Digital Commons Network^™

Economic Determinants Of University Enrollment: A Comparative Study Of U.S. And Illinois Universities, Miranda Kight

Research Papers

This study analyzes the economic and institutional determinants of full-time equivalent enrollment (FTEE) at 4-year colleges in the United States and public universities in Illinois. This research examines Tuition and Fees (TAF), the average price of in-state and out-of-state costs (AVGprice), the percent of first-time students awarded financial aid (Faper), the student-to-faculty ratio (STF), and the average salary of all instructional staff (avgsalALL). The data comes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) throughout the years 2009 to 2022. The study examines how enrollment decisions are affected by different institutional characteristics by comparing national trends to enrollment patterns at …

The Role Of Feedback In Accurate Delivery Of Skill Acquisition Programs In Applied Behavior Analysis, Cyndy Wollenweber

Research Papers

Feedback is commonly used to increase and maintain employee performance. Although the effectiveness of feedback is frequently studied in applied behavior analysis (ABA), there are various considerations when it comes to providing feedback, such as the type of feedback, delivery method, and timing of feedback. For instance, although the feedback sandwich is commonly used, where positive feedback is delivered followed by corrective feedback and more positive feedback, empirical findings are mixed (Henley & DiGennaro Reed 2015; Parkes et. al., 2013). Therefore, the current paper will review ABA, organizational behavior management, the role of feedback in the aforementioned areas, and provide …

Optimization Of A Low-Cost Corona Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Plasma Wastewater Treatment System Through Central Composite Design/Response Surface Methodology With Mechanistic And Efficiency Analysis, Yiting Xiao, Yang Tian, Yuanhang Zhan, Jun Zhu

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water pollution, which is intensified by the release of hard-to-degrade pollutants, poses severe threats to ecosystems, human health, and economic development. The existing advanced oxidation processes often involve high operational costs and can potentially result in secondary pollution, highlighting the necessity for innovative and more sustainable solutions. To address these challenges, our study introduces a cost-effective and eco-friendly corona dielectric-barrier discharge for wastewater treatment. Using the central composite design/response surface methodology, a high decolorization rate of 98% of methylene blue (MB) was achieved within 10 min by optimizing parameters such as pH and voltage. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the generation …

Rule-In-Use For Community-Based Springs Management Faces Land Use Pressures: Lesson Learned From Manggarai District, Bernadinus Steni, Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Soeryo Adiwibowo, Ruchyat Deni Djakapermana

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The struggle for water is one of the greatest immediate risks of the climate crisis. Therefore, the institutional challenge of water management is increasingly urgent and requires a number of consensuses to succeed, including community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). A key challenge to the traditional consensus for water conservation is the increasing need for land conversion due to population growth, which in turn deflects decision-making power away from traditional institutions towards external decision-makers such as regional governments. Using Ostrom's conceptual framework of rules of use, this research examines shifting spring water management in the context of Kabupaten Manggarai. The paper …

Towards A Biobehavioral And Social-Structural Model Of Inflammation And Executive Function In Pediatric Obesity: A Pilot Longitudinal Study, Kathryn P. King

All ETDs from UAB

Pediatric chronic health conditions (CHCs) prevalence has increased post-COVID- 19, and CHCs affect children’s psychosocial development while representing significant family and societal financial burden. Interventions addressing CHC outcomes and psychosocial sequelae would benefit from examining and targeting biobehavioral and social-structural influences on such outcomes. Chronic inflammation and executive function (EF) deficits represent cross-cutting biobehavioral processes, promising novel targets, are vulnerable to social-structural influences, and common across CHC populations. Pediatric obesity represents a model CHC to examine, given its strong ties to chronic inflammation, EF deficits, health behavior, and SES, in addition to its increased prevalence in the wake of COVID-19. …

