Formalized Diabetes Education in a Safety-Net Clinic

Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus in a Hispanic population can be helped through a quality improvement project focused on progressive verbal and written diabetes self-management education (DSME) Purpose of this article is to review the background, an organizational assessment, a literature review, results of the quality improvement project that took place at a safety-net clinic in the Midwest. This project included four patients and data was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Results include improved hemoglobin (Hg) A1c, minimal workflow adjustments for providers, completed microalbumins, and written education given to patients. In conclusion, the quality improvement project showed positive trends in outcome measures over a short period of time. Larger sample size needed over a longer period to assess true impact. Implications from this project include creating a billing consent form for future use and enrolling more patients over a longer period to show a larger benefit. Keywords include safety-net clinic, diabetes mellitus, Spanish, quality improvement

Financial Wellness for Recent College Graduates

This service learning project focused on financial resources that are available to individuals that have no cost or have a minimal cost for the resource. There is a plethora of resources that are available, but it can be difficult or overwhelming to locate those resources, let alone know if they are a reputable resource. My project was to take some of those available resources and create a “one stop shop” for a recent college graduate to access. The webpage has several entries that highlight some of the reputable resources that are available, so new graduates have the ability to start off their careers and next chapters in their lives on the financial right foot

Arnold Transformations as Applied to Data Encryption

As our world becomes increasingly digital, data security becomes key. Data must be encrypted such that it can be easily encrypted only by the intended recipient. Arnold Transformations are a useful tool in this because of its unpredictable periodicity. Our goal is to outline a method for choosing an Arnold Transformation that is both secure and easy to implement. We find the necessary and sufficient condition that a key matrix has periodicity. The chosen key matrix has a random structure, and it has a periodicity that is sufficiently high. We apply this method to several image and data string examples to evaluate its effectiveness

The Problematical, The Cave, and The Maya: A Theoretical Discussion and Ethnoarchaeological Investigation

This project concerns itself with the theoretical framework and application of ethnoarchaeological research methods in the Maya region. Following an in-depth discussion of ethnoarchaeology and its theoretical locus within archaeology as well as the transformations it has seen in recent year, the current work focuses on the following source- and subject-side cultural groups and phenomena: cave use at La Ventana and La Ventana Campana by Maya peoples from the Suchitepéquez and Sololá Department of Guatemala in comparison with Problematical Deposit 21 at Tikal, Petén, Guatemala. The purpose of this work is not only to investigate the case study mentioned above but also to take stock of ethnoarchaeological, ethnographic, and archaeological work in the region and critically assess the potential of ethnoarchaeology in the Maya region

E.T. Phone Home: Can Hollywood\u27s Big Break Include Fixing Environmental Carnage and Human Rights Violations from Co-Productions

With the continuous rise of globalization and the interconnectivity of nations, co-productions are becoming the new “hit” for movies and shows. When two or more foreign nations come together for entertainment purposes, co-productions are formed. How do these nations join forces for “movie magic?” Big brother film commissions, such as the Association of Film Commissioners International and the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production, aid in the facilitation of co-productions. While consumers are unaware of the details and fine-print behind these co-productions, watchers might be surprised to learn that more than one-third of Hollywood’s productions are being produced abroad. Although these co-productions help create authentic and eye-popping storytelling, they come at a non-economic cost. Unfortunately, countries involved in these co-productions are committing environmental and human rights violations. As co-productions become more bountiful, environmental harm comes in the wake of foreign co-productions. Countries such as Iceland, Morocco, and Thailand (commonly known for their captivating landscapes and nature) are being corroded by co-productions aftermath. As proposed in this note, the curtain has not closed quite yet. With the implantation of a new environmental monitoring position or board within film commissions overseers (such as AFCI and Council of Europe), countries and co-productions can work to form a sustainable and nature-friendly production. Another important downfall of co-productions is the human rights violations that are buried beneath the production’s glamorous surface. With varying cultures and societal values, co-productions may lend way to perpetuating filming countries’ harmful norms. In fact, some countries even force these values and twist Hollywood’s hand to film in the desired foreign location. But at what cost should human livelihoods be sidelined? This note scrutinizes some examples of co-productions that looked the other way for their “perfect shot” and exploited natives. To counteract this narrative, this note also proposes a similar integration of a humanitarian overseer(s) in co-productions in quasi-government organizations (such as AFCI). It also proposes the potential for a complete bar on co-producing with countries known to perpetually violate human rights. With these proposed initiatives in action and co-producers on the same page, only then should the “show go on.

