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Understanding Ignorance: The Surprising Impact Of What We Don't Know (Book Review), Carl P. Fictorie

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: Understanding Ignorance: The Surprising Impact of What We Don't Know by Daniel R. DeNicola. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2017. 250 pp. ISBN: 9780262036443.

Visual Entrainment Of Perception-Related Neural Oscillations As A Mechanism For Maintaining Rhythmic Temporal Expectations Across A Wide Range Of Frequencies, Michael James Gray

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Visual sensitivity fluctuates rhythmically, in-synch with ongoing, EEG-recorded neural oscillations across a wide range of frequencies (~1-25hz). Some recent work has suggested that these perception-related neural oscillations can be entrained by rhythmic visual stimulation. Evidence is also emerging that the entrainment of ongoing oscillations in visual and auditory cortices is involved in rhythmic temporal expectations. In the introduction chapter, I attempt to bridge these bodies of literature and hypothesize that rhythmic visual stimuli automatically entrain ongoing, perception-related neural oscillations and that this mechanism supports the maintenance of rhythmic temporal expectations. Chapters 2 and 3 address this hypothesis from different angles. …

Same-Sex Union Formation And Dissolution In The United States And Europe, Eric Ketcham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite recent improvements in the availability of data on same-sex union formation and dissolution, the field remains understudied. Recent findings on the stability of same-sex unions in the United States and in Europe are inconsistent both within and between countries. Using three data sets – How Couples Meet and Stay Together, the Generations and Gender Survey, and the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences surveys – event-history analyses are conducted to examine the stability of same-sex unions relative to male-female unions in the United States and continental Europe. The availability of partners for LGBT-identified males and females in eighteen …

Lead And Arsenic Contamination In Urban Soils In New York City, Anna Paltseva

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examined total and bioaccessible soil lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) concentrations and their accumulation in commonly grown garden vegetables in New York City (NYC) metropolitan area. Direct oral ingestion of contaminated soil and consumption of plants that have accumulated Pb or As from underlying soil are known human exposure pathways in urban garden soils that often contain elevated levels of contaminants. The research had four components: (1) assessment of the variability of bioaccessible Pb in NYC urban soils; (2) field experiments to evaluate Pb stabilization and As mobilization by phosphate and alternative amendments; (3) development of a new …

The Impact Of Racial Microaggressions And Major Discriminatory Events On Mental Health, Florence Lui

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current study, a secondary data analysis, sought to determine the number and nature of latent groups for experiences of spectrum racial discrimination (i.e., both major and microaggressive racial discrimination) in a sample of emerging adults from a people of color (POC)-majority public university setting in the United States, and to understand the role of socio-demographic variables in defining each group. In addition, the study aimed to ascertain the extent to which endorsing spectrum racial discrimination experiences predicted anxiety and/or depression above the effects of general, non-race-related stress. Finally, the analyses gauged the mediating and/or moderating role of coping in …

Assessment Of Third Wave Therapy Assumptions About The Relation Between Emotional Schemas And Psychoemotional Functioning, Emily Rachel Edwards

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Recent advancements in emotion theory propose that emotional schemas – individualized conceptualizations and beliefs about emotions – serve a fundamental function in guiding psychoemotional processes. These advancements have progressed alongside the development of third-wave therapies, which presume emotional schemas to be deeply involved in perpetuating psychological distress and emotional dysfunction. To critically assess the validity of this presumption, the current research proposed and evaluated an integrative model of psychoemotional functioning.

