LOUIS University of Alabama in Huntsville
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An Analysis of Students\u27 Technology Use, Socioemotional Well-being, and Mental Health During COVID-19
Get PDFTracking Storms in Python with tobac to Evaluate HRRR Weather Model Performance
Get PDFhttps://louis.uah.edu/rceu-hcr/1450/thumbnail.jp
Decreasing the incidence of delirium in the hospitalized trauma intensive care patient over age 65
No full textDelirium is one of the most common adverse outcomes of hospitalization in adults of age 65. It has been linked with extended length of stay, higher death rates, increased morbidity, and chronic cognitive impairment. Delirium is often a missed diagnosis, and the treatment complexity is underappreciated. The Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU) at a large Level I Trauma Center saw a delirium prevalence of greater than 60% over 12 months in 2022. This project aims to implement a delirium prevention power plan to decrease the incidence of delirium by 20% over three months in adults over 65 admitted to the STICU. The primary team was trained to implement the evidence-based power plan developed by the DNP student on all adults meeting inclusion criteria. PDSA cycles were performed in two-week intervals to assess compliance using the delirium prevention power plan and its variables. Data was collected throughout the project and inferential statistics were employed to find the project\u27s efficacy. The incidence of delirium significantly decreased. The Z-score of 3.24 was calculated, which corresponds to a p-value of 0.0012. Delirium incidence decreased by 72% during the 12 weeks project. This quality improvement project provides pre and post intervention evidence that a multicomponent delirium prevention protocol can decrease the incidence of delirium
Land-atmosphere interactions over cities : urban effects on tree canopy temperature and local cloud patterns
Get PDFUnderstanding land-atmosphere (L-A) interactions is critical for predicting Earth’s system and its functionality. This dissertation advances knowledge in three aspects involving L-A interactions at different scales. The first study asks how city-wide tree canopy temperatures vary diurnally, and what environmental factors and to what extent they contribute to its spatiotemporal variation. Despite the importance of urban trees’ surface temperature in assess-ing micro-climate interactions between trees and the surrounding environment, their diurnal evolution has been largely understudied at a city-wide scale. The research highlights the more important role of the greenspace coverage in controlling the daytime canopy temperature, while, surrounding buildings modulate canopy temperature asymmetrically diurnally: reduced daytime warming and reduced nocturnal cooling. The second study unveils how cities modify local cloud patterns and how regional climate and local urban properties influence the diurnal and seasonal changes of urban cloud patterns. Cloud is one of the critical components in regulating urban hydrometeorological cycles but remains less understood in urban-atmospheric systems. The research reveals that most cities experience enhanced cloudiness in the summertime diurnally, while, asymmetric diurnal effects in the wintertime. City size and stronger surface heating are primarily responsible for summer local cloud enhancement diurnally; while moisture and energy background control the urban cloud cover anomalies seasonally. The last study improves understanding of 40yr spatiotemporal dynamics of cloud pattern changes across CONUS and its sub-regions. There is a lack of long-term knowledge of spatial and temporal dynamics of cloud trends and variability at sub-regional scales due to a lack of effective cloud datasets. Cloud representation remains challenging in climate modeling. The cloud climatological analysis built on observation-validated advanced model simulations suggests that overall cloud frequency has been declining in the first three decades and slightly increased in the most recent decade at an average rate of −0.06%yr−1 across CONUS, and there is a more rapid changing rate over sunny regions. The long-term decreasing trends were found for all three cloud types (high, mid, and low clouds) across CONUS, but, their relative changes to total clouds are rather different. Improved understanding of such phenomena in L-A interactions extends our knowledge of the critical processes and helps to untangle the complex interactions in the climate system
Modeling the impacts of land use/land cover change on hydrological dynamics in the Belize River watershed using the soil and water assessment tool
Get PDFForest cover loss from land cover/land use (LCLU) change (LCLUC) can alter watershed hydrology. The primary goal of this study was to understand how LCLUC in the Belize River Watershed (BRW) impacted streamflow and related hydrological dynamics from 2000 to 2020 using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The main objectives were to (1) calibrate and improve the accuracy of the SWAT model using in-situ streamflow data, (2) investigate the predominant LCLUCs leading to forest cover loss in the BRW, and (3) examine changes in streamflow and related hydrological dynamics in the BRW comparing four LCLU scenarios. Findings showed that LCLUC, primarily from forest conversion to agricultural areas and shrublands, led to increased monthly mean streamflow. Stronger local changes in hydrology occurred in subbasins experiencing more LCLUC. The framework outlined in this research demonstrates the potential of SWAT applications for environmental resource management in Belize
Assessing the mesoscale variability and rapid tornadogenesis in the high-shear/low-CAPE, surging QLCS in Northern Alabama on 01 April 2023
Get PDFOn 01 April 2023, a severe QLCS impacted Northern Alabama during the PERiLS field campaign under High-Shear/Low-CAPE (HSLC) conditions, with CAPE below 1000 J/kg and 0-6 km wind shear exceeding 25 m/s. This study examines the mesoscale variability and tornadogenesis within the QLCS. Ceilometer and Radar Wind Profiler data indicated lowering cloud bases and shifts in the boundary layer winds. Surface analyses revealed a cold pool strength of -9◦C at the tornadogenesis location, with significant spatial variability. Storm Relative Helicity values decreased from nearly 900 to 350 m2/s2 by 0800 UTC. A lightning jump around 0756 UTC coincided with a strengthening updraft and increased Vertically Integrated Liquid values of 15-18 kg/m2. Dual-Doppler analyses on a 70 km baseline retrieved vertical motion of 11-13 m/s without a background wind field from a sounding, but radar resolution limited some observations
Physiological effects of facial expressions during cognitive and social stress
Get PDFThis study explored the dynamics of facial expressions during stress. This 2 X 2 (Facial Expression by Task) mixed design evaluated how smiling and grimacing affected physiological and self-report measures of cognitive and social stress. The study implemented continuous monitoring of electrodermal activity (EDA). Facial expression was manipulated between-subjects as a genuine smile or grimace using chopsticks in the mouth. Task was manipulated as a counterbalanced within-subjects as a cognitive stressor using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and a social stressor using Cyberball. Time was analyzed as repeated measures of change from baseline of EDA. Participants provided ratings for the PSS-10, PANAS, IOS, and NTS. Results demonstrated that cognitive stress increased negative affect. It was also discovered that social relations were lower during social stress. Ultimately, stress and emotion may be activated in various ways
Vessels of Dynamism: Dynamic Emergence and The Questione Della Donna in Benedetta\u27s Aeropittura
Get PDFhttps://louis.uah.edu/research-horizons/1345/thumbnail.jp