Exploring The Biofilm Of Candida Auris As It Relates To Persistence In Clinical Setting And Susceptibility To Antimicrobials, Bethany Butts

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

The rapid rise of drug-resistant pathogens is a global health concern. Known pathogens are acquiring resistance to many commonly used drugs, while new drug-resistant pathogens are emerging. These resistant pathogens are responsible for many healthcare-associated infections (HAI) [1, 2]. Candida auris is among these emerging drug-resistant pathogens, first described in 2009. The CDC labels C. auris at the highest level of global public health threat [3,4]. Effective methods of decolonization and control of the organisms have yet to be established, as it is resistant to many agents used for microbial control. Recent research has found that C. auris has the …

Covid-19 And Chronic Diabetes: The Perfect Storm For Reactivation Tuberculosis?: A Case Series, Genesis P. Aguillón-Durán, Ericka Prieto-Martinez Dr, Doris Ayala, Juan García Jr., John M. Thomas Iii, Juan Ignacio García, Brandon Michael Henry, Jordi B. Torrelles, Joanne Turner, Eder Ledezma-Campos, Blanca I. Restrepo

School of Medicine Publications

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is predicted to have a net negative effect on tuberculosis control, with an estimated excess of 6.3 million tuberculosis cases and 1.4 million deaths by 2025. Programmatic issues such as the lockdown of tuberculosis services affect all patients, while biosocial factors have a differential impact on an individual’s risk for tuberculosis or adverse tuberculosis outcomes.

Case presentation

We report three Hispanic cases of incident tuberculosis (two males, 43 and 44 years old; one female, 49 years old) after resolution of coronavirus disease episodes. Coincidentally, all cases shared a common risk factor: a chronic history …

Flax/Acrylic Flow Turbine Blade Manufactured By In Situ Polymerisation (Isp) Monomer Infusion Under Flexible Tooling (Mift), Y Qin, R Cullen, John Summerscales, Jasper Graham-Jones, Maozhou Meng, Richard Pemberton

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

A flax fabric reinforced acrylic thermoplastic matrix component has been manufactured as two half blades (front and back respectively) with the parts bonded together with a wood dust acrylic polymer to produce a component with the same thermoplastic polymer used for the composite matrix and the adhesive. The mould profile is for a floating offshore wind (FLOW) turbine blade at scale 1:50. This model represents the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine. The blades are not scaled geometrically, but instead have been adapted to produce Froude scaled thrust, in spite of much lower Reynolds numbers at reduced scale and when …

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Staff Council Meeting, December 2021, Marshall University Staff Council

Staff Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Using Digital Technology To Decrease Postpartum Depression, Camille E. Last

Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Phase 3 Safety And Efficacy Of Azd1222 (Chadox1 Ncov-19) Covid-19 Vaccine, Ann R Falsey, Magdalena E Sobieszczyk, Ian Hirsch, Stephanie Sproule, Merlin L Robb, Lawrence Corey, Kathleen M Neuzil, William Hahn, Julie Hunt, Mark J Mulligan, Charlene Mcevoy, Edwin Dejesus, Michael Hassman, Susan J Little, Barbara A Pahud, Anna Durbin, Paul Pickrell, Eric S Daar, Larry Bush, Joel Solis, Quito Osuna Carr, Temitope Oyedele, Susan Buchbinder, Jessica Cowden, Sergio L Vargas, Alfredo Guerreros Benavides, Robert Call, Michael C Keefer, Beth D Kirkpatrick, John Pullman, Tina Tong, Margaret Brewinski Isaacs, David Benkeser, Holly E Janes, Martha C Nason, Justin A Green, Elizabeth J Kelly, Jill Maaske, Nancy Mueller, Kathryn Shoemaker, Therese Takas, Richard P Marshall, Menelas N Pangalos, Tonya Villafana, Antonio Gonzalez-Lopez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The safety and efficacy of the AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine in a large, diverse population at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the United States, Chile, and Peru has not been known.

METHODS: In this ongoing, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial, we investigated the safety, vaccine efficacy, and immunogenicity of two doses of AZD1222 as compared with placebo in preventing the onset of symptomatic and severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) 15 days or more after the second dose in adults, including older adults, in the United States, Chile, and Peru.

