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The Doctor-Patient Relationship: How a Physician Navigates Clinical Empathy and Patient Death
Get PDFAs the importance of empathy in medicine has become more understood the dynamic of the patient-doctor relationship has changed. However, how to properly incorporate empathy into a healthcare relationship has not been thoroughly investigated. There is also continued disagreement on how to appropriately define empathy in a healthcare setting. The objectives of this research paper are to discuss these topics in further detail. In addition, there has been limited research regarding the impact on grief and coping with patient death when physicians form empathetic relationships with their patients. This research paper seeks to analyze this in further depth to investigate whether the empathetic model of patient care causes more emotional distress for physicians in the face of patient death. In order to answer these questions, an in-depth review of the literature on this subject was performed. Then one-on-one interviews with eight physicians were conducted to gain a first-hand account of these topics and further the understanding of the literature review. The findings of this study emphasized the components of emotional attunement, engaged curiosity, and skillful cognition by the physician in defining clinical empathy. The practice of clinical empathy relies on effective communication skills, the establishment of mutual trust, and the building of appropriate boundaries through shared decision-making between the doctor and the patient. The literature review and physician interviews had a mix of answers regarding whether forming empathetic relationships with patients made coping with their death or poor clinical outcomes more difficult. The conclusion was that regardless of whether it made it more challenging, forming empathetic relationships with patients was still worthwhile and adds richness to the medical profession.Key Words: patient-doctor relationship, clinical empathy, shared decision-making, grief, patient deat
Developing a Green Lab Certification for a Research-Intensive University
Get PDFOregon State laboratories are responsible for a significant portion of the university’s overall resource and energy consumption, and therefore minimizing waste in a sustainable way should be a top priority for the university while aiming for carbon neutrality by 2025. This study addresses major factors that should be considered when implementing an effective Green Lab Certification program for a research-intensive university, specifically Oregon State University. Encouraging and normalizing pro-environmental behavior in labs is crucial to maintaining waste minimizing techniques in these workspaces. Accomplishing this in the form of a certification program maintains accountability, establishes a definition and standard of sustainability in the context of labs, and facilitates a network of support that ensures stability of the program over time. The OSU Green Lab Certification program centers around a comprehensive survey that assesses sustainable practices in six (6) categories – energy conservation, water conservation, waste management, lab purchasing, transportation, and education & engagement. Four (4) labs from the representative College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences participated in the development and testing of the OSU Green Lab Certification survey prior to university-wide implementation. Upon completion of the survey, each lab earned a score that correlated to a certification level – no certification (0-49%), Copper (50-59%), Silver (60-69%), Gold (70-79%), or Platinum (80-100%). Each lab also received specific feedback regarding improvements that could be made in order to proceed to a higher certification level in the future. Involving OSU labs in the development, amendment, and testing of the Green Lab Certification survey ensured that this program was clear, concise, applicable, and effective. The OSU Sustainability Office plans to implement this Green Lab Certification program university-wide in Winter of 2020 via Qualtrics, a program regularly used by the university for official surveys
Survey Showed No Change in Dog Behavior or Quality of Life Since Onset of Covid-19
Get PDFThe Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone in the world to some degree through social isolation and a changing of the norms, including the number of deaths. However, no research has been done on how companion dogs in the United States have been affected by these societal changes. Research in Israel, Spain, and the United Kingdom show conflicting results on whether social changes from Covid-19 have changed the human-animal bond. This thesis research surveyed dog owners within the United States to see if the quality of life or behavior of their dogs has changed since the onset of Covid-19. A Qualtrics survey was developed and distributed via social media. Responses (n=1422) were analyzed using chi-square tests of independence and descriptive statistics. The Covid-19 pandemic did not seem to have any effect on the quality of life or behavior of companion dogs, even though owners spent more time with their dogs during the pandemic. These findings allow the United States to join the international conversation on how Covid-19 affected the owner and dog relationship
Sperm acrosome associated 3 protein expression and antigenicity in horses
