Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Head Start On Parenting: A Systematic Literature Review, Julia Alotta

Public Administration & Policy

Head Start (HS) is federally funded early childhood development program that provides services, including daycare and parenting classes for low-income families. However, debates exist over its efficacy in improving child development outcomes throughout the child’s life course. This research aimed to review the evidence that Head Start improves parenting skills, which, in turn can foster improved health through a systematic review of recent empirical literature on Head Start and parenting. The study identified nine studies measuring the impact of parental involvement in HS on child outcomes. After reviewing these articles, we conclude that the HS program allows for parents to …

Being Careful : Progressive Era Women And The Movements For Better Reproductive Health Care, Sarah Patterson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACTFor American and British women, the definition of being healthy changed in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Previously, there had been a resigned acceptance of the fact that a woman’s reproductive capacity often relegated her to a lifetime of suffering and ill health. Certainly, individual women sometimes sought out solutions to their health problems, but there was no concerted social movement to help all women. Then in the Progressive Era that changed. The professionalization of medicine, combined with scientific breakthroughs, such as using Salvarsan to treat syphilis and urine testing to identify eclampsia meant that women could …

Structured Data Mining Networks, Time Series, And Time Series Of Networks, Lin Zhang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The rate at which data is generated in modern applications has created an unprecedented demand for novel methods to effectively and efficiently extract insightful patterns. Methods aware of known domain-specific structure in the data tend to be advantageous. In particular, a joint temporal and networked view of observations offers a holistic lens to many real-world systems. Example domains abound: activity of social network users, gene interactions over time, a temporal load of infrastructure networks, and others. Existing analysis and mining approaches for such data exhibit limited quality and scalability due to their sensitivity to noise, missing observations, and the need …

The A.J. Diaries, Angelica Rose Reilly

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This piece is a creative, fictional retelling of The People vs Orenthal James Simpson. Often referred to as the trial of the century, the O.J. Simpson case continues to captivate the attention of people all over the country. My retelling of this notorious case is done through a series of journal entries, written to feel like the genuine musings of the victim’s sister. The scope of this case is enormous, so encapsulating every single element was not possible. To account for this and still write a comprehensive story about the trial, I included a “publisher’s” note at the beginning, explaining …

Curriculum Design And Instructional Practices : A Case Study Use Of Theory In Accelerated Adult Learning Programs, Lorraine V. Beach

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This is a qualitative case study that examined four institutions of higher education in New York to assess how well they have done at implementing a quality standard established by the Commission on Accelerated Programs (CAP) in 2011 and 2019 calling for accelerated adult programs to incorporate adult learning theory within their curricula and instructional practices. Data collection consisted of interviews with faculty and staff, documentation reviews, and classroom observations. Through iterative case review processes, the author used this data to: a) clarify organizational policy and practices at each of the colleges/universities; and then b) to identify the impact of …

A Gene Expression Profile Associated With Successful Cns Axon Regeneration In Xenopus Laevis, Jamie L. Belrose

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background: The South African claw-toed frog, Xenopus laevis, is uniquely suited for studying differences between regenerative and non-regenerative responses to CNS injury within the same organism, because some CNS neurons (e.g., retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve crush (ONC)) regenerate axons throughout life, whereas others (e.g., hindbrain neurons after spinal cord injury (SCI)) lose this capacity as tadpoles metamorphose into frogs. Tissues from these CNS regions (frog ONC eye, tadpole SCI hindbrain, frog SCI hindbrain) were used in a three-way RNA-seq study of axotomized CNS axons to identify potential core gene expression programs for successful CNS axon regeneration.

Gods Among Men, Christian Burgos

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract Gods Among Men is a creative text that functions critically to dissect the genre of superhero fiction and bring forth critiques of our culture of worshipping celebrities and political figures. I cite Woody Evans’ work in my critical introduction as being central to my project. Evans puts forth the idea that superheroes are inherently conservative because they are reactive agents that do not proactively change anything. They instead maintain the status quo. Villains, on the other hand, try to effect change for a different end, one they deem better for society. Through the use of characters, this text demonstrates …

The Relationship Between Group Identification And Perceived Control Under Stressful Conditions, Fanshu Jin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Group identification provides important psychological resources. One potential benefit is that it may relieve individuals’ strain in stressful situation by increasing their perceived personal control. The current research explores the different roles that group identification plays in reaction to stressful performance situations. In particular, it investigates the extent to which group identification impacts perceived control in performance contexts. It was hypothesized that activating group identification prior to performing a challenging task will bolster perceptions of personal control, thereby sustaining or improving performance. An experimental study was conducted that manipulated salience of group identification, either before or after exposure to a …

