Preoperative Education: A Patient-Centered Care Approach

Abstract This project addresses the need for delivering high quality preoperative education to the Arabic speaking patient population served by Sharp Healthcare’s orthopedic service line. A goal set during the institution’s 2015 The Joint Commission Disease-Specific Care survey is to discharge major joint patients to home in two days or less. Data abstracted from Sharp Healthcare’s orthopedic registry revealed that only 30% of Arabic speaking patients are meeting this goal. The current process for educating Arabic speaking patients preoperatively during a one to one educational session with a third party interpreter takes three hours, costs $402.00 per patient, and education is fragmented, abbreviated, and low in quality. When compared to time and costs associated with educating major joint patients at the weekly 90 minute group educational session, costing$3.75 per patient educated, the need for creating a PowerPoint presentation with voice over in the Arabic language to be viewed on a laptop with earbuds during the group educational session was identified. Following a microsystem assessment and root cause analysis, using Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model, preoperative joint replacement education was translated into the Arabic language and a PowerPoint with voice over presentation is being created. The projected outcome is equitable access to knowledge needed by patients to partner in their healthcare and plan for a safe discharge to home in two days or less

Integrating climate change with human land use patterns: archaeology of Butte Lake Northeast

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013This research explores the effects of climate change throughout the Holocene by investigating a multi-component site at Butte Lake, Alaska. This research combines expectations generated from ethnographic models to evaluate site use conditioned by environmental constraints within the theoretical framework of human behavioral ecology. Analysis of lithic materials, faunal remains, and site structure are evaluated to determine site type by occupational component. The results of this research show that a period of low effective moisture during the early Holocene (9000 to 5000 cal BP), as well as a period of both low temperature and increased effective moisture associated with the Neoglacial (3500 to 1500 cal BP) had considerable impacts on the habitability of the site. This research also shows that a period of relatively abundant productivity associated with the Medieval Optimum (1500 to 750 cal BP) may have resulted in extensive trade with, and/or local occupation by Eskimo (Ipiutak/Norton) inhabitants. Most importantly, analysis has shown a sharp distinction between site use associated with the early and middle Holocene occupations, and the specialized and discrete activity loci associated with caribou processing during the late Holocene occupations, likely affected by both climate and water levels at Butte Lake during these respective periods

A mobile system for active otpical pollution monitoring

The remote monitoring of atmospheric pollutants can now be performed in several ways. Laser radar techniques have proven their ability to reveal the spatial distribution of different species or particles. Classical optical techniques can also be used, but yield the average concentration over a given path and hence no range resolution. One such technique is Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy, DOAS. Such schemes can be used to monitor paths that a preliminary lidar investigation has shown to be of interest. Having previously had access to a mobile lidar system, a new system has been completed. The construction builds on experience from using the other system and it is meant to be more of a mobile optical laboratory than just a lidar system. A complete system description is given along with some preliminary usage. Future uses are contemplated

The Influence of Observational Experience and Metaconceptual Teaching Activities on Secondary Science Teacher Candidates’ Conceptual Understandings of the Practices of Science

Research supports that the use of intentional, metaconceptual teaching practices enhances teacher candidates’ conceptual change, thus affecting teacher candidates’ accumulation of new knowledge and understanding. With the increased focus on and need to accommodate the calls for enhanced science teacher education of the Next Generation Science Standards and the related practices of science, it is important to consider how teacher preparation programs enact conceptual change among teacher candidates that align with the current calls. This study examines intentional, metaconceptual teaching activities coupled with observational field experiences with mentor scientists to determine whether engagement in these activities affects teacher candidates’ understandings of the practices of science. Results indicate that teacher candidates did enhance their understandings of the practices of science after participation in one science methods course incorporating metaconceptual teaching activities and observational field experiences. Individual and overall results are discussed along with implications for future research and practice

A new species of Daldinia (Xylariaceae) from the Argentine subtropical montane forest

Based on a combination of morphological, molecular phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic evidence, a new species of Daldinia from Northwest of Argentina is described. Daldinia korfii is morphologically related to D. placentiformis, but differs in having brown vinaceous, KOH-extractable pigments and the tissue below the perithecial layer is composed of inconspicuous to conspicuous alternating zones in the new taxon.Fil: Sir, Esteban Benjamin. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Botánica. Instituto de Micologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lambert, C.. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung; AlemaniaFil: Wendt, L.. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung; AlemaniaFil: Hladki, Adriana Ines. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Botánica. Instituto de Micologia; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Andrea Irene. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Stadler, M.. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung; Alemani

An Exploration of the Use of Science Specialists and Elementary Students’ Science Achievement

