Digital Commons Network^™

Gluten Detection Methods And Their Critical Role In Assuring Safe Diets For Celiac Patients, Claudia E. Osorio, Jaime H. Mejias, Sachin Rustgi

Publications

Celiac disease, wheat sensitivity, and allergy represent three different reactions, which may occur in genetically predisposed individuals on the ingestion of wheat and derived products with various manifestations. Improvements in the disease diagnostics and understanding of disease etiology unveiled that these disorders are widespread around the globe affecting about 7% of the population. The only known treatment so far is a life-long gluten-free diet, which is almost impossible to follow because of the contamination of allegedly “gluten-free” products. Accidental contamination of inherently gluten-free products could take place at any level from field to shelf because of the ubiquity of these …

Guiding Principles For Reaching And Engaging Latinx Youth In Youth Development Programs, Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam, Claudia Diaz Carrasco

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study presents practices associated with sustained youth engagement at 13 Latinx-serving youth development programs located in 3 California counties: 1 rural, 1 suburban, and 1 urban. Empirical findings reflect 5 key dimensions of practice: (a) integrate extended understandings of positive youth development, (b) support positive ethnic identity development, (c) contend with physiological and social effects of discrimination, (d) respond to the ramifications of economic poverty, and (e) act upon the diversity of local and regional Latinx experience. Study findings translate into guiding principles that youth development programs are encouraged to operationalize based on local interests, needs, and resources.

Understanding Youths’ Educational Aspirations In The Somali Diaspora, Joanna Tzenis

Journal of Youth Development

This article shares findings from a 10-month qualitative longitudinal study that offer insight into the educational aspirations of American youth (grades 6-9) who belong to the Minnesota Somali diaspora and highlight the social and cultural influences that shape these aspirations. The findings show that while the majority of youth participants (at one point in the study) expressed that they wanted to become doctors in the future, these aspirations were informed by family values around helping others in Somalia—not an interest in medicine or science. The findings also demonstrate that through time, as the high school youth began to engage more …

Life Skill Development And Financial Impact Associated With A Youth Livestock Sales Program, Holly Evans, Dean Jousan, Erdogan Memili, Leigh Beckman

Journal of Youth Development

he Sale of Junior Champions is a premier livestock auction and youth scholarship program held at Dixie Nationals as a part of Mississippi’s junior livestock program. The sale is open to 4-H and FFA members who qualified their livestock at the annual Dixie National Junior Round-Up. While youth livestock sales programs are commonly found at state and county fairs throughout the United States, demographic information and information concerning financial and life skill impacts of the program on participants is limited. Therefore, a survey instrument for the 2018 sale was designed to determine how the event has impacted the financial burden …

Bridging Families And Schools To Prevent Youth From Running Away From Home, Monica Bixby Radu

Journal of Youth Development

Running away from home is a serious problem among American youth. It has been linked to numerous negative social, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. It is well established that family dysfunction is one reason that youth run away from home. However, less research focuses on how both families and schools influence youths’ likelihood of running away from home. Drawing from a sample of 4,546 youth from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I examine how youths’ perceptions of their schools’ safety, experiences with bully victimization, and bonds with their families and their schools predict the likelihood of running away from …

Immigrant Youth In Juvenile Facilities: A State-By-State Review Of Recreation Programming, Maria León

Journal of Youth Development

Recent national events have increased attention towards immigrant youth. Youth placed in juvenile justice facilities go through processes overseen by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and the Unaccompanied Children’s Program. While in placement youth are exposed to risk factors and face cultural barriers being in a new country. As publicity of the incarceration of immigrant youth increases, there is an emphatic need for researchers to examine the quality of care youth experience in placement facilities. One of the areas that has not been critically investigated is recreation programming in juvenile justice facilities. Recreation programs …

Bridging Families And Schools To Prevent Youth From Running Away From Home, Monica Bixby Radu

