Digital Commons Network^™

Coherence Between Feelings And Heart Rate: Links To Early Adversity And Responses To Stress, Kate Petrova, Michael D. Nevarez, Jenna Rice, Robert J. Waldinger, Kristopher J. Preacher, Marc S. Schulz

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Surgical Management Of Complex Post-Tuberculous Kyphosis Among African Patients: Clinical And Radiographic Outcomes For A Consecutive Series Treated At A Single Institution In West Africa, Ali M. Maziad, Owoicho Adogwa, Henry Ofori Duah, Kawdwo P. Yankey, Derrick Nyantakyi Owusu, Arthur Sackeyfio, Mabel Adobea Owiredu, Tyler Wilps, Gerhard Ofori-Amankwah, Franklin Coleman, Harry Akoto, Irene Wulff, Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Focos Spine Research Group

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Study design Retrospective review of consecutive series. Objective To assess the clinical and radiographic outcomes after surgical management of post-tuberculous kyphosis. Summary of background data Post-tuberculous (TB) kyphosis can lead to progressive pulmonary and neurological deterioration. Surgery is indicated to decompress neural elements and correct the spine deformity. Although posterior vertebral column resection (PVCR) has been established as the treatment of choice for severe TB kyphosis, there is paucity of studies on the clinical outcomes among patients treated in West Africa. Methods Clinical and radiographic data of 57 patients (pts) who underwent surgical correction of post-TB kyphosis at a single …

Effectiveness Of Using A Simulation Combined With Online Learning Approach To Develop Discharge Teaching Skills, Marianne E. Weiss, Linda B. Piacentine, Lori Candela, Kathleen L. Bobay

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Despite evidence of the impact of discharge teaching on patient outcomes, nursing students are poorly prepared in the pedagogical skills necessary for their role as patient and family educators in clinical practice. This study evaluated the effectiveness of simulation combined with online learning to improve nursing students’ discharge teaching skills.

Methods

The module included simulations before and after an online module on patient/family teaching for hospital discharge. Evaluation measures were student and independent rater evaluations using the Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale- Evaluation form (QDTS-E).

Results

Students (n=153) improved their performance on both content and delivery subscales of the …

When Pandemics Collide: The Impact Of Covid-19 On Childhood Obesity, Nancy T. Browne, Julia A. Snethen, Cindy Smith Greenberg, Marilyn Frenn, Jill F. Kilanowsky, Bonnie Gance-Cleveland, Pamela J. Burke, Linda Lewandowski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

• Children with obesity face increased biopsychosocial risks during COVID-19.

• Stress exacerbates inflammation and immune response in obesity and COVID-19.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly interrupted children's daily routines.

• The health effects of the obesogenic environment are exacerbated by COVID-19.

• Access to timely, comprehensive healthcare is critical during COVID-19.

“No Queremos Quedar Mal”: A Qualitative Analysis Of A Boundary Setting Training Among Latina Community Health Workers., Luis R. Alvarez-Hernandez, J. Maria Bermudez, Pamela Orpinas, Rebecca Matthew, Alejandra Calva, Carolina Darbis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Community health workers (CHWs)—or promotoras de salud in Spanish—have successfully addressed the health needs of Latinx and immigrant populations. However, for promotoras, setting boundaries is particularly difficult given challenges like residing in the same communities as their participants. The purpose of this study was to describe the development and impact of a boundary setting training to support the emotional well-being of immigrant promotoras. The training (four 1-hr sessions) was informed by social cognitive theory and a Chicana feminist framework. The promotoras who participated in the training helped create Lazos Hispanos, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study and CHW …

A New Aortic Arch Dissection Classification: The Fuwai Classification, Juntao Qiu, Xinjin Luo, Jinlin Wu, Wei Pan, Qian Chang, Xiangyang Qian, Xiaogang Sun, Bo Wei, Liang Zhang, Shen Liu, Wenxiang Jiang, Cuntao Yu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aims: We describe a new aortic arch dissection (AcD) classification, which we have called the Fuwai classification. We then compare the clinical characteristics and long-term prognoses of different classifications.

