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People of Frontenac (KS) - Dr. Virgil Albertini
No full textPortrait of Dr. Virgil Albertini in the Frontenac (KS) Museum.https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/frontenac/1035/thumbnail.jp
HEART FAILURE AND THE NEED FOR BETTER PATIENT EDUCATION
Get PDFHeart failure is becoming a more prevalent condition, evidenced by the fact that 25% of patients who are diagnosed with heart failure are readmitted within 30 days of being discharged due to exacerbation of this disease process. Heart failure symptoms can worsen due to inadequate patient education and other issues with patient self-management of the disease process leading to readmissions and increased hospital stays—adding to an already burdened healthcare system.
The aim of this project was to address the gap in nurse led patient education early on during hospitalization of patients admitted with a new diagnosis of heart failure or those admitted for exacerbation of the disease in hopes of improving heart failure self-management and reducing the 30-day readmission rates. An educational intervention was implemented among 25 registered nurses on a cardiology unit in a midwestern hospital. Pre- and post-tests, a comprehensive instructional voiceover PowerPoint, and a toolkit for bedside education of the patient diagnosed with heart failure was utilized in the educational intervention. Results indicated significant improvements in the nurses’ knowledge of heart failure management, patient education strategies, and the importance of early patient education during hospitalization. These findings emphasize the possibility of nursing education initiatives to enhance patient outcomes, reduce 30-day rehospitalization rates, and lessen healthcare burdens associated with heart failure
PROMOTING INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN OLDER ADULTS THROUGH SELF-EFFICACY AND SOCIAL COHESION
Get PDFThe purpose of this scholarly project was to design and offer a nutrition education program on fruit and vegetable consumption to a group of rural adults aged 65 and older. It was hypothesized that the nutrition program would directly motivate older adults to increase dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables. The project utilized the Health Promotion Model as the theoretical framework. To incorporate this project into a quantitative design, the methodological design that was applied is a non-experimental or observational design. This project included a four-week educational program in the Spring of 2023 that provided information on the importance of adequate fruit and vegetable consumption and motivated participants to make dietary changes through nutrition education, recipes, and cooking classes. A pretest-posttest of the nutrition educational program was administered before and after the program to measure the effectiveness of the education on fruit and vegetable consumption, self-efficacy, and social cohesion. Inclusion criteria: males and females aged 65 and over who are U.S. Citizens, members of a rural Midwestern faith-based congregation, and were independent living older adults capable of driving and walking into the educational sessions. Exclusion criteria: males and females aged 65 and older who were non-English speaking, with cognitive impairments, dementia, and/or unstable medical conditions. As a result of the project, an increase of about two-thirds (M=.63, SD=1.002) cups of fruit and almost a half (M=.49, SD=1.00) cup of vegetables was consumed by the participants from the beginning to end of this study. There was also an increase in Mean for all items of Self-Efficacy from before the intervention (M=3.68, SD=.488) to after the intervention (M=4.07, SD=.400). Overall, this scholarly project assisted these 23 participants to increase their fruit and vegetable intake as well as their level of self-efficacy
James Schick
No full textPhoto of a faculty member who served as editor for the Midwest Quarterlyhttps://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/yearbookphotos/1057/thumbnail.jp
Insights from the Pittsburg State Web Experience Study
No full textThis study examines the user experience of the Pittsburg State University website, focusing on navigation, event discovery, and access to essential student resources. Through moderated usability testing, we identified key pain points, including inconsistent navigation, unintuitive filtering systems, and difficulty locating critical pages such as financial aid, enrollment, and student jobs. While participants found the Events page generally accessible, they expected more personalization and clarity in filtering options. Additionally, returning to the homepage was a frequent challenge due to unclear navigation cues, broken links, and inconsistent button functionality. Essential tools like student job listings and housing applications were either difficult to find or required navigating to external sites, disrupting the user experience. Using these insights, we propose targeted improvements to streamline navigation, enhanced filtering features, and ensure seamless access to vital resources. Our findings aim to inform future website enhancements that prioritize usability, reduce frustration, and improve engagement for the PSU community
Mechanically Robust, Self-Healing, and Reprocessable Geraniol Based Epoxy Vitrimer by Dynamic Boronic Ester Bonds
No full textCovalent Adaptable Networks (CANs) are an emerging class of polymers with reversible covalent crosslinks that respond dynamically to external stimuli. Unlike conventional thermosets, CANs-particularly vitrimers- exhibit self-healing, reprocessability, shape memory, and recyclability due to their adaptable crosslinking chemistry. The widespread use of thermosets has led to growing concerns over the depletion of petroleum-based resources and environmental impact. To address these challenges, bio-based alternatives offer a sustainable pathway for developing high-performance materials. Geraniol, a naturally occurring monoterpenoid alcohol found in various plant oils, serves as a promising renewable feedstock for polymer synthesis. This study presents the first development of a geraniol-based epoxy vitrimer synthesized via a thermally activated thiol-epoxy click reaction between a geraniol-derived epoxy resin and a diboronic ester dithiol (DBDT) cross-linker. The incorporation of dynamic boronic ester bonds facilitates topological rearrangements, enabling efficient self-healing and reprocessability. The vitrimer demonstrates excellent thermal stability and mechanical strength, with a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 38.43℃ determined through Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Additionally, it exhibits a tensile strength of approximately 19 MPa, shape memory behavior, solvent-based recyclability, and outstanding mechanical strength retention after reprocessing. The vitrimer also features a rapid relaxation time of 9 seconds at 140C and an activation energy of 22.44 kJ/mol, highlighting its efficient bond exchange capability. These attributes make the developed vitrimer a strong candidate for sustainable, high-performance applications, offering a viable alternative to traditional thermosets with enhanced environmental benefits
