Older Adults at Risk for Atrial Fibrillation Lack Knowledge and Confidence to Seek Treatment for Signs and Symptoms.

Early detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) is crucial for averting AF-related stroke and heart failure, but treatment is delayed when AF is not recognized. The critical need for early detection and treatment requires education to promote AF awareness. Knowledge deficits, attitudes, and beliefs about AF that should be addressed to improve awareness and reduce treatment-seeking delay in older adults at risk for developing AF have not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to describe knowledge, treatment-seeking attitudes, and beliefs about AF in adults ⩾ 65 years old and identify demographic characteristics associated with knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Patients with no history of AF recruited from an academic medical center were interviewed using the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs about Atrial Fibrillation Survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t tests. Participants (N = 180) were 63% male with a mean age of ±3.± 6.0 years, and 52% held ⩾ 4-year college degree. About one third could not identify common symptoms of AF including palpitations (31%), chest pain (36%), dyspnea (30%), and fatigue (35%). A majority (84%) lacked confidence to recognize AF, and 58% were not sure when they should seek care for AF symptoms. Nearly a third (32%) believed palpitations are always present with AF, and 74% believed that low energy would not be their only symptom of AF. Higher scores for AF Symptom Knowledge (p = .02) were observed in females, and General Knowledge about AF was greater for younger participants (p < .001). Participants lacked knowledge and confidence to aid decision-making for treatment-seeking for symptoms of AF and held inaccurate beliefs about AF that could hinder early treatment-seeking. Programs to promote AF awareness should explain the spectrum of symptoms that may be manifested by AF and include action plans for responding to symptoms

Women’s Embarrassment over Answering Sexual Health Questions

The aim of this study was to assess young women’s embarrassment when asked questions about their sexual health. Limited data has revealed that women have an openness to this topic. With an increasing number of sexually transmitted infections [STIs], young women are facing a growing likelihood of acquiring one. Research about young women’s sexual health is a topic that needs to be further researched. In this study, young women were asked to rate their level of embarrassment in regard to certain sexual health questions. Additionally, the participants supplied data on the number of vaginal, oral and anal sex partners they have had, and at what age their first vaginal, oral and anal sexual encounters took place. The results of this study produced information that showed the level of embarrassment was not significantly different between caucasian women and women of color, or women with religious affiliation and women without any religious affiliation. By gaining this knowledge, healthcare professionals will be better able to begin dialogue on the topic of sexual health. Understanding young women’s level of embarrassment on this topic, healthcare professionals can better educate young women on the risks associated with STIs and risky sexual behavior.No embargoAcademic Major: Nursin

Chirped-pulse interferometry with finite frequency correlations

Chirped-pulse interferometry is a new interferometric technique encapsulating the advantages of the quantum Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer without the drawbacks of using entangled photons. Both interferometers can exhibit even-order dispersion cancellation which allows high resolution optical delay measurements even in thick optical samples. In the present work, we show that finite frequency correlations in chirped-pulse interferometry and Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry limit the degree of dispersion cancellation. Our results are important considerations in designing practical devices based on these technologies.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Raising Flourishing Adults: How Positive Psychology Can Help Adolescents Rise Above Stressful Life Events to Lead Flourishing Adult Lives

Adolescence is a time of dramatic change and growth across multiple systems. Simultaneous development of neural, biological, and social domains of functioning renders adolescence a heightened period of sensitivity to early life experiences. Among these experiences, stressful life events are shown to disrupt the architecture of the developing brain, increasing the risk of future mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety. In this paper, I discuss the risk of adolescence, such as the vulnerabilities to stress, alongside the unique plasticity that creates an opportunity for positive external influences (e.g., family milieu). Finally, I propose a multidimensional construct, known as RISE, for adolescent flourishing borrowing from other validated positive psychology concepts. A workshop and specific interventions to improve each of the four elements of RISE are proposed that can be used by parents

