Development of an online educational toolkit for sexual orientation and gender identity minority nursing care.

Objective: to develop and implement an online education resources to address a gap in nursing education regarding the concept of cultural humility and its application to healthcare encounters with persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (LGBTQI) or Two-Spirit. Improved understanding of LGBTQI and Two-Spirit community health issues is essential to reducing the healthcare access barriers they currently face.

Method: an online educational toolkit was developed that included virtual simulation games and curated resources.

Adult pilocytic astrocytoma in the molecular era: a comprehensive review.

Adult pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) is less prevalent than pediatric PA and is associated with a worse prognosis. In a literature review, we found that 88.3% of the molecular alterations in adult PA are associated with MAPK pathway dysregulation.

Developing a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Nursing Education Toolkit.

Background: Current education lacks lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and two-spirit (LGBTQI2S) content for health care providers (HCPs). Providing HCPs with understanding of LGBTQI2S health issues would reduce barriers. The Innovative Thinking to Support LGBTQI2S Health and Wellness trainee award supported the development of a website with virtual simulation games (VSGs) about providing culturally humble care to LGBTQI2S individuals to address this need.

Objective Analysis of Impressed Chisel Toolmarks.

Historical and recent challenges to the practice of comparative forensic examination have created a driving force for the formation of objective methods for toolmark identification. In this study, fifty sequentially manufactured chisels were used to create impression toolmarks in lead (500 toolmarks total). An algorithm previously used to statistically separate known matching and nonmatching striated screwdriver marks and quasi-striated plier marks was used to evaluate the chisel marks.

Angular Determination of Toolmarks Using a Computer-Generated Virtual Tool.

A blind study to determine whether virtual toolmarks created using a computer could be used to identify and characterize angle of incidence of physical toolmarks was conducted. Six sequentially manufactured screwdriver tips and one random screwdriver were used to create toolmarks at various angles. An apparatus controlled tool angle.

Optimization of a statistical algorithm for objective comparison of toolmarks.

Due to historical legal challenges, there is a driving force for the development of objective methods of forensic toolmark identification. This study utilizes an algorithm to separate matching and nonmatching shear cut toolmarks created using fifty sequentially manufactured pliers. Unlike previously analyzed striated screwdriver marks, shear cut marks contain discontinuous groups of striations, posing a more difficult test of algorithm applicability.

Neutron diffraction analysis of residual stresses near unannealed welds in anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks.

Neutron diffraction analysis was employed to measure residual stresses near welds in used anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks. Tensile residual stresses contribute to stress corrosion cracking of nurse tanks, which can cause tanks to release toxic ammonia vapor. The analysis showed that tensile residual stresses were present in the tanks measured, and the magnitudes of these stresses approached the yield strength of the steel.

Virtual tool mark generation for efficient striation analysis.

This study introduces a tool mark analysis approach based upon 3D scans of screwdriver tip and marked plate surfaces at the micrometer scale from an optical microscope. An open-source 3D graphics software package is utilized to simulate the marking process as the projection of the tip's geometry in the direction of tool travel. The edge of this projection becomes a virtual tool mark that is compared to cross-sections of the marked plate geometry using the statistical likelihood algorithm introduced by Chumbley et al.

Aberrant placental immune parameters in the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-infected cat suggest virus-induced changes in T cell function.

Background: Immune activity during pregnancy must be tightly regulated to ensure successful pregnancy. This regulation includes the suppression of inflammatory activity that could target the semi-allogeneic fetus. Tregs are immunosuppressive; Th17 cells are pro-inflammatory.

Characterization of second-phase plates in a Gd₅Ge₃ intermetallic compound.

Rare-earth compounds based on the stoichiometry R₅(Si(x)Ge(1-x))₄ (R = rare-earth elements) exhibit many unusual features, including possessing R₅(Si(x)Ge(1-x))3 thin plates which always precipitate from the matrix despite efforts to suppress their formation. In an effort to better understand the unique relationship between these two intermetallic alloy systems, the bulk microstructure of the compound Gd₅Ge₃ was examined using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and optical microscopy. Surprisingly, SEM examination revealed a series of thin plates present in the Gd₅Ge₃ matrix similar to what is seen in Gd₅Ge₄.

Imbalance of placental regulatory T cell and Th17 cell population dynamics in the FIV-infected pregnant cat.

Background: An appropriate balance in placental regulatory T cells (Tregs), an immunosuppressive cell population, and Th17 cells, a pro-inflammatory cell population, is essential in allowing tolerance of the semi-allogeneic fetus. TGF-β and IL-6 are cytokines that promote differentiation of Tregs and Th17 cells from a common progenitor; aberrant expression of the cytokines may perturb the balance in the two cell populations. We previously reported a pro-inflammatory placental environment with decreased levels of FoxP3, a Treg marker, and increased levels of IL-6 in the placentas of FIV-infected cats at early pregnancy.

Validation of tool mark comparisons obtained using a quantitative, comparative, statistical algorithm.

A statistical analysis and computational algorithm for comparing pairs of tool marks via profilometry data is described. Empirical validation of the method is established through experiments based on tool marks made at selected fixed angles from 50 sequentially manufactured screwdriver tips. Results obtained from three different comparison scenarios are presented and are in agreement with experiential knowledge possessed by practicing examiners.

WebSEM: an assessment of K-12 remote microscopy efforts.

