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A Novel Spatiotemporal Prediction Method Of Cumulative Covid-19 Cases, Junzhe Cai

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Prediction methods are important for many applications. In particular, an accurate prediction for the total number of cases for pandemics such as the Covid-19 pandemic could help medical preparedness by providing in time a sufficient supply of testing kits, hospital beds and medical personnel. This thesis experimentally compares the accuracy of ten prediction methods for the cumulative number of Covid-19 pandemic cases. These ten methods include two types of neural networks and extrapolation methods based on best fit linear, best fit quadratic, best fit cubic and Lagrange interpolation, as well as an extrapolation method from Revesz. We also consider the …

An Artificial Intelligence-Based, Personalized Smartphone App To Improve Childhood Immunization Coverage And Timelines Among Children In Pakistan: Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Abdul Momin Kazi, Saad Ahmed Qazi, Sadori Khawaja, Nazia Ahsan, Rao Moueed Ahmed, Muhammad Ayub Khan Mughal, Hussain Kalimuddin, Yasir Rauf, Mehreen Raza, Saima Jamal

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: The immunization uptake rates in Pakistan are much lower than desired. Major reasons include lack of awareness, parental forgetfulness regarding schedules, and misinformation regarding vaccines. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and distancing measures, routine childhood immunization (RCI) coverage has been adversely affected, as caregivers avoid tertiary care hospitals or primary health centers. Innovative and cost-effective measures must be taken to understand and deal with the issue of low immunization rates. However, only a few smartphone-based interventions have been carried out in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to improve RCI.
Objective: The primary objectives of this study are to …

Effects Of Goal Type And Reinforcement Type On Self-Reported Domain-Specific Walking Among Inactive Adults: 2×2 Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial, Mindy L. Mcentee, Alison Cantley, Emily Foreman, Vincent Berardi, Christine B. Phillips, Jane C. Hurley, Melbourne F. Hovell, Steven Hooker, Marc A. Adams

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: WalkIT Arizona was a 2×2 factorial trial examining the effects of goal type (adaptive versus static) and reinforcement type (immediate versus delayed) to increase moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among insufficiently active adults. The 12-month intervention combined mobile health (mHealth) technology with behavioral strategies to test scalable population-health approaches to increasing MVPA. Self-reported physical activity provided domain-specific information to help contextualize the intervention effects.

Objective: The aim of this study was to report on the secondary outcomes of self-reported walking for transportation and leisure over the course of the 12-month WalkIT intervention.

Methods: A total of …

The Fear Of Reptiles And How To Change It, Maxwell Lyman

Honors Projects

Reptile fear is prominent across many cultures. Anti-reptilian attitudes can lead to anti-conservation attitudes towards reptiles. Person-animal interaction has been shown to decrease fear desensitization and increase positive attitudes towards "unpopular" animals. My project demonstrates the effectiveness of live animal presentation in dispelling negative attitudes of reptiles. However, due to the sample size of the project, further research is highly suggested.

Effect Of Intrauterine Smoke Exposure On Microrna-15a Expression In Human Lung Development And Subsequent Asthma Risk., Sunita Sharma, Alvin T. Kho, Divya Chhabra, Kathleen Haley, Carrie A. Vyhlidal, R Gaedigk, J Steven Leeder, Kelan G. Tantisira, Benjamin Raby, Scott T. Weiss

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: In utero smoke (IUS) exposure is associated with asthma susceptibility.

Objective: We sought to test the hypothesis that changes in miRNA expression by IUS exposure during human lung development is associated with asthma susceptibility.

