Chiral Analyses of Ephedrines

Chiral molecules rotate plane-polarized light and have two or more forms known as enantiomers. We plan to separate the two enantiomeric ephedrines using β-cyclodextrin column in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).To achieve this, a series of methods were developed through the modification of temperature and mobile phase parameters

Improving Communication Skills of New Graduate Nurses: Using SBAR Format

New graduate nurses face many challenges as they transition to professional practice (Mongale et al., 2018). Support from transition to practice (TTP) programs can have a tremendous impact on the success of a new graduate nurse and improve retention rates (Silvestre, 2017). Research identifies a gap in new graduate knowledge of communication skills (Song & McCreary, 2020). Education on improving communication using a standard format can impact patient outcomes and improve provider confidence (Marshall et al., 2008). Research also links provider confidence and proficiency to improved outcomes (Owens & Keller, 2018). Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory provides a theoretical foundation to understand new graduate nurses’ learning needs and develop education for new graduate nurses (Ozdemir, 2019). Situation, background, assessment, and recommendation (SBAR) format can communicate clinical and non-clinical needs (Jurns, 2016). New graduate nurses have a baseline knowledge of SBAR format due to its prevalence in patient reporting structure. By educating new graduate nurses on alternative uses for SBAR format, this project aims to improve proficiency in communication. A sample of twenty-seven new graduate nurses was presented with information on how to use SBAR format to communicate needs. The new graduate nurses participated in an activity where they applied SBAR format to a case scenario. Post-education survey results demonstrate increased confidence and proficiency in the utilization of SBAR format. The new graduate nurses identified the information from the presentation as applicable and usable in their practice. Future research is needed to continue supporting new graduate nurses\u27 transition to clinical practice with skills including communication as a cornerstone to success

Cooperative breeding and density regulation in small island populations of the Seychelles warbler

The faunas of tropical islands are particularly rich in endemic species, and constitute a disproportionately large proportion of the global biodiversity (Collar & Stuart 1985; Stattersfield & Capper 2000). In the last few centuries island faunas have become among the most threatened in the world, mainly because of anthropogenic effects such as human disturbance and the introduction of predators or competitor species (Stattersfield & Capper 2000). In contrast to species from temperate regions, we have little knowledge of the processes that regulate populations of tropical bird species, despite that fact that this knowledge is crucial to their conservation. In this thesis I studied population regulation in small isolated populations of the cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). As this is a vulnerable species, direct manipulation of density through permanent removal of birds was not possible. However, translocations carried out as a part of a conservation project gave me the possibility to study density dependence of reproduction and survival in newly established populations. In addition I investigated the proximate mechanisms involved in helping behaviour and the long-term fitness consequences of group living.

Thrown on the Cold Charity of the World: Kansas Cares for Its Orphans, 1859-1919

This dissertation examines the role special interest politics played in securing tax-supported funding of child welfare services by local and state governments. The study begins in the mid-1850s, when Irish immigrants began to influence New York City politics, insuring municipal funding for Catholic orphan asylums, while fighting Protestant reformers determined to ride destitute immigrant children of their foreign customs and Catholic religion. My research examined the second year of the Civil War, when Pennsylvania became the first state to assure the care and education of children because early Union losses cut recruitment levels, compelling state officials to make these guarantees to Union Army recruits, who may not return home. The study then pointed to a strong voting bloc and state house connections that Kansas Civil War veterans used in 1885 to insist that the orphaned children of their wartime colleagues and those fallen on hard times gain state support. These historically significant occurrences expose the chilling affects of politics on Irish immigration, the western emigration of New York's Catholic children to Midwestern Protestant communities, legislation benefiting Union veterans, and Progressive Era reforms implemented for social control rather than alleviating poverty. This research proves that special interest groups controlled the lives of orphaned and dependent children, influencing their place in a new standardized American society of social control and suppressed behavior. The timeframe for this dissertation begins in 1859 when three suddenly orphaned children became the responsibility of a Kansas community, moves into the intervening decades of the last half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, and concludes when the Spanish Influenza forced Kansas lawmakers in 1919 to implement strict regulations of religious orphanages and children's homes. My research utilizes accumulative cause and effect data that build into my conclusions centered on outcomes-based analysis. This dissertation examines the motivation of social workers, government officials and reformers caring for orphaned and dependent children, challenging the perception that alleviating poverty was their sole motivation. The conclusions of this study find that the political mandates of special interest groups ruled decisions made at all levels of government, within the management of private charities and among leaders in small communities. Among those decisions stood the desire to control destitute children, and mold them eventually into acceptable American adults. This research looked closely into the care of destitute children in New York, Pennsylvania and Kansas, revealing similar child welfare systems that developed under the influence of special interest politic

Experimental evidence for helper effects in a cooperatively breeding cichlid

Neolamprologus pulcher is a cooperatively breeding cichlid fish, in which helpers stay in their natal territory and help with brood care, territory defense, and maintenance. In this study we investigated helper effects by an experimental group size reduction in the field. After this manipulation, focal helpers in reduced groups tended to feed less, and small helpers visited the breeding shelter significantly more often than same-sized helpers in control groups. No evidence was found that remaining helpers compensated for the removed helpers by increasing territory defense and maintenance behavior. Breeders, however, did show a lower defense rate, possibly caused by an increase in brood care effort. Survival of fry was significantly lower in removal than control groups, which provides the first experimental proof in a natural population of fish that brood care helpers do effectively help. The data suggest that in small, generally younger, helpers, kin selection may be an important evolutionary cause of cooperation. Large helpers, however, who are generally older and less related to the breeders than small helpers are suggested to pay to be allowed to stay in the territory by helping. All group members benefit from group augmentatio

No evidence of immediate fitness benefits of within-season divorce in monogamous birds

Individuals of socially monogamous species can correct for suboptimal partnerships via two secondary mating strategies: divorce and extra-pair mating, with the former potentially providing both genetic and social benefits. Divorcing between breeding seasons has been shown to be generally adaptive behaviour across monogamous birds. Interestingly, some pairs also divorce during the breeding season, when constraints on finding a new partner are stronger. Despite being important for a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of social monogamy, whether within-season divorce is adaptive and how it relates to extra-pair mating remains unknown. Here, we meta-analysed 90 effect sizes on within-season divorce and breeding success, extracted from 31 studies on 24 species. We found no evidence that within-season divorce is adaptive for breeding success. However, the large heterogeneity of effect sizes and strong phylogenetic signal suggest social and environmental factors—which have rarely been considered in empirical studies—may play an important role in explaining variation among populations and species. Furthermore, we found no evidence that within-season divorce and extra-pair mating are complementary strategies. We discuss our findings within the current evidence of the adaptiveness of secondary mating strategies and their interplay that ultimately shapes the evolution of social monogamy