A Hemodynamic investigation of a complete arteriovenous model of the arm, arteriovenous fistula, and distal revascularization and interval ligation

One of the largest problems facing vascular surgeons today is malfunctioning arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) in patients on hemodialysis. A radial- cephalic AVF is a vessel in the arm that directs blood flow from the high pressure arteries to the low pressure veins and is put in place so blood can be withdrawn from a patient at a point where high volume blood flow occurs. After a period of maturation, the fistula often expands to adapt for the increase flow and can therefore be accessed repeatedly for hemodialysis. However, in a small percentage of cases, access related steal can lead to ischemia of the hand and threaten the patient with gangrene and amputation. This is a recognizable problem and is currently being treated with a method called Distal Revascularization and Interval Ligation (DRIL) in which a vast majority of cases see improved blood flow and pressure to the digits all while maintaining the AVF. The DRIL procedure has been widely accepted as an effective method to prevent the onset of steal, however the flow mechanisms and reasoning behind its success is not well understood. Thus far, attempts of explaining the procedure have been sparse and incomplete, often disregarding factors such as the compliance of the vessels and the pressures and flows on the venous side of the vasculature. To study this problem, a physical model was built using tubing with comparable resistances and compliances to that of native vessels. The native circulation was first built, including the venous side, which will provide a unique baseline for the study. An emphasis was placed on creating a system with physiologic pressures on both the arterial side and venous side. Once the model successfully represented the native blood flow, it was adapted for an AVF. Upon this adaptation, variations of radius, length, and position were tested. Furthermore, this model can easily be adapted to model hypertensive patients, much like those on hemodialysis and can offer additional insight as to if those patients are more susceptible to access related ischemia. Observations of pressures and flows led to a comprehensive study of the hemodynamics of the native arm circulation, an AVF and the DRIL procedure. When the model is integrated into the hemodynamic simulator loop, physiologic pressures have been produced in the arterial side of 125/55 mmHg and a damped waveform with a mean pressure of 18 mmHg was found on the venous side. Mean aortic flow was 4.7 L/min

Reducing Cheating Opportunities in Online Test

Abstract This paper focuses on reducing cheating opportunities of online test assessment. Increasing use of online test in all course presentation formats (online, blended/hybrid or facilitated) has elevated faculty concerns of cheating. Efforts by educators to reduce cheating have been ongoing and with some success but, as the results of a study reported here more is needed. Two sections of a course, one online and one onsite were offered the same semester, with the same instructor, syllabus, textbook and tests. The online students took all tests online. The onsite students took all exams online except the last two tests and final exam which were paper and pencil taken in the classroom. Online students scored higher than onsite students on all tests with one exception were significantly higher when the onsite students took the paper and pencil tests. Online testing introduces a new testing environment that requires more thought and care to reduce cheating and uphold academic integrity

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationTen separate idealized cloud-resolving model (CRM) and four separate nested limited area model (LAM) three-dimensional simulations having horizontal grid spacing of ~1 km and ~75-100 vertical levels are compared to observations during the active monsoon period of the Tropical Warm Pool - International Cloud Experiment, based in Darwin, Australia, with specific focus on a large mesoscale convective system observed on January 23-24, 2006. All simulations produce high biased convective radar reflectivity and low biased stratiform rainfall with these biases heavily modulated by bulk microphysics scheme assumptions. High biased convective radar reflectivity aloft always involves a graupel/hail component, but also includes a snow component for some two-moment schemes. Making snow particle mass proportional to ~D2 rather than D3 may lower snow reflectivity. This high bias is also related to freezing of very large simulated rain water contents in deep convective updrafts. Peak vertical velocities are greater than dual-Doppler retrieved values, especially in the upper troposphere likely due to greater latent heating from freezing and deposition in simulations. A subdomain LES simulation also produces overly intense simulated updrafts. Therefore, they may be a product of interactions between convective dynamics and parameterized microphysics that promote a different convective mode and strength than observed, while inadequately simulated instability and vertical shear variability may also be involved. Two-moment schemes do not outperform one-moment schemes in stratiform rainfall prediction. Excessive size sorting produces more large stratiform raindrops at low levels than observed in two-moment schemes. One-moment schemes produce too many small stratiform raindrops relative to observed because constant size intercepts are too high. Increasing the rain gamma shape parameter from 0 to 2.5 improves agreement with observations. Due to differences in raindrop size that create different mass sedimentation rates, low-level stratiform liquid water contents are close to observed in one-moment schemes, but lower than observed in two-moment schemes. Low biased stratiform rainfall is primarily due to an under-prediction of melting ice consistent with the lack of a large well-developed stratiform region in simulations. This may be caused by overly intense simulated convection, limited domain size in the CRM simulations, and large-scale forcing biases in the LAM simulations

Performance evaluations and calibrations of soil water content/potential sensors for agricultural soils in eastern Colorado

2011 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document

Legislation and its effects on race relations in southeastern Indiana, 1785-1860.

