Digital Commons Network^™

Surgical Suturing Skill Assessment Using Estimated Hand Roll Angle From A Deep-Learning Computer Vision Algorithm, Jianxin Gao, Amir Mehdi Shayan, Simar P. Singh, Joe Bible, Ravikiran Singapogu, Richard E. Groff

Publications

This paper proposes a deep-learning computer vision algorithm to estimate hand roll angles for metric-based assessment of surgical suturing skills. The number of rolls metric, previously calculated directly from IMU data, counts the number of hand roll reversals during a single suture. To calculate this metric using computer vision, we apply a deep-learning algorithm that can reliably estimate hand roll angles after training on suturing videos collected on the SutureCoach simulator. Results show that the estimation accuracy of the deep-learning algorithm is robust to different video backgrounds. The number of rolls metrics were used to analyze suturing performance in the …

The Ethics Of Vulnerability In Health Care, Hannah Dieterle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to address vulnerability within clinical healthcare settings. Currently, clinical vulnerability is underrecognized and insufficiently researched which leads to the perpetuation of negative health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Specifically, there is a lack of a consistent and universal definition of vulnerability which has built a shaky foundation on which to discuss vulnerability. This dissertation begins to address these issues and increase awareness on clinical vulnerability due to some populations experiencing the devastating effects of vulnerability at a higher and disproportionate rate when compared to other populations. There is a clear need for increased attention from ethicists and medical …

The Influence Of Trauma History On Opiate Use Disorder In An Urban Treatment Facility In Pennsylvania, Roxanne Jeffries-Baxter, Christopher J. Burant, Joachim G. Voss

Student Scholarship

Background: Opioid use disorder is one of the most severe forms of substance use disorder and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Opiate overdose deaths in the US are increasing every year, claiming over 100,000 lives in 2022. Psychological trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder are major health problems in the United States and may contribute to the development of an opiate use disorder. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of psychological trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder with opiate use disorder. Methods: This study used a retrospective design with a convenience sample size of …

Lgbtq+ College Students’ Willingness To Access Campus Health Services At A Midsized, Urban Christian University: A Study On Disparities, Samual J. Piatt, Christian Williams, Frecia Gonzalez

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Introduction

LGBTQ+ college students face inequitable health outcomes in both mental health and physical health versus non-LGBTQ+ counterparts (The Trevor Project, 2023), (Brittain et Dinger, 2015). LGBTQ+ students experience higher unwillingness and disparities in care access due to negative perceptions of and experiences with UHS providers (Hood et al, 2019). Research indicates that better provider LGBTQ+ cultural awareness contributes to a more affirming space which in turn benefits LGBTQ+ healthcare (Parmenter et al, 2020), (Prasad et al, 2023).

Methods

A 2024 cross-sectional study assessed the comfort levels of LGBTQ+ college students in accessing student health services, explore how affirming healthcare …

Polymeric Sumo-2/3 Chain Signals Are Antagonistically Regulated By The Sumo-Targeted Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Rnf4 And The Sumo-Specific Isopeptidase Senp6, Shaniah A. Irving M.A., Xiang-Dong Zhang Ph.D.

Biology Theses

Polymeric SUMO-2/3 chain modification is critical for chromosome segregation, DNA damage repair, genome stability, stress responses, and protein degradation. However, how these signals are regulated remains poorly understood. Both the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin E3 ligase (STUbL) RNF4 and the SUMO-specific isopeptidase SENP6 recognize poly-SUMO-2/3 chains through multiple SUMO-interacting motifs (SIMs). RNF4 contains four tandem SIMs within a short (~80 amino acids) region, whereas SENP6 possesses eight SIMs spanning a much larger (~500 amino acids) domain.