RESULTS: …

Fighting Against Black Money By Offering Amnesty For Economic Development In Bangladesh: A Stigma Can Never Be A Beauty Spot, S M. Solaiman

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

Black money is a global concern. However, black money has disproportionately affected Bangladesh. To combat the proliferation of black money in the country, successive governments of Bangladesh have offered amnesties to black money holders (BMHs) in contravention of the national Constitution, legislation, and international conventions. Nonetheless, responses to such incentives have been notably poor, mainly because the wrongdoers do not fear the superficial threat of law enforcement. This article examines the BMHs’ responses to amnesties so far and explains the substantial harm caused by such discriminatory favors, including increases in corruption, the price of real estate, money laundering, deposits by …

Climate Mitigation Through Biological Conservation: Extensive And Valuable Blue Carbon Natural Capital In Tristan Da Cunha’S Giant Marine Protected Zone, David K.A. Barnes, James B. Bell, Amelia E. Bridges, Louise Ireland, Kerry L. Howell, Stephanie M. Martin, Chester J. Sands, Soto A Mora, Terri Souster, Gareth Flint, Simon A. Morley

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Carbon-rich habitats can provide powerful climate mitigation if meaningful protection is put in place. We attempted to quantify this around the Tristan da Cunha archipelago Marine Protected Area. Its shallows (<1000 m depth) are varied and productive. The 5.4 km2 of kelp stores ~60 tonnes of carbon (tC) and may export ~240 tC into surrounding depths. In deep-waters we analysed seabed data collected from three research cruises, including seabed mapping, camera imagery, seabed oceanography and benthic samples from mini-Agassiz trawl. Rich biological assemblages on seamounts significantly differed to the islands and carbon storage had complex drivers. We estimate ~2.3 million tC are stored in benthic biodiversity of waters <1000 m, which includes >0.22 million tC that can be sequestered (the proportion of the carbon captured that is expected to become buried in sediment or locked away in skeletal tissue for at least 100 years). Much of this carbon is captured by cold-water coral reefs as a mixture of inorganic (largely calcium carbonate) and organic compounds. As part of its 2020 Marine Protection Strategy, these deep-water reef systems are now protected by …

Student Pharmacists’ Emotional Responses And Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah E. Johnson, Deaundre Bumpass, Aric Schadler, Jeffrey Cain

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Health professions students, including student pharmacists, have been impacted by the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19 pandemic) as schools have transitioned to remote learning and cancelled milestone events. During times of crises, media consumption and hobby participation also impact well-being. The adverse emotional responses and coping strategies of student pharmacists amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have not been evaluated, nor have factors that may contribute to emotional responses. The purpose of this study is to determine Doctor of Pharmacy students’ emotional responses and coping precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the influence of media use, working status, and participation in hobbies. …

Desgarrandonos De Nuestra Lengua: Ripping Us From Our Language, Lillian Ramos, Julia N. Ramirez

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Using a testimonio methodology, this study provides insight on how language ideologies, family, and education in the Texas Borderlands impacted two Latina teachers’ view and understanding of their identity. Through our personal experiences as PK-16 students, classroom teachers, and doctoral students, we were able to understand the colonization of our language and the subsequent endangerment of our bilingualism, which upon reflecting, had an impact on how we see ourselves as individuals, bilinguals, teachers, and Latinas. Our experiences with our bilingualism affected the way in which we perceive ourselves and our community. The reflection and analysis of our experiences allowed us …

Ramirez V. Lum

All Decisions

No abstract provided.

Risk Factors For Poor Outcomes Among Patients With Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (Xdr-Tb): A Scoping Review, Karan Varshney, Beverly Anaele, Matthew Molaei, Rosemary Frasso, Vittorio Maio

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in cases of drug-resistant TB, and strains of TB resistant to all forms of treatment have begun to emerge; the highest level of resistance is classified as extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). There is an urgent need to prevent poor outcomes (death/default/failed treatment) of XDR-TB, and knowing the risk factors can inform such efforts. The objective of this scoping review was to therefore identify risk factors for poor outcomes among XDR-TB patients. We searched three scientific databases, PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest, and identified 25 articles that examined relevant risk factors. Across the included …

Female Puma (Puma Concolor) Highway Crossings In The Yucatan Peninsula, Carlos A. López González, Fernanda Cruz Torres, Mircea G. Hidalgo Mihart

Western North American Naturalist

Human infrastructure, particularly highway infrastructure, has proven to be a hazard for the resilience of large felid populations throughout the world. The Yucatan Peninsula is no exception and is presently confronted with the establishment of the “Tren Maya,” a continental railway that will reshape the road network of the peninsula. We describe 12 successful crossings of a 4-lane highway on the peninsula by a female puma (Puma concolor) fitted with a GPS radio-transmitter. The median time between sequential locations was 24 h (range 8–56 h), and the average number of days between crossings was 4.33 (SD = 2.50). …

Building Confidence Of Academic Library Staff In The Selection Of Culturally Authentic Native American Picture Books, Cassondra Leeport