Three Essays On Health Economics, Jihye Kim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis focuses on various factors affecting health of American adults and the elderly based on the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). In chapter 1, I examine the role of educational and racial differences in life expectancy (LE) and health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) for Americans at ages 45-64 using Health and Retirement Study (HRS) during 2000-2016. I compute severity-weighted prevalence of diseases with comorbidity adjustments based on the Global Burden of Disease (2015), and map onto the information on 17 doctor-diagnosed diseases and four self-rated disabling health conditions from HRS. This approach allows us to evaluate the importance of major …

Sins Of Our Fathers : Assessing Parental Incarceration As A "Turning Point" In The Lives Of Young Adults, Melissa Elizabeth Noel

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Coupled with other disadvantages, parental incarceration negatively impacts outcomes for children. Researchers have examined the consequences of parental incarceration mainly for children and adolescents, but it remains unclear about the long-term consequences as these children emerge into adulthood. Parental incarceration can affect social relationships and life attainments, increase labeling and stigmatization, and influence perceptions about society for young adults. Thus, this research study sought to examine parental incarceration as a “turning point” in which life outcomes of young adults are weakened or strengthened through this experience. Semi-structured interviews with 19 young adults were conducted and analyzed to examine: (1) whether …

Tgfbeta1 And Stat3 As Regulators Of The Ha Synthesis And Signaling Pathway, Brenda Goretty Trevizo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The studies described here explored the role of Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 (TGFβ1) and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) as potential regulators of the Hyaluronic Acid (HA) synthesis and signaling pathway in human mammary cells. Our results support previous findings in which TGFβ1, a well characterized driver of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been shown to regulate HA synthesis and signaling. Interrogation of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) indicated HAS2 expression positively correlated with TGFβ1 mRNA expression in breast cancer patients and in breast cancer cell lines. RT-qPCR experiments were used to measure the expression of the …

The Agrarian Gentleman: Elkanah Watson And The Birth Of The Agricultural Society In Early National New England, John Ginder

History Honors Program

Elkanah Watson is an overlooked figure in the early national period of the United States. A direct descendent of the Mayflower Pilgrims, Watson was a well-connected, well-traveled businessman who was receptive to any idea that he thought would benefit the new nation. This paper argues that Watson played an important role in forging a new American definition of progress, one that built on his experience in the American Revolution, borrowed heavily from Europe, and was inextricably tied to the American landscape. During the age of Enlightenment, he believed that one could improve oneself as well as society. That was evident …

Reenivisioning War Through Children’S Eyes: Northern And Southern Literature In Post-Civil War America, Hannah Cast

History Honors Program

In post-Civil War America, the sectional divide between Northern and Southern states continued to cause conflict even after the fighting had ended. In order to uphold their memory of the conflict, authors from both sides used the publication of children’s literature as a vehicle to spread their perspective. The Southern states wrote myths about the “Lost Cause” of the Civil War, a post-war invention to explain the South’s defeat in the Civil War and to maintain a predominantly white political system. In the Northern states, authors illustrated a romantic view of the war in order to spread tales of patriotism …

“No Popery! No French Laws!”: Anti-Catholicism During The American Revolution, Nicholas Dorthe

History Honors Program

This paper analyzes how widespread anti-Catholic sentiment unified the colonies against the British Crown during the early stages of the American Revolution. Also, this paper explores how loyalists utilized fear of Catholicism in order to undermine the Revolution, showing that anti-Catholic fearmongering played a vital role to both causes. Overtime, historians have placed varying emphasis on certain reasons behind the American Revolution. Since the Progressive Era, there has been a shift from economic reasons, like class conflict and the Crown’s restrictive trade policies, to a more ideological stance, one that emphasizes philosophical influence and constitutional interpretations. Instead, this essay asserts …

“Learned From Black Friends”: The Asian-American Struggle For Housing And Equal Employment In New York City, 1969 – 1974, Shouyue Zhang

History Honors Program

The size of New York’s Chinese community surged after 1968, in turn leading to shortages in affordable housing and insufficient employment opportunities. The urban crisis of New York City exacerbated these problems. This thesis will explore New York’s Asian-American collective struggles against landlords’ eviction and employment discrimination.