Our preliminary results show that overexpressing an RNF4 N-terminal fragment containing four tandem SIMs (wild type, WT), but not an inactive SIMs mutant (Mut), increases levels …

Soybean Seed Yield Distribution Within The Canopy As Affected By Nitrogen Supply, Lucia Bonfanti

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed yield is influenced by the seasonal availability of resources (i.e., nutrients, light, and water). While nitrogen (N) supply is becoming a soybean yield-limiting factor, the N-induced effect in seed yield components is still unclear. The objective of this research was to assess the effect of N supply on soybean yield components distribution within the canopy. A Full-N treatment, which provided the crop with ample N supply, was compared against a Zero-N treatment in which the crop relied on soil N and biological N fixation at nine high-yielding irrigated soybean environments in Nebraska, with …

Leveraging Within-Field Spatial Variability To Optimize Soybean Yield, Seed Quality, And Profitability, Marina Marly Dalla Betta

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Optimizing yield and seed quality in soybean production is critical for both profitability and meeting market demands. However, within-field variability in soil properties poses a challenge in determining optimal management strategies to maximize soybean yield, seed quality, and profitability. This work aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of soybean fields to optimize soybean seeding rates, seed quality, and profitability. Two case studies were used to carry over this research. The first study looked at the optimal economical site-specific soybean seeding rates using 11 on-farm precision experiments across Nebraska. The second study looked at the protein and oil variability within 22 …

Case Brief: In Re R.A.F.–Beware Of The "Haunting Specter", Sam W. Scheipers

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Genetic Analysis Of A Novel Population Of Southern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys Volans) Found In Lincoln, Ne, Jennifer Wettschreck

Biology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

In 2018 a novel population of southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) was discovered in Lincoln, Nebraska, 80 km outside of their known range. Southern flying squirrels are designated as a “Tier-1” species of concern within Nebraska and the origin of this new population is of interest to state biologists. This study will provide insight into the probable origin of this new population by comparing genetic samples from known populations of southern flying squirrels. Museum specimens were collected from two well-established populations in Florida and Texas, as well as samples from individuals native to Nebraska (Indian Cave State Park) to compare …

Investigating The Role Of Feature Integration Demands On Attention Efficiency., Emma Kurtycz

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Feature integration and visual selective attention have been studied together to understand how we attend to different objects, often through conjunction search tasks. Conjunction search tasks involve searching for an object defined by multiple visual features in the presence of distractors. However, few studies have examined how different visual feature combinations impact search performance. Motivated by the functional and structural organization of the brain, this study investigated how differing feature combinations that theoretically place varying degrees of demand on feature integration impact attention efficiency. In two experiments, I explored reaction times (RT) and target detection sensitivity (d’) across varying set …

Enhancing The Utility Of Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (Uavs) With Model-Based Systems Engineering (Mbse) And Modular Open Systems Approach (Mosa), Aimee Barraza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as versatile tools with significant implications across various industries, particularly in defense. The technological advancements in UAVs have revolutionized military operations, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. However, there exist challenges such as environmental factors affecting sensor and flight performance, limited battery life restricting flight durations, and payload capacity constraints impeding task efficiency.This paper delves into the importance of UAVs in different industries, specifically focusing on their pivotal role in the Department of Defense. It emphasizes the necessity of technological upgrades to overcome current challenges and proposes the adoption of a Modular and Open System Approach …

Myofibroblast Targeted Liposomes For The Treatment Of Skin Fibrosis, Elfa Beaven

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Continuous overactivation of myofibroblasts leads to excessive deposition of profibrotic proteins, which in turn causes tissue stiffness and, ultimately, organ failure. One of those proteins, Cadherin-11 (CDH11), is reported to be overexpressed in the tissue of fibrotic skin, specifically on myofibroblasts. Similarly, chronic inflammation drives fibrosis progression in autoimmune-related illnesses like systemic sclerosis (SSc). Therefore, it is hypothesized that CDH11 could be a target for cell-specific delivery of antifibrotic therapies to fibrotic skin tissue. Here, a CDH11 peptide conjugated liposome loaded with Tofacitinib, a JAK inhibitor, was developed to understand the potential of targeted therapies to treat skin fibrosis. The …

Geotechnical Aspects Of Extraterrestrial Regolith Simulants, Jesus Baca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Geotechnical engineering has been crucial to the success of construction projects on Earth, and now it is time to extend this expertise to other celestial bodies. As NASA planned the Apollo missions, geotechnical engineers conducted extensive studies to understand the properties of lunar soil, using analogs like volcanic ash and other terrestrial materials to simulate the moon's surface. Nevertheless, it was not until the inception of the year 1968 that the Surveyor landers were able to give the first actual estimates of the moon soil geotechnical characteristics such as bearing capacity, void ratio, etc. With the development of more refined …

