Is It Really a Failure? A Survey About Foster Animal Adoption.

The widespread use of the term "foster fail" in animal rescue suggests that it happens often, but no research has explored the prevalence of volunteers adopting their foster animals or whether the phenomenon is really a "failure". This survey-based study focused on the following questions: 1. How common are foster fails among volunteers on shelter and rescue lists and why do they occur? 2.

Dog Foster Volunteer Retention.

Volunteers that provide foster care in their homes are a critical resource for animal shelters and rescues and make significant contributions to animal welfare. This project explores the support needs identified by canine foster volunteers via a national survey of 611 respondents by answering the following three research questions:1. Why do foster volunteers consider ending their foster service?2.

Perception versus Policy: Which Is More Important to Animal Welfare Volunteer Satisfaction?

There is a large body of work spanning decades examining the factors that lead to volunteer satisfaction. Much of this work has employed self-administered surveys to gather volunteers' opinions or perceptions of factors important for satisfaction which inherently lie within the individual volunteer. Yet scholars have raised concerns about the validity of studies based on perceptions.

Animal welfare deserts: human and nonhuman animal inequities.

Residents of distressed areas of inner cities have less access to many of life's necessities and amenities than their more well-off counterparts. Geographic proximity has been identified as a primary barrier to accessing care for pets potentially creating animal welfare deserts. This project addresses three questions: Are there visible animal welfare deserts in distressed urban centers?; What human inequities are most strongly related to animal welfare deserts?; and What might be done to address these inequities? Using business location and census data in the city of Detroit, this research identifies distinct animal welfare deserts finding that more prosperous areas have more pet support resources and that the need for services is not related to the location of pet stores and veterinary offices.

Modeling Animal Shelter Volunteer Satisfaction: The Importance of Internal Policies.

This research examines the predictors of volunteer satisfaction in animal shelters. It assesses the relative importance of volunteer demographics, the attributes of the shelter, and the policies and procedures governing the volunteer experience. Volunteering takes place within organizational contexts creating a dynamic relationship between the individual and the organization.

The COVID-19 Animal Fostering Boom: Ephemera or Chimera?

There has been discussion in traditional and social media about increases in the numbers of people willing to foster animals in their homes during the pandemic. However, there is a lack of empirical data on whether that increase was a temporary response to the stress of COVID-19 or the ability to work from home, if it might have lasting effects, or indeed, whether an increase occurred at all. Using a national survey of over 600 animal shelter/rescue foster volunteers it appears that fostering did increase during the pandemic (x = 45.

Community factors and animal shelter outcomes.

This research explores connections between the nature of a community, the type of animal shelter it has, how animals arrive at the shelter, and outcomes for the animals in terms of adoption or euthanasia. Based on data from Shelter Animals Count, the study concludes that the nature of the local community is related to the type of shelter it is served by, how dogs arrive at the shelter, and directly to outcomes. Areas with greater economic stress and lower educational attainment are more likely to have a municipal shelter, which increases stray intake, and ultimately euthanasia.

The GOG partners: A program for industry sponsored clinical trials in gynecologic oncology within the GOG foundation.

The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG-F) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the purpose of promoting excellence in the quality and integrity of clinical and basic scientific research in the field of gynecologic malignancies. GOG Partners (GOG-P) is a program of the GOG-F and is positioned alongside NRG Oncology under the GOG-F organizational umbrella.

Factors Contributing to the Satisfaction of Animal Shelter Volunteers: The Importance of Voice.

Volunteers are a critical resource for many types of organizations and efforts need to be made to ensure they are satisfied with their experience. Using data from an online survey of 651 animal shelter volunteers this research explores the role of volunteer input or "voice" in the policies and practices of organizations, and its impact on satisfaction with the volunteer experience. The findings indicate that volunteers more negative about their opportunities for voice were significantly less satisfied with their experience overall.

Make Me a Match: Prevalence and Outcomes Associated with Matching Programs in Dog Adoptions.

Animal shelters and rescues are typically judged on their live release rates. The number of companion animals adopted and then returned to the shelter is not as frequently considered. Matching programs are implemented to reduce the chances that a companion animal will be returned after adoption by assuring the best possible "match" between adopter needs, wants, and lifestyles, and the behaviors and needs of the animal.

Animal Cruelty and Neighborhood Conditions.

Background: Animal cruelty appears to be widespread. Competing theories have been posed regarding the causes of animal cruelty leading to conflicting findings and little direction for public policies to combat it.

Objective: To assess the applicability of extant theories of the causes of animal cruelty: domestic violence; deviance; perpetrator traits; and social disorganization.

Understanding Dog Bites: The Important Role of Human Behavior.