Trade-off Between Limonene-based Reprocessable and Non-Reprocessable Epoxy Thermosets: Role of Aliphatic Diamines in Polymer Networks Design
No full textThe increasing demand for sustainable materials, driven by environmental concerns and the rapid depletion of fossil fuel resources, has led to significant advancements in the fabrication of bio-based thermosets. Renewable alternatives, such as limonene-derived epoxy prepolymers, offer a promising replacement for petroleum-based thermosetting polymers, exhibiting comparable mechanical strength, thermal stability, and chemical resistance for applications in films, composites, coatings, and adhesives. This study presents the synthesis and characterization of limonene-based epoxy prepolymers through a two-step process, followed by their thermal crosslinking with various aliphatic diamines to fabricate thermosets. Incorporating cystamine, a disulfide-containing diamine, facilitated the formation of a covalent adaptable network via disulfide metathesis, yielding a reprocessable thermoset with self-healing capabilities, recyclability, and an extended lifespan. In contrast, thermosets cured with conventional aliphatic diamines formed permanently crosslinked networks with enhanced mechanical strength, thermal stability, and chemical resistance, making them suitable for high-performance applications requiring long-term durability with a maximum tensile strength of 11.62 MPa at an elongation of 22.2 %. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was employed to elucidate the curing kinetics and crosslinking behavior, while thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the excellent thermal stability of the synthesized materials. Additionally, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile testing demonstrated desirable mechanical properties. The absolute value of the glass transition temperature (Tg) determined from DMA analysis was 18 ℃, above which the malleable thermoset exhibited dynamic behavior due to disulfide bond exchange. Furthermore, the reprocessable thermoset exhibited a maximum tensile strength of 3.1 MPa at an elongation of 65 % and excellent reprocessability. Overall, this study highlights the potential of limonene-derived epoxy thermosets as sustainable alternatives, offering robust properties such as reprocessability, self-healing, and high-performance networks
Affording the American Dream: Analyzing the Economic Factors Shaping U.S. Housing Affordability
No full textHousing affordability is a critical component of financial stability and quality of life for many Americans. Over the past three decades, the U.S. housing market has undergone substantial changes due to economic shifts, with varying impacts on affordability across different regions. The purpose of this study is to examine national real estate trends from 1995 to 2023 to explore the relationship between economic factors and housing affordability. Using the Mortgage to Income Ratio (MTI) as the measure for housing affordability this study uses a pooled regression model with time-series data, this research incorporates five key independent variables: median household income, inflation rate, 30-year fixed mortgage rate, median home price, and unemployment rate. The data was obtained from The Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) and includes 1,450 observations from all 50 US states. To estimate the results using causality we expect higher mortgage rates, unemployment, inflation, and home prices will negatively impact affordability and higher household income should positively impact affordability. Through this study I hope to test this hypothesis and quantify the effects of economic variables and the extent to which they affect housing affordability and real estate trends. These findings could help both buyers and sellers in the housing market make more informed decisions about the best time to buy or sell based on the current state of the economy
INIVEST
No full textThe INIVEST is a wearable vest that provides full-body tracking and haptic feedback to a user in a virtual reality environment. The purpose of the INIVEST is to provide a more immersive experience to a user whether used in a professional or recreational setting. Full body tracking allows for more complete and realistic motion while haptic feedback provides a greater level of immersion in a virtual world. The INIVEST works as a standalone wireless device, making it compatible with almost any virtual or augmented reality headset currently on the market. INIVEST combines the technology of full body tracking and haptic feedback into one device, providing a new level of convenience for users. It consists of a vest with the primary tracker, central control unit (CCU), and 16 haptic motors. In addition, there are six modular trackers to track the arms and legs of the wearer.
Tracking is achieved through the use of inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors which are compatible with the open-source SlimeVR Virtual Reality tracking software. Haptic feedback is implemented with the use of small vibrational motors controlled by the CCU. Power is supplied by a single high capacity lithium-ion battery giving the vest a runtime of over three hours
The Pittsburg Micropolitan Area Economic Report, Quarter 3, 2025
No full textThe Pittsburg Micropolitan Area Economic Report is created by the Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) at Pittsburg State University