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Hemoglobin A1c Levels And Sport Participation In Children With Type 1 Diabetes., Amy Kozerski May 2019

Hemoglobin A1c Levels And Sport Participation In Children With Type 1 Diabetes., Amy Kozerski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to determine a possible difference in hemoglobin A1c levels and sport participation in children with type 1 diabetes. Patients with provided consent via an iPad electronic informed consent/assent (preamble) completed a physical activity and sport participation survey. The survey was linked to their medical chart including demographic and diabetes medical history (e.g. HbA1c). The analyses provided a sample of 120 participants, 40 in the no sport participation group and 78 in the sport participation group with 56 females and 64 males, with an average age12.94±2.8 years. An independent sample t-test, removing one outlier from the …


School Entry Age And School Readiness., Robin Berry May 2019

School Entry Age And School Readiness., Robin Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, there was a change in School Entry Age (SEA) legislation. This dissertation analyzed the relationship between SEA and school readiness after the enactment of the new legislation. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to control for student demographics to ascertain the relationship between SEA and school readiness. Findings were as follows: older students scored significantly lower than younger students on the BRIGANCE Kindergarten Screen (BKS), students who had exposure to private child care outside of the home fared much better than students who were kept at home the year prior to kindergarten, and female students …


Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of The Interplay Of Factors Affecting Burnout In Academic Medical Faculty., Tara Mckinley May 2019

Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of The Interplay Of Factors Affecting Burnout In Academic Medical Faculty., Tara Mckinley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines burnout in academic medical faculty. The medical literature reports 30-45% of physicians are burned out and presents a long list of potential drivers of burnout. Interventions have shown limited success at the individual level and greater success at the organizational level, but large-scale interventions are typically time- and cost-intensive. Using the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R) and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study seeks to present the ways personal, interpersonal, and job characteristics are interpreted as demands or resources by faculty and how those demands and resources work together to drive or mitigate burnout. Over six chapters, this …


Marginal Staining Between Pressed Lithium Disilicate Ceramic Crowns And Direct Restorative Materials By Various Fluids : A Microleakage Study., Sarah Ann Jestel May 2019

Marginal Staining Between Pressed Lithium Disilicate Ceramic Crowns And Direct Restorative Materials By Various Fluids : A Microleakage Study., Sarah Ann Jestel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When treating patients with existing restorations in which indirect restoration placement is indicated and crown lengthening surgery is contraindicated, dentists may choose to finish the crown margin on an existing restoration. The interface between the two dental restorations (resin composite and ceramic crown) may be more susceptible to microleakage and fluid staining, reducing restoration longevity. In this study, 80 extracted molars received indirect restoration margins finished on different direct restorative materials (resin-modified glass ionomer and conventional, flowable, and bulk fill nano-hybrid resin composite) and subjected to common staining fluids of coffee, tea, red wine, or Coca-Cola. If the clinician must …


An Evaluation Of The Supply And Demand Of Radiation Oncology Medical Physicists In The United States., Christine Marie Swanson May 2019

An Evaluation Of The Supply And Demand Of Radiation Oncology Medical Physicists In The United States., Christine Marie Swanson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: This dissertation is a mixed methods evaluation of the radiation oncology medical physics workforce in the United States. Radiation oncology medical physicists serve a vital role in the safe treatment of patients with radiation therapy. While cancer incidence continues to rise, the pathways to board certification in radiation oncology medical physics continue to narrow causing a potential shortage of radiation oncology physicists in the United States. While there is no lack of data about the medical physics community it has scarcely been used to evaluate the current state of the workforce. In order to ensure patient safety, appropriate physics …


Innovation And Equity In Public Health Research : Testing Arts-Based Methods For Trauma-Informed, Culturally-Responsive Inquiry., Tasha Golden May 2019

Innovation And Equity In Public Health Research : Testing Arts-Based Methods For Trauma-Informed, Culturally-Responsive Inquiry., Tasha Golden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the field of Public Health has shifted from a biomedical paradigm to a social ecological approach, focusing on health equity and social determinants of health, it has increasingly acknowledged the roles of culture and trauma in health outcomes. The field has responded by modifying some research practices, but continues to prioritize conventional methodologies—with few options designed to foreground trauma- and cultural-responsiveness. Unfortunately, to the extent that conventional approaches require health to be defined, communicated, or valued according to dominant norms, they risk perpetuating inequities. Health equity therefore requires the development of research methodologies that increase inclusivity and access, elicit …


Development Of A Lectin-Fc Fusion Protein With Antiviral And Anti-Cancer Activity., Matthew William Dent May 2019

Development Of A Lectin-Fc Fusion Protein With Antiviral And Anti-Cancer Activity., Matthew William Dent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the development of a novel lectin-Fc fusion protein and its antiviral and anti-cancer activity. The molecule, Avaren-Fc (AvFc), is a fusion of a variant of the actinomycete lectin actinohivin (Avaren) and the Fc region of human IgG1, and is selective for the terminal α1,2-mannose residues found at the ends of high-mannose-type glycans that can be found on the surface of certain heavily glycosylated viruses and cancer cells. Here, AvFc was found to be able to neutralize simian immunodeficiency virus as well as Hepatitis C virus with nanomolar IC50 values. Furthermore, AvFc recognizes a number of cell …


Paraoxonase 2 Is Critical For Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Proliferation., Aaron Whitt May 2019

Paraoxonase 2 Is Critical For Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Proliferation., Aaron Whitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) comprises 85% of lung cancer diagnoses and is plagued by drug resistance. Thus, elucidating the underlying mechanisms of NSCLC is paramount to expand future treatment options. Paraoxonase 2 (PON2), an intracellular enzyme with arylesterase and lactonase functions, has well-established anti-atherosclerotic activity. Recent studies show PON2 is overexpressed in a variety of tumors and confers drug resistance, although these interactions have not been thoroughly examined in NSCLC. Thus, we sought to investigate the role of PON2 in cellular proliferation using PON2-knockout mice, primary mouse cells, and NSCLC cell lines. Using these approaches, we demonstrate that PON2 …


Speech Articulation In Children With Williams Syndrome Or 7q11.23 Duplication Syndrome., Myra Jean Fallon Huffman May 2019

Speech Articulation In Children With Williams Syndrome Or 7q11.23 Duplication Syndrome., Myra Jean Fallon Huffman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Williams syndrome (WS) and 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7) are associated with communication disorders (Huffman et al., 2013). However, articulatory accuracy has not been systematically examined in these populations. The dissertation involved two studies. Using standardized citation assessment, Study 1 addressed articulatory accuracy with regard to age norms and differences between groups. Results indicated that for both groups, (a) consonant accuracy was significantly below expectations, (b) older children pronounced consonants with significantly better accuracy than younger children, (c) children with IQs at or above 70 earned significantly higher articulation standard scores, and (d) for particular groups of consonant sounds, arranged as …


The Elite Meroitic Experience On Sai Island, Sudan: Using Stable Isotope Analysis To Identify Patterns Related To Sex And Age For The Interpretation Of Social Identity, Alexandria Brock May 2019

The Elite Meroitic Experience On Sai Island, Sudan: Using Stable Isotope Analysis To Identify Patterns Related To Sex And Age For The Interpretation Of Social Identity, Alexandria Brock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research conducted for this thesis utilized stable isotope analysis to reconstruct the diet of 35 individuals from an elite Meroitic (350 BC – 300 AD) cemetery (site 8.B.5A) located on Sai Island, Sudan, with a focus on adult age categories and biological sex, to understand intraclass variation in diet. Stable carbon and nitrogen values from human bone collagen were used to understand elite social organization, social practice, and gender roles in the Meroitic period through the lens of social identity and post-processual theories. The samples were grouped based on biological sex, median age, and assigned age categories (young, middle, …


Miami-Dade Task Force: A Content Analysis Of How Coastal Communities View Sea Level Rise As A Threat, Francisco Alvaro May 2019

Miami-Dade Task Force: A Content Analysis Of How Coastal Communities View Sea Level Rise As A Threat, Francisco Alvaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sea level rise (SLR) has become a serious threat for coastal communities in recent years. Many communities, including South Florida, are already having the security of their daily lives impacted as climate change causes SLR and other environmental impacts to worsen. This study reviews the Miami-Dade Sea Level Rise Task Force Report to determine how this coastal county government views SLR as a threat. Using mixed content analysis to analyze the report qualitatively and quantitatively, the Task Force's recommendations are categorized based on their focus on security, infrastructure, economics, and the environment. One finds the concerns of the people to …


A Deep Learning Approach To Diagnosing Schizophrenia, Justin Barry May 2019

A Deep Learning Approach To Diagnosing Schizophrenia, Justin Barry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this article, the investigators present a new method using a deep learning approach to diagnose schizophrenia. In the experiment presented, the investigators have used a secondary dataset provided by National Institutes of Health. The aforementioned experimentation involves analyzing this dataset for existence of schizophrenia using traditional machine learning approaches such as logistic regression, support vector machine, and random forest. This is followed by application of deep learning techniques using three hidden layers in the model. The results obtained indicate that deep learning provides state-of-the-art accuracy in diagnosing schizophrenia. Based on these observations, there is a possibility that deep learning …


