Digital Commons Network^™

Machine Learning Methods For The Analysis Of Clinical Conversation, Md Mehedi Hasan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based communication technique to increase intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy for behavior change. This goal is achieved through the exploration of the patient's own desires, ability, reasons, need for and commitment to the targeted behavior change. However, communication science approaches to understanding the efficacy of MI are inherently limited by traditional qualitative coding methods which is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Thus, an efficient method is required to automate the coding process which will accelerate the pace of communication research in behavioral science. The specific provider behaviors responsible for the elicitation of change talk, are also …

Self-Awareness And Therapeutic Alliance In The Treatment Of Traumatic Brain Injury, Janis Whitney-Fremont Neal

Wayne State University Dissertations

The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-awareness and therapeutic alliance in dyads of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and their clients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although both topics have been independently associated with treatment outcomes in individuals with TBI, there is little research that investigates how these elements interact as they relate to client and SLP behavior. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the interaction between these elements. Research questions targeted the communicative-behavioral manifestations of SLP self-awareness and the ratings of client self-awareness related to the client’s perception of therapeutic alliance. Additionally, the findings were …

The Relationship Between Conflict And Longevity: A Panel Data Analysis, Felicitas Adu-Acheampong

Wayne State University Dissertations

With a series of multivariate regression models this study investigates the association of conflict, health and non-health inputs with different facets of longevity in OECD, emerging and African countries. Using a country-level panel data set covering the period 1990 through 2014, five facets of longevity are examined: infant mortality, life expectancy for males at birth, life expectancy for females at birth, life expectancy for males at age 65, and life expectancy for females at age 65 among OECD and emerging countries. With country-level data spanning 1997 through 2016 from 50 African nations, production functions are also estimated for four distinct …

Assessment Of Presumed Sterility Of The Human Placenta And Maternal Bladder, Ali Alhousseini

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction

Preterm birth is the number one cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. A causal link has been established between infection and preterm birth. Urinary tract infection is the number one infection in pregnancy. Evaluating the existence of a placental and maternal bladder microbiome is a major scientific and clinical milestone in perinatal medicine.

Methodology and Results

Chapter 2: This is a prospective case control study. 69 placentas were collected in a sterile fashion from six groups of women without infection: Term cesarean not in labor (n=18), term cesarean in labor (n=9), term vaginal (n=21), preterm cesarean not in labor …

Utilizing Knowledge Bases In Information Retrieval For Clinical Decision Support And Precision Medicine, Saeid Balaneshinkordan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Accurately answering queries that describe a clinical case and aim at finding articles in a collection of medical literature requires utilizing knowledge bases in capturing many explicit and latent aspects of such queries. Proper representation of these aspects needs knowledge-based query understanding methods that identify the most important query concepts as well as knowledge-based query reformulation methods that add new concepts to a query. In the tasks of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) and Precision Medicine (PM), the query and collection documents may have a complex structure with different components, such as disease and genetic variants that should be transformed to …

Exploring Sensemaking Of The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act Of 2010, Taylor Mary Barczyk

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was reauthorized to create school environments that provide nutrient-dense meals to students who are living in poverty. The free and reduced-price lunch program helps 19% of students who are living in poverty in America (Kids Count Data Center, 2017). These students arrive at school hungry and often times are more concerned about their hunger than the content they need to learn. In order to assist them in learning, the school lunch program has been established. With the policy reauthorization of Public Law 111-296, students have been able to receive nourishment in the school …

An Approach To Evaluate Disability Using Machine Learning And Sensor-Equipped Instruments Demonstrated On Hand Grip Force Data, Prem Kumar Sivakumar

Wayne State University Dissertations

The goal of this research is to improve the process of rehabilitation. Even though the current tools and technologies are meeting the requirements of clinical use, there is a lot of room for improvement. Improving the tools used in therapy can help reduce costs and save time for the patient and the therapist by giving a valuable insight into the progress of the therapeutic process. Combining therapeutic tools with cognitive tools such as machine learning can assist a therapist to determine and predict functional ability and help patients keep track of their progress.

