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The Emergence Of Postcolonial Apologia: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Chinese Governmental Response To Western Accusation During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yiqing Ran

Theses - ALL

In my thesis, I examine how the Chinese government developed postcolonial apologia throughout its dispute with the US government over policies related to COVID-19. I focus on the shifting rhetorical strategies used by the Chinese government to defend China from accusations by other nations, especially the US. I determine that the Chinese government's response to the Western accusation during the COVID-19 pandemic progressively shifted from participating in the Western system to questioning Western centralization and adding Chinese interpretations to the existing world order. I argue that China's self-defense strategies altered in light of the changing geopolitical context and became more …

Holy Cross Magazine, Vol. 56, No. 2, Spring 2022, College Of The Holy Cross

Holy Cross Magazine

LASO Celebrates 30 Years of Providing a Voice and a Home For Latinx Students
Students, alumni and the College community to celebrate the group’s past and look to the future.
By Carol Cool

Classics Announces Inaugural Collins Scholars
New endowed scholarships provide immediate impact and opportunity for current and future classics majors.
By Marybeth Reilly-McGreen ’89

Not Your Average Internship: Inside the Lifelong Impact of the Washington Semester Program
Whether it’s participating students or D.C. alumni lending a hand, the heart of the College’s unique landmark program — now celebrating its 50th anniversary — is its people, not policy.
By …

Three Essays On Partial Identification For Applied Health Economics, Giuseppe Germinario

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation consists of three chapters which explore the usefulness of partial identification methods for estimating treatment effects in applied health economics research. Each one applies the methodology to different settings in which establishing causality has traditionally been difficult, and seeks to demonstrate when a bounding approach can—and cannot—aid researchers in learning about causal relationships.The first chapter studies the Housing Choice Voucher program in the United States and estimates bounds on the effect that receiving this form of housing assistance has on self-reported health status and the likelihood of hospitalization within the eligible population of renters. The second chapter aims …

Tertiary Lymphoid Tissue In The Urinary Bladder Of Aging Mice And Women, Marianne Morris Ligon

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infection of women, affecting roughly half of all women during their lifetime. UTIs frequently recur within 6 months to 1 year of the initial infection to cause recurrent UTIs (rUTIs). Repeated treatment of rUTIs with antibiotics may lead to antibiotic resistance, disruption of the microbiota, and adverse effects of the drugs. To avoid excess antibiotic use, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms of host defense against infection to identify new targets for UTI treatment and prophylaxis in women with rUTIs. Postmenopausal and older women have the highest risk of …

Assessing Provider Confidence Of Acute Otitis Media Diagnosis And Treatment With An Optical Coherence Tomography Device In The Urgent Care Setting, Meghan Weber, Susan Wolf

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common causes of pediatric infection worldwide at approximately 350 million visits per year, as well as one of the most challenging illnesses to diagnose for providers (Tong et al., 2018). This dilemma leads to antibiotics being inappropriately prescribed, at a rate of approximately 75% (Islam & Hassinger, 2018). This project sought to explore the impact of implementing an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device in an urgent care setting when assessing otalgia in patients 0 to 17 years of age. The three main objectives of the project were to increase provider confidence …

Functional Comparison Of Raw 264.7 Cells And Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages (Bmdm), Quinn Harker

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

RAW 264.7 cells are an immortalized line of mouse cells that are commonly used in immunological research. They will be used to compare against murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) to see if the two lines of cells are experimentally comparable in basic inflammatory testing. A standard method of measuring cell activity is through the analysis of nitric oxide production, which can be accomplished using a Griess reaction. Cell counts will be standardized to account for differing growth rates between the two cell lines. A similar output of nitric oxide concentration as an indicator of cellular activity between the RAW 264.7 …

Impacts Of Biased Scientific Covid-19 News Reporting On Mortality Salience, Jena Wilkinson

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

COVID-19 has made people aware of their own death, referred to as mortality salience. Mortality salience affects behavior. Public health uses reporting to inform the population, and many news reports reference the pandemic’s death toll. The current study investigated the difference in mortality salience between news supporting CDC-recommended guidelines and news not in compliance with CDC guidelines. It was hypothesized that CDC compliant news would induce higher rates of death anxiety. Additionally, non-CDC compliant news would influence lower perceived control of COVID-19. This was a mixed factorial design of 133 students at a small liberal arts university. Survey responses were …

Essays In Financial Intermediation, John Michael Dooley

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation focuses on two broad questions. First, how does access to income affect the credit decisions of households? Second, how do individuals affect the behavior of financial institutions and financial contract terms?

