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Title: FAST AUTOMATIC BAYESIAN CUBATURE USING MATCHING KERNELS AND DESIGNS
Creator: Rathinavel, Jagadeeswaran
Date: 2019, 2019-12-20
Publisher: Chicago
Description: Automatic cubatures approximate multidimensional integrals to user-specified...
Show moreAutomatic cubatures approximate multidimensional integrals to user-specified error tolerances. In many real-world integration problems, the analytical solution is either unavailable or difficult to compute. To overcome this, one can use numerical algorithms that approximately estimate the value of the integral. For high dimensional integrals, quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) methods are very popular. QMC methods are equal-weight quadrature rules where the quadrature points are chosen deterministically, unlike Monte Carlo (MC) methods where the points are chosen randomly. The families of integration lattice nodes and digital nets are the most popular quadrature points used. These methods consider the integrand to be a deterministic function. An alternate approach, called Bayesian cubature, postulates the integrand to be an instance of a Gaussian stochastic process.
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Title: Silkworm silk - CNT composite fibers: fabrication, characterization and application in cell stimulation for tissue regeneration
Creator: Zheng, Shuyao
Date: 2019
Description: Silk fibroin, a structural protein of the Bombyx mori cocoons, is widely studied for biomedical applications because of its strong mechanical...
Show moreSilk fibroin, a structural protein of the Bombyx mori cocoons, is widely studied for biomedical applications because of its strong mechanical property, biocompatibility, low degradation rate and ease of processing. In this study, we incorporated functionalized CNT in silkworm silk proteins to generate biocomposite fibers by electrospinning. The electro-spun (E-spun) fibers were unidirectionally aligned with a diameter at the sub-micrometer scale, mimicking the locally oriented ECM proteins in native tissues. The addition of a minute amount of CNT not only reinforced the stability and the mechanical strength of the flexible scaffolds, but also rendered the fibers electrical conductivity to not only facilitate the E-spun fiber formation but also grant the fibers an additional functionality that can be utilized for cell stimulation. It is known that endogenous electric field is present in the human body at various locations and plays critical physiological roles through its effect on cell proliferation, migration and activation mediated by its interference with growth factor secretion and intracellular signaling pathways. Electrical stimulation (ES) has been widely investigated as a potential method to regulate cell functions for the treatment of a number of diseases. It has been reported that in dermal fibroblasts, ES induces the secretion of FGF-1 and FGF-2 which promotes cell proliferation, contraction, migration, and activation/differentiation into myofibroblasts for increased collagen synthesis in favor of tissue repair. In this work, the modulation effect of the aligned E-spun SWS-CNT fibers was examined by their application in inducing polarization and activation of fibroblasts with cellular deficit, like those from pelvic organ prolapse (POP) patients. These cells are characterized by low productivity of collagen with abnormally high COLI/COLIII ratio, leading to a loose and fragile collagen network, decreased integration among the tissue constituents and reduced tissue strength. Electrical stimulation boosted the collagen productivity by 20 folds in cells on silk-CNT than on pure silk due to silk-CNT’s high electrical conductivity. The developed approach can be potentially utilized to remedy the dysfunctional fibroblasts for therapeutic treatment of diseases and health conditions associated with collagen disorder.
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Title: An experimental study on the effects of partial sleep deprivation on disordered-eating urges and behaviors
Creator: Johnson, Nicole Kathryn
Date: 2020
Description: Previous research has linked sleep disturbances with disordered eating. Studies have also shown that one night of partial sleep deprivation...