Chipless 3d Microfluidic Rf Sensing, Sheikh Dobir Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Effective management of the cold chain is essential to uphold the quality and safety of products vulnerability to physical factors like temperature, humidity, pressure, etc., including perishable foods, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. Chipless Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensors have become increasingly favored as a viable technology for tracking, inventory, and sensing industries due to their wireless and non-line of sight (NLOS) situations, straightforward fabrication, cost efficiency, and adaptability to challenging environmental conditions. However, there is still a need for advancements in RFID sensors to make them promise for cold chain applications. Integration of flexibility and non-volatile memory into the existing RFID …

Enhanced Redox Storage And Diverse Intercalation In Layered Metal Organic Frameworks With A Staggered Stacking Mode, Satya Prakash Suman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Two-dimensional metal organic frameworks (2D MOFs) with honeycomb-like porous sheets are of growing interest for applications in electrochemical energy storage and electrocatalysis. Notably, 2D MOFs that host their porous sheets in eclipsed or slipped-parallel stacking modes possess continuous one-dimensional pores (1D) and have been widely studied. In contrast, related 2D MOFs with a staggered stacking mode have reduced porosity, are relatively rare, and are largely unexplored for applications. Here we report 2-fold enhanced redox storage and intercalation of diverse ions in a staggered-stacked, nonporous 2D MOF over its eclipsed-stacked, porous counterpart. Interestingly, both MOFs, despite undergoing similar ligand-centered redox processes, …

Cultural Concepts Of Distress Education For Clinicians, Leilani Jolene Santos Cancio

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Adult System of Care (ASOC) program at Monterey County Behavioral Health supports adults with mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders. Despite serving a diverse population, there is limited training that addresses the complex intersection of culture and mental health. This project involved a workshop for ASOC clinicians focused on cultural concepts of distress, specifically "ataque de nervios," a syndrome common in Hispanic and Latino individuals. The workshop aimed to enhance clinicians' understanding of how cultural identity impacts mental health symptoms. Pre and post-workshop surveys assessed knowledge gains. The project yielded positive outcomes, with clinicians gaining valuable insights into …

Use Of Hatchery-Raised Fish In Validation Of Daily Age Estimates For Juvenile Common Snook, Philip W. Stevens, Kyle L. Williams, Meredith B. Pfennig, Ryan W. Schloesser, Alexis A. Trotter, Derek P. Crane

Biology

Objective: We investigated the validity of daily age estimates for juvenile Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis by using sectioned and sanded sagittal otoliths. Methods: Common Snook have a protracted spawning season, which is problematic for validation of daily ages because a hatch date—needed to calculate age—cannot be reasonably assigned like it can for species with a short spawning period (<30 days). To help overcome this, two readers independently counted presumed daily increments in otoliths collected from hatchery-reared Common Snook of known age (100–240 days; n = 91). Result: Differences between known ages and those estimated from otoliths were small (mean absolute difference = 3.4 days) for individuals aged 100 days, but these differences increased after 100 days, mainly due to the crowding of increments along the otolith margin. Underestimation of ages was 8% at 120 days, 29% at 180 days, and 36% at 240 days. Conclusion: Ideally, analyses based on counts of daily increments in Common Snook otoliths should be limited to fish with an age of 100 days or younger.

Recreational Fishing For Western Rock Lobster: Estimates Of Participation, Effort And Catch In 2023/24, Claire B. Smallwood, Karina L. Ryan, Alissa C. Tate

Fisheries Research Reports

The Western Rock Lobster (WRL) (Panulirus cygnus) is the most commonly caught Rock Lobster (RL) species in Western Australia. Catches from the commercial and recreational sectors are required to determine and monitor Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), Total Allowable Recreational Catch (TARC) and the proportion of Allowable Harvest Level (AHL) achieved. The TARC is set at 5% of the AHL and evaluated in the harvest strategy based on a 5-year average.

