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Effects of Educational Intervention on Asthmatic Children
Full text linkAbstract
Children are more vulnerable to asthmatic symptoms due to the physiological immaturity of their respiratory systems. Therefore, irritants are deemed more hazardous for the pediatric population. Pollution is a growing health concern, and within the literature review, several approaches to the measurement of the impact of low air quality and educational interventions are discussed. The themes identified in the literature review are increased risk of pollution-induced exacerbation due to age, behavior, and residential proximity to emission-producing facilities. The review of the literature demonstrated how pollution is a growing public health concern, especially among the pediatric population. Interventions, reviewed in the theme of behavior, showed decreased exacerbations following educational intervention. The purpose of this study is to increase health literacy in children to decrease asthmatic exacerbation. The proposal for further study will answer the research question: In children ages six to 12 years old with asthma attending schools near Fresno Yosemite International Airport, how does classroom education on air quality compared to no education affect the number of asthma exacerbations over seven weeks? A total of 42 participants will be selected to partake in this seven-week randomized controlled quantitative study. The research proposal utilized questionnaires and spirometry (FEV1) as tools to measure baseline asthmatic symptoms as well as week-to-week symptom assessment. The questionnaires used for this study are the ISAAC Questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) (Asher et al., 1995) and The Asthma Control Questionnaire (Juniper et al., 1999). The expected result is to find a p-value of \u3c 0.05 to prove that educational intervention has a negative relationship to asthmatic exacerbations in children. Limitations identified in this study include a small pool of participants and the inability to determine potential bias, as the questionnaires are a take-home assignment
Psychosocial Factors Affecting Quality of Life in Kidney Transplant Recipients
Full text linkBackground: Kidney transplantation is the best solution to save lives for those that have end-stage renal disease. However, psychosocial issues play a huge role in their quality of life after the procedure which can affect these individuals negatively. These issues recipients face include depression and anxiety, a lack of social support, and self management difficulties. Objective: This research consists of investigating psychosocial factors that affect kidney transplant recipients’ quality of life. Evidenced by research, focused assistance with ongoing support in patients is essential after receiving surgery and recovery. A literature review was conducted that consists of research on studies with psychosocial factors affecting their life post-transplant. This can lead to better long-term outcomes with post-surgery. Method: The proposed research involved a mixed-methods longitudinal approach, including surveys with interviews to investigate the gaps in the literature review. Existing studies show how ignoring psychosocial factors and how it negatively impacts kidney transplant recipients over a period of time emphasizes the need for continual evaluation to obtain better strategies for recovery and adaptability. Results: The data for this study provided similar themes in qualitative and quantitative data, which highlights the influence on quality of life from social support and mental health needed to improve patient outcomes post-surgery. Conclusion: The study emphasized the influence with social support and mental health in kidney transplant recipients’ quality of life. The necessity for continuous interventions and help in these areas is essential to improved patient outcomes and quality of life
An Evaluation of Bioactive, Sponge-Derived, Marine Natural Products Used Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer and the Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium falciparum
No full textMarine natural products from sponges of the Indo-Pacific have proven to be a source of structurally diverse secondary metabolites that are biologically active against a variety of targets. In the first chapter of this thesis, the stability of the nanomolar-potent, irreversible microtubule stabilizer, (-)-zampanolide (1), the cytotoxicity of its N-acyl hemiaminal side chain (2), and the activity of the more stable related compound (-)-dactylolide (3) were investigated. Following the discovery of 1 from extracts of Cacospongia mycofijiensis, in a previous study, the first in vivo evaluation of 1 in MDA-MB-231 tumor bearing mice was performed, demonstrating it had potent and persistent antitumor efficacy but only when targeted to the tumor site due to a narrow therapeutic index. It was hypothesized that 1 is thermally unstable at body temperature (37°C, 98°F) and may decompose into the toxicant Michael acceptor, 2, and covalent microtubule stabilizing agent, 3. Thermolysis at 80°C of 1 reveals the decomposition of 1 into 2 and 3 as keto (3k)/enol (3e) tautomers shown by HPLC and NMR. HR-LCMS analysis revealed incubation at 37°C (body temperature) of 1 for 24 hrs generated 2 and 3 similar to 80°C thermolysis. Antiproliferative and biochemical assays reveal low micromolar cytotoxicity of 2 against selected triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines HCC1806, MDA-MB-453, BT-549, HCC70, and MDA- MB-231 (IC50 = 1.9 ~ 10.6 μM) and no microtubule binding affinity. Compound 3k displayed nanomolar potency against BT-549 (IC50 = 0.37 μM), MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 0.62 μM), HCC70 (IC50 = 0.65 μM), with selectivity for MDA-MB-453 (IC50 = 0.054 μM) and HCC1806 (IC50 = 0.080 μM) and delayed binding mode to microtubules compared to 1. These results show that 1 is thermally unstable at body temperature, that 2 may be responsible, at least partially, for the in vivo toxicity of 1 in MDA-MB-231 tumor bearing mice, and that 3 may serve as a more stable and selective therapeutic lead against MDA-MB-453 and HCC1806 cell lines.