Unlocking the Mystery of TeV J2032+4130 through VERITAS Data

TeVJ2032+4130 is a high energy celestial object that emits Very High Energy (VHE) gamma rays and is located in the star forming region of the Cygnus constellation. It was first detected by the High Energy Gamma Ray Astronomy (HEGRA) experiment. Later observations from the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS2014) were used to determine that the gamma-ray emission from the source could be coming from a Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) powered by a binary pulsar named PSR J2032+4127. For the PWN scenario, VERITAS predicted a cutoff in the gamma-ray spectrum above 10 TeV. Using ~33 hours of VERITAS data, this source was analyzed with the help of VERITAS’ internal software named Event Display. The data were put through a series of steps in Event Display using Python and Root coding to obtain the results. The Spectral Index was found to be2.1 ±0.25, which is fairly similar to that of other observatories, which confirms the conclusion that TeV J2032+4130 is a PWN. Further studies with additional data and particle modelling at the region will help us understand and clarify the nature of this source

Pyrolysis as an Economical and Ecological Treatment Option for Solid Anaerobic Digestate and Municipal Sewage Sludge

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential for pyrolysis of solid anaerobic digestate and municipal sewage sludge. Slow, fast, and autothermal pyrolysis experiments were conducted for the anaerobic digestate while slow and fast pyrolysis experiments were carried out for the sewage sludge. Pyrolysis temperatures ranged from 250 to 550 ᵒC. The effect of pyrolysis conditions on the pyrolysis products was examined. Fast pyrolysis at higher temperatures was favourable for energy recovery in the bio-oil products. Slow pyrolysis was favourable for the biochar products. Lower pyrolysis temperatures favoured energy recovery in the biochar; while higher temperatures increased biochar carbonization and stability. Soxhlet extraction of the biochar with deionized water showed that slow pyrolysis biochar performed better regarding the leachability of nutritive species and stability of heavy metals for the digestate and sewage sludge biochars respectively. Autothermal pyrolysis increased the heating value of both the dry bio-oil and biochar products compared to traditional fast pyrolysis, but with a decrease in yield. A new method for the calculation of the enthalpy of pyrolysis was developed and used to create a complete energy balance for the pyrolysis of sewage sludge. An economic analysis was completed for the construction and operation of a sewage sludge pyrolysis plant. An environmental life cycle analysis was completed comparing the environmental effects of incineration and pyrolysis of sewage sludge. Pyrolysis of the sludge with the use of the biochar as a coal replacement was determined to have the greatest environmental benefit

Does \u3cem\u3eState National Bank of Big Spring v. Geithner\u3c/em\u3e Stand a Fighting Chance?

Two years after the start of the 2008 financial crisis and during one of the worst economic recessions since the Great Depression, Congress passed a law designed to insure a financial crisis of the same magnitude would not occur again, and if it did, it would not have the same wide-reaching effects the 2008 crisis had. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act sought to, among other things, end “too big to fail,” consolidate the consumer protection agencies, and provide for the orderly liquidation of defaulting systematically important companies. State National Bank of Big Spring v. Geithner, a case filed in D.C. Federal District Court, challenges the constitutionality of the Act’s provisions. This article reviews a subset of the claims raised in that case and argues that certain provisions of the Act are constitutional while others violate the separate of powers inherent in our Constitution

Does \u3cem\u3eState National Bank of Big Spring v. Geithner\u3c/em\u3e Stand a Fighting Chance?

Two years after the start of the 2008 financial crisis and during one of the worst economic recessions since the Great Depression, Congress passed a law designed to insure a financial crisis of the same magnitude would not occur again, and if it did, it would not have the same wide-reaching effects the 2008 crisis had. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act sought to, among other things, end “too big to fail,” consolidate the consumer protection agencies, and provide for the orderly liquidation of defaulting systematically important companies. State National Bank of Big Spring v. Geithner, a case filed in D.C. Federal District Court, challenges the constitutionality of the Act’s provisions. This article reviews a subset of the claims raised in that case and argues that certain provisions of the Act are constitutional while others violate the separate of powers inherent in our Constitution