Digital Commons Network^™

Creation Of Preschool Evaluation For Children Experiencing Sensory Processing Disorders, Mary Vestal

Honors Theses

For our thesis project, we partnered with Dr. Michelle Suarez, the co-director of the Resiliency Center at Western Michigan University. When we first met with her, she informed us about the high rates of expulsion for Kalamazoo preschool students with various regulation challenges relating to sensory processing disorders, regulation, autism, and trauma. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, preschool students are expelled at three times the rate of children in K-12 (2022). Additionally, according to the Equal Justice Society, 250 preschool children get suspended or expelled each day nationwide (2021). The article continues to …

A Machine Learning Approach For Identification Of Low-Head Dams, Salvador Augusto Vinay Mollinedo

Theses and Dissertations

Identifying Low-head dams (LHD) and creating an inventory become a priority as fatalities continue to occur at these structures. Because obstruction inventories do not specifically identify LHDs, and they are not assigned a hazard classification, there is not an official inventory of LHD. However, there is a multi-agency taskforce that is creating an inventory of LHD. All efforts have been performed by manually identifying LHD on Google Earth Pro (GE Pro). The purpose of this paper is to assess whether a machine learning approach can accelerate the national inventory. We used a machine learning approach to implement a high-resolution remote …

Interactive White Boards In A Secondary Mathematics Classroom, Leann Bolhuis

Mathematics Graduate Theses

"A Formal Portfolio Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER SCIENCE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MATHEMATICS".

Enhanced Structural Control Of Soft-Templated Mesoporous Inorganic Thin Films By Inert Processing Conditions, Maximilliano Jesus Jara Fornerod, Alberto Alvarez-Fernandez, Eric R. Williams, Miximillian W.A. Skoda, Beatriz Prieto-Simon, Nicolas H. Voelcker, Morgan Stefik, Marc-Oliver Coppens, Stefan Guldin

Faculty Publications

Mesoporous thin films are widely used for applications in need of high surface area and efficient mass and charge transport properties. A well-established fabrication process involves the supramolecular assembly of organic molecules (e.g., block copolymers and surfactants) with inorganic materials obtained by sol-gel chemistry. Typically, subsequent calcination in air removes the organic template and reveals the porous inorganic network. A significant challenge for such coatings is the anisotropic shrinkage due to the volume contraction related to solvent evaporation, inorganic condensation, and template removal, affecting the final porosity as well as pore shape, size, arrangement, and accessibility. Here, we show that …

Challenges And Prospects For The Rock Art Of Mumba Rock-Shelter, Pastory M. Bushozi

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The Mumba rock-shelter and its surrounding landscape are places where evidences for the evolution of human cognitive behaviour and other cultural practices have been uncovered. Deep and stratified archaeological deposits recorded at Mumba have shown unique distinctive technological and behavioural traits with possible connections between Middle Stone Age (MSA), Later Stone Age (LSA), Neolithic, and Iron Age cultures. Archaeological records were found associated with symbolic-revealing objects such as ochre pigments, beads, and stone rubber stained with red ochre, which express the cognitive ability of ancestors who inhabited Mumba rock-shelter and the surrounding landscape from the MSA to the present. Ochre …

Social Behavior And Youth Psychopathology During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study, Alexandra M. Rodman, Maya L. Rosen, Steven W. Kasparek, Makeda Mayes, Liliana Lengua, Andrew N. Meltzoff, Katie A. Mclaughlin

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stay-at-home orders resulted in a stark reduction in daily social interactions for children and adolescents. Given that peer relationships are especially important during this developmental stage, it is crucial to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social behavior and risk for psychopathology in children and adolescents. In a longitudinal sample (N=224) of children (7-10y) and adolescents (13-15y) assessed at three strategic time points (before the pandemic, during the initial stay-at-home order period, and six months later after the initial stay-at-home order period was lifted), we examine whether certain social …

Whalesong 2022-12-01 (V.42 No.5), Mike Flunker, Aj Schultz, Lucas Stewart, Teigan Akagi, Liz Fruechtnict, Carrie Kline, Shaelene Moler, Olive Brend

Whalesong

No abstