Digital Commons Network^™

Relationship Between Fear Of Falling And Mobility Varies With Visual Function Among Older Adults, Orna Donoghue, Harriet Ryan, Eoin Duggan, Ciaran Finucane, George Sava, Hilary Cronin, James Loughman, Rose Anne Kenny

Articles

Aim: The present study examined the association between vision, fear of falling and fear-related activity restriction, and assessed the effect of vision on the relationship between fear of falling and mobility, using data from a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years. Methods: Participants (n = 5003) completed an interview and health assessment (including Timed Up-and-Go, vision and cognitive tests). Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were assessed using an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study logMAR chart and Functional Vision Analyzer, respectively. Participants self-reported their vision as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor. They were assigned to no …

Impact Of Computer Experience On The Viability And Repeatablity Of The Moorfields Motion Displacement Test In A Developing And Underserved African Setting, James Loughman, Carmen Gonzalez Alvarez, Gay Mary Verdon-Roe, Roger Anderson, Ramos Antonio Manuel, Kovin Naidoo

Articles

Background: The current study was designed to explore the effect of computer experience on the viability and testretest repeatability of the Moorfields Motion Displacement Test (MMDT), a novel computer-driven glaucoma screening device, in an African community setting. Methods: 164 healthy subjects were recruited from a semi-rural Mozambican environment, and stratified according to computer experience (computer naïve: n=85, computer familiar: n=79). A suprathreshold screening test algorithm was employed, and the global probability of true damage (GPTD), testing time (TT) and false positive (FP) response rate were recorded. The visual field test was conducted twice on the same eye, and results compared …

Suitability And Repeatability Of A Photostress Recovery Test Device, The Macular Degeneration Detector (Mdd-2), For Diabetes And Diabetic Retinopathy Assessment, James Loughman, Matthew Ratzlaff, Brittany Foerg, Paul Connell

Articles

Background: Diabetic retinopathy can result in impaired photostress recovery time despite normal visual acuity and fundoscopic appearance. The Macular Degeneration Detector (MDD-2) is a novel flash photostress recovery time device. In this study, we examine the repeatability of the MDD-2 in normal and diabetic subjects. Methods: One hundred and ninety one (90 women, 101 men) subjects were recruited and divided into 1 of the 3 study groups (normal controls, n = 40; diabetes no retinopathy, n = 98; nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, n = 53). Photostress recovery time was measured three times in the study eye using the MDD-2, each measurement …

Decomposition Of Ireland’S Carbon Emissions From 1990-2010: An Extended Kaya Identity, Tadhg O'Mahony

Articles

In recent decades, Ireland has been an important example of a development pathway where rapid economic growth was accompanied by rising energy demand and increasing carbon emissions. Understanding the driving forces of carbon emissions is necessary for policy formulation and decomposition analysis is widely used for this purpose. This study uses an extended Kaya identity as the scheme and applies the log mean Divisia index (LMDI I) as the decomposition technique. Change in carbon emissions is decomposed from 1990 – 2010 and includes a measure of the effect of renewable energy penetration. Results illustrate that scale effects of affluence and …

Give Them Something To Talk About: The Role Of Dialogue In Mentoring Relationships, Dawan Coombs, Kate Goodwin

Faculty Publications

An effective mentor/protégé relationship is essentially dialogical. Given that the mentor learns as the beginner learns, the mentor needs to take a dialogical stance to promote open conversations and investigation. Journals, blogs, observations, and subsequent debriefings help both the mentor and the beginner to learn much about teaching and learning.

Learner Experiences Of Online Pre-Lecture Resources For An Undergraduate Introductory Chemistry Course – A Case Study Informed By Phenomenography, Claire M. Mcdonnell, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Determining "Best Practice" Methodologies In The Pedagogy Of Tourism Related Fieldwork., Kevin A. Griffin

Other resources

This project explores issues around the practice of fieldwork related activity which is undertaken as a teaching and learning methodology in third-level education. The main focus in this project is to glean best practice examples from colleagues who undertake fieldwork in the broad area of Tourism education (encompassing hospitality, leisure and event management), but also related disciplines of Geography and Business/Management. Having initially scoped out the available literature and explored the topic in strategic interviews with colleagues (Irish and international), it appeared that very little work has been undertaken heretofore on the particular angle being investigated – that of planning …

Self-Chem: Student Engagement In Learning Through Flipped Chemistry Lectures., Michael K. Seery

Other resources

This project introduces the idea of “flipped lecturing” to a group of second year students. The aim of flipped lecturing is to provide much of the “content delivery” of lecture in advance, so that the lecture hour can be devoted to more in-depth discussion, problem solving, etc. As well as development of the material, a formal evaluation is being conducted. Fifty-one students from year 2 Chemical Thermodynamics module took part in this study. Students were provided with online lectures in advance of their lectures. Along with each online lecture, students were given a handout to work through as they watched …