In Chapter 1 with Emily Gallagher, we provide the first study of how access to plasma donation as a source of discretionary income affects households financially. In the United States, households donate plasma for compensation at a higher rate than they use payday, auto-title, rent-to-own, or pawn loans. Plasma donors are young, poorly educated, and financially vulnerable with limited access to households. We use the dramatic growth …

Candida Species And Bacterial Strains In The Vaginal Microbiome, Brett Tortelli

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The vaginal environment is a dynamic ecosystem, hosting various microbial species from diverse taxa including bacteria, fungi and viruses. The composition of bacteria within the vaginal microbiome has gained a lot of recent attention and has been associated with reproductive health and disease. The vaginal microbiome of healthy reproductive-aged women is frequently dominated by Lactobacillus species and has low species diversity when compared to other anatomic sites. The composition of the bacterial community is often described in terms of five common community types. Four of the five community types are dominated by a single Lactobacillus species (L. crispatus, L. iners, …

Characterizing The Role Of Interferons In Host-Microbe Interactions In Disseminated Murine Norovirus Infection And Steady-State Hematopoiesis, Forrest Walker

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Interferons are critical cytokines responsible for regulating host-microbe interactions in the context of infectious disease as well as homeostatic interactions with the host’s native microbiota. Although significant knowledge regarding the role of interferons in these interactions has been gained in the past sixty years, the diversity of microbes with which the host interacts and the plethora of interferons (with over twenty distinct cytokines organized into three types, based on their receptor utilization) which the host uses in these responses leads to a significant number of interactions which remain to be characterized. Here, we further dissect the role of interferons in …

Identifying Contextual And Structural Factors Contributing To Organizational Sustainability In Pediatric Healthcare, Sara Malone

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Every year, millions of children seek health care for acute and emergent needs. However, evidence-based care is not currently delivered to every child. Even when teams implement care discoveries designed to improve outcomes, they are often not sustained over time. All children should receive care that is in accord with current evidence-based guidelines, and those evidence-based practices must be effectively maintained over time. It is imperative to understand how to sustain care improvements in the clinical setting. Sustainability capacity allows us to understand the organizational factors that ensure care delivery over time. While there has been an increased focus on …

Fine-Mapping Of Human Antibody Specificity In Response To Natural Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection Utilized To Inform Vaccines Against Adhesion Factors, Amanda L. Collar

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the causative pathogen for the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide and can cause serious medical consequences in women, including pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. For these reasons, a Ct vaccine is urgently needed, yet, its development remains a significant challenge. One barrier to producing a Ct vaccine is the gap in knowledge of protective immune responses for Ct infection, including the role that antibodies may play. Therefore, I aimed to characterize the human antibody response to natural urogenital Ct infection in women using Deep Sequence-Coupled Biopanning. Further, I leveraged these findings to …

Evaluation And Application Of Crispr-Cas12a-Based Systems For Amphibian Detection From Dietary And Environmental Dna, Macie Chess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current methods for monitoring biodiversity are hindered by detection efficiencies or rely on expensive laboratory equipment. The goal of this study was to evaluate the application of a CRISPR-Cas12a-based system for the species-specific detection of amphibians from dietary and environmental DNA samples. A Cas-12a-based platform was designed and analyzed for the fluorescent detection of three salamander species; Desmognathus fuscus, D. ochropheaus, and Erycia bislineata. This system was applied to the identification of salamander DNA extracted from the fecal sacs of nestling Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia monticola), amplified with PCR primers targeting the CYT B mtDNA gene, and compared to DNA metabarcoding. …