Methods: All AcD patients who underwent surgical procedures at Fuwai Hospital from 2010 to 2015 were included in the study. AcD procedures are divided into three types: Fuwai type Cp, Ct, and Cd. Type Cp is defined as the innominate artery or combined with the left carotid artery involved. Type Cd is defined as the left subclavian artery or combined with the left carotid artery involved. All other AcD surgeries are …

Cerebellar Coordination Of Neuronal Communication In Cerebral Cortex, Samuel S Mcafee, Yu Liu, Roy V Sillitoe, Detlef H Heck

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Cognitive processes involve precisely coordinated neuronal communications between multiple cerebral cortical structures in a task specific manner. Rich new evidence now implicates the cerebellum in cognitive functions. There is general agreement that cerebellar cognitive function involves interactions between the cerebellum and cerebral cortical association areas. Traditional views assume reciprocal interactions between one cerebellar and one cerebral cortical site, via closed-loop connections. We offer evidence supporting a new perspective that assigns the cerebellum the role of a coordinator of communication. We propose that the cerebellum participates in cognitive function by modulating the coherence of neuronal oscillations to optimize communications between multiple …

Computer-Assisted Challenge Point Intervention For Residual Speech Errors., Tara Mc Allister Byun, Elaine R. Hitchcock, Jose Ortiz

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: This preliminary case series investigated the effects of biofeedback intervention for residual rhotic errors delivered within a modified challenge point framework. In the challenge point framework, practice difficulty is adaptively adjusted with the goal of enhancing generalization learning. This study more specifically evaluated the feasibility of a computer-mediated implementation of challenge point treatment for rhotic errors using a custom open-source software, the Challenge Point Program.

Method: Participants were five native English speakers, ages 7;3–15;5 (years; months), who had established but not generalized correct rhotic production in previous treatment; overall treatment duration was flexible. Treatment incorporated either electropalatographic …

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2021-2022, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Rapid Quantification Of Biofouling With An Inexpensive, Underwater Camera And Image Analysis, Matthew R. First, Scott C. Riley, Kazi Aminul Islam, Victoria Hill, Jiang Li, Richard C. Zimmerman, Lisa A. Drake

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

To reduce the transport of potentially invasive species on ships' submerged surfaces, rapid-and accurate-estimates of biofouling are needed so shipowners and regulators can effectively assess and manage biofouling. This pilot study developed a model approach for that task. First, photographic images were collected in situ with a submersible, inexpensive pocket camera. These images were used to develop image processing algorithms and train machine learning models to classify images containing natural assemblages of fouling organisms. All of the algorithms and models were implemented in a widely available software package (MATLAB^©). Initially, an unsupervised clustering model was used, and three …

Continuity Of Chen-Fliess Series For Applications In System Identification And Machine Learning, Rafael Dahmen, W. Steven Gray, Alexander Schmeding

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Model continuity plays an important role in applications like system identification, adaptive control, and machine learning. This paper provides sufficient conditions under which input-output systems represented by locally convergent Chen-Fliess series are jointly continuous with respect to their generating series and as operators mapping a ball in an Lp-space to a ball in an Lq-space, where p and q are conjugate exponents. The starting point is to introduce a class of topological vector spaces known as Silva spaces to frame the problem and then to employ the concept of a direct limit to describe convergence. The proof of the main …

Matters Of Biocybersecurity With Consideration To Propaganda Outlets And Biological Agents, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Ernestine Powell, Lucas Potter, Thaddeus Eze (Ed.), Lee Speakman (Ed.), Cyril Onwubiko (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The modern era holds vast modalities in human data utilization. Within Biocybersecurity (BCS), categories of biological information, especially medical information transmitted online, can be viewed as pathways to destabilize organizations. Therefore, analysis of how the public, along with medical providers, process such data, and the methods by which false information, particularly propaganda, can be used to upset the flow of verified information to populations of medical professionals, is important for maintenance of public health. Herein, we discuss some interplay of BCS within the scope of propaganda and considerations for navigating the field.