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study aimed to explore the confidence and ability of library staff to select and identify culturally authentic Native American picture books. The researcher, a self-identified Native American, developed a tool designed to assist in library staff in identifying key elements of a picture book that lend themselves to a work being culturally authentic. Assisting patrons in selecting materials is a key element in the library profession. The setting of this research is a university with a large Professional Education Program as well as a documented dedication to serving Native students and surrounding tribal communities and the participants of the …

Positive Influences On Why They Stay: A Qualitative Study On The Contributing Factors To Teacher Retention In Rural North Dakota, Jennifer A. Jung

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

An alarming number of educators are leaving the field within the first five years of employment. Midwestern rural schools experience a slightly higher percentage of turnover than do their urban counterparts. Due to this shortage of teachers, many districts across the nation have employed strategies to recruit and retain competent teachers. This qualitative study employs a phenomenological approach seeking to identify common themes among teachers who are long-staying teachers in a rural district (those with 1000 or fewer students). Both the social constructivism and teacher career cycle theoretical frameworks have been utilized to support the researcher’s understanding of rural teachers' …

Professional Role Of Paraprofessionals: A Literature Review, Karli Kirkwood

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Paraprofessionals are an integral component to the learning and growth of students with unique needs. While paraprofessionals are heavily relied upon to provide guidance, communication, instruction, and behavior management amongst other things, studies have found that many individuals working within this field feel underprepared expressing lack of training necessary to carry out the duties to which they are assigned. Professional development for paraprofessionals is limited, and the acknowledgement of such training lacks attention. Research shows that the roles, duties, and responsibilities of paraprofessionals are blurred and often overlooked. This literature review aids in defining the needs of paraprofessionals to …

Professional Role Of Paraprofessionals: A Literature Review, Emily Martin Thompson, Karli Kirkwood

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Paraprofessionals are an integral component to the learning and growth of students with unique needs. While paraprofessionals are heavily relied upon to provide guidance, communication, instruction, and behavior management amongst other things, studies have found that many individuals working within this field feel underprepared expressing lack of training necessary to carry out the duties to which they are assigned. Professional development for paraprofessionals is limited, and the acknowledgement of such training lacks attention. Research shows that the roles, duties, and responsibilities of paraprofessionals are blurred and often overlooked. This literature review aids in defining the needs of paraprofessionals to …

Preschool Whole Group Circle Time: Does More Comfortable Seating Give Rise To Preschooler Engagement?, Roberta Kopel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Flexible and alternative seating in the classroom has been a topic of research and implementation in the classroom in recent years. At this time, much of the research discovered looked at inflatable cushions, therapy balls, or even low tables using pillows as seats. It has been observed in practice by this researcher that many times what is sometimes labeled as flexible seating is just something that is “cute” and not a regular chair with a back and legs or flexible seating as noted in research findings such as a therapy ball. Thus far, it has been difficult to determine the …

Engagement In Music Education In The Upper Elementary Grades, Abigail Jirik

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The research was based on observations from the researcher’s time in the elementary music classroom and addresses the decline of willingness to participate in students in the upper elementary grades. The research addresses the following two research questions; how do family and student attitudes and dynamics towards singing affect student participation in singing in elementary music class? And in what ways could singing be presented and included in instruction to better engage the older elementary learner? The researcher selected fourth and fifth grade students as the participants in the study. Students were given surveys asking questions about participation and attitudes …

Yoga As A Positive Behavior Intervention, Kristen Kadrie

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study explored teaching preschool age students how to use yoga strategies to calm their bodies, reducing the number of times a student demonstrates negative behavior. The fifteen participants were three through five year olds from one of the preschool classrooms at the Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) Early Learning Center. Baseline data was collected for five days, resulting in a determination that four of the students would be considered the subjects for the study, one who received special education services. Additional baseline data was collected for these students for ten days. All fifteen participants and the classroom teachers were …

Consumer Purchasing Decisions Based On A Company's Sustainability Efforts And Marketing Initiatives, Brooke Kopperud

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this research is to look at what factors lead to consumers purchasing green or environmentally friendly products and services. Based on these factors, we are further researching how a business can improve their sustainability efforts, and then learn what marketing techniques will be effective in relaying these efforts to consumers. We will first examine the history of the green movement to understand what has led to today’s demand for businesses to increase their sustainability efforts. We will analyze current consumer demographics to find out who is responding to green marketing and showing interest in current environmental issues. …

Expanding Occupations Through Community College Registered Apprenticeships, Anne Hoeltke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

ABSTRACT

Registered apprenticeships remain a key workforce strategy as an affordable pathway to secure high paying jobs and meet the changing labor market demands. Individuals who have gone through a registered apprenticeship program receive substantially higher earnings, have higher completion rates, most graduate debt free and have very high job placement rates upon completion. Yet most apprentice programs have not advanced beyond the traditional occupations (construction and advanced manufacturing), and a majority of apprentices are white males.

