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Childhood Maltreatment And The Conserved Transcriptional Response To Adversity (Ctra): The Protective Roles Of Social Support From Romantic Partners, Family, And Friends In Adulthood, Sumaiyah U. Syed

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Childhood maltreatment is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease and mortality in adulthood, with chronic inflammation emerging as a key pathway. However, findings in the literature are mixed: while some studies associate childhood maltreatment with heightened inflammation, others report no such link. Given the prevalence of childhood maltreatment, identifying protective factors in adulthood is crucial. Social support during childhood has been shown to buffer the effects of early life stress on immune function, yet the role of social support from various sources in adulthood remains unclear. The current study examined the association between childhood maltreatment and the expression …

Is Helping You Good For Me? Associations With Giving Capitalization Support And The Moderating Role Of Closeness, Samuel Molli

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

When good things happen, people often seek to share their joy with others. This act of sharing one’s positive experience with another is termed capitalization. Receiving capitalization support has been linked to multiple positive outcomes, especially when one receives an engaged and positive response. However, the outcomes related to giving engaged and positive responses to another’s capitalization are less clear. The current study sought to understand how responding positively to a romantic partner’s capitalization event is associated with the support provider’s momentary mood and interpersonal closeness. Additionally, the current study examined how the support provider’s trait-level closeness with their …

Exploration Of The Environmental Contexts And The Social And Emotional Health And Wellness Of Individuals With Intellectual Developmental Disorders, Melanie Perez, Pamela A. Kasyan-Howe, Sabina Khan

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This research-based capstone project is intended to convey background evidence about the problem of adults with intellectual developmental disorders (IDD) experiencing decreased social participation, physical activity, stress, and environmental factors.

Repurposing The Land Of An East Los Angeles Church: The Discovery Of How Small And Medium Sized Churches Through Affordable Housing Can Combat Homelessness While Revitalizing Its Nonprofit Status, Donald Cook, Donald Ray Cook Ii

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

In order to live, humans need to sleep; therefore, sleep is mandatory, but unfortunately, everyone does not have the option of sleeping inside. Subsequently, many homeless encampments have developed in many countries. The perspective that people have often determines their response to homelessness. One person might view a homeless encampment as a problem that needs to be removed while someone else can view it as an opportunity to serve the least of these. Not only did Adam and Eve experience homelessness when removed from the Garden of Eden, but Mary, Joseph, and Jesus experienced first-hand the rollercoaster of inadequate housing. …

Movian: Advancing Human Motion Analysis With 3d Visualization And Annotation, Trudi Di Qi, Isaac Browen, David Zhang, Hector M. Camarillo-Abad, Franceli L. Cibrian

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Human motion analysis, including data visualization and annotation, is crucial for understanding human behavior and intentions during various activities, aiding in the development of innovative tools that support independent living. Current wearable sensing technology provides rich 3D spatial movement data but generates multimodal complex datasets that require specialized skills for effective analysis. Despite the need, limited research exists on tools for effective visualization and easy annotation of such complex motion data. MoViAn (Motion Data Visualization and Annotation) is an innovative 3D data analysis system offering enriched visual representations of 3D human motion data (e.g., gaze, hand movements), along with an …

The Texas Electorate's Views Of Health Care As A Human Right, Community Health Centers, And Certain Matters Of The Health Care Safety Net, Scott Elphingstone

Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations

In a country in which the government does not recognize a right to health care,social safety nets are the last hope for persons without insurance or other means to pay for needed care. In United States, community health centers, hospital emergency rooms, and private charities comprise that safety net. Community health centers offer a practicable alternative for politicians and citizens who want to help improve the lives of persons who struggle to access health care. This dissertation reviews the political history of community health centers from their founding as part of the War on Poverty in the 1960s through Democratic …

Epigenomics-Based Approaches To Predict Transcriptional Regulators, Zeyu Lu

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

Transcriptional regulators (TRs), proteins controlling gene expression, play a critical role in health and disease. Dysregulated TRs have been implicated in various diseases and cancers, driving the development of computational methods using next-generation sequencing (NGS) data for TR identification. However, a systematic evaluation of these NGS-based methods has been lacking. This dissertation presents a comprehensive review of thirteen existing methods, benchmarking their performance using gene sets derived from TR perturbations.

