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Stability of Levothyroxine in Aliquots and Capsules Prepared by Extemporaneous Compounding
No full textAdvisor: Deepa A. RaoLevothyroxine (T4) is commonly used to supplement low levels of endogenous thyroid hormones in patients with thyroid hormone deficiency. Dosing of T4 is highly individualized and therefore is often
compounded extemporaneously by pharmacists. Extemporaneous preparation of T4 involves preparing a ready to use aliquot of T4 in an inert excipient which is then used to prepare the capsules dispensed to the patients. Aliquots and capsules of T4 were assessed for content over a four month span to determine an appropriate beyond use dating for capsules prepared by a local compounding pharmacy,
Central Iowa Compounding (CIC). CIC provided a 1:100 T4 aliquot and 95 μg T4 capsules for
the study. Stability of T4 was assessed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) developed to detect T4 and its solid state oxidized degradation product using UV detection. Stability was assessed on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120. As of day 120 of the stability study, the average content of T4 in the aliquot was 87.09% ± 4.04 of the original concentration. The 95 mcg T4 capsule retained
full activity (100%) over the four month period. Based on the results thus far T4 content in aliquot is statistically significantly lower for day 120 only while capsule content of T4 is maintained over 120
days.Drake University, Department of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical & Administrative Science
Restorative Justice Experiences of Juvenile Female Offenders : School, Community, and Home
Get PDF223 leaves.Problem: The number of delinquent female youth across the country is on the rise (U.S. Department of Justice, 2007). These young women present unique challenges for their schools, communities, and homes. A Midwest suburb created a diversion program, a Youth Justice Initiative, to address the entire family system of the youth who were committing crimes in their city. There was a dearth of research surrounding the experiences of the young women and the implications for educational programming, specific interventions, and community connections to the school setting.
Procedures: The primary purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of the female participants from 2006-2008 and to apply those findings to my school setting. Letters were sent to all 23 past participants to inform them of my study. Six young women agreed to be interviewed, two parent focus groups were held with nine parent participants, and six additional adult interviews were completed with people who were affiliated with the program in different ways. All tapes were transcribed by a business college student. Each of the 14 interviews was coded and separated into three different documents: girls, focus groups, and other adults. Next, the three subsets were combined into one document. After the second round of coding and member checking, six descriptive themes emerged.
Findings: The six findings indicated theft was the main offense of the females. Second, these young women committed delinquent acts, but experienced cognitive dissonance about their behavior. Next, negative peers, negative boyfriends, and fathers had powerful influence on the young women in the program. Fourth, trusting relationships and the presence of social capital were at the heart of the success rate of the restorative programming. Fifth, the circle process and the utilization of a monitor were the most impactful interventions for positive change. Last, shame was lessened and was re-integrative in nature.
Conclusions: The program is shown to be effective for these young women, and their families. The Youth Justice Initiative program prevents many young women from being adjudicated. This research study reinforced the necessity of the school to partner with the families, outside agencies, and the community to support young people.
Recommendations: There were many program recommendations and ways the school could replicate the effective parts of this program to better serve delinquent females. The referral process itself should be reevaluated. It would benefit the community to examine the services that are provided and to make sure they are utilized by those who are most in need
Does Between-Category Similarity Influence Categorization?
