bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Implications from Clinical Assessment of Movement Pathology Across Contexts Using the Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory
Authors:   , Linn Allison J. , Goodill Sherry W.
Published: July 2021

The Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory (MPI) is an assessment tool, that uses movement observation for the purpose of diagnosing individuals with mental illnesses. The MPI requires extensive training as well as access to a videotape of a seated interview and several hours to carefully observe an individual in conversation. In 2007, a short-form version of the MPI was created for the clinical use of the instrument in dance/movement therapy (DMT) assessment. To date, no known use of this novel instrument has been published. In this pilot study, one rater with extensive experience with the MPI used both forms of the MPI to assess videotaped sessions one individual in both a DMT assessment session as well as a seated interview during his stay in an inpatient psychiatric facility. Both instruments were used in each context, and the researcher compared the data across all contexts. In this study, the results indicated that each assessment instrument when used in its intended context uncovered similar movement patterns in the same individual, suggesting that the novel instrument could be applicable in a DMT setting. Because this study had an N of 1, the results are not generalizable nor did the study test the validity of the instrument. The findings of this pilot study, however, suggest that further research should be conducted by multiple raters in several different contexts using multiple participants. In addition to further research, a publication of guidelines for use and available trainings would make the short-form MPI a valuable assessment tool for dance/movement therapists working in a clinical setting with people with mental illness.
Non-Destructive, Remote Testing of Physically Distributed Power Systems
Authors:   , Schegan Christian M. , Miu Karen Nan
Published: July 2021

The design of naval ships is in the process of changing. Traditionally, full-scale prototypes were built in order to test and improve ship designs; a process that is both time-consuming and costly. One approach for streamlining the design process involves remote, non-destructive testing of physically distributed power systems hardware. The objective of this approach is to operate power system components and subsystems, located at geographically distributed sites, to emulate the desired physically connected power system. Such an approach introduces an underlying communication and control interface between hardware subsystems and/or components located at different sites. This work provides a methodology for the general design and an implementation of non-destructive, remote testing of physically distributed power systems hardware. Specifically, it proposes: · Partitioned Power System (PPS) models that account for bi-directional communication delays and measurement dependent sources; · methods to determine delay-dependent regions of steady-state stability for the PPS; · methods to determine the operating range over which the PPS emulates the physically connected power system. The creation of an experimental hardware test bed is presented. Results from both a 2-bus and 3-bus physically distributed power system are provided as a proof of concept.
Effect of Network Structure/Topology on Mechanical Properties of Crosslinked Polymers
Authors:   , Sharifi Majid , Palmese Giuseppe R.
Published: July 2021

The interest in epoxy thermosetting polymers is widespread (e.g. Boeing 787 Dreamliner, windmill blades, automobiles, coatings, adhesives, etc.), and a demand still exists for improving toughness of these materials without degrading advantageous properties such as strength, modulus, and Tg. This study introduces novel approaches for improving the intrinsic mechanical characteristics of these polymers. The designed synthetic techniques focus on developing polymer materials with the same overall compositions but varying in network topologies, with distinct topological features in the size range of 5-50 nm, measured by SAXS and SEM. It was found that without altering chemical structure, the network topology of a dense thermoset can be engineered such that, under mechanical deformation, nano-cavities open and dissipate energy before rupturing covalent bonds, producing a tougher material without sacrificing strength, modulus, and even glass transition temperature. Modified structures also revealed higher resistance to fracture than the corresponding control structures. The major fracture mechanism responsible for the increased energy dissipation was found to be nano-cavitation. SEM images from the fracture surfaces showed clear cavities on the modified samples whereas none were seen on the fracture surface of the control samples. Overall, it was demonstrated that network topology can be used to tailor thermal and mechanical properties of thermosetting polymers. The experimental methodologies in this dissertation can directly and economically be applied to design polymeric materials with improved properties for desired applications. Although topology-based toughening was investigated on epoxy-amine polymers, the concept can be extended to most thermoset chemistries and perhaps to other brittle network forming materials.
Toward Effective Knowledge Discovery in Social Media Streams
Authors:   , Slutsky Anton , Hu Xiaohua , An Yuan
Published: July 2021

