Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of The Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels 8th Edition) Measures For Use With The Energy Express Summer Literacy Program, Maria Boki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present study examines the suitability of the DIBELS 8^th edition assessment for use within the scope and context of the Energy Express summer literacy program. The 6-week summer program helps children in grades K-5 from rural and low-income West Virginia communities improve or maintain their reading levels over the summer months. Standard, grade-appropriate DIBELS 8^th subtests were administered to 1,065 participants at the beginning and end of Summer 2022. The resulting pre- and post-scores were cross-referenced with demographic data and attendance rates from 20 counties and 35 sites in West Virginia. They were then analyzed for correlations …

Mapping Infiltration In An Urbanizing Mixed-Land-Use Watershed With Multi-Temporal Satellite Imagery, Sarah J. Higgins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Digital soil mapping (DSM) is a field of soil science that aims to improve traditional soil maps by producing higher resolution predictive maps of soil properties using spatial environmental data. DSM has historically relied primarily on static environmental covariates—such as slope gradient, slope aspect, and other topographic variables derived from digital terrain models—for predicting static soil properties, like soil texture. Advancements in satellite imagery and statistical modeling improve the accuracy of digital soil maps by incorporating multi-temporal data that can capture landscape-scale change over relatively short periods of time. Adding these dynamic environmental covariates may be especially useful for spatial …

Analytical Heat Transfer Modeling Of The Microwave Heating Process: A Focus On Carbon Black, Craig Offutt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Electronic waste (e-waste) has become a significant environmental issue due to the rapid advancement of technology, increasing demand for electronic devices, and shorter lifespan of electronics. One critical step in processing the e-waste involves ball milling as a means of preparing the recycling e-waste for the recovery of critical materials. Ball milling is a technique that involves the mechanical crushing and grinding of electronic waste to reduce its size and improve its reactivity during recovery. Our focused recovery technique is based on a microwave recovery technique of these critical materials from e-waste. The size and distribution of the e-waste with …

Burkholderia Collagen-Like Protein 8, Bucl8, Is An Outer-Membrane Component Of A Novel Efflux Pump And Immunogenic Vaccine Candidate, Megan Elizabeth Grund

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Burkholderia spp. are Gram‐negative intrinsically resistant bacteria that are responsible for environmental and nosocomial infections of clinical and biodefense concern. Our laboratory previously identified in silico Burkholderia collagen-like protein 8 (Bucl8) in the BSL-3 pathogens Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei (Figure 1). The protein sequence of Bucl8 contains tandem outer-membrane efflux protein domains (OEP) typical of efflux systems and a unique collagen-like domain (CL) consisting of a repeating sequence of Glycine-Alanine-Serine (GAS). Because efflux pumps are often a mechanism of pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance, we investigated Bucl8 further. Here, we determined that the locus of bucl8 contains genes …

Synergies Between Residents: Evaluating Support And Concerns Of Recreation And Tourism Economic Development Within The Monongahela National Forest Region, Morgan R. Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Tourism has continually been presented as a growing economic sector around the world. Having become an area of increased interest for diversifying rural economies, tourism is an attractive alternative to the declining traditional economic engines of rural communities like agriculture, forestry, and mining. Rural destinations have become increasingly attractive to outside visitors who seek to pursue activities embedded within the local culture and distinctive attractive assets available in rural regions. The USDA has recognized the increasing importance of recreation and tourism economies as an emerging or priority area of national need and an effective means for rural development. Even with …

A Program Evaluation Of The West Virginia University Health Science Center Interprofessional Education First-Year Curriculum, Kathryn Lynn Smalley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: The Interprofessional Education (IPE) First-Year Program was started at the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center in 2013 with the goal of providing participants introductory knowledge of the IPE Core Competencies as defined by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC). This program transfers 16 different disciplines out of their isolated educational silos and allows them to learn about, for, and with one another. Participants are introduced to foundational knowledge through several didactic sessions over the course of an academic year. Although the program has been increasingly incorporated by many health sciences disciplines since its inception, it has never officially …

Evaluating The Degradation Relationship Between Latent Print Impressions And Touch Dna Under Varying Environmental Conditions, Katrina M. Rupert B.S.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Latent prints have been processed as a source of touch DNA evidence in the hopes of attaining partial or even full DNA profiles. However, the relationship between the latent quality and the DNA quality has not yet been fully explored, resulting in gaps in understanding how the two are connected. A common source of touch DNA is from latent print evidence, which is typically processed and photographed at a scene, and subsequently processed for DNA in the laboratory. However, there is skepticism in the forensic community around touch DNA as laboratory procedures are often manipulated beyond standard operating procedures to …

Analysis Of The Root Causes Of Fatal Injuries In The United States Surface Mines Between 2008 And 2021., Maria Fernanda Quintero

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mining has long been recognized as a hazardous industry worldwide. An annual average rate of 10.3 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers was recorded in the United States between 2008 and 2021 (MSHA, 2022). This rate can be compared with the average of the industries with the highest average rates of fatal injuries—agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; transportation and warehousing; and construction—which had average rates of 23.5, 13.1, and 9.9 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers, respectively, during the same period in the Unites States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023).