Show morePrevious research has linked sleep disturbances with disordered eating. Studies have also shown that one night of partial sleep deprivation causes increases in food intake and appetite disturbances. However, the effects of sleep deprivation on disordered eating are unclear as research has yet to examine the effects of one night of partial sleep deprivation (≤ 4 hours of sleep) on disordered eating in a representative adult female sample. Adult, female participants (N=40) completed eligibility and baseline measures reporting medical conditions, eating disorder symptoms, sleep disturbances, depressed mood, and anxiety symptoms. Participants were randomized to either the sleep-deprived condition (~50% of their average sleep duration) or the habitual-sleep condition (~100% of their average sleep duration). The morning after the sleep condition, participants completed self-report appetite and disordered eating measures before and after consuming a test meal and later that evening. The following statistical analyses, adjusted for multiple comparisons (p<0.002), found no significant group differences: independent samples t-tests (outcome: pre-meal appetite, disordered eating, and test-meal consumption), multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs; outcome: pre- and post-meal area under the curve disordered eating and appetite), repeated measures ANOVAs (time X group; outcome: pre- and post-meal appetite and disordered eating), analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs; controlling for pre-meal ratings; outcome: disordered eating at follow-up), and chi-square tests (outcome: follow-up appetite and disordered eating). Despite finding no support for the effect of sleep deprivation on disordered eating, this study extends previous research as a novel study using the experimental manipulation of sleep deprivation to examine its effects on disordered eating.
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Title: Regenerating the Jordan River: Through Ecological and Sociocultural Interventions
Creator: Shadid, Rula
Date: 2019
Description: The Jordan River is often described as one of the world’s most unique eco-systems and is attributed to serving as a cradle of history, culture...
Show moreThe Jordan River is often described as one of the world’s most unique eco-systems and is attributed to serving as a cradle of history, culture, and spirituality in the ancient and modern times. Archaeological evidence on its banks reveal signs of some of the world’s earliest existences of civilization. Its history as a meeting place for the crossing and exchange between plants, animals, and human societies, along with its strong association to three of the world’s great religions – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – has made it a world known and important site. Being located in the Middle East, in the heart of a complex political conflict that has been ongoing since the middle of the last century, years of war, political clashes, and water and resource exploitation has reduced the river from a once lush and bio-diverse ecosystem to nothing but a polluted stream. Today the river is a “hydro-border” that divides the competing nations around it and segregates the people of the Jordan Valley in which the river runs via militarized security efforts. The conflict has left the region politically and socially segregated and has eliminated the productive exchange which once allowed the valley to thrive while efforts to protect, preserve, or rehabilitate the river are given little chance to succeed. The thesis addresses river degradation and social segregation as two interdependent issues in the Jordan Valley. It highlights saving the Jordan River as a driver for integration between the conflicting society and points to the Jordan Valley river border as a site for regenerative interventions that suggest an alternative and productive way of life in an area filled with conflict, economic distress, and spatial divide through the collaboration and exchange of efforts, ideas, and resources.
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Title: Self-Stigma & Vicarious Stigma Experienced by Parents of Children with Mental Health Challenges
Creator: Serchuk, Marisa Dyan
Date: 2019
Description: Research has been limited regarding the stigma experienced by parents of children with mental health challenges. It is commonly understood...
Show moreResearch has been limited regarding the stigma experienced by parents of children with mental health challenges. It is commonly understood that stigma effects people with lived-experience (e.g., a child with mental health challenges), however, stigma has been noted to have a wide scope, which extends to family members as well. Parents of children with mental health challenges have been found to endorse aspects of self-stigma, specifically regarding public stereotypes of blame and feelings of incompetence. Vicarious stigma is a fairly new area of research, which describes the sad and/or angry response a parent may experience when witnessing their child being stigmatized. The purpose of this study is to examine emotional and behavioral outcomes related to specific types of stigma experienced by parents of children with mental health challenges. Archival data from a larger study of adult participants (N=50), who identified as having a child (age 3-10 years old) with mental health challenges, completed measures examining self-stigma, vicarious stigma, stress, depression, quality of life, disclosure, secrecy coping, and help-seeking. A novel measurement for vicarious stigma was introduced and examined in this study. Results found higher levels of self-stigma and dimensions of vicarious stigma were associated with higher levels of depression as well as diminished quality of life. Higher levels of self-stigma were also associated with lower perceived benefits of disclosing and greater levels of secrecy coping. These findings highlight the importance of further examining the role of stigma for parents of children with mental health challenges.
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Title: SUSTAINED RELEASE OF PHOSPHATE-BASED THERAPEUTICS FOR ATTENUATION OF PATHOGEN-INDUCED PROTEOLYTIC MATRIX DEGRADATION
Creator: Bittencourt Pimentel, Marja
Date: 2019
Description: Loss of the normal intestinal microbiome community structure and its replacement by pathogenic microbes contributes to severe persistent...
