An Evaluation of Mammography Rates for Women, 50-74 Years Old, at the San Francisco Department of Public Health

This paper explores the efforts of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) to increase their overall mammogram screening rate to 76.7% by June 2015 in order to receive funding from the federal government. The target population is women within SF DPH’s primary care program, 50-74 years old, and overdue for a mammogram. The literature reports there are health disparities among women who receive mammograms and how breast cancer affects them. African American women have the highest mortality rates and women of color are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, when treatment options are limited (National Cancer Institute, 2014). There were disparities found within the mammogram rates at SFDPH which varied by ethnicity, insurance type, and socioeconomic status. The literature also supports this finding with The National Cancer Institute (2014) stating that lower screening rates are associated with lower education levels and incomes, the uninsured, and women of color. A pilot study was conducted at the SFGH Avon Breast Center, which included extending evening hours and opening a Saturday clinic for mammograms, from February to June 2014, to increase appointment accessibility for patients. The overall mammogram rate was calculated using data from just over 13,000 eligible women in the SFDPH system. After the pilot study ended, the mammogram rate for every ethnicity group had increased and the overall rate had increased by 5%. Using a chi-square test, this increase was shown to be statistically significant. The appoinment show rate also increased by 16% during the pilot study, as compared to the regular hour appointments, and this increase was shown to be statistically significant as well. Patient and staff surveys were distributed to obtain quantitative and qualitative feedback directly from involved stakeholders. It was noted that women enjoyed the pilot study hours and were especially interested in having other services offered on Saturdays as well. By offering evening and Saturday hours, the mammogram and show rates experienced a significant increase, and the patients awarded high satisfaction scores for their experience during the pilot study. SFDPH and SFGH are collaborating together to address this issue in addition to discovering other methods to educate women on the importance of getting screened for breast cancer and to make mammograms more accessible to women from diverse backgrounds

Security Improvements for the Automatic Identification System

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is used aboard the vast majority of sea-going vessels in the world as a collision avoidance tool. Currently, the AIS operates without any security features, which make it vulnerable to exploits such as spoofing, hijacking, and replay attacks by malicious parties. This paper examines the work that has been done so far to improve AIS security, as well as the approaches taken on similar problems in the aircraft and vehicular mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) industries. The first major contribution of this paper is the implementation of a Software Defined Radio (SDR) AIS transmitter and receiver which can be used to conduct vulnerability analysis and test the implementation of new security features. The second contribution is the design of a novel authentication protocol which overcomes the existing vulnerabilities in the AIS system. The proposed protocol uses time-delayed hash-chain key disclosures as part of a message authentication code (MAC) appended to automatic position reports to verify the authenticity of a user. This method requires only one additional time slot for broadcast authentication compared to the existing standard and is a significant reduction in message overhead requirements compared to alternative approaches that solely rely on public key infrastructure (PKI). Additionally, there is an embedded time stamp, a feature lacking in the existing system, which makes this protocol resistant to replay attacks. A test implementation of the proposed protocol indicates that it can be deployed as a link layer software update to existing AIS transceivers and can be deployed within the current AIS technical standards as an expanded message set

Wayfinding Meets Library App: What Students Want From a Mobile Library Experience

Wayfinding refers to how someone navigates a space. Indoor maps, directories, and more recently, digital mobile maps are used as wayfinding aids

Papers on Special Techniques in Athenian Vases

Book Review of Papers on Special Techniques in Athenian Vases / Edited by Kenneth Lapatin.--ISBN 978-0-892-36901-0. Reviewed by Doug Litts

Rackstraw Downes: Onsite Paintings, 1972-2008

Book Review of Rackstraw Downes: Onsite Paintings, 1972-2008, by Klaus Ottmann. ISBN 9781904832737. Reviewed by Doug Litts