In the second chapter of this thesis, a panel of secondary metabolites from the marine sponges C. mycofijiensis, Jaspis splendens, and Jaspis coriacea were evaluated against the most notorious malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in a drug response assay. Due to the rise in resistance to standard antimalarials such as chloroquine (1), dihydroartemisinin (2), and lumefantrine (3), there is a critical need to determine novel lead therapeutics with unique mechanisms of action (MOA) that can circumvent forms of drug resistance. Scale-up isolation by HPLC was conducted to purify latrunculin A (4), fijianolide A/isolaulimalide (5), fijianolide B/laulimalide (6), (-)-zampanolide (7), (-)-dactylolide (8), (+)-(5Z)-(8S)-(14Z)-mycothiazole (9), (+)-(5Z)-(8S)-8-O-acetyl-(14Z)- mycothiazole (10), (-)-(5E)-(8R)-(14Z)-mycothiazole (11), jasplakinolide (12), bengamide B (13), and fascaplysin (14). Both microtubule stabilizing agents, 6 and 7, from C. mycofijiensis displayed the greatest efficacy against P. falciparum proliferation on par with standard antimalarials (1-3). To identify the importance of the C-15 and C-20 chiral centers of 6, semi-synthesis was performed to produce the di-oxo fijianolide L (15). The malaria parasite drug response assay demonstrated a 2000-fold reduction in potency in 15 compared to 6, suggesting C-15 and C-20 to be key functional groups in the activity of 6. Overall, these results revealed that 41% of the selected sponge-derived secondary metabolites were comparable to frontline standard antimalarials used today, suggesting there is potential in developing marine natural products as antimalarial therapeutics
The Critical Role of External Involvement in Supporting Adolescent Mothers Facing Postpartum Depression
Full text linkPostpartum depression (PPD) is a significant mental health concern for adolescent mothers, especially those without a reliable support system. The current research demonstrates the importance of a support system, effective interventions, and prevention strategies for easier navigation of postpartum depression. Some effective interventions researched were therapy groups, personalized home visits, and using social media platforms to deliver therapy. This research proposal aims to examine the effectiveness of a nurse-led educational intervention for postpartum adolescent mothers without support. A quasi-experimental design will be used, with pre-and post-test assessments using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to measure PPD symptoms in 100 adolescent mothers. While data collection is pending, the analysis will include descriptive and inferential statistics, such as t-tests, to evaluate changes in PPD symptoms and explore whether postpartum educational sessions correlate with decreased depression and anxiety symptoms. This research aims to identify effective interventions to better support adolescent mothers in managing PPD, ultimately promoting improved maternal and child outcomes
African-American Perceptions on the Importance of Racially-Concordant Care
Full text linkRacial concordance is defined as a relationship in which a healthcare provider and patient share the same race. Racially concordant care has been, in previous research, associated with improved health outcomes, particularly in minority populations such as African-Americans Despite this, little is known about how African-American patients perceive racial concordance, and how important it is to their care. The focus of this research proposal is to determine the perceptions of African-American patients on racial concordance and racially concordant care, and how important they deem it to be to their care. The literature review delves into racial concordance and its presence in healthcare, as well as how racially concordant and culturally competent care appears in surgical contexts. This research proposal will employ a survey method in which 100 African-American patients up to one month post-operation will be questioned and interviewed on their level of satisfaction with their care whether or not they considered racial concordance impactful in their care. The survey will be administered through various formats in order to increase its accessibility, including paper questionnaires, phone interviews, and digital forms. Data will be divided into two categories: consideration of racial concordance and racially concordant care as important or unimportant, and descriptive statistics will be used to determine if African-American patients believe that racial concordance is necessary in their postoperative care
Education on the Early Recognition of Antepartum Sepsis for Labor and Delivery Nurses
