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Socioemotional Selectivity And Psychological Health In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients And Caregivers: A Longitudinal, Dyadic Analysis, Suzanne C. Segerstrom, Edward J. Kasarskis, David W. Fardo, Philip M. Westgate

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as the end of life approaches, goals and resources that provide immediate, hedonic reward become more important than those that provide delayed rewards. This study tested whether these goal domains differentially affected psychological health in the context of marital dyads in which one partner had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a life-limiting disease.

Design: ALS patients (N = 102) being treated in three multidisciplinary clinics and their spouses (N = 100) reported their loneliness, financial worry and psychological health every 3 months for up to 18 months.

Main …

Fall 2019

Scientia

Education Taking Flight; The Vincentian Question and the Chemistry Teacher; Science Goes Global; Minister of Hope: Neurosurgeon and cancer researcher Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, MD, believes hope is more powerful than fear; What's New: The college introduced four new programs and tracks in its offerings for the 2019-20 academic year; Lab Notes; A Teacher Who Really Counts: Golden Apple Recipient Candice Cortese (CSH MA '10) Reflects on her Love of Teaching Math; One Smart Cookie: Chemistry Student Lucienna Wolf Says, "If You Really Apply Yourself, the Teachers Are More Than Happy to Help You."

The Firece Green Fire: Vol. 10 Issue 1, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2019, 139th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-Ninth Annual Meeting, April 12, 2019

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Chemistry and Physics

Teaching and Learning the Dynamics of Cellular Respiration Using Interactive Computer Simulations Workshop

Life After College: Building Your Resume for the Future Workshop

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Maiben Memorial Lecture: David Swanson

Anthropology

Applied Science and Technology

Earth Science

Environmental Sciences

Teaching of Science and Math

Technology For Behavioral Change In Rural Older Adults With Obesity, John A. Batsis, John A. Naslund, Alexandra B. Zagaria, David Kotz, Rachel Dokko, Stephen J. Bartels, Elizabeth Carpenter-Song

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) technologies comprise a multidisciplinary treatment strategy providing potential solutions for overcoming challenges of successfully delivering health promotion interventions in rural areas. We evaluated the potential of using technology in a high-risk population.

Methods: We conducted a convergent, parallel mixed-methods study using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and self-reported questionnaires, using purposive sampling of 29 older adults, 4 community leaders and 7 clinicians in a rural setting. We developed codes informed by thematic analysis and assessed the quantitative data using descriptive statistics.

Results: All groups expressed that mHealth could improve health behaviors. Older adults were optimistic that mHealth …

Tobacco Smoking And Dementia In A Kentucky Cohort: A Competing Risk Analysis, Erin L. Abner, Peter T. Nelson, Gregory A. Jicha, Gregory E. Cooper, David W. Fardo, Frederick A. Schmitt, Richard J. Kryscio

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Tobacco smoking was examined as a risk for dementia and neuropathological burden in 531 initially cognitively normal older adults followed longitudinally at the University of Kentucky’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center. The cohort was followed for an average of 11.5 years; 111 (20.9%) participants were diagnosed with dementia, while 242 (45.6%) died without dementia. At baseline, 49 (9.2%) participants reported current smoking (median pack-years = 47.3) and 231 (43.5%) former smoking (median pack-years = 24.5). The hazard ratio (HR) for dementia for former smokers versus never smokers based on the Cox model was 1.64 (95% CI: 1.09, 2.46), while the HR for …

The Odd Log-Logistic Gompertz Lifetime Distribution: Properties And Applications, Morad Alizadeh, Saeid Tahmasebi, Mohammad Reza Kazemi, Hamideh Siyamar Arabi Nejad, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, we introduce a new three-parameter generalized version of the Gompertz model called the odd log-logistic Gompertz (OLLGo) distribution. It includes some well-known lifetime distributions such as Gompertz (Go) and odd log-logistic exponential (OLLE) as special sub-models. This new distribution is quite flexible and can be used effectively in modeling survival data and reliability problems. It can have a decreasing, increasing and bathtub-shaped failure rate function depending on its parameters. Some mathematical properties of the new distribution, such as closed-form expressions for the density, cumulative distribution, hazard rate function, the kth order moment, moment generating function and …