Get PDFAdvisor: Olga LazarevaHumans can categorize objects at different levels of abstraction: basic (for example, cars and chairs) and superordinate (for example, vehicles and furniture). Usually, basic-level categorization is acquired
faster than superordinate-level categorization, but the opposite results have been reported as well. One possible reason is that similarity between different basic-level categories influences speed of learning of these categories. We investigated how between-category similarity affects speed of
learning of basic-level discrimination and superordinate-level discrimination. In Experiment 1, we used four families of abstract shapes called Attneave's shapes to create four basic-level categories, each containing 8 exemplars of shapes. Participants were asked to rate similarities between the shape families shown on a computer monitor. We then analyzed the ratings using multidimensional scaling to evaluate similarities between four categories. For Experiment 2, we combined two similar basic-level categories in one superordinate-level category. Two dissimilar basic-level categories formed the second superordinate-level category. Participants then had to learn to make a correct response to a member of each category shown on computer monitor. The response had to be made either at the basic level (four choice alternatives) or at the superordinate level (two choice alternatives). We expected participants to learn basic-level discrimination faster when two categories are similar. When two categories
are dissimilar, we expected them to learn superordinate-level discrimination faster. Preliminary results of Experiment 2 will be presented.Drake University, College of Arts and Sciences, Psychology Departmen
Daughters of Women with Breast Cancer: Threatened, Coping or Unaffected
No full textAdvisor: Nicole TaylorPURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological reactions of daughters of women with breast cancer. Also, the way in which women cope with the threat of breast cancer, how families are impacted by this disease, and post-traumatic growth among daughters was examined. METHODS: 142 daughters of women with breast cancer completed an online survey measuring their levels of anxiety, reported closeness to their mothers, exposure to their mother's cancer and involvement in caregiving, intrusive thoughts, self-reported predicted likelihood of getting breast cancer, self-reported likelihood of undergoing genetic testing, and personal ways of coping. In addition, these daughters completed 4 open ended questions addressing their reactions to their mother's cancer and
positive coping strategies they used to deal with their mother's diagnosis. RESULTS: Daughters contact with their mothers during the mother's diagnosis and treatment was positively correlated with high levels of intrusive thoughts. Also, daughter's perception of the threat of the disease was not correlated with intrusive thoughts or a greater likelihood of seeking genetic testing. Qualitative analysis revealed daughters employed a variety of positive coping strategies and had a wide range of reactions
to their mother's diagnosis as well as their personal threat of developing breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The daughters reacted in many different ways based on the different relationships they had with their mothers. Other important variables that affected participants' ways of coping were levels of
anxiety, closeness to their mother, levels of personal control, attachment styles, and intrusive thoughts.Drake University, College of Arts and Sciences, Psychology Departmen
Protein-Protein Interactions in Drosophila Germ Cell Development
No full textAdvisor: Martin Schmidt of Des Moines UniversityDuring germ cell formation in Drosophila embryos, cells migrate from their site of origin to the site of organ formation. In particular, germ cells need to migrate long distances from their site of origin to
the site where ovaries and testicles develop. It was found that the this cell migration is guided by a chemical signaling pathway. Cells which digress from the migration route are destroyed by apoptosis. Dr. Coffman's group at Iowa State University has identified mutations that impair the destruction of cells that have strayed from their migration path. One of these mutations affects the function of a G-protein coupled receptor, Trel. In this study we look at physical interactions of the Trel protein with ten candidate proteins. We have identified interactions between the G-protein coupled receptor Trel and two, possibly three, candidate proteins. These candidates are members of a protein phosphatase
family that have previously been implicated in germ cell migration, which makes our result particularly valuable. Adding to the picture is the fact that the phenotypes of mutations in the corresponding genes closely resemble trel mutant phenotypes. All of the above results indicate that these proteins function in the same pathway.Drake University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology Department ; Biochemistry and Nutrition, Des Moines Universit
The Use of Dexmedetomidine for Sedation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
No full textAdvisor: Geoff Wall of Iowa Methodist Medical CenterDexmedetomidine is a centrally acting alpha2-adrenergic agonist that provides sedation with minimal respiratory depression. The medication's targeted activation of alpha2-receptors mediates its sedative, anxiolytic, and analgesic effects. Although dexmedetomidine is approved only for sedation in adults, it is currently being used off-label as an adjunctive agent in pediatric patients for sedation and analgesia in the critical care unit and for sedation during non-invasive procedures in radiology. Despite
