Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Associated With Junior Doctors' Decisions To Apply For General Practice Training Programmes In The Uk: Secondary Analysis Of Data From The Ukmed Project, Thomas C.E. Gale, Paul J. Lambe, Martin J. Roberts

Peninsula Medical School

Background The UK, like many high-income countries, is experiencing a worsening shortfall of general practitioners (GPs) alongside an increasing demand for their services. At the same time, factors influencing junior doctors’ decisions to apply for GP training are only partially understood and research in this area has been hampered by the difficulties in connecting the datasets that map the journey from student to qualified GP. The UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) has been established to ameliorate this problem by linking institutional data across the spectrum of medical education from school to specialty training. Our study aimed to use UKMED to …

Encoding Lexicographical Ordering Constraints In Sat, Wenting Zhao

Honors Projects

Symmetry occurs in many constraint satisfaction problems, and it is important to deal with it efficiently and effectively, as it often leads to an exponential number of isomorphic assignments. Symmetric rows and columns in matrices are an important class of symmetries in constraint programming. In this work, we develop a new SAT encoding for partial lexicographical ordering constraints to break symmetries in such places. We also survey all the previous complete lex-leader encodings in literature and translate them into SAT encodings. We perform experimental analysis on how these lex-leader constraints impact the solving of Balanced Incomplete Block Design (BIBD) instances. …

Classifying Cancer Genome Aberrations By Their Mutually Exclusive Effects On Transcription, Jonathan B. Dayton, Stephen R. Piccolo

Faculty Publications

Background

Malignant tumors are typically caused by a conglomeration of genomic aberrations—including point mutations, small insertions, small deletions, and large copy-number variations. In some cases, specific chemotherapies and targeted drug treatments are effective against tumors that harbor certain genomic aberrations. However, predictive aberrations (biomarkers) have not been identified for many tumor types and treatments. One way to address this problem is to examine the downstream, transcriptional effects of genomic aberrations and to identify characteristic patterns. Even though two tumors harbor different genomic aberrations, the transcriptional effects of those aberrations may be similar. These patterns could be used to inform treatment …

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Additive Manufacturing Titanium Alloys After Thermal Processing, Ahmet Alptug Tanrikulu

Dissertations and Theses

Titanium alloys are widely used for aerospace and biomaterial applications since their high specific strength, and high corrosion resistivity. Besides these properties, titanium is an excellent biocompatible material widely used for internal body implants. Because the products have complex geometries in both applications, Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods have been recently applied for production. AM methods can process a direct 3-D shape of the final product, decrease total production time and cost. However, high residual stress of the final product limits the application of AM components, especially the ones that are exposed to cyclic loading. In the present study, the initial …

Lacosamide And Levetiracetam Have No Effect On Sharp-Wave Ripple Rate, Jan Kudlacek, Jan Chvojka, Antonin Posusta, Lubica Kovacova, Seung Bong Hong, Shennan A. Weiss, Md, Phd, Kamila Volna, Petr Marusic, Jakub Otahal, Premysl Jiruska

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Pathological high-frequency oscillations are a novel marker used to improve the delineation of epileptogenic tissue and, hence, the outcome of epilepsy surgery. Their practical clinical utilization is curtailed by the inability to discriminate them from physiological oscillations due to frequency overlap. Although it is well documented that pathological HFOs are suppressed by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), the effect of AEDs on normal HFOs is not well known. In this experimental study, we have explored whether physiological HFOs (sharp-wave ripples) of hippocampal origin respond to AED treatment. The results show that application of a single dose of levetiracetam or lacosamide does not …

Developing Multicultural Self-Awareness Through A Transformative Learning Experience, Cynthia Bezard, Sara A. Shaw

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the ways that a change in perspective can create a better understanding of cultural identity. This study addressed: (1) How does a self-awareness transformative learning experience develop critical cultural competence in career and technical education instructors? (2) How does the practice of critical reflection construct career and technical education instructors’ ability to develop self-awareness of critical cultural competence? (3) How does involvement in critical discourse construct career and technical education instructors’ ability to develop self-awareness of critical cultural competence? A three-phase professional development experience rooted in multicultural education provided key …

The Gunnison Basin Sage-Grouse Strategic Committee: A Colorado County’S Fight For Conservation Self-Determination, James Cochran, Jonathan Houck, Greg Peterson

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Since 1995, sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.) conservation planning in the western United States has largely been based upon local working groups comprised of federal, state and local governments, environmental groups, landowners, interested citizens. In this article, we review the history and process of these local working groups in western Colorado. These groups are generally convened by one or more government agencies, operate on the general principle of consensus, and have little or no administrative or financial support. The local working groups were generally comprised of field biologist, rancher/landowners, members of local environmental groups and occasionally representatives from local governments. The …