Investigating A Mental Health Literacy Intervention Among Economically Disadvantaged Youth, Jayna Mumbauer May 2019

Investigating A Mental Health Literacy Intervention Among Economically Disadvantaged Youth, Jayna Mumbauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health is a critical and pervasive issue for children and adolescents in the United States, with one in five youth living with a diagnosable mental health condition (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Despite the increasing rates of mental health disorders, barriers to treatment are abundant and most young people do not receive appropriate treatment (Merikangas, 2009). Mental health literacy is the knowledge and beliefs surrounding mental health that guide recognition, management, and prevention (Jorm, 1997, p. 143). Mental health literacy is a particularly important framework for youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds as they face increased vulnerabilities to …


Faculty Perceptions And Use Of Web 2.0 Tools In Saudi Arabian Higher Education, May Alashwal May 2019

Faculty Perceptions And Use Of Web 2.0 Tools In Saudi Arabian Higher Education, May Alashwal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated factors that predict Saudi Arabian faculty members' intentions to adopt and use Web 2.0 tools and to assess faculty's awareness of the educational benefits of Web 2.0 tools to supplement classroom instructions in higher education. One hundred and three faculty members (34 male and 69 female) from a large university in the Western region of Saudi Arabia participated in the web survey. The framework and model for explaining and predicting the contributing factors towards the decision to adopt and use of Web 2.0 tools was the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB). The partial least squares structural …


A Comparative Analysis Of Public School Collective Bargaining Agreements In Florida, Aliza Berk May 2019

A Comparative Analysis Of Public School Collective Bargaining Agreements In Florida, Aliza Berk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the terms and conditions found in the 67 Florida public school collective bargaining agreements. Such collective bargaining agreements are negotiated between two parties, the teacher unions and their employers, under Florida Statute 447. The purpose of this mixed-methods study, conducted using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, is as follows: 1) to determine the extent to which CBA provisions exist within the master contracts of Florida teachers (2016-2017) and; 2) to determine the extent to which, if any, collective bargaining provisions vary among school districts (i.e. district size, district performance, district locale). The study finds that none …


The Impact Of The Community Partnership Schools Model Community School On Graduation And Attendance Rates In One Florida High School., Amy Ellis May 2019

The Impact Of The Community Partnership Schools Model Community School On Graduation And Attendance Rates In One Florida High School., Amy Ellis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify and describe the nature and extent of the relationships, if any, that existed between a Community Partnership Schools™ (CPS) model community school and the outcomes of graduation and attendance rates at one public high school in Florida. An evaluation study utilizing an interrupted time series (ITS) design addressed this problem by identifying and describing the relationship between the CPS model and the key outcome measures using visual analysis and descriptive statistics. Graduation and attendance rates for seven years before the CPS model was introduced (2003-2010) and seven years after the CPS …


The Examination Of A Mobile Application For The Reduction Of Posttraumatic Stress Related Symptoms In Emergency Dispatchers, Emy Willis May 2019

The Examination Of A Mobile Application For The Reduction Of Posttraumatic Stress Related Symptoms In Emergency Dispatchers, Emy Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emergency dispatchers report that their jobs are stressful, yet there are few controlled investigations examining their specific psychological complaints. Additionally, research examining the use of interventions directed at alleviating their work-related stress is limited. This study aims to examine the efficacy and feasibility of a mobile application (PTSD Coach) on various indicators of psychosocial well-being among emergency telecommunicator dispatchers. A sample of 117 emergency dispatchers completed self-report psychological mood assessments at baseline, weekly for five weeks during PTSD Coach use and post-treatment. Participant report of psychological symptoms showed statistically significant decreases in mood severity over the period of one month.