Journal of Youth Development

Running away from home is a serious problem among American youth. It has been linked to numerous negative social, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. It is well established that family dysfunction is one reason that youth run away from home. However, less research focuses on how both families and schools influence youths’ likelihood of running away from home. Drawing from a sample of 4,546 youth from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I examine how youths’ perceptions of their schools’ safety, experiences with bully victimization, and bonds with their families and their schools predict the likelihood of running away from …

Theming, Co-Creation, And Quality Of Structured Experiences At Camp, Gary Ellis, Jingxian Jiang, Andrew Lacanienta, John Mark Carroll

Journal of Youth Development

Lacanienta and his colleagues (2018) recently reported results of a study of the effect of themes on quality of experience of youths during summer camp activities. Existing literature suggested that theming activity sessions would have a strong main effect. Results, though, revealed an activity-by-theme interaction effect, i.e., themes seem to be effective in some activities but not others. In this follow-up study, we describe results of a secondary analysis revealing significant new insights regarding theme. Adding an indicator of campers’ co-created, lived-experience theme into the models tested substantially clarified how objective theme, lived-experience theme, and activity interact in influencing the …

Special Issue: Perspectives On Immigrant, Refugee, And Border Youth, Corliss Outley, Jennifer Skuza

Journal of Youth Development

The positive development of immigrant, refugee, and border youth is a significant issue among youth development researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. As evidenced by the papers in this issue, the field has made great strides in research and programmatic approaches and has begun to identify specific developmental pathways. This special issue is intended to ignite a spark in future research and programming, encouraging the field of youth development to further develop interdisciplinary perspectives that include not only a focus on immigrant, refugee, and border youth, but also include their voices.

Guiding Principles For Reaching And Engaging Latinx Youth In Youth Development Programs, Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam, Claudia Diaz Carrasco

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study presents practices associated with sustained youth engagement at 13 Latinx-serving youth development programs located in 3 California counties: 1 rural, 1 suburban, and 1 urban. Empirical findings reflect 5 key dimensions of practice: (a) integrate extended understandings of positive youth development, (b) support positive ethnic identity development, (c) contend with physiological and social effects of discrimination, (d) respond to the ramifications of economic poverty, and (e) act upon the diversity of local and regional Latinx experience. Study findings translate into guiding principles that youth development programs are encouraged to operationalize based on local interests, needs, and resources.

Inflammation And Corrosion In Total Hip Prostheses: The Generation And Interaction Of Reactive Oxygen Species With Cocrmo Metallic Biomaterial Surfaces, Michael John Wiegand

All Dissertations

There are many molecules, species and mechanisms that contribute to the overall wear and degradation of biometallic alloys like cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo). Following implantation, orthopaedic alloys are subject to an encompassing inflammatory response that will either lead to foreign body giant cell formation and attachment to the surface or the fibrous tissue encapsulation, forming an inflamed periprosthetic joint. In addition to the inflammatory response, tribocorrosion-based processes of alloy-on-alloy or alloy-on-polymer couples release polymeric wear debris, oxides, hydroxides, and metal ions in response to excessive wear, loading and corrosion. It is hypothesized that these processes, biological and triboelectrochemical, are linked together in …

Role Of Cryptococcus Neoformans Pyruvate Decarboxylase And Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Enzymes In Acetate Production And Virulence, Mufida Ahmed Nagi Ammar

All Dissertations

The basidiomycete Cryptococcus neoformans is is an invasive opportunistic pathogen of the central nervous system and the most frequent cause of fungal meningitis. C. neoformans enters the host by inhalation and protects itself from immune assault in the lungs by producing hydrolytic enzymes, immunosuppressants, and other virulence factors. C. neoformans also adapts to the environment inside the host, including producing metabolites that may confer survival advantages. One of these, acetate, can be kept in reserve as a carbon source or can be used to weaken the immune response by lowering local pH or as a key part of immunomodulatory molecules. …