Adolescent And Parent Perceptions Of The Influence Of Religious Belief And Practice, Carrolyn A. Mcmurdie, David C. Dollahite, Sam A. Hardy

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the present study was to investigate lay conceptions of religious influence. Specifically, we explored adolescents' and parents' perceptions of the ways in which their religious beliefs and practices had impacted them and their life. The sample included 419 adolescents and 282 parents recruited from across the United States through an online survey panel. Participants were asked to list three different ways that religion had influenced their lives. Responses were coded using grounded-theory qualitative methods. Six main themes of influence emerged in both the adolescent and parent responses: Interpersonal Relationships, Character Development, Religious Values and Practices, Perspective, Peace …

Mass Transfer From A Vertical Flat Plate Due To A Constant Upward Flow, David Mcdonnell, Brendan Redmond, Lawrence J. Crane

Articles

This paper examines the mass transfer from a vertical flat surface of a soluble material due to a constant upward flow. The mass transfer rate due to this upward flow is calculated and used to obtain the distance along the surface at which the boundary layer separates. For relatively large velocities no separation will occur and the solution approaches that of forced convection on a horizontal surface.

Accuracy And Timeliness In Ml Based Activity Recognition, Robert J. Ross, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

While recent Machine Learning (ML) based techniques for activity recognition show great promise, there remain a number of questions with respect to the relative merits of these techniques. To provide a better understanding of the relative strengths of contemporary Activity Recognition methods, in this paper we present a comparative analysis of Hidden Markov Model, Bayesian, and Support Vector Machine based human activity recognition models. The study builds on both pre-existing and newly annotated data which includes interleaved activities. Results demonstrate that while Support Vector Machine based techniques perform well for all data sets considered, simple representations of sensor histories regularly …

A Comparative Study Of The Effect Of Sensor Noise On Activity Recognition Models, Robert J. Ross, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

To provide a better understanding of the relative strengths of Machine Learning based Activity Recognition methods, in this paper we present a comparative analysis of the robustness of three popular methods with respect to sensor noise. Specifically we evaluate the robustness of Naive Bayes classifier, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest based activity recognition models in three cases which span sensor errors from dead to poorly calibrated sensors. Test data is partially synthesized from a recently annotated activity recognition corpus which includes both interleaved activities and a range of both temporally long and short activities. Results demonstrate that the relative …

The Emergence Of Natural Gas And The Need For Cooperative Federalism To Address A Big "Fracking" Problem., Joshua P. Dennis

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment explores the recent emergence of natural gas production, the hydraulic fracturing process and briefly touches on the current regulatory system that oversees its operation. I then explain why the current regulatory system is insufficient to protect individuals and the environment from hydraulic fracturing. And lastly, I argue that a form of cooperative federalism is the best approach to regulate hydraulic fracturing.

Legal, Technical, And Economic Challenges In Integrating Renewable Power Generation Into The Electricity Grid, Timothy P. Duane, Kiran H. Griffith

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article addresses the legal, technical, and economic challenges of integrating high levels of renewable power generation into electrical grid system operation. Part II shows that the primary integration challenge is reducing the total costs of integration and allocating the costs of integration in a hybrid regulatory structure, which presents different institutional impediments than traditional cost-of-service ratemaking or rate-of-return regulation. We demonstrate that the primary impediment to improved integration is a failure to make the critical policy choice about how such costs will be allocated. Part III describes and analyzes the BPA-wind dispute in order to evaluate the adequacy of …

The Unveiling Of W.E.B. Dubois : A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Diverse Interpretations Of The Works And Life Of W.E.B. Dubois, Sonja Lee Bock

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

W. E. B. Du Bois is one of the founding fathers of sociology. Despite his many contributions, he was not included in the sociological canon and given the recognition he deserves. Du Bois was an African-American scholar whose contributions lead to the development of the first school of sociology in the United States, although he has generally not been recognized for it. My research explores how the effects of the veil contribute to the interpretations of Du Bois. To investigate this question, I will perform a qualitative content analysis of selected publications by Dubosian experts who have written extensively about …

A Study Of The Effect Of Organizational Communication Cultures On Interorganizational Collaboration Of Crisis Response, Laura Pechta