The last few decades have seen an unprecedented growth in the amount of new data. New computing and communications resources, such as cloud data platforms and mo- bile devices have enabled individuals to contribute new ideas, share points of view and exchange newsworthy bits with each other at a previously unfathomable rate. While there are many ways a modern person can communicate digitally with others, social media outlets, such as Twitter or Facebook have been occupying much of the focus of inter-person social networking in recent years. The millions of pieces of content published on social media sites have been both a blessing and a curse for those trying to make sense of the discourse. On one hand, the sheer amount of easily available, real time, contextually relevant content has been a cause of much excitement in academia and the industry. On the other hand, however, the amount of new diverse content that is being continuously published on social sites makes it difficult for researchers and industry participants to effectively grasp. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to discover a set of approaches and techniques that would help enable data miners to quickly develop intuitions regarding the happenings in the social media space. To that aim, I concentrate on effectively visualizing social media streams as hierarchical structures, as such structures have been shown to be useful in human sense making
Correlation of Structure and Properties in Perovskite Oxide Thin Films
Authors:   , Smith Cole Richard , May Steven J.
Published: July 2021

Rare-earth nickelate (RNiO₃) materials exhibit metal-to-insulator transitions at given critical temperatures, which are highly correlated to the relative radii of the rare-earth elements to the radius of nickel. In this work, La_[1-x]Eu_xNiO₃ (LENO) single crystal thin films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy for the first time to understand how epitaxial strain correlates to the metal-to-insulator transition. These thin films showed transition temperatures that trended well with previous research on their bulk counterparts. However, it was found that films grown under tensile strain (~1%) transitioned at much higher temperatures than films grown under the same amount of compressive strain, while films under severe amounts of tensile strain (>2.5%) remained insulating from 1.8 K to 400 K. This is due to the elongation of the in-plane Ni-O bonds which dominate the electron conduction path. During the course of this research the tolerance to cationic off-stoichiometry was also studied in LaNiO₃ films. Typically it was assumed that films with defects were more resistive than more crystalline films, however it is rare to find a cationic composition study on complex oxide thin films. In this work Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and electronic transport measurements were utilized to show that LaNiO₃ films with a La:Ni ratio of 0.75 can be more conductive than films with more stoichiometric cation ratios. This non-trivial behavior is attributed to an increase in electronic bandwidth brought on by a shortening of the Ni-O bonds. These Ni-O-Ni bond angles and lengths are heavily correlated to the macroscopic properties, and in all perovskites these B-O-B parameters are critical for understanding physical behavior. A final effort of this work was to develop a program capable of solving for these angles and bond lengths through the use of synchrotron diffraction of half-order Bragg peaks. My program was shown to work with rhombohedral systems and more structurally complex orthorhombic perovskites, in which the origin of the half-order peaks arises from both octahedral rotations and A-site displacements. Using this program the structure of LaGaO₃ films strained to SrTiO₃ was solved. This program will be available for all perovskite thin film researchers after being thoroughly vetted.
Distance measures in bioinformatics
Authors:   , Xiong Feiyu , Kam Moshe , Hrebien Leonid
Published: July 2021

Many bioinformatics applications rely on the computation of similarities between objects. Distance and similarity measures applied to vectors of characteristics are essential to problems such as classification, clustering and information retrieval. This study explores the usefulness of distance and similarity measures in several bioinformatics applications. These applications are in two categories. (1) Estimation of the adverse reaction severity of unknown pharmaceutical treatments, based on the severity of known treatments, in order to provide guidance for testing of the unknown treatments in clinical trials. (2) Classification of cancer tissue types and estimation of cancer stages, based on high-dimensional microarray data, in order to support clinical decisions making. To address the first category, we studied several clustering and classification approaches for binary severity estimation of Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS). We developed a Severity Estimation using Distance Metric Learning (SE-DML) approach to get graded severity estimation. With binary estimation we were able to identify treatments that caused the most severe response and then built prediction models for CRS. Using the SE-DML approach, we evaluated four known data sets and showed that SE-DML outperformed other widely used methods on these data sets. For the second category, we presented Kernelized Information-Theoretic Metric Learning (KITML) algorithms that optimize distance metrics and effectively handle high-dimensional data. This learned metric by KITML is used to improve the performance of k-nearest neighbor classification for cancer tissue microarray data. We evaluated our approach on fourteen (14) cancer microarray data sets and compared our results with other state-of-the-art approaches. We achieved the best overall performance for the classification task. In addition we tested the KITML algorithm in estimating the severity stages of cancer samples, with accurate results.
The Public School Response to Cyber Charter Programs
Authors:   , Hardin John Christopher , Grant Allen C.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to determine contributing factors for students' and parents' decisions to remain in, or return to, a district's cyber school program. This study also sought to determine the efficacy of a school district's cyber program, and how efficacy specifically contributed to students' and families' decision-making process about where to attend online learning. This study examined the practices that one public school district employed in its management of cyber programming, as well as its retention and recruitment plans as they related to in-district cyber education in K-12 schools. The primary research questions of this study were: What are the experiences of administrators, students, and parents involved with the in-district program? Why are students remaining in the district's cyber program? Why are students returning to the district's cyber program? What are the factors that influence a student to either remain in or return to the district's cyber program? What role do teachers have regarding student persistence and student retention? The researcher used semistructured interview questions to determine the most effective means of student retention, recruitment, and cyber program development while understanding experiences of students, parents, and school administrators. The researcher attempted to find a relationship between district cyber programmatic design and student academic interest or need as well as parental responses that indicated vital programmatic characteristics from their perspective. Ideally, the results of this study will eventually lead to the development of a template for K-12 in-district cyber program success after viewing the results from the district in this case study research. Seven themes emerged from the semistructured interviews: teacher quality, retention and recruitment, program perception, support, flexibility, social interaction and costs/financials. Results points toward the importance of having in-district teachers involved in the program to ensure quality feedback from teacher to student both online and face to face, which is important in supporting student success. Schedule flexibility is an excellent byproduct of the in-district program; increasing program understanding through advertising as it could further support retention and recruitment. It is also important to pay close attention to costs associated with students leaving the district for cyber charter programs, as they can be extremely high. Recommendations point toward increasing advertising associated with in-district cyber programming, analyzing the quality of purchased cyber courses, and reviewing current retention and recruitment practices.
The Feelings and Emotions of Change
Authors:   , Petrone John Peter , Bureau W. Edward
Published: July 2021

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization has been slow. Four entities within the United States have reacted by spearheading the development of new Common Core State Standards, and new state summative assessments. The Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Governors Association standards, and the Smarter Balanced Assessments Consortium (SBAC), and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers Consortium (PARCC), assessments. The state of California committed to these changes in 2010 and 2011 respectively (California Department of Education, 2013b). The affective dimensions that are the result of change are part of the very fabric of every organizational entity, including schools. These dimensions, including ultimately change resistance can lead to undermining, and possible failure of change initiatives (Coggshall, 2004; George, 1996; George & Brief, 1992; Jager, 2001; Sy, Cote, & Saavedra, 2005). The site for this case study was a small, rural, California public middle school where the aforementioned systemic changes continue to occur. The study encompassed semi structured interviews of 12 teachers, artifact collection, and field notes.
Transformational Teams
Authors:   , Rahn Debbie J. , Ghosh Rajashi
Published: July 2021

Preventable negative patient outcomes continue to pervade multiple sectors of American healthcare. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between nursing teamwork and the nurse-sensitive patient outcomes of pressure ulcers, patient falls, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The primary research question of this study was, "How does nursing teamwork affect nurse-sensitive patient outcomes?" Built upon the Donabedian Model of Patient Safety, the mixed methodology design allowed for analysis of correlations between nursing teamwork and the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators nursing outcome indicators. In addition, central tendency statistics and qualitative analysis of focus group data provided additional data for triangulation. Analysis of the data resulted in statistically significant relationships between nursing teamwork and patient outcomes. In addition, key findings included differing levels of teamwork among teams, the transitory nature of nursing team membership, three descriptive themes related to high-quality teams, the importance of team leadership, barriers to teamwork, the lack of skill in dealing with conflict between team members, and the unmet educational needs of nursing team members. Four primary conclusions provide a framework for teamwork education, interventions, and future research. Four major conclusions relate to the impact of teamwork on nurse-sensitive patient outcomes, the lack of a standard theoretical model of team performance within the nursing profession, the need to adapt team training strategies to address the unique needs of nursing teams, and the need for implementation of additional strategies related to the educational needs of nursing team members. The concept of transformational teamwork emerged from the evidence and conceptualizes teamwork within a system in which a transformational leader influences not only individual followers, but the team as a whole, to perform optimally, resulting in high quality outcomes. Each team member within a transformation team has a positive influence on the team and other team members, and the success of transformational teamwork is measured by quality outcomes. It is critical nursing professionals examine the incidence of negative patient outcomes occurring within the nursing sector's locus of control and implement teaching and leadership strategies, including transformational teamwork, to protect patients from the resulting increased morbidity and mortality commonly associated with negative patient outcomes.
Walking into an ESL Classroom
Authors:   , Shields Robert J. , Bureau W. Edward
Published: July 2021

The lives of how individuals assimilate into a culture can be fascinating when explored through personal stories. This narrative study explores the stories of 10 Latino American immigrants attending an ESL class in a Spanish-speaking language support program. The teachers of the Spanish-speaking language support program were involved in a focus group to reveal how speaking the first language of the students affects their teaching and how the students react to its usage while learning English as a second language. The purpose of this narrative study was to understand how or if Latino American immigrants learning English in an ESL classroom in southern California move through the stages of identity, motivation, and connection during their process of assimilation into a dominant culture. The city of Los Angeles has the most Latino American immigrants in the United States, containing nearly 2 million, so understanding how assimilation occurs into the dominant culture via an ESL classroom could be useful. This researcher sought to understand the role of the ESL classroom with L1 utilized, and then examined the role of language as it pertains to the individual story. A narrative research design was utilized to discover each participant's journey, beginning in an ordinary place not seen as heroic or spectacular. Their stories shed light on a process (learning in a classroom) that is designed to be inconspicuous, these "stories function to alter the ways we view mundane events," (Riessman, 2008, p. 63). Ten Latino American immigrants sat down and contributed their narrative to the study so their experience of connecting with the dominant culture could be analyzed and measured with the growing community of immigrants which surrounds them. The four teachers of the Spanish-speaking language support program also added their "wisdom awareness" (Scharmer, 2009, p. 167) regarding Latino American immigrant students learning English in their classroom. Keywords: Identity, Motivation, Connection, Confidence, Isolation, Ostracism, Determination, Opportunities, Obstacles, Communication, Sheltering, Trust-Building, Family, Language, and Dreams.
The Special Value on QVC
Authors:   , Green Azamir Latriel , Salas Philip W. , Tedesco Albert S.
Published: July 2021

QVC is known as the leading home shopping network. Every day, they offer their customers a Today's Special Value that can vary across broad categories. Today's Special Values are provided as an incentive to customers; a way to gain new customers and boost revenue. The thesis will examine the challenges that are faced by customers when they make purchases and how they affect QVC. It will also provide an analysis of the amount of time spent teasing and selling a Today's Special Value and if it is an adequate amount for different price points. In addition, this thesis will study the perceived value of QVC customers, in hopes of finding an effective way to forecast sales for Today's Special Value.
The n-Screen Experience
Authors:   , Rybacki Alexander F. , Tedesco Albert S. , Salas Philip W.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this study was to analyze how genre affected multiscreen television viewing. The study was conducted by surveying 120 participants. Analysis included which types of shows led to multiscreen interaction, as well as what types of multiscreen experiences viewers were partaking in during a particular type of show. The study also examined what motivated viewers to use another screen during a program. 69% of the participants utilized another screen while watching television. Their primary reasons were to avoid commercials, something on the show piqued their interest, or because the program could not hold their full attention. It was also found that social media interaction was a major driving force behind multiscreen use. Overall, it can be concluded that viewers are utilizing a second screen for a large part of their television viewing. Because of this, producers and content creators must find a way to create a complete, cross-platform experience with their show.
An Analysis of Mobile Television in the Chinese Market
Authors:   , Yang Yang , Salas Philip W. , Tedesco Albert S.
Published: July 2021

This thesis examines the emergence of new media, especially mobile television's significant influence on relevant stakeholders, including content providers, advertisers, and mobile carriers in the Chinese market. As telecom technology develops, viewers are expected to have more social interaction with mobile television. In order to explore how content providers, advertisers, and mobile carriers react to the emergence of mobile television in China, three industry interviews were conducted. Information provided by the interviewees also included tables, which could be useful in predicting the future development of mobile television. Some suggestions will also be provided, concerning the current status of China's mobile television market, which might be helpful for the future development in Chinese mobile television.
Psychiatric Nurse Collected Three-Generation Pedigrees
Authors:   , McLaughlin Kathryn L. , Giarelli Ellen
Published: July 2021

Background and Purpose: The collection of family health histories by healthcare professionals provides a non-invasive, reliable means for identifying patients at risk for the development of various illnesses. Research shows that family health histories are under-utilized and the majority of healthcare professionals do not integrate genetics with disease risk assessment. The purpose of this project was to perform a 'needs assessment' to identify the current knowledge about and use of three-generation pedigrees as a component of the comprehensive health histories gathered by registered nurses working in the mental health setting. This information could be utilized to create a tailored learning module to increase the genetic core competencies of the psychiatric nurse. Method: A quantitative approach applying descriptive statistics to summarize the results of a self-administered paper-based survey focused on five areas of inquiry: 1) Participants' characteristics, 2) belief and practice, 3) comprehension of three generation pedigrees of health history, 4) comprehension of genetic links to disease and 5) a skill demonstration. Survey Results: The characteristics of the population sample were consistent with those of a national sample. The 39% (n=12) of participants had less than five years of experience in nursing with 84% (n=26) having not attended a course in genetics. These participants' responses reflected a high level of support for innovation and 77% (n=24) agreed family health history as an important component of bedside care. Yet, only 48% (n=15) of the participants attempted to diagram a 3 generation pedigree most likely due to a lack of knowledge about the procedure. Clinical Implications/ Recommendations: To comprehend the importance of risk identification for mental health illnesses requires psychiatric nurses to possess genetic core competencies. Performing a 'needs assessment' is the first step to comprehend current knowledge and support the development of a future learning module.
Korach's Fall
Authors:   , Goldberg Benjamin , Wagner Michael G.
Published: July 2021

Like many other areas of education, informal Jewish education is now looking to 21st century influences for help in restructuring the manner by which educational material is delivered. Similar to many other religions, ritualistic practices within Judaism are connected to elements of play and games. In addition to this, researchers note the potential of game based learning to afford twenty-first century skills as well as provide a relevant educational methodology for the current generation of students. Thus, I believe that a game based learning environment would help make informal Jewish educational programs more meaningful to contemporary students. This paper describes, "Korach's Fall," a game based learning environment for informal Jewish education.
Electronic Transport Across Perovskite-Based Heterojunctions
Authors:   , Devine James F. , May Steven J.
Published: July 2021

The ever-growing processing power of electronic devices is limited by the speed of miniaturization, increasing in leaps and bounds as technology allows. Researchers have been investigating novel electronic materials that offer multiple switching properties that may enable additional processing paths. One such material group with the potential to achieve this goal is perovskite oxides. However, limited understanding of electronic transport across perovskite junctions remain an obstacle to device integration. In this thesis, the electronic behavior of metal/oxide and oxide/oxide heterojunctions was systematically studied as a function of oxide composition and temperature. The behavior of Ag/L_[1-x]S_xFO (x = 0.75, 0.45, 0.20) junctions were explored, and determined to have rectifying properties rather than a simple Ohmic character. This thesis revealed evidence of a difference in specific contact resistivity for the Ag / L_[1-x]S_xFO heterojunction based on bias and composition (x). Different resistances were measured under positive and negative bias when contact area varied and direction of current flow switched. When L_[1-x]S_xFO was epitaxially grown on niobium-doped SrTiO₃ substrates, a p-n junction was created. These devices consisted of silver paint contacts on either side of an STNO / L_[1-x]S_xFO (x = 0.75, 0.50, 0.25) wafer. In the full devices, slight directional preference was observed in all samples. The x = 0.50 device showed better conduction than either of the other two samples. When the contact resistances were extrapolated and removed from the total resistance of each device, behavior of the p-n heterojunction was isolated, allowing for the conduction to be analyzed within the context of existing heterojunction transport models. This thesis concluded that rectifying behavior was present at both heterojunctions, metal / oxide and oxide / oxide, providing direction for future studies of these devices.
Piezoelectric Properties of Electrospun Natural Biopolymer Fibers
Authors:   , Huseynova Tatyana Dmitriyevna , Schauer Caroline L.
Published: July 2021

Economy in our society demands for positive profits. We have implemented all the aspects of capitalism in nowadays way of life, which stands for hard work, that pays off. The idea seems very reasonable, however, it brings a number of environmental concerns to the table after being followed for a number of years. Today, we are very concerned with the issues of global warming and scarcity of clean water sources. One of the contributors to the green house effect is carbon dioxide gas emerging from the utilization of oil-based sources of energy. Most of the industries run on oil-based derivatives. Most of the chemical industry is based on the oil-based polymers, which are not biodegradable or biocompatible. Therefore, discovering alternative substitutes for the oil based polymers through biodegradable and biocompatible materials are a step in the right direction. In this study I have explored the piezoelectric nature of natural biopolymers like chitin, collagen and gelatin. Moreover, I have applied three post-processing techniques to compare the strength of piezoelectric response in chitin Nano-fibers under different post - processing conditions. Using PFM experiment helped reinforce the strength of piezoelectric response in chitin aligned and random fibers. Furthermore, this study served as a steppingstone for discovery of material tensile properties, and finer mats morphology and fiber properties like diameter, porosity and distribution. Comparing material content under different post - processing conditions helped reinforce chemical stability and reactivity. For the future development this project will be focused on conducting a more deliberate study of the tensile properties of the samples. It will also conduct XRD studies, which will shed light on the dependence of piezoelectric and tensile properties on the crystalline structure of chitin Nano-fibers. Moreover, there is potential for conducting porosity experiments. As a result of this work, I have gained an in-depth understanding of mechanical properties of a wide range of biopolymer fibrous mats and their potential applications. Discovery of this scientific avenue is a tremendous potential for a major change in industrial vision and industrial material sourcing strategies.
Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition of Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) Thin Films
Authors:   , Janakiraman Sruthi , Lau Kenneth K. S.
Published: July 2021

Poly(vinylpyrroldione) (PVP) is a water soluble polymer produced from the N-vinylpyrrolidone monomer. It has applications in a variety of industrial fields. Here in this work, PVP is studied for new applications in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and surface patterning. Initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) is used to deposit PVP under varying conditions such as reactor pressure and substrate temperature. The deposition kinetics was analyzed and found to be dependent on the rate of monomer adsorption from the vapor phase to the substrate surface. These results aided in identifying the ideal crosslinking and pore filling conditions for integrating PVP into DSSCs by iCVD. Fabricated polymer electrolyte DSSCs using PVP prove to have high open circuit voltage and fill factor that produced cells with higher efficiencies than equivalent liquid electrolyte DSSCs, 1.21 compared to 0.80 %. Further studies were performed on the deposition kinetics of PVP deposited under supersaturated conditions of the monomer. Typically, under supersaturation, the monomer condenses randomly on the surface and does not produce a smooth, thin film. However, PVP is found to deposit uniform films on substrates that have low monomer contact angles, which suggests that monomer wettability has a strong effect on resulting film morphology. For substrates with higher monomer contact angles, PVP growth rate is near-zero. Therefore, by utilizing the differences in growth under supersaturated conditions due to differences in surface wettabilities, selective deposition of PVP using iCVD was successfully demonstrated.
Effect of Nano-additives on Solidification of Phase Change Material in a Sphere Enclosure
Authors:   , Temirel Mikail , Sun Ying
Published: July 2021

Solidification of phase change materials (PCMs) is important for latent heat storage in buildings, thermal control of electric modules, and cooling of power plants. Solidification of PCMs in a spherical shell is of particular interest due to its high surface-to-volume ratio that can potentially improve the heat transfer rates. Nanoadditives, such as graphite nanofibers, exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (xGPNs), and graphene-based foams have been utilized to enhance the heat transfer coefficient. However, there is still a fundamental lack of understanding regarding how nanoadditives affect solidification process and the stability of the nanoadditive-enhanced PCMs. In the present work, the solidification of eicosane with and without xGNPs in spherical shells of different diameters (38mm and 50mm) is investigated under two cooling conditions, i.e. freezing in fixed temperature water bath, and in controlled air flow. The thermal conductivities of pure PCM and PCM with xGNPs of different concentrations (1.5%, 3%, and 4.5%) are measured with the hot wire method. It is found that the thermal conductivity of the base PCM is enhanced by 54% with 3wt% of xGNP. When the solidification of PCM is conducted in water, the reduction in solidification time is about 51% for small sphere and 53% for large sphere at nanoadditive concentration 4.5% compared with pure eicosane. Additionally, when the solidification of PCM in performed in air, the reduction in solidification time is about 36% for small sphere and 39% for large sphere at 4.5% xGNP concentration. As a result, solidification in air takes longer time than solidification in water. Moreover, it is found that the solidification time decreases by decreasing the water temperature and by increasing air velocity respectively for both the small and large spheres.
An ERP investigation of food cue responsivity in non-obese, weight gain prone individuals
Authors:   , Feig Emily Hatow , Lowe Michael R.
Published: July 2021