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine the effect of using science specialists in elementary schools on science achievement scores. The sample population consisted of 282 fifth grade students enrolled in Georgia public schools. The data for this study was collected from four public elementary schools’ end-of-year state assessments and analyzed as archival data. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine if there was a difference between science achievement scores in elementary schools that use science specialists compared to those that do not. Results indicate that no statistically significant difference exists between the science achievement scores of students enrolled in schools that use science specialists for science instruction compared to those that do not. Implications of the findings are discussed relating to education practice, administration, and needs for future study

Giant microwave photoresistance of two-dimensional electron gas

We measure microwave frequency (4-40 GHz) photoresistance at low magnetic field B, in high mobility 2D electron gas samples, excited by signals applied to a transmission line fabricated on the sample surface. Oscillatory photoresistance vs B is observed. For excitation at the cyclotron resonance frequency, we find an unprecedented, giant relative photoresistance (\Delta R)/R of up to 250 percent. The photoresistance is apparently proportional to the square root of applied power, and disappears as the temperature is increased.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

An Examination of Middle School Students’ Attitudes Toward Science

For more than 40 years, researchers have been studying the persistent underrepresentation of women in science. Today, the gender gap has narrowed in some, but not all, disciplines of science. To better understand the impetus of this continuing problem, the attitudes of middle school students toward science were examined using a causal-comparative design based on biological sex across four attitude constructs: attitudes toward school science, desire to become a scientist, value of science to society, and perceptions of scientists. A sample of 450 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade science students located in suburban, central New Jersey responded to Likert-type items on the My Attitudes Toward Science (MATS) survey during their regularly scheduled science class periods. Data analysis was performed through a multivariate analysis of variance. The findings indicated no statistically significant differences in middle school students’ attitudes toward school science, desire to become a scientist, value of science to society, and perceptions of scientists based on biological sex of the students. Implications for the findings are discussed

Integración de Ecuaciones Diferenciales rígidas de valor de contorno en problemas de combustión con cinética de reacción detallada

Modelos detallados de la llama de difusión plana, laminar de jets opuestos requieren la solución de las ecuaciones de conservación de cantidad de movimiento, energía y especies químicas en conjunto con una cinética de reacción química stiff. El problema tiene soluciones autosimilares y se puede resolver mediante integración numérica de un conjunto de ecuaciones diferenciales ordinarias stiff de segundo orden, con condiciones de contorno, cada una de las cuales tiene un punto de torno de primer orden debido a la ecuación de conservación de cantidad de movimiento. El uso de discretización en diferencias finitas standard (en el dominio espacial) y la expansión en serie de Taylor alrededor de la iteración anterior (en el espacio temporal) del término cinético de las reacciones químicas lleva a una ecuación de matrices en la cual la matriz de coeficientes es del tipo tridiagonal en bloques y muy grande de tamaño. También representa una matriz de banda y se puede obtener una solución al problema mediante una descomposición LU. Inestabilidades numéricas debidas a la malla finita de espaciamiento irregular y a la difusión de errores numéricos hacia los bordes forzaron el uso de una malla regular con un gran número de puntos. Esto restringió el estudio a la solución de problemas con esquemas cinéticos relativamente simples, debido a la alta necesidad de memoria de computador. Este dilema fue resuelto por el desarrollo de un esquema de diferenciación modificado, que asume que la solución puntual del problema está dada por una suma de exponenciales. A Usando esta nueva técnica fue posible hallar la solución de una llama con 150 reacciones envolviendo las ecuaciones de ccnservación de 70 especies químicas. En este artículo formulamos el problema y describimos resultados de los varios esquemas numéricos mediante los que se intentó resolver el mismo. El foco principal, sin embargo, está u dirigido hacia la modificación del esquema de diferencias finitas, acoplado con la expansión en serie de Taylor de los términos de reacción química.Detailed models of the flat, laminar, opposed jet diffusion flame involve the solution of the momentu, energy and species conservation equations coupled with stiff chemical kinetics. The problem has self similar solutions and can be solved through numerical integration of a set of second order, stiff, boundary valued, ordinary differential equations, each with a regular first order turning point arising from convection. Use of standard finite difference discretization (in the spatial domain) and expansion of the reaction rate source terms in a Taylor series abaut the backward iteration (in the temporal domain), lead to a matrix equation in which the coefficient matrix is a very large block tridiagonal matrix. It is also a band matrix and solution is obtained through LU descomposition. Instabiiities originating from the unevenly spaced grid and from diffusion of numerical errors towards the boundaries forced the use of a large number of equally spaced grid points which contrained the program to solution of relatively small kinetic problems (due to core storage limitations). This dilemma was resolved by developing a modified central difference discretization which assumes that the solution at a mesh point is given by the sum of exponentials. Using the new technique it was possible to obtain the solution of the opposed jet problem with 150 reactions and 70 species on the available CYBER 175 computer.Peer Reviewe