Cardiovascular Risk Stratification In Diabetic Retinopathy Via Atherosclerotic Pathway In Covid-19/Non-Covid-19 Frameworks Using Artificial Intelligence Paradigm: A Narrative Review., Smiksha Munjral, Mahesh Maindarkar, Puneet Ahluwalia, Anudeep Puvvula, Ankush Jamthikar, Tanay Jujaray, Neha Suri, Sudip Paul, Rajesh Pathak, Luca Saba, Renoh Johnson Chalakkal, Suneet Gupta, Gavino Faa, Inder M Singh, Paramjit S Chadha, Monika Turk, Amer M Johri, Narendra N Khanna, Klaudija Viskovic, Sophie Mavrogeni, John R Laird, Gyan Pareek, Martin Miner, David W Sobel, Antonella Balestrieri, Petros P Sfikakis, George Tsoulfas, Athanasios Protogerou, Durga Prasanna Misra, Vikas Agarwal, George D Kitas, Raghu Kolluri, Jagjit Teji, Mustafa Al-Maini, Surinder K Dhanjil, Meyypan Sockalingam, Ajit Saxena, Aditya Sharma, Vijay Rathore, Mostafa Fatemi, Azra Alizad, Vijay Viswanathan, Padukode R Krishnan, Tomaz Omerzu, Subbaram Naidu, Andrew Nicolaides, Mostafa M Fouda, Jasjit S Suri

Heart and Vascular Articles

Diabetes is one of the main causes of the rising cases of blindness in adults. This microvascular complication of diabetes is termed diabetic retinopathy (DR) and is associated with an expanding risk of cardiovascular events in diabetes patients. DR, in its various forms, is seen to be a powerful indicator of atherosclerosis. Further, the macrovascular complication of diabetes leads to coronary artery disease (CAD). Thus, the timely identification of cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications in DR patients is of utmost importance. Since CAD risk assessment is expensive for low-income countries, it is important to look for surrogate biomarkers for risk stratification …

Factors Influencing Vaccination Rates In Children Under Two In Southeast Kansas, Danielle Bennett

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

Introduction

A large Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Southeast Kansas has a 37% compliance of children completing the recommended combo 10 primary vaccination series before their second birthday. An additional 20% of children would be compliant if the flu vaccine was excluded, raising the compliance rate to 57%. This is still below the national average of 68-75%, leaving many children in Southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma unprotected from preventable childhood diseases.

Purpose

The purpose of this scholarly project was to identify barriers to vaccination, including vaccine hesitancy and socioeconomic barriers affecting completion of the primary vaccine series, or combo …

A Comparative Study On The Influence Of Different Sources Of Information On Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Between De La Salle University Students And Parents, Patrick Miles L. Cheong, Leatrice Adoryn A. Gatapia, Zoiee Aleeyah O. Liao

DLSU Senior High School Research Congress

Vaccines are one of the most efficient ways to combat COVID-19. However, vaccine hesitancy affects a sizable proportion of the population and may disrupt our goal to combat COVID-19. To combat vaccine hesitancy, research on its factors, mainly on sources of information, will be important to fight COVID-19. This research focuses on the influence of these sources on the vaccine hesitancy of DLSU Senior High School students and parents through an online survey. An online survey was sent to the respondents to collect data. Regression models and t-tests were used for analyzing the data. The analysis shows that vaccine hesitancy …

A Report On The Prevalence Of Hookworm Infection Among Children In The Philippines, Cassaundra Gabrielle Reanna A. Borboran, Bianca Ysabelle C. Mercado, Julianne Cassandra C. Roales, Janelle Norjean B. Santos

DLSU Senior High School Research Congress

Hookworm is one of the soil-transmitted helminths (STH) that are commonly found in the intestines of their host and can be contracted through direct contact with contaminated soil. The infection is further classified through its species: Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale. Children (3-14 years old) are highly vulnerable due to their behaviors such as being in open defecation, which further leads to direct contact. In 2020, reports showed that over 576 million are infected with hookworm. Herewith, the Department of Health has established programs such as the Integrated Helminth Control Program wherein Harmonized Schedule and Combined Mass Drug Administration, and …

Ailbot: A Respiratory-Focused Symptom Checker Chatbot For Children, Gabrielle Mae V. Arco, Ken Ivan T. Cheng, Pamela S. Chong, Chico Andre G. Olaguer

DLSU Senior High School Research Congress

Inadequate access to healthcare, accompanied by the spread of COVID-19 has significantly affected most Filipinos. The prolonged quarantine period in the Philippines due to this virus restricts the movement and lifestyle of people. Thus, it makes medical appointments difficult to arrange. The ever-growing number of healthcare chatbots can provide access to healthcare check-ups quickly. These systems are still in their infancy stages, with the majority focusing on the mental and emotional well-being of people and catering to the general public. This study aims to develop a chatbot geared toward the respiratory health of Filipino children. Through the use of Chatfuel, …