Participatory Research In Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups: Case Studies From Utah, Lorien R. Belton, S. Nicole Frey, David K. Dahlgren

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Across the range of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse), collaborative groups focused on local-scale sage-grouse management, known as local working groups (LWGs), have been a core component of state-level efforts toward conservation of this species. In Utah, LWGs have been highly involved in designing and implementing the research which forms the body of knowledge upon which sage-grouse management decisions are made in the state. The LWG process encourages participatory research involving a wide array of interested stakeholders, including university scientists. Utah’s LWGs are facilitated by Utah State University Extension faculty and staff. These personnel provide support for securing …

Small Schools And The Issue Of Race, Linda C. Powell

Occasional Paper Series

Bank Street College of Education, in conjunction with the Consortium on Chicago School Research did a study of small schools in Chicago. This paper examines one element of the findings in depth - the interaction of race and school size. Powell argues that small schools are by their very nature an anti-racist intervention.

High Through-Put Analysis Reveals Novel Maternal Germline Rnas Critical For Pgc Survival, Migration, And Differentiation, Dawn Owens

Open Access Dissertations

Xenopus laevis embryonic development requires the selective localization of maternal RNAs to the animal or vegetal pole. These RNAs include somatic and germline determinants, essential in establishing the embryo’s body plan. Such determinants are involved in primary germ layer formation and organization, dorsal/ventral axis specification, anterior/posterior axis specification, and germline development. In Xenopus laevis, germline development requires maternally inherited germplasm, a vegetally localized material that both specifies and protects primordial germ cells (PGCs) from adopting somatic fates throughout embryogenesis. The germline is unique in its ability to maintain heritable genetic material for many metazoans, including humans. It is, therefore, of …

Nearshore Salinity And Juvenile Pink Shrimp (Farfantepenaeus Duorarum): Integrating Field Observations, Laboratory Trials, And Habitat Suitability Simulations, Ian C. Zink

Open Access Dissertations

The pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum is one ecological indicator of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) project, which intends to increase mesohaline and oligohaline areal extent along southwestern Biscayne Bay nearshore areas. These changes were anticipated to benefit pink shrimp abundances. My dissertation tested whether increased mesohaline and oligohaline area within a 50-m strip of shallow-water shoreline area likely would increase pink shrimp densities. First, I carried out a comprehensive literature review that revealed polyhaline and/or euhaline salinity regimes generally maximized pink shrimp occurrence, abundance, growth, and survival. Next, I analyzed 10 yrs of pink shrimp density and habitat observations …

Encasement: A Robust Method For Finding Intersections Of Semi-Algebraic Curves, Joseph Masterjohn

Open Access Theses

One of the fundamental concepts in computational geometry is deducing the combinatorial structure, or interactions, of a group of static geometric objects. In two dimensions, the objects in question include, but are not limited to: points, lines, line segments, polygons, and non-linear curves. There are various properties of interest describing a collection of such objects; examples include: distances, adjacencies, and most notably, intersections of these objects. Well studied, robust, and highly efficient algorithms exist for linear geometry and parametric curves. Problems involving non-linear, implicit, and high-dimensional objects however are an active area of research. Algebraic curves and algebraic surfaces arise …

Cold War In The Middle East: Iran And Saudi Arabia, Atena C. Panaite

Open Access Theses

Study on Iran-Saudi Arabia relationships from 1979 until 2017, seeking to understand the lack of conventional war between the two countries.

Trade In Environmental Goods: Empirical Exploration Of Direct And Indirect Effects On Pollution By Country’S Trade Status, Natalia Zugravu-Soilita

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Based on panel data covering 114 countries in the world, this study investigates the direct, indirect and total effects of trade flows in environmental goods (EG) on total CO2 and SO2 emissions. Our system-GMM estimations reveal positive direct scale – [between-industry] composition effects prevailing on the negative direct technique – [within-industry] composition effects (if any), as well as compensating the significant indirect technique effects channelled by the stringency of environmental regulations and per capita income. If the net importers of EGs (namely from the APEC54 and WTO26 lists) are recurrently found to face increased pollution (in particular CO2 emissions) due …

Subaru And Salt Spectroscopy Of Chemically Peculiar Hot Subdwarfs, C. Simon Jeffery, Naslim Neelamkodan, Vincent M. Woolf, Steven M. Crawford, Roy H. Østensen

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

The majority of hot subdwarfs lie on or close to the helium main-sequence. Many have hydrogen-rich surfaces, but a substantial fraction of the hotter subdwarfs have hydrogen-depleted or hydrogen-deficient surfaces. Amongst the former, three were known to show extraordinary overabundances of heavy elements including zirconium and lead. Using Subaru/HDS,we commenced a high-resolution survey of hydrogen-depleted subdwarfs to discover new members of the class. UVO 0825+15, was found to exhibit strong lead lines, to be an intrinsic variable in K2 field 5, and to have a relatively high space motion. Two other lead-rich subdwarfs have been found in the Subaru sample. …