Show moreLoss of the normal intestinal microbiome community structure and its replacement by pathogenic microbes contributes to severe persistent inflammation in diseases such as ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease. While host-derived proteases are known to contribute to this pathogenesis, the role of increased production of microbial-secreted proteases due to virulent phenotypes remains unclear. Following surgical removal of diseased intestinal tract, increased bacterial protease expression is a key phenotype involved in intestinal healing impairment. Antibiotic administration is ineffective for treating these complications as it inadvertently eliminates normal flora while allowing pathogenic bacteria to acquire antibiotic resistance. Prior research has shown that intestinal phosphate depletion in the surgically stressed host triggers bacterial virulence which is suppressed under phosphate abundant conditions. To address this issue our previous work has demonstrated that the use of free monophosphate (-Pi) and polyphosphate (-PPi), as well as post-loaded PPi nanoparticles (NP-PPi) attenuate collagenase production of gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens) but not gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis) pathogens expressing high collagenolytic activity. Due to the variation in phosphate metabolism among microbial species we investigated the in vitro efficacy of a combination treatment of phosphates delivered in a sustained release format using NP-PPi and NP-Pi on collagenase and biofilm attenuation across gram-positive and gram-negative test pathogens.Collagenase screening was assessed using two in vitro models. The first in vitro assay involved culturing pathogens in the presence and absence of NP-Pi and/or NP-PPi treatment using two-dimensional (2D) commercially available fluorogenic protease-sensitive peptide substrates. Although these substrates are among the most commonly used for screening protease activity and inhibition in vitro, their application does not translate to three-dimensional (3D) matrix degradation. Additionally, the addition of drug-loaded nanoparticles directly in bacterial culture does not recapitulate the in vivo sustained release of phosphates due to nanoparticles embedded within tissue. Thus, the second model involved the development of a novel cell culture platform which utilized a proteolytically degradable hydrogel scaffold and a non-degradable nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold. In this assay NP-Pi and NP-PPi were entrapped in a non-degradable poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) hydrogel to form of a nanocomposite matrix which served as a reservoir for sustained release of phosphates. Bacteria producing high levels of proteases were cultured in the presence of the nanocomposite phosphate releasing reservoir and the proteolytically degradable PEG hydrogel scaffold to determine the efficacy of sustained release of phosphates in attenuating proteolytic hydrogel degradation. To correlate matrix degradation with bacterial enzymes secreted in the culture medium, we also developed a method to efficiently measure hydrogel degradation rate until complete material degradation with a greater degree of accuracy compared to the commonly employed method utilizing gravimetric measurements in gel wet weight. Combined, the in vitro platform and our proposed degradation assay provide a novel approach for screening the effect of therapeutics for attenuation of bacterial protease-induced matrix degradation.The 2D in vitro study demonstrated that the combination treatment (NP-PPi + NP-Pi) confers broad spectrum efficacy for suppression of collagenase and biofilm production across test pathogens. Conversely, the 3D in vitro model demonstrated that the combination treatment (NP-PPi + NP-Pi) attenuated protease production for gram-negative pathogens, while the gram-positive test pathogen exhibited significant decreases in protease levels only in the presence of NP-Pi. Finally, our novel Sirius red absorbance assay for quantifying hydrogel degradation was found to provide greater accuracy when compared to gravimetric measurements in gel wet weight. It also enabled real-time monitoring of 3D matrix degradation kinetics as well as the time required for complete material dissolution in the presence of bacterial proteases and active human MMP-9 enzyme solutions. These findings highlight the importance of designing relevant in vitro platforms for screening therapeutic efficacy in the presence of cells and nanomaterials.
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Title: A NOVEL HYDROPONICS SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING SAFE AND HEALTHY SPROUTS
Creator: Azizinia, Mehdi
Date: 2019
Description: Sprouts can be considered as one of the most nutritious and cheap nutritional sources. Due to these advantages, sprouts consumption has...
