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Exploratory Factor Analysis Of The Repeatable Battery For The Assessment Of Neuropsychological Status (Rbans) In Adult Patients With Acquired Brain Injury And Brain Disease, Samuel T. Gontkovsky, David S. Kreiner, Joseph J. Ryan

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Research has offered limited support for the theoretically derived, five-factor structure of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). This investigation examined the structure of the RBANS using an exploratory factor analytic approach in a clinical sample of 248 adult patients with acquired brain injury/disease. Extraction using maximum likelihood method and subsequent orthogonal rotation yielded a two-factor model for the data, the first factor largely involving memory and the second factor emphasizing visual-spatial perception. Neither factor was pure, however, and both appeared to involve at least some degree of information processing speed. Consistent with many prior investigations …

The Sentinel Effect And Financial Reporting Aggressiveness In The Healthcare Industry, Jared Koreff, S. W. G. Robb, G. Trompeter

School of Business Faculty Research

The sentinel effect posits that the perception of increased oversight is associated with improved behavior. We consider the association between enhanced government oversight and financial reporting aggressiveness in the healthcare industry. Specifically, we examine the association between criminal cases (pending cases and successful cases) against healthcare providers and the quality of subjective accounts that require significant judgment and have been shown to be linked to healthcare earnings management – revenue accruals and the allowance for doubtful accounts. We find that heightened government oversight is associated with lower financial reporting aggressiveness.

Racial Exclusion Causes Acute Cortisol Release Among Emerging-Adult African Americans: The Role Of Reduced Perceived Control, Laurel M. Peterson, Michelle L. Stock, Janet Monroe, Brianne K. Molloy-Paolillo, Sharon F. Lambert

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Racial discrimination contributes to stress-related health disparities among African Americans, but less is known about the acute effects of racial exclusion on the hypo-pituitary-adrenocortical response and psychological mediators. Participants were 276 Black/African American emerging-adults (54% female; Mage = 21.74, SD = 2.21) who were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted: greater negative affect (F(1, 276) = 104.885, p < .0001), lower perceived control (F(1, 276) = 205.523, p < .0001), and greater cortisol release (F(1, 274) = 4.575, p= .033). Racial exclusion’s impact on cortisol release was mediated by lower perceived control …

Killing Them To Save Us’: Lessons From Politicide For Preventing And Countering Terrorism, Clark R. Mccauley

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

This chapter reviews and extends the analysis of mass political murder advanced by Chirot and McCauley, then applies this analysis to understanding and countering terrorism. The justification for this application is that both politicide and terrorism target civilians in the context of asymmetric conflict. Three generalizations emerge. Politicide and terrorism cannot be understood or countered without (i) studying both sides in the conflict, (ii) separate studies of leaders, perpetrators, and mass sympathizers, and (iii) acknowledgment of the threats and grievances perceived by both sides. The chapter concludes with implications for fighting the war of ideas against jihadist and right-wing terrorists.

Terrorists, Radicals, And Activists: Distinguishing Between Countering Violent Extremism And Preventing Extremist Violence, And Why It Matters, Christian Leuprecht, David Skillicorn, Clark R. Mccauley

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Racial Exclusion Causes Acute Cortisol Release Among Emerging-Adult African Americans: The Role Of Reduced Perceived Control, Laurel M. Peterson, Michelle L. Stock, Janet Monroe, Brianne K. Molloy-Paolillo, Sharon F. Lambert

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Racial discrimination contributes to stress-related health disparities among African Americans, but less is known about the acute effects of racial exclusion on the hypo-pituitary-adrenocortical response and psychological mediators. Participants were 276 Black/African American emerging-adults (54% female; M age = 21.74, SD = 2.21) who were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted: greater negative affect (F(1, 276) = 104.885, p < .0001), lower perceived control (F(1, 276) = 205.523, p < .0001), and greater cortisol release (F(1, 274) = 4.575, p = .033). Racial exclusion’s impact on cortisol release was mediated by lower perceived control …

Escalation: Raising The College Students' Awareness Regarding Early Signs Of Abusive Relationships, Abir K. Bekhet, Courtney A. Kailunas, Alina T. Atayan

