Digital Commons Network^™

What Are The Psychosocial Effects Of Service Dogs On Handlers With Disabilities, Kylie Kline

University Honors Theses

This study looks to explore the psychosocial effects that service dogs have on handlers with disabilities. A cross-sectional survey designed to gather information about this directly from service dog handlers was administered to a sample of 20 participants. Then, a qualitative analysis was conducted on data from the survey using an inductive coding scheme that identified themes in the data as key terms and ideas emerged.

Results revealed many nuances surrounding service dogs' effects on handlers' psychosocial health. Notable results include: 20 of 20 participants (100%) reporting their service dogs have had positive impacts on their quality of life; 19 …

The College, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Student Life, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Core-Designated Courses, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Majors And Minors, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

2024-2025 Academic Catalog, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Course Descriptions, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Exome Sequencing Identifies Novel Genes Underlying Primary Congenital Glaucoma In The National Birth Defects Prevention Study, Elizabeth E Blue, Kristin J Moore, Kari E North, Tania A Desrosiers, Suzan L Carmichael, Janson J White, Jessica X Chong, Michael J Bamshad, Mary M Jenkins, Lynn M Almli, Lawrence C Brody, Sharon F Freedman, Jennita Reefhuis, Paul A Romitti, Gary M Shaw, Martha Werler, Denise M Kay, Marilyn L Browne, Marcia L Feldkamp, Richard H Finnell, Wendy N Nembhard, Faith Pangilinan, Andrew F Olshan, National Institutes Of Health Intramural Sequencing Center, University Of Washington Center For Mendelian Genomics, National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) affects approximately 1 in 10,000 live born infants in the United States (U.S.). PCG has a autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, and variable expressivity and reduced penetrance have been reported. Likely causal variants in the most commonly mutated gene, CYP1B1, are less prevalent in the U.S., suggesting that alternative genes may contribute to the condition. This study utilized exome sequencing to investigate the genetic architecture of PCG in the U.S. and to identify novel genes and variants.

Methods: We studied 37 family trios where infants had PCG and were part of the National Birth Defects Prevention …

The Multifaceted Life Of Macrophages In White Adipose Tissue: Immune Shift Couples With Metabolic Switch, Qun Wang, Sean M Hartig, Christie M Ballantyne, Huaizhu Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

White adipose tissue (WAT) is a vital endocrine organ that regulates energy balance and metabolic homeostasis. In addition to fat cells, WAT harbors macrophages with distinct phenotypes that play crucial roles in immunity and metabolism. Nutrient demands cause macrophages to accumulate in WAT niches, where they remodel the microenvironment and produce beneficial or detrimental effects on systemic metabolism. Given the abundance of macrophages in WAT, this review summarizes the heterogeneity of WAT macrophages in physiological and pathological conditions, including their alterations in quantity, phenotypes, characteristics, and functions during WAT growth and development, as well as healthy or unhealthy expansion. We …

Reading Colonial Transitions: Archival Evidence And The Archaeology Of Indigenous Action In Nineteenth-Century California, Lee M. Panich, Gustavo Flores, Michael Wilcox, Monica V. Arellano

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Archaeologists in North America and elsewhere are increasingly examining long-term Indigenous presence across multiple colonial systems, despite lingering conceptual and methodological challenges. We examine this issue in California, where archaeologists and others have traditionally overlooked Native persistence in the years between the official closing of the region’s Franciscan missions in the 1830s and the onset of US settler colonialism in the late 1840s. In particular, we advocate for the judicious use of the documentary record to ask new questions of Indigenous life during this short but critical period, when many Native Californians were freed from the missions and sought new …

Dna-Delivered Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting The P53 R175h Mutant Epitope Inhibit Tumor Development In Mice, Dafei Chai, Xu Wang, Praveen Neeli, Shan Zhou, Xingfang Yu, Kanaga Sabapathy, Yong Li

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The tumor suppressor p53 is the most common mutated gene in cancer, with the R175H as the most frequent p53 missense mutant. However, there are currently no approved targeted therapies or immunotherapies against mutant p53. Here, we characterized and investigated a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that recognizes the mutant p53-R175H for its affinity, specificity, and activity against tumor cells in vitro. We then delivered DNA plasmids expressing the anti-R175H mAb or a bispecific antibody (BsAb) into mice to evaluate their therapeutic effects. Our results showed that the anti-R175H mAb specifically bound to the p53-R175H antigen with a high affinity and …

Origins Of Cancer: Ain’T It Just Mature Cells Misbehaving?, Charles J Cho, Jeffrey W Brown, Jason C Mills