Residents of Indiana debated the status of Blacks from the time the area was part of the Northwest Territory until the Civil War. An anti-slavery faction gained control of the Indiana territorial legislature and assured Black’s rights through early statehood; however, from the mid-1820s until 1851 anti-black leaders passed repressive legislation. Officials in the southeastern Indiana counties and cities ignored the repressive laws unless events forced them to act. In 1820 one in four Blacks in Indiana lived in the southeastern counties of Jefferson, Clark, and Floyd. By 1850, those county’s seats - Madison, Jeffersonville, and New Albany, respectively - were the largest urban areas in Indiana. Businesses of those counties and cities relied on trade with the slave state of Kentucky, but also relied on the industry of their Black residents. For these two reasons, those counties and cities developed distinctively from the rest of the state

Married Catholic Priests: Their Unique Priestly Identity and Potential Catalyst for Change in the U.S. Catholic Church

This qualitative research study examined the lived experiences of fifteen married, Latin Rite, U.S. Catholic priests who were ordained through either the Pastoral Provision or the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. The purpose of this study was to understand the unique experiences these men share, differentiated from that of their celibate brethren. Data were collected through semi-structured phone interviews. Questions focused on leadership, celibacy, a priest shortage, the abuse crisis, homosexuality and same-sex attraction in the priesthood, priestly identity, the priest/parishioner relationship, alienation, the Pastoral Provision, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and the roles and effects that married priests might have on the U.S. Catholic Church. Analysis was crafted through the lens of postmodern American culture and role theory, including frames of Collective Consciousness, Complex Religious Systems, Symbolic Interactionism, and Presentation of Self. Themes that emerged were identity, role and career limitation. The more salient findings of this study are that these men are institutionally disadvantaged due to barriers of identity construction and their prescribed roles within the Church, both of which hinder career development within the Latin Rite, U.S. Catholic Church. Married priests tend to fully respect and admire those men called to the priesthood and who have accepted the vow of celibacy. They often struggle with financial hardships, particular to answering the call to the Catholic priesthood while supporting a spouse and family. This study highlights frustration with their limited roles in the Church and the effects those roles have on their identities and careers. Additionally, this study identifies necessary areas of support for this unique cohort of Catholic priest

Creating A Conducive Classroom Environment: Classroom Management Is The Key

Creating a classroom environment which is conducive to learning is one of the most important things a teacher can do. This becomes even more crucial as students enter classrooms with their cell phones, pagers, and beepers. Additionally, many students are tardy for class, leave early, or may not appear in class on numerous occasions. Therefore, classroom management takes on greater significance at the university level. Effective classroom management starts at the first class meeting. Everything a teacher does on Day One will set the stage for the procedures, routines, and expectations throughout the course. Having a detailed syllabus, outlining requirements for the course, defining expectations for attendance and participation, and explaining the “rules of the road” are just the beginning of how a teacher models expected behavior of the students. This paper provides successful strategies used in university classrooms and presents a review of literature on effective university classroom management practices

Creating A Conducive Classroom Environment: Classroom Management Is The Key

Creating a classroom environment which is conducive to learning is one of the most important things a teacher can do. This becomes even more crucial as students enter classrooms with their cell phones, pagers, and beepers. Additionally, many students are tardy for class, leave early, or may not appear in class on numerous occasions. Therefore, classroom management takes on greater significance at the university level. Effective classroom management starts at the first class meeting. Everything a teacher does on Day One will set the stage for the procedures, routines, and expectations throughout the course. Having a detailed syllabus, outlining requirements for the course, defining expectations for attendance and participation, and explaining the “rules of the road” are just the beginning of how a teacher models expected behavior of the students. This paper provides successful strategies used in university classrooms and presents a review of literature on effective university classroom management practices

WHITE PAPER: DEMONSTRATION OF EQUIVALENCY OF CANE AND SOFTWOOD BASED CELOTEX FOR 9975 PACKAGING

Cane-based Celotex{trademark} has been used extensively in various DOE packages as a thermal insulator and impact absorber. Cane-based Celotex{trademark} for the 9975 was manufactured by Knight-Celotex Fiberboard at their Marrero Plant in Louisiana. However, Knight-Celotex Fiberboard shut down their Marrero Plant in early 2007 due to impacts from hurricane Katrina and other economic factors. Therefore, cane-based Celotex{trademark} is no longer available for use in the manufacture of new 9975 packages. Knight-Celotex Fiberboard has Celotex{trademark} manufacturing plants in Danville, VA and Sunbury, PA that use softwood and hardwood, respectively, as a raw material in the manufacturing of Celotex{trademark}. The purpose of this White Paper is to demonstrate that softwood-based Celotex{trademark} from the Knight-Celotex Danville Plant has performance equivalent to cane-based Celotex{trademark} from the Knight-Celotex Marrero Plant for transportation in a 9975 package

Operating And Earnings Performance Of Quality Certified Listed Firms

With a large number of US firms, obtaining the ISO 9000 quality certification, this article attempts to investigate the impact of the certification on operating and financial performance. Our results indicate the benefits of the certification may be limited and may depend on the time period in consideration, and the sample of firms used for comparing firm performance. Also investors usually do not perceive the ISO certified firms to have a higher quality of earnings and not willing to pay more for earnings from such firms