Methods: Gene expression was profiled from 53 IUS unexposed and 51 IUS exposed human fetal lung tissues. We tested for the differential expression of miRNAs across post-conception age and by IUS using linear models with covariate adjustment. We tested the IUS-associated miRNAs for association with their gene expression targets using pair-wise inverse correlation. Using our mouse model, we investigated the persistence of the IUS-associated miRNA …

An Assessment Of The Hydrological Trends Using Synergistic Approaches Of Remote Sensing And Model Evaluations Over Global Arid And Semi-Arid Regions, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, Rejoice Thomas, Surya Prakash Tiwari, Karuppasamy Manikandan, Thomas Piechota, Daniele Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Drylands cover about 40% of the world’s land area and support two billion people, most of them living in developing countries that are at risk due to land degradation. Over the last few decades, there has been warming, with an escalation of drought and rapid population growth. This will further intensify the risk of desertification, which will seriously affect the local ecological environment, food security and people’s lives. The goal of this research is to analyze the hydrological and land cover characteristics and variability over global arid and semi-arid regions over the last decade (2010–2019) using an integrative approach of …

Quantitatively Hyper-Positive Real Functions, Daniel Alpay, Izchak Lewkowicz

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Hyper-positive real, matrix-valued, rational functions are associated with absolute stability (the Lurie problem). Here, quantitative subsets of Hyper-positive functions, related through nested inclusions, are introduced. Structurally, this family of functions turns out to be matrix-convex and closed under inversion.

A state-space characterization of these functions through a corresponding Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov Lemma, is given. Technically, the classical Linear Matrix Inclusions, associated with passive systems, are here substituted by Quadratic Matrix Inclusions.

Practicing Ethics And Ethics Praxis, Martin Tolich, Emma Tumilty

The Qualitative Report

Purpose - This paper demonstrates the limited efficacy procedural ethics has for qualitative research. Ethics committee’s instructions have a short shelf life given the research question qualitative researchers create is volatile; that is, likely to change due to the inductive, emergent, informant-led nature of qualitative research. Design - This article draws on extensive literature to examine the void between the original research design and the messy reality experienced in the field. We focus on how researchers can practice ethically by recognizing the need for agile and responsive ethics praxis in their work. Findings - This practice describes the researcher, recognizing …

Continuity And Change: The Academic Teacher-Student Relationships In The Discourse On The Higher Education Reform In Poland, Justyna Spychalska-Stasiak, Helena Ostrowicka

The Qualitative Report

The article presents the results of research on the discursive models of academic relationships that come to the fore in the academic discourse on the reform of higher education in Poland. The aim of the research was to capture the ways of formulating knowledge about the reform of science and higher education and its subjects (i.e., academic teachers and students). The research material comprised 17 Polish academic monographs published in the years 2011-2014 (immediately after the introduction of the higher education reform in Poland). The direction of the analyses was emergent and inductive and was in line with the assumptions …

Lmi's Reply To The Committee's (A) Objection To The Motion Of The Debtor For An Order Establishing Deadlines For Filing Proofs Of Claim And Granting Related Relief And (B) Response To Lmi's Response To The Motion

Catholic Dioceses in Bankruptcy

LMI's reply to the committee's (A) objection to the motion of the debtor for an order establishing deadlines for filing proofs of claim and granting related relief and (B) response to LMI's response to the motion, filed December 4, 2020.

Structural Characterization And In Vitro Lipid Binding Studies Of Non-Specific Lipid Transfer Protein 1 (Nsltp1) From Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) Seeds, Mekdes Megeressa, Bushra Siraj, Shamshad Zarina, Aftab Ahmed

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are cationic proteins involved in intracellular lipid shuttling in growth and reproduction, as well as in defense against pathogenic microbes. Even though the primary and spatial structures of some nsLTPs from different plants indicate their similar features, they exhibit distinct lipid-binding specificities signifying their various biological roles that dictate further structural study. The present study determined the complete amino acid sequence, in silico 3D structure modeling, and the antiproliferative activity of nsLTP1 from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds. Fennel is a member of the family Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean …

Mothers’ Satisfaction With Childcare Choices And Its Links To Family Involvement And Community Support, Hadeel Shamlan Al-Essa