Growth And Survival Of Wild And Head-Started Blanding’S Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii), Callie Klatt Golba

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Blanding’s Turtles (IUCN Endangered) are long-lived reptiles with delayed sexual maturity. Anthropogenic landscape changes have increased threats to juvenile turtles, resulting in unnaturally low recruitment. Head-starting has become a popular conservation strategy that aims to increase juvenile recruitment by avoiding the increased predation of the vulnerable nest and hatchling age-class. However, there is still debate about whether or not it is an effective management tool. Assessments of head-starting are becoming more prevalent, but long-term studies are needed to critically evaluate the success of such interventions. In particular, information is needed on how head-starts fare compared to wild-born turtles. The Lake …

The Predictive Performance Of Objective Measures Of Physical Activity Derived From Accelerometry Data For 5-Year All-Cause Mortality In Older Adults: National Health And Nutritional Examination Survey 2003-2006, Ekaterina Smirnova, Andrew Leroux, Quy Cao, Lucia Tabacu, Vadim Zipunnikov, Ciprian Crainiceanu, Jacek Urbanek

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Background: Declining physical activity (PA) is a hallmark of aging. Wearable technology provides reliable measures of the frequency, duration, intensity, and timing of PA. Accelerometry-derived measures of PA are compared to established predictors of 5-year all-cause mortality in older adults in terms of individual, relative, and combined predictive performance.

Methods: Participants between 50 and 85 years old from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES, n = 2978) wore a hip-worn accelerometer in the free-living environment for up to 7 days. A total of 33 predictors of 5-year all-cause mortality (number of events = 297), including 20 measures …

Quantifying Human Biological Age: A Machine Learning Approach, Syed Ashiqur Rahman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Quantifying human biological age is an important and difficult challenge. Different biomarkers and numerous approaches have been studied for biological age prediction, each with its advantages and limitations. In this work, we first introduce a new anthropometric measure (called Surface-based Body Shape Index, SBSI) that accounts for both body shape and body size, and evaluate its performance as a predictor of all-cause mortality. We analyzed data from the National Health and Human Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Based on the analysis, we introduce a new body shape index constructed from four important anthropometric determinants of body shape and body size: body …

Quantifying Activity Levels Of Community-Dwelling Seniors Through Beacon Monitoring, Jin Qiang Goh, Hwee-Pink Tan, Hwee Xian Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The ageing population is rapidly increasing, both in Singapore and worldwide. Due to the shortage of healthcare professionals and institutionalized care, there is a pertinent need for seniors to age-in-place-safely and in the familiarity of their neighborhoods. In addition, changing family structures and rising divorce rates, coupled with the desire for more personal space and independence, have resulted in a significant proportion of seniors who live alone at home. In this paper, we describe a scalable and low-cost monitoring system that can help to identify community-dwelling seniors who are at risk of social isolation and/or frailty. This is achieved by …

The Welfare Of Elderly People In Rural West Java: Economy, Health And Vernacular Care, Kosuke Mizuno, Ekawati Sri Wahyuni, Taizo Wada, Kozo Matsubayashi

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

The universal health social security program in Indonesia began in 2014, and as of the present day, many people are now covered by it. However, many weaknesses in the system have been pointed out. Significantly, many people do not possess the necessary health cards to take advantage of the program due to the complicated process one must go through in order to obtain them. Even now, 60 million people have not joined the program. Many people do not rely solely on the universal social security program but may be supported primarily or additionally by the vernacular care system, whereby support …