The Effects Of Indirubin Derivative E804 On Inflammatory Profiles In Glioblastoma Multiforme Cell Lines And Subsequent Crosstalk Effect On Tumor Associated Thp-1 Macrophages, Micaela Ro Scobie

All Dissertations

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a highly invasive brain tumor that affects approximately 18,000 people annually in the USA alone yet remains without curative treatment. Median survival with treatment is 14 months, with most treatments only prolonging life for several months while causing severe adverse side effects. There is a need for new therapeutic modalities. Herein I explore two small molecules that show promise in modulating inflammatory signaling in an in vitro GBM model. Indirubins E804 (indirubin-3’-(2,3 dihydroxypropyl)-oximether) and 7BIO (7-Bromoindirubin-3’-oxime) are synthetic derivatives of natural indirubin. Natural indirubin is a bisindole alkaloid derived from tryptophan precursors and is an agonist …

Stability And Toxicity Of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles In Water-Soil-Plant Systems, Linlin Mu

All Dissertations

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) are being increasingly used in industrial and consumer products and the release of CeO2 NPs into the air, water, and soil is an inevitable consequence. Once released into the environment, CeO2 NPs can have adverse impacts on the environment and human health. Thus, characterizing the environmental behavior and toxic effects of CeO2 NPs is important to protect the environment and human health. To assure such protection, the stability and phytotoxicity of CeO2 NPs need to be known because they are key to understanding their transport, toxicity and bioavailability in water and soil. The objective of …

Design And Evaluation Of Flow Mapping Systems For Heterogeneous Wireless Networks, Jianwei Liu

All Dissertations

Mobile wireless networks are always challenged by growing application demand. The increasing heterogeneity of both mobile device connection capability and wireless network coverage forms a general heterogeneous wireless network (HetNet). This type of HetNet contains sub-networks of different Radio Access Technologies. How to better coordinate the mappings of flows between Access Points (AP) and User Equipment (UE) inside this type of HetNet to improve system and user-level performance is an interesting research problem. The flow mapping systems used by off-the-shelf mobile devices make policy-based decisions from local information. Several global information based flow mapping systems that use Generalized Proportional Fairness …

Modeling Of Household Evacuation Decision, Departure Timing, And Number Of Evacuating Vehicles From Hurricane Matthew, Roa'a Jaber Mohammad Alawadi

All Dissertations

This dissertation investigates households’ evacuation decision, number of household vehicles used in evacuation, and departure timing from Hurricane Matthew. Regarding the evacuation decision, this dissertation takes a step further by presenting three level evacuation decision models that include full, partial, and no evacuation alternatives rather than the binary evacuate/stay decision. Multinomial (MNL) regression and random parameter MNL techniques were utilized to develop the prediction models. Results showed that some of the variables which affect the evacuate/stay decision have different influences on the three alternatives. The preferred MNL model was tested for random parameters and one random parameter (age of the …

Using Activity Based Costing To Inform Resource Allocation, Alexander Mccafferty

All Dissertations

This study identified the effect of variables as measured by activity-based costing (ABC) on course and department margins through the lens of inconsistent rewards. Data were gathered from an ABC initiative conducted at a large public research university in the United States. The data included measurements from 4,421 courses across 57 academic departments. Significant multicollinearity was discovered in the initial analysis, and ultimately half of the variables measured in the ABC initiative were removed. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were run to measure the effect of two latent variables comprised of the remaining variables on course and department margins.

The …

Lived Experiences Of Christian Development Workers In The Thailand Anti-Trafficking Movement: Lessons From The Field, Lauren M. Pinkston

All Dissertations

Private enterprise, sex tourism, international adoption, and soldier recruitment have all been industries that benefit from the coercion or trade of human beings. Although international development organizations and government agencies have been particularly focused on preventing human rights violations, the Protestant Christian community also has been poised with a vested interest around the globe. Unfortunately, data are lacking about faith-based efforts in the anti-trafficking space. This research looks at faith-based organizations’ anti-trafficking operations in Thailand particular, as it has been traditionally known as a nation with unique immigration challenges and extensive migration patterns.