Covid-19 And Biocybersecurity's Increasing Role On Defending Forward, Xavier Palmer, Lucas N. Potter, Saltuk Karahan

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The evolving nature of warfare has been changing with cybersecurity and the use of advanced biotechnology in each aspect of the society is expanding and overlapping with the cyberworld. This intersection, which has been described as “biocybersecurity” (BCS), can become a major front of the 21st-century conflicts. There are three lines of BCS which make it a critical component of overall cybersecurity: (1) cyber operations within the area of BCS have life threatening consequences to a greater extent than other cyber operations, (2) the breach in health-related personal data is a significant tool for fatal attacks, and (3) health-related misinformation …

Fault Protection Considerations For Mvdc Shipboard Power Systems Operating With Pulsed-Power Loads, Marounfa Djibo, Paul Moses, Ike Flory

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) power distribution architectures are of immense interest for various shipboard power applications due to their advantages over classical MVAC distribution systems with respect to power quality, power density, and efficiency. However, MVDC are far away from maturity when compared to MVAC with respect to fault detection and isolation. Currently, there are no standards available for applying MVDC protection systems in shipboard applications. Furthermore, due to the absence of zero crossings in DC waveforms and unique transient fault signatures, it is challenging to design effective protection system schemes to isolate faults via conventional protection systems. This …

Trade, Economy, And Work: A Shared Agenda For A Stronger Economic Future, Alvaro Santos, Christopher Wilson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The economies of the United States and Mexico have become inextricably linked. For both countries, the other is their top trading partner, with an annual value of $616.38 billion in 2019. Beyond cross-border trade, however, our global competitiveness is linked due to the depth of manufacturing integration. As a result, job creation and export growth are largely regional enterprises. Well over a billion dollars in commerce crosses the border each day, and the GDP of the six Mexican and four U.S. border states is larger than the GDP of all but the three largest countries in the world.

The new …

Characterizations Of Student, Instructor, And Textbook Discourse Related To Basis And Change Of Basis In Quantum Mechanics, Kaitlyn Stephens Serbin, Megan Wawro, Rebecah Storms

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Communities develop social languages in which utterances take on culturally specific situated meanings. As physics students interact in their classroom, they can learn the broader physics community’s social language by co-constructing meanings with their instructors. We provide an exposition of a systematic and productive use of idiosyncratic, socially acquired language in two classroom communities that we consider to be subcultures of the broader community of physicists. We perform a discourse analysis on twelve quantum mechanics students, two instructors, and the course text related to statements about basis and change of basis within a spin-½ probability problem. We classify the utterances’ …

Does Providing Pre-Procedural Video Information Improve The Guardian’S Experience For Patients Undergoing Full Mouth Dental Rehabilitation In The Operating Room?, Jennifer Waters

Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effect of pre-procedural informational video for full mouth dental rehabilitation (FMDR) under general anesthesia (GA) on guardian knowledge, retention and anxiety. Guardians of patients presenting to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry for consult appointments to receive FMDR under GA were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. In the experimental group, subjects watched an informational video and received written and verbal instructions regarding the upcoming FMDR appointment. The control group received written and verbal instructions only. On the day of the surgery, …

Molecular Basis Of Cross-Sensitization In Colonic Inflammation-Induced Somatic Hypersensitivity, Parshva K. Mehta

Theses and Dissertations

A major portion of pain experienced by patients with an Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) can be attributed to visceral hypersensitivity. Visceral stimuli transmitted through primary afferent neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) induce a nociceptive response. Notably, a subset of patients has also experienced the development of somatic pain, such as leg pain, after diagnosis of a bowel disorder. The aim of this investigation is to ascertain which biochemical mediators are involved in the development of such viscerosomatic cross-sensitization. Initially, the Von Frey Test was used to find behavioral evidence of somatic referred pain; …