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This study examined mothers ’reports on types of childcare arrangement for a preschool-age child, levels of mothers’, fathers’, and relatives’ involvement in childcare at home, maternal satisfaction with childcare arrangement, the influence of socioeconomic status and social support on mothers ’satisfaction with childcare arrangement, and the nature of mothers ’affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching behaviors during mother-child play sessions. The sample consisted of 130 New Mexico mothers from two-parent families with a preschool child. A subsample of four mothers was selected for collecting data on mother-child play interactions through a 10-minute observation session. Analyses suggested that mothers were the primary …

Power-Laden (Mis)Understandings Surrounding Written Voluntary Informed Consent Procedures In Postcolonial Southern Africa, Michelle R. Brear

The Qualitative Report

Written voluntary informed consent (VIC) procedures are the standard approach for operationalising the ethical principle of respect for persons’ autonomy in qualitative research. However, achieving fully informed and truly voluntary consent is challenging, particularly in qualitative research and/or postcolonial contexts. Evidence about (mis)understandings (i.e., unintended meanings) surrounding VIC comes primarily from participants in quantitative, biomedical research. I aim to advance knowledge about qualitative research participants’ (mis)understandings of VIC. I used ethnographic methods to document the evolving (mis)understandings participants attached to written VIC procedures in two postcolonial settings, Eswatini and South Africa. All participants provided me consent to document their interactions …

Post Qualitative Research - Reality Through The Antihierarchical Assemblage Of Non-Calculation, Konstantinos Kerasovitis

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents an overview of the post qualitative research paradigm, tracing the main concepts that underpin it, and the way it opens up research to include the experiential. Research that tends to affect and the totality of existence. The cornerstone of post qualitative is its flat ontology—researcher, theory, and subject matter, form a non-hierarchical assemblage. The human and the non-human, material and immaterial, merge in a liminal entity. Nothing is considered as tainting, bar from the introduction of power relations. And this is the snare commanding caution. Academic approval is conducive to the misinterpretation of the theoretical pieces on …

Contextualizing Wilson’S Information Behavior Model In Seeking Indigenous Information For Hiv Prevention Among Adolescents In Secondary Schools, Uganda, Nina Olivia Rugambwa, Martha Lyaka, Lois Nankya Mutibwa

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Effective communication of quality health information in emergency situations is critical in curbing the spread of diseases. Health programs promoting both biomedical and indigenous representations in HIV prevention have been found to be more effective than those that ignore lay representations. Nonetheless, there is still limited documentation on indigenous information supporting health choices among adolescents in secondary schools in Uganda. Besides, the information sources from where adolescents seek this information are not clear. This paper presents Wilson’s Information Behavior model as the theoretical anchor used to understand how utilization of Indigenous information can be enhanced among adolescents for improved health …

Reflecting On Caqdas And Ethics, Catarina Brandão, António Pedro Costa

The Qualitative Report

As the use of Computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) becomes recurrent in qualitative research, researchers who use this methodological approach need to consider how ethical issues present themselves when we use these types of tools. In this introductory text to the Special Issue of The Qualitative Report, we identify and discuss some of the ethical aspects that we believe are interconnected with CAQDAS. By doing so, we hope to contribute to the reflection on these aspects and the definition of a praxis regarding ethical procedures when using a CAQDAS.

Critical-Emancipatory Workshop Analysis Through Qualitative Analysis Software, Lucimara Fabiana Fornari, Rosa Fonseca

The Qualitative Report

Critical-emancipatory Workshop is a data collection technique and interventional strategy for emancipatory education aimed at participants involved in the research. It usually results in a significant amount of data in text, audio, image and video formats. Taking this into account, qualitative analysis software usage is paramount to data treatment optimization and promotion of results credibility. This research aimed at identifying the potentialities and limits of webQDA for a Critical-emancipatory Workshop qualitative analysis. To this end, a case study based on the researchers' experience was conducted. It revealed that webQDA is a powerful digital tool for broadening and deepening the analysis …