Obesity is highly prevalent in our society and is challenging to treat in the long term. Weight gain prevention programs are necessary to preclude obesity development, but would be facilitated by a better understanding of who is the most likely to gain weight. A history of dieting with the intent of weight loss has been shown to be a robust predictor of future weight gain, although the mechanisms responsible for this relationship are unclear. One potential factor in propensity towards weight gain is the nature of people's reactions to the abundance of highly palatable food cues in the environment. Event Related Potentials (ERPs) have unearthed differences in how the brain processes palatable food cues among obese and normal weight individuals, as well as restrained and unrestrained eaters. However, comparisons by weight status lack information about whether or not differences are a function of weight gain itself, and restrained eating status has not consistently been found to predict future weight gain. The present study compared ERP response to food cues in non-obese historic dieters (HDs) to non-obese never dieters (NDs). A dieting history by hunger interaction was seen on mean amplitude for P1, N1, P3, and LPP ERP components, suggesting that physiological hunger state has a differential effect on the way HDs and NDs process visual food cues. Specifically, we found that NDs consistently exhibit a larger attentional response when full than when hungry. HDs, on the other hand, show an early, pre-conscious response unaffected by hunger state and a late, sustained response that is larger when hungry than when full. Future research should test food cue responsivity as a moderator between dieting and future weight gain in order to ultimately better identify those most at risk for weight gain.
Sleep Disturbance, Reported Symptoms and Cognitive Function Following Concussion
Authors:   , Mosti Caterina Britt , Spiers Mary , Kloss Jacqueline D.
Published: July 2021

Changes in sleep and sleep disturbance are persistent and prevalent following concussion. Furthermore, deficits in several key areas of neuropsychological functioning, including motor speed, executive function, memory, and attention have been well documented following a mild head injury. However, the relationship between sleep disturbance and cognitive status in concussed patients has received little attention. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep, reported post-concussive symptoms, and cognition (visual memory, verbal memory, speed of processing, and reaction time) in concussed patients in the acute phase (<4 months) of injury. It also aimed to describe a typical "sleep profile" post concussion, and to explore the efficacy of current rest recovery protocols. Participants included 18 post-concussive patients (55.6% female, mean age 35.78 years [SD=14.49]) treated at the Penn Concussion Clinic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A high incidence (94%) reported at least one mild post-concussive sleep symptom at their intake appointment. Sleep variables related to cognition at both intake and exit, and were most strongly associated with motor processing speed and reaction time. Reported higher insomnia symptoms (e.g. sleeping less than usual and reported difficulty falling asleep) at a participant's intake appointment were strongly associated with poorer processing speed and slower reaction times at exit. This may suggest a particular need to address insomnia symptoms in an effort to accelerate concussion recovery.
Treatment Efficacy for Antenatal Substance Use
Authors:   , Present Koller Julie , DeMatteo David S.
Published: July 2021

This study was a meta-analysis of treatment outcome studies that have examined substance use treatment for pregnant women. To date, there have been no systematic reviews of this literature. Two independent coders collected the available studies and independently coded multiple variables, including statistical, methodological, client, and program factors. Quantitative outcomes were aggregated a) to determine whether substance use treatment programs for pregnant women were effective, and b) to examine additional variables, such as the type of intervention or treatment setting, that may have moderated the overall treatment effect. Twentysix studies met inclusion criteria. The overall treatment effect when aggregating across outcome variables was in the small to moderate range; the standard difference of means (SDM) was .3 (p<.001). Treatment seemed to have the greatest impact (SDM=.7, p<.0001) on maternal outcome variables, such as employment status, comorbid mental health disorders, parenting skills, prenatal visit compliance, and medical and health status. When assessing the overall treatment effect as determined by treatment/drug use outcomes, the SDM was .3 (p<.0001). For birth outcomes, the overall SDM was .2 (p<.001). Both the type of intervention treatment and the treatment setting significantly moderated the overall treatment effect. Substance use programs targeting pregnant women with substance use disorders appear to be beneficial, especially when a behavioral-contingency component or methadone maintenance component is added to the treatment protocol.
The Effect of a Virtual Education Intervention on Nurse Preceptors' QSEN Competence
Authors:   , Stacks Helen , Zuzelo Patti Rager
Published: July 2021