The long-term goal for instrumented outcome measures …

Effects Of Disturbance On Jack Pine- (Pinus Banksiana Lamb.) Dominated Ecosystems In Northern Lower Michigan: Forest Management, Wildfires, And Climate Change, Madelyn Tucker

Wayne State University Dissertations

Jack pine-dominated forests in northern Lower Michigan were historically characterized by a frequent, severe fire regime that produced a patchwork of dense stands interspersed with open barrens. This structure also provided breeding habitat for Kirtland’s warblers, a migratory songbird. Fire suppression management caused forests to become older and reduced Kirtland’s warbler habitat, resulting in severe population losses. Kirtland’s warblers were designated as endangered, and subsequent habitat management has produced homogeneous forests that lack historical structural and compositional diversity. Moreover, future climate may increasingly complicate forest and fire management moving forward. In a landscape defined by disturbance, novel disturbances or changes …

Student Use Of Technology For Collaboration, Krystal Gordon

Wayne State University Dissertations

According to the U.S. Department of Education, students need to be prepared for higher education and remain competitive in a globally changing society schools should intertwine 21st century skills including collaboration in the classroom. The purpose of the study is to examine the current use of online tools for group collaboration among high school students. Social constructivists assume learning is collaborative and meaning comes from multiple perspectives. In a social constructivist environment, the goal is for student learning to be maximized. Many states have set guideline and standards that require schools to incorporate collaboration across the curriculum. A nonexperimental, correlational …

Automatic Resource Management And Performance Optimization In Clusters, Yudi Wei

Wayne State University Dissertations

Virtual machine is a primary way to increase resource utilizations in data centers by encapsulating multi-resource demands for applications and providing performance isolation. Moreover, the resource configuration can change on the fly to satisfy performance target. Container is another popular way for fine-grained multi-resource allocation. In this disser- tation work, we aim to design and implement an automatic resource management system to improve application performance, optimize system efficiency and job completion times in virtual and physical clusters respectively.

For large-scale applications hosted in data center, automatic resource configuration is crucial to service availability and quality. The workload dynamics, cloud dynamics …

Statistical Analysis Of The Effect Of Work Conditions On Safety And Health In The U.S. Long-Haul Trucking Industry: Evidence From The Niosh Survey Data, Takahiko Kudo

Wayne State University Dissertations

Chapter 1 reviews the literature which analyzes the effect of compensation and work conditions on safety and health.

Chapter 2 analyzes how truck drivers’ compensation affects their safety performance, using moving violations as a proxy for safety. In addition to drivers’ pay per mile driven, we employ fringe benefits as independent variables. The result suggests that the rate of pay per mile driven, and employment-based health insurance, significantly decrease the probability of moving violations. The result provides support for the hypothesis that high compensation for drivers improve drivers’ safety performance, though other forms of compensation are not significantly related to …

Investigation Of The Role For Methyl-Cpg Binding Protein 2 Variant Mbd2_V2 In Cancer Stem Cells And Obesity-Associated Cancers, Emily A. Teslow

Wayne State University Dissertations

Obesity is a risk factor for both TNBC and PCa, and pro-inflammatory features associated with obesity, including upregulated production of ROS, promote CSCs. Previously published work from the Bollig-Fischer laboratory established that TNBC CSCs could be inhibited by neutralizing ROS in culture with H2O2 targeted antioxidants. In this report, antioxidant treatment resulted in the downregulation of mRNA splicing variant MBD2_v2. MBD2_v2 was highly expressed in CSCs versus bulk TNBC cells and supported self-renewal in vitro. As obesity is coupled with increased ROS, we hypothesized that obesity could drive CSCs via MBD2_v2 expression. The work presented in this thesis addressed this …

Parameter Assignment And Schedulability Analysis For Real-Time Multiframe Task Systems, Bo Peng

Wayne State University Dissertations

Schedulability analysis has been considered as one of the most important subjects in real-time systems. Schedulability analysis decides whether all tasks work correctly and safely in a system. For example, the schedulability analysis of an Air Traffic Control (ATC) system should ensure that all airplanes do not have conflicts on departure lanes and are scheduled on time. In a modern car system, it has been shown that there are more than one hundred engine control units (ECUs), and more than twenty million lines of code in a typical modern car [19]. The scheduling of such complex systems is required to …