An Examination Of The Florida Linking Individuals Needing Care Coordination Program For Racial And Ethnic Minority Females, Michelle Vance May 2019

An Examination Of The Florida Linking Individuals Needing Care Coordination Program For Racial And Ethnic Minority Females, Michelle Vance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide accounts for close to 800,000 deaths each year, making it one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In the state of Florida, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. Currently, it is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 15-29, claiming more lives than homicide. Among Black and Hispanic youth (10 to 24), it is the 2nd and 3rd leading causes of death. This study aimed to examine the extent to which depression and suicidality outcomes change among racial and ethnic minority females (i.e., Black and African American, Hispanic) who participated …


The Effects Of Dynamic Versus Isometric Postactivation Potentiation On Collegiate Female Rowers, Idan Harat May 2019

The Effects Of Dynamic Versus Isometric Postactivation Potentiation On Collegiate Female Rowers, Idan Harat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Post-activation potentiation (PAP) has been shown to improve acute power-based performance, and the potential to enhance rowing performance. To examine PAP effects with rowing performance, 40 collegiate female rowers performed isometric potentiating (ISO), dynamic potentiating (DYN) and typical control (CON) warm-up protocols, after which they completed a three-minute all-out test (3MT) to evaluate their total distance, peak power, mean power, critical power, anaerobic working capacity (W') and stroke rate. Fifteen-second splits for distance and mean power were also analyzed. The PAP protocols were performed on a rowing ergometer, in a movement pattern that simulated rowing. ISO consisted of 5 × …


Stepping Outside Of Yourself: Social Anxiety, Dissociation, Alcohol Consequences, And Relationship Satisfaction, Matthew Cook May 2019

Stepping Outside Of Yourself: Social Anxiety, Dissociation, Alcohol Consequences, And Relationship Satisfaction, Matthew Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

OVERVIEW: Social anxiety disorder is the third most prevalent psychiatric disorder in the United States. Dissociation can arise during acute daily social stressors in individuals with social anxiety. This study examined the relationship between social anxiety and functional outcomes (i.e., alcohol-related consequences and relationship satisfaction) as moderated by levels of dissociation (i.e., depersonalization/derealization). It was hypothesized that dissociation would moderate the relationships between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences and between social anxiety and relationship satisfaction. METHOD: College students who endorsed alcohol use within the past 30 days (n = 320) and college students who reported having been in a romantic …


Threatening Instructions During A Hurricane Influence Risk Perceptions: The Case Of Fear Appeals And Changing Hurricane Projections, Daphne Whitmer May 2019

Threatening Instructions During A Hurricane Influence Risk Perceptions: The Case Of Fear Appeals And Changing Hurricane Projections, Daphne Whitmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of persuasive language in the protective action recommendation of an emergency warning, which instructs people how to prepare and stay safe. Study 1 was a pilot study, which suggested that participants were able to make distinctions between hurricane categories. In study 2, the presence of fear language and second-person personal pronouns (i.e., "you") in a recommendation was manipulated. Overall, fear language was more influential than a pronoun on risk perceptions. To understand how context influences risk perceptions, participants in study 3 made decisions after each piece of information received. The …


Mechanical Properties Of Brittle Ceramics: Case Study Of Boron Rich Ceramics And Acropora Cervicornis Coral Skeleton, Alejandro Carrasco-Pena May 2019

Mechanical Properties Of Brittle Ceramics: Case Study Of Boron Rich Ceramics And Acropora Cervicornis Coral Skeleton, Alejandro Carrasco-Pena

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ceramics are ubiquitous in man-made and natural structures. Their mechanical properties highly depend on their composition, microstructure and level of defects in the bulk of the material, the latter affecting the integrity of the components; such is the case of boron-rich ceramics where large agglomerates create high stressed regions, or coral skeleton where porosity determines their strength against hydrodynamic forces present in the ocean tides. Therefore, studying the properties of ceramic materials using invasive and non-invasive methods helps in the understanding of the link between the properties and the performance of the structures. The aim of this research was to …


The Profession Of Modeling And Simulations: Unifying The Organization, John Lord May 2019

The Profession Of Modeling And Simulations: Unifying The Organization, John Lord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The organization of Modeling and Simulation (M&S) as a profession started in the early twenty-first century spurred by the advent of computers and the vast networking capabilities of contemporary computing. M&S is still in its infancy when compared to other disciplines, such as engineering, computer science and mathematics. However, the profession has experienced significant growth in part due to the varied use of M&S techniques and tools within almost every discipline. Professional organizations and academic programs supporting M&S across the country have started to materialize. In a short timeframe, the growth of these supporting organizations has outpaced their ability to …


Dynamic Behavior And Performance Of Different Types Of Multi-Effect Desalination Plants, Mohamed Abdelkareem May 2019

Dynamic Behavior And Performance Of Different Types Of Multi-Effect Desalination Plants, Mohamed Abdelkareem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Water and energy are two of the most vital resources for the socio-economic development and sustenance of humanity on earth. Desalination of seawater has been practiced for some decades and is a well-established means of water supply. However, this process consumes large amounts of energy and the global energy supply is also faced with some challenges. In this research, multi-effect desalination (MED) has been selected due to lower cost, lower operating temperature and efficient in terms of primary energy and electricity consumption compared to other thermal desalination systems. The motivation for this research is to address thermo-economics and dynamic behavior …


