Real surface effects on radiative heat transfer

Radiative heat transfer for system of radiatively interacting opaque surfaces separated by radiatively transparent mediu

Improving pediatric delirium prevention to decrease pediatric delirium prevalence in the pediatric intensive care units .

Background: Pediatric delirium has emerged as a common complication of childhood illness in the intensive care setting, with estimated delirium prevalence ranging from 15.9% to 65.6%. Critically ill pediatric patients in the ICU are at risk for pediatric delirium due to modifiable risk factors including mechanical ventilation, sedating medications, physical restraints, and nutrition. In 2019, the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in a Kentucky children’s hospital reported only 18 % of chart audits revealed that physicians activated the physician-directed pediatric ICUs Delirium Prevention and Treatment Order Set (DPTOS) on pediatric patients. A quality improvement (QI) project was developed to identify and correct barriers to compliance with the facility’s revised nurse-directed pediatric ICUs Delirium Prevention Standing Order Set (DPSOS), address gaps in knowledge and practice, and target specific behaviors that may contribute to pediatric delirium in the unit. Purpose: The purpose of this QI project was to decrease the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (PICU/CICU) delirium prevalence through QI activities aimed at the improvement of nursing knowledge and compliance with the pediatric ICU nurse-directed DPSOS. Methodology: For implementing this QI project, Donabedian’s Theoretical Model for Evaluating Healthcare served as the backdrop, while The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)’s Model for Improvement and the Plan-Do-Act-Study (PDSA) approach were utilized to test changes on small scales. Baseline data was established from which rapid cycle PDSA interventions were directed at improving nursing knowledge and compliance with the pediatric ICUs nurse-directed DPSOS. Interventions included administration of a pre-and post-test to nursing staff, educational sessions, and six weeks of audits for compliance with the DPSOS. Measures: Structure, process, and outcome measures were used to evaluate this QI project. Structure measures were nursing knowledge of pediatric delirium using a 10 true/false question pre- and post-test. Average percentage of correctness and percent of change from pre-test to post-test was calculated for each question and average total score. Process measures were percentage of compliance for each element of the DPSOS, mean compliance, and total overall compliance with the nurse-directed pediatric ICU DPSOS. The outcome measure in this QI project was delirium prevalence rates. Delirium prevalence rates and percent of change were measured for three weeks prior to the project and six weeks following revisions to the DPSOS and completion of education. Results: The average score for all participating nurses on the pre-test was 83% and 87% on the post-test with a subsequent improvement in mean scores of 4.8%. Compliance with all seven elements of the order set increased to 62.16% from 59.71% representing a positive percent of change of 4.1%. The percent of change in total compliance with all seven elements of each audited chart being met increased from 5.6% to 13.89%, representing a change in percent of compliance of 148%. After the revisions to the pediatric ICU DPSOS and completion of education, the delirium prevalence rate decreased from 27.8% to 16.7%, representing a change in prevalence rate of 39.9. Conclusion: Delirium prevalence rates decreased with the improvement of nursing knowledge and compliance with the pediatric ICUs nurse-directed DPSOS. Nurse-directed nonpharmacological delirium prevention strategies are feasible and sustainable strategies that should be considered a standard of care in the pediatric ICU setting

Mercury and Other Trace Metal Analysis in Bat Guano

Heavy metal pollution in the environment pose risks to ecosystems and the populations that reside in them. Mercury, lead, and cadmium negatively impact humans by way of neurological disorders, various cancers, and damage the reproductive organs, kidneys, and lungs. Bats have been studied as a bioindicator species to identify possibly elevated levels of these metals in the environment. Previous studies have identified correlation between metal concentrations within bat tissues and fur. Many bat species are endangered or at risk due to white-nose syndrome so collection of tissues and fur for analysis can impose stress on bat colonies. This study investigates the presence of a correlation between mercury concentrations and lead and cadmium concentrations in guano. Thirty-seven guano samples from a breeding colony of federally endangered gray bats were analyzed for mercury using a mercury analyzer. Lead and cadmium concentrations were determined using acid digestion and ICP-OES. Analysis indicates a positive correlation between mercury, lead, and cadmium. Guano samples from the same cores consistently mirror these findings. In conclusion, when the concentration of mercury, lead, or cadmium is determined for a bat guano sample the remaining two concentrations can be predicted

Theoretical Study of Radiant Heat Exchange for Non-gray Non-diffuse Surfaces in a Space Environment Semiannual Status Report No. 2, Aug. 1965 - Feb. 1966

Bi-directional reflectance models for describing distribution of reflected energy from rough metallic spacecraft surface

Principal theories of practice : mapping the cognitive structure and effects of instructional leadership