We further address the emerging challenge of identifying TRs from epigenomic regions (peaks) using NGS techniques. Existing methods often rely on motif-based analysis or user-provided gene lists, both having severe …

Bat Cutaneous Microbial Assemblage Functional Redundancy Across A Host-Mediated Disturbance, Matthew Grisnik, Donald M. Walker

Biology

Understanding the processes and factors that influence the structure of host-associated microbial assemblages has been a major area of research as these assemblages play a role in host defense against pathogens. Previous work has found that bacterial taxa within bat cutaneous microbial assemblages have antifungal capabilities against the emerging fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans. However, our understanding of natural fluctuations in these cutaneous microbial assemblages over time due to shifts in host habitat is lacking. The objective of this work was to understand how the taxonomic and functional bat cutaneous microbial assemblage responds to seasonal shifts in host habitat. We hypothesized …

Global, Regional, And National Progress Towards The 2030 Global Nutrition Targets And Forecasts To 2050: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021, Michael Benjamin Arndt, Aleksandr Y. Aravkin, Natalia V. Bhattacharjee, Julian Chalek

Open Access archive

Background: The six global nutrition targets (GNTs) related to low birthweight, exclusive breastfeeding, child growth (ie, wasting, stunting, and overweight), and anaemia among females of reproductive age were chosen by the World Health Assembly in 2012 as key indicators of maternal and child health, but there has yet to be a comprehensive report on progress for the period 2012 to 2021. We aimed to evaluate levels, trends, and observed-to-expected progress in prevalence and attributable burden from 2012 to 2021, with prevalence projections to 2050, in 204 countries and territories. Methods: The prevalence and attributable burden of each target indicator were …

Longtime Medical Center Faculty Member Creates Endowment, Bill Dabney

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – A longtime employee of the University of Mississippi Medical Center hopes a scholarship he and his wife established will help relieve financial burdens faced by many medical students while also supporting those who recruit new med school candidates.

Is Functional Training Functional? A Systematic Review Of Its Effects In Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Chiung-Ju Liu, Wen-Pin Chang, Yun Chan Shin, Yi-Ling Hu, Jane Morgan-Daniel

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Background: Age-related decline in physical and cognitive capacity increases older adults' risk of disability, long-term care placement, and mortality rate. Functional training, which uses activities of daily living or simulated movements to complete activities as the intervention medium, could be more effective than rote exercise, which uses repetitive movements without added purpose, in preventing late-life disability in older people. With a growing number of studies in this area, systematically studying the effect of functional training is needed. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effects of functional training on the outcomes of activities of daily living, physical …

Extraordinary 21st Century Drought In The Po River Basin (Italy), Abel Andrés Ramírez Molina, Glenn Tootle, Giuseppe Formetta, Thomas Piechota, Jiaqi Gong

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Recent research identified 2022 as being the year of lowest seasonal April–May–June–July (AMJJ) observed streamflow for the Po River Basin (PRB) in the past two centuries. Expanding upon this research, we applied filters (2-year to 30-year filters) to the AMJJ observed streamflow and identified the late 20th and 21st century as displaying extreme drought. In this study, we introduce PALEO-RECON, an automated reconstruction tool developed to leverage tree ring-based proxies and streamline regression processes. Using PALEO-RECON, we reconstructed the AMJJ streamflow, applying traditional regression techniques and using a nested approach in which 30-, 40-, and 50-year windows within the ~200-year …

Microbubble-Protected Oncolytic Virotherapy Targeted By Sonoporation Induces Tumor Necrosis And T-Lymphocyte Infiltration In Humanized Mice Bearing Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Juliana Sitta, Flavia De Carlo, Imani Kirven, John H. Tackett, Patrice Penfornis, George Clement Dobbins, Mallory Barbier, Luis Del Valle, Clayton T. Larsen, Ernest G. Schutt, Rhodemann Li, Candace M. Howard, Pier Paolo Claudio