Two studies were completed using a combination of behavioral, performance-based, and self-report measures of emotional schemas and psychoemotional functioning. Though further research is needed, results suggest the integrated model of …

Examining Relations Between Executive Functions And Decoding: A Meta-Analytic Investigation, Teresa Ober

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Introduction: The Simple View of Reading (SVR) is one of several established models of reading that present decoding and linguistic comprehension as critical skills in the development of reading competencies. Previous research has highlighted the connection between reading comprehension and cognitive skills, including those which fall under the term of executive functions (EF; for a review, see Follmer, 2018). EF may also be critical in the development of decoding. According to the dual route model of word recognition (Coltheart, 2006), decoding involves two separable processes; the phonological route, involving encoding and retrieval of letter-sound associations (also called phoneme-to-grapheme correspondence rules), …

Examining The Effects Of A Multi-Component Neurocognitive Intervention For School-Aged Children With Co-Occurring Adhd And Reading Difficulties, Alyssa L. Chimiklis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently exhibit impairments in neurocognitive pathways (i.e., deficits in sustained attention, response inhibition, processing speed, working memory, and cognitive flexibility). There is also extensive support indicating that youth with co-occurring ADHD and reading difficulties share pathological pathways and exhibit deficits in executive functions. Neither behavioral nor pharmacological interventions have been able to fully address executive dysfunction and/or reading deficits in this population. Computerized neurocognitive training interventions have been explored as a treatment alternative for youth with pure ADHD and have demonstrated some merit. Conceptually, computerized neurocognitive training programs that target overlapping pathways …

Clinical Characteristics And Neuroanatomical Predictors Of Acute Antidepressant Outcome For Patients With Comorbid Depression And Mild Cognitive Impairment, Jeffrey N. Motter

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Older adults presenting with both a depressive disorder (DEP) and cognitive impairment (CI) represent a unique, understudied population. The classification of cognitive impairment severity continues to be debated though it has recently been subtyped into late (LMCI) versus early (EMCI) stages. Previous studies have found associations between treatment outcome and both cortical thickness and white matter hyperintensities (WMH), though report inconsistent directionality and affected regions. In this study, we examined baseline clinical characteristics and neuroanatomical features as prognostic indicators for older adults with comorbid DEP and CI participating in an open antidepressant trial. EMCI is hypothesized to have greater …

Systematics And Ecology Of The Andean Neotropical Schefflera (Araliaceae) With Globose Capitate Inflorescences And Use Of Niche Modeling For Iucn Red List Threat Assessment Of Plerandra Elegantissima (Araliaceae), Carlos V. Rodrigues

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the end of the 19^thcentury, ScheffleraJ.R. Forst. & G. Forst.has been recognized as the largest and most wide-ranging genus of Araliaceae. It can be found throughout the humid tropics and subtropics, is not particularly diverse at low elevations in the warmest regions, and a few taxa extend into warm-temperate areas. As currently circumscribed, the genus contains 605 described species and many hundreds more awaiting formal description. However, a succession of phylogenetic studies have confirmed that Schefflera, as currently circumscribed,is polyphyletic, comprising five geographically centered lineages scattered across the phylogenetic tree of Araliaceae, and …

Exploration Of The Inhibitory Properties Of The Nucleoside Antibiotic Salicyl-Ams And Analogues Targeting Siderophore Biosynthesis In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Glennon Bythrow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a resilient, obligate bacterial pathogen responsible for pulmonary tuberculosis disease (TB), that has upheld a significant impact on global public health throughout history. The World Health Organization (WHO) approximates nearly 10 million new TB cases arose in 2017 alone, accounting for 1.6 million deaths. There has been a notable rise in TB cases produced by multidrug‑resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Mtb. This, along with the intrinsic resistance of Mtb to many standard drugs and poor patient compliance, is deeply impacting global control of TB. Among the several strategies currently in …

Diet, Inflammation, Gut Microbiome, And Mental Health, Ashley R. Polokowski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) are an essential fatty acid necessary for healthy development in mammals. They possess anti-inflammatory properties and have more recently been shown to impact gut microbiota, both factors hypothesized to be associated with depression and anxiety. Thus, empirical efforts have begun to examine the benefit of ω-3 FAs as a treatment option for various psychological disorders. Although there is evidence that ω-3 FAs have favorable outcomes on depressive symptoms, the relationship between ω-3 FAs and anxiety and the pathways by which ω-3 FAs produce beneficial health effects are poorly understood. Both inflammation and the gut microbiome …