Preparing An Effective Poster Presentation, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Greetings GPNSS members! By the time you read this editorial, many of have been experiencing the fury unleashed by ‘Old Man Winter’ and may find yourself counting the days until warmer spring temperatures return once again to the Great Plains. Until then, just a couple more months of bitter cold temperatures, strong winds, and blowing and drifting snow. But not to worry, winter also provides the cold weather enthusiasts among us a chance to enjoy a range of outdoor recreational opportunities, a chance to reflect on the previous year in review, exciting professional and personal opportunities ushered in by the …

The Prairie Naturalist: The Journal Of The Great Plains Natural Science Society Volume 50 No. 2

The Prairie Naturalist

TABLE OF CONTENTS

43 EDITOR’S NOTE

RESEARCH ARTICLES

46 Metabolic Gas Emissions from Prairie Soil Containing Foraging Termites Charles E. Konemann, B. M. Kard, Tom A. Royer, and Mark. E. Payton

59 Comparison of northern flying and red squirrel phylogenies with focus on the insular United States Alyssa M. Kiesow, and Hugh B. Britten

NOTES

70 Two-Headed White-Tailed Deer Fetus

72 Red-Bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomacilata) Copulation in South Dakota

74 New Breeding Record and Location for Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) in the Nebraska Great Plains, USA

BOOK REVIEWS

76 Sedges and Rushes of Minnesota: The Complete Guide to Species Identification. …

Identifying Elderly With Poor Sleep Quality Using Unobtrusive In-Home Sensors For Early Intervention, Xiaoping Ma, W K P Neranjana Nadee Rodrigo Goonawardene, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Along with the upward trend in population ageing is the increasing proportion of the elderly population living alone in the community. This group is especially vulnerable as the onset of various physical, social and mental health issues may be more likely and may go undetected. However, smart homes enabled with elderly monitoring and care systems (EMCS) can now be used to alert caregivers of anomalies in the daily living patterns of the elderly. In this study, we focus on the sleep quality as the key living pattern, as it has been shown that poor sleep quality can lead to health …

The Impact Of Peer Support On The Risk Of Future Hospital Readmissions Among Older Adults With A Medical Illness And Co-Occurring Depression, Kyaien O. Conner, Tamara Cadet, Monique J. Brown, Joshua T. Barnett

Faculty Publications

Older adults account for 60% of all preventable hospital readmissions. Although not all readmissions are preventable, evidence indicates that up to 75% of hospital readmissions can be prevented with enhanced patient education, pre-discharge assessment, and effective care upon discharge. Social support, specifically peer support, after discharge from hospital may be a crucial factor in minimizing the risk of preventable hospital readmission. The pilot study reported here evaluated the relationship between peer support and hospital readmissions in a sample of depressed older adults (N = 41) who were recently discharged from hospital due to a medical condition and who simultaneously had …

Domain-Specific Knowledge Exploration With Ontology Hierarchical Re-Ranking And Adaptive Learning And Extension, Grace G. Zhao

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this research project is the realization of an artificial intelligence-driven lightweight domain knowledge search framework that returns a domain knowledge structure upon request with highly relevant web resources via a set of domain-centric re-ranking algorithms and adaptive ontology learning models. The re-ranking algorithm, a necessary mechanism to counter-play the heterogeneity and unstructured nature of web data, uses augmented queries and a hierarchical taxonomic structure to get further insight into the initial search results obtained from credited generic search engines. A semantic weight scale is applied to each node in the ontology graph and in turn generates a …

Ideals, Big Varieties, And Dynamic Networks, Ian H. Dinwoodie

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The advantage of using algebraic geometry over enumeration for describing sets related to attractors in large dynamic networks from biology is advocated. Examples illustrate the gains.

