Digital Commons Network^™

Retail Data Analytics Using Graph Database, Rashmi Priya

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Big data is an area focused on storing, processing and visualizing huge amount of data. Today data is growing faster than ever before. We need to find the right tools and applications and build an environment that can help us to obtain valuable insights from the data. Retail is one of the domains that collects huge amount of transaction data everyday. Retailers need to understand their customer’s purchasing pattern and behavior in order to take better business decisions.

Market basket analysis is a field in data mining, that is focused on discovering patterns in retail’s transaction data. Our goal is …

Scalable Feature Selection And Extraction With Applications In Kinase Polypharmacology, Derek Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

In order to reduce the time associated with and the costs of drug discovery, machine learning is being used to automate much of the work in this process. However the size and complex nature of molecular data makes the application of machine learning especially challenging. Much work must go into the process of engineering features that are then used to train machine learning models, costing considerable amounts of time and requiring the knowledge of domain experts to be most effective. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate data driven approaches to perform the feature selection and extraction steps in …

Ultra-Fast And Memory-Efficient Lookups For Cloud, Networked Systems, And Massive Data Management, Ye Yu

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Systems that process big data (e.g., high-traffic networks and large-scale storage) prefer data structures and algorithms with small memory and fast processing speed. Efficient and fast algorithms play an essential role in system design, despite the improvement of hardware. This dissertation is organized around a novel algorithm called Othello Hashing. Othello Hashing supports ultra-fast and memory-efficient key-value lookup, and it fits the requirements of the core algorithms of many large-scale systems and big data applications. Using Othello hashing, combined with domain expertise in cloud, computer networks, big data, and bioinformatics, I developed the following applications that resolve several major …

Interactive Clinical Event Pattern Mining And Visualization Using Insurance Claims Data, Zhenhui Piao

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

With exponential growth on a daily basis, there is potentially valuable information hidden in complex electronic medical records (EMR) systems. In this thesis, several efficient data mining algorithms were explored to discover hidden knowledge in insurance claims data. The first aim was to cluster three levels of information overload(IO) groups among chronic rheumatic disease (CRD) patient groups based on their clinical events extracted from insurance claims data. The second aim was to discover hidden patterns using three renowned pattern mining algorithms: Apriori, frequent pattern growth(FP-Growth), and sequential pattern discovery using equivalence classes(SPADE). The SPADE algorithm was found to be the …

Deep Neural Networks For Multi-Label Text Classification: Application To Coding Electronic Medical Records, Anthony Rios

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Coding Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) with diagnosis and procedure codes is an essential task for billing, secondary data analyses, and monitoring health trends. Both speed and accuracy of coding are critical. While coding errors could lead to more patient-side financial burden and misinterpretation of a patient’s well-being, timely coding is also needed to avoid backlogs and additional costs for the healthcare facility. Therefore, it is necessary to develop automated diagnosis and procedure code recommendation methods that can be used by professional medical coders.

The main difficulty with developing automated EMR coding methods is the nature of the label space. The …

Stories Of Strength: Chicago Latin@S' Navigation Of Health, Well-Being, And Chronic Disease, Lilian L. Milanés

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Health inequalities take many forms related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnic, language and many other axes throughout communities around the world. Type two diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are examples of conditions (among many others) that disproportionately affect Latino@s in the U.S.. The research of this dissertation is based on fieldwork conducted throughout several predominantly Latin@ neighborhoods in Chicago, IL. This dissertation examines how Latin@s in Chicago navigate health and well-being, and how they engage in agentive strategies in the face of chronic disease. I recorded individual life histories and semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation …

Surface And Structural Modification Of Carbon Electrodes For Electroanalysis And Electrochemical Conversion, Yan Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Electrocatalysis is key to both sensitive electrochemical sensing and efficient electrochemical energy conversion. Despite high catalytic activity, traditional metal catalysts have poor stability, low selectivity, and high cost. Metal-free, carbon-based materials are emerging as alternatives to metal-based catalysts because of their attractive features including natural abundance, environmental friendliness, high electrical conductivity, and large surface area. Altering surface functionalities and heteroatom doping are effective ways to promote catalytic performance of carbon-based catalysts. The first chapter of this dissertation focuses on developing electrode modification methods for electrochemical sensing of biomolecules. After electrochemical pretreatment, glassy carbon demonstrates impressive figures-of-merit in detecting small, redox-active …