The housing story began in 1969. The New York Telephone Company bought buildings in Chinatown and evicted all tenants. Tenants used various strategies to resist. Finally, their efforts secured a long-term lease. The employment story mainly occurred in 1974. The developer of Confucius Plaza in Chinatown hired two Asian construction workers to accommodate …

Imperial Evolution: Walter Lippmann And The Liberal Roots Of American Hegemony, Lukas Moller

History Honors Program

When Walter Lippmann became a founding editor of the New Republic in 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I, he began to advocate for heightened United States involvement in global affairs. Lippmann argued that the global power vacuum generated by the war presented the ideal opportunity for American values to spread to places like Eastern Europe and South America, the latter under the veil of “Pan-Americanism.” The Pan-American movement would disguise the U.S. as a “big-brother” to the Latin American nations creating a seemingly symbiotic relationship, when realistically it would seize the open markets caused by the war …

Body Composition Of Female Collegiate Track And Field Athletes, Adelaide Cooke

Biological Sciences

The aim of this study is to see if there is a correlation between an athlete's body compostion and the demands of their different track and field events. Track and field is arugably the most diverse when it comes to body types in a single sport, with distance runners tending to be leaner and smaller and throwers more muscular and larger. However, most data collected is not female specfic. Thirty-one female track and field athletes were asked to take part in a series of physical measurements, which included recording their height, weight, percent body fat, and muscle mass. They were …

Glutamine Antagonist 6-Diazo-5-Oxo-L-Norleucine, A Hyaluronan Synthesis Inhibitor, Slows Triple Negative Breast Cancer Growth, Le Gia Cat Pham

Biological Sciences

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer with few treatment options and poor outcomes. TNBCs are characterized by elevations in hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP) enzyme expression, hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) expression and hyaluronan (HA) production. Glutamine is an important substrate for HA production via the HBP. 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) is a well-known glutamine antagonist with validated antitumoral efficacy. This project examined the effects of DON on HA production and energy metabolism in TNBC cells. We examined the effect of DON treatment on Hs578T cells, which represent the mesenchymal stem-like subtype of TNBC. We specifically analyzed the …

Direct Evidence Of Missing Mepsps Using Ca2-Sensor Imaging, Petar Gajic

Biological Sciences

Following an action potential in the presynaptic neuron there is evoked release of neurotransmitter into the synapse which activates ionotropic transmembrane receptors on the postsynaptic membrane that cause depolarizations in voltage that get recorded as excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). In the absence of an action potential there is spontaneous release of neurotransmitter that postsynaptically gets recorded as miniature excitatory postsynaptic potentials (mEPSPs). According to the quantal hypothesis, postulated by Bernard Katz, the mEPSPs are allor- none changes in potential caused by a single quantum of neurotransmitter, which when added up create EPSPs. Following studies have found that these two modes …

Sensing Ribonuclease H Activity With Dna Nanoswitches, Ruju Trivedi

Biological Sciences

Ribonuclease H (RNase H) is a damage-repair protein and ribonuclease that specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis of RNA in an RNA/DNA duplex and breaks down RNA/DNA junctions. It plays an important role in a variety of biological processes including DNA replication, DNA repair, and transcription. It is also pivotal in anti-HIV drug development and the analysis of cellular processes and has been shown to be a potential therapeutic target for various neoplastic diseases. This thesis discusses a unique assay based on DNA nanoswitches to detect RNase H levels and activity. The assay is based on conformational changes of DNA nanoswitches in …

The Effects Of Metformin On High-Fat Diet-Induced Neuroinflammation And Cognitive Impairment, Caleb Levine

Psychology

Chronic high-fat feeding is associated with neuroinflammation, cognitive impairment, and anxiety-linked behaviors in rats. Metformin, a popular treatment for type II diabetes, has been shown to attenuate metabolic dysregulation and weight gain associated with an obesogenic diet. We demonstrated that HFD caused elevated fasting blood glucose, glucose intolerance, and increased body weight without cognitive impairment or anxiety as measured by novel object recognition and open field testing. Further, we demonstrated that metformin did not produce cognitive impairment, which was a concern associated with its chronic use. Further work will elucidate the impact of chronic HFD and metformin treatment on molecular …

The Societal Perception And Judgements Of Sexual Violence Targeting Victims From Varying Demographic Backgrounds, Hanna Bogart

Psychology

Abstract Sexual violence affects people of all color and gender, but extant research has mostly focused on reactions toward female (and often White) survivors. With a sample of 77 undergraduate University participants (Mage = 18.82), the current study examined the effects of survivors’ race and gender on recommended punishment of the sexual violence incidents. The results indicated that severity of the assault and recommended punishment for the perpetrator had a significantly positive relationship, such that individuals’ recommended more severe punishments for more severe sexual violence incidents. Furthermore, sexual violence incidents involving female victims were recommended more severe punishments than those …

Behavioral Effects Of Early Postpartum Offspring Removal In Rats, Jayda Melnitsky