Show moreSprouts can be considered as one of the most nutritious and cheap nutritional sources. Due to these advantages, sprouts consumption has increased significantly in recent decades. However, because of their susceptible nature to microbial growth, numerous outbreaks associated with this fresh produce have occurred and thus the safety of the sprout is of major concern. A novel kinetic hydroponics system (KHS) was developed to optimize an improve safe sprout production. In KHS, sprouting seeds are able to grow under water while air is continuously introduced. In this study, effect of various airflow rates and light on yield, germination percentage, and physical properties of sprout were examined. In addition, microbial growth during the shelf life of sprout grown, using conventional and KHS methods were monitored. Moreover, the efficacy of chlorine-based sanitizers for reducing microbial loads during KHS sprout production was tested. Results showed that air flow rate had a positive impact on yield. However, higher airflow (8 and 10 feet3/minute) significantly lowered yield. Also, KHS has a significant higher yield compare with conventional method (110.30±4.88 versus 66.19±2.66 g). KHS did not have positive impact on germination percentage. Germination percentage was almost the same in KHS and conventional method (80.67±1.15% versus 81.33±1.53%). Moreover, when various light wavelengths were used, germination percentage increased significantly in KHS (from 91±2.65 to 96±1% in various wavelengths). In terms of color, there were no significant differences in color of sprouts in both systems. In KHS, when dark conditions applied, stem length was significantly higher (31.32±3.55 mm) than those sprouts treated with light. For example, stem length in white light was 8.54±1.32 mm. In contrast, leaves length was significantly higher when light used (highest was 6.67±0.49 mm for combination of blue and red lights compare to 3.19±0.22 mm for dark KHS). Analyzing microbial background showed that sprouts produced in KHS had lower total aerobic counts compared with conventional system (7.24±0.49 versus 8.22±0.18 log CFU/g respectively). However, after 21 days of shelf study at 4°C sprouts in both systems almost had the same counts (10.02±0.70 versus 9.55±0.49 log CFU/g in KHS and conventional systems respectively).
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Title: DOPING OF SODIUM CHROMIUM OXIDE CATHODE MATERIALS TO ENHANCE ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE FOR SODIUM-ION BATTERIES
Creator: wang, ziyong
Date: 2019
Description: In this project, we investigated the effects of doping several types of metals to NaCrO2 on its electrochemical performance. The doping method...
Show moreIn this project, we investigated the effects of doping several types of metals to NaCrO2 on its electrochemical performance. The doping method is aiming to stabilize the O3-type structure by partial substituting some of Cr with other metals during intercalation/deintercalation by suppressing Cr6+ migration to alkaline slab, and thus facilitate long-term cycle performance and reversible capacity. All doped NaCrO2 powders were hereby denoted to NaMe0.1Cr0.9O2 (Me=Al, Co, Ni, Mn). To achieve metal-doped NaCrO2 powders, sodium, chromium and dopant sources were mixed with various metal oxides and then subjected to 6-hour high energy ball milling, followed by heating in flow-Ar tube at 900℃ for 1 hour. Pristine NaCrO2 powder synthesized in the same process was to make comparisons with doped ones. To understand the mechanism of doping, field emission scanning microscopy (FESM) and energy Disperse Spectroscopy (EDS), as well as X-ray diffractometer (XRD), were employed to analyze the morphology and composition of final products. Benefiting from Ni doping, NaNi0.1Cr0.9O2 cell exhibited a high reversible capacity of 132 mAh g-1 at the initial cycle in a potential region between 2.0 and 3.6 V vs. Na/Na+, and 78 % of capacity retention over 70 cycles. For NaMn0.1Cr0.9O2, reversible capacity at first discharge is about 30 mAh g-1, lower than that of Ni-doped and pristine NaCrO2, while the cycle retention stays at nearly 100% after 100 cycles. The opposite charge/discharge behaviors from Ni- and Mn-doped NaCrO2 provide us a potential method for the optimization of cathode materials with the best electrochemical performance in the future.
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Title: Rapidly Deployable PV-Based Smart Irrigation System
Creator: Usta, Salih
Date: 2019
Description: There are many agricultural fields in developing countries such as Turkey which do not have electricity on site. In order to water these...