Within the past 10 years a number of institutions have developed and instituted systems and programs that enable remote control of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Geared toward use by teachers and educators in K-12 classrooms, these systems have offered access to advanced instrumentation to thousands of students over the past decade. However, despite the enormous potential and promise associated with remote microscopy, the reality has been that most such systems are not utilized to their fullest extent.

Analysis of explosive damage in metals using orientation imaging microscopy.

The goal of this project was to determine whether quantitative information concerning the size and nature of an explosive blast could be determined using Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM) to analyze the texture of blast-affected metal. Selected 1018 steel and 2024 aluminum samples were subjected to various explosive blasts chosen to simulate a wide range of possible pressure waves. The explosives used were PBX 9404, Comp-C4, Gelmax, and Bullseye.

Development of a web-based SEM specifically for K-12 education.

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is uniquely suited for use in education due to its ability to produce clear three-dimensional-looking images of virtually any sample. Elementary and secondary science textbooks regularly contain SEM images of bugs, plants, human tissue, rocks, etc. as a means of illustrating the microscopic world to students.

Computer networked scanning electron microscope for teaching, research, and industry applications.

A laboratory designed for teaching the operation of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been developed. The laboratory makes use of a computer network to allow remote operation of the SEM. Movable teaching stations, consisting of a computer, TV monitor, and joystick control, enable students to view the image on the SEM screen, move the sample, control the basic operating parameters of the microscope, and acquire X-ray spectra.

Radiotherapy of the R1H-tumor: dose-rate effect on tumor response in brachytherapy with 106-ruthenium eye applicators.

Purpose: The influence of the dose-rate on tumor response in radiotherapy with 106-Ruthenium eye plaques has been investigated in an experimental tumor system.

Materials And Methods: The identical total dose was applied within three different overall treatment times (42 hr, 192 hr and 312 hr), corresponding to dose-rates of 6.0 Gy/hr, 1.

Doppler ultrasonography of malignant melanomas of the uvea.

Doppler shifts were detected using duplex and color Doppler scanning in 41 of 42 patients with malignant melanomas of the uvea. Mean maximum tumor systolic velocity was 18.8 +/- 7.

Doppler ultrasonography of the ophthalmic and central retinal vessels.

B-Scan-guided, pulsed Doppler ultrasonography of central retinal vessels and ophthalmic arteries of 72 normal subjects gave the following average peak flow velocities: central retinal artery, 9.5 +/- 3.1 cm/s; central retinal vein, 5.

[Color-coded Doppler sonography of orbital blood vessels with special reference to the central retinal artery and vein].

When certain conditions are met, parameters correlating with orbital and retinal perfusion can be investigated non-invasively with the use of Doppler ultrasonography. Color coding allows more rapid vessel localization and more precise definition of sample volume localization. Flow direction and blood velocity in the central retinal artery and vein, as well as in the ophthalmic artery, were evaluated under normal and pathological conditions using current B-scan Doppler instruments with color coding.

[Effect of dose rate of ruthenium 106 plaques on tumor regression in the animal model].

The influence of the dose-rate of 106Ru-plaques on tumor response was investigated in an experimental tumor-host system (rhabdomyosarcome R1H of the rat). A highly significant difference in tumor response was observed between tumors treated with the identical total dose (25 Gy) but varying dose rates (1.3 Gy/h vs 6.

Measurement of elastic resisting forces of intraocular haptic loops of varying geometrical designs and material composition.

The relationship between experimentally induced intraocular lens (IOL) haptic deformation and resulting elastic haptic counter-resisting forces measured by electronic dynamometry was examined for 34 different IOL haptics of varying material composition and geometrical designs. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polypropylene loops of similar geometry did not fundamentally differ from one another, although lenses of differing geometry behaved differently. Unlike PMMA and polypropylene loops, soft haptics of poly-HEMA and silicone rubber demonstrated a larger elastic resistance force to the same degree of deformation.

Forces on intraocular lens haptics induced by capsular fibrosis. An experimental study.

Electronic dynamometry measurements, performed upon intraocular lens (IOL) haptics of prototype one-piece three-loop silicone lenses, accurately defined the relationships between elastic force and haptic displacement. Lens implantations in the capsular bag of dogs (loop span equal to capsular bag diameter, loops underformed immediately after the operation) were evaluated macrophotographically 5-8 months postoperatively. The highly constant elastic property of silicon rubber permitted quantitative correlation of subsequent in vivo haptic displacement with the resultant force vectors responsible for tissue contraction.

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in extracapsular cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation: intraocular pressure and inflammatory response.

We studied prospectively the effects of 2% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), instilled in to the anterior chamber during extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation in 122 patients. Significant pressure rise was noted at 12 and 24 hours post-operatively when HPMC was not removed at the end of surgery. This was prevented by washing HPMC from the anterior chamber at the end of surgery, or by using either acetazolamide or a combination of oxyphenbutazone and vitamin C without washing HPMC.

Moiré fringe analysis of small precipitates in melt-spun titanium-silicon alloys.

Oxygen-contaminated, melt-spun, binary Ti-Si alloys have been examined by using transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure of alloys in the range of 4 to 10% Si (by weight) are cellular and consist primarily of alpha-Ti and the silicide Ti5Si3. Contained only within the Ti5Si3 regions are small, approximately spherical particles which are less than or equal to 10 nm in diameter.