Education Attainment And Health: Outside The Gender Binary, Brianna Patterson

All ETDs from UAB

Transgender and gender nonbinary individuals, hereafter referred to as trans, report worse health outcomes than trans individuals whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth, hereafter referred to as cisgender (Bauer, Hammond, Travers et al. 2009, Cicero, Reisner, Merwin et al. 2020). Past research has indicated that social determinants of health, such as education attainment, may be responsible for these inequities (Low 2006, The Lancet Public 2020). Education’s influence on health is well known from previous research, but the association is not distributed equally. In the United States (US) educational system, state and local governments have control, not the …

Environmental Influences On The Physiology Of Cnidarians And Their Symbionts, Shelby Gantt

All ETDs from UAB

Corals and other cnidarians maintain complex symbioses that include photosynthetic endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodiniaceae), protozoans, fungi, bacteria, archaea, and other metazoans, collectively known as the holobiont. The stability of these associations is crucial for holobiont resilience and adaptation to environmental conditions and are the results of long-term ecological and evolutionary processes. Environmental factors such as light availability, seasonal environmental fluctuations, and warmer, more acidic conditions can disrupt these symbiotic associations and alter holobiont functioning. To understand the influence of different environments on cnidarian host and symbiont physiology, two framework coral species (Acropora palmata and Orbicella faveolata) from nursery-raised and wild populations …

The Efficiency Impact Of Gershgorin Circle Theorem For Feature Extraction In Computer Vision And Biomedical Signal Analysis, Sahaj Anilbhai Patel

All ETDs from UAB

In graph theory, a fundamental problem arises when signals or images are transformed into graphs where they are subsequently represented in the form of matrices, typically as Adjacency or Laplacian matrices. As the number of the samples increases, the dimensionality of these matrices also increases, leading to the "curse of dimensionality." This increase in dimensionality poses significant computational challenges, particularly in biomedical signal analysis or computer vision applications, where the computational efficiency of large-scale data is crucial. Traditional methods of feature extraction and then clustering become computationally intensive and less effective in handling of high-dimensional data, underscoring the need for …

Exploring The Associations Between Cognitive Training, Social Determinants Of Health, And Driving Behaviors: A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Active Study, Katie Wheeler

All ETDs from UAB

As the average lifespan increases, older adults are remaining independent into older ages than before. The ability to drive a vehicle is an essential part of daily living that helps older adults maintain independence. Cognitive training, specifically speed of processing training (SOPT), is an intervention that has consistently shown to benefit older adult’s driving abilities and driving behaviors. This dissertation examined the longitudinal association between cognitive training and primary driving location on crash risk across 20 years (Paper 1), investigated the effects of cognitive training and dosage on driving mobility across 10 years (Paper 2), and explored social determinants of …

Fundamentals Of Vehicle Modeling For Mobility And Maneuver, Jordan Whitson

All ETDs from UAB

The direction of research for off-road ground vehicles is an ever-growing interdisciplinary field. The strategies and modeling methods range from simple terramechanics mathematical models to complex terramechanics that involve the use of high-performance computing (HPC) systems with varying vehicle metric and performance analysis and information extraction. Current advanced methods based on terrain properties and dynamic models utilize conventional performance metrics that have been supported through decades of research. As automated driving systems (ADS) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) research and development progress, more complexities are unraveled and present the need for novel directions of research. Whereas on-road vehicles have the …

Multi-Enclave Blockchain Architecture Integrating Useful Work For Member Selection In Committee-Based Consensus, Shawn C. Adams

All ETDs from UAB

Blockchains offer an alternative approach to centralized systems for data and record storage by using independently operated nodes in a distributed and decentralized network. Within a blockchain network, each node maintains an identical version of all data, without being directly controlled or managed by any centralized entity. Nodes maintain the synchronization of data through the network's consensus mechanism, a protocol built into the nodes to determine which node is given the right to append data to the network. Once chosen, the data added by the node is propagated to other nodes which update their local records to maintain synchronization. Common …

Identification Of The Synthetic Cannabinoids Bzo-Poxizid And Mda-19 Using Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry, Samantha Way