Full text linkEven though rare in occurrence, sepsis in pregnancy causes high morbidity and mortality rates, most deaths preventable with timely recognition and intervention. With symptoms difficult to identify, adjusted screening tools were created. The literature review highlighted the importance of using approaches such as these tools to improve on maternal outcomes and treatment. The review displayed how nurses in other departments find difficulty defining and identifying sepsis in adults as well as education surrounding interventions in maternal sepsis and obstetrical emergencies improve knowledge deficits. In response, questions emerge about what labor and delivery nurses know about recognizing sepsis in the pregnant population. Even further, there is a lack of research of how education on approaches to antepartum sepsis identification impacts nurses’ knowledge. This proposed one group pretest posttest research study will gather 50 labor and delivery nurses across multiple hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area to collect data on their demographics such as experience, education, and last sepsis training, knowledge before an educational intervention on screening for antepartum sepsis with a 20 multiple choice test, and knowledge after an educational intervention with the same test. The results of the pretest Statistical analysis will be used to analyze the data, using a paired t-test and p value to prove any statistically significant information. Descriptive statistics will also be used to describe the results of the knowledge tests. Further research may include studying the retention of education on the recognition of antepartum sepsis or assessing how education impacts mortality rates
Matthew 5:3: Blessed are those who have a spiritual commitment to help the poor
Full text linkLecture notes on a series of talks by Scott G. Sinclair\u27s on his version of the Historical Jesus
Right Choice For Me: an Executive Function (EF) focused intervention program for teachers
Full text linkIn every classroom, students face choices. These choices can look like how to approach a non-fiction text, how to plan a narrative, how to pick the right spot in the room for reading, or how to reflect on their experience during a group project.
Right Choice For Me is an Executive Function (EF) focused toolkit. It follows a flexible 10-week timeline and offers educators of any grade customizable tools and strategies to teach essential EF skills in ways that honor each student\u27s voice, choice, and unique learning style. Right Choice For Me focuses on three core EF strategies:
Planning/Goal-Setting
Self-Monitoring
Decision-Making
By embedding these skills into every day lessons, projects, routines, and vocabulary, this toolkit supports students in becoming confident thinkers, planners, and doers inside the classroom and beyond
Social Media/Cyberbullying Correlation to Adolescent Eating Disorders
No full textBackground: Social media is very prevalent in today’s society, particularly in adolescents. This time period is crucial for this age group in terms of developing a sense of purpose and identity. Although social media may keep many of our children entertained, they also can create negative impacts on them and ultimately hinder their overall development both mentally and physically through negative body image and unrealistic self-expectations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find the correlation between social media use and the rise of eating disorders in adolescents. Doing so would allow us to find ways to lower the risk of adolescent eating disorders due to social media. Design: An observational cohort study will be conducted between two groups of adolescents: 50 high school students that use social media on a daily basis vs. 50 high school students that do not use social media at all. We will conduct this study over one school year, and at the end of the school year, we will do a final observation on each of the 100 high school students and survey their feelings in regard to their own body image and physical health. Finally, we will compare the results to see how strong of a correlation there is between social media use and eating disorders in this age group. Results: Although this study has not yet been conducted, we expect to see a relatively strong correlation between social media use and the rise of eating disorders in adolescents.https://scholar.dominican.edu/nursing-student-research-posters/1182/thumbnail.jp
Homiezation
No full textThis thesis presents Homiezation as a practical framework for building transformative relationships across cultural and racial boundaries, focusing on intercultural engagement for scholars, educators, and community practitioners. Based on community research in Marin County, California, it draws on interviews with Latino/a immigrants, first-generation Latino/a citizens, and one non-Latino BIPOC community member. I coined the term ‘Homiezation’ during my community work to describe the process of fostering care, trust, and shared humanity within Third Spaces, where diverse cultures interact and learn from one another.
Six interconnected themes—showing up, trust, social awareness, cultural humility, humor, and compañerismo—form the foundation of Homiezation. These themes show how presence, reliability, and empathy foster genuine connection and mutual learning, and how centering relational accountability and humanization challenges superficial diversity initiatives.
By integrating storytelling, reflection, and community voices, this paper contends that transformation occurs through consistent presence, vulnerability, and reciprocity—key elements of Homiezation. Designed for educators, students, and community practitioners, this framework offers a substantive alternative to performative DEI models by redefining justice as a daily practice of solidarity and humility, providing a concrete relational method to bridge divides among these groups