578 research outputs found
Decreasing Blood Culture Contamination Rates in the Emergency Department
Introduction: Blood cultures (BCs) are a vital diagnostic tool for sepsis in patients with a suspected infection. Emergency departments are the primary place where BCs are drawn, but the BC contamination rates in emergency departments are the highest and most varied in healthcare. This project’s goal was to decrease the BC contamination rate below 3% (the national benchmark for BC contamination) in an ED in the Southeastern region through the implementation of a blood culture collection toolkit.
Methods: The best practices for reducing the BC contamination rate in the emergency department was determined through a thorough literature review. A cost-effective, evidence-based plan was formed to utilize emergency department resources more effectively to decrease the BC contamination rate. The BC toolkit consisted of nursing education on proper BC collection, monthly aggregate level feedback in the ED, and packaged BC collection kit.
Results: The monthly contamination rates were 3.6%, 1,7%, and 2.1% respectively during the 3-month implementation of the project. This emergency department had not had two consecutive months with contamination rates less than 3% in 3 years prior to this project. When compared to the corresponding 3 months from the previous year, there was a statistically significant decrease in the BC contamination rates during implementation. There was a clinically significant decrease in the BC contamination rates when compared to the 3 months immediately before implementation.
Discussion: As evidenced by the results of this project, emergency departments can decrease BC contamination rates to meet the national benchmark of 3% through a well-structured strategy. Further, this can be accomplished at no additional cost to the emergency department. The cost-effective nature of this project combined with a strong sense of teamwork will lead to sustainable change in emergency departments to consistently improve the quality of care given to patients
Patent Aggression: High Risk Intellectual Property Strategies in the Semiconductor Industries
Electric-field driven insulating to conducting transition in a mesoscopic quantum dot lattice
We investigate electron transport through a finite two dimensional mesoscopic
periodic potential, consisting of an array of lateral quantum dots with
electron density controlled by a global top gate. We observe a transition from
an insulating state at low bias voltages to a conducting state at high bias
voltages. The insulating state shows simply activated temperature dependence,
with strongly gate voltage dependent activation energy. At low temperatures the
transition between the insulating and conducting states becomes very abrupt and
shows strong hysteresis. The high-bias behavior suggests underdamped transport
through a periodic washboard potential resulting from collective motion.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Towards the Avoidance of Counterfeit Memory: Identifying the DRAM Origin
Due to the globalization in the semiconductor supply chain, counterfeit
dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips/modules have been spreading worldwide
at an alarming rate. Deploying counterfeit DRAM modules into an electronic
system can have severe consequences on security and reliability domains because
of their sub-standard quality, poor performance, and shorter life span.
Besides, studies suggest that a counterfeit DRAM can be more vulnerable to
sophisticated attacks. However, detecting counterfeit DRAMs is very challenging
because of their nature and ability to pass the initial testing. In this paper,
we propose a technique to identify the DRAM origin (i.e., the origin of the
manufacturer and the specification of individual DRAM) to detect and prevent
counterfeit DRAM modules. A silicon evaluation shows that the proposed method
reliably identifies off-the-shelf DRAM modules from three major manufacturers
Evolutionary Signatures in the Formation of Low-Mass Protostars. II. Towards Reconciling Models and Observations
A long-standing problem in low-mass star formation is the "luminosity
problem," whereby protostars are underluminous compared to the accretion
luminosity expected both from theoretical collapse calculations and arguments
based on the minimum accretion rate necessary to form a star within the
embedded phase duration. Motivated by this luminosity problem, we present a set
of evolutionary models describing the collapse of low-mass, dense cores into
protostars, using the Young & Evans (2005) model as our starting point. We
calculate the radiative transfer of the collapsing cores throughout the full
duration of the collapse in two dimensions. From the resulting spectral energy
distributions, we calculate standard observational signatures to directly
compare to observations. We incorporate several modifications and additions to
the original Young & Evans model in an effort to better match observations with
model predictions. We find that scattering, 2-D geometry, mass-loss, and
outflow cavities all affect the model predictions, as expected, but none
resolve the luminosity problem. A cycle of episodic mass accretion, however,
can resolve this problem and bring the model predictions into better agreement
with observations. Standard assumptions about the interplay between mass
accretion and mass loss in our model give star formation efficiencies
consistent with recent observations that compare the core mass function (CMF)
and stellar initial mass function (IMF). The combination of outflow cavities
and episodic mass accretion reduce the connection between observational Class
and physical Stage to the point where neither of the two common observational
signatures (bolometric temperature and ratio of bolometric to submillimeter
luminosity) can be considered reliable indicators of physical Stage.Comment: 27 pages. Accepted for publication in Ap
The Spatial Distribution of Star Formation in the Solar Neighbourhood: Do all stars form in clusters?
We present a global study of low mass, young stellar object (YSO) surface
densities in nearby (< 500 pc) star forming regions based on a comprehensive
collection of Spitzer Space Telescope surveys. We show that the distribution of
YSO surface densities in the solar neighbourhood is a smooth distribution,
being adequately described by a lognormal function from a few to 10^3 YSOs per
pc^2, with a peak at 22 stars/pc^2 and a dispersion of 0.85. We do not find
evidence for multiple discrete modes of star-formation (e.g. clustered and
distributed). Comparing the observed surface density distribution to previously
reported surface density threshold definitions of clusters, we find that the
fraction of stars in clusters is crucially dependent on the adopted
definitions, ranging from 40 to 90%. However, we find that only a low fraction
(< 26%) of stars are formed in dense environments where their
formation/evolution (along with their circumstellar disks and/or planets) may
be affected by the close proximity of their low-mass neighbours.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, MNRAS letters, accepte
Ecology of Feral Pigeons: Population Monitoring, Resource Selection, and Management Practices
Feral pigeons (Columba livia) are typically ignored by ornithologists but can be found roosting in the thousands within cities across the world. Pigeons have been known to spread zoonoses, through ectoparasites and excrement they produce. Along with disease, feral pigeons have an economic impact due to the cost of cleanup and maintenance of human infrastructure. Many organizations have tried to decrease pigeon abundances through euthanasia or use of chemicals that decrease reproductive output. However, killing pigeons has been unsuccessful in decreasing abundance, and chemical inhibition can be expensive and must be used throughout the year. A case study at Texas Tech University has found that populations fluctuate throughout the year, making it difficult to manage numbers. To successfully decrease populations, it is important to have a multifaceted approach that includes removing necessary resources (i. e. nest sites and roosting areas) and decreasing the number of offspring through humane techniques
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