Get PDFSperm acrosome associated 3 protein (SPACA3) is a unique, intra-acrosomal, conventional-type lysozyme-like protein of mammalian spermatozoa. SPACA3 is present in all stages of ovarian follicles and is localized to granulosa cells and ooplasma in humans, mice, cows, dogs, and cats. The objective of this study was to determine if equine ovarian follicles express SPACA3 and to demonstrate that administration of a SPACA3 vaccine would be safe in horses. We hypothesized that SPACA3 would be immunoexpressed in all equine ovarian follicles and immunization against SPACA3 would stimulate a humoral response. Routine immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin fixed paraffin embedded ovarian sections from three adult Quarter Horse type mares. Briefly, sections were deparaffinized and rehydrated. Then, antigen retrieval was accomplished by heat activation in a sodium citrate buffer. Endogenous peroxidase activity was blocked using 3% hydrogen peroxide. Nonspecific binding was blocked using a serum-free protein block. A polyclonal rabbit anti-SPACA3 primary antibody was applied to slides at a 1:200 dilution. A universal negative rabbit antibody was applied to adjacent sections to serve as a negative control. A horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-rabbit polymer was applied undiluted to all slides. Peroxidase activity was detected using a Nova Red kit. Slides were counterstained with hematoxylin, dehydrated, and cover slipped. Digital images were captured at 10X and 40X magnifications. SPACA3 cellular expression was recorded for each follicle present on the section. For vaccine development, a short SPACA3 sequence was synthesized from a mammalian expression system and conjugated to carrier protein. The conjugated peptide was mixed 1:1 with an adjuvant, which was specifically selected for its safety in horses. One gelding was used for this preliminary safety trial and the research was approved by the Oregon State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (#0103). A total of three vaccinations were given 3 weeks apart intramuscularly into the caudal thigh. Jugular venous blood samples were taken before each vaccine was administered and 3 weeks following the last vaccine. Serum samples were subjected to routine western blotting to confirm the presence of SPACA3 antibodies. SPACA3 was immunoexpressed in all pre-granulosa cells of primordial and in all granulosa cells of primary, secondary, and tertiary follicles in equine ovaries. Additionally, no long-term negative side effects or vaccine reactions occurred, and antibodies were successfully raised against the SPACA3 vaccine. The expression of SPACA3 in the pre-granulosa cells surrounding primordial follicles increases the likelihood that a contraceptive vaccine against this target will yield permanent results. Future studies are planned to evaluate the effect of SPACA3 vaccination on follicle production in mature mares
Quantification of Lithium via Redox Titration and pH Titration – A Method Comparison
Get PDFLithium serves an unparalleled role for high energy-density storage applications and is vital for the continued advancement of the world economy. However, global supply is heavily reliant on lithium deposits situated in select locations, creating unpredictability in the price and concerns for the sustained production of the resource. Additionally, future demands for applications in the small electronics, automotive, and renewable energy industries threaten to place further strain on the lithium supply. Thus, the implementation of lithium battery recycling methods is critical meet this expected surge in demand for lithium-based battery technologies. Several economic obstacles and safety considerations have halted the advancement of these necessary recycling techniques. A prominent barrier to recycling efforts revolves around the reactivity of active lithium compounds that remain in used lithium batteries. As a result, significant safety precautions must be taken when handling and transporting lithium-based batteries, adding to the costs associated with recycling methods. Current research has been dedicated to developing a passivation method for the remaining active lithium in used cells, seeking to lower the classification, and subsequently the costs, associated with these materials. Analytical techniques, which quantify the amount of active lithium separate from compounds associated with passivation, require development to prove the functionality of passivation methods. This study focuses on two potential chemistries, a redox titration with triiodide and a pH titration with a strong acid, which serve as cost-effective and robust methods for quantifying active lithium. Lithium was determined to be a suitable reductant for triiodide to iodide by UV/vis analysis, with the characteristic triiodide peaks disappearing over time when in the presence of lithium metal. However, significant drawbacks resulting from the large difference in molar masses between lithium and triiodide and the competing reductant properties of copper, a common material used for anode current collectors, render the method impractical for quantifying the amount of active lithium in lithium batteries. Preliminary studies for the pH titration exhibited positive results, with repeated success in using sulfuric acid to accurately measure the amount of lithium hydroxide and lithium methoxide present in solution, which would result from the reaction of lithium metal with water and methanol, respectively. Unforeseen circumstances, however, halted the continuation of the pH titration method development and further studies around potential contaminants and undesired reactions must be conducted to determine the feasibility of the technique.
