New Jersey's Nursing Faculty Shortage

Examines the state of the nursing faculty workforce in New Jersey, factors behind the shortage, issues that affect recruitment and retention, and promising practices. Recommends strategies to fill the gap, including re-examining the nursing curriculum

Nonnutritive Sweetener and Weight Management: A Potential Paradox in Modern Dieting

Obesity is a serious health concern in modern society. One way to reduce caloric intake is with nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS). However, recent research suggests they may be compounding the obesity problem. Nonnutritive sweeteners have been linked to increased body mass in a few studies and may be a barrier to effective weight management for some individuals. Under the framework of the health belief model, the research question was: Does this pattern of NNS-BMI covariance exist in young adults at the University of North Florida and, if so, are there other dietary or activity differences that might partially explain this relationship? A sample of 113 students completed an online survey based on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey to answer this question. Their responses quantified BMI, activity level estimates, NNS intake, and produce consumption. There was a no trend of covariance between BMI and NNS intake overall. However, there was a significant relationship between length of NNS usage and both BMI (p\u3c0.01) and NNS intake (p\u3c0.05). A positive correlation also existed between NNS usage and fruit and vegetable intake (p\u3c.005). Weight variability was positively related to NNS due to the maintenance of previous weight loss (p\u3c0.005). There was no correlation between NNS and activity. There is a tendency to have a higher BMI the longer NNS is consumed. This pattern does not appear to be explained by nutrient intake or activity. However, it may be due to increased tolerance towards sweets over time. Nurse practitioners can make recommendations that facilitate healthy behaviors amongst their patients. Therefore, this is an important issue for advanced practice nursing

Contributing to Nursing Science: WHO ME?

Opening keynote address by Mary Ellen Wright, RN., Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Nursing, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and moderated by Kendrea Todt, PhD, TN

Reward systems and organisation culture: an analysis drawing on three perspectives of culture

The purpose of this research was to investigate the complex relationship between reward systems and organisation culture. Concepts and theory from organisational culture literature as well as an initial grounded theory exercise were used to develop the theoretical framework that underpins this study. To avoid potential bias towards a managerial-only agenda and to deepen the cultural analysis, Martin’s (2002) three perspectives of culture were used together with methodological principles drawn from Gregory (1983), Eisenhardt (1989) and the various cultural studies of Ogbonna (Ogbonna and Harris, 2002a, Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 2003). The research design is interpretivist and inductive and, as such, is different in approach from many reward studies, which are primarily positivist. The aim was to collect in-depth rich data. They are derived from 4 UK case study organisations, with data collected from both employees at all levels and managers. The data are analysed manually using principles of grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006) to draw out categories and to aid theory development. Deploying broadly cultural and sociological concepts and forms of analysis to study reward systems in the four organisations, the study reveals more nuanced interpretations in comparison with reward research purely from the employer or managerial viewpoints. Analysing sub-cultural and fragmentary cultural attributes it offers a contextualised picture of the connections between concepts that are usually thought of as distinctly different– internal and external equity, fairness, transparency, procedural and distributive justice. The results of the study indicate that the relationship between reward and culture is subtle, intricate and overlapping. They suggest reward and culture are not separate variables whose association can be measured. Rather cultural values both fine tune (drawing on Swidler, 1986) employee reactions to reward practices and the experience of reward practices also reciprocally influences and reinforces cultural values - but only to a certain extent. The nature of the service or product of the organisation feeds into the shaping of values in relation to reward, but feeder or occupational cultures are more important than either the product/service or the reward system. This thesis contributes to the reward and culture literature by applying social science cultural concepts to the analysis of reward. It also develops a fine tuning model of culture and reward. It thereby extends the sociological and cultural strand of reward research that has been underdeveloped in recent decades

Alien Registration- Wright, Mary J. (Island Falls, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/35110/thumbnail.jp

Venomic Characterization of the Terebridae and Novel Terebrid Neuropeptides

Unravelling the complex mixture of neuropeptides produced by the terebrid venom duct holds the promise of discovering tomorrow\u27s therapeutics. Cone snails have already demonstrated the potential found in the venom of these unusual marine organisms, through the commercial approval of drugs for pain and other indications. Terebrids, as the sister family to the cone snails, have been much less investigated, but have a species richness that makes them very attractive in the search for novel neuropeptides. The venomics research described in this work encompasses the first comprehensive characterization of the terebrid venom duct transcriptomes of two species, Cinguloterebra anilis and Terebra subulata. De novo assembly and analysis were performed using next generation sequencing technology and state of the art bioinformatics tools to identify the cocktail of peptides, teretoxins, produced by the venom duct. These disulfide rich peptides often show a remarkable specificity for subtypes of ion channels and ligand-gated receptors, giving them therapeutic potential, but they are only available in vanishingly small amounts from the natural source. As a result, identification of teretoxins using next generation sequencing is a prelude to synthesizing them in sufficient quantities to test for bioactivity. Here recombinant expression and solid phase peptide synthesis have both been utilized for the synthesis of four different teretoxins, with a special focus on recombinant synthesis to design a reproducible strategy for synthesizing disulfide rich peptides greater than 40 amino acids in length. Preliminary characterization of bioactivity was performed by injecting synthesized toxin into the polychaete N. virens. A teretoxin identified from Terebra guttata, Tg77, has produced promising results in this assay, with repeated trials showing the effects of uncoordinated movement and rigid paralysis. Further testing on Tg77 and other teretoxins will be carried forward, with an evident need for high throughput assays to provide an efficient means for the testing of novel compounds with a variety of potential molecular targets