Classification Of The 4 Stages Of Diabetic Retinopathy Using A Low Complexity Convolutional Neural Network., Zeliha Ogur May 2019

Classification Of The 4 Stages Of Diabetic Retinopathy Using A Low Complexity Convolutional Neural Network., Zeliha Ogur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diabetic Retinopathy is an eye disease that affects the blood vessels of the retina tissue found in the back of the eye. The blood vessels in the retina discharge fluid or cause hemorrhage when affected by diabetic retinopathy. It leads to loss of eye vision with people with diabetics and also among working adults. The disease may advance in four stages which include Mild nonproliferative, moderate nonproliferative, severe nonproliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. In the mild stage also known as background retinopathy, lumps occur in the blood vessel and distort a little amount of blood. At this stage, you are …


Defects In Fetal Mouth Movement And Pharyngeal Patterning Underlie Cleft Palate Caused By Retinoid Deficiency., Regina Friedl May 2019

Defects In Fetal Mouth Movement And Pharyngeal Patterning Underlie Cleft Palate Caused By Retinoid Deficiency., Regina Friedl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cleft palate is a common birth defect. Etiologic mechanisms of palate cleft include defects in palate morphogenesis, mandibular growth, or spontaneous fetal mouth movement. Cleft palate linked to deficient fetal mouth movement has been demonstrated directly only in a single experimental model of loss of neurotransmission. Here, using retinoid deficient mouse embryos, we demonstrate directly for the first time that deficient fetal mouth movement and cleft palate occurs as a result of mis-patterned development of pharyngeal peripheral nerves and cartilages. Retinoid deficient embryos were generated by inactivation of retinol dehydrogenase 10 (Rdh10), which is critical for production of …


Progressive City In The Progressive Era : Child Welfare Reform In Louisville Kentucky., Mary K. Marlatt May 2019

Progressive City In The Progressive Era : Child Welfare Reform In Louisville Kentucky., Mary K. Marlatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Louisville, Kentucky has a unique character, never more apparent than during the period between 1890 and 1920, as the city attempted to balance traditional southern cultural ideals with northern progress. During this period, social reformers attempted to alleviate social ills exacerbated by the industrial revolution and urban crowding by advocating for social reform. This study concentrates on specific social reforms – settlement houses and missions, free kindergartens, child labor, juvenile justice, and pure milk depots – benefiting children in Louisville, and explores how those endeavors differed from those of their counterparts in the north and south. Child welfare reformers in …


Waiting Room., Helen Payne May 2019

Waiting Room., Helen Payne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Waiting Room is an installation of drawings and monotypes that re-envision everyday printed materials common in medical offices. The brochures, poster, bulletin board and children’s ABC book in this Waiting Room offer guidance suggest invasive and dysfunctional policy. A door opens onto a further room, where a hundred ultrasound images cascade onto the floor. This work, called Transducer Phosphene is the product of a fictional character’s encounter with a cruel (and not fictive) abortion policy. Waiting Room is the fruit of an inquiry that spanned my three years of study at the Hite Art Institute, a probing into the politics …


Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari May 2019

Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation responds to the decreasing number of first-generation-to-college doctorates in the humanities and the limited scholarship on graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition. Scholars in Rhetoric and Composition have long been invested in discussions of academic and/or disciplinary enculturation, yet these discussions primarily focus on undergraduate students, with few studies on graduate students and far fewer on the doctoral students training to become the next wave of a profession. In this dissertation, I argue that if we engage intersectional identities as assets in the design of doctoral programs, access to higher education and academic enculturation can become more manageable …


The Division I Men's Basketball Transfer Redshirt Requirement : Hurting Or Helping Black Student-Athletes?, Sarah B. Williams May 2019

The Division I Men's Basketball Transfer Redshirt Requirement : Hurting Or Helping Black Student-Athletes?, Sarah B. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study provided a voice to an otherwise unheard from population of former student-athletes as they explained their transition experiences with the Division I transfer and redshirt year. The purpose of the study was to explore the Black student-athlete’s transition experience through the redshirt year in Division I men’s basketball from a qualitative, phenomenological research perspective. The study used two theories as guiding frameworks: 1) Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory and 2) Critical Race Theory (Calmore, 1992; Tate, 1997). Both Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory and Critical Race Theory were used to examine the transition experience of the Black male basketball …