The scope of this research is related to the fatal injuries …

Attending To The Cultures Of Data Science Work, Lindsay Poirier

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

This essay reflects on the shifting attention to the “social” and the “cultural” in data science communities. While recently the “social” and the “cultural” have been prioritized in data science discourse, social and cultural concerns that get raised in data science are almost always outwardly focused – applying to the communities that data scientists seek to support more so than more computationally-focused data science communities. I argue that data science communities have a responsibility to attend not only to the cultures that orient the work of domain communities, but also to the cultures that orient their own work. I describe …

Integrative Big Transcriptomics Data Analysis Implicates Crucial Role Of Muc13 In Pancreatic Cancer, Anupam Dhasmana, Swati Dhasmana, Shivangi Agarwal, Sheema Khan, Shafiul Haque, Meena Jaggi, Murali M. Yallapu, Subhash C. Chauhan

School of Medicine Publications

Big data analysis holds a considerable influence on several aspects of biomedical health science. It permits healthcare providers to gain insights from large and complex datasets, leading to improvements in the understanding, diagnosis, medication, and restraint of pathological conditions including cancer. The incidences of pancreatic cancer (PanCa) are sharply rising, and it will become the second leading cause of cancer related deaths by 2030. Various traditional biomarkers are currently in use but are not optimal in sensitivity and specificity. Herein, we determine the role of a new transmembrane glycoprotein, MUC13, as a potential biomarker of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) …

Diabetic Retinopathy And The Role Of Vegf, Aishwarya Gatiganti, Laura Valdez, Andrew Tsin Ph.D.

School of Medicine Publications

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population. It works by disrupting the neural and vascular components in the retina and leads to loss of neural interaction/function, vascular permeability, and angiogenesis. It can be classified into two general stages: non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). DR can also lead to vascular leakage and cause diabetic macular edema (DME), the most common cause of vision loss in DR (Duh, Sun et al. 2017). There are currently a wide range of therapies, but they are limited in their efficacy and side effects. None of …

Neuro-Ophthalmology Diseases In Elderly, Aishwarya Gatiganti

School of Medicine Publications

It is well understood that as the body begins to age, its ability to adapt and sustain itself decreases. The eyes are not immune to this effect, and the complex interplay between the eyes and the brain deteriorates insidiously over time. There has been a notable increase in the elderly population, and diseases such as the ones described above need to be at the forefront of an ophthalmologist's mind when treating this population. Neuro-ophthalmology diseases in the elderly are not well known to general practitioners but should be included in the differential due to the potential of rapid deterioration and …

Intracranial Carotid Arteriosclerosis Mediates The Association Between Blood Pressure And Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Meike W. Vernooij, M. Arfan Ikram, Zhen-Yu Zhang, Daniel Bos

School of Medicine Publications

Background:

Intracranial arteriosclerosis could explain the association between blood pressure (BP) and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Therefore, we tested whether intracranial carotid artery calcification (ICAC) mediates the association between BP and CSVD and determined pathophysiological mechanisms based on ICAC subtypes.

Methods:

One thousand four hundred fifty-eight stroke-free participants from the Rotterdam Study (mean age, 68 years; 52% women) underwent nonenhanced computed tomography scans to quantify ICAC volume (mm3) between 2003 and 2015. ICAC was categorized into intimal and internal elastic lamina calcifications. CSVD included white matter hyperintensities volume, the presence of lacunes, and cerebral microbleeds visualized on magnetic resonance …

Digital Learning Transformation In Higher Education: International Cases Of University Efforts To Evaluate And Improve Blended Teaching Readiness, Charles R. Graham, Ganbat Danaa, Tserenchimed Purevsuren, Adriana Martínez, Cinthia Bittencourt Spricigo, Barbara Maria Camilotti, Tserenkhand Batsukh

Faculty Publications

The global pandemic of 2019 brought heightened awareness to institutions of higher education of the need to engage in a digital transformation that extends beyond university business operations to the pedagogy of the classroom. This paper is a case study that explores three international cases of universities in Colombia, Brazil, and Mongolia that are at different stages along the path of a digital pedagogical transformation. This article tells each story, including (1) what is driving the local need to engage in digital transformation, (2) what the major challenges and barriers are to achieving a transformation, and (3) what efforts are …

