The Pathophysiology of Sepsis

Sepsis is still a leading cause of hospital admissions and often leads to death if not identified early and treated properly (Pilcher, Cooper & Bellomo, 2015). In the US there are approximately 200,000 deaths annually due to sepsis (Puskarich, Illich, & Jones, 2014). It is important for advance practice nurses to recognize risk factors for sepsis. By understanding the pathophysiology of sepsis nurse practitioners will be able to recognize early signs and symptoms of this inflammatory disease process and implement early medical management. Early medical treatment in septic patients is crucial to increase patient survival rates

Spatial and Temporal Activity of Migratory Bats at Landscape Features

Geographical landmarks may be important features for navigation of migrating bats although spatial and temporal activity may depend on species-specific migration strategies. I predicted that latitudinal migrating bats would have higher activity along north-south oriented linear landscape features, especially during late-seasonal migration periods, compared to bat species that migrate within a regional area. I acoustically sampled four species of bats classified as latitudinal and regional migrants. I monitored twelve sites located in southwestern Ontario at four landscape features between May and October 2011. I found that specific landscape features may have greater importance to specific species rather than their migration strategy. Also, latitudinal migratory bat activity increased during the late-seasonal time period however all species activity increased in the mid-seasonal time period. Information, gained with acoustic monitoring, about seasonal relationships of species at landscape features may help identify critical areas used by migrating bats

Working towards the Common Table: How Vermont Addresses Social Justice and Food Access with Local Food and Why it Matters

Hunger and food insecurity are growing concerns in the United States and around the world. Consequently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated Global Food Security as one of the five focal areas for the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Recently, the USDA released a report indicating that 13.6% of Vermonters are food insecure (up from 9.6% in 2004-2006) and 6.2% are hungry (“very low food security”) compared to the national averages of 13.5% food insecure and 5.2% hungry (Nord, Coleman-Jensen, Andrews, & Carlson, 2010). At the same time, farmers in Vermont are struggling. The average net income of Vermont farms according to the USDA’s 2007 Agriculture Census was $22,816/ year. This indicates the financial risk associated with agriculture and the challenges that Vermont farmers face in achieving business viability. Unconnected strategies that either enhance food access or build economic success for agriculture may work at each other’s expense. Hence there is a growing need for efforts that simultaneously support access to high quality, local food for low-income Vermonters while ensuring fair return to Vermont farmers. Approaches driven by this dual-goal have great potential to strengthen communities and further social equity, both important tenets of sustainable agriculture

Voices from the ‘Holler’: Implementation and Analysis of an Advanced Advocacy Practice Course in Rural Appalachia

The availability of quality macro education is a critical determinant to policy engagement among social workers, especially for those in geographically isolated areas. This mixed methods, pilot study compares self-assessed CSWE policy competencies of graduating MSW students who completed an Advanced Advocacy Practice course with a comparison group. Student course reflections were also analyzed for common themes. Results indicate that students who completed the course rated themselves higher across policy competencies than graduating MSW students who had not completed the course. They were also more likely to see policy advocacy as a “primary skill” for social workers. Qualitative analysis suggests that participants gained greater confidence in their macro practice skills. This pilot study provides an important contribution to the limited existent research on best practices for social work policy education, especially for those in rural areas

The Effect of Ionized Bracelets on Pain and Function in Individuals with Arthritis

Arthritis is a prevalent condition found throughout the entire population. Manifestations of this disease can lead to increased pain in multiple joints leading to decreased functional mobility and limitations in activities of daily living. Ionized bracelets have become an increasingly popular non-traditional, conservative treatment for decreasing pain and improving well-being in persons with multiple diagnoses and body system involvement. Very little research has been conducted on the effects of ionized bracelets; therefore, additional research needs to be conducted to validate these theories. The purpose of our study is to determine the effect of ionized bracelets on pain and function in individuals diagnosed with arthritis. Fifty subjects over the age of 18 and diagnosed with arthritis were recruited to participate in this double blind, randomized controlled trial. The subjects were required to wear either an ionized or placebo bracelet for a four week time period. A pre screening questionnaire was used to collect general demographic data and as a screening tool to exclude those with any pathology/conditions that could have been adversely affected by the ionized bracelets. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups (19 ionized, 31 placebo). Subjects rated their pain using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and measuring functional activities using the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Statistical analysis using a mixed groups factorial ANOV A showed no significant interaction of treatment groups and time as related to pain and function. In the ionized group, a significant difference was found using a paired t-test when evaluating the main effects of time on the Bodily Pain subset in the SF-36, but not in the VAS. This group showed a decrease in pain over the four week course. A significant level of improvement of function was also found in the Vitality and Social Functioning subsets of the SF-36. This significance was found only in the placebo group, not in the ionized. In the General Health subset of the SF-36 a significant difference was found when looking at both ionized and placebo groups together, but no significance was found when analyzed separately. With so many inconsistencies, the results of this study have illustrated the need for further research regarding the effects that ionized bracelets have on arthritic pain and function. Further research should focus on more precise single variables such as pain as opposed to multiple factors, such as pain and function. These studies should be performed with larger sample sizes and over longer periods of time. Only as research accumulates will consumers be able to make informed decisions regarding the use of alternative therapies such as ionized bracelets

The impact of forest conversion to oil palm plantation on the internal nitrogen cycle of tropical lowland soils

This thesis seeks to quantify the effect of land use change from tropical forest to oil palm plantation on nitrogen biogeochemical cycling in Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo). Nitrogen cycling process rates and indices were examined across four forests and six oil palm plantations during the inter-monsoon and end of wet season in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Firstly, the study establishes a baseline to assess the impact of land use change along a chronosequence of forest succession. Results indicate that forests follow a trajectory of nitrogen recovery and increased “openness” to nitrogen cycling through secondary forest development. Secondly, the spatial and temporal variation of nitrogen cycling within oil palm plantations is assessed. Results show that plantation management practices result in spatial variability in soil nitrogen. Examining process rates revealed an increasing trend of N$_2$O emission and decreasing trends of soil organic matter content as plantations matured. However, season and soil type also affected denitrification and N$_2$O emission. Finally, a replicated comparison of process rates in forests and plantations on riparian and terra firme soils revealed that plantation establishment significantly altered rates of nitrogen cycling and resulted in greater emissions of N$_2$O from $terra$ $firme$ plantations

What change in body mass index is needed to improve metabolic health status in childhood obesity:protocol for a systematic review

PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols) 2015 checklist: recommended items to address in a systematic review protocol*. PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. (DOC 80.5 kb

Psychological aspects of the alien contact experience

Previous research has shown that people reporting contact with aliens, known as “experiencers”, appear to have a different psychological profile compared to control participants. They show higher levels of dissociativity, absorption, paranormal belief and experience, and possibly fantasy proneness. They also appear to show greater susceptibility to false memories as assessed using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott technique. The present study reports an attempt to replicate these previous findings as well as assessing tendency to hallucinate and self-reported incidence of sleep paralysis in a sample of 19 UK-based experiencers and a control sample matched on age and gender. Experiencers were found to show higher levels of dissociativity, absorption, paranormal belief, paranormal experience, self-reported psychic ability, fantasy proneness, tendency to hallucinate, and self-reported incidence of sleep paralysis. No significant differences were found between the groups in terms of susceptibility to false memories. Implications of the results are discussed and suggestions are made for future avenues of research. Santomauroa, Hamiltona, Rachel Foxa, Thalbourne