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Oncolytic virotherapy has shown great promise in mediating targeted tumor destruction through tumor-selective replication and induction of anti-tumor immunity; however, obstacles remain for virus candidates to reach the clinic. These include avoiding neutralizing antibodies, preventing stimulation of the adaptive immune response during intravenous administration, and inducing sufficient apoptosis and immune activation so that the body's defense can work to eradicate systemic disease. We have developed a co-formulation of oncolytic viruses (OVs) with Imagent lipid-encapsulated, perfluorocarbon microbubbles (MBs) to protect the OVs from the innate and adaptive immune system. Once inside the MB, the viral particles become acoustically active such that …

Analyzing Handwriting Legibility In Children Using Smart Vs. Traditional Pen, Franceli L. Cibrian, Lauren Min, Yingying 'Yuki' Chen, Kayla Anderson, Oscar Gutierrez, Lizbeth Escobedo

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Handwriting, traditionally acquired through paper, pen, or pencil, is crucial for children’s development, learning, and communication. The legibility of letters holds crucial implications for children’s composition and even self-esteem. In order to ensure legibility, timely input from educators and parents is essential, although it primarily depends on their experience. With current technological advancements, smartpens, augmented with sensing capabilities, could offer a novel approach providing feedback. However, it is unclear if the smartpen’s weight and form factor could affect children’s handwriting legibility is unclearsmartpen’s weight and form factor could affect children’s handwriting legibility. This study involves 16 children aged 9 to …

Towards A Multimodal Approach For Assessing Adhd Hyperactivity Behaviors, Franceli L. Cibrian, Lauren Min, Vitica Arnold

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent childhood psychiatric condition that needs an assessment of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness symptoms. Particularly in young children, hyperactivity-impulsivity stands out as a primary concern. However, those behaviors may or may not be evidenced when a child is in a small room, one-on-one with a single adult. Therefore, Ambient Intelligence technology that supports data collection in a natural setting, paired with expert human decision-making can potentially improve the quality of assessments. In this paper, we conduct a literature review and analysis to align ADHD assessment criteria with potential sensor technologies to collect …

Inhibition Of Microrna-660-5p Decreases Breast Cancer Progression Through Direct Targeting Of Tmem41b, Valeria Villarreal-García, José Roberto Estupiñan-Jiménez, Vianey Gonzalez-Villasana, Pablo E Vivas-Mejía, Marienid Flores-Colón, Irma Estefanía Ancira-Moreno, Patricio Adrián Zapata-Morín, Claudia Altamirano-Torres, José Manuel Vázquez-Guillen, Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla, Recep Bayraktar, Mohamed H Rashed, Cristina Ivan, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, Diana Reséndez-Pérez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women worldwide. Most breast cancer-related deaths result from metastasis and drug resistance. Novel therapies are imperative for targeting metastatic and drug-resistant breast cancer cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) promote breast cancer progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Compared with healthy breast tissue, miR-660-5p is notably overexpressed in breast cancer tumor tissues. However, the downstream effectors of miR-660-5p in breast cancer cells have not been fully elucidated. Our aim was to investigate the role of miR-660-5p in breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis and to identify its potential …

Titanium Funds Llc, Plaintiff-Appellee V. Miu Parker, Defendant-Appellant. : Brief Of Appellee, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –)

APPEAL FROM THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT SALT LAKE COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH HONORABLE TERESA WELCH

Chad C. Rasmussen, Appellee, Lucky’s Auto Credit LLC

International Workshop: What Is Needed To Ensure Outcome Measures For Rett Syndrome Are Fit-For-Purpose For Clinical Trials? June 7, 2023, Nashville, Usa, Jenny Downs, Dominique C Pichard, Walter E Kaufmann, Joseph P Horrigan, Melissa Raspa, Gillian Townend, Eric D Marsh, Helen Leonard, Kathleen Motil, Andrew C Dietz, Nupur Garg, Amitha Ananth, Breanne Byiers, Sarika Peters, Christopher Beatty, Frank Symons, Aleksandra Jacobs, James Youakim, Bernhard Suter, Paramola Santosh, Jeffrey L Neul, Tim A Benke

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: The clinical, research and advocacy communities for Rett syndrome are striving to achieve clinical trial readiness, including having fit-for-purpose clinical outcome assessments. This study aimed to (1) describe psychometric properties of clinical outcome assessment for Rett syndrome and (2) identify what is needed to ensure that fit-for-purpose clinical outcome assessments are available for clinical trials.