This research contributes to extant knowledge about dog bites by using police department bite incident data to explore three sets of potential correlates of bites: traits of the victim, traits of the dog including the circumstances surrounding the bite, and traits of the neighborhood in which the bite occurred. It employs data on 478 bites, over a period of 8 years, in an urban setting that includes significant numbers of roaming dogs (both feral and owned), and incorporates a number of variables not included in past research. While environmental variables such as structural abandonment contribute to dog bite risk human error is most commonly at fault.

Preventing Dog Bites: It Is Not Only about the Dog.

Background: Dog bites can have an array of negative health impacts on victims. Research focusing on the correlates of bites focused on limited sets of variables and produced conflicting findings.

Objective: To expand knowledge about the correlates of dog bites by exploring a comprehensive set of variables related to the nature of the dog and the circumstances surrounding the bite not commonly explored in extant research.

Demographic and urban environmental variables associated with dog bites in Detroit.

Objective: To identify demographic and urban environmental variables associated with prevalence rates of dog bites per zip code in Detroit.

Design: Retrospective ecological study.

Sample: 6,540 people who visited any 1 of 15 hospital emergency rooms in the 29 zip codes in Detroit between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2013, with a primary complaint of dog bite.

What does effectiveness mean?: A qualitative assessment of two child protection systems.

Background: Child Protective Services (CPS) systems have not historically conducted system effectiveness research. More information is needed about the long-term outcomes of children and families served by the systems.

Objective: To investigate how workers within CPS systems in Colorado and the Netherlands measure and perceive the effectiveness of their CPS system.

No Dog Left Behind: A Hedonic Pricing Model for Animal Shelters.

Companion animal overpopulation is a growing problem in the United States. In addition to strays, an average of 324,500 nonhuman animals are relinquished to shelters yearly by their caregivers due to family disruption (divorce, death), foreclosure, economic problems, or minor behavioral issues. As a result, estimates of animals in shelters range from 3 million to 8 million, and due to overcrowding, euthanasia is common.

Toward the Broad Adoption of 3D Tumor Models in the Cancer Drug Pipeline.

Despite a cost of approximately $1 billion to develop a new cancer drug, about 90% of drugs that enter clinical trials fail. A tremendous opportunity exists to streamline the drug selection and testing process, and innovative approaches promise to reduce the burdensome cost of health care for those suffering from cancer. There is great potential for 3D models of human tumors to complement more traditional testing methods; however, the shift from 2D to 3D assays at early stages of the drug discovery and development process is far from widely accepted.

Characterization of Conventional One-Step Sodium Thiosulfate Facilitated Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis.

Gold-gold sulfide nanoparticles are of interest for drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and photothermal therapy applications due to a facile synthesis method resulting in small particles with high near-infrared (NIR) absorption efficiency. Previous studies suggest that the NIR sensitivity of these nanoparticles was due to hexagonally shaped metal-coated dielectric nanoparticles that consist of a gold sulfide core and gold shell. Here, we illustrate that the conventional synthesis procedure results in the formation of polydisperse samples of icosahedral gold particles, gold nanoplates, and small gold spheres.

Fabrication and characterization of medical grade polyurethane composite catheters for near-infrared imaging.

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are hollow polymeric tubes that transport nutrients, blood and medications to neonates. To determine proper PICC placement, frequent X-ray imaging of neonates is performed. Because X-rays pose severe health risks to neonates, safer alternatives are needed.

Evaluation of Period of PURPLE Crying, an abusive head trauma prevention program.

The Period of PURPLE Crying program is used to educate parents and caregivers about normal infant crying and the dangers of infant shaking. We evaluated nurse-led, hospital-based implementation of the program using a nonexperimental, posttest-only design. New mothers rated the program as useful, and the program was effective in teaching mothers about normal infant crying, the dangers of infant shaking, and soothing and coping techniques.

EFFECTS OF POLYMERIC NANOPARTICLE SURFACE PROPERTIES ON INTERACTION WITH BRAIN TUMOR ENVIRONMENT.

Current chemotherapy treatments are limited by poor drug solubility, rapid drug clearance and systemic side effects. Additionally, drug penetration into solid tumors is limited by physical diffusion barriers [e.g.

Janus magnetic cellular spheroids for vascular tissue engineering.

Cell aggregates, or spheroids, have been used as building blocks to fabricate scaffold-free tissues that can closely mimic the native three-dimensional in vivo environment for broad applications including regenerative medicine and high throughput testing of drugs. The incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) into spheroids permits the manipulation of spheroids into desired shapes, patterns, and tissues using magnetic forces. Current strategies incorporating MNPs often involve cellular uptake, and should therefore be avoided because it induces adverse effects on cell activity, viability, and phenotype.