Understanding The Role Of Online Teaching Assistants In Student Engagement, Sara H. Tuiloma, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we examine how online teaching assistants (OLTAs) interact with students in terms of affective, behavioral, and cognitive support and the influence of OLTA training on these interactions. Through a thematic network analysis, using a tracking instrument and semi-structured interviews with 10 OLTAs, we examined how online university students are supported based on the quantity and quality of interactions with OLTAs, and how training contributes to interactions. Our research addressed two key questions: (1) How do OLTAs support learners in the quantity and quality of interactions? and (2) How does OLTA training around affective and behavioral support influence …

Barriers And Enablers To K-12 Blended Teaching, Courtney N. Hanny, Karen T. Arnesen, Qi Guo, Jordan Hansen, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

The attributes of post-pandemic blended teaching (BT) will more closely resemble pre-Coronavirus conditions than the outbreak’s emergency remote teaching. Thus, barriers and enablers for teachers transitioning to BT after emergency remote teaching will be similar to those of early BT adopters. K-12 research has identified external and internal barriers and enablers to technology integration but has largely overlooked those of BT. This study involved analyzing 62 interviews of K-12 blended teachers to discover factors that enabled BT, stood as barriers to initial and continued blending efforts, and helped teachers overcome barriers. Teacher-perceived barriers included, among others, costs perceived as outweighing …

Zoning And The Bar Exam, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), which develops American bar examinations, recently released a proposed outline of the subjects to be tested on future examinations. NCBE's property outline omits zoning law. This article argues that the NCBE's proposal is unwise, because zoning law is more frequently litigated than many subjects included in the NCBE outline.

The Future Of Ivf Post Dobbs, Rebecca Feinberg

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Once The Jury Sees It, The Jury Can’T Unsee It: The Challenge Trial Judges Face When Authenticating Video Evidence In The Age Of Deepfakes, Taurus Myhand

Scholarly Works

The proliferation of deepfake videos has resulted in rapid improvements in the technology used to create them. Although the use of fake videos and images are not new, advances in artificial intelligence have made deepfakes easier to make and harder to detect. Basic human perception is no longer sufficient to detect deepfakes. Yet, under the current construction of the Federal Rules of Evidence, trials judges are expected to do just that. Trial judges face a daunting challenge when applying the current evidence authentication standards to video evidence in this new reality of widely available deepfake videos. This article examines the …

2022-23 Annual Report, Tennessee. Wildlife Resources Agency

Annual Reports

This annual report presents an overview of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency programs and management.

Sanitation: Reducing The Administrative State’S Control Over Public Health, Lauren R. Roth

Scholarly Works

On April 18, 2022, in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. v. Biden, United States District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle vacated the mask mandate issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Following a framework laid out in other decisions restricting CDC actions in response to COVID-19, the court found that the agency lacked statutory authority to protect the public from the virus by requiring mask wearing during travel and at transit hubs because Congress did not intend such a broad grant of power. Countering decades of public health jurisprudence, the federal district court failed to defer to experts and …

Businesses Supposedly Held The Key To The Ada, But They Dropped The Ball: Can Marketing Be The Shot In The Arm America Needs To Bring The Spirit Of The Ada Back To Life?, Elizabeth T. Gratz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research investigates the historical and current focus of the field of marketing on the disability community and considers whether marketers can positively impact attitudes toward the group through their firm media content. My first essay uses the Rocky Road to Policy Pavers model to discuss the importance of this large and underserved consumer group, and highlights several opportunities for the marketing community to reduce existing barriers to disabled consumers in the marketplace. One way that marketers can reduce stigma and improve attitudes toward the disability community is by strategically portraying individuals with disabilities in their firm media content. My …

Identification Of Rockmass Deformation And Lithological Changes In Underground Mines By Using Slam-Based Lidar Technology, Francisco Eduardo Gil Hurtado

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In mining, hazards causing rib and roof fall accidents generally develop with time. The development of a hazard depends on factors like geology, excavation geometry, overburden stress, and mining-induced stresses. Hazard mapping in an underground mine is essential for roof and rib stability assessment. However, often it is neither practical nor economical to inspect and map vast areas of mine workings with limited personnel. New technologies, recently, have been adopted in the mining industry that can solve this problem. Advances in LiDAR technology and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms have led to the development of portable and mobile laser …

