A Solution to Running Cramps Induced by Electrolyte Imbalance

Through a proposed electrolyte pump, similar to an insulin pump, electrolytes could be replaced constantly during long runs and significantly reduce the chance of running cramps

The Effects of Procrastination on Teaching Practice

This project examined the effects that procrastination can have on teaching practices as well as gathering data on specific reasons for procrastination as it relates to the teaching profession. Procrastination is an issue that affects everyone, whether it be a positive effect or a negative effect. The purpose of this self-study sought to answer the question of how procrastination affects my performance as a teacher specifically and address the reasons behind it to lessen the likelihood of procrastination occurring

Vocational Interests of Dental Hygiene Professionals

This study examined the vocational interests of dental hygienists according to occupational setting and highest level of education. The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory was used to measure vocational interests of a random cluster sample of licensed dental hygienists. An ex post facto 2 x 2 factorial research design was used. Occupational setting and highest level of education completed were the attribute independent variables and the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory scores was the dependent variable. Two-way analysis of variance revealed significant interest differences between private practice dental hygienists and community practice dental hygienists, and between dental hygienists with a certificate or associate degree and dental hygienists with a baccalaureate degree, p \u3c O. 05. No significant interaction effects among occupational settings and levels of education were revealed, p\u3e0.05

Factors Associated With Safer Sex Practices Among College Freshmen

Adolescents and young adults have engaged in sexual behaviors that increase the risk of becoming infected with HIV. Thus, this descriptive correlational study examined the relationship of knowledge of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), misconceptions about AIDS, knowledge of safer sex practices, perceived susceptibility, and future time perspective to the practice of safer sex behaviors in single, sexually active college freshmen. The theoretical framework was the Health Belief Model. The research question was what is the relationship between college freshmen who practice safer sex behaviors and their knowledge of AIDS, misconceptions about AIDS, knowledge of safer sex practices, perceived susceptibility, and future time perspective? The participants (N = 51) were a convenience sample of college freshmen who attended one of two institutions of higher learning in Northeast Mississippi. The Modified AIDS Information Survey, the Future Time Perspective Inventory, the Knowledge of Safer Sex Practices Questionnaire, the Safe Sex Behavior Questionnaire, and a demographic data sheet were used for data collection. Only one significant positive correlation emerged between use of safer sex behaviors and future time perspective (p = \u3c .01). Additional analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between women and practice of safer sex behavior (p = .04). The researcher concluded that there is a direct correlation between future time perspective and safer sex behavior. College freshmen who are sexually active have a high perception of their risk for the HIV infection. However, perception of risk does not motivate college freshmen to practice safer sex behavior. Additionally, knowledge had little effect on reducing risk behavior. The advanced practice nurse needs to counsel college freshmen in the perception of their future as predictable and controllable to help prevent transmission of HIV. Factors that influence future time perspective in older adolescents should be investigated as well as differences in males and females regarding factors that influence health-promoting behavior, particularly safer sex behavior

Effectiveness of Special Education Teacher Preparation Programs to Teach Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a Medium Southeastern Maryland School District

One strategy for improving teacher preparation programs for teaching Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is to enhance the coursework offered at colleges and universities at the undergraduate level. The goal is to better equip college programs to provide effective and substantial preparation for teacher candidate to effectively instruction ASD students. Programs offered by colleges and universities to prepare new special education teachers with the appropriate skills is multi-faceted. First, a clearly defined curriculum or coursework design is required. Secondly, an extended student teaching schedule is needed for an authentic and practical application experience. Finally, offering a monetary incentive for special educators to become certified in autism, after successfully completing additional coursework, is needed. This paper reviews evidence on the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs to prepare special educators to teach students with ASD. Despite the limited research on this topic, the future of students with ASD relies on the instruction highly prepared and competent teachers specifically trained to support their needs. Otherwise, the cost to school district and K-12 education will rise significantly to prepare students with ASD for life-skills, college, or career readiness