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A pervasive view is that undifferentiated stem cells are alone responsible for generating all other cells and are the origins of cancer. However, emerging evidence demonstrates fully differentiated cells are plastic, can be coaxed to proliferate, and also play essential roles in tissue maintenance, regeneration, and tumorigenesis. Here, we review the mechanisms governing how differentiated cells become cancer cells. First, we examine the unique characteristics of differentiated cell division, focusing on why differentiated cells are more susceptible than stem cells to accumulating mutations. Next, we investigate why the evolution of multicellularity in animals likely required plastic differentiated cells that maintain …

Epigenetic Activation Of Sox11 Is Associated With Recurrence And Progression Of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ To Invasive Breast Cancer, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Vandna Shah, Kazuharu Kai, Hiroshi Katayama, Justin Wong, Farah A Ladha, Tristian Nguyen, Brian Menegaz, Wei Lu, Fei Yang, Barbara Mino, Ximing Tang, Mihai Gagea, Harsh Batra, Maria Gabriela Raso, Ignacio I Wistuba, Savitri Krishnamurthy, Sarah E Pinder, Elinor J Sawyer, Alastair M Thompson, Subrata Sen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Risk of recurrence and progression of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive cancer remains uncertain, emphasizing the need for developing predictive biomarkers of aggressive DCIS.

Methods: Human cell lines and mouse models of disease progression were analyzed for candidate risk predictive biomarkers identified and validated in two independent DCIS cohorts.

Results: RNA profiling of normal mammary and DCIS tissues (n = 48) revealed that elevated SOX11 expression correlates with MKI67, EZH2, and DCIS recurrence score. The 21T human cell line model of DCIS progression to invasive cancer and two mouse models developing mammary intraepithelial neoplasia confirmed the findings. …

Aging Atlas Reveals Cell-Type-Specific Effects Of Pro-Longevity Strategies, Shihong Max Gao, Yanyan Qi, Qinghao Zhang, Youchen Guan, Yi-Tang Lee, Lang Ding, Lihua Wang, Aaron S Mohammed, Hongjie Li, Yusi Fu, Meng C Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Organismal aging involves functional declines in both somatic and reproductive tissues. Multiple strategies have been discovered to extend lifespan across species. However, how age-related molecular changes differ among various tissues and how those lifespan-extending strategies slow tissue aging in distinct manners remain unclear. Here we generated the transcriptomic Cell Atlas of Worm Aging (CAWA, http://mengwanglab.org/atlas ) of wild-type and long-lived strains. We discovered cell-specific, age-related molecular and functional signatures across all somatic and germ cell types. We developed transcriptomic aging clocks for different tissues and quantitatively determined how three different pro-longevity strategies slow tissue aging distinctively. Furthermore, through genome-wide profiling …

Preeclampsia, Fetal Growth Restriction, And 24-Month Neurodevelopment In Very Preterm Infants., Jennifer Check, Coral Shuster, Julie Hofheimer, Marie Camerota, Lynne M. Dansereau, Lynne M. Smith, Brian S. Carter, Sheri A. Dellagrotta, Jennifer Helderman, Howard Kilbride, Cynthia M. Loncar, Elisabeth Mcgowan, Charles R. Neal, T Michael O'Shea, Steven L. Pastyrnak, Stephen J. Sheinkopf, Barry M. Lester

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

IMPORTANCE: Preeclampsia has direct influences on a developing fetus and may impact postnatal health, and fetal growth restriction (FGR) is often seen co-occurring with preeclampsia. The development of children born very preterm after preeclampsia diagnosis with and without FGR is not well characterized.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of preeclampsia and FGR with developmental and/or behavioral outcomes in a cohort of very preterm infants.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this cohort study, infants in the prospective Neonatal Neurobehavior and Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants study were enrolled between April 2014 and June 2016 from 9 US university-affiliated neonatal intensive care …

“[T]He Observance Of Trifles": Mapping Imperial Assemblages In Nineteenth-Century British Serialized Crime Fiction, Dana Joy Gavin

English Theses & Dissertations

This project investigates representations of the ecological and Imperialist relationships in a selection of serialized crime fiction texts: Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret, Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes adventures (appearing in The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly beginning in 1891). I examine serialized crime fiction published in the nineteenth century as a map of the ecological and Imperialist relationships established through the nineteenth-century British publishing industry. Serialized crime fiction was both popular and profitable, representing not only commercial success but one that tapped into the reading populace’s imagination. Readers craved serialized stories …

Explainable Artificial Intelligence: Methods And Evaluation, Gayane Grigoryan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A wide array of techniques within explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) have been developed to measure the importance of features in machine learning models. A notable portion of these methods draws upon principles of cooperative game theory (CGT), with the Shapley value emerging as a widely used solution concept. Despite the rising prominence of the Shapley value, other promising solutions from cooperative game theory—such as the Nucleolus, Banzhaf power index, Shapley-Shubik power index, and solutions to conflicting claims problems—have been comparatively overlooked, even though they hold significant potential. In this dissertation, multiple XAI methods based on these other CGT solutions are …