From Observations And Pictures To Images: Learning Lab@Pp2 In Tourism Classes, Ana Isabel Rodrigues, Marta Amaral

The Qualitative Report

Learning Lab@PP2 is a pedagogical tool that has been applied in a degree course in tourism at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, specifically in classes of Professional Practice II. It advocates that the learning process should occur in the complex context of society, organizations and professional relations that characterize the tourism industry. The goal is to contribute to the development of professional skills in tourism and educate students as citizens who must be aware of their role in today's increasingly global world. Within Learning Lab methodology, this paper aims to share the benefits of using practical methods in tourism education …

Temperature Limits To Deep Subseafloor Life In The Nankai Trough Subduction Zone, Verena B. Heuer, Fumio Inagaki, Yuki Morono, Yusuke Kubo, Arthur J. Spivack, Bernhard Viehweger, Tina Treude, Felix Beulig, Florence Schubotz, Satoshi Tonai, Stephen A. Bowden, Margaret Cramm, Susann Henkel, Takehiro Hirose, Kira Homola, Tatsuhiko Hoshino, Akira Ijiri, Hiroyuki Imachi, Nana Kamiya, Masanori Kaneko, Lorenzo Lagostina, Hayley Manners, Harry Luke Mcclelland, Kyle Metcalfe, Natsumi Okutsu, Donald Pan, Maija J. Raudsepp, Justine Sauvage, Man Yin Tsang, Man Yin Tsang, Emily Whitaker, Yuzuru Yamamoto, Kiho Yang, Lena Maeda, Rishi R. Adhikari, Clemens Glombitza, Yohei Hamada, Jens Kallmeyer, Jenny Wendt, Lars Wörmer, Yasuhiro Yamada, Masataka Kinoshita, Kai Uwe Hinrichs

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Microorganisms in marine subsurface sediments substantially contribute to global biomass. Sediments warmer than 40°C account for roughly half the marine sediment volume, but the processes mediated by microbial populations in these hard-to-access environments are poorly understood. We investigated microbial life in up to 1.2-kilometer-deep and up to 120°C hot sediments in the Nankai Trough subduction zone. Above 45°C, concentrations of vegetative cells drop two orders of magnitude and endospores become more than 6000 times more abundant than vegetative cells. Methane is biologically produced and oxidized until sediments reach 80° to 85°C. In 100° to 120°C sediments, isotopic evidence and increased …

06.23.2020 Board Of Medical Investigators State Of New Mexico Meeting Minutes, Anthony Cervantes

Office of the Medical Investigator Notices and Agendas

No abstract provided.

Theoretical And Experimental Studies Of The Emission Of Electromagnetic Radiation By Superluminal Polarization Currents, Andrea Caroline Schmidt-Zweifel

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Maxwell’s equations establish that patterns of electric charges and currents can be animated to travel faster than the speed of light in vacuo, c, and that these superluminal distribution patterns emit tightly focused packets of electromagnetic radiation that are fundamentally different from the emissions by previously known sources -- on Earth and in the Universe. This dissertation introduces a practical faster-than-light emitter: The superluminal polarization current antenna. Such devices use a polarization current that travels faster than c to give rise to electromagnetic radiation, a technique known as the vacuum Čerenkov effect. In what is to follow, the theoretical and …

Approaches To Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas In Less Fit Patients, Nancy L Bartlett

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Treating unfit patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma poses the dilemma of balancing potential cure while minimizing toxicity because of frailty and comorbidities. Age greater than 80 years and common comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus often preclude the use of full-dose anthracyclines and steroids, the backbones of standard regimens for aggressive B-cell lymphomas. Assessing patient fitness remains subjective, with no consensus on best practice or how to integrate assessment tools into decision making. Incorporation of prephase steroids for all unfit patients may markedly improve performance status with consideration of standard dose therapy, especially in patients less …