Bundle: Taming The Cache And Improving Schedulability Of Multi-Threaded Hard Real-Time Systems, Corey Tessler

Wayne State University Dissertations

For hard real-time systems, schedulability of a task set is paramount. If a task set is not deemed schedulable under all conditions, the system may fail during operation and cannot be deployed in a high risk environment. Schedulability testing has typically been separated from worst-case execution time (WCET) analysis. Each task’s WCET value is calculated independently and provided as input to a schedulability test. However, a task’s WCET value is influenced by scheduling decisions and the impact of cache memory. Thus, schedulability tests have been augmented to include cache-related preemption delay (CRPD). From this classical perspective, the effect of cache …

A Rhetoric Of Zaniness: The Case Of Pepe The Frog, Sean Milligan

Wayne State University Dissertations

A Rhetoric of Zaniness: The Case of Pepe the Frog argues that Sianne Ngai’s aesthetic category of zaniness is an essential concept for understanding and studying digital rhetoric in the post-truth era. To illustrate how zaniness has come to define online discourse, the dissertation traces the character of Pepe the Frog through various moments of, what Laurie Gries calls, “rhetorical transformation.” Specifically, the dissertation focuses on his initial appearance in Matt Furie’s Boy’s Club comics and transformation into a meme, his appropriation by the alt-right, and his adoption as propaganda for the Trump presidential campaign.

Design And Practical Implementation Of Harmonic-Transponder Sensors, Nasser Alkhaldi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Harmonic radar is a nonlinear detection technology that transmits and receives

radio-frequency (RF) signals at orthogonal frequencies, so as to suppress the undesired

clutters, echoes and electromagnetic interreferences due to multipath scattering.

Its implementation generally comprises a nonlinear tag (i.e, a harmonic transponder),

which picks the interrogation signal at specific fundamental frequency (f0) and converts

it into a high/sub-harmonic signal (nf0). Such a technology has been successfully

applied to tracking small insects and detection of electrically-small objects in

the rich-scattering environment. Similarly, a harmonic sensor is used to interrogate

electrically-small and passive sensors, of which the magnitude and peak frequency …

Personal Satisfaction, Cardiovascular Disease Risk, And Health Promoting Behavior Among Arab American Middle-Aged Women, Rnda Ibrahim Ashgar

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

PERSONAL SATISFACTION, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK, AND HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIOR AMONG ARAB AMERICAN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN

by

RNDA I. ASHGAR

MAY 2019

Advisor: Dr. Debra Schutte Major: Nursing

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Purpose and Background/Significance: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one leading cause of death among middle-aged women. It was estimated that CVD causes 1 in 3 deaths each year, or one woman each minute. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of personal satisfaction on CVD risk and health promoting behavior (HPB) among Arab American middle-aged women. The specific aims of this study were:

1) Specific …

A Qualitative Study Of Reflective Supervision From The Supervisee Perspective: An Ecological View, Carla Caringi Barron

Wayne State University Dissertations

The infant mental health (IMH) field has identified reflective supervision (RS) as a clinically-supported, best-practice supervisory strategy to support professionals working with high-risk infants and their families, yet there is a paucity of empirical evidence to corroborate this view. This dissertation used a qualitative, cross-sectional, grounded theory design to investigate supervisee perspectives of RS. Semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews with 50 IMH professionals who were receiving reflective supervision were collected and analyzed with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of how supervisees operationalized RS and whether and how it impacted outcomes. Supervisees described essential components of RS as …

Influence Of Side Chain Conformation On The Mechanism(S) Of Glycosylation Reactions; Investigation Of Sialidation Reaction Mechanism(S) By Kinetic Studies, Harsha Chandhana Amarasekara

Wayne State University Dissertations

Glycosylation, being the key reaction of glycobiology and carbohydrate chemistry, demands robust and stereoselective glycosylation methods. The rational development of such methods necessitates knowledge of the glycosylation reaction mechanism and the factors influencing glycosylation reactions. The work discussed in this dissertation is focused on studying glycosylation reaction mechanisms and exploring the key factors influencing them.