Inclusive Academic Education & Vocationally-Oriented Transition Predictors’ Association With Post-Secondary Outcomes Of Youth With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Joshua P. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Despite efforts through legislation to increase the engagement of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in competitive integrated employment (CIE) and post-secondary education, outcomes remain poor. However, recent policy has emphasized CIE as a preferred outcome and created new opportunities to engage individuals with IDD in post-secondary education. Likewise, research into the transition of youth with disabilities has revealed several predictors of post-school success including inclusive education and a variety of vocationally-oriented experiences. Previous research had not determined whether students with IDD received both inclusive academic education and vocational transition experiences or how these predictors might interact. The purpose …

Follow The Scientists? How Beliefs About The Practice Of Science Shaped Covid-19 Views, Thomas G. Safford, Emily H. Whitmore, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

“Follow the science” became the mantra for responding to COVID-19 pandemic. However, for the public this also meant “follow the scientists,” and this led to uneasiness as some viewed scientists as not credible. We investigate how beliefs about the way scientists develop their findings affect pandemic-related views. Our analysis shows that beliefs about scientists’ objectivity predict views regrading coronavirus-related risks, behavioral changes, and policy priorities. While political party identity also predicts views about COVID-19-related concerns, these vary by political leaders whose approaches embraced versus dismissed science based strategies, highlighting the importance of perceptions of scientists in shaping pandemic related attitudes …

Interactive Modules For Flight Training: A Review, Stephanie G. Fussell, Robert Thomas

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The use of animation and video, combined with auditory and text components, to teach complex subjects can be beneficial to deepen understanding. A review of the literature was conducted to better understand how interactive learning modules can give flight students tools to enhance the learning process outside of traditional instruction. Instructional theories and educational environments were considered through the lens of designing course content for flight students. Several research questions were asked to guide the course of the research, all focused on how students learn a complex subject matter using interactive material. Guidelines and principles are discussed to ensure the …

A Comparative Visual Content Analysis Of The Cdc And Who Covid-19 Infographics, Manushri Pandya

Masters Theses

"In this study, I conducted a comparative visual content analysis of the CDC and WHO COVID-19 infographics. I considered infographics as an important genre of communication during such times because they not only provided sufficient information to the audience but did so in an engaging manner. The goal of my study was to think about the role of infographics in the context of health and risk communication during a pandemic, and to emphasize on the rhetorical elements that constitute the creation of infographics by major health organizations. I specifically focused on three elements: the kinds of information communicated through infographics, …

Analysis Of Refracturing Activities In The Major Shale Plays In The United States, Faisal Shammam

Masters Theses

"Refracturing of existing horizontal multistage wells has increased over the past decade in the oil industry. This work aims to investigate all the refracturing operations in the most active shale plays in the united states (Bakken, Niobrara, Marcellus, Permian, Eagle Ford, Barnett, and Haynesville) in terms of completion technique, candidate selection, treatment types, and refracturing production efficiency. To collect the data of the refractured wells, an advanced data analytics approach was applied to separate the refractured wells from 170,000 wells reported in FracFocus, a public chemical registry for hydraulic fracturing in the United States, and combine it with DrillingInfo database, …

Predator Scent And Presence Alter Mammal Assemblages In The Missouri Ozarks, Usa, Cara Jean Yocom-Russell

Masters Theses

"Species that are vulnerable to predation exhibit a host of behavioral and physiological adaptations toward the avoidance of this outcome: Heightened awareness of surroundings through visual, olfactory, and auditory senses are common ways in which these species avoid detection by predators. While links between direct predator-prey relationships are well established, less is known about how predators can shape overall community structure or the populations of secondary or less frequently consumed prey items. As humans expand into rural areas, the frequency of wildlife conflicts rises. In response, humans look to prevent these events with a variety of methods. One such method …