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Abusive relationships are highly prevalent in our society, but often go unnoticed. Research showed that dating violence continues to escalate in college student populations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the video as a chosen method of education in raising the college students' awareness regarding warning signs of an abusive relationship. Design: This study used a descriptive qualitative design. Sample/Data Collection: Five focus groups of college students' participants (freshmen to seniors) were recruited to participate in the “Escalation” workshop. To facilitate discussion, each focus group originally had 15 college students for a total …

Infant Illness Severity And Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder After Discharge From The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Kathryn J. Malin, Teresa S. Johnson, Sarah Mcandrew, Jacqueline Westerdahl, Jonathan Leuthner, Joanne Lagatta

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Risk factors for perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among parents of an infant in the NICU have varied in previous literature. The relationships between perception of illness severity and objective measures of illness severity with PTSD are not well understood.

Aims

To determine if PTSD among parents after an infant NICU discharge can be predicted by 1) objective measures of infant illness severity or 2) perceptions of infant illness severity.

Study design

A prospective, observational study.

Subjects

Parent/infant dyads who were in the NICU for ≥14 days.

Outcome measures

Objective measures of illness severity were obtained from the electronic …

Living The Manatt Report: Advancing The Future Of Nursing Through Joint Academic Appointments, Jennifer K. Pfister, Jill C. Kuester, Katie Mcdermott, Leslie Talbert, Christine A. Schindler

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

In 2016, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing published the Manatt Report which outlines recommendations to address the future of academic nursing. This report asserts that in order to influence the direction of healthcare, academic nursing needs to partner with academic health centers in leadership positions, embrace current clinical practice, and prioritize research. The following paper details the successful implementation of joint academic appointments between a college of nursing and a medical college. Joint appointments have formalized the role of clinician-educator, brought current clinical knowledge to academia, and allowed for protected academic time that is focused on enhancing the …

Characterization Of Helicobacter Pylori Srnas Hpnc2525, Hpnc2600, And Hpnc2645, Brandon M. Flatgard

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Helicobacter pylori is a common microaerophilic gram-negative bacterium that infects approximately 50% of the human population. Although all H. pylori infections result in inflammation of the gastric epithelium, only 10-15% of infections are symptomatic and progress to severe gastric diseases such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, MALT lymphoma and gastric cancer. Different disease outcomes are due in part to genetic variations among H. pylori strains. Helicobacter pylori strains with a genomic region called the cytotoxin-associated pathogenicity island (cagPAI) are associated with an increased risk of severe disease. The cagPAI region encodes a type IV secretion system that transports the CagA …

Development And Testing Of Artificial Membranes For Rearing Of Rhipicephalus Microplus, The Southern Cattle Fever Tick, Ann T. Vacek, John A. Goolsby, Rupesh R. Kariyat

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, is a livestock pest worldwide in tropical and subtropical climates, including South Texas, and can vector Babesia spp., the causal agents of bovine babesiosis. Artificial rearing methods for R. microplus are needed, especially for rearing specialist tick parasitoids that are under evaluation for classical biological control. In this study, we tested the efficiency of artificial feeding of R. microplus larvae, nymphs, and adults on a siliconized substrate (goldbeater’s membrane, lens paper, or Hemotek), or on nonsiliconized goldbeater’s membrane or Hemotek. Other variables tested were a warm water bath, incubator, positioning blood above or …

Survival Of Off-Host Unfed Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) Annulatus (Acari: Ixodidae) Larvae In Study Arenas In Relation To Climatic Factors And Habitats In South Texas, Usa, Emily J. Zamora, Brenda Leal, Donald B. Thomas, Robert K. Dearth

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus annulatus (Say), is an economically destructive arthropod because of its ability to vector bovine babesiosis. Cattle fever ticks can spend more than 90% of their life cycle as questing larvae, but the effect of climatic factors on their off-host behavior and survival is unclear. The goal of this study was to measure the effects of specific ecological factors on off-host larvae in nature. The study was conducted in a south Texas pasture over a 20-mo period, during which time larval populations were surveyed and ambient weather variables - relative humidity and temperatures - were recorded. …