Show moreThere are many agricultural fields in developing countries such as Turkey which do not have electricity on site. In order to water these fields, there is usually a need to store water in a water reservoir nearby. This purpose is achieved by manpower or by using diesel-operated water pumps which are often inefficient and require a high degree of maintenance over time. Furthermore, extending the power supply grid to the field is not considered an option by governors, due to the high cost for a relatively small-scale application. Along with this, watering the field is done by farmers, which frequently leads to waste of water, or leads to watering one particular area of the field less than the others, which causes a drop in crop efficiency. Preventing water waste is considered an important issue in the 21st century. Also, increasing crop efficiency in a developing country is an important consideration. To prevent water waste and to enhance crop efficiency, an automated irrigation system is needed. The objective of this study is to develop a photovoltaic-based irrigation system for an agricultural field that is not tied to an existing conventional electric grid. Firstly, a stand-alone PV system is designed according to the field requirements. Secondly, a soil moisture sensor-based smart irrigation system is developed for an automated irrigation process compatible with drip irrigation systems. This system also enables users to monitor and analyze soil moisture data. By developing this type of complete irrigation mechanism, a long-term lower cost, efficient, and environmental-friendly system is designed.
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Title: Mental Health Stigma and Care-Seeking in First Generation Indian Immigrants
Creator: Shah, Binoy
Date: 2019
Description: Objective: Immigrants from India face unique obstacles, including migration related factors and cultural pressures, that may contribute to...
Show moreObjective: Immigrants from India face unique obstacles, including migration related factors and cultural pressures, that may contribute to underutilization of mental health treatment services. The present thesis examined paths between mental health stigma and care-seeking in a sample of first-generation Indian immigrants, with a specific emphasis on the influences of acculturation and parental autonomy support. Method: A sample of 201 first-generation immigrants from India was ascertained using MTurk. Path analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between public stigma of mental illness, disclosure, mental health care-seeking, parental autonomy support, and bi-directional acculturation. Results: Final model was supported by good fit indicators. Greater public stigma was associated with reduced care-seeking, but greater disclosure was associated with increased care-seeking. Interestingly, parental autonomy support, mainstream acculturation, and heritage acculturation facilitated disclosure but had no discernible impact on public stigma. Conclusions: In contrast to traditional anti-stigma strategies that focus on reducing public stigma, present results suggest that it may be more beneficial to facilitate care-seeking by targeting disclosure of status. In turn, disclosure may be promoted by facilitating autonomy supportive social networks and bi-directional acculturation.
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Title: EVALUATION OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES ENRICHMENT AND COMPOSITING PROTOCOLS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES
Creator: Eckert, Christine
Date: 2019
Description: Environmental sampling in a food production plant is routinely conducted using devices, such as sponges or swabs, to verify cleaning...
Show moreEnvironmental sampling in a food production plant is routinely conducted using devices, such as sponges or swabs, to verify cleaning procedures and determine if any foodborne pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), are present. The devices used for environmental monitoring are enriched to improve pathogen detection. This study aims to 1) compare the limit of detection (LOD) of L. monocytogenes of two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enrichment procedures (i.e., Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) and Compliance Document) with and without food matrix, and to 2) assess the number of samples which can be wet and dry composited without loss of sensitivity from stainless steel. To compare the LOD of L. monocytogenes using UVM and BLEB, three inoculation levels (0.27±0.07, 0.59±0.05, and 1.00±0.15 CFU per 225 mL enrichment) with 30 enrichments each were used. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the number of samples where L. monocytogenes was detected for UVM and BLEB at any of the three inoculation levels. However, the limit of detection (LOD95%) for UVM/Fraser was higher than that of BLEB (2.13 and 1.44 CFU/mL, respectively). For wet compositing, 1.24±0.34 CFU of L. monocytogenes was inoculated into 45 enrichments of UVM or BLEB without food matrix and 7.2±0.18 CFU of L. monocytogenes was inoculated into 30 enrichments of UVM or BLEB with 4.13±0.12 log CFU of native microflora from Romaine lettuce wash (RLW). Secondary composite enrichments in Fraser broth were conducted at each of four different ratios: 1:1 (1 positive:1 negative), 1:2 (1 positive: 2 negative), 1:4 (1 positive: 4 negative), and 1:7 (1 positive:7 negative). There was no significant difference between the number of samples where L. monocytogenes was detected between BLEB and UVM with or without food matrix at any of the composite ratios. When comparing wet and dry compositing enrichments from stainless steel, 10.16 × 10.16 cm areas on stainless steel plates were inoculated with 464±22 CFU (2.67±0.24 log CFU) L. monocytogenes, dried for 24 h, and sponges were used to swab the surface of the plates. The sponges were then composited (into primary enrichments for dry compositing) or the secondary enrichments were composited (for wet compositing). Compositing was conducted with RLW containing 4.13±0.02 log CFU of background microflora. There was no significant difference between the number of samples where L. monocytogenes was detected for BLEB and UVM when comparing dry or wet compositing at any of the composite ratios tested. Results of this thesis will aid in determining if compositing of environmental samples is an option when L. monocytogenes is the target pathogen.