Contributions To Nonparametric Testing In Clustered Data, Hasika Kalani Wickrama Senevirathne

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

Clustered data refers to a specific kind of correlated data where units within the same cluster are correlated while units from different clusters are independent. The number of units in each cluster, known as the cluster size, can be associated with the cluster’s outcome. This is known as the informative cluster size (ICS) and affects the inference drawn from clustered data. Recently, a hypothesis testing method has been developed to detect the presence of ICS. However, considering ICS alone may not be sufficient when comparing outcomes across multiple groups of units within clustered data. The size of a group within …

Surfacing Text Changes In Archived Webpages, Lesley Frew

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Webpages change over time, and web archives hold copies of historical versions of webpages. Users of web archives, such as journalists, want to find and view changes on webpages over time. However, the current search interfaces for web archives do not adequately support this task. For the web archives that include a full-text search feature, multiple versions of the same webpage that match the search query are shown individually without enumerating changes, or are grouped together in a way that hides changes. We present a change text search engine that allows users to find changes in webpages. We describe the …

Prisons Of The Imagination: Carceral Ideology And Race In Science Fiction, Daniel Allen Avant Blachman

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Popular science fiction film and television media commonly deploy narratives and images of prisons and policing, and these discourses in turn are inseparable from racial formations. At the same time, many fans and theorists view science fiction as a genre with immense potential for offering critical consideration of the difference between the fictional and the real world. This thesis examines a range of case studies from popular film and television exemplifying this tension between the perceived generative critical potential of science fiction media and apparent tendency of popular media productions to nearly always fall back on well-worn white supremacist, patriarchal, …

A Kinematic Analysis Of The Shoulder During The Volleyball Attack Using Euler And Helical Axis Methods, Victoria Jolliff

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The shoulder is a complex joint with a wide range of motion, including flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and internal and external rotation. In volleyball, repetitive overhand movements can cause shoulder overuse injuries. The primary offensive move, the attack, involves the approach, arm cocking, arm acceleration, and follow-through phases. Motion capture analysis and techniques like calculating Euler angles and rotation about a mean helical axis can evaluate shoulder movements. This study aimed to calculate shoulder movements during each phase of the volleyball attack using the Euler angle YXY sequence and the helical axis method. Different attack types, such as cross-court and …

Development Of A Conceptual Framework For Complex System Governance (Csg) Performance Measurement, James Hartwell Rutherford

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Within the Complex System Governance (CSG) paradigm, system performance is regulated by nine metasystem governance functions, which provide control, communication, coordination, and integration. However, CSG has lacked a fully developed model or language to richly articulate system performance at a conceptual level. The purpose of this research was to develop a systems theory-based conceptual framework to measure the performance of CSG metasystem governance using an inductive research design.

Although ‘good performance’ may seem like an obvious idea, the current literature on performance measurement across many disciplines and contexts contains vastly inconsistent uses of the word ‘performance.’ Both researchers and practitioners …

Trauma- And Violence-Informed Empowering Care For Sexual Assault Survivors, L. B. Klein, Jessica Melnik, Kimberly Curran, Jeneile Luebke, Kaylen M. Moore, Ashley Ruiz, Cassilynn Brown, Diara Parker, Isabel Hernandez-White, Kate Walsh

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Forensic nurse examiners, including sexual assault nurse examiners, provide care for survivors holistically through healthcare, emotional support, connection to follow-up care, safety planning, and, if desired, evidence collection to aid in the prosecution of sexual assault. There is increasing recognition that trauma-informed care must also include an understanding of the impacts of structural violence on minoritized patients to ensure health equity.

Aim

To help address this guidance gap, we expanded Campbell and colleagues' empowering care model using a trauma- and violence-informed care (TVIC) lens.

Methods

We used an iterative discussion-based process that included five joint meetings between a seven-member …

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies High-Impact Susceptibility Loci For Hcc In North America, Manal M Hassan, Donghui Li, Younghun Han, Jinyoung Byun, Rikita I Hatia, Erping Long, Jiyeon Choi, Robin Kate Kelley, Sean P Cleary, Anna S Lok, Paige Bracci, Jennifer B Permuth, Roxana Bucur, Jian-Min Yuan, Amit G Singal, Prasun K Jalal, R Mark Ghobrial, Regina M Santella, Yuko Kono, Dimpy P Shah, Mindie H Nguyen, Geoffrey Liu, Neehar D Parikh, Richard Kim, Hui-Chen Wu, Hashem El-Serag, Ping Chang, Yanan Li, Yun Shin Chun, Sunyoung S Lee, Jian Gu, Ernest Hawk, Ryan Sun, Chad Huff, Asif Rashid, Hesham M Amin, Laura Beretta, Robert A Wolff, Samuel O Antwi, Yehuda Patt, Lu-Yu Hwang, Alison P Klein, Karen Zhang, Mikayla A Schmidt, Donna L White, John A Goss, Saira A Khaderi, Jorge A Marrero, Francisco G Cigarroa, Pankil K Shah, Ahmed O Kaseb, Lewis R Roberts, Christopher I Amos