Gold/Qds-Embedded-Ceria Nanoparticles: Optical Fluorescence Enhancement As A Quenching Sensor, Nader Shehata, Effat Samir, Ishac Kandas

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This work focuses on improving the fluorescence intensity of cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles (NPs) through added plasmonic nanostructures. Ceria nanoparticles are fluorescent nanostructures which can emit visible fluorescence emissions under violet excitation. Here, we investigated different added plasmonic nanostructures, such as gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and Cadmium sulfide/selenide quantum dots (CdS/CdSe QDs), to check the enhancement of fluorescence intensity emissions caused by ceria NPs. Different plasmonic resonances of both aforementioned nanostructures have been selected to develop optical coupling with both fluorescence excitation and emission wavelengths of ceria. In addition, different additions whether in-situ or post-synthesis have been investigated. We found …

Prefrontal High Gamma In Ecog Tags Periodicity Of Musical Rhythms In Perception And Imagination, S.A. Herff, C. Herff, A. J. Milne, Garett D. Johnson, J. J. Shih, D. J. Krusienski

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Rhythmic auditory stimuli are known to elicit matching activity patterns in neural populations. Furthermore, recent research has established the particular importance of high-gamma brain activity in auditory processing by showing its involvement in auditory phrase segmentation and envelope tracking. Here, we use electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings from eight human listeners to see whether periodicities in high-gamma activity track the periodicities in the envelope of musical rhythms during rhythm perception and imagination. Rhythm imagination was elicited by instructing participants to imagine the rhythm to continue during pauses of several repetitions. To identify electrodes whose periodicities in high-gamma activity track the periodicities in …

A Prototype Virginia Ground Station Network, Zach Leffke, Jonathon Black, Kevin Shinpaugh, Ian Harnett, Bryce Clegg, Nick Angle, Chris Goyne, Connor Segal, William 'Trace' Lacour, Mike Mcpherson, Dimitrie Popescu, Samuel Jensen, Jason Harris, Mary Sandy, Mike Miller

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper provides a detailed technical description of a prototype ground station network, the Virginia Ground Station Network (VGSN), developed for the Virginia Cubesat Constellation (VCC) mission. Virginia Tech (VT), University of Virginia (UVA), and Old Dominion University (ODU) have each constructed ground stations to communicate with their respective VCC spacecraft. Initially, each university was responsible for commanding its own spacecraft via its own ground station. As the mission progressed, it was decided to network the ground stations and operations centers together to provide backup communications capability for the overall mission. The NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) UHF smallsat ground …

Efficacy Of Radiomics And Genomics In Predicting Tp53 Mutations In Diffuse Lower Grade Glioma, Zeina A. Shboul, Khan Iftekharuddin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

An updated classification of diffuse lower-grade gliomas is established in the 2016 World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System based on their molecular mutations such as TP53 mutation. This study investigates machine learning methods for TP53 mutation status prediction and classification using radiomics and genomics features, respectively. Radiomics features represent patients' age and imaging features that are extracted from conventional MRI. Genomics feature is represented by patients’ gene expression using RNA sequencing. This study uses a total of 105 LGG patients, where the patient dataset is divided into a training set (80 patients) and testing set …

Deep Learning With Context Encoding For Semantic Brain Tumor Segmentation And Patient Survival Prediction, Linmin Pei, Lasitha Vidyaratne, Md Monibor Rahman, Khan M. Iftekharuddin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the most challenging problems encountered in deep learning-based brain tumor segmentation models is the misclassification of tumor tissue classes due to the inherent imbalance in the class representation. Consequently, strong regularization methods are typically considered when training large-scale deep learning models for brain tumor segmentation to overcome undue bias towards representative tissue types. However, these regularization methods tend to be computationally exhaustive, and may not guarantee the learning of features representing all tumor tissue types that exist in the input MRI examples. Recent work in context encoding with deep CNN models have shown promise for semantic segmentation of …

Distributed Strategy For Power Re-Allocation In High Performance Applications, Vaibhav Sundriyal, Masha Sosonkina