Quantifying The Effect Of Dietary Restriction On Lifespans In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Kathryn Rouse

Honors Theses

Dietary restriction (DR) increases lifespan in many organisms. The effect of DR is best studied in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; however, previous studies of the DR effect on yeast lifespan tend to be qualitative. Here, we quantitatively study the effect of DR on lifespan for a selection of gene deletions in a 168-strain set of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lifespans of these yeast mutants were measured in YPD with 2% glucose and 0.05% glucose conditions. To quantify the aging process and its influence by DR, we fit yeast lifespan data with a three-parameter network aging model that is informative of the …

Survey Results On Adults And Cybersecurity Education, Frank Breitinger, Joseph Ricci, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cyberattacks and identity theft are common problems nowadays where researchers often say that humans are the weakest link in the security chain. Therefore, this survey focused on analyzing the interest for adults for ‘cyber threat education seminars’, e.g., how to project themselves and their loved ones. Specifically, we asked questions to understand a possible audience, willingness for paying / time commitment, or fields of interest as well as background and previous training experience. The survey was conducted in late 2016 and taken by 233 participants. The results show that many are worried about cyber threats and about their children exploring …

Technology-Enabled Medication Adherence For Seniors Living In The Community: Experiences, Lessons, And The Road Ahead, Hwee Xian Tan, Hwee-Pink Tan, Huiguang Liang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Medication non-adherence in seniors can lead to severe health complications, including morbidity, mortality and decreased quality of life. In view of ageing populations worldwide, there is significant interest among the healthcare sector and researchers to improve medication adherence rates for seniors. However, existing studies in the literature focus primarily on identifying the predictors of medication non-adherence. In this paper, we present our work on technology-enabled medication adherence for 24 community-dwelling seniors over a period of more than 2 years. We leverage Internet of Things (IoT) devices to track inferred medication consumption in the seniors’ homes, and provide quasi real-time alerts …

Identifying Elderlies At Risk Of Becoming More Depressed With Internet-Of-Things, Jiajue Ou, Huiguang Liang, Hwee Xian Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Depression in the elderly is common and dangerous. Current methods to monitor elderly depression, however, are costly, time-consuming and inefficient. In this paper, we present a novel depression-monitoring system that infers an elderly’s changes in depression level based on his/her activity patterns, extracted from wireless sensor data. To do so, we build predictive models to learn the relationship between depression level changes and behaviors using historical data. We also deploy the system for a group of elderly, in their homes, and run the experiments for more than one year. Our experimental study gives encouraging results, suggesting that our IoT system …

Unobtrusive Detection Of Frailty In Older Adults, Nadee Goonawardene, Hwee-Pink Tan, Lee Buay Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Sensor technologies have gained attention as an effective means to monitor physical and mental wellbeing of elderly. In this study, we examined the possibility of using passive in-home sensors to detect frailty in older adults based on their day-to-day in-home living pattern. The sensor-based elderly monitoring system consists of PIR motion sensors and a door contact sensor attached to the main door. A set of pre-defined features associated with elderly’s day-to-day living patterns were derived based on sensor data of 46 elderly gathered over two different time periods. A series of feature vectors depicting different behavioral aspects were derived to …

Application Of The Entropy Concept To Thermodynamics And Life Sciences: Evolution Parallels Thermodynamics, Cellulose Hydrolysis Thermodynamics, And Ordered And Disordered Vacancies Thermodynamics, Marko Popovic

Theses and Dissertations

Entropy, first introduced in thermodynamics, is used in a wide range of fields. Chapter 1 discusses some important theoretical and practical aspects of entropy: what is entropy, is it subjective or objective, and how to properly apply it to living organisms. Chapter 2 presents applications of entropy to evolution. Chapter 3 shows how cellulosic biofuel production can be improved. Chapter 4 shows how lattice vacancies influence the thermodynamic properties of materials. To determine the nature of thermodynamic entropy, Chapters 1 and 2 describe the roots, the conceptual history of entropy, as well as its path of development and application. From …

Evaluating Preexisting Qualitative Research Data For Secondary Analysis, Victoria Sherif