Community colleges have existing relationships with industry and are already central to the nation’s career and technical education which required applied learning that …

Renewable Energy Group, Inc. Financial Analysis, Nomin Baasandavaa

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This analysis and evaluation of Renewable Energy Group, Inc. are based on quantitative and qualitative data. Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NasdaqGS: REGI) is a provider of lower-carbon transportation fuels in the United States as well as internationally. Their primary business activities involve production, distribution, and a logistics system to convert natural fats, oils, and greases into advanced biofuels. They mainly produce biomass-based diesel from various low-carbon feedstocks, including distillers corn, used cooking oils, inedible animal fats, soybean oil, and canola oils. Renewable Energy Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Ames, Iowa.

An Educator’S Guide To Tier 2 And Tier 3 Evidence-Based Interventions For Students With Emotional And/Or Behavioral Needs, Sara Schmidt

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Students with an emotional and behavioral disorder or emotional/behavioral needs can be impacted in many different areas that are critical to school success. These impacts not only affect student success within schools, but also drastically affect post-school success and can result in negative long-term outcomes. Fortunately, many school-based models have been identified to be effective in addressing these impacts for students with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. A distinctive feature within all these models includes the implementation of tiered evidence-based interventions. However, from personal experience and from literature reviewed, there seems to be a lack of implementation of …

Cyclical And Intentional Activity Selection In Inquiry-Based Learning Improved By 5e Learning, Mitchell Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The researcher investigated the attitudes toward inquiry-based learning and grades of students in middle school science as well as the significance of rubric based classroom discussion. The literature showed the researcher inquiry-based learning has been shown to increase engagement and understanding. The literature also showed classroom discussions were made more meaningful by implementation of expectations and a rubric. The researcher provided evidence of a significant improvement of classroom discussion, attitudes toward inquiry-based learning, and grades due to implementation of the actions taken by the researcher. The researcher used Kristine Bruss’s discussion rubric and expectations. The researcher also used Paul Anderson’s …

Improving Fluency Rates Through Repeated Reading, Sara Van Erp

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Learning how to read fluently was a goal the researcher had which led to the research question; How does the intervention of repeated reading impact oral reading fluency rates in students who are reading below a 2^nd grade level? The purpose of the action research was to implement the intervention of repeating reading to see if the oral reading fluency rates in struggling students increased. Struggling readers were identified through the Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment (DIBELS). Struggling readers were considered to be reading below 52 words per minute, which was the 2^nd grade benchmark …

Impacts Of Social-Emotional Learning Via A Daily Writing Reflection In The Secondary Classroom, Angie Peterson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine a time effective and subject area friendly way to address students’ social-emotional needs as a means to alleviate stress, communicate with teachers, and improve their overall wellbeing. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many unforeseen or unaddressed repercussions that educators will continue to be dealing with as schools return to traditional formats or as they adjust to new ones. What impact can the use of daily journal writing have for high school students as an immediate and potentially long-term social-emotional learning or competency technique?

This study was …

The Effect Of Direct Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Instruction And Small Group Literacy Interventions On Kindergarten Students’ Reading Growth, Brianna Elizabeth Wierschke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study focuses on the impact of the implementation of Heggerty Phonemic Awareness and Literacy Footprints guided reading system curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Adding these interventions are to determine if a focus on phonemic awareness skills is essential for students to learn when beginning to learn how to read. Students were tested at the beginning of the school year for a base score, then tracked at every month, and then a final benchmarking in December. The study took place in a North Dakota elementary school, 23 kindergarten students was monitored for data purposes. The data and results demonstrate a …

Literature Circles And The Use Of Comprehension Strategies Within A Fifth Grade Classroom, Allison Mrak

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to research the effect of literature circles on the use of comprehension strategies during reading discussions. Example comprehension strategies that students used are based on visualizing, questioning, connections, and summarizing. The participants were 25 fifth graders within a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three types of data sets were used which consisted of observations, student work, and a final survey. Students formed literature circles using a book of their choice from a given list provided by the researcher. Students had four weeks to read their novel and hold weekly discussions. During the literature circle discussions, …

Synthetic Aperture Optical Imaging Interferometric Microscopy With Improved Image Quality, Preyom K. Dey

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The resolution limit of optical microscopy can be extended by using Imaging Interferometric Microscopy (IIM), which uses a low numerical aperture (NA) objective lens to achieve resolution equivalent to that of a high-NA objective lens with multiple sub-images. Along with the resolution enhancement challenge, IIM often suffers from poor image quality. In this dissertation, several image quality improvement methods are proposed and verified with simulation and experimental results. Next, techniques to extend the resolution limit of IIM to ≤ 100nm using a low-NA objective lens are demonstrated. An experimental technique of using a grating coupler on …