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Despite the substantial impact of environmental factors, individuals with a family history of liver cancer have an increased risk for HCC. However, genetic factors have not been studied systematically by genome-wide approaches in large numbers of individuals from European descent populations (EDP).

APPROACH AND RESULTS: We conducted a 2-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) on HCC not affected by HBV infections. A total of 1872 HCC cases and 2907 controls were included in the discovery stage, and 1200 HCC cases and 1832 controls in the validation. We analyzed the discovery and validation samples separately and then conducted a …

The Effect Of Adamts13 On Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Dan Li, Min Soon Cho, Ricardo Gonzalez-Delgado, Xiaowen Liang, Jing-Fei Dong, Miguel A Cruz, Qing Ma, Vahid Afshar-Kharghan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) can potentially cure malignant blood disorders and benign conditions such as haemoglobinopathies and immunologic diseases. However, allo-HSCT is associated with significant complications. The most common and debilitating among them is graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In GVHD, donor-derived T cells mount an alloimmune response against the recipient. The alloimmune response involves several steps, including recognition of recipient antigens, activation and proliferation of T cells in secondary lymphoid organs, and homing into GVHD-targeted organs. Adhesion molecules on T cells and endothelial cells mediate homing of T cells into lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues. In this study, we showed …

Cell-Type Resolved Transcriptomic Approaches For Dissecting Selective Vulnerability In Neurodegeneration, Caleb A Wood, Nicholas M Tran

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Specialized And General Orientation Courses For Community College Students, Heather R. Sorrell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the effect of specialized orientation courses on community college student academic achievement and retention. The study utilized a quantitative design and compared the outcomes of specialized orientation courses to a more generalized orientation course. Due to the lack of previous research, there was little to suggest either a positive or a negative influence on student success measures for a targeted, specialized version of orientation courses. The study found that achievement outcomes did not differ between specialized orientation courses and general orientation courses. The study did find retention differences based on the type of orientation course completed. Students …

Young Driver Training And Socioeconomic Status: A Human-In-The-Loop Driving Simulator Evaluation, Jeffrey Edward Glassman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Previous research consistently shows that young drivers are poor at anticipating latent hazards on the roadway compared to more experienced drivers. The Road Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) program is a driver training program that aims to accelerate young drivers’ learning of hazard anticipation (HA) skills. More recent research has started showing evidence that RAPT may be even more effective at reducing accidents for young drivers with a lower socioeconomic status (SES), though the direct impact of RAPT on HA skills in the driver population is yet unclear. The current experiment thus directly evaluated the effectiveness of RAPT on the …

Work-Life Balance Fantasy Logics Of Mothers Working In Community Colleges: A Glitch Methodology Using Intimate Inquiry And Aesthetic Mediation, Emily Hanson Moore

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This post-qualitative study explores work-life balance as a sustaining fantasy produced by neoliberal, patriarchal, productivity-driven systems and how this fantasy manifests affectively for mothers who work in community colleges. The study began by contextualizing the work-life balance fantasy within higher education as a gendered workscape. Using intimate inquiry (Laura, 2013) and aesthetic meditation as the primary approaches, the researcher engaged in conversations with participants about their experiences mothering and working in community colleges. The primary data sources were these conversations, participant artifacts, researcher self-reflection and artifacts, and a range of contemporary cultural texts including podcasts, poetry, television, social media posts …

Effects Of Age On Lacrimal Gland Bioactive Lipids, Brandon Ebright, Zhiyuan Yu, Priyal Dave, Dante Dikeman, Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, Cintia S De Paiva, Stan Louie

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are a source of bioactive lipids regulating inflammation and its resolution.

Methods: Changes in PUFA metabolism were compared between lacrimal glands (LGs) from young and aged C57BL/6 J mice using a targeted lipidomics assay, as was the gene expression of enzymes involved in the metabolism of these lipids.

Results: Global reduction in PUFAs and their metabolites was observed in aged LGs compared to young controls, averaging between 25 and 66 % across all analytes. ꞷ-6 arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites were all reduced in aged LGs, where the changes in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and lipoxin A4 …