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

To improve the power consumption of parallel applications at the runtime, modern processors provide frequency scaling and power limiting capabilities. In this work, a runtime strategy is proposed to distribute a given power allocation among the cluster nodes assigned to the application while balancing their performance change. The strategy operates in a timeslice-based manner to estimate the current application performance and power usage per node followed by power redistribution across the nodes. Experiments, performed on four nodes (112 cores) of a modern computing platform interconnected with Infiniband showed that even a significant power budget reduction of 20% may result in …

Structural And Environmental Impact Of New-Generation Wide-Base Tires In New Brunswick, Canada, Izak M. Said, Jaime Hernandez, Seunggu Kang, Imad L. Al-Qadi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The loading and environmental impacts of new-generation wide-base tires (NG-WBT) and dual tire assemblies (DTA) on typical asphalt concrete (AC) pavement sections of New Brunswick, Canada were evaluated using finite element method (FEM) analysis and life-cycle assessment. The impact of steering wheel was not considered in this study. The analysis considered realistic material models and loading conditions (i.e. AC viscoelastic characteristics and measured three-dimensional nonuniform tire–pavement contact loads). Predicted critical pavement responses were used in transfer functions to determine potential pavement damage. The NG-WBT loading resulted in greater critical pavement responses compared to that of DTA, especially near the surface …

Liana Abundance And Diversity Increase With Rainfall Seasonality Along A Precipitation Gradient In Panama, Anthony J. Parolari, Kassandra Paul, Aaron H. Griffing, Richard Condit, Ronaldo Perez, Salomón Aguilar, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In tropical regions, rainfall gradients often explain the abundance and distribution of plant species. For example, many tree and liana species adapted to seasonal drought are more abundant and diverse in seasonally-dry forests, characterized by long periods of seasonal water deficit. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) is commonly used to explain plant distributions across climate gradients. However, the relationship between MAP and plant distribution is often weak, raising the question of whether other seasonal precipitation patterns better explain plant distributions in seasonally-dry forests. In this study, we examine the relationship between liana abundance and multiple metrics of seasonal and annual rainfall …

Improving Invertebrate Welfare, Heather Browning, Walter Veit

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell (2020) argue that it is wrong, both scientifically and morally, to dismiss the evidence for sentience in invertebrates. They do not offer any examples, however, of how their welfare should be considered or improved. We draw on animal welfare science to suggest some ways that would not be excessively demanding.

On The Possibility Of Invertebrate Sentience, David Degrazia

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell (M&P) set up the basic criteria for according moral status equitably, including the capacity for affect. They argue persuasively against assuming that all invertebrates are insentient and hence ineligible for moral consideration. In addition to the relatively clear case of cephalopods, various arthropods may prove to be sentient. We should be aware of various sources of prejudice that M&P discuss and not assume that it would be absurd to attribute sentience and moral status to certain invertebrates.

Whether Invertebrates Are Sentient Matters To Bioethics And Science Policy, Michael L. Woodruff

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell provide convincing empirical evidence that at least some invertebrates are sentient and hence should be granted moral status. I agree and argue that functional markers should be the primary indicators of sentience. Neuroanatomical homologies provide only secondary evidence. Consensus regarding the validity of these functional markers will be difficult to achieve. To be effective in practice, functional markers of sentience will have to be tested and accepted species by species to overcome the implicit biases against extending moral status to invertebrates.

Determining Shelving Accuracy Via Sampling In A Community College Library, John P. Delooper, Devika Gonsalves

Publications and Research

During the Fall 2017 semester, staff at the Hudson County Community College (HCCC), Library began to notice that many books listed as available in the catalog were often not being found on the shelves when patrons attempted to retrieve them. This situation puzzled library leadership because HCCC had recently conducted an inventory and removed all missing items from its holdings. To determine the cause of this discrepancy, HCCC staff decided to sample the library’s collection to determine if books were available at the expected locations. From this, the library found that a high percentage of its books were not present …

Evolving Into The Open: A Framework For Collaborative Design Of Renewable Assignments, Stacy Katz, Jennifer Van Allen

