The Association Between Health Literacy and Diet Adherence Among Primary Care Patients with Hypertension

This study examines the association between health literacy and adherence to low-salt diet practices among individuals with hypertension. Health literacy is the ability of individuals to understand and utilize health information. We surveyed 238 patients with hypertension from a primary care clinic in Charlotte, NC. We assessed health literacy and self-reported low-salt diet. Logistic regression was used to model the relationship between health literacy and low-salt diet adherence. Respondents were primarily female (67.3%) and black (80%). Black Americans were less likely to have adequate health literacy as compared to white Americans (21.8% vs. 55.8%). The study found no association between adequate health literacy and adherence to a low-salt diet (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.36-3.10) after adjusting for confounders. This study addresses the conflicting findings for health literacy in two related areas: chronic illness self-care, and nutrition/diet skills. Additional research is warranted among black Americans given their increased risk of hypertension, low rates of diet adherence and previous findings of positive associations between health literacy and nutrition skills

From Ecological Creativity to an Ecology of Well-Being: ‘Flows & Catchments’ as a Case Study of NVivo

This paper’s research question concerns how the ecological creativity of the Volcanic Plains region of Western Victoria may be transformed into an ecology of well-being of benefit to the local community. Drawing on the philosophies of Spinoza and Gilles Deleuze, we argue that community well-being results from the richness of connections and relationships made within a place. The case study for our investigation is ‘Flows & Catchments’, which is an ongoing, collaborative, creative-arts research project auspiced by Deakin University. Its modus operandi is Practice-Based Research (PBR), and its aim is to promote community well-being in Western Victoria. However, while the whole metier of the creative arts is to make the novel connections and relationships that should bring about community well-being, the various artists of ‘Flows & Catchments’ have proved slightly reluctant to make connections outside of their individual or small-group sub-projects. In this way, ecological creativity has not reached its full potential as an ecology of well-being because the rich connections and relationships essential to this well-being have not yet been fully realised. This paper explores the potential of using the NVivo qualitative analysis software package to bring together the creative-arts sub-projects of ‘Flows & Catchments’, as a way of fostering an ecology of well-being out of a currently dispersed ecological creativity

FT-MIR-ATR of Organic Residues From Inside Peruvian Sacrificial Jars

This project used various solvents in an attempt to determine the identity of the contents of Peruvian jars to determine their purpose.https://scholarworks.uni.edu/chemanaly_fa2018/1008/thumbnail.jp

Implementing SBIRT in a Critical Access Emergency Department

Purpose: Universal screening and brief intervention with referral to treatment (SBIRT) has become best practice for emergency departments (EDs) over the last two decades. Given the prevalence of alcohol use and the subsequent health impacts of drinking, EDs are well positioned to be on the front line of screening for risky drinking. The available literature is clear in its consensus that universal screening for alcohol use in the ED is critical to identifying people at high risk for drinking and improving health outcomes. Aims: This project aimed to implement an SBIRT process in a critical access ED. To achieve this global aim, the project team developed an SBIRT process and educated nurses and providers on its use in the department. Methods: The project team performed a two-month retrospective chart review determining the baseline rate of alcohol screening in the department. An SBIRT process was implemented in the unit. After implementation of the SBIRT process, a two-month chart review measured staff usage of the new procedure. Results: Over the two-month implementation period, the percentage of patients in the ED screened for alcohol use increased from an average of sixty-five percent before the intervention to seventy-nine percent after. Conclusions: Increased alcohol screening for patients in a critical access ED is possible with education and buy in from clinical staff. The existing electronic screener tool was widely preferred to the newer, paper AUDIT_C tool. Embedding the new screener tool in the electronic chart may be a way to increase convenience and therefore its adoption. Keywords: SBIRT, alcohol use disorder, emergency department alcohol screening

What Makes a Good Student?

Abstract Academic achievement in college students has been predicted in previous studies from the application of self-regulation study strategies, academic self-efficacy, study skills, need for achievement, and procrastination. As part of a larger study looking at the effect of a study skill intervention, 49 college aged students were assessed for the variables listed above. A statistically significant correlation was found between self-regulation and self-efficacy. Using a multiple regression, the variables together predicted students’ GPAs, however, it was only study skills that was a statistically significant predictor. In zero-order correlations, self-regulation and self-efficacy were significantly correlated. More research should be done to investigate the relation between these variables. Keywords: academic achievement, study skill

Campus Involvement of University Recreation Student Employees

Involvement in campus activities such as intramurals, club sports, fraternities, sororities, honor societies, and athletic events are known to be an integral part of student retention and academic success. However, the reason behind the campus involvement of students warrants further investigation. The purpose of this study was to determine if working at a university recreation center had an effect on campus involvement of student employees. A questionnaire was developed consisting of 29 questions and divided into two sections with the first 22 questions related to campus involvement and the remainder to the demographics of the respondents. The questionnaire was administered to 31 University Recreation (UREC) student employees at Angelo State University who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Chi-Square analysis was used to determine if any statistical associations existed among the variables. Alpha was set at 0.05. Results of the analysis indicated that only two questions yielded statistical significance (p<0.05): “I attend athletic events at ASU” and “I have formed new friendships at ASU while working in UREC.” As such, the outcomes of this study were deemed inconclusive as to whether or not there is an overall association between working at a university recreation center and campus involvement of student employees. Further studies examining other variables that may be related to student involvement on campus are needed

A Human Minor Histocompatibility Antigen Resulting from Differential Expression due to a Gene Deletion

Minor histocompatibility antigens (minor H antigens) are targets of graft-versus-host disease and graft-versus-leukemia responses after allogeneic human leukocyte antigen identical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Only a few human minor H antigens have been molecularly characterized and in all cases, amino acid differences between homologous donor and recipient proteins due to nucleotide polymorphisms in the respective genes were responsible for immunogenicity. Here, we have used cDNA expression cloning to identify a novel human minor H antigen encoded by UGT2B17, an autosomal gene in the multigene UDP-glycosyltransferase 2 family that is selectively expressed in liver, intestine, and antigen-presenting cells. In contrast to previously defined human minor H antigens, UGT2B17 is immunogenic because of differential expression of the protein in donor and recipient cells as a consequence of a homozygous gene deletion in the donor. Deletion of individual members of large gene families is a common form of genetic variation in the population and our results provide the first evidence that differential protein expression as a consequence of gene deletion is a mechanism for generating minor H antigens in humans

Product Complexity and Mode Choice in Global Product Development

20th Annual Conference of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS 2009) presentatio