METHODS: Clinical outcome assessments for the top 10 priority domains identified in the Voice of the Patient Report for Rett syndrome were compiled and available psychometric data were extracted. The clinical outcome assessments measured clinical severity, functional abilities, comorbidities and quality of life, and …

Phenotypic And Genetic Heterogeneity Of A Pakistani Cohort Of 15 Consanguineous Families Segregating Variants In Leber Congenital Amaurosis-Associated Genes, Zainab Akhtar, Sumaira Altaf, Yumei Li, Sana Bibi, Jamal Shah, Kiran Afshan, Meng Wang, Hafiz Muhammad Jafar Hussain, Nadeem Qureshi, Rui Chen, Sabika Firasat

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a congenital onset severe form of inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD) and a common cause of pediatric blindness. Disease-causing variants in at least 14 genes are reported to predispose LCA phenotype. LCA is inherited as an autosomal recessive disease. It can be an isolated eye disorder or as part of a syndrome, such as Senior Loken or Joubert syndrome. Sequencing studies from consanguineous populations have proven useful for novel variants identification; thus, the present study aimed to explore the genetic heterogeneity of 15 consanguineous Pakistani families, each segregating a severe IRD phenotype using targeted next …

Relative Survival, Conditional Survival, And Causes Of Death In Patients With Early Gastric Cancer, With A Focus On Differences Between Cardia And Non-Cardia Cancer, Anas Elgenidy, Omar Alomari, Mohamed Marey Hesn, Anas Khaled, Sarah A Nada, Mostafa Elsayed, Ali Mahmoud, Mohammed Al-Mahdi Al-Kurdi, Ahmed M Afifi, George Cholankeril

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Many researchers believe that cardia (CGC) and non-cardia (NCGC) are two different types of tumors, having different features like incidence rate, risk factors, geographical location, and socioeconomic status. This study aims to investigate the causes of death (COD) survival rates among early gastric cancer patients with a focus on differences between CGC and NCGC.

Methods: This retrospective study employed SEER*stat software (version 8.3.92) to analyze the SEER 17 plus dataset (2000–2019). Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were computed. Relative survival and conditional survival post-diagnosis were calculated using R software (version 4.1.0) among the different subgroups.

Results: Within the follow-up period, …

Complexities, Benefits, Risks, And Clinical Implications Of Sodium Bicarbonate Administration In Critically Ill Patients: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Akram M. Eraky, Yashwanth Yerramalla, Adnan Khan, Yasser Mokhtar, Alisha Wright, Walaa Alsabbagh, Kevin Franco Valle, Mina Haleem, Kyle Kennedy, Chad Boulware

GME Publications

Sodium bicarbonate has been used in the treatment of different pathologies, such as hyperkalemia, cardiac arrest, tricyclic antidepressant toxicity, aspirin toxicity, acute acidosis, lactic acidosis, diabetic ketoacidosis, rhabdomyolysis, and adrenergic receptors' resistance to catecholamine in patients with shock. An ongoing debate about bicarbonate's efficacy and potential harm has been raised for decades because of the lack of evidence supporting its potential efficacy. Despite the guidelines' restrictions, sodium bicarbonate has been overused in clinical practice. The overuse of sodium bicarbonate could be because of the desire to correct the arterial blood gas parameters rapidly instead of achieving homeostasis by treating the …

The Vagina Dentata: A Case For Unlocking Mouths, Loosing Hips, And Spreading The Gospel Of Healing Women's Sexual Performance Anxiety, Alisha Lola Jones

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article explores how vagina dentata folklore—stories and imagery about a mythical "toothed vagina"—connects to the ways Black religious communities often cultivate silence around women’s sexual lives, particularly within the “Worth the Wait” and Word of Faith movements. Ignited by womanist religious ethnographer Monique Moultrie’s scholarship on sexual silence in these movement, I take seriously the musicological chasm by exploring how these ministries influence Black women’s sexual agency and moral decision-making through inequitable theological procedures and discourses. The vagina dentata metaphor emerges as a symbol of constrained appetites—respiratory (larynx), digestive (intestine, anus), and reproductive (uterus, vagina)—reflecting broader sociocultural and religious …

The Fundamental Right Of A Safe Place To Call Home: Why The United States Immigration System Needs To Reform Its Response To Humanitarian Crises, Mackenzie Biles