Sedimenting Territory: A Political Geology Of Oil, Earth, And Spatial Politics In Turkey, Zeynep Oguz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Building on the recent turn to the material and earthly aspects of resources and political power in environmental anthropology and political geography, this work historically and ethnographically examines the kinds of territorial politics that oil’s materiality, geological qualities, and infrastructures have generated in Turkey. Despite being surrounded by oil-rich neighbors in the Middle East, Turkey’s domestic oil reserves supply only 7 percent of the country’s oil, all of which has been drilled in the Kurdish provinces of Batman, Diyarbakır, and Adıyaman in Turkey’s southeast, where the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) has been fighting the Turkish state since 1984 for cultural …

This Is What A Feminist Tweets Like: "Women's Language" And Styling Activist Identities In A #Yesallwomen Twitter Corpus, Eleanor A. Morikawa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation presents results of a study of linguistic practice in the context of feminist activism on Twitter. Twitter has become a primary medium for social and political activism and a rich venue for study of the relationship between digitally mediated language and identity production. The focus of this study is the viral Twitter hashtag #YesAllWomen, a hashtag that rose in popularity following a misogyny-motivated terrorist attack in the spring of 2014. This dissertation treats the #YesAllWomen hashtag as an imagined space and a Discourse (Gee, 2015) where language serves as a site for the production of gender and feminist …

Characterization Of Early Biofilm Formation And Physiology In Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Kelly Eckenrode

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many bacteria rely on the dynamics of their extracellular appendages to perform important tasks, like motility and biofilm formation. Interestingly, these dynamics have been linked to physiological responses in some pathogenic bacteria; therefore, it is important to understand more about the role of physical forces in bacteria. I used the causative agent of the human disease gonorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, as a model system to study the role of physical force on early biofilm formation. The advantage of this system is that cell-cell interactions are controlled by extracellular filaments called type IV pili (tfp). Tfp is composed of monomers that give …

The Social Cost Of Pain: Rejection Sensitivity, Social Rejection, And Cannabis Use In Young Adults, Naomi Dambreville

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cannabis has been implicated in relieving distress and social pain, an important area of research in young adult samples, given the saliency of peer and social networks to addiction. Cannabis, via opioid pathways, has been shown to reduce, or potentially buffer, the effects of social pain and rejection. Thus, cannabis may be protective against the painful feelings of social stress, particularly for heavier or more frequent users. However, findings are not wholly positive, as other research indicates cannabis may blunt affective responses and impair social processing. The effects of cannabis use in young adults are understudied, as well as its …

Probing The Gelation Phenomena In Molecular And Seed-Based Gels, Malick Samateh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The interest in molecular gels has been gaining momentum as evident from being developed for a broad spectrum of applications. This impetus stems from several reasons that include: (i) molecular gels are highly stimuli responsive as they easily respond to thermodynamic changes, disintegrating into well-defined chemicals/building blocks because of the purely physical (in contrast to chemically cross-linked) nature of the interactions holding their 3D networks together; (ii) the sheer abundance of simple small molecules to choose starting materials from and the vast potential of tunability of the low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) make the LMWGs and the molecular gels highly …

The Evolution Of Reproductive Complexity In Fishes, Frieda Benun

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

How does reproductive complexity evolve? In this dissertation, I investigate the evolution of parental investment and mating behavior, using both macro- and microevolutionary lenses. I use fishes, the most diverse group of vertebrates, comprising over 30,000 species, as a model to study the evolution of these traits.