A Neo-Aristotelian Criticism Of Trump’S “Save America Speech” Utilizing The Five Canons Of Rhetoric, Jade Ruggieri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Riddled with fake news, the 2020 election is a unique moment in history where fake news, stemming from former President Donald Trump, led to a public demonstration that quickly devolved into a violent and controversial event. Through the lens of a Neo-Aristotelian rhetorical criticism, the five canons of rhetoric will analyze Trump’s “Save America” speech he held hours prior to the rally providing insights into how the power of words can precipitate people to incite action. Through a verbatim examination of the first and last 10 minutes of the speech, with the middle portion summarized, Trump’s speech provides insights to …

Survival Of Listeria Monocytogenes On Organic Honeycrisp And Fuji Apples During Storage At 5, 12 And 22.5◦C, Connor S. Freed

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study aimed to evaluate and model the survival of Listeria monocytogenes on organic HoneyCrisp (HC) and Fuji (FJ) apples during storage at various temperatures. Fresh organic HC and FJ apples (without wax coating) obtained from a local wholesale market were inoculated with a 2-strain mix of L. monocytogenes followed by storage at 5.0 (22.9% RH), 12.0 (37.0% RH), and 22.5oC (50.4% RH) for 60, 35, 7 days, respectively, and periodically (day-0 to 60) analyzing microbial populations. Surviving L. monocytogenes were spread-plated on Modified-Oxford agar after 10 or 100-fold serial dilution. Data were analyzed using the mixed-model procedure of SAS …

Mechanisms Of Pulmonary Inflammation And Lung Function Decline After Ultrafine Carbon Black And Ozone Inhalation Co-Exposure, Nairrita Majumder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Air pollution is a mixture of particulate matter, gaseous substances, and other contaminant, yet most of the studies have addressed single exposure outcomes. The effect of environmental toxicants in lung adverse outcomes can be evaluated by studying the co-exposure scenario. The impact of co-exposures is not well addressed in susceptible populations like patients suffering from acute lung injury, asthma, and fibrosis. Without such knowledge it would be difficult to establish a safe exposure limit for mitigating environmental burden in patients and public. The main goal of this study was to understand the effect of ultrafine particle and ozone co-exposure in …

How Do College Student-Athletes’ Understanding And Expectations Of Mindfulness And Self-Compassion Change Through An Intervention?, Blake Costalupes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the last two decades, mindfulness has permeated sport, exercise, and performance psychology (SEPP). Mindfulness research in SEPP primarily focuses on the efficacy of manualized protocols on various outcomes related to performance and wellbeing; how athletes understand this complex construct, though, is largely unexplored in the literature. Additionally, some researchers suggest that the potentially paradoxical adoption of mindfulness in Western psychology may be contributing to limited outcomes, low engagement in, and poor adherence to mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). In addition, the exploration of self-compassion as a mechanism for change through mindfulness practice has increased in recent years, making it an important …

Three Essays In Applied Microeconomics: Philly Style, Alexander Christian Marsella

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My dissertation analyzes several contemporary policy-based and institutional occurrences in an urban setting to help guide further advancements in reducing violence, drug overdose deaths, and other unhealthy behaviors that city governments look to curb. Several recent developments in Philadelphia offer a promising setting for studying policies that have broad implications.

Chapter 1 examines the effect of the West Philadelphia Promise Zone initiative on violent crime rates in a high-crime area of West Philadelphia, where a series of educational, public-safety, and quality-of-life improvement grants were disbursed from 2014 onward. My difference-in-differences analysis with two-way fixed effects and cluster bootstrapped standard errors …

A Computer Vision-Based Method For Tack Coat Coverage Inspection Using Drone-Collected Images, Aida Da Silva

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Tack coat is a thin asphalt applied between the existing surface and asphalt overlay during road rehabilitation. The uniformity of tack coat coverage plays a vital role in providing adhesive bonding between the two layers in the pavement structures. To ensure tack coat uniformity, the current practice primarily relies on manual inspection during construction by field experts. This process is time-consuming and tedious, and the results can be subjective and error-prone. Drones have emerged as a non-destructive sensing technology in the construction industry for many inspection practices. Unlike other non-destructive inspection technologies, drones offer benefits ranging from accelerating data collection …

Giving Power To Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study Of The Organization-Public Relationship Between A Public Utility And Its Community Stakeholders, Rhyanna C. Wiethe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this research is to examine how, if at all, relationships between public utility companies and their stakeholders changes following a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, and based on the results, how can companies restructure their initiatives to better serve their publics in order to build stronger, more positive relationships. A multi-method case study using in-depth interviews and two content analyses (a social media analysis and a news coverage analysis) was used to explore the relationship between a public utility company and a community affected by the implementation of a CSR initiative. The findings suggest that the relationship …