The Effect Of The Total Maximum Daily Loads(Tmdl) Management Implementation Plan On Total Phosphorus(Tp), Jaejeong Ma April

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea has been making efforts to improve water quality and the health of the aquatic ecosystems of the inland waters. Establishing water quality standards for point sources and permissible wastewater emission standards to achieve the target environmental standard were part of the efforts. Nevertheless, water quality indexes such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD) has not improved significantly. Also, harmful cyanobacteria blooms have frequently been occurred, which, in particular, has brought people to lose faith in the environmental policy and has created anxiety about drinking water. As the solution, the …

Mechanisms And Potential Therapy On Disrupted Blood Pressure Circadian Rhythm In Diabetes, Tianfei Hou

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Arterial blood pressure (BP) undergoes a 24-hour oscillation that peaks in the active day and reaches a nadir at night during sleep in humans. Reduced nocturnal BP fall (also known as non-dipper) is the most common disruption of BP circadian rhythm and is associated with increased risk of untoward cardiovascular events and target organ injury. Up to 75% of diabetic patients are non-dippers. However, the mechanisms underlying diabetes associated non-dipping BP are largely unknown. To address this important question, we generated a novel diabetic db/db-mPer2^Luc mouse model (db/db-mPer2^Luc) that allows quantitatively measuring of mPER2 protein oscillation …

Tracking A Tree-Killer: Improving Detection And Characterizing Species Distribution Of Phytophthora Cinnamomi In Appalachian Forests, Kenton L. Sena

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne oomycete pathogen causing root rot in susceptible host species. P. cinnamomi is thought to have originated in Southeast Asia, but has since been introduced to many regions around the world, where it causes dramatic declines in many forest tree species. In the eastern US, the primary susceptible tree species of concern are American chestnut (Castanea dentata), white oak (Quercus alba), and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). American chestnut, functionally eliminated in the early 1900s by the rapidly acting chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), has been the subject of decades-long …

Interseeding Cover Crops To Suppress Weeds In Corn- Soybean Rotations In Kentucky, Victoria Leigh Stanton

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Cover crops are typically sown between cash crops and can suppress weed emergence and growth. If cover crops are sown after cash crop harvest the system is left susceptible to weed emergence while they establish. Interseeding cover crops into a standing cash crop may limit this bare period by allowing cover crops to become established, go into dormancy, and then revive around cash crop senescence. Studies were conducted in Princeton and Lexington, KY, to determine (i) which corn pre-emergent herbicides and mixtures of herbicide active ingredients commonly used by Kentucky growers would impact interseeded cover crop density and biomass, (ii) …

Measured Soil Hydraulic Properties As Rzwqm2 Input To Simulate Soil Water Dynamics And Crop Evapotranspiration, Saadi Sattar Shahadha

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Agricultural system models integrate many different processes that cannot all be measured in field experiments and help quantify soil water dynamics, crop evapotranspiration, and crop growth with high temporal resolution. Understanding soil water dynamics and crop evapotranspiration is essential to improve agricultural management of field crops. For example, the interaction between nitrogen application rate and water dynamics is not sufficiently understood. In most cases, model simulations deviate from field measurements, especially when model input parameters are indirectly and unspecifically derived. The extent to which measured soil hydraulic property inputs decrease the discrepancy between measured and simulated soil water status is …

The Effect Of Early Life Photoperiod Manipulation On Cocaine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization In Male And Female Japanese Quail, Shannon Elizabeth Eaton

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Estrogens seem to play a role in the locomotor activating effects of cocaine. Japanese quail provide a good model for hormonal manipulation as alterations of their photoperiod controls hormone levels. The current study aims to examine the role of early life photoperiod manipulation in cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization in quail. It was expected that if quail were raised on a short photoperiod, they would have a reduction in gonadal hormones and this reduction in hormones would affect the acquisition of cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization. Quail were raised on an 8L:16D or a 16L:8D light cycle. Following 2 days of habituation, quail were …