Chapter one reviews the background to the research, starting with a brief introduction of the significance of carbohydrates as structural and energy-storage materials. The significance of cell surface carbohydrates and their roles in communication and related processes are discussed along with examples of their applications …

The Demand And Supply Side Responses To Changes In Health Insurance Status, Naim Chy

Wayne State University Dissertations

We estimate the effects of having health insurance on the probability of facing trouble in accessing provider’s care and that of being refused as a new patient by the provider’s office in chapter 2 of this dissertation. The NHIS data for 2011-2015 are pooled. To fight the potential endogeneity problem arising from the selection bias associated with insurance status we use a 2SLS method with self-employment status of individual and family income as the instruments. The estimated results show that having health insurance reduces the probability of facing difficulty in getting provider’s appointment by 7.3 percentage points. On the other …

Well-Posedness And Symmetry Properties Of Free Boundary Problems For Some Non-Linear Degenerate Elliptic Second Order Partial Differential Equations, Alaa Haj Ali

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the first part of this thesis, a bifurcation about the uniqueness of a solution of a singularly perturbed free boundary problem of phase transition associated with the $p$-Laplacian, subject to given boundary condition is proved in the first chapter. We show this phenomenon by proving the existence of a third solution through the Mountain Pass Lemma when the boundary data decreases below a threshold. In the second chapter and third chapter, we prove the convergence of an evolution to stable solutions, and show the Mountain Pass solution is unstable in this sense.

In the second part of this thesis, …

Harnessing The Reactivity Of The N-Methyl Diaminobenzoyl Linker To Access C-Terminally Modified And Macrocyclic Peptides, Christine Arbour

Wayne State University Dissertations

This thesis describes the exploration of accessing C-terminally modified and macrocyclic peptides through N-acyl urea (MeNbz) displacement. Prior to this work, the diaminobenzoyl linker was used to access thioesters for native chemical ligation. Only solution-phase displacement of the N-acyl urea with thiol nucleophiles was previously reported.

The N-Me-diaminobenzoyl (MeDbz) linker was initially used to access C-terminal glycine esters, amides, and acids from a single peptide substrate. This led to the total synthesis of Conopressin G and two analogs. The propensity of the C-terminal cysteine residue to undergo epimerization was investigated using this strategy. After optimization, C-terminal cysteine esters, amides, and …

An Examination Of Preservice Teachers' Use Of Learning Trajectories To Guide Instruction, Jeramy Donovan

Wayne State University Dissertations

In order for teachers to support students’ mathematical thinking, Battista (2004) believed they must identify core mathematical concepts, recognize conceptual frameworks for understanding children’s thinking, and use appropriate assessment tasks. In his view, learning trajectories provide teachers with information on children’s cognitive abilities as well as a structure for assessment. The present study investigated the ways in which preservice teachers used, and reflected on their use of, learning trajectories to assess, plan, and instruct during a one-on-one tutoring project focused on geometric shapes. In addition, preservice teachers were asked to reflect on the ways in which they might use learning …

Teachers' Reflection On Their Beliefs And Question-Asking Practices During Mathematics Instruction, Kaili Takiyah Hardamon

Wayne State University Dissertations

Teachers’ daily instructional practices are a critical component in creating a rich and meaningful educational experience for students. Thus, factors that inform instructional practices are of particular importance and interest to education researchers and other stakeholders. Beliefs about teaching and learning are a known factor influencing teachers’ instructional practices (Ernest, 1989). This study focused on a specific instructional practice, question-asking, which has a profound impact on students’ experience with mathematics (Weiland, Hudson, and Amador (2014). Understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practice helps to make sense of teachers’ decision-making processes, particularly as they choose questions to ask students during …

Binary And Ternary Transition Metal Pnictide Nanoparticles And Their Three-Dimensional Assemblies: Towards Promising Magnetic Refrigeration Materials, Malsha Anuradhi Hettiarachchi