Data for the recreational sector are obtained using phone-recall surveys to provide annual estimates of participation, fishing effort and retained catch (by numbers) from recreational fishers who hold a …

“Being With God”: Prayer Biographies, Mysticism In Old Age, And Compassionate Love Among Older Jesuits, Stephen John Fogle

Gerontology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

This dissertation explores lived experiences of prayer and aging among older Jesuits from a religion, spirituality, and aging perspective in five chapters. Chapter One opens with a review of prayer in gerontological literature. The chapter recommends attention to prayer in life course perspective, details of prayer in old age as a relationship with divinity, and appreciation of religious and spiritual outcomes of aging. The chapter concludes with an overview of research with older Jesuits of the Upper Midwest. Chapter Two presents prayer biographies of older Jesuits in life course perspective. The chapter discusses how age stages, relationships, historical events, and …

A Review Of The Philosophy Of Flood Risk Communication And Education: New Insights Informed By Critical Complexity, Timothy Lutz

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

The approach to flooding in the U.S. is strongly influenced by research and practices that place the responsibility for managing risk on scientific and technical experts. But there is a recognition that the public generally needs to be more engaged and responsible. There is currently a disconnect between the objective knowledge of experts and the more subjective ways in which people experience floods and flood risk. To bridge this gap, I start with a review of the philosophy that informs government policies and the societal worldview. While societal leaders have maintained a mechanistic vision of a world that is ultimately …

The Genomic Basis Of Adaptation In Salt-Marsh-Breeding Sparrows, Jonathan David Clark

Doctoral Dissertations

Salt marshes are an ecotone between terrestrial and marine environments characterized byshort, graminoid vegetation and periodic tidal inundation with saline water. Despite the generally inhospitable conditions salt marshes present for terrestrial vertebrate life—principally, exposure to heat, salinity, and flooding—several terrestrial vertebrate species have adapted to, or are capable of inhabiting salt marshes. Notably, species of passerine birds that have adapted to salt marshes have repeatedly evolved a similar suite of adaptations, which has been named the “saltmarsh syndrome,” including larger bills, darker plumage, and an increased tolerance of salt.

The myriad species of New World sparrows (Passerellidae) that breed in …

Climate Change In New England: The Influence Of Soil Warming And Nitrogen Enrichment On Forest Carbon Cycling, Thomas Joseph Muratore

Doctoral Dissertations

Forests, the largest active cycling reservoir of carbon (C) in the terrestrial biosphere, mediate the exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and the biosphere in large enough quantities to affect Earth’s climate. Presently, forests are significant C sinks and mitigate one-third of all anthropogenic C emissions by storing more C in biomass and soils than they exchange with the atmosphere. Anthropogenic activities and climate change disrupt the balance between forest C uptake and loss. This raises concerns about the sensitivity of the forest C sink. Traditionally, forest C exchange between trees and soils under climate change has been studied separately, …

“Why You Understand The Why”: A Qualitative Characterization Of The Metacognitive Competence Of Introductory Stem Peer Coaches, Jonathan Kustina

Doctoral Dissertations

The processes of metacognition are vital for students’ development of critical thinking skills and productive learning mindsets, yet many students never receive the direct instruction that would allow them to formally develop their metacognition. As instructors are typically not providing this instruction, there may be an alternate source to facilitate the learning of metacognition to students. This research study will investigate the viability of having peer coaches, undergraduate peer educators who help facilitate learning and problem solving in introductory STEM courses, facilitate metacognition to their students. Specifically, this research study aims to understand and characterize the metacognitive competence of the …

Functional Characterization Of Copper Tolerance In The Atypical Microsymbiont Pseudofrankia Inefficax, Megan Paige Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations

Bacterial species in the family Frankiaceae are soil-dwelling microsymbionts that form a mutualistic symbiosis, termed the actinorhizal symbiosis, with over 220 species of woody dicots. In this relationship, frankia fix atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, a form usable by plants, while the bacteria benefit from the carbon sources exuded by their actinorhizal hosts. Since nitrogen is typically a limiting nutrient for growth in degraded and contaminated soils, actinorhizal plants establish at these sites as pioneer plant species, initiating a path for phytoremediation. Likely due to their association with plant hosts in contaminated soils, most frankia strains have evolved above average tolerances …

