes, vaccinations, and Hepatitis. Our idea of creating word search puzzles and fact sheets adequately demonstrates the main information these individuals need to know. Taking into consideration their education level and condition, the students made sure to create pieces of information that would make sense to them, is appealing to the eye, and would encourage them to become more engaged in learning more about these health topics. This method will further improve their knowledge deficit regarding topics that are important for them to be wary about and improve overall health literacy. References American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Help with insulin is a phone call away. https://insulinhelp.org/ Banta-Green, C., Kuszler, P., Coffin, P., & Schoeppe, J. (2011). Washington’s 911 Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Law - Initial Evaluation Results. Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington. http://adai.uw.edu/pubs/infobriefs/ADAI-IB-2011- 05.pdf Carusone, S. C., Guta, A., Robinson, S., Tan, D. H., Cooper, C., O’Leary, B., Prinse, K. D., Cobb, G., Upshur, R., & Strike, C. (2019). Maybe if I stop the drugs, then maybe they’d care? —hospital care experiences of people who use drugs. Harm Reduction Journal, 16(1). https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-019- 0285-7#citeas Castro-Sánchez, E., Chang, P. W. S., Vila-Candel, R., Escobedo, A. A., & Holmes, A. H. (2016). Health Literacy and Infectious Diseases: Why does it matter? International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 43, 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2015.12.019 Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (March 25, 2022). COVID-19 information for specific groups of people. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra- precautions/index.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (April 15, 2022). Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2020, September 9). Hepatitis B vaccines. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/hepatitis-b-vaccine.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (Feb 25, 2022). How to protect yourself & others. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (July 14, 2021). How COVID-19 Spreads. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid- spreads.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2021, November 18). Key facts about seasonal flu vaccine.https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm#:~:text=to%2060%20percent.- ,Flu%20vaccination%20has%20been%20shown%20in%20several%20studies%20to%20 reduce,to%20those%20who%20were%20unvaccinated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, April 12). STD Facts - HIV/AIDS & stds. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/std/hiv/stdfact-std-hiv.htm Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (March 22, 2022). Symptoms of COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2021, August 6). Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) Vaccine: What You Need to Know. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis- statements/tdap.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, September 27). Viral Hepatitis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/index.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, July 28). What is Viral Hepatitis? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/abc/index.htm Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (March 22, 2022). What to do if you are sick. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2022, April 27). Why get a covid-19 vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html Country Doctor Community Health Centers. (2021). Country Doctor Community Clinic. https://cdchc.org/clinic/country-doctor/ Country Doctor Community Health Centers. (2021). After Hours Clinic. https://cdchc.org/clinic/after-hours-clinic/ Goyal, R., & Jialal, I. (2021, September 28). Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. National Library of Medicine: StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513253/ Hawk, M., Coulter, R. W., Egan, J. E., Fisk, S., Reuel Friedman, M., Tula, M., & Kinsky, S. (2017). Harm reduction principles for healthcare settings. Harm Reduction Journal, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-017-0196-4 HealthPoint. (2022). Evergreen. https://www.healthpointchc.org/find-clinics/evergreen-campus HealthPoint. (2022). Cynthia A. Green family center. https://www.healthpointchc.org/find- clinics/cynthia-a-green-family-center Hinkle, J. L., Cheever, K. K. (2018). Assessment and management of patients with hepatic disorders. Lippincott’s CoursePoint for Hinkle & Cheever: Brunner & Suddarth’s Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, 14, 1377-1426. Koepsel, E. R. (2016). The power in pleasure: Practical implementation of pleasure in sex education classrooms. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 11(3), 205–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2016.1209451 Naisteter, M. A., & Sitron, J. A. (2010). Minimizing harm and maximizing pleasure: Considering the harm reduction paradigm for sexuality education. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 5(2), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2010.491046 Netemeyer, R. G., Dobolyi, D. G., Abbasi, A., Clifford, G., & Taylor, H. (2019). Health Literacy, health numeracy, and trust in doctor: Effects on key patient health outcomes. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 54(1), 3–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12267 Nirmal, L., Muthu, M., & Prasad, M. (2020). Use of Puzzles as an Effective Teaching-Learning Method for Dental Undergraduates. International Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, 13(6), 606–10. https://dx.doi.org/10.5005%2Fjp-journals-10005-1834 Miller, L. (2022, April 19). Drug overdose symptoms: What happens when you overdose. American Addiction Centers. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/overdose Our World In Data. (May 3, 2022). Cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer? facet=none&uniformYAxis=0&Metric=Confirmed+cases&Interval=Cumulative &Relative+to+Population=false&Color+by+test+positivity=false&country=~USA Recovery Café. (2021, January 6). 2019-20 annual report. Recovery Café. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://recoverycafe.org/blog/rc_report/2019-20-annual-report/ Recovery Café. (2022). History/About. Recovery Café. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://recoverycafe.org/about/history/ Washington State Department of Health. (n.d.). Overdose education and Naloxone distribution. https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/drug-user-health/overdose-education-naloxone- distributio

A clinical, biological, and biomaterials perspective into tendon injuries and regeneration

Tendon injury is common and debilitating, and it is associated with long-term pain and ineffective healing. It is estimated to afflict 25% of the adult population and is often a career-ending disease in athletes and racehorses. Tendon injury is associated with high morbidity, pain, and long-term suffering for the patient. Due to the low cellularity and vascularity of tendon tissue, once damage has occurred, the repair process is slow and inefficient, resulting in mechanically, structurally, and functionally inferior tissue. Current treatment options focus on pain management, often being palliative and temporary and ending in reduced function. Most treatments available do not address the underlying cause of the disease and, as such, are often ineffective with variable results. The need for an advanced therapeutic that addresses the underlying pathology is evident. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is an emerging field that is aimed at stimulating the body's own repair system to produce de novo tissue through the use of factors such as cells, proteins, and genes that are delivered by a biomaterial scaffold. Successful tissue engineering strategies for tendon regeneration should be built on a foundation of understanding of the molecular and cellular composition of healthy compared with damaged tendon, and the inherent differences seen in the tissue after disease. This article presents a comprehensive clinical, biological, and biomaterials insight into tendon tissue engineering and regeneration toward more advanced therapeutics