Venous Thromboembolism In Covid-19 Patients And Prediction Model: A Multicenter Cohort Study, Yi Lee, Qasim Jehangir, Pin Li, Deepthi Gudimella, Pooja Mahale, Chun-Hui Lin, Dinesh R. Apala, Geetha Krishnamoorthy, Abdul R. Halabi, Kiritkumar Patel, Laila M. Poisson, Venugopal Balijepally, Anupam A. Sule, Girish B. Nair

Public Health Sciences Articles

BACKGROUND: Patients with COVID-19 infection are commonly reported to have an increased risk of venous thrombosis. The choice of anti-thrombotic agents and doses are currently being studied in randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies. There exists a need for individualized risk stratification of venous thromboembolism (VTE) to assist clinicians in decision-making on anticoagulation. We sought to identify the risk factors of VTE in COVID-19 patients, which could help physicians in the prevention, early identification, and management of VTE in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and improve clinical outcomes in these patients.

METHOD: This is a multicenter, retrospective database of four main health …

The Effects Of High-Intensity Functional Training (Hift) On Perceptions Of Exercise In Middle-Aged Females, Halle Brin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity within the U.S. has become a public health crisis. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) on the perceptions and beliefs towards exercise in an inactive sample of females. METHODS: Inactive, middle-aged females (n=8) were recruited to participate in an 8-week supervised and verified intervention (2-weeks High-Intensity Interval Training (On-Ramp), followed by 6-weeks of HIFT) three days per week. Pre- and post-assessments included: body composition (percent body fat (%BF)), strength (1RM bench press (BP), 5RM deadlift (DL)), a stage-graded exercise treadmill test ( O_2max), and a …

Nutrients Associated With Stunting Among Children In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review, Abby Mae Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify specific nutrients or nutritional biomarkers of dietary intake that are associated with stunting among children ages 2 and older in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a systematic review conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Twelve studies from sub-Saharan Africa met the eligibility criteria, including 11 observational studies and one randomized control trial. Nine of the 12 studies assessed dietary intake of macronutrients. Four studies found a significant association between proteins and stunting. Four found that children with stunting had lower dietary fat intakes or lower …

Insights Into Molecular Recognition And Reactivity From Molecular Simulations Of Protein-Ligand Interactions Using Md And Qm/Mm, Jerrano L. Bowleg

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we have employed two computational methods, molecular dynamics (MD) and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) MD simulations with umbrella sampling (US), to gain insights into the molecular mechanism governing the molecular recognition and reactivity in several protein-ligand complexes. Three systems involving protein-ligand interactions are examined in this dissertation utilizing well-established computational methodologies and mathematical modeling. The three proteins studied here are acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1). These enzymes are known to interact with a variety of ligands. AChE dysfunction caused by organophosphorus (OP) chemicals is a severe hazard since AChE is …

Medical Students In Karachi And Covid-19: Myths And Facts, Omer Bin Khalid Jamil, Muhammad Muhib, Muhammad Anas Abbal, Amna Muhammed Ahmed, Hafsa Hayat Khan, Nabeela Yar Khan

Department of Surgery Docs

Objectives: COVID-19 pandemic brought mortalities, morbidities, fear, and financial despair among people around the world. As it advanced, misinformation and myths about it caught wildfire, contributing to misbelief among the already shocked population. Medical students are the building blocks of the medical community and can provide a pivotal role in combating COVID-19 misinformation by delivering correct knowledge and awareness to the non-medical population of the country. Hence, it is important to assess their knowledge and perception of COVID-19 myths. Therefore, this study evaluates medical student's knowledge regarding myths and misinformation related to COVID-19 infection and its vaccine. The study also …

Correlates Of Sexualized Drug Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) In Malaysia, Sydney Osborne

Honors Scholar Theses

Sexualized drug use (SDU), also known as ‘chemsex’ or ‘chem-fun,’ is an emerging public health concern. This HIV risk behavior is a major issue and marginalized communities such as men who have sex with men (MSM) may be overlooked for prevention efforts or struggle to access adequate treatment. This study aims to determine the correlates of SDU to inform interventions, policy, and prevention of SDU. A convenience sample of Malaysian MSM were recruited through advertisements on geosocial networking apps (GSN) for gay men (e.g., Grindr, Hornet) and on popular social media platforms (i.e. Facebook). From June-July 2020, participants completed an …