Wayne State University Dissertations

Recent history has indicated that crises are becoming more frequent rather than exceptional events. Dozens of organizations, often with very different missions, methods, technologies and cultures, are called upon to coordinate activities in order to mitigate the crisis and assist in recovery efforts. Although several interorganizational coordination perspectives and strategies have been proposed, they have neglected to examine how different organizational communication cultures of crisis response organizations involved in an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) may affect crisis collaboration efforts. Previous studies have also disregarded the important distinction between crisis coordination and crisis collaboration and the challenges and benefits of each …

An Investigation Into The Role Of Cfia 3' End Processing Complex In The Termination And Initiation/Reinitiation Of Transcription, Nadra Al-Husini

Wayne State University Dissertations

In budding yeast, as in higher eukaryotes, transcription of protein coding genes is executed by a highly specialized, conserved polymerase called RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). The transcription cycle of RNAPII has four major steps: initiation, elongation, termination, and reinitiation. The successful accomplishment of each of these steps requires a number of accessory factors. Many of these factors operate at multiple steps in the transcription cycle. The major focus of this study was to examine the function of Clp1, which is an RNA processing factor operating at the 3′ end of genes, in the transcription cycle. Clp1 is one of the …

Discussion Of Christine C. Shepard, Vera N. Agostini, Ben Gilmer, Tashya Allen, Jeff Stone, William Brooks And Michael W. Beck. Reply: Evaluating Alternative Future Sea-Level Rise Scenarios, Natural Hazards, 2012 Doi:10.1007/S11069-012-0160-2, A. Boretti

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Separate-Channel Integrated Guidance And Autopilot For Automatic Path-Following, Takeshi Yamasaki, S. N. Balakrishnan, Hiroyuki Takano

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An integrated guidance and autopilot scheme for a path-following uninhabited aerial vehicle is presented in this study. A fixed-wing aircraft usually performs a bank-to-turn maneuver to change its flight direction. The novel approach presented here, however, assumes that each of the three channels of the integrated guidance and autopilot can be independently designed. This concept makes the design process simple. A virtual target moving on the prespecified path for the uninhabited aerial vehicle is introduced to facilitate the algorithm development. A first-/ second order sliding structure with a second order sliding mode and a high-order sliding mode differentiator for the …

Single-Stranded Dna Scanning And Deamination With Single-Molecule Resolution, Padhuk Gamarala Senavirathne

Wayne State University Dissertations

SINGLE-STRANDED DNA SCANNING AND DEAMINATION WITH SINGLE-MOLECULE RESOLUTION

by

GAYAN SENAVIRATHNE

December 2013

Advisor: Dr. David Rueda & Dr.Ashok Bhagwat

Major: Chemistry (Analytical)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

APOBEC3G (Apo3G) and Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase (AID) are the most notable members of APOBEC enzymes, a family of cytidine (C) deaminases with crucial functions in the immune system. In T cells, Apo3G deaminates C in viral cDNA to halt the replication of HIV 1 strains lacking viral infectivity factor (vif). In B cells, AID is required for the diversification of antibodies through initiation of somatic hypermutation (SHM), and class switch recombination (CSR), by …

A Distinction Without A Moral Difference? An Essay On The Difference Between Palliative Sedation And Physician-Assisted Death, Patrick T. Smith

Wayne State University Dissertations

Professionals engaged in palliative care have a responsibility to treat their patients by aggressively managing pain and certain kinds of suffering within legal and professional ethical boundaries. Many medical professionals and ethicists, rightly or wrongly, have considered the practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, which can be categorized as instances of physician-assisted death (PAD), to be beyond the scope of ethically appropriate health care. Many of these same individuals who oppose PAD, and the professional organizations they sometimes represent, often embrace, at the same time, the practice of palliative/terminal sedation at the end of life. Palliative sedation is thought to …

Mean Girls And Troublemaking Boys : A Qualitative Study About Interpretive Reproduction And Peer Culture In A Preschool Classroom, Heidi Marie Gansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Within preschool classrooms children soon realize that they are under the enforcement and direction of their teachers, which in turn limits their control over their classroom experience. To compensate for this, children develop a peer culture that is based on their interpretations of what they have observed in the adult world (Corsaro and Fingerson 2003). This occurs through a process called interpretive reproduction in which children creatively appropriate information from adult culture in order to produce a peer culture that is unique and different from adult culture (Corsaro 1997; Corsaro and Eder 1990; Corsaro and Fingerson 2003). Through almost 70 …

Flexural Properties Of Leucite And Lithium Disilicate Ceramic Materials After Repeated Firings, Rifat Gozneli, Ender Kazazoglu, Yasemin Ozkan