Cocaine Choice: A Novel Procedure For Investigating Neuronal Activation Mediating Cocaine Preference, Jonathan Jenn-Sheng Chow

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cocaine use disorder is a significant health problem, negatively impacting individuals afflicted. While preclinical self-administration research has provided invaluable insight into the neurobehavioral mechanisms that underlie cocaine abuse, cocaine use outside of the laboratory occurs within an environment where other goods are also available ubiquitously. Although there is an ever-increasing literature investigating drug vs. non-drug choice in rodent models and how alternative goods can compete with the subjective value of cocaine, the neurobiological mechanisms that are associated with cocaine preference remains largely unknown. Additionally, current drug vs. non-drug choice studies use procedures that confound preference with intake, such that preference …

Changing Minds Or Transforming Social Worlds? Re-Envisioning Media Literacy Education As Feminist Arts-Activism, Margaret Louise Mcgladrey

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation project seeks to address the sociological processes, dynamics, and mechanisms inflecting how and why U.S. society reproduces a sexually dimorphic, binary gender structure. The project builds upon the work of sociologists of gender on the doing gender framework, intersectional feminist approaches to identity formation, and hegemonic masculinity and relational theories of gender. In a 2012 article in Social Science and Medicine presenting contemporary concepts in gender theory to the health-oriented readers of the journal, R. W. Connell argues that much public policy on gender and health relies on categorical understandings of gender that are now inadequate. Connell contends …

“Well, Don’T Walk Around Naked... Unless You’Re A Girl”: Gender, Sexuality, And Risk In Jamtronica Festival Subcultural Scenes, Kaitlyne A. Motl

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The purpose of this study was to explore emerging issues surrounding gendered fear, threat, and violence perpetration at music festivals – particularly events that feature a synthesis of jam band and electronic dance music acts – a genre termed jamtronica by its fans. Though gendered violence perpetration and prevention have been widely studied within other party-oriented settings (i.e., sexual violence perpetration on college campuses), very little research exists to address how wider disparities of gender and sexuality permeate a community whose members frequently claim the scene’s immunity from external inequalities.

In this three-year multi-sited ethnography, I incorporate participant observations, group …

Sex Composition And Female Offending: Under The Impact Of The One-Child Policy, Ting Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation explores the mechanisms of the increasing female crime in China from the effect of the one-child policy, which is treated herein as a natural experiment. Data reveal that the women’s share of documented crime dramatically increased after the mid-1990s when the first one-child generation reached the age of legal responsibility. This change reflects the interplay of the behavioral change and the net-widening effect.

The increasing criminality of the one-child generation is attributable to the gap between the equal gender expectations of the individual, which has been reshaped by the unique socialization practices under the influence of the policy, …

Local Loss And Spatial Homogenization Of Plant Diversity Reduce Ecosystem Multifunctionality, Yann Hautier, Forest Isbell, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, W. Stanley Harpole, Eric M. Lind, Andrew S. Macdougall, Carly J. Stevens, Peter B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lars A. Brudvig, Yvonne M. Buckley, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Enrique J. Chaneton, Chengjin Chu, Pedro Daleo, Christopher R. Dickman, John M. Dwyer, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A Fay, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, Helmut Hillebrand, Oscar Iribarne, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Biodiversity is declining in many local communities while also becoming increasingly homogenized across space. Experiments show that local plant species loss reduces ecosystem functioning and services, but the role of spatial homogenization of community composition and the potential interaction between diversity at different scales in maintaining ecosystem functioning remains unclear, especially when many functions are considered (ecosystem multifunctionality). We present an analysis of eight ecosystem functions measured in 65 grasslands worldwide. We find that more diverse grasslands—those with both species-rich local communities (α-diversity) and large compositional differences among localities (β-diversity)—had higher levels of multifunctionality. Moreover, α- and β-diversity synergistically affected …

Vascular Cognitive Impairment And Dementia: The Importance Of Mixed Pathologies From Mouse Models To Humans, Alex Marian Helman

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Age-related neurologic disease is a significant and growing burden on our society. Although the largest share of research effort has typically been devoted to the common neurodegenerative illnesses (such as Alzheimer’s disease, or AD), the reality is that nearly all cases of neurodegenerative disease possess elements of mixed pathology. Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is a complex form of dementia, combining aspects of vascular disease and other forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. This pathology is heterogeneous and can include cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), hemorrhages, white matter infarcts, and changes to the neurovascular unit. Given the …