Andrew Gross, Iii V. Warden Canaan Usp

2017 Decisions

USDC for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Usa V. Adolphus Cato

2017 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Usa V. Enrique Saldana

2017 Decisions

USDC for the District Court of the Virgin Islands

The Architecture Of The Gw Ori Young Triple-Star System And Its Disk: Dynamical Masses, Mutual Inclinations, And Recurrent Eclipses, I. Czekala, S. M. Andrews, G. Torres, J. E. Rodriguez, Eric L.N. Jensen, K. G. Stassun, D. W. Latham, D. J. Wilner, M. A. Gully-Santiago, K. N. Grankin, M. B. Lund, R. B. Kuhn, D. J. Stevens, R. J. Siverd, D. James, B. S. Gaudi, B. J. Shappee, T. W.-S. Holoien

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

We present spatially and spectrally resolved Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of gas and dust orbiting the pre-main-sequence hierarchical triple-star system GW Ori. A forward modeling of the ¹³CO and C¹⁸O J = 2–1 transitions permits a measurement of the total stellar mass in this system, 5.29 ± 0.09 M_⊙, and the circumtriple disk inclination, 137 fdg 6 ± 2 fdg 0. Optical spectra spanning a 35 yr period were used to derive new radial velocities and, coupled with a spectroscopic disentangling technique, revealed that the A and B components of GW Ori form a …

Development And Validation Of Nomograms Predictive Of Overall And Progression-Free Survival In Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer, Carol Fakhry, Qiang Zhang, Phuc Felix Nguyen-Tân, David I. Rosenthal, Randal S. Weber, Louise Lambert, Andy M. Trotti Iii, William L. Barrett, Wade L. Thorstad, Christopher U. Jones, Sue S. Yom, Stuart J. Wong, John A. Ridge, Shyam S. D. Rao, James A. Bonner, Eric Vigneault, David Raben, Mahesh R. Kudrimoti, Jonathan Harris, Quynh-Thu Le, Maura L. Gillison

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose

Treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is evolving toward risk-based modification of therapeutic intensity, which requires patient-specific estimates of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Methods

To develop and validate nomograms for OS and PFS, we used a derivation cohort of 493 patients with OPSCC with known p16 tumor status (surrogate of human papillomavirus) and cigarette smoking history (pack-years) randomly assigned to clinical trials using platinum-based chemoradiotherapy (NRG Oncology Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] 0129 and 0522). Nomograms were created from Cox models and internally validated by use of bootstrap and cross-validation. Model discrimination was measured by …

Pde8 Is Expressed In Human Airway Smooth Muscle And Selectively Regulates Camp Signaling By Β 2 Ar-Ac6, Timothy B. Johnstone, Kaitlyn H. Smith, Cynthia J. Koziol-White, Fengying Li, Austin G. Kazarian, Maia L. Corpuz, Maya Shumyachter, Frederick J. Ehlert, Bianca E. Himes, Reynold A. Pannettieri Jr., Rennolds S. Ostrom

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Two cAMP signaling compartments centering around adenylyl cyclase (AC) exist in human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells, one containing ß2AR-AC6 and another containing E prostanoid receptors (EPR)-AC2. We hypothesized that different phosphodiesterase (PDE) isozymes selectively regulate cAMP signaling in each compartment. According to RNA-seq data, 18 of 24 PDE genes were expressed in primary HASM cells derived from age- and gender-matched donors with and without asthma. PDE8A was the third most abundant of the cAMP-degrading PDE genes, after PDE4A and PDE1A. Knockdown of PDE8A using shRNA evoked 2-fold greater cAMP responses to 1 DM forskolin in the presence of IBMX. …

Measurements Of Angular Distribution And Spectrum Of Transition Radiation With A Gridpix Detector, N. Belyaev, M. L. Cherry, K. Desch, K. Filippov, P. Fusco, J. Kaminski, S. Konovalov, D. Krasnopevtsev, F. Loparco, M. N. Mazziotta, D. Ponomarenko, C. Rembser, A. Romaniouk, A. Savchenko, E. Shulga, S. Smirnov, Yu Smirnov, V. Sosnovtsev, P. Spinelli, M. Strikhanov, P. Teterin, V. Tikhomirov, K. Vorobev, K. Zhukov

Faculty Publications

In recent years, developments of gaseous detectors based on a combination of electron multiplication gap in the gas and pixel readout chips as a part of the anode plane (GasPixel detectors) reached a level where they can offer unique opportunities for particle detection. Transition radiation (TR) detectors based on this technology can be one of the possible applications. In this work, measurements of energy spectra and angular distributions of transition radiation photons produced by particles with different gamma factors made with a GridPix detector prototype are presented. The observed results are compared with theoretical predictions.