Psychology

The maternal experience has been associated with alterations in behavior and in many different areas of the brain. Soon after giving birth and throughout the postpartum period, maternal behavior and care of offspring in particular have been shown to stimulate the dopaminergic system in postpartum women and rats alike. Around 15% of women who give birth develop postpartum depression (PPD), which has been associated with downregulation of dopamine activity. This experiment tested whether the removal of offspring immediately after parturition would alter the anxiety and depressive-like behavior of dams, as well as the expression of dopaminergic neurons. Adult female Sprague-Dawley …

Collective Imagination, Haley Lynch

Psychology

Life is filled with experiences that contribute to who we are, who we will become, and the social connections we make. We are constantly reflecting on past experiences, be it alone or with others, as well as thinking about what is to come and where we see ourselves in the future. Social and cognitive psychology research has focused on the processes behind autobiographical memory and episodic simulation. The link between collective memory and episodic simulation is the focus of the present study. The specific aim is to explore the potential link between reflecting on past experiences and imagining the future …

Derivatives Use And Risk Taking: Evidence From Alternative Mutual Funds, Alyse Mcalpine

Financial Analyst

I provide new empirical evidence on the effect of derivatives usage on the risk and performance of a group of mutual funds mimicking hedge fund strategies, namely alternative mutual funds (AMFs). Using data on a sample of 914 AMFs from Morningstar during 2002-2017, I show that while the use of derivatives does impact the performance of AMFs, it significantly increases AMFs’ total and idiosyncratic volatilities, even after we control for various fund characteristics. This positive relation between the use of derivatives and the risk-taking of AMFs is particularly strong during the crisis period, and Bear Market, Long-Short Credit, Managed Futures, …

The Use Of Derivatives By Corporate Bond Mutual Funds, Emily Scofield

Financial Analyst

This paper examines the use of derivatives by corporate bond mutual funds. Using a sample of 1,657 U.S. corporate bond funds from Morningstar during 2002-2018, I document a significant positive relation between the use of derivatives and corporate bond fund performance, even after controlling various fund characteristics. This relation is mainly driven by investment grade funds, but not high yield funds. Finally, while the positive relation holds for non-crisis periods, the use of derivatives appears to be negatively related to corporate bond fund performance during the crisis period. Overall, the results show that corporate bond funds that use derivatives significantly …

Resolution Of Portable Raman Spectrometers And Its Effect On The Analysis Of Biological Specimens, Jalissa Thomas

Chemistry

Body fluid traces are a common and a major form of evidence that can be found at a crime scene, as it is a good source of DNA. As such, it is vital that body fluid evidence is properly detected and identified. Issues with the current methods of identifying body fluids and the large backlog of evidence in most forensic labs call for more accurate on-scene (in situ) body fluid identification. Past research has demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy is an advantageous tool for accurately and quickly identifying body fluids, namely in the laboratory. Portable Raman instruments have been …

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy For Cocaine Detection, Kiersten Jo Mead

Chemistry

The detection of drugs of abuse using Raman spectroscopy is of particular interest to forensic researchers at the moment. Raman spectroscopy is highly specific, fast, non-destructive, and can be adapted for in-situ measurements, making it the ideal forensic technique. Researchers working under the guidance of Doctor Igor Lednev have been able to use UV resonance Raman spectroscopy to detect cocaine in oral fluid without the need for sample pretreatment. They were however unable to detect the cocaine at forensically relevant levels. To overcome this limitation, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used in this proof of concept study for the detection …

High-Resolution Simulation Of A Tornado In Bangladesh On 13 May 1996, Katherine Hollinger

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

The country of Bangladesh has been known to experience some of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in the world. The severe weather season in this region only spans from late March to early May, but can produce significant severe weather outbreaks in that short time. Even with these outbreaks occurring, there has not been extensive analysis completed to evaluate the environmental parameters on these tornado event days in this region.

The goal of this project is to use a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulation to evaluate a significant tornado that occurred in the Tangail and Jamalpur districts in Bangladesh …

Examining Terrain Effects On Upstate New York Tornado Events Utilizing High-Resolution Model Simulations, Luke Lebel

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

The region at the intersection of the Mohawk and Hudson valleys of New York is characterized by complex terrain. It has been hypothesized that this complex terrain may have an impact on the development and evolution of severe convection in the region. Specifically, previous research has hypothesized that terrain-channeled flow in the Hudson and Mohawk valleys contributed to increased low-level wind shear and instability in the valleys during past severe weather outbreaks. However, a lack of observations in the region prevented this hypothesis from being robustly tested.

The goal of this study is to further examine this hypothesis and complement …