Key Words: Lithium Content, Lithium Battery Recycling, Lithium Quantification, pH Titration, Redox Titratio
The Role of Formulas in Students' Solution Strategies in regard to Combinatorics
Get PDFThere are many reasons toward why students withhold such negative mindsets toward the subject of mathematics. This thesis builds upon previously conducted research concerning affect and confidence in mathematical problem solving, confidence that students exhibit about themselves, and combinatorial thinking and activity
The Effectiveness of Social Entrepreneurship in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
No full textResearchers have studied social entrepreneurship and offered detailed road maps of the process of becoming a successful social entrepreneur. However, these processes are not universal and will not function sustainably in every community. The idea that we do not know if a process will work within a community until tested is the motivation behind this study. Written by Ian C. MacMillan and James D. Thompson, The Social Entrepreneur’s Playbook illustrates one process of social entrepreneurship, which is to reduce a plan with high levels of uncertainty to one with acceptable levels of risk. Through a series of interviews and in-depth analyses of business processes, this study will compare the process described in The Social Entrepreneur’s Playbook and supported in various sources of literature to the actual process taken by one social entrepreneur. Aslan Noakes started her journey in Haiti as a nurse following the earthquake in 2010. Through her initial experiences, she saw an opportunity for sustainable aid, which led to the founding of her guesthouse, Lakay Poze. This study puts the processes provided throughout common social entrepreneurship models to the test in order to inform future social entrepreneurs how to best navigate their own businesses in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Abiotic and biotic predictors of coastal giant salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) in headwaters of the Oregon Coast Range
Get PDFFrom British Columbia to northern California, coastal giant salamanders (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) are a dominant vertebrate predator in headwater streams. Though widespread, salamander health and abundance levels differ greatly between locations, provoking the question as to what factors may influence this variation and whether habitat features or biotic variables play a larger role. In this study, I collected data on coastal giant salamander populations and on 4 biotic and 8 abiotic factors across 25 different study streams in second-growth timber legacy forests of western Oregon. I explored each variable individually and in a sub-set of combinations in relation to salamander biomass density, population density, and condition. Overall, I designed a set of 40 linear models which encompassed global models (all metrics), individual models, a null model, and collectively represented a series of potential alternative hypotheses. I expected that the influence of food resources and competition on coastal giant salamanders would be comparable and complementary to the habitat data. However, results from AICc analysis indicated that a few key abiotic metrics were more closely related to salamander variation than most individual or combined models. In particular, pool area and substrate size held the most influence across the alternative models proposed. The most impactful biotic feature was the density of sculpin (Cottus spp.), but it was too weak of a relationship to draw any conclusions. At best, models were only able to explain 59% of salamander variability, pointing towards further investigation on greater spatial or temporal scales.Keywords: Ecology, salamanders, AIC, headwater
Part-Load Optimization of an Organic Rankine Cycle
Get PDFWaste-heat-recovery Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems use excess heat from industrial processes to produce electrical power. In many cases, the temperatures and mass flow rates of these excess-heat streams vary significantly over time, causing the ORC to often operate far from its design point. In this study, a control strategy is investigated for an ORC using refrigerant R1233zd(E), with the objective of maximizing net work output. First, heat exchangers are sized to meet targeted pinch-point temperature differences at nominal heat- source conditions. Then, the part-load operation of the system is optimized under several heat-source conditions. Finally, the performance of the proposed operational strategy is compared to other operational strategies. The results show that off-design ORC performance can be greatly improved by employing an optimized-evaporating-temperature control strategy.Key Words: thermodynamics, heat transfer, power cycles, optimization, waste heat recover
ELGDF : design language for parallel programming
Get PDFELGDF (Extended Large Grain Data Flow) is a design language that allows representation of a wide variety of parallel programs. The syntax is graphical and hierarchical to allow construction and viewing of realistically sized programs. ELGDF language facilitates describing parallel programs in a natural way for both shared memory model as well as message passing model. The syntax poses high level structures such as replicators, loops , pipes, branches, and fans, as well as constructs for shared resources. ELGDF resolves arc overloading in current graphical languages by using different symbols and different attributes for different types of arcs.
The ELGDF serves as the foundation of a parallel programming environment under development at Oregon State University. The complete syntax of ELGDF helps the program designers to deal with parallelism in the manner most natural to the problem at hand. It also helps as a way to capture parallel program designs for the purpose of analysis such as scheduling and performance estimating. Thus, the goal of ELGDF is two-fold: 1) a program design notation and computer-aided software engineering tool, and 2) a software description notation for use by automated schedulers and performance analyzers