In Chapter 1, I introduce the evolution of parental behaviors in fishes. I present a systematic review of parental care for 294 families (close to 60%) of bony fish and show that male-only care is the predominant form of care in this group. I summarize current theories on parental care, emphasizing external fertilization, …

Renal Specific Rnai Delivery By Fibrillar Nanoparticle Excipients, Sam Wong

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool to manipulate the phenotype of an organism by silencing the expression of specific genes and is viewed as a highly promising platform for treating undruggable targets and disorders where small molecule drugs and antibodies would fail. However, development of RNAi based therapies has faced major barriers including cellular and tissue-specific uptake of the Small Interfering RNA (siRNA). Utilizing different nanoparticles as RNAi excipients, cellular uptake and gene silencing potency can be greatly improved. The research in Dr. McDevitt groups has fibrillar carbon nanotubes (CNT) as carriers for siRNA for gene silencing in vitro …

Systematics Of Carex Section Laxiflorae (Cyperaceae), Jenna Dorey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Carex, with more than 2100 species, is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in temperate regions of the world. Members of the family Cyperaceae are colloquially known as sedges, and members of the genus Carex are called “true sedges.” Carex occur on every continent except for Antarctica, they thrive in a panoply of habitats, and are ecologically important as a forage source for wildlife, carbon sequestration, prevention of soil erosion, and providing habitat for fresh water invertebrates. Despite their importance many sedges are still poorly known, such as the woodland sedges in Carex section Laxiflorae, which is …

Stability And Application Of The K-Core Dynamical Model To Biological Networks, Francesca Beatrice Arese Lucini

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of the dissertation is to illustrate the importance of the k-core dynamical model, by first presenting the stability analysis of the nonlinear k-core model and compare its solution to the most widely used linear model. Second, I show a real world application of the k-core model to describe properties of neural networks, specifically, the transition from conscious to subliminal perception.

Transposon Mutagenesis Facilitates Discovery Of Genotype-Phenotype Associations And Functional Interrogation Of The Mycobacterium Kansasii Genome, William C. Budell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mycobacterium kansasii (Mk) is a nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) and medically relevant opportunistic human pathogen. Mk causes dangerous disease pathologies ranging from tuberculosis-like chronic pulmonary disease (CPD) to non-pulmonary focal or disseminated infections that are exacerbated by comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), co-infection with HIV, or cancer. Among the most frequently identified cause of NTM-linked CPD, Mk infections contribute to a globally increasing NTM disease burden and are difficult to treat, requiring a long-term, multi-drug regimen. Although a less virulent pathogen than Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), Mk elicits similar disease features and shares in vitro …

Voluntary Oral Methamphetamine Reveals Susceptibilities To Spatial Memory Deficits, Decreased Dopamine Marker Expression And Increased Neuroinflammation In The Hippocampus Of Male And Female Mice, Jorge A. Avila

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Methamphetamine is an addictive illicit psychostimulant that produces lasting neurochemical and behavioral changes. The mechanisms underlying these deficits have been characterized in animal models using extremely high doses. Currently, better translational models are needed to understand the onset and progression of these deficits that more accurately reflect the gradual and voluntary dosing parameters as chosen by an abuser. To that end, a new model of methamphetamine administration, labeled Voluntary Oral Methamphetamine Administration (VOMA), offers a means to examine the progression of neurotoxicity, behavioral deficits, and the addiction process through a voluntary consumption framework.

Female populations show consistent vulnerabilities to methamphetamine, …

Dios En Carne: Rastafari And The Embodiment Of Spiritual Blackness In Puerto Rico, Omar Ramadan-Santiago

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In my dissertation, I examine how the Rastafari community in Puerto Rico constructs, reshapes, imagines and embodies blackness as a personal, political, and ideological identity. I argue that my interlocutors refuse non-black privilege and choose blackness, an act that is understood as identification not with subjugation but with power. I consider their identification with blackness and enactment of this identity as a performance. My analysis, based on 22 months of ethnographic research, and utilizing ethnography, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews, explores how my interlocutors claim blackness as a spiritual identity. In doing so, they demonstrate the metaphysical nature of race …

