The Role of Alaska's Nurse Practitioners in Preventing Early Childhood Caries

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease of childhood despite being preventable. Because of its high prevalence, its impact on the quality of life of young children, and its potential for increasing their risk of caries in the permanent dentition, ECC is arguably one of the most serious and costly health conditions among young children. Poor access to dental services by rural Alaskans and poor dental care in general are considered the main contributing factors to the continued rise in ECC in Alaska. Primary care providers (PCPs), such as nurse practitioners (NPs), are in unique positions to complement the work of dental professionals because PCPs often provide care before a child’s first dental visit. This project assessed the practice habits and perceived competence of Alaska’s NPs with regards to performing pediatric oral health-related tasks as well as knowledge of current tools. Data was collected from NPs in Alaska by survey. This data was analyzed to find specific areas of educational-need and to model an information kit for NPs in the State of Alaska to improve their primary pediatric practice. The results indicated that NPs in the State of Alaska believe oral heath assessments and preventative education should be included in pediatric well-child care but their frequency of actual performance and perceived confidence was low. Recommendations to improve frequency of oral health-related tasks during visits with pediatric populations focus on increasing education in these areas for Alaska’s NPs

Parameter estimation in Cox models with missing failure indicators and the OPPERA study

In a prospective cohort study, examining all participants for incidence of the condition of interest may be prohibitively expensive. For example, the "gold standard" for diagnosing temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a physical examination by a trained clinician. In large studies, examining all participants in this manner is infeasible. Instead, it is common to use questionnaires to screen for incidence of TMD and perform the "gold standard" examination only on participants who screen positively. Unfortunately, some participants may leave the study before receiving the "gold standard" examination. Within the framework of survival analysis, this results in missing failure indicators. Motivated by the Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment (OPPERA) study, a large cohort study of TMD, we propose a method for parameter estimation in survival models with missing failure indicators. We estimate the probability of being an incident case for those lacking a "gold standard" examination using logistic regression. These estimated probabilities are used to generate multiple imputations of case status for each missing examination that are combined with observed data in appropriate regression models. The variance introduced by the procedure is estimated using multiple imputation. The method can be used to estimate both regression coefficients in Cox proportional hazard models as well as incidence rates using Poisson regression. We simulate data with missing failure indicators and show that our method performs as well as or better than competing methods. Finally, we apply the proposed method to data from the OPPERA study.Comment: Version 4: 23 pages, 0 figure

3D WebGL Game with Physics

Tato bakalářská práce diskutuje možnosti vytváření her pro webové prohlížeče. Zaměřuje se především na tvorbu 3D webové grafiky pomocí WebGL. Vybírá frameworky pro zjednodušení práce s WebGL a fyzikou. Dále se zabývá návrhem a implementací 3D webové hry s fyzikou s využitím vybraných frameworků. Nakonec se zabývá testováním aplikace.This bachlor thesis discusses the possibility of creating games for web browsers. It focuses on making of 3D web graphics using WebGL. This thesis chooses frameworks for easing up the work. The thesis also describes design and implementation of 3D web game with physics with use of selected frameworks. Finally it discusses testing of the application.

Monitoring of total contents of copper in organically and conventionally managed soils. Part 1: Study plan and preliminary sampling of copper and other anthropogenic induced heavy metal contents in vineyard soils

The project aims to develop a survey designed for the representative assessment of copper contents in vineyard soils. The method development for the sampling of adequate monitoring areas is based on a preliminary survey of load distribution as well as on exposure assessment on selected areas of some typical vinery sites in Rheinland-Pfalz, differently managed and with different use history. Additionally to the sampling of selected areas, which reflects the spectrum of the load situation in viticulture, chemical quantitative analysis of soil samples collected from areas of known mode of cultivation and history followed by biological standard tests will be conducted. Obtained findings will serve for further method development, for preselection of adequate monitoring areas and for first indications of hazard potential. The project is a prerequisite for the performance of the long-term study “Development of current data of effects of copper contents in organic soils in viticulture, pomiculture and hopculture on soil life in terms of the strategypaper concerning further copper application in agriculture, especially in organic farming.

Reconstruction of Track Section Stará Paka-Trutnov in 118,9 -121,6 Section with Design of Technological Procedure of Works

Cílem bakalářské práce je rekonstrukce jednokolejné železniční trati Stará Paka – Trutnov v km 118,9-121,6. Úkolem je navrhnout úpravu geometrických parametrů koleje a vhodnou skladbu železničního svršku. Při rekonstrukci je nutné řešit železniční přejezdy podle platných právních předpisů. V rámci rekonstrukce je potřeba navrhnout obnovu odvodnění tratě a technologii práce.The objective of my bachelors thesis is the reconstruction of single-line railway track Stará Paka - Trutnov in 118,9-121,6 track section. Desing of track geometry parameters and permanent way assembly is the main part of this work. Solve problems with railway crossings is necessary during the reconstruction. Drainage system and technological procedure of works are designed too.

The Lewis Journals-to-Gas-Price Inflation Index for 2018

In 2018, the average price for a year’s subscription to a Chemistry journal was $4,794.33 (n=124) and the average price for a Physics journal was$4,104.08 (n=148) (Bryans, ed., pg. 356-7). To get an average price for “Chemistry and Physics” journals, we use the mean of the two category samples weighted by the number of journals in each sample: $4,418.75. At this price, U.S. drivers would be paying$31.63 per gallon in 2018

Selective enrichment and molecular characterization of a previously uncultured Nitrospira-like bacterium from activated sludge

Previously uncultured nitrite-oxidizing bacteria affiliated to the genus Nitrospira have for the first time been successfully enriched from activated sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. During the enrichment procedure, the abundance of the Nitrospira-like bacteria increased to approximately 86% of the total bacterial population. This high degree of purification was achieved by a novel enrichment protocol, which exploits physiological features of Nitrospira-like bacteria and includes the selective repression of coexisting Nitrobacter cells and heterotrophic contaminants by application of ampicillin in a final concentration of 50 µg ml−1. The enrichment process was monitored by electron microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with rRNA-targeted probes and fatty acid profiling. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the enriched bacteria represent a novel Nitrospira species closely related to uncultured Nitrospira-like bacteria previously found in wastewater treatment plants and nitrifying bioreactors. The enriched strain is provisionally classified as ‘Candidatus Nitrospira defluvii’