Needs Assessment Of Southeastern United States Vector Control Agencies: Capacity Improvement Is Greatly Needed To Prevent The Next Vector-Borne Disease Outbreak, Kyndall C. Dye-Braumuller, Jennifer R. Gordon, Danielle John, Josie Morrissey, Kaci Mccoy, Rhoel R. Dinglasan, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

A national 2017 vector control capacity survey was conducted to assess the United States’ (U.S.’s) ability to prevent emerging vector-borne disease. Since that survey, the southeastern U.S. has experienced continued autochthonous exotic vector-borne disease transmission and establishment of invasive vector species. To understand the current gaps in control programs and establish a baseline to evaluate future vector control efforts for this vulnerable region, a focused needs assessment survey was conducted in early 2020. The southeastern U.S. region was targeted, as this region has a high probability of novel vector-borne disease introduction. Paper copies delivered in handwritten envelopes and electronic copies …

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• ‘Rising star’ Graduate: Sylvia Ofori’s Journey from Ghana to Georgia Southern to Harvard

Novel Strategies In Near Infrared Spectroscopy (Nirs) And Multivariate Analysis (Mva) For Detecting And Profiling Pathogens And Diseases Of Agricultural Importance., Johjan Mariana Santos Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

The time required for the identification of pathogens is an important determinant of infection-related mortality rates and disease spread for species of relevance in agriculture. Conventional identification methods require a processing time of at least one to twenty days. Therefore, inaccurate empirical treatments are often provided while awaiting further identification, such that most cases progress with further aggravation of symptoms, contamination of other animals or plants, generating economic loss from decreased yield, and increased mitigation costs. Thus, there is a need for innovative, non-destructive, and rapid analytical techniques that provide reagent-free, portable, reliable, and holistic approaches to detect diseases in …

Identification Of Pneumococcal Membrane Proteins Involved In Colonization/Biofilm Formation And Cognate Host Cellular Receptors, Yoonsung Hu

Theses and Dissertations

Colonization is prerequisite for infection and transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. Currently available pneumococcal conjugate and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines can provide protection against a limited number of capsular serotypes. Implementation of vaccines has decreased the frequency of invasive pneumococcal disease and their colonization rates, but only in a serotype-dependent manner. This has led to serotype replacement in pneumococcal ecology and increased invasive disease caused by non-vaccine serotypes. Development of conserved protein-based vaccine that can provide protection against all pneumococcal serotypes is needed. Numerous surface proteins are conserved in all serotypes, and some are known to be involved in …

Assessing The Microbiological Profile Of Raw Goat Milk And Understanding Producer Practices And Perceptions, Jacinda Skye Leopard

Theses and Dissertations

Raw milk sales are legal in 30 states, including Mississippi, where regulations are largely management-based and not food-safety related. The research objectives were to analyze the microbial profile of raw goat milk from Mississippi farms and assess food safety practices and perceptions of dairy goat farmers. Deficiencies and opportunities for improvement in raw goat milk safety were identified. Staphylococcus spp. was present in most (70%) milk samples but aligned with drying-off. E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and coliforms were observed in 4, 10, and 12 samples, respectively; no Salmonella spp. or Listeria monocytogenes were detected. The survey highlighted farmers' need for …

Ultrastructure Of Cimex Lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Salivary Glands After A Blood Meal Infected With Bartonella Henselae (Hyphomicrobiales: Bartonellaceae), Afsoon Sabet

Theses and Dissertations

Bed bugs (Hemiptera:Cimicidae) are a common, hematophagous ectoparasite of humans and other animals, and are experiencing an international resurgence. Cimicids have been implicated in the transmission many disease agents, including various Bartonella species, however disease transmission has not yet been confirmed. Bartonella spp. are transmitted by a variety of arthropods, including fleas, lice and sand flies, and it is speculated that bed bugs may also serve as a potential vector. In this study, we used an artificial membrane to feed two groups of adult Cimex lectularius rabbit blood, either infected or uninfected with Bartonella henselae. After two weeks, the …