Signals In The Black Stack / Geometyr Design Manual, Jason T. Scaglione

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The following white paper provides a critical accompaniment to my capstone project: the GEOMEtyr Design Manual. GEOMEtyr is a virtual reality to be made accessible as a mobile and web platform for the visualization of certain systemic elements of a utopic world that parallels our own planet’s geographies, polities, and climates. As such, the GEOMEtyr virtualization is designed to derive utopian space from the informational structures of our own world. The operations by which this may be accomplished are broadly described within the accompanying GEOMEtyr manual. The white paper, Signals in the Black Stack, elaborates vital world-building characteristics of informational …

Eugenics In The 21st Century, Jessica Linn Chin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Eugenics is the science of enhancing the human population through the management of breeding and hereditary traits. This thesis explores the history of eugenics and shows how eugenic practices continue in the 21^st century with advancements in technology and positive eugenic goals that can result in adverse effects on the human body and society. When Sir Francis Galton coined the term eugenics in 1883, he intended to improve British society with the use of positive eugenics. Galton used positive eugenics to encourage people with good mental and physical qualities to produce more children. He avoided negative eugenics, which involved …

Subjective Experience Of Autonomy And Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Study With Korean American And European American Young Adults, Esther J. Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study aimed to explore whether parenting beliefs and practices that might promote academic or professional achievements also undermine aspects of psychological well-being. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between the experience of subjective autonomy and psychological well-being measured in terms of self-esteem, flourishing, and life satisfaction. The sample consisted of 86 second-generation Korean Americans (KAs) and 99 European Americans (EAs) ages 25-35. Perceived parental autonomy support (versus psychological control) and perceived parental modernity (versus traditionalism) were also examined for group differences and associations with psychological well-being. As a group, KAs perceived greater parental psychological control and parental traditionalism …

A Deep-Er Practice For Educators: Reflecting, Unpacking And Confronting Racism Through Critical Performative Pedagogy, Natalia Ortiz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the current political climate, we have seen time and time again the killings of black and brown youth, witnessed the separation of immigrant families, and the mass murders caused by nativist xenophobic white rage. Teachers in schools across our country need to be better prepared to engage in critical race dialogues and need to understand their location in the larger educational system so to contest, rather than reproduce, racism. This study is based on the premise that teachers are not adequately learning about structural oppression that impact the experience of school children and are not trained in the art …

Association Of Fish Oil And Physical Activity On Mobility Disability In Older Adults, Anoop T. Balachandran

Publications and Research

Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether long-term fish oil (FO) supplementation is associated with a lower risk of mobility disability and enhances benefits of physical activity (PA). Methods: A total of 1635 sedentary adults age 70 to 89 yr from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders single-blinded randomized,multicenter clinical trial, which compared a structured PA program to a health education program. Primary outcome was incident major mobility disability (MMD), defined by loss of ability to walk 400 m, measured every 6 months for an average of 2.6 yr. Secondary outcomes included persistent mobility disability, Short Physical Performance Battery, …

Multi-Scale Predictors Of Parasite Risk In Wild Male Savanna Baboons (Papio Cynocephalus), Bobby Habig, David A.W.A.M. Jansen, Mercy Y. Akinyi, Laurence R. Gesquiere, Susan C. Alberts, Elizabeth A. Archie

Publications and Research

Several factors are thought to shape male parasite risk in polygynous and polygynandrous mammals, including male-male competition, investment in potentially immunosuppressive hormones, and dispersal. Parasitism is also driven by processes occurring at larger scales, including host social groups and populations. To date, studies that test parasite-related costs of male behavior at all three scales—individual hosts, social groups, and the host population—remain rare. To fill this gap, we investigated multi-scale predictors of helminth parasitism in 97 male savanna baboons (Papio cynocephalus) living in the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya over a 5-year span. Controlling for multi-scale processes, we found that many of …