Wayne State University Dissertations

BINARY AND TERNARY TRANSITION METAL PNICTIDES NANOPARTICLES AND THEIR THREE DIMENSIONAL ASSEMBLIES: TOWARDS PROMISING MAGNETIC REFRIGERATION MATERIALS

by

MALSHA ANURADHI HETTIARACHCHI

May 2019

Advisor: Dr. Stephanie L. Brock

Major : Chemistry

Degree : Doctor of Philosophy

Bulk MnAs has been recognized as a potential MR material with large MCE. However, the magnetic transition of bulk MnAs suffers from a large thermal hysteresis of 6 K precluding efficient MR cycling, and the magnetic entropy change associated with the phase transition is limited to a narrow temperature range, making the temperature control window very small. Solid solutions of MnAs, synthesized by both …

Multiple Dimensions And Correlates Of Fatigue In Individuals On Hemodialysis: A Quantitative Study, Bincy Joshwa

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: Fatigue is present in individuals on Hemodialysis (HD). Evidence on fatigue in HD are limited by focus on unidimensional aspect of fatigue, flawed unidimensional tools, lack of objective measures, and variability in the correlates of fatigue. Purpose: To examine severity and trajectory pattern of fatigue; delineate influencing physiological and situational factors pre-dialysis and post-dialysis. Theoretical Framework: The Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms was used to guide the study. Methodology: A descriptive, correlational, before-after design was utilized. Measures were Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS)-12, Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS)-Fatigue, Charlson Comorbidity Index and six-minute walk test (6MWT). Adults, cognitively intact …

Deep Learning Beyond Traditional Supervision, Shixing Chen

Wayne State University Dissertations

With the rapid development of innovative models and huge success on various applications, the field of deep learning has attracted enormous attention in computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Countless researches have validated the superior performance and unprecedented extensiveness of deep learning models, especially with the advantages of high performance computing by GPUs and parallel computation. Nonetheless, drawbacks including strong dependency on supervision (sufficient labeled data) and monotonous usage of categorized labels are negatively interfering the advancement of deep learning.

In this dissertation, we plan to expose and exploit some possibilities of deep learning without using data and labels …

Learning Models For Corrupted Multi-Dimensional Data: Fundamental Limits And Algorithms, Ishan Jindal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Developing machine learning models for unstructured multi-dimensional datasets such as datasets with unreliable labels and noisy multi-dimensional signals with or without missing information have becoming a central necessity. We are not always fortunate enough to get noise-free datasets for developing classification and representation models. Though there is a number of techniques available to deal with noisy datasets, these methods do not exploit the multi-dimensional structures of the signals, which could be used to improve the overall classification and representation performance of the model.

In this thesis, we develop a Kronecker-structure (K-S) subspace model that exploits the multi-dimensional structure of the …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing Return On Investment (Roi) For Building Information Modeling (Bim) Implementation, Tugce Kulaksiz

Wayne State University Dissertations

A research study was conducted to investigate and understand factors influencing Return on Investment of Building Information Modeling (BIM).

Research data was collected from 182 industry professionals (design firms, contractors and owners) using a survey instrument. The research data were evaluated by examining frequency distributions and running statistical analyses including an analysis of variance with post hoc tests and a multiple linear regression analysis. Furthermore, a simulation study was conducted to infer conclusions about the larger population from which the repeated samples were taken. The research findings revealed that the factors contributing to Return on Investment of BIM implementation were: …

The Center Of All Beauty: Radical Democracy, Materiality, And The Poetic Subject In Twentieth-Century American Poetry, Marcus Merritt

Wayne State University Dissertations

In The Center of All Beauty, I trace a strain of poetics in twentieth-century American poetry from William Carlos Williams through Frank O’Hara, Alice Notley, and Amiri Baraka. This poetics is founded in a radically democratic conception of the poetic subject and in the use of poetry as a tool for developing critical knowledge about the material conditions within which the poetic subject is constituted. In Spring and All and The Embodiment of Knowledge, Williams articulates a poetics that denies the authority of any grounds upon which any poetic subject would be considered inadequate to poetic speech and outlines a …