All ETDs from UAB

Synthetic cannabinoids are synthetic compounds created to mimic the effects of naturally derived cannabis. They are up to 100 times more potent than natural cannabis, and due to their cannabinoid-like activity, they are considered schedule one drugs in Alabama. They are also the most common new psychoactive substance in the state of Alabama. The possible threat to public health and their schedule one status makes it necessary to develop a method for the detection of these substances. BZO-POXIZID and MDA-19 are two synthetic cannabinoids of recent interest. This study was conducted to validate a method for the detection of these …

The Modification Of Single Domain Antibody Framework And Variable Regions To Impart Novel Pharmacodynamic And Pharmacokinetic Properties, Lucinda Ann Hall

All ETDs from UAB

In recent years, nanobodies have become important theranostic molecules, and research has focused on improving their pharmacokinetics and binding for novel targets. Nanobodies are characterized by their high kidney uptake, leading to potentially unsafe exposure of the kidneys when delivering cytotoxic payloads. Researchers hypothesize that positively charged amino acids contribute to this kidney uptake. To address this, we assessed the impact of substituting lysine residues within the 2Rs15d HER2 nanobody scaffold to alanine on its in vivo pharmacokinetics using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. We found that nanobodies bearing lysine-to-alanine substitutions maintained their affinity for HER2. Characterization of the K88A …

Collected Essays By Simon Arzigian, Simon J. Arzigian

Texas Silver-Haired Legislature

These Collected Essays by Simon Arzigian were written in Edgewood, New Mexico, between 1998 and 2009.

Simon John Arzigian was born March 20, 1921 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and spent most of his childhood in this New England factory town. His entire professional life was with the Department of Defense, living in the dense urban setting in Washington D.C. During World War II he served in The Army as a medic in Africa and Europe. After the war he attended Catholic University and the University of Illinois graduate school, training as a parasitologist. He moved to Edgewood New Mexico in 1995 …

Exploring The Spiritual Dynamics Of Orthodox Religious Tourism: An In-Depth Study Of Visitor Experience At Osovica Monastery, Ivan Kosta, Anđelina Marić Stanković, Danijel Pavlović, Marija Bratić, Slobodan Čerović

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism is increasingly becoming a significant component of global tourism trends, contributing to a substantial increase in tourist traffic worldwide. This study focuses on analysing the motives, reasons, effects, and expectations of visiting Osovica Monastery, a recently renovated sanctuary of the Serbian Orthodox Church within the Banja Luka Diocese in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through a comprehensive literature review and empirical analysis, this research explores the motivations behind visiting the monastery, the impacts of these motivations on visitor satisfaction, and the factors influencing revisits and positive feedback. Utilising a methodological approach that incorporates both psychological and …

Doing A Good Search: Basic Rules And Search Tips, Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This updated handout, previous version published in 2023, serves as a reference for individuals learning effective database search practices. It covers fundamental search principles, including Boolean operators, question types, and potential databases for various questions for assignments or in the clinical environment. Notably, this version incorporates a diagram illustrating the search process.

Remember, the search process is iterative, involving repeated cycles of refinement. Your approach will vary depending on the specific question you're trying to answer.

Update of Doing a Good Search: Basic Rules and Search Tips (2023)

The original version appeared in the following article:

McGrath, J. M., Brown, …

The Clinical Inquiry Process Diagram (V. 5), Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This updated edition of The Clinical Inquiry Process Diagram improves on the 2023 version. It provides a depiction of the steps involved in the clinical inquiry process, covering research, performance improvement, and evidence-based practice. The revisions in this version emphasize the importance of alerting users to the iterative nature of clinical inquiry and the ongoing need to assess the situation or patient based on evolving evidence. It's crucial to recognize that the clinical inquiry process does not follow a linear, sequential progression. Instead, individuals may find themselves concurrently addressing different aspects of the process or revisiting prior steps as they …

The Clinical Inquiry Process Diagram Question Development Checklist, Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This updated handout, previously published in 2023, serves as a reference for those who are either in an EBP course or are practicing healthcare providers involved in questioning practices to improve patient care. The handout guides the user from identifying and developing a question to determining whether the clinical question, based on evidence, will be an evidence-based practice project/initiative, a performance improvement project, or a research project. It aligns with the fifth version of the Clinical Inquiry Process Diagram and now includes several different formats that can be used when trying to create a focused clinical question.