Towards A Missional Ecclesiology, Michael James Breen

Witness

No abstract provided.

Remote Sensing Of Forests Using Discrete Return Airborne Lidar, Hamid Hamraz, Marco A. Contreras

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Airborne discrete return light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point clouds covering forested areas can be processed to segment individual trees and retrieve their morphological attributes. Segmenting individual trees in natural deciduous forests, however, remained a challenge because of the complex and multi-layered canopy. In this chapter, we present (i) a robust segmentation method that avoids a priori assumptions about the canopy structure, (ii) a vertical canopy stratification procedure that improves segmentation of understory trees, (iii) an occlusion model for estimating the point density of each canopy stratum, and (iv) a distributed computing approach for efficient processing at the forest level. …

Automated Species Classification Methods For Passive Acoustic Monitoring Of Beaked Whales, John Lebien

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center has collected passive acoustic monitoring data in the northern Gulf of Mexico since 2001. Recordings were made in 2007 near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that provide a baseline for an extensive study of regional marine mammal populations in response to the disaster. Animal density estimates can be derived from detections of echolocation signals in the acoustic data. Beaked whales are of particular interest as they remain one of the least understood groups of marine mammals, and relatively few abundance estimates exist. Efficient methods for classifying detected echolocation transients are essential for mining long-term passive …

A Narrative Case Study Examining The Influences Of Peer-Led Team Learning On Student Critical Thinking Skill Acquisition And Deeper Process Content Knowledge In A Midsize Texas University Humanities And Social Sciences Program, Daniel E. Pratt

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation will examine the efficacy of peer-led team learning (PLTL) in a humanities and social sciences program, at a midsize Texas university. It will be conducted exclusively within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), and the academic subjects to be evaluated include English, history, and philosophy. Its primary function is to disclose whether or not PLTL facilitates in student participants improvement in critical thinking skill acquisition and deeper process content knowledge. Of primary interest in this qualitative, narrative case study is deducing how breakout sessions – supplementary meetings led by student participants, in the absence of instructors, …

Feather Mite Abundance Varies But Symbiotic Nature Of Mite-Host Relationship Does Not Differ Between Two Ecologically Dissimilar Warblers, Alix E. Matthews, Jeffery L. Larkin, Douglas W. Raybuck, Morgan C. Slevin, Scott H. Stoleson, Than J. Boves

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Feather mites are obligatory ectosymbionts of birds that primarily feed on the oily secretions from the uropygial gland. Feather mite abundance varies within and among host species and has various effects on host condition and fitness, but there is little consensus on factors that drive variation of this symbiotic system. We tested hypotheses regarding how within-species and among-species traits explain variation in both (1) mite abundance and (2) relationships between mite abundance and host body condition and components of host fitness (reproductive performance and apparent annual survival). We focused on two closely related (Parulidae), but ecologically distinct, species: Setophaga cerulea …

Safeguarding For The Future: Managing Born-Digital Collections In Museums, Kimberly Kruse

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the past few decades, advancements in technology have changed society entirely. Every bit of information about world news, popular culture, and art is just a tap of a touchscreen away. So many aspects of the contemporary world have become digitized so that it was only a matter of time before museums would have to face the issue of born-digital media in their collections. From videos to web-based art, museums have to tackle how to save this new form of cultural heritage. Museums have to do so now before it gets lost forever. The challenge of born-digital objects lies in …

The Impact Of Copyright Exceptions For Researchers On Scholarly Output, Michael Palmedo

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

High prices restrict access to academic journals and books that scholars rely upon to author new research. One possible solution is the expansion of copyright exceptions allowing unauthorized access to copyrighted works for researchers. I test the link between copyright exceptions for health and science researchers and their publishing output at the country-subject level. I find that scientists residing in countries that implement more robust research exceptions publish more papers and books in subsequent years. This relationship between copyright exceptions and publishing is stronger in lower-income countries, and stronger where there is stricter copyright protection of existing works.

Residents’ Perception Of Environmental Performance In New Urbanist Landscapes In North Texas: Learning From Addison Circle, Austin Ranch And Hometown, Riza Pradhan

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

New Urbanism movement has been shaping the cities and suburbs in increasing numbers in the US for more than three decades. The Congress for New Urbanism is promoting compact, mixed-use, interconnected, and walkable models for sustainable development. In recent years, the environmental implications of New Urbanism have not been sufficiently addressed in the literature (Spirn, 2000; Waldheim, 2010). However, the Charter of New Urbanism (Talen, 2013) highlights the importance and relevance of environmental factors. Overall, the literature lacks sufficient evidence about the environmental performance of the New Urbanist landscapes, specifically in the Dallas- Fort Worth (DFW) region. The purpose of …