Improving Understanding Of Fluvial Reach-Scale Solute Transport And Uptake Using A Particle Tracking Model And Random Forest Machine Learning Model, Jiaying Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

In addition to transporting flowing water, river systems carry dissolved nutrients and pollutants, which can experience chemical reactions, biological uptake, or retention in surface or hyporheic zones. This dissertation enhances our understanding of solute transport and uptake in river reaches through three main components. The first component involves the development of a novel curve-fitting model designed to capture the characteristics of pulse-release breakthrough curves (BTCs) from tracer studies with conservative solutes. The model, which was found to be applicable to a wide range of field studies, enables the rapid comparison of transport parameters among diverse field studies obtained under a …

Deformation-Induced Bonding Of Glassy Polymeric Films And The Diluent Effect, Ajay Vallabh

Doctoral Dissertations

Bonding between two polymer films can be achieved through various heat- or chemical-based methods. Recently, our group has discovered the novel phenomenon of deformation-induced bonding (DIB) for solid-state glassy polymers in time on the scale of a fraction of a second at ambient temperatures substantially below the bulk glass transition temperatures (T_g). DIB is achieved by bulk plastic compression, which triggers the molecular mobility of polymer chains to cause interpenetration across the interface even in a glassy regime.

First, we performed a series of experiments to evaluate solid-state, deformation-induced bonding in organic polymer blends composed of films of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose …

Genetic Testing And Anorexia Nervosa: Knowledge, Attitudes And Awareness, Sarah Ramsay

All Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three parts, each building on the results of the former, evaluating the treatment and research of anorexia nervosa (AN) from a healthcare genetics perspective. These three parts are bookended by an introduction and a conclusion summarizing key findings and providing suggestions for future work. First, in order to assess how Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa (SE-AN) is defined in the literature, and inclusion of those with SE-AN in genetics research, a comprehensive literature review was performed. The review found a lack of consistent identification and inclusion of the SE-AN subtype in AN genetic study participants. Second, …

A Funerary Rite: A Visual Ethnography Of Climate Change, Threatened And Endangered Coral Species, And The Impact Of Coral Reef Death On Coastal Communities, Jason Uhl

Theses

This directed project includes research on a selection of the 24 coral species currently listed as threatened or endangered, these being at high risk of extinction. Climate change of the Anthropocene era and associated human-induced pollution impacts have resulted in most of the Earth’s coral reefs experiencing increased coral bleaching and coral death events. Our planet’s coral reefs are the main habitat to 25% of the world’s fish population. These coral habitats have also supported innumerous coastal communities in cultural, economic, social, and spiritual respects for millennia. This directed project includes the creation of an exhibition of 22 lidded ceramic …

A Practical Guide To Avoiding Biased Communication In Reproductive Biology, Zoe Baker, Virginia Hayssen

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

When cultural biases pervade communication, whether visual or text-based, objectivity is impaired. Anthropocentrism (human-centered bias) and androcentrism (male-centered bias) in particular distort perspectives in mammalian reproductive biology. This paper provides a resource for professionals who understand how cultural biases can be reinforced with language, visuals, and conceptual framing. After brief explanations, we present neutral alternatives to biased terminology as well as ways to avoid bias in illustrations. Since this paper is animal-centric, we hope to inspire the creation of similar resources across a more diverse biota and, thus, move towards a more neutral perspective across reproductive biology.

An Extensive Exploration Of Generalist Microbotryum Species Through Host Interactions., Emilee Walters

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The Microbotryum species complex is a group of fungi, commonly known as anther smuts. Anther smuts are plant parasites that must invade a host plant in order to fulfill their life cycle. As the Microbotryum fungus grows, it sterilizes the host plant, such that infected plants produce fungal teliospores instead of pollen on the male reproductive organs and female reproductive structures do not mature. Microbotryum usually exists as a specialist species, however, there is evidence that several species of anther smuts can exist as generalist species. Comparisons of the infection process and the resulting response of both parasite and host …