The Function Of Erbin, A Scaffold Protein, As A Tumor Suppressor In Colon Cancer, Payton D. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Erbin belongs to the LAP (leucine-rich repeat and PDZ domain) family of scaffolding proteins that play important roles in orchestrating cell signaling. Here, we show that Erbin functions as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer. Analysis of Erbin expression in patient specimens reveals that Erbin is downregulated at both mRNA and protein levels in tumor tissues. Functionally, knockdown of Erbin disrupts epithelial cell polarity and increases cell proliferation in 3D culture. In addition, silencing Erbin results in an increase in the amplitude and duration of signaling through Akt and RAS/RAF pathways. Moreover, Erbin-loss induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which coincides with …

Controlling Platelet Secretion To Modulate Hemostasis And Thrombosis, Smita Joshi

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Upon vascular injury, activated blood platelets fuse their granules to the plasma membrane and release cargo to regulate the vascular microenvironment, a dynamic process central to platelet function in many critical processes including hemostasis, thrombosis, immunity, wound healing, angiogenesis etc. This granule- plasma membrane fusion is mediated by a family of membrane proteins- Soluble N-ethyl maleimide Attachment Receptor Proteins(SNAREs). SNAREs that reside on vesicle (v-SNAREs) /Vesicle-Associated Membrane Proteins(VAMPs) interact with target/t-SNAREs forming a trans-bilayer complex that facilitates granule fusion. Though many components of exocytic machinery are identified, it is still not clear how it could be manipulated to prevent …

A Comparative Study Of Sleep, Diurnal Patterns, And Eye Closure Between The House Mouse (Mus Musculus) And African Spiny Mouse (Acomys Cahirinus), Chanung Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

To understand the function and origins of sleep, sleep needs to be studied across many different species. Although it is well conserved throughout mammals, 95% of papers are restricted to just three species, Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, and Rattus norvegicus. We aimed to characterize sleep and wake in a Murid rodent Acomys cahirinus in greater detail alongside the well-studied laboratory house mouse (Mus musculus) and wild M. musculus using a well validated, non-invasive, piezoelectric system for sleep and activity monitoring. We confirmed A. cahirinus, M. musculus, and wild M. musculus to be primarily …

Elucidating The Role Of Nidogen In The Fusion Of The Choroid Fissure, Nicholas W. Carrara

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

In the developing embryo, the timely fusion of opposing epithelial sheets into one uniform layer denotes the completion of several developmental events. Failure of this epithelial sheet fusion event (ESF) within the choroid fissure (CF) is associated with the congenital disorder Ocular Coloboma, and is one of the leading causes of pediatric blindness. A requirement for a highly coordinated dismantling of the basement membrane (BM) to allow for fusion to occur is undoubted, however the underlying mechanisms of this process are poorly understood. Due to its BM crosslinking capabilities, I have hypothesized that the regulation of nidogen plays a crucial …

The Role Of Sociality And Disturbance In Shaping Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Population Structure, Brittany L. Slabach

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Investigating how and why individuals interact is an important component to understanding species ecology. The type and patterning of relationships (social structure) provides pertinent insight into how ecological factors such as spatial heterogeneity of resources and predation influence associations between individuals. Many taxa exhibit temporally fluid association patterns, where individuals associate with a variety of others at different rates. Ungulate species exhibit prime examples of highly fluid grouping patterns and individuals form both temporary and long-term associations. The effects of human disturbance on ungulate behavior are well documented and these changes are further exacerbated during the hunting season. Species such …

Characterization Of Spontaneous Hypertension In Chlorocebus Aethiops Sabaeus, The African Green Monkey, Megan K. Rhoads

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Hypertension is a complex multifactorial pathology that is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and end stage renal disease. In the United States, hypertension affects over 1 in 3 adults and comprises an annual cost of over $58 billion in the healthcare industry. While remarkable strides in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension have been made since the pathology was first treated in the 1960s, a remarkable 13% of patients with elevated blood pressures are classified as resistant hypertensive, where blood pressure remains uncontrolled while on three or more classes of anti-hypertensive drugs. This treatment …