Stabilize Chaotic Flows in a Coupled Triple-Loop Thermosyphon System

This study addresses the control of chaotic dynamic systems represented by three coupled Lorenz systems. In application, Lorenz systems are commonly used to describe the one-dimensional motion of fluids in a tube when heated below and cooled above. This system, in particular, reflects the fluid motion in a coupled triple-loop thermosyphon system. The goal is to derive a system of nonlinear differential equations to help us study various flow patterns governed by such a high-dimensional nonlinear model numerically. Once the driving parameter (Rayleigh number) values are identified corresponding to the chaotic regime, a minimal number of proportional controllers are designed that only depend on the measurable states, which serve as perturbations to the system, so that the system trajectories are stabilized at its equilibrium point even though the Rayleigh numbers are significantly large. The stability property of the control system is then investigated over a large range of the parameter values through simulations. Furthermore, the stability bounds on the controller gains obtained via the Lyapunov Stability Theorem are tested for its feasibility in practice

Muscle Oxidative Phenotype in the Progression of Cancer-Cachexia

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death across the world. Cancer-cachexia is a serious complication induced by cancer resulting in whole body muscle wasting and is responsible for up to 40% of cancer related deaths. Underlying mechanisms of cancer-cachexia are not well understood; however, a loss in oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle is apparent in cancer-cachexia. PURPOSE: To examine oxidative phenotype of skeletal muscle in tumor bearing mice during progression of cancer-cachexia. METHODS: Mice were implanted with Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) or sham phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 8 weeks of age. The tumor was allowed to progress for four weeks, with cohorts harvested weekly. Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscle cross sections were stained for Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) to analyze the percent of oxidative muscle fibers and cross-sectional area (CSA) of SDH positive and negative fibers was analyzed. Immunoblotting was utilized to examine markers of mitochondrial content and biogenesis, specifically peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and Cytochrome c oxidase-IV (COX-IV). RESULTS: TA weight was approximately 10% lower in 4 week LLC mice when compared to PBS control mice. In the PBS group, 65% of fibers were SDH positive compared to only 40% SDH positive in 4 week LLC mice with no other differences among groups. COX-IV was significantly reduced in 4 week LLC mice compared to PBS with no other differences among groups. No significant differences in PGC-1α were observed. CONCLUSION: LLC in mice may promote a cellular energy crisis leading to a decrease in skeletal muscle oxidative phenotype. Based on my findings, promoting the oxidative phenotype and hence the mitochondrial network could be a potential therapeutic target to treat cancer-cachexia

HUMAN VS. NON-HUMAN BONE: A NON-DESTRUCTIVE HISTOLOGICAL METHOD

Species identification is one of the first steps in the analysis of bone fragments in both forensic and archaeological contexts. Current methods for human vs. non-human taxa identification include morphoscopic, histological, and DNA analyses in order to determine forensic significance and assess what is present in an assemblage. This study will use an MA1000 AmScope camera microscope to examine the longitudinally fractured surface of cortical bone fragments to gauge if non-destructive taxa identification is possible from fragmentary remains without morphologically identifying features. This method is testing for a notable difference in human vs. bovid vs. cervid endosteal cortical bone without the use of destructive, histological cross-sections. The results of this study show there is a statistically significant association with positive bone identification between taxa, an accuracy measure of 65.6% for all taxonomic groups, 96.2% accuracy of identifying human bone correctly, and 7.9% misidentification of non-human bone as human. Expanding further on these results have implications for both forensic and archaeological contexts as an affordable, non-destructive analysis of fragments of various sizes when morphological identification isn’t possible