Preventing Needle Stick Injuries: A Quality Improvement Project

Needlestick injuries (NSI) affect approximately 1,000 people per day across U.S. hospitals. Needlestick injuries cost an estimated $3,042 per victim annually, according to the report. The costs go toward laboratory fees for testing exposed employees, associated labor and counseling and post-exposure follow-ups. (Beckner\u27s Clinical Leadership & Infection Control, 2020). It was noted at an urban teaching hospital that needlestick injuries are an issue. Researchers believe this number is an underestimate of the actual amount of needle stick injuries. The purpose is to increase the education of staff nurses on the topic of needle stick injuries. We thoroughly reviewed 56 studies to gather information for preventing needlestick injuries. 15 studies were cross sectional, 1 was methodological, 5 were meta-analyses, 6 were experimental, 3 correlational, 7 were descriptive, 1 was a prospective survey, 1 retrospective analysis, 1 systematic literature review, 4 exploratory, 7 phenomenological, 5 quasi-experimental. Common themes identified were nurses are the most likely to have needlesticks out of healthcare workers, education and training was the prevention strategy most likely to prevent needlesticks, safety devices once educated on decreased needlesticks, most common factor that causes this is burnout and stress, most are not reported so the actual number is underreported, and the need to get tested for disease transmission after.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2021/1034/thumbnail.jp

Esculin hydrolysis negative and TcdA-only producing strains of Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile from the environment in Western Australia

Background and Aims: Clostridium (Clostridiodes) difficile clade 3 ribotype (RT) 023 strains that fail to produce black colonies on bioMérieux ChromID agar have been reported, as well as variant strains of C. difficile that produce only toxin A. We have recently isolated strains of C. difficile from the environment in Western Australia (WA) with similar characteristics. The objective of this study was to characterize these strains. It was hypothesized that a putative β-glucosidase gene was lacking in these strains of C. difficile, including RT 023, leading to white colonies. Methods and Results: A total of 17 environmental isolates of C. difficile from garden soil and compost, and gardening shoe soles in Perth, WA, failed to produce black colonies on ChromID agar. MALDI-TOF MS analysis confirmed these strains as C. difficile. Four strains contained only a tcdA gene (A+B−CDT−) by PCR and were a novel RT (QX 597). All isolates were susceptible to all antimicrobials tested except one with low-level resistance to clindamycin (MIC = 8 mg/L). The four tcdA-positive strains were motile. All isolates contained neither bgl locus but only bgl K or a putative β-glucosidase gene by PCR. Whole-genome sequencing showed the 17 strains belonged to novel multi-locus sequence types 632, 848, 849, 850, 851, 852 and 853, part of the evolutionarily divergent clade C-III. Four isolates carried a full-length tcdA but not tcdB nor binary toxin genes. Conclusions: ChromID C. difficile agar is used for the specific detection of C. difficile in the samples. To date, all strains except RT 023 strains from clinical samples hydrolyse esculin. This is the first report to provide insights into the identification of esculin hydrolysis negative and TcdA-only producing (A+B−CDT−) strains of C. difficile from environmental samples. Significance and Impact of the Study: White colonies of C. difficile from environmental samples could be overlooked when using ChromID C. difficile agar, leading to false-negative results, however, whether these strains are truly pathogenic remains to be proven

A direct comparison of linear and star-shaped poly(dimethylaminoethyl acrylate) polymers for polyplexation with DNA and cytotoxicity in cultured cell lines

Poly[2-(Dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate] (PDMAEA) based polymers have been studied as potential gene delivery system. However, few reports emerging in literature suggesting that star-shaped PDMAEA based polymers are performing better in polyplexation with DNA, cytotoxicity and transfection, as compared to linear counterparts. Nonetheless, little evidences exist on direct comparison between the linear and star-shaped polymer structures. To address this, a series of new star-shaped PDMAEA polymers with linear counterparts were synthesised and directly compared their polyplexation with DNA and cytotoxicity in culture cell lines. The star-shaped PDMAEA polymers were synthesised using pentaerythritol tetrakis [2-(dodecylthiocarbonothioylthio)-2-methylpropionate] (4-arm DDMAT) RAFT agent in a “core-first” approach, whereas 2-(dodecylthiocarbonothioylthio)-2-methylpropionate was used to synthesise linear PDMAEA polymers. In order to investigate the effect of molar mass, both star-shaped and linear PDMAEA were synthesised in low (10kDa) and high (20kDa) molar mass. It must be noted here that the overall molar mass of the star-shaped polymer was equal to that of the linear counterparts. Interestingly, we found that the star-shaped polymer has slightly smaller hydrodynamic diameter (more compact) relative to linear counterparts, and importantly, star-shaped PDMAEA binds to DNA at much lower nitrogen to phosphate ratio (N/P ratio). However, the cytotoxicity studies in cultured 3T3 murine cell lines demonstrated that both star-shaped and linear counterparts have no toxicity at low 10kDa, but significantly toxic at higher 20kDa molar mass, this finding confirmed that the molar mass of PDMAEA play a key role in cytotoxicity effect, not variable polymer structures. Taken together, star-shaped PDMAEA binds more effectively to DNA than linear counterparts and showed no toxicity at 10kDa molar mass at variable polymer concentrations