• Update of The …

Evidence-Based Decision Making At The Bedside Process, Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is crucial in healthcare for improving care and organizational outcomes. However, there is a lack of consensus among various health professions regarding the definition and implementation of evidence-based practice in the clinical environment. This lack of consensus centers on whether EBP is project-based or if it occurs primarily at the bedside. This diagram illustrates how evidence is utilized to inform bedside decision-making. It demonstrates that the process is iterative and the intervention or decision made is contingent upon the evidence, one’s clinical experience, and the patient/situation.

The purpose of the diagram is to help those involved in …

Acknowledgments, Matt Wappett

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Advancing Strength-Based Inclusive Mental Health Research In Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Luther Kalb, Joan B. Beasley

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Calcium Channel Blockers On Digital Ulcers In Systemic Sclerosis: Data From A Prospective Cohort Study, Laura Ross, Dylan Hansen, Nancy Maltez, Kathleen Morrisroe, Kimti Kumar, Jennifer Walker, Wendy Stevens, Joanne Sahhar, Gene-Siew Ngian, Lauren Host, Mandana Nikpour, Susanna Proudman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Digital ulcers (DU) are a common, severe vascular manifestation of systemic sclerosis (SSc) with few effective treatment options. Using data from the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS), we sought to evaluate the effect of calcium channel blockers (CCB) on the treatment and prevention of DU.Using data from 1953 participants, with a median of 4.34 years of follow-up, we used generalised estimating equations to evaluate the clinical characteristics associated with CCB use and ascertain the risk factors for the presence of DU at subsequent study visits. A time-dependent Cox-proportional hazard model was applied to evaluate the risk of future occurrence of …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Teaching Experience, Nicholas Daniel Hafner

Masters Theses

Teacher self-efficacy significantly impacts student learning in a variety of ways. High levels of teacher self-efficacy can lead to improved student outcomes and act as a protective factor for multiple stressors. The present study investigated the associations between teachers’ years of experience and their hours of professional development concerning a teacher’s overall self-efficacy and its three domains: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. It was hypothesized that years of experience and hours of professional development would predict overall self-efficacy and its three domains. A survey was utilized to gather demographic, experience, and self-efficacy information. A total of 194 teachers …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Role In Supporting Students’ Mental Health Needs, Rachael Mcdonough

Masters Theses

Mental health issues are highly prevalent among children and adolescents and have recently increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence shows a research to practice gap in the area of mental health practices and interventions in schools. As teachers are frontline gatekeepers for identifying mental health issues in students, it is important to understand current teachers' perspectives regarding their role, knowledge, and training. Thus, the current study sought to explore teachers’ perceptions regarding their role in supporting student mental health needs and the barriers that may prevent them from doing so. In the current study, general and special …

The Construct Validity Of The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales, Second Edition (Rias-2) And The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale Of Intelligence, Second Edition (Wasi-Ii), Cristen J. Rozek

Masters Theses

This study is designed to assess the relationship between two brief intelligence tests, the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales-Second Edition (RIAS-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2015) and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition (WASI-II; Wechsler, 2011), through evaluating their ability to similarly measure intellectual skills. These two tests measure an individual’s overall general intelligence. Both tests are able to assess individuals aged 6-90. The WASI-II publisher specified this test was only a screener while the RIAS-2 is not. Tests like the RIAS-2 and WASI-II are more time efficient allowing more time to be spent on other professional responsibilities. Manuals from both …

Opossums And Pathogens: A Survey Of Vector-Borne And Zoonotic Pathogens From Didelphis Virginiana In The Midwest, Usa, Cassandra C. P. Strehl