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

As part of its overall aim to identify how the United States can more proactively intervene in humanitarian crises, this article will examine the Department of Homeland Security’s role in securing the safe arrival of migrants into the United States and helping them to thrive thereafter, using the crisis in Afghanistan as a lens. Part I outlines the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and the events culminating in the 2021 military withdrawal, while seeking to remain mindful of this history’s complexity and nuance. Part II examines existing U.S. immigration mechanisms, with a focus on humanitarian parole, and critiques their inadequacy in …

Making Conflicts Of Interest Matter To Federally Funded Academic Research, Kimberly M. Papadantonakis

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article first provides background on the academic science and technology enterprise and the concerns of counterintelligence agencies that prompted the White House, DOJ, and Congress to act. Section III discusses specific criminal and civil cases, focusing on where prosecutions succeeded or faltered. Section IV covers the new rules and how the agencies are implementing them. Finally, Section V analyzes themes from the cases and examines how the new rules may impact future enforcement and compliance efforts.

Legal Summaries Of Administrative Law Cases, Kimberly M. Papadantonakis

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Monthly And Annual Air Temperature Trends In Port-Said City, Egypt, Amna S. Dabbous, Yasser M. El-Wakeel, Tarek M. El-Geziry

Blue Economy

This study examined fluctuations in a long-term air temperature record in Port Said to determine the existence or absence of climate change in this significant Egyptian metropolis. The data period runs 31 years, from 1991 to 2021. The study investigated the homogeneity of the annual data and used a linear regression approach to characterize the trend of air temperature variations during the study period. Furthermore, the Mann-Kendall test was used to assess trend significance, as well as anomaly calculations to statistically specify severe air temperature episodes. The results showed that the data were homogeneous. Monthly mean air temperatures increased at …

The Effectiveness Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy In Treating Major Depression, Chloe Nehme

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Individuals differ in their view of themselves, others, and the world. Those with distorted and negative core beliefs are more likely to be pessimistic and exhibit maladaptive behaviors. Consequently, these individuals tend to experience major depression disorder, which is the most common diagnosis affecting 19% of adults aged 18 and older (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023). Moreover, Major depression causes the highest mortality rates among adults (Katayama, 2022). There are 21 million adults who experience at least one major depression episode, while 15 million experience major depression with severe impairments (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023). Adults aged 18 …

Addressing Organizational Challenges In The Accounting Industry Through Academic-Industry Collaboration: A Literature Review, Blair Johnson

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

The accounting industry is undergoing a significant transformation driven by a severe global shortage of accountants, rapid technological advancements, and increased regulatory pressures. This literature review critically examines the accounting profession's multifaceted challenges, including talent acquisition and retention issues, the impact of private equity investment, and the integration of artificial intelligence. The paper highlights the need for strategic partnerships between the accounting industry and academic institutions, particularly business schools, to address these challenges effectively. It emphasizes the importance of modernizing accounting curricula, fostering deeper university-industry collaborations, and co-creating experiential learning opportunities to better prepare graduates for the evolving demands of …

Practical Considerations For Xr Technologies Implementation In The Elementary School Curriculum, Tracey Jackson, Oscar Valenzuela, Linda Lee, Chloe Ford

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

One of the modalities of the digital landscape that is gaining attention is extended reality (XR), a term that is used to encompass all technologies that merge the physical and virtual worlds (Marr, 2019). Through the evolving landscape of XR, students are now able to attend class, learn, and socialize with their teachers and peers from anywhere in the world. This literature review seeks to examine the existing research on practical, yet important considerations that need to be made when implementing XR technologies in the elementary school curriculum, such as instructor competency, social learning, learning transfer, and belonging.

The Importance Of School Leadership Practices In Social-Emotional Learning Of Elementary And Secondary Schools, Janice Filer Ph.D.

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to interview school administrators in the Los Angeles area who utilized social-emotional learning programs in their individual schools. Since the worldwide pandemic, schools have emphasized the importance of social-emotional learning. This research was conducted in an effort to provide school administrators with additional strategies to support the importance of social-emotional learning. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect leadership practices. The data was collected during the Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 school calendar year. Seven participants completed the interview process. Four themes emerged from the data including the importance of equity, belonging/relationships, …