Interventions for success: perceptions on RTI

Current research strongly supports using response to intervention (RTI) to increase the academic achievement of all students, including those who experience academic difficulty in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study was to extend our understanding of RTI implementation. Specifically, semi-structured interviews were conducted with multiple school professionals at Granby Elementary School to document their experiences and perceptions related to referral procedures and early intervention services. The results of this study indicate that students at Granby Elementary are supported by some of the core features of an RTI approach. The key themes which emerged from the data are that all students benefit from high-quality classroom environments, research-based instructional approaches, universal screening, and continuous progress monitoring, but some students still require more intense interventions to be successful. Based on those findings, it is recommended that multiple levels of increasingly intense interventions with progress monitoring be implemented with integrity to support student success

Determining the analytical figures of merit from LC-MS/MS data

Synthetic drugs such as piperazines are among the most commonly abused drugs and are typically consumed by younger populations. Because of their popularity, developing optimized analytical strategies designed to improve detection and interpretation of synthetic piperazines is of interest to the forensic community. To improve the likelihood that a substance of interest is detected, careful evaluation into the mass spectrometry signal is required. However, with all analytical pursuits, there is a limit at which the substance cannot be detected with certainty; thus a threshold is commonly referred to as the limit of detection (LOD). Formally, the LOD is the minimum amount of analyte (concentration, mass, number of molecules, etc.) that can be detected at a known confidence level. The purpose of this research was to use common analytical methods to calculate the LOD and verify the results with previous work at the Boston University forensic toxicology laboratory. Data from the Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) was previously generated and consisted of signal intensity information in the form of peak height and peak area, from titrations of eight synthetic piperazines that included: Benzylpiperazine (BZP), 1-(3-chlorophenyl)-piperazine (mCPP), 3-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine monohydrochloride (TFMPP), methylbenzylpiperazine (MBZP), 1-(4-fluorobenzyl)-piperazine (FBZP), 2,3-dichlorophenylpiperazine (DCPP), para-fluorophenylpiperazine (pFPP) and para-methoxyphenylpiperazine (MeOPP). Generally, the LOD is determined by first evaluating the signal in the absence of analyte and determining the probability that signal, , crosses the signal threshold, . The signal threshold is based upon the false detection rate the laboratory can withstand for a given interpretation scheme. In instances where very small levels of false detections can be tolerated, a large is chosen. In other circumstances, where noise detection can adequately be interpreted, a low is chosen. In chromatography and radiography the typical one sided =0.003. The number of molecules for each analyte at each concentration (20 ng/mL, 50 ng/mL, 200 ng/mL, 500 ng/mL, 1000 ng/mL and 2000 ng/mL) was determined and used throughout this work. Peak area signals and ratios versus number of molecules for each analyte were used to, first, visually inspect the linearity of signal to analyte level. It was determined that using internal standards improved linearity, as expected; however, the data suggested that absolute signal intensity was sufficient to compute the LOD for these compounds. Generally accepted methods of calculating LOD were not used for this research as the signal from the blank was not detected most likely due to the sensitivity of the instrument used. This study used an extrapolation of the data and propagation of errors method to calculate the LOD as the signal from the blank was not needed. For all eight analytes, the LOD calculated was similar to the lowest concentration (20 ng/mL) used when validating this method. This research needs to be expanded on to include more concentration points and see the plateau effect at higher concentrations. This will provide information to analytical chemists when a blank signal is not available about how the LOD can be calculated with high confidence

Measuring the Impact of Gun Violence on South Carolina Emergency Departments

Gun violence is a significant problem across the United States, and the economic impact of gun violence in South Carolina is not well understood. There has been a historical policy- driven trend to limit research on gun violence. Therefore, few empirical studies have been done to examine this problem. In order to determine the impact of gun violence on the healthcare utilization and cost resulting from gunshot wounds and injuries, ICD codes for state-level billing data were used to enable an estimation of county specific cost associated with gun violence. Federal laws exist on background check requirements although, state laws vary widely. South Carolina has one of the highest rates of gun violence death rates in the United States. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the emergency department and inpatient visits, hospital inpatient length of stay, outpatient surgeries, and overall healthcare cost (using payments). Furthermore, the data were examined to estimate the healthcare impact of gun violence by race, age group, insurance type, and county (overall and rural vs. urban). The financial cost of caring for the victims of gun violence may not be enormous it is a burden felt most by the hospitals (due to the large numbers of uninsured) and public insurers. The most significant number of gun related burden falls on the under 40 age group, and a large portion under 19. There is little qualitative evidence of the psychological impact of gun violence on families. Future research should examine the impact of gun violence on society and families