This qualitative study is based on open-ended …

Social Competence And Attitude Towards School In Relation To Academic Achievements Of Students In Kosovo, Blerta Perolli Shehu

All Dissertations

The focus of the research was to determine the relationship among social competence, attitudes toward school and academic achievement of primary school students in Kosovo. Participants in the study were 206 students of 4th grade classes from five different schools in Kosovo, one of their parents and teachers. Parents completed a Survey of Students’ Characteristics, children completed a self-report measure on School Attitude, and teachers completed the Social Competency Rating Form and the School Attitude/Behavior Teacher Version for each of the children in their class. Teachers also assessed the children’s academic performance in 7-items Likert-type scale for each of the …

Development Of Functionalized Capillary-Channeled Polymer (C-Cp) Fibers As Stationary Phase For Affinity Chromatography, Hung Khiem Trang

All Dissertations

At the heart of the chromatography technique, the stationary phase is the essential component that dictates multiple aspects of the separation process. Diverse chemistry of the stationary phases, in combination with the choice of appropriate base support materials, allows chromatography to be used in a wide range of applications ranging from the high-performance separations of trace analytes in complex biological samples for chemical detection and quantification to the large-scale purification of a recombinant protein from a complex media. Traditional chromatographic stationary phases mostly utilize porous materials for the high surface area and versatility for chemical modification. However, in many cases, …

Understanding Youths’ Educational Aspirations In The Somali Diaspora, Joanna Tzenis

Journal of Youth Development

This article shares findings from a 10-month qualitative longitudinal study that offer insight into the educational aspirations of American youth (grades 6-9) who belong to the Minnesota Somali diaspora and highlight the social and cultural influences that shape these aspirations. The findings show that while the majority of youth participants (at one point in the study) expressed that they wanted to become doctors in the future, these aspirations were informed by family values around helping others in Somalia—not an interest in medicine or science. The findings also demonstrate that through time, as the high school youth began to engage more …

Graphene Based Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor For K+ Ion Sensing, Hongmei Li

All Dissertations

Graphene, discovered in 2004, has drawn great interest in the wide range of applications due to its distinctive 2-dimensional material property. Sensing is the one application has been developed extensively owing to graphene’s ultra-high mobility, low electric noise, very high surface-to-volume ratio, and easy modulation of electrical characteristics. With these excellent properties, the present research explored graphene’s ion sensing potential with the goal of developing graphene-based K+ ion detector which can be applicable in implantable bio-sensors. As the major intracellular cation, potassium has very critical functions in various biological processes. Additionally, recent research found out that elevations in biological levels …

Development Of Blast Risk Assessment Framework For Financial Loss And Casualty Estimation, Paresh Chandra Poudel

All Dissertations

The entire study can be divided into four main studies. Study I presents the development of probabilistic version of popular Kingery and Bulmash (KB) blast model. The probabilistic model was developed by considering the uncertainty in the model quantified using available experimental data. The model was then applied to generate fragility curves are developed for three types of glazing under three common bombing scenarios and study 1995 Oklahoma City damage.

Study II discusses on development a blast loss estimation framework for buildings where demand loads are calculated using the probabilistic blast model and capacity form seismic design. Loss for archetypes …

Systems Engineering Approaches To Minimize The Viral Spread Of Social Media Challenges, Amro Khasawneh

All Dissertations

Recently, adolescents’ and young adults’ use of social media has significantly increased. While this new landscape of cyberspace offers young internet users many benefits, it also exposes them to numerous risks. One such phenomenon receiving limited research attention is the advent and propagation of viral social media challenges. Several of these challenges entail self-harming behavior, which combined with their viral nature, poses physical and psychological risks for the participants and the viewers. One example of these viral social media challenges that could potentially be propagated through social media is the Blue Whale Challenge (BWC). In the initial study we investigate …

Hybridly Integrated Diode Lasers For Emerging Applications: Design, Fabrication, And Characterization, Yeyu Zhu

All Dissertations

The emerging applications of LiDAR, microresonator based frequency comb, and photon pair generation in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have attracted lots of research interests recently. The single frequency, high power, narrow-linewidth, tunable semiconductor lasers are highly desired for the implementation of these emerging applications in future PICs. In this dissertation, we use the hybrid integration via edge coupling to obtain the integrated diode lasers for future PICs, since the active chip and the passive chip can be fabricated and optimized independently.