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Pressable all-ceramic materials are widely used in dentistry. Determining the effect of repeated firing on flexural strength will help to improve these materials so that they can remain resistant to fracture in restorative work. The aim of this study was to determine the change in the flexural strength of pressable all-ceramic materials after repeated firings, which may be unavoidable when color and shape corrections are necessary for use in dental restorations. Materials and methods Forty disc specimens (15.5 mm × 2.1 mm) were prepared for each of four pressable ceramic materials (Empress 2, Finesse, Cergo, and Evopress) according …

Associated Risk In Utilizing Controlled Implosion To Securely Seal An Offshore Oil-Leaking Pipeline, Mohammad Alkazimi, Katie Grantham

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper examines the potential risk of using controlled implosions as a new technique to securely seal an offshore leaking oil pipe. Massive amount of toxins and radioactive waste are produced by offshore oil leaks. These leaks can have negative impact on marine life and can threaten the stability of the ocean's ecosystem. In the past few years, there were several oil leak accidents that had left an overwhelming impact. Identifying potential impact and consequences to the proposed risk mitigation technique, to both the environment and the surrounding infra structure, is crucial to emergency response and crisis management teams. In …

Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 11 No. 1, August 2013, University Of San Francisco

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Contents:

Editor's Note by John Nelson and Dayna Barnes

Languages of Human Rights in Timor-Leste by David Webster

This paper examines the historical process by which Timorese embraced the language of human rights, and their transnational support networks as diffusion belts for “rights talk.” It argues for a two-way understanding of rights diffusion, suggesting that Timorese framing of rights have contributed to a global shift towards a wider understanding of human rights as more than simply civil liberties in the Western tradition. Human rights, in other words, is a language that has served the Timorese independence cause, and in turn …

Valuation Of Participation In Social Gaming, Kwansoo Kim, Byungjoon Yoo, Robert J. Kauffman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This study examines the value of the time that a user spends to participate in a social game. We focus on how a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) vendor can establish prices to encourage participation and retain its players. We estimate value through an application of the hedonic pricing model and analyze a data set for an MMORPG in Korea. The results permit us to estimate the value of game-playing time in monetary terms. Based on our empirical results, we propose an economic model and conduct numerical simulation to show how a game vendor can apply differential pricing in …

Imagining The Swamp Fox: William Gilmore Simms And The National Memory Of Francis Marion, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

William Gilmore Simms's Unfinished Civil War measures the effects of the Civil War and its aftermath on one of the Old South's foremost intellectuals. Simms's mid-nineteenth-century poems, novels, and essays and the personal and societal trauma and destruction Simms experienced are all portrayed here. This collection of essays by historians and literary scholars first explores William Gilmore Simms's antebellum treatment of the role of warfare in America's past and the South's future. The contributors then consider the impact of the secession crisis, the Civil War, and the Confederate defeat on Simms's and other white and black Southerners' perceptions of their …

Policing And Social Influence: Procedural Justice And Compliance Dynamics In The Work Of Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers, Eoin Morrison

Dissertations

This study investigates the role of social influence, in the context of the professional relations between Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers (JLOs), and the young people they work with. Of specific importance is the concept of procedural justice, and its relation to perceptions of legitimacy and compliance dynamics. The aim of the research was to investigate whether the particular interaction patterns, enabled in the context of the JLOs professional role, could be found to have a positive impact upon young people’s levels of compliance with legal authority, in and of themselves. In order to examine this element of lived experience, five …

Nutritional Intervention Restores Muscle But Not Kidney Phenotypes In Adult Calcineurin Aα Null Mice, K. Madsen, R. N. Reddy, S. R. Price, C. R. Williams, Jennifer L. Gooch

PCOM Scholarly Works

Mice lacking the α isoform of the catalytic subunit of calcineurin (CnAα) were first reported in 1996 and have been an important model to understand the role of calcineurin in the brain, immune system, bones, muscle, and kidney. Research using the mice has been limited, however, by failure to thrive and early lethality of most null pups. Work in our laboratory led to the rescue of CnAα-/- mice by supplemental feeding to compensate for a defect in salivary enzyme secretion. The data revealed that, without intervention, knockout mice suffer from severe caloric restriction. Since nutritional deprivation is known to significantly …

Comparison Of Intra Individual Physiological Sway Complexity From Force Plate And Inertial Measurement Unit, Rahul Soangra, Thurmon E. Lockhart

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Center of Pressure (COP) is a clinical measure to investigate the effect of sensory input disturbances on postural stability in healthy, old population as well in people suffering from neuromuscular disease. Increased center of pressure velocity and sway area are interpreted as decreased stability or poor balance and are associated with fall risk. Body mounted inertial sensors have shown great promise as an easily implemented clinical measure of balance. The aim of the present study is to investigate if force plate and accelerometer measurements provide similar physiological information when approximate entropy (ApEn) are valuated from the time series. Seven Young …