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Title: WIND MICRO-CLIMATE CONFORMATION IN HOT DRY CITIES; RIYADH
Creator: Alhawsah, Saeed Idris
Date: 2019
Description: Recently, the transformation in urban development in Saudi Arabia has caused abrupt and sporadic change to its desert climate. Careful...
Show moreRecently, the transformation in urban development in Saudi Arabia has caused abrupt and sporadic change to its desert climate. Careful environmental consideration of vernacular architecture practices is lost by the vast modernization. The significant changes of modernization contain desertification, sand rapping due to massive urban construction, and urban heat islands, all that has created a severe issue with sandstorms. Saudi’s modernization changed sandstorms phenomena from its seasonal occasions to a frequent rapid increase as a result of the urban inability to maintain its naturally mild and soothing condition. All the global incidents from the natural refugees in Gobi Desert, China, to the 1930s U.S. dustbowl are evident to the urban environmental disturbance. This research is an environmental investigation to reduce the sandstorm effects in Saudi Arabia through designing multiple territorial landscape interventions to filter out the sandstorms and trap its sediments to avoid reoccurring sandstorms.
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Title: Wireless Body Sensor Network for Tracking Human Mobility using Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network for Classification
Creator: Gupta, Saumya
Date: 2019
Description: A large number of sensors are used without justification of the number chosen or placement choice. Many papers about body sensor networks...
Show moreA large number of sensors are used without justification of the number chosen or placement choice. Many papers about body sensor networks explore how to capture a type or types of motion, but all their sensors are placed in different locations; making their algorithms very specific to that movement. In this research, we explore the enhancement of human activity classification algorithm using long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network and wearable sensor network. There are five identical nodes used in the body sensor network to collect data. Each node incorporates an ESP8266 Microcontroller with Wi-Fi which is connected to an inertial measurement unit consisting of triple axis accelerometer and gyroscope sensor board. An analysis on the accuracy that each sensor node provides separately and in different combinations has been conducted to allow future research to focus their positioning in optimal positions. A Robot Operating System (ROS) central node is used to illustrate the in-built multi-threading capability. For demonstration, the positions chosen are waist, ankles and wrists. The raw sensor data can be observed on screen while it is being labelled live to create fitting dataset for developing an artificial neural network. Expectation is that increasing the number of sensors should raise the overall accuracy of the output but that isn’t the case observed, positioning of the sensor is pertinent to improvement. These platforms can be further extended to understand different motions and different sensor positions, also expanded to include other sensors.
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Title: CULTURALLY SENSITIVE HELP-SEEKING AMONG ASIAN INTERNATIONAL AND ASIAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Creator: Tsen, Jonathan Yee-jon
Date: 2020
Description: Asian populations are rapidly rising, representing the fastest growing racial group of immigrants in the U.S. with many seeking higher...