We demonstrate hybridly integrated narrow-linewidth, tunable diode lasers in the Indium Phosphide/Gallium Arsenide-silicon nitride (InP/GaAs-Si3N4) platform. Silicon nitride photonic …

The Role Of Out-Of-School Time Programming In Predicting Critical Reflection And Positive Outcomes In Marginalized Youth, Katrina Black Reed

All Dissertations

Background and Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of critical reflection (CR) in promoting positive outcomes in high achieving marginalized youth in an academic-based out-of-school time (OST) context. Marginalized youth face adverse social conditions in the United States and CR is defined as being able to recognize the perceived structural inequalities in a community by using navigational tools that enable a person to analyze their social surrounding, conditions, and circumstances. There is a lack of understanding of how OST programs promote CR in marginalized youth. This paper intends to explore the relation between OST program …

A Content Analysis Of The Contributions In The Narratives Of Daca Youth, Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez, Sanjuana Rodriguez, Banti Zehyoue

Journal of Youth Development

This study utilized cultural community wealth (Yosso, 2005) to explore the ways in which Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) youth make use of social media. Through the use of content analysis (Hay, 2005), the authors analyzed social media interviews publicly posted by DACA youth. Findings reveal that DACA youth engage in social media as a form of activism and to mobilize their communities. The findings support and extend our understanding of the ways that DACA youth are an asset to the wider community. Implications for those working with DACA youth are provided.

Guiding Principles For Reaching And Engaging Latinx Youth In Youth Development Programs, Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam, Claudia Diaz Carrasco

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study presents practices associated with sustained youth engagement at 13 Latinx-serving youth development programs located in 3 California counties: 1 rural, 1 suburban, and 1 urban. Empirical findings reflect 5 key dimensions of practice: (a) integrate extended understandings of positive youth development, (b) support positive ethnic identity development, (c) contend with physiological and social effects of discrimination, (d) respond to the ramifications of economic poverty, and (e) act upon the diversity of local and regional Latinx experience. Study findings translate into guiding principles that youth development programs are encouraged to operationalize based on local interests, needs, and resources.

Understanding Youths’ Educational Aspirations In The Somali Diaspora, Joanna Tzenis

Journal of Youth Development

This article shares findings from a 10-month qualitative longitudinal study that offer insight into the educational aspirations of American youth (grades 6-9) who belong to the Minnesota Somali diaspora and highlight the social and cultural influences that shape these aspirations. The findings show that while the majority of youth participants (at one point in the study) expressed that they wanted to become doctors in the future, these aspirations were informed by family values around helping others in Somalia—not an interest in medicine or science. The findings also demonstrate that through time, as the high school youth began to engage more …

Connecting Polymeric Nanomedicine And Systems Biology: An Innovative Approach To Glioblastoma Treatment, Jesse James Westfall

All Theses

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains a highly lethal brain tumor that continues have overall low survival rate, with only 5% of patients to five or more years. This thesis proposes a drug- and polymersome-loaded thermosensitive hydrogel as a therapeutic platform to target and eliminate post-surgical GBM tumor cells. The experiments presented lay some foundational work in establishing the feasibility of and optimizing such a platform. Polyethene glycol (PEG)-Polyester pH-responsive polymersomes were synthesized, optimized and conjugated with peptide ligands to increase cellular uptake in vitro. A Python workflow was designed, using RNAseq data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Genotype-Tissue Expression …