Optimization Of Transit Smart Card Data Publishing Based On Differential Privacy, Chenxi Chen

Masters Theses

“Privacy budget allocation is a key step of the differential privacy (DP)-based privacy-preserving data publishing (PPDP) algorithm development, as it directly impacts the data utility of the released dataset. This research describes the development of an optimal privacy budget allocation algorithm for transit smart card data publishing, with the goal of publishing non-interactive sanitized trajectory data under a differential privacy definition. To this end, after storing the smart card trajectory data with a prefix tree structure, a query probability model is built to quantitatively measure the probability of a trajectory location pair being queried. Next, privacy budget is calculated for …

Investigation Of The Sensitivity Of Human Arm To Small Interaction Forces During Physical Human-Robot Interaction (Phri), Fazlur Rashid

Masters Theses

“Understanding the human motor control strategy during physical interaction tasks is crucial for developing future robots for physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). Effective pHRI depends on humans communicating their intentions for movement with robots. In physical human-human interaction (pHHI), small interaction forces are known to convey their intent between the partners. It is speculated that small interaction forces contain significant information to convey the movement intention of pHHI. However, the mechanism underlying this interaction strategy is largely unknown. Hence, the aim of this work was to investigate what affects humans’ sensitivity to the interaction forces. The hypothesis was that small interaction …

Transfer Function Measurement For Automotive Intentional Emi And Thermal Runaway Investigation Of Lithium-Ion Battery By Intentional Emi, Woncheol Song

Masters Theses

"With an increasing demand for electric vehicles and autonomous driving, many components of a vehicle are being replaced as electric components. This implicates the possibility of an increase in the malfunction of electric components due to unknown electromagnetic interferences. In this reason, malicious intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI) is being considered as a growing threat for the current and next generation of automotive technology.

In the first topic, the transfer function between the IEMI attacker and the engine control unit (ECU) circuit in an automobile is extracted to analyze how the IEMI affects the vehicle.

In the second topic, to mimic …

Communicating Uncertain Information From Deep Learning Models To Users, Harishankar Vasudevanallur Subramanian

Masters Theses

“The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) decision support systems is increasing in high-stakes contexts, such as healthcare, defense, and finance. Uncertainty information may help users better leverage AI predictions, especially when combined with domain knowledge. I conducted two human-subject experiments to examine the effects of uncertainty information with AI recommendations. The experimental stimuli are from an existing image recognition deep learning model, one popular approach to AI. In Paper I, I evaluated the effect of the number of AI recommendations and provision of uncertainty information. For a series of images, participants identified the subject and rated their confidence level. Results …

Research And Development Of A Laser Hot Wire Deposition Process, Christopher Croft

Masters Theses

“Laser hot wire directed energy deposition (DED) is an increasingly popular method for improving deposition rates and overall reduction of build times in DED processing. While there is clear benefit, it is important to fully understand the impact of preheating the wire. This work focuses on developing a model that describes bead geometry output using all factors including the wire preheat. The model was fit with over 150 data points that explored a large range of each factor. The resulting model was then leveraged to evaluate a process control variable. The technique chosen used feedback from the hot wire system …

Exploring Spatial Patterns Of Virginia Tornadoes Using Kernel Density And Space-Time Cube Analysis (1960-2019), Michael J. Allen, Thomas R. Allen, Christopher Davis, George Mcleod, Wolfgang Kainz (Ed.), Dean Kyne (Ed.)

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the spatial-temporal patterns in Virginia tornadoes using the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center’s Severe Weather GIS (SVRGIS) database. In addition to descriptive statistics, the analysis employs Kernel Density Estimation for spatial pattern analysis and space-time cubes to visualize the spatiotemporal frequency of tornadoes and potential trends. Most of the 726 tornadoes between 1960–2019 occurred in Eastern Virginia, along the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. Consistent with other literature, both the number of tornadoes and the tornado days have increased in Virginia. While 80% of the tornadoes occurred during the warm season, tornadoes did occur during each month …