Trends in Women’s Participation in Computer Industry Subfields

The participation of women in specific subfields of computer science (CS) and information technology (IT) will be investigated to determine the existence of any trends that may exist indicating special interest amongst women. Specifically, the subfield of database administration will be considered to determine if women tend to enter this subfield more frequently than other subfields. Research will also acknowledge statistics regarding male participation in database administration and other relevant subfields to determine if any trends in women’s participation are unique to women or if they exist across the board. Conclusions will be drawn based on the data and any topics for further research gleaned from the results of this investigation will be discussed

Hospital Acquired Clostridium Difficile Infection Prevention

Abstract The aim of my CNL Internship Project is to decrease the incidence of healthcare acquired C diff infections at the acute care unit 1800 to zero for the next quarter. This will be accomplished by developing an action plan to address the issue by collecting data from audits and developing evidence based practice interventions. The process begins with patient’s admission to the medical surgical unit and ends with patient’s discharge from the medical surgical unit. By working on the process, the Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) team expects to improve infection control among all units, increase patient safety, reduce unnecessary costs and patient’s length of stay, and reduce risks of mortality and morbidity. The alarming findings the month of January 2017 have reported 5 different cases of C diff in different departments in the hospital, audits on hand hygiene and PPE compliance results reveal lack of knowledge of proper techniques. The goal is to have a clinical nurse leader assigned to each department in the hospital to implement the project at the center of the microsystem and to promote quality outcome. A HAI workgroup will meet every two weeks to discuss interventions and outcomes. According to the AACN (2007), “ CNL applies the nursing process at the point of care through the strategic assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation of the unit as a whole to guide efforts for systematic, quality, and safety improvements.” Materials used in the project are hand washing standard work and PPE doffing and donning posters that are currently displayed by all the patient’s doors on all units. In addition, the quality nursing boards are updated with information of the progress of the work of infection prevention of the HAI workgroup. Moreover, management and leaders are re-enforcing the 20 seconds hand washing techniques and proper donning and doffing of PPE during huddles. Real time education simulation and observation of hand washing took place in some of the units to re-educate staff and ensure compliance. Audits are no longer performed on paper, the organization has adopted and online tool Tracers with AMP (Accredited Manager Plus) product for data collection through the Joint Commission Resources this will allow users to record, track, evaluate and analyze data collected. References American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2007). White paper on the education and role of the Clinical Nurse Leader. Washington, DC: Author

Functions of the cerebral cortex and cholinergic systems in synaptic plasticity induced by sensory preconditioning

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.This thesis provides evidence to support the hypothesis that synaptic plasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex is a cellular correlate of associative learning, that the process depends upon acetylcholine and that only certain cortical neurons display this plasticity. In a first series of experiments, single-imit recordings were carried out in the barrel cortex of awake, adult rats subjected to whisker pairing, an associative learning paradigm where deflections of the recorded neuron's principle vibrissa were repeatedly paired with those of a non-adjacent one. On average, this form of sensory preconditioning increased the responses of a recorded unit to the stimulation of the non-adjacent vibrissa. In contrast, following explicitly unpaired control experiments, neuronal responsiveness decreased. The effect of pairing was further enhanced by local, microiontophoretic delivery of NMDA and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME and reduced by the NMDA receptor competitive antagonist AP5. These results and the fact that the influence of the pharmacological agents on neuronal excitability were either transient (liinited to the delivery period) or simply absent indicated that the somatosensory cerebral cortex is one site where plasticity emerges following whisker pairing. In subsequent experiments, using a similar conditioning paradigm that relied on evoked potential rather than single-unit recordings, increases in the responses of cortical neurons to the non-adjacent whisker were blocked by atropine sulfate, an antagonist of muscarinic cholinoreceptors. Administration of norn-ial saline or atropine methyl nitrate, a muscarinic antagonist that did not cross the blood-brain barrier, instead of atropine sulfate, did not affect plasticity. Analysis of the behavioral state of the animal showed that the changes observed in the evoked potential could not be attributed to fluctuations m the behavioral state of the animal. By combining the results described in this thesis with data foimd in related literature, the author hypothesizes that whisker pairing induces an acetylcholine-dependent form of plasticity within the somatosensory cortex through Hebbian mechanisms

