1,761 research outputs found
A Qualitative Study of Rural Nurse Practitioners\u27 In Medically Underserved Clinics
Retention of nurse practitioners is a serious problem in rural medically underserved areas. This study focused on the underserved areas in southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, and northern Oklahoma. Approximately, three million persons reside in rural medically-underserved areas of the study area. Seventy-three percent of these adults have at least two or more complex chronic medical conditions and there are only 526 nurse practitioners to care for them. Rural providers face many challenges in caring for these individuals and experience anxiety and stress while caring for them. The purpose of this research study was to explore, analyze, and describe the phenomena of nurse practitioners practicing in rural underserved medical clinics. The research explored the nurse practitionersâ attitudes and feelings related to their current position in the rural setting. The study included the concepts of professional isolation, stress or other factors that negatively affect job satisfaction and retention. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to allow the subjects to describe their lived experience of their day to day practices
Investigating the role of model-based reasoning while troubleshooting an electric circuit
We explore the overlap of two nationally-recognized learning outcomes for
physics lab courses, namely, the ability to model experimental systems and the
ability to troubleshoot a malfunctioning apparatus. Modeling and
troubleshooting are both nonlinear, recursive processes that involve using
models to inform revisions to an apparatus. To probe the overlap of modeling
and troubleshooting, we collected audiovisual data from think-aloud activities
in which eight pairs of students from two institutions attempted to diagnose
and repair a malfunctioning electrical circuit. We characterize the cognitive
tasks and model-based reasoning that students employed during this activity. In
doing so, we demonstrate that troubleshooting engages students in the core
scientific practice of modeling.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables; Submitted to Physical Review PE
Tailoring the surface charge of dextran-based polymer coated SPIONs for modulated stem cell uptake and MRI contrast
Tracking stem cells in vivo using non-invasive techniques is critical to evaluate the efficacy and safety of stem cell therapies. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) enable cells to be tracked using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but to obtain detectable signal cells need to be labelled with a sufficient amount of iron oxide. For the majority of SPIONs, this can only be obtained with the use of transfection agents, which can adversely affect cell health. Here, we have synthesised a library of dextran-based polymer coated SPIONs with varying surface charge from â1.5 mV to +18.2 mV via a co-precipitation approach and investigated their ability to be directly internalised by stem cells without the need for transfection agents. The SPIONs were colloidally stable in physiological solutions. The crystalline phase of the particles was confirmed with powder X-ray diffraction and their magnetic properties were characterised using SQUID magnetometry and magnetic resonance. Increased surface charge led to six-fold increase in uptake of particles into stem cells and higher MRI contrast, with negligible change in cell viability. Cell tracking velocimetry was shown to be a more accurate method for predicting MRI contrast of stem cells compared to measuring iron oxide uptake through conventional bulk iron quantification
Structure of the near-surface layers of the Sun: asphericity and time variation
We present results on the structure of the near-surface layers of the Sun
obtained by inverting frequencies of high-degree solar modes from "ring
diagrams". We have results for eight epochs between June 1996 and October 2003.
The frequencies for each epoch were obtained from ring diagrams constructed
from MDI Dopplergrams spanning complete Carrington rotations. We find that
there is a substantial latitudinal variation of both sound speed and the
adiabatic index Gamma_1 in the outer 2% of the Sun. We find that both the
sound-speed and Gamma_1 profiles change with changes in the level of solar
activity. In addition, we also study differences between the northern and
southern hemispheres of the Sun and find a small asymmetry that appears to
reflect the difference in magnetic activity between the two hemispheres.Comment: To appear in ApJ (January 2007
Degenerations of ideal hyperbolic triangulations
Let M be a cusped 3-manifold, and let T be an ideal triangulation of M. The
deformation variety D(T), a subset of which parameterises (incomplete)
hyperbolic structures obtained on M using T, is defined and compactified by
adding certain projective classes of transversely measured singular
codimension-one foliations of M. This leads to a combinatorial and geometric
variant of well-known constructions by Culler, Morgan and Shalen concerning the
character variety of a 3-manifold.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures; minor changes; to appear in Mathematische
Zeitschrif
Novel Approaches of Chemoradiotherapy in Unresectable Stage IIIA and Stage IIIB Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
After completing this course, the reader will be able to
The role of metacognition in troubleshooting: an example from electronics
Students in physics laboratory courses, particularly at the upper division,
are often expected to engage in troubleshooting. Although there are numerous
ways in which students may proceed when diagnosing a problem, not all
approaches are equivalent in terms of providing meaningful insight. It is
reasonable to believe that metacognition, by assisting students in making
informed decisions, is an integral component of effective troubleshooting. We
report on an investigation of authentic student troubleshooting in the context
of junior-level electronics courses at two institutions. Think-aloud interviews
were conducted with pairs of students as they attempted to repair a
malfunctioning operational-amplifier circuit. Video data from the interviews
have been analyzed to examine the relationship between each group's
troubleshooting activities and instances of socially mediated metacognition. We
present an analysis of a short episode from one interview.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; Submitted to 2015 PERC Proceeding
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