Masters Theses

Didelphis virginiana are at elevated risk of exposure to many zoonotic and vector-borne pathogens (ZVBP) as a result of their unfastidious diets, large geographic ranges, and diverse habitat types. Didelphis virginiana are synanthropic animals, which is concerning considering the spillover risk of pathogens D. virginiana present as a result. 81 D. virginiana from Ohio and Illinois were screened for Rickettsia spp., Mycoplasma spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, Trypanosoma cruzi, and apicomplexan pathogens. Live D. virginiana were trapped in wire cage traps to perform venipuncture for blood collection. Samples collected as roadkill or from animal control companies were dissected and spleen …

The Sewage Microbiome Dynamics Of Different Serving Neighborhoods In Charleston, Illinois, Sandra Chiamaka Okoye

Masters Theses

The complex microbial ecosystem within sewage systems holds significant implications for environmental and public health. Unlike studies on wastewater treatment plant microbiomes, upstream sewage systems have not been studied widely. This research investigated the dynamic sewage microbiome across diverse serving neighborhoods in Charleston, Illinois, encompassing residential, hospital, industrial, and university areas. Drawing upon recent advancements in microbiome research, the study aimed to unravel the spatial and temporal variations in microbial structures. Three times between June to December 2023 sewage samples were collected from manholes in the areas mentioned above. Community DNA was extracted and sequenced for the V4-V5 region of …

Automated Hiv Case Identification From The Mimic-Iv Database, Kai Jiang, Tru Cao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Automatic HIV phenotyping is needed for HIV research based on electronic health records (EHRs). MIMIC-IV, an extension of MIMIC-III, contains more than 520,000 hospital admissions and has become a valuable EHR database for secondary medical research. However, there was no prior phenotyping algorithm to extract HIV cases from MIMIC-IV, which requires a comprehensive knowledge of the database. Moreover, previous HIV phenotyping algorithms did not consider the new HIV-1/HIV-2 antibody differentiation immunoassay tests that MIMIC-IV contains. Our work provided insight into the structure and data elements in MIMIC-IV and proposed a new HIV phenotyping algorithm to fill in these gaps. The …

Baseline Characteristics Of Sars-Cov-2 Vaccine Non-Responders In A Large Population-Based Sample, Ashraf Yaseen, Stacia M Desantis, Rachit Sabharwal, Yashar Talebi, Michael D Swartz, Shiming Zhang, Luis Leon Novelo, Cesar L Pinzon-Gomez, Sarah E Messiah, Melissa Valerio-Shewmaker, Harold W Kohl, Jessica Ross, David Lakey, Jennifer A Shuford, Stephen J Pont, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Studies indicate that individuals with chronic conditions and specific baseline characteristics may not mount a robust humoral antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In this paper, we used data from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey (Texas CARES), a longitudinal state-wide seroprevalence program that has enrolled more than 90,000 participants, to evaluate the role of chronic diseases as the potential risk factors of non-response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a large epidemiologic cohort.

METHODS: A participant needed to complete an online survey and a blood draw to test for SARS-CoV-2 circulating plasma antibodies at four-time points spaced at least three months …

Exploring The Relationship Between Vaccine Hesitancy And Mothers’ Perspectives On Covid-19 Vaccines For Children Ages 5–11 Years During The Omicron Predominant Period 2021–2022: A Qualitative Study, Tiffany A Suragh, David Adzrago, Marlyn A Allicock, Paul G Yeh, Paula Cuccaro

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The United States Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11 years in October 2021 during the Omicron predominant period. Parental vaccine hesitancy was prevalent during this time, resulting in low childhood COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Most studies exploring factors influencing parental vaccine hesitancy have focused on racial and ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic populations; however, there is little knowledge of the drive drivers of vaccine hesitancy among White parents with higher education and socioeconomic statuses.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of 15 White mothers of children ages 5-11 years in Atlanta, GA, between …