A preferred vision for administering elementary schools: A reflective essay

When I started my educational administrative program I had very little knowledge of all the characteristics an administrator needs to be effective. My basic beliefs stemmed from when I was an elementary pupil. These beliefs could have been summed up into three basic areas: 1. Discipline students: I thought that every principal had a list of things to do to students when the student was sent to the office. These things were designed to make the student afraid to go back to the office, which would change the behavior of the student. 2. Pay teachers: this was why the teachers liked the principal so well. 3. Be friendly: the principal had to be friendly and get along with parents, regardless where the principal saw them

Cultivating Staff Culture Online: How Edith Bowen Laboratory School Responded to COVID-19

Purpose: As educators across the globe are tasked with taking teaching online, this article shares a culture-centered approach to transitioning to education at a distance. Specifically, in this essay, a focus is placed on how one school preserved their collaborative culture among administrators, teachers, and staff. The purpose is to provide guidance to school leadership during this public health crisis. Approach: To ensure trustworthiness in this naturalistic inquiry, a triangulation was made of contributing authors’ perspectives to present theory-informed insights. Findings: This school’s transition to online education was guided by a shared goal to not only move content online, but also a rich participatory culture among staff. Critical forms of participation and community practices are presented that were pivotal in supporting teachers through the transition. Insights equip school leaders and administrators potentially remaining online, at least in part, through the next school year. Originality: New administrator-level insights are contributed regarding the organizational shift to teaching elementary school online, a minimally-researched topic. Practical Implications: Schools undergoing the shift to teaching online should attend to cultural shifts and create conditions in which staff members can collaborate at higher levels

Citation as a Critical Practice

This discussion will explore the politics and ethics of citation. As academics, how, why, when, and whom do we cite, and what is at stake in these practices? Areas for discussion will include representation in disciplinary canons and the undercitation of scholars who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, women, and members of multiply marginalized groups. By considering citation in the context of power and privilege, this panel will unpack what it means to adopt a critical approach to citation in our research, teaching, and scholarship. Watch the video to see the discussion. Click on the download button for a list of readings and resources.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/inter_inclusion/1000/thumbnail.jp

Efficacy of Bilberry and Grape Seed Extract Supplement Interventions to Improve Glucose and Cholesterol Metabolism and Blood Pressure in Different Populations : A Systematic Review of the Literature

Funding: This research was funded by By-Health Co. Ltd., Guangzhou, China. G.H., N.H., W.R.,and B.d.R. are funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services (RESAS)Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Inner Segment Remodeling and Mitochondrial Translocation in Cone Photoreceptors in Age-Related Macular Degeneration With Outer Retinal Tubulation

PURPOSE: To quantify impressions of mitochondrial translocation in degenerating cones and to determine the nature of accumulated material in the subretinal space with apparent inner segment (IS)-like features by examining cone IS ultrastructure. METHODS: Human donor eyes with advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were screened for outer retinal tubulation (ORT) in macula-wide, high-resolution digital sections. Degenerating cones inside ORT (ORT cones) and outside ORT (non-ORT cones) from AMD eyes and unaffected cones in age-matched control eyes were imaged using transmission electron microscopy. The distances of mitochondria to the external limiting membrane (ELM), cone IS length, and cone IS width at the ELM were measured. RESULTS: Outer retinal tubulation and non-ORT cones lose outer segments (OS), followed by shortening of IS and mitochondria. In non-ORT cones, IS broaden. Outer retinal tubulation and non-ORT cone IS myoids become undetectable due to mitochondria redistribution toward the nucleus. Some ORT cones were found lacking IS and containing mitochondria in the outer fiber (between soma and ELM). Unlike long, thin IS mitochondria in control cones, ORT and non-ORT IS mitochondria are ovoid or reniform. Shed IS, some containing mitochondria, were found in the subretinal space. CONCLUSIONS: In AMD, macula cones exhibit loss of detectable myoid due to IS shortening in addition to OS loss, as described. Mitochondria shrink and translocate toward the nucleus. As reflectivity sources, translocating mitochondria may be detectable using in vivo imaging to monitor photoreceptor degeneration in retinal disorders. These results improve the knowledge basis for interpreting high-resolution clinical retinal imaging