Burton Optical Company (Cases A & B)

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston Universit

Examining Long-Term Global Climate Change on the Web

This article describes an activity in which students use web-based resources to investigate global climate change. The investigation takes the form of a computer activity in which they collect data from the internet on temperature, concentrations of various gases, oxygen isotopes, and others. The activity begins by posing the question: 'Should the U.S. and other countries limit emissions of greenhouse gases to reduce global warming?' The students then construct graphs, look for trends, and report their findings. Educational levels: Middle school, High school, Undergraduate lower division

Measuring the Effects of a Research-Based Field Experience on Undergraduates and K-12 Teachers

During the summer of 1999, a new type of field course was taught in five of eastern Utah's National Parks and Monuments. It targeted a combination of university undergraduates and K-12 teachers, emphasized development of participants' problem-solving skills, and assessed the effectiveness of several non-traditional teaching methods. The course's primary goal was to teach participants to develop and test their own ideas. The course was also designed to help participants learn to use tools and methods employed by research scientists. A mix of undergraduates and teachers was targeted so that the course could be used to introduce undergraduates to the concept of teaching as a career. Assessments of the course's effectiveness were made on the basis of the achievements of stated outcomes, and by pre-course and post-course testing. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Skylab medical data evaluation program (SMEDEP)

A day-by-day summary of selected data collected during the experiment is presented. The clinical and environmental data are presented in a mission-day format along with a tabulation of biomedical measurements whose values exceed three standard deviations from the preflight measurements

Improving Transitions in Care: The Post-Discharge Follow-Up Process for VA Hospitalizations

BACKGROUND: Transitions in care from hospitalization to home are a high-risk period for patients. Without care coordination during these transitions in care, patients are left trying to manage their care without any support. The VA has a mandated two-day post-discharge contact process that requires a member of the patient’s primary care team to contact the patient within two business days of a VA discharge. METHODS: The Plan-Do-Study-Act method of quality improvement was used for this project. Baseline assessment included review of patient medical records for 15 months before the intervention, which included 27 discharges from unit 78C. The patient medical records were assessed for compliance with factors associated with the two-day post-discharge contact process. INTERVENTIONS: The project included the primary intervention of educating the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) RNs on the two-day post-discharge contact process and the associated required documentation. Supportive interventions included training the HBPC Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) on providing Daily Discharge Report handoffs and collaborating with the 78C lead provider on completing discharge handoffs. RESULTS: The two-day post-discharge contact compliance rate increased from 37% (10/1/2023 – 12/31/2024 average) to 80% (2/20/2025 – 4/15/2025); however, this compliance rate only included five discharges within the post-intervention timeframe. CONCLUSIONS: This project was completed on a smaller scale than initially intended, yet it was still a useful project and helped set the stage for the project to be completed on a larger scale

Recollections by Don Huntoon

https://openspace.dmacc.edu/pioneerrecollections/1044/thumbnail.jp

Self-reported evaluation of competencies and attitudes by physicians-in-training before and after a single day legislative advocacy experience

BACKGROUND: Advocacy is increasingly being recognized as a core element of medical professionalism and efforts are underway to incorporate advocacy training into graduate and undergraduate medical school curricula. While limited data exist to quantify physician attitudes toward advocacy, even less has been done to assess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of future physicians. The purpose of this study was to assess students’ experiences and attitudes toward legislative advocacy, cutting out using a convience sample. METHODS: A paper survey based on previously validated surveys was administered to a convenience sample of premedical and medical student participants attending a National Advocacy Day in Washington, DC, in March 2011, both before and after their advocacy experiences. Responses were anonymous and either categorical ( or ordinal, using a 5-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed statistically to evaluate demographics and compare changes in pre- and post-experience attitude and skills. RESULTS: Data from 108 pre-advocacy and 50 post-advocacy surveys were analyzed yielding a response rate of 46.3%. Following a single advocacy experience, subjects felt they were more likely to contact their legislators about healthcare issues (p = 0.03), to meet in person with their legislators (p < 0.01), and to advocate for populations' health needs (p = 0.04). Participants endorsed an increased perception of the role of a physician advocate extending beyond individual patients (p = 0.03). Participants disagreed with the statement that their formal curricula adequately covered legislative healthcare advocacy. Additionally, respondents indicated that they plan to engage in legislative advocacy activities in the future (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: A one-time practical advocacy experience has a positive influence on students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards legislative advocacy. Practical experience is an important method of furthering medical education in advocacy and further research is necessary to assess its impact in a broader population

Somato-Dendritic Localization and Signaling by Leptin Receptors in Hypothalamic POMC and AgRP Neurons

Leptin acts via neuronal leptin receptors to control energy balance. Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and agouti-related peptide (AgRP)/Neuropeptide Y (NPY)/GABA neurons produce anorexigenic and orexigenic neuropeptides and neurotransmitters, and express the long signaling form of the leptin receptor (LepRb). Despite progress in the understanding of LepRb signaling and function, the sub-cellular localization of LepRb in target neurons has not been determined, primarily due to lack of sensitive anti-LepRb antibodies. Here we applied light microscopy (LM), confocal-laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and electron microscopy (EM) to investigate LepRb localization and signaling in mice expressing a HA-tagged LepRb selectively in POMC or AgRP/NPY/GABA neurons. We report that LepRb receptors exhibit a somato-dendritic expression pattern. We further show that LepRb activates STAT3 phosphorylation in neuronal fibers within several hypothalamic and hindbrain nuclei of wild-type mice and rats, and specifically in dendrites of arcuate POMC and AgRP/NPY/GABA neurons of Leprb+/+ mice and in Leprbdb/db mice expressing HA-LepRb in a neuron specific manner. We did not find evidence of LepRb localization or STAT3-signaling in axon-fibers or nerve-terminals of POMC and AgRP/NPY/GABA neurons. Three-dimensional serial EM-reconstruction of dendritic segments from POMC and AgRP/NPY/GABA neurons indicates a high density of shaft synapses. In addition, we found that the leptin activates STAT3 signaling in proximity to synapses on POMC and AgRP/NPY/GABA dendritic shafts. Taken together, these data suggest that the signaling-form of the leptin receptor exhibits a somato-dendritic expression pattern in POMC and AgRP/NPY/GABA neurons. Dendritic LepRb signaling may therefore play an important role in leptin’s central effects on energy balance, possibly through modulation of synaptic activity via post-synaptic mechanisms