Publications and Research

Open pedagogy reconceives the notion of who creates knowledge and provides a pathway to empower students as creators. Leveraging open education resources in the classroom results in numerous benefits for students, including free access to knowledge, a participatory culture, and opportunities for innovation and creativity (Hegarty, 2015). Open pedagogical design often results in renewable course assignments, which empower students to create authentic resources that can be positioned to have greater impact through time, space, and gravity, particularly as they have longevity, reach, and value (Seraphin et al., 2018). In this chapter, we will highlight a collaborative partnership between library and …

Cultivating Belonging: Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives At The Leonard Lief Library, Lehman College--Cuny, Joan Jocson-Singh, Alison Lehner-Quam, Rebecca Arzola

Publications and Research

For the library profession, diversity and inclusion have increasingly become part and parcel of upholding the fundamental values that librarianship promotes. As the ACRL Diversity Standards state:

"Diversity is an essential component of any civil soci- ety. It is more than a moral imperative; it is a global necessity. Everyone can benefit from diversity, and diverse populations need to be supported so they can reach their full potential for themselves and their communities."*

For librarians at the Leonard Lief Library, Lehman College, a new Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (DIWG) was created in early 2018 to foster and cultivate an …

Hot Deformation Data For Haynes 214, Haynes 230 And Inconel 740h, Benjamin Adam, Julie Tucker, Graham Tewksbury

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article presents the datasets gathered for the hot processing of three Ni-based superalloys intended for A-USC application, Haynes 214, Haynes 230 and Inconel 740H. Isothermal compression tests were conducted with a Gleeble 3500 at temperatures between 1000 C and 1200 C and strain rates between 0.01/s and 1/s to a full true strain of 0.7. The obtained true stress-true strain curves were used as basis for hot processing maps, linking temperature, stress and strain rate. Subsequently, all samples were sectioned through the geometric centre to provide microstructural information, captured using EBSD, as well as EDX for the evolution of …

Family Features Of Social Withdrawal Syndrome (Hikikomori), Malagón-Amor, Luis Miguel Martín-López, David Corcoles, Anna González, Magda Bellsolà, Alan R. Teo, Antoni Bulbena, Victor Pérez, Daniel Bergé

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Family may play an important role in the origin, maintenance, and treatment of people with social withdrawal. The aim of this study is to analyze family factors related to social withdrawal syndrome.

Methods: Socio-demographic, clinical, and family data, including family psychiatric history, dysfunctional family dynamics, and history of family abuse were analyzed in 190 cases of social withdrawal with a minimum duration of 6 months that started an at-home treatment program. Data were analyzed at baseline and at 12 months.

Results: In 36 cases (18%) neither the patient nor the family allowed at home evaluation and treatment by the …

Empirical Evaluation Of Disaster Preparedness For Hurricanes In The Rio Grande Valley, Dean Kyne, Leslie Cisneros, Josue Delacruz, Bianca Lopez, Cristina Madrid, Rebecca Moran, Alma Provencio, Felix Ramos, Maria Fernanda Silva

Sociology Faculty Publications

Individual emergency preparedness is critical to mitigate and minimize the negative impacts from disasters. Preparing for future disasters could enhance capacity to better cope with the external shocks and achieve a faster return to normalcy after the disaster event. This study investigates how individuals living in the Rio Grande Valley prepare themselves for the future hurricane disasters. The study investigates the state of objective and subjective preparedness and any discrepancy between the two types of disaster preparedness. Using collected data from590 respondents via an online survey instrument, the study examines the relationships between the states of individual preparedness and selected …

Anthropogenic Suffering Of Farmed Animals: The Other Side Of Zoonoses, Jean-Jacques Kona-Boun

Animal Sentience

Wiebers & Feigin’s (W&F’s) target article warns of the zoonotic threat to human health from factory farming and urges phasing out meat production and consumption, for the benefit of both human and nonhuman animals. This commentary focuses on the physical and emotional suffering of farmed animals. This varies by species, production system and geographic location, but suffering is there throughout all stages of production — breeding, housing, transport, usage and slaughter. Ubiquitous monitoring of all facilities where farmed animals are kept, with surveillance cameras recording all phases of production would help reduce some forms of suffering. Other forms are caused …