Show moreAsian populations are rapidly rising, representing the fastest growing racial group of immigrants in the U.S. with many seeking higher education. While many face risk for poor mental health outcomes and high suicidal ideation, Asian college students report lower rates seeking mental health services than White Americans. The purpose of this study was to test a culturally sensitive help-seeking model for Asian international and Asian American college students, and to capture relevant psychological and cultural factors that influence help-seeking. This study used an observational design to build on the current research and evaluated the effects of acculturation, enculturation, public stigma of help-seeking, self-stigma of help-seeking, and attitudes on willingness to seek psychological services. Four hundred and fifty-eight students (Age M = 23.93, SD = 4.36) represented by 265 Asian International Students and 193 Asian American Students. Using a path analysis, results demonstrated a poorly fitted model, suggesting that acculturation, enculturation, public stigma, self-stigma, attitudes, and willingness do not relate significantly to each other when viewed altogether in a model. This remained true even when modifications to the model were made, and when observing the model within only Asian American student sample or Asian international student sample. However, significant direct effects were observed between enculturation and public stigma in the total sample, as well as separately in Asian American or Asian international samples. These findings highlight the importance of exploring with different methodological approaches to gain insight on other important psychological and cultural factors that impact help-seeking among Asian international and Asian American college students.
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Title: IDENTIFICATION OF BAX∆2 FRAMESHIFTING REGION VIA DUAL LUCIFERASE ANALYSIS
Creator: Reiner, Katherine
Date: 2020
Description: The antitumor protein Bax is susceptible to microsatellite instability (MSI) mutations that alter its open reading frame by changing Baxs’...
Show moreThe antitumor protein Bax is susceptible to microsatellite instability (MSI) mutations that alter its open reading frame by changing Baxs’ microsatellite of eight guanines (G8) to seven guanines (G7). This mutation results in a frameshift that is corrected by alternative splicing, making Bax∆2. Evidence shows that non-MSI mutated full length Bax∆2 (Bax∆2 G8) can be found in tissue. However, the extra guanine in Bax∆2 should result in premature termination of protein synthesis. Therefore, we believe that Bax∆2 is capable of +1 frameshifting to correct the out of frame sequence caused by splicing. The dual luciferase assay system is a useful tool for measuring frameshifting and in this study, we cloned full length Bax∆2 G8 into a dual luciferase vector to analyze frameshifting. Using this method, we found that the full length Bax∆2 G8 sequence has 3.5% frameshifting activity. To further determine whether the frameshifting occurs in or near the G8 microsatellite, we focused on several truncated constructs containing the first three exons. The results from dual luciferase assay showed that frameshifting activity was high in the constructs containing the G8 microsatellite but diminished when the G8 microsatellite region was removed. Surprisingly, constructs containing exon 4 and 5, which are away from the predicted frameshifting region, also showed frameshifting activity. One possibility to explain these results is that mRNA structures, which are critical to frameshifting, could be altered by construct truncation and consequently lead to artificial frameshifting. Thus, using truncated constructs may not be a viable option for testing frameshifting activity. To maintain mRNA integrity, point mutations within the full sequence, could be a better option to identify the frameshifting site.
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Title: MULTIYEAR AUTOMATED ANALYSIS OF AURORAL IMAGES TO CATEGORIZE IONOSPHERE IRREGULARITY LAYER
Creator: Stuart, David Jacques
Date: 2020
Description: This thesis presents a method of automated analysis of auroral all-sky images (ASIs) to determine the ionospheric layer of plasma...
Show moreThis thesis presents a method of automated analysis of auroral all-sky images (ASIs) to determine the ionospheric layer of plasma irregularities. These irregularities can perturb radio signals in an effect called scintillation, degrading and at worst preventing signal reception. One key question about scintillation-causing irregularities is whether they occur in the E or F layer of the ionosphere, whose dynamics differ.Previous studies have shown Global Positioning System (GPS) scintillation to be correlated with aurorae. The Scintillation Auroral GPS Array (SAGA) at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, was used to detect thousands of GPS L1 and L2C scintillation events over 2014-2015. Collocated auroral images of emissions are recorded nightly by both a keogram spectrograph (measuring intensity along a single longitude vs time) and an ASI filtered at 630.0 nm (red), 557.7 nm (green), and 427.8 nm (blue) wavelengths.In this work scattering layers are hypothesized based on optical measurements, through automated filtering of keograms followed by spectral analysis of aurorae, which tend to occur with these irregularities. A cloud detection method using the North-South keogram is implemented, where a time-averaged, intensity-corrected characteristic snapshot of cloudy times was built as a baseline response, and used as the gain in a flat field correction-like step to normalize the cloudy sky appearance. The coefficient of variation Cv is used as the test statistic to determine cloudy times. Cloud-free ASIs have the location of scintillating PRNs identified, and the ratio of red oxygen 630 nm to blue nitrogen 428 nm emissions in that direction. With an auroral model of characteristic energy, ratios above 0.5 are categorized E-Layer and ratios below F-Layer.Multiyear ASI irregularity layer determinations are used to categorize 364 of the initial 4174 SAGA scintillation events. A 77% majority of the events are hypothesized to be F-Layer based on ASI spectral classification. This disagrees with prior PFISR categorizations, which found scintillation events to be majority E-layer. This presents an outstanding question as to the possible reasons for the difference.