Background and Purpose Nurse preceptors that work in acute care hospitals often do not support the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses Competency Program (QSEN) and this lack of follow through is problematic. Since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified gaps in quality and safety in 2000, QSEN competency programs have been developed and QSEN's integrative framework is now being taught in schools of nursing (Benner, Stuphen, Leonard & Day, 2010; Cronenwett et al., 2007). Preceptors who entered the nursing field before formal QSEN competency education programs went into effect do not reinforce this knowledge using the same framework, creating potential for confusion. The purpose of this process improvement project pilot was to determine if introducing an on-line education intervention for preceptors in two QSEN competencies, Patient-Centered Care and Teamwork and Collaboration, would raise preceptors' knowledge, skill, and attitude (KSA) level in each. Methods Preceptors were invited to complete an abridged pre- and post-test QUISKA2 evaluation to determine QSEN KSAs before and after completing two on-line QSEN self learning modules addressing (a) patient-centered care, and (b) teamwork and collaboration. A paired t test was conducted to evaluate the impact of the education intervention on preceptors' scores. There was a statistically significant increase in Patient Centered Care knowledge after the on-line education intervention; however, changes in Teamwork and Collaboration were not statistically significant. Clinical Implication/Recommendations This pilot process improvement project will add to the body of knowledge about strategies to employ in the delivery of feasible and effective education interventions to increase preceptor QSEN competency in patient centered care, and teamwork and collaboration.
Retrieval Analysis and Finite Element Modeling of Orthopaedic Porous-Coated Implants
Authors:   , Hanzlik Josa Ann , Kurtz Steven M.
Published: July 2021

Recent Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) studies have shown that implant loosening remains one of the common reasons for revision in total joint replacement. In an effort to reduce loosening caused by long-term breakdown of the cement mantle, manufacturers introduced cementless technologies to provide biological fixation by hard tissue ingrowth at the bone-implant interface. One new material, porous tantalum, has had promising clinical results with well-fixed implants and relatively few reported cases of loosening. The factors that may be causing the lower incidence of aseptic loosening remain unknown. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation was to investigate the factors affecting bone fixation in porous tantalum implants through retrieval analysis and finite element (FE) modeling. Through the Implant Research Center's retrieval program, the proportion of implants revised for aseptic loosening was compared between the porous tantalum implants and historical porous-coated implants. Retrieval analysis protocols were developed to assess and determine factors that affect bone ingrowth in porous tantalum hip and knee implants. Porous tantalum tibial trays were histologically analyzed to determine locations of fibrous tissue or bone ingrowth. The results showed that the amount of bone observed varied by implant type and location within each implant for retrieved porous tantalum acetabular shells, femoral stems, patellas and tibial trays. Retrieval results showed that modular tibial tray implants had higher bone ingrowth than the monoblock tibial trays. However, the bone ingrowth in the porous tantalum was lower than that observed in historical porous-coated implants. Histological analyses of tibial trays demonstrated bone ingrowth primarily in the superficial depth of the tibial trays, with fibrous tissue also present. The FE models showed that there was more favorable initial implant stability in the modular tibial tray compared to the monoblock implant. This study showed that the lower incidence of aseptic loosening did not appear to be associated with increased bone ingrowth for the retrieved porous tantalum hip and knee implants. Initial FE models showed that lower micromotion for the modular tibial tray compared the monoblock. This dissertation presents a multifaceted approach for analysis of highly porous biomaterials.
Imidazolium Dicyanamide based Room Temperature Ionic Liquids as Latent Curing Agents for Epoxy Systems
Authors:   , Jeyarajasingam Amutha , Palmese Giuseppe R.
Published: July 2021

Epoxy resins are used extensively as major components in adhesive and coating formulations, as encapsulants for electronic devices, and as matrix materials in structural composites. Latent curing agents for epoxies are important in the design of formulations where extended room temperature stability is required. Recently it was found that some room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) like 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (EMIMDCN) exhibit latent cure behavior. Such RTILs are completely miscible in DGEBA resins and initiate cure at elevated temperatures (> 80°C). However, the reaction behavior, and the properties of the cured materials had not yet been known. The overall objective of this work was to obtain a better understanding of epoxy thermosets prepared using imidazolium dicyanamide RTILs as latent initiators. Two specific aims are associated with this work; (1) to investigate the reaction behavior of epoxy resins with EMIMDCN, and (2) to evaluate the processing and materials characteristics of this new class of latent epoxy systems. The results of this work represent significant advancements in the understanding of these systems. The first-time observation of adduct formation, its isolation, and its characterization, have resulted in significant progress towards elucidating the cure mechanism of the new system. Moreover, for the first time the mechanical and processing properties of these systems are reported indicating materials that have exceptional processing and behavioral characteristics.