Cetuximab Plus Carboplatin And Paclitaxel With Or Without Bevacizumab Versus Carboplatin And Paclitaxel With Or Without Bevacizumab In Advanced Nsclc (Swog S0819): A Randomised, Phase 3 Study, Roy S. Herbst, Mary W. Redman, Edward S. Kim, Thomas J. Semrad, Lyudmila Bazhenova, Gregory Masters, Kurt Oettel, Perry Guaglianone, Christopher Reynolds, Anand Karnad, Susanne M. Arnold, Marileila Varella-Garcia, James Moon, Philip C. Mack, Charles D. Blanke, Fred R. Hirsch, Karen Kelly, David R. Gandara

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Background

EGFR antibodies have shown promise in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly with squamous cell histology. We hypothesised that EGFR copy number by fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) can identify patients most likely to benefit from these drugs combined with chemotherapy and we aimed to explore the activity of cetuximab with chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC who are EGFR FISH-positive.

Methods

We did this open-label, phase 3 study (SWOG S0819) at 277 sites in the USA and Mexico. We randomly assigned (1:1) eligible patients with treatment-naive stage IV NSCLC to receive paclitaxel (200 mg/m ²; every …

Nanoparticle Orientation To Control Rna Loading And Ligand Display On Extracellular Vesicles For Cancer Regression, Fengmei Pi, Daniel W. Binzel, Tae Jin Lee, Zhefeng Li, Meiyan Sun, Piotr G. Rychahou, Hui Li, Farzin Haque, Shaoying Wang, Carlo M. Croce, Bin Guo, B. Mark Evers, Peixuan Guo

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Nanotechnology offers many benefits, and here we report an advantage of applying RNA nanotechnology for directional control. The orientation of arrow-shaped RNA was altered to control ligand display on extracellular vesicle membranes for specific cell targeting, or to regulate intracellular trafficking of small interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA). Placing membrane-anchoring cholesterol at the tail of the arrow results in display of RNA aptamer or folate on the outer surface of the extracellular vesicle. In contrast, placing the cholesterol at the arrowhead results in partial loading of RNA nanoparticles into the extracellular vesicles. Taking advantage of the RNA ligand for …

Antibiotic Prescribing For Treatment Of Acute Pediatric Illnesses By Advanced Practice Nurses, Deborah J. Whitehurst

DNP Projects

Antibiotic over-prescribing by physicians for the treatment of acute respiratory tract illnesses have been examined in a variety of settings. Different studies have examined nurse practitioner (NP) prescribing practices both in the United States and various international settings. There have been limited studies specifically examining antibiotic prescribing practices in the pediatric population. However, no studies were found which compared population specific NP groups. The purpose of this study was to understand differences in antibiotic prescribing practices among advanced practice pediatric providers.

The goal of this project was to describe and compare antibiotic prescribing practices of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNP) and …

Scheduling Practices Of Acute Care Rn’S And Nurse Fatigue: Assessment And Development Of An Educational Program For Nurse Managers, Miranda Adkins

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to develop an evidence-based organizational fatigue climate assessment to understand the current culture as it relates to nurse fatigue. This study includes the use of a fatigue measurement scale and the development of a fatigue reduction educational program for nurse managers.

METHODS: Using a cross-sectional survey design, data assessing organizational climate and actual fatigue levels among nurses employed at Saint Joseph East Hospital was obtained through an electronic questionnaire. Results were used to create a workplace fatigue educational program for nurse managers. The target sample consisted of 361 acute-care registered nurses for a …

A Retrospective Comparative Analysis On The Effectiveness Of Pharmacologic Weight Loss, Emily Dunn

DNP Projects

PURPOSE:Obesity costs the U.S. roughly $147 billion in health care spending annually. There has been a call for healthcare providers to initiate all possible weight loss interventions. One treatment strategy not used to its fullest potential is that of prescribing antiobesity medications. The purpose of this project was to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of three common weight loss medications used in the treatment of obesity, including discussion and recommendations.

METHODS: This project was a single-center retrospective study comparing three different groups of patients seen at a rural weight loss clinic. The sample consisted of 84 patients seen between September …