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Title: AN ACCELERATING COUETTE FLOW IN NEK5000: APPLICATIONS IN OCEANOGRAPHY AND MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
Creator: Miksis, Zachary M.
Date: 2017, 2017-05
Description: Nek5000 is a highly scalable spectral element code used in a broad array of problems in computational fluid dynamics. In this thesis, we focus...
Show moreNek5000 is a highly scalable spectral element code used in a broad array of problems in computational fluid dynamics. In this thesis, we focus on applying the code to a model problem of an accelerating Couette flow, or a hydrodynamic flow between two plates, of which the top plate is accelerating and the bottom plate is stationary, and verifying the numerical methods as applied to this problem. We obtain an analytical solution to the hydrodynamic flow problem, and use this to analyze the effects of changing time step length, the size of the computational mesh, and the computational polynomial order on the accuracy and stability of Nek5000. Additionally, we discuss the addition of an applied magnetic field to the hydrodynamic Couette flow, and provide a formulation for an exact solution to this magnetohydrodynamic problem that can be used to further verify Nek5000 in a similar fashion to the hydrodynamic problem.
M.S. In Applied Mathematics, May 2017
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Title: INFORMATION QUALITY: RESTRUCTURING THE MODERN ACADEMIC LIBRARY FOR RESEARCH ACCURACY
Creator: JURKOWSKI, ODIN L.
Date: 1997-05
Description: Information overload causes problems in accessing information and is becoming more prevalent as technology allows us to store greater amounts...
Show moreInformation overload causes problems in accessing information and is becoming more prevalent as technology allows us to store greater amounts of information, and as researchers produce ever more specialized knowledge. This thesis will begin with a discussion of this overload followed by an examination of statistics gathered at Illinois Institute of Technology (which support the trend of increased interlibrary loan transactions and the rise in information availability). Following a review of the literature in library and information science, psychology, and linguistics, this thesis will discuss some of the solutions to this problem. First, access may be improved by transforming the storage of information from traditional print resources to electronic. Considering the restrictions of the present vendor supplied print resources, the limitations due to present copyright law, and cost comparisons between print and electronic subscriptions, we find a distinct advantage to future electronic access. This access can be improved through the use of electronic journals, full-text/image databases, and virtual libraries. Second, the searching capabilities of information systems can be improved in order to narrow information into more accurate search results. This can be done by advanced indexing, adding value, relevance and ranking, citation analysis to direct the patron towards improved search results, and by taking advantage of hypertext capabilities in order to ease navigation through information systems.
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Title: SELECTING AN EFFECTIVE DELIVERY METHOD FOR MULTIMEDIA-BASED DISTANCE EDUCATION
Creator: BURIAN, ARNOLD
Date: 1998-05

Title: THE EFFECT OF MOOD INDUCTION ON ADOLESCENT SPEECH BEHAVIOR
Creator: LAWRENCE, HALCYON
Date: 2010-12
Description: An experiment was conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in...
Show moreAn experiment was conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. The participants were asked to rate their perceived positive and negative affect and they were recorded. reading speech materials. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated. Additionally, since most studies on sad speech use actors, the results may indicate that acted speech provides significantly different correlates from emotionally-induced speech. Finally, a similarly valenced mood may have been induced instead of sadness (e.g. "calmness") which possesses different acoustic correlates from sad speech. Whilst the findings suggest that there is need for further research on these issues, this experiment demonstrates that mood inducement procedures (MIPs), primarily used in the field of psychology, can be applied in other domains. For example, MIPs conducted in online environments could provide useful insights into how mood affects users' online behaviors.
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