Nutrition Environment and Practices in Twenty-Four Child-Care Centers in Georgia

Background: The amount of time children spend in child care (CC) each week has increased in recent years. As a result children consume a large proportion of their daily energy intake at CC facilities. The purpose of this study is to describe the baseline dietary practices and environment in preschool-aged children attending CC centers in Southwest Georgia before the implementation of a one-year policy implementation program. Methods: The data is the baseline data of a pilot study evaluating nutrition and physical activity wellness policy implementation in twenty four licensed CC in Georgia. Each CC provided a sample one week menu (three meals/day: breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks). The energy and nutrient contents of 360 meals were analyzed using NutriKids. Food groups were assessed using a menu rubric. Menus were compared to the Dietary Reference Intakes and MyPyramid food group recommendations for children 3 to 5 years of age Results: Children were served a mean of 883 kcal at three meals. The menus content met the requirements for energy, macro-nutrients, vitamins A and C. However, the menus were high in saturated fat, and sodium content and did not meet the requirements for iron, fiber and calcium. The majority of the centers did not meet the requirements of the Food Guide Pyramid for pre-schoolers. With the exception of milk, children at all participating centers were served less than the recommended amounts for grains, vegetables, meat/beans and fresh fruits. Conclusions: Child care settings provide a unique opportunity to influence children\u27s dietary behaviors and health. Our data suggests that children are not consuming recommended amounts of whole grains, fruits or vegetables while attending full-time childcare. Instead, children are consuming excessive amounts of added sugars from sweet snacks, sodium, and saturated fat from whole milk and high-fat or fried meats. We anticipate that by the end of the one-year implementation of the wellness policies, day-care centers in Southwest Georgia will be better equipped to improve the quality of food served to this population of children. Findings from this study and the policy recommendations that emerge could significantly impact efforts to provide healthier nutrition environments to children in child care centers

Liens entre l'agression sexuelle vécue à l'enfance, les troubles mentaux et les maladies infectieuses: une étude de cohorte appariée

Essai doctoral en vue de l'obtention du doctorat (D.Psy)L’agression sexuelle à l’enfance (ASE) a été fortement associée à plusieurs problèmes physiques et psychologiques à l’enfance et à l’âge adulte, tels que l’anxiété, le trouble du stress post-traumatique (TSPT) et les maladies infectieuses. Malgré ces associations, aucune étude à ce jour n’a étudié les processus biologiques susceptibles de sous-tendre la relation entre l’ASE et les problèmes de santé physique survenant pendant l’enfance, tels que les maladies infectieuses. La présente étude vise à évaluer le TSPT en tant que médiateur potentiel entre l’ASE et l’apparition de maladies infectieuses à court et moyen terme. De plus, nous postulons que le TSPT joue un rôle spécifique d’indicateur de stress chronique à l’enfance, en comparaison à d’autres troubles mentaux tels que les troubles anxieux et non-anxieux (par exemple, la dépression). Au moyen d’un devis prospectif de cohorte appariée, des bases de données administratives ont été utilisées pour documenter le TSPT, les troubles anxieux et non anxieux et les maladies infectieuses. L’échantillon comporte 882 jeunes ayant un rapport corroboré d’agression sexuelle et 882 témoins appariés. Les régressions binomiales négatives ont révélé que l’ASE est associée à un plus grand nombre de diagnostics de troubles anxieux qui, à leur tour, prédisent un plus grand nombre de maladies infectieuses. Les résultats soulignent l’importance de la prévention et de l’intervention auprès des enfants et adolescents victimes d’agression sexuelle et ayant des symptômes d’un trouble anxieux, afin de limiter les conséquences négatives sur la santé physique.Child sexual abuse (CSA) has been strongly associated with a range of psychological and physical problems in childhood and adulthood, such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and infectious diseases. Despite the strength of these associations, no studies to date have investigated biological processes that might underlie the relationship between CSA and physical health problems occurring during childhood, such as infectious diseases. The goal of the current study is to evaluate PTSD as a potential mediator between CSA and the occurrence of infectious diseases among children and adolescents. Furthermore, we postulate that PTSD plays a specific role as an indicator of chronic stress during childhood, in comparison to other mental disorders, such as anxious and non-anxious disorders (e.g., depression). Via a prospective matched-cohort design, administrative data were used to document PTSD, anxious and non-anxious disorders, and infectious diseases. The sample size was 882 persons with a substantiated report of sexual abuse and 882 matched controls. Negative binomial regressions revealed that CSA is associated with a greater number of anxious diseases diagnoses that, in turn, predict more infectious diseases diagnoses. These findings highlight the importance of preventing and intervening among sexually abused youth with anxious disorder symptoms to limit negative outcomes on physical health

The Political Question Doctrine in the Ninth Circuit and Why It Should Not Have Barred the Adjudication of Corrie v. Caterpillar

This Comment argues that the Ninth Circuit should not have affirmed the dismissal of Corrie v. Caterpillar. Although Rachel\u27s death occurred in the context of the highly politicized Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the court\u27s failure to find justiciable a cause of action between a U.S. citizen and a U.S. corporation was grounded on an undue application of the political question doctrine. The Ninth Circuit could have allowed the district court to adjudicate Rachel\u27s family\u27s claims under a narrow tort-liability framework without interfering with U.S. foreign policy. Rachel\u27s family deserved the opportunity to litigate its case against Caterpillar, the company whose product foreseeably caused their daughter\u27s death