the lack of large randomized controlled trials, available literature and case studies suggest dexmedetomidine may be an effective alternative or adjunctive sedative in pediatric patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of dexmedetomidine in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Blank Children's Hospital (BCH) by assessing safety, efficacy, dosing, and duration of
dexmedetomidine courses in mechanically ventilated infants and children. The study will also assess length of stay, time on the ventilator, extubation while receiving dexmedetomidine infusion, and necessity
for use of other sedative and narcotic infusions. These objectives will be assessed through retrospective chart review of all patients who received dexmedetomidine while in the PICU between March 2007 and January 2009. Analysis will include descriptive statistics on the data obtained. The results will add to the small volume of existing evidence regarding dexmedetomidine's use in the pediatric population.Drake University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences ; Iowa Methodist Medical Cente
HST Long Slit Spectroscopy of NGC 1068 and NGC 4151
No full textAdvisor: Charles NelsonNGC 1068 annd NGC 4151 are Seyfert Galaxies, the most common type of active galaxy, in which a luminous nucleus is powered by accretion onto a massive black hole at its center. Seyfert galaxies are known to exhibit high velocity outflows from their nuclei, however, the driving mechanisms are not fully understood. Typically, they are attributed to a nuclear wind, which blows material away from
the nucleus in a bi-polar conical flow, or to interactions with a radio jet, which would expel material perpendicularly away from the jet axis. Using spectroscopic observations taken by the Hubble Space Telescope we are studying the structure and motion of the ionized gas clouds in these two objects, to
understand the nature and origin of the flow. We compare our data with models of the gas kinematics to identify regions in these galaxies that display the signatures of a nuclear wind, jet-gas interaction, or both. We also measure the relative strengths of specific emission lines produced by these clouds to provide information about the ionization state of the clouds themselves. Preliminary results show high velocity gas flows in both galaxies and indicate that both jet and wind processes may be operating.Drake University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronom
School District Reorganization in Iowa: Considerations for Administrators, School Boards, and Communities
Get PDF110 leavesThe problem. To consider reorganization of two or more Iowa school districts in light of declining enrollment, dwindling financial resources, the end of the state budget guarantee program and pressure to provide the most rigorous and relevant education possible to Iowa's students. Specifically, the problem is to determine what two or more school districts should do to facilitate the merging of their respective districts, once the decision
to consolidate has been made.
Procedures. Qualitative methodology was employed using semistructured interviews to gather information from nine superintendents and twelve school board members involved in six successful reorganizations. Interview candidates were selected using a table of random numbers. Flexibility was built into the interviews in order to permit subjects to expand their answers to open ended questions. Through interviews and document reviews the researcher determined activities school districts should undertake to ensure successful reorganization.
Findings. Respondents reported reorganization was prompted by declining enrollment,
state incentives, financial pressures, and the desire to increase opportunities for students.
Respondents indicated that seeking stakeholder input, a history of sharing and
cooperation between districts, strong leadership, the use of a consultant and making
efforts to keep stakeholders informed regarding the process enhanced the reorganization.
Lack of trust, rivalries, activities and transportation issues and concerns about identity
loss led to negative feelings.
Conclusions. A history of sharing and cooperation, strong leadership, and frequent
communication with stakeholders appears to enhance the reorganization action, while a
lack of trust coupled with fear of change is detrimental to the process.
Recommendations. School districts pondering reorganization should consider enrollment trends, the financial state of their districts, the advantages to students of reorganizing, and consider program sharing before reorganization. Districts should explore state incentives to facilitate the process. Frequent stakeholder input should be solicited with plans and outcomes communicated often. Strong leadership from superintendents and boards is necessary for successful reorganizatio
Faculty Development and Campus Internationalization: A Case Study
Get PDF148 leaves. Advisor: Thomas WestbrookFew studies have measured the impact of a short-term faculty overseas teaching experience on the internationalization of their home campus, through teaching, research, and service. This case study filled that gap and contributed to the understanding of the impact of bourgeoning educational exchanges between American and Chinese universities. The findings of this qualitative case study demonstrate a mixture of personal and professional motivations to
participate in the Chinese Cultural Exchange Program between 2004 and 2008. Faculty who participated in CCEP contributed to campus internationalization in part by creating new courses, collecting data for research, adjusting teaching styles, working with international students and leading international programs and activities. In general, this study concluded that a short-term overseas teaching experience impacts on teaching, research, and service in the internationalizing a campus