This dissertation builds on the work of Argyris and Schön (1974), who explained patterns of organizational learning using a concept called theories of practice, cognitive formulas for professional problem solving. Theories of practice consist of deeply held assumptions that logically imply certain action strategies. Argyris and Schön hypothesized that by engaging in deep reflection on assumptions and action strategies, professionals could develop more effective theories of practice based on alternate assumptions and action strategies. This dissertation explores the instructional leadership theories of practice of four successful school principals using a naturalistic, qualitative, multi-case design. Data gathering methods included interviews, observations, and a written reflective exercise completed by principals. The researcher used constant comparative analysis to categorize data until the theories of practice for each principal emerged. Three research questions framed the study. The first question identified the principals’ instructional leadership theories of practice. Findings revealed that these principals used three to six theories of practice based on strong moral and utilitarian assumptions regarding the inherent dignity and worth of both teachers and students, and the positive academic effects of recognizing and affirming that worth. Action strategies included building positive relationships, inviting teacher input, fostering collaboration, unifying staff around a common mission, and encouraging continuous teacher professional growth. The second research question investigated the effect of principal theories of practice on teachers. Teachers from the case study schools reported that principal theories of practice affected them in a variety of positive ways, including higher levels of job satisfaction and motivation, strong affiliation with the school, and a sense of personal responsibility for student outcomes. The third research question explored the extent to which principals engaged reflection on their practice. Findings were limited to only two examples: (a) principals engaged in double-loop learning by developing “special case” theories of practice for correcting underperforming teachers who failed to respond to the principals’ preferred methods of leadership, and (b) by learning from feedback to place more emphasis on inviting teacher input. The final chapter discusses the study’s implications for principal preparation programs, school districts, policy makers, and principal professional development

Minority Entrepreneurs and Fast Failure

Minority businesses now make up more than a quarter of all U.S. businesses; yet, due to discriminatory lending practices, cultural aversions to debt, and limited access to capital, these businesses continue to have higher failure rates. At the same time, m inority entrepreneurs are more likely to rely on informal lending and less likely to turn to bankruptcy for relief of debt. Doing so slows down failure for minority entrepreneurs — contra Silicon Valley’s new mantra, “fail fast” — and diminishes the minority entrepreneur’s ability to efficiently reallocate resources towards more productive ventures. In this essay, I distinguish the minority entrepreneurial fast failure decision from that of the majority entrepreneur and propose both private orderin g and regulat ory solutions that could help minority entrepreneurs fail faster. I begin by generally modeling the fast failure decision for the majority entrepreneur, highlighting the social costs of failing fast, and describing how formal lending and bankruptcy affect this model. I then explain how this model is distorted for minority entrepreneurs by discriminatory lending practices, cultural aversions to debt, and access to legal counsel. I conclude by suggesting, and critically assessing, proposals that could diminish these distortions, including peer - to - peer (P2P) lending platforms, mandatory educational programs, color - blind and big data loan and credit assessments, and minority loan subsidie

Per Se Economic Substance

The economic substance doctrine is used by the IRS and courts to distinguish legal tax avoidance from tax evasion. More specifically, executive and judicial bodies use this doctrine to revoke statutorily compliant tax benefits that arise from transactions that lack, beyond such tax benefits, both a subjective business purpose and an objective economic effect. The most common tool for measuring the objective economic effect of a transaction is the pre-tax profit test. However, disagreement among courts and scholars applying this test has led to taxpayer uncertainty and accusations of reverse-engineered opinions. In this Comment, I reevaluate and propose an alternative, tiered approach to measuring the objective economic effects of a transaction. I begin by outlining the origin of the economic substance doctrine, including Judge Learned Hand’s insistence that the doctrine balance taxpayer certainty with the judicial attempt to ascertain the reality of a transaction. With this historico-economic framing in mind, I next evaluate three approaches to measuring the objective economic substance of a transaction: the predominately used pre-tax profit test as well as two leading variations proposed by scholars—Michael Knoll’s implicit taxation regime and Charlene Luke’s comparables test. Because all three of these tests, applied on their own, fail to balance taxpayer certainty with ascertaining the reality of a transaction, I propose an alternative framework for measuring the objective economic substance of a transaction. Borrowing from antitrust and corporate law, I suggest a three-stage analysis in which certain transactions are subject to a “per se” test, some are subject to a “quick look” (or intermediate scrutiny) test, and others are subject to a “rule of reason” (or entire fairness) analysis. I argue that this tiered analysis will mimic the results of antitrust and corporate law by lowering litigation costs and increasing party certainty. Throughout this Comment, I use the recent circuit split regarding the inclusion of foreign tax expenses in the calculation of pre-tax profit—articulated in Bank of New York Mellon Corp. v. Commissioner, 801 F.3d 104, 118 (2d Cir. 2015)—but my analysis effectively addresses all objective economic substance concerns for essentially all scrutinized transactions