Two-Year Neurocognitive Responses To First Occupational Lead Exposure, Yu-Ling Yu, Lutgarde Thijs, Nelly Saenen, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Dong-Mei Wei, Wen-Yi Yang, Cai-Guo Yu, Harry A. Roels, Tim S. Nawrot, Gladys E. Maestre, Jan A. Staessen, Zhen-Yu Zhang

School of Medicine Publications

Objectives Lead exposure causes neurocognitive dysfunction in children, but its association with neurocognition in adults at current occupational exposure levels is uncertain mainly due to the lack of longitudinal studies. In the Study for Promotion of Health in Recycling Lead (NCT02243904), we assessed the two-year responses of neurocognitive function among workers without previous known occupational exposure newly hired at lead recycling plants.

Methods Workers completed the digit-symbol test (DST) and Stroop test (ST) at baseline and annual follow-up visits. Blood lead (BL) was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (detection limit 0.5 μg/ dL). Statistical methods included multivariable-adjusted mixed …

Search For Gravitational Waves From Scorpius X-1 In The Second Advanced Ligo Observing Run With An Improved Hidden Markov Model, Tiffany Summerscales, Ligo Scientific Collaboration And The Virgo Collaboration

Faculty Publications

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO’s second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h95%0=3.47×10−25 when marginalizing over …

A Digital Program (Hope) For People Living With Cancer During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Protocol For A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial, H Wright, F Martin, W Clyne, Cct Clark, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

Background: During the COVID-19 lockdown period in the United Kingdom that began on March 23, 2020, more than a quarter of a million people with cancer reported worsening mental health. Help to Overcome Problems Effectively (Hope) is a self-management program for people with cancer, designed to provide support for distress, unmet needs, and poor psychological health. In light of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital delivery of the Hope Programme has become ever more vital for people with cancer. Previous pre-post studies of the digital Hope Programme have found reduced anxiety and depression and improved well-being for people with …

Integrated Management Of Feral Camels In Ngaanyatjarra Aboriginal Lands, Australia, Gordon Sanders, A. Knight

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Winter Closing Date And Spring Opening Date On The Dm Yield Of Perennial Ryegrass Cultivars, Emer Kennedy, M. O'Donovan, Mary Mcevoy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Restricted Access Time To Pasture On Dairy Cow Milk Production, Grazing Behaviour And Dry Matter Intake, Emer Kennedy, M. O'Donovan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Non-Surgical Correction Of Craniofacial Microsomia With Occlusal Plane Canting, Tzu-Pin Su, Huei-Mei Tsai, Chia-Yi Pan, Yuen-Yung Tsang, Yu-Ling Cheng

Taiwanese Journal of Orthodontics

An adult woman suffered moderate complications of cranio-facial microsomia (CFM) with different severity on both sides of the face. This anomaly leads to short ramal height, condylar pathology, chin deviation and facial asymmetry. The malformed dental arch, open bite and severe canting of the occlusal plane were the reasons for the patient to request the therapy. Orthodontic treatment was performed with pre-adjusted edgewise system assisted by temporal anchorage devices (TADs). These modalities were executed through leveling of the occlusal plane. The improvement was noticed for both better oral function and esthetics.

Vertical Maxillary Excess Complicated With Mutilated Dentition Treated By An Interdisciplinary Approach, Shao-Ching Su, Huei-Mei Tsai, Ming-Jeaun Su, Yi-Min Liu

Taiwanese Journal of Orthodontics

Vertical skeletal dysplasia can lead to excessive lower facial height and maxillary teeth elongation with gum exposure. Patients usually have long face, steep mandibular plane angle, usually with mandibular retrognathism. The clinical manifestations include narrow nose, narrow upper dental arch, excessive incisal display, a significant backward and downward rotated mandible as well as vertical maxillary excess (VME). Traditional classifications which mainly based on sagittal jaw relation is inadequate in describing the vertical skeletal discrepancy. The patient also suffered from multiple missing posterior teeth, that requires an interdisciplinary dental care. The main treatment objectives are to normalize overjet and overbite, improve …