Educational Leadership Studies Faculty Publications

In this article, I explore the nature of secondary analysis and provide a brief history of the method. Qualitative secondary analysis is a relatively under-used method in education and the social sciences, often due to the lack of easily accessible, relevant, trustworthy, and complete data. I address some of the potentials and limitations that influence its use and explore criteria for assessing the quality and sufficiency of preexisting qualitative research data. Qualitative secondary analysis has important implications for qualitative researchers, students and practitioners interested in generating new knowledge via unobtrusive, reliable, valid, and time/cost effective research through the wider use …

Real World, Large Scale Iot Systems For Community Eldercare: Experiences And Lessons Learned, Alvin Cerdena Valera, Wei Qi Lee, Hwee-Pink Tan, Hwee Xian Tan, Huiguang Liang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The paradigm of aging-in-place - where the elderly live and age in their own homes, independently and safely, with care provided by the community - is compelling, especially in societies that face both shortages in institutionalized eldercare resources, and rapidly-aging populations. When the number of elderly who live alone rises rapidly, support and care from their communities become increasingly critical. Internet-of-Things(IoT) technologies, particularly in-home monitoring solutions, are becoming mature. They can become the fundamental enabler for smart community eldercare. In this chapter, we share our real-world experiencesgleaned from an ongoing large-scale project on IoT-enabled community eldercare. We identify technology-centric challenges …

The Functional Specialties: A Workshop On Applying Lonergan, Praxis Program Of The Advanced Seminar On Mission, Seton Hall University

Praxis Conference and Workshop Proceedings

These are the proceedings of the Praxis Program of the Advanced Seminar on Mission’s third annual summer workshop which was held in Trieste, Italy in July 2017. It focused on the application of Bernard Lonergan’s Functional Specialties to the work of the Seton Hall University faculty participants. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership and the Center for Catholic Studies, and co-sponsored by Boston College, the Jacques Maritain Institute and the University of Trieste.

Motivators For Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trial Participation, Shoshana H. Bardach, Sarah D. Holmes, Gregory A. Jicha

Graduate Center for Gerontology Faculty Publications

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research progress is impeded due to participant recruitment challenges. This study seeks to better understand, from the perspective of individuals engaged in clinical trials (CTs), research motivations.

Methods

Participants, or their caregivers, from AD treatment and prevention CTs were surveyed about research motivators.

Results

The 87 respondents had a mean age of 72.2, were predominantly Caucasian, 55.2% were male, and 56.3% had cognitive impairment. An overwhelming majority rated the potential to help themselves or a loved one and the potential to help others in the future as important motivators. Relatively few respondents were motivated by free …

Early Detection Of Mild Cognitive Impairment In Elderly Through Iot: Preliminary Findings, Hwee-Xian Tan, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) results in the gradual decline in a person’s cognitive abilities, and subsequently an increased risk of developing dementia. Although there is no cure for dementia, timely medical and clinical interventions can be administered to elderly who have been diagnosed with MCI, to decelerate the process of further cognitive decline and prolong the duration that they enjoy quality of life. In this paper, we present our preliminary findings of early detection of MCI in elderly who are living in the community, through the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices for continuous, unobtrusive sensing. Multimodal sensors are …

Technologies For Ageing-In-Place: The Singapore Context, Nadee Goonawardene, Pius Lee, Hwee Xian Tan, Alvin C. Valera, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The number of elderly citizens aged 65 and above in Singapore, is expected to double from 440,000in 2015, to 900,000 by 2030. Along with this “Silver Tsunami” is the upward trend of the numberof elderly who are living alone — which is estimated to increase from 35,000 in 2012 to 83,000 by2030. These exclude elderly who are alone at home when their family members are working.Elderly who are staying alone are at higher risk of social isolation and tend to have poorer accessto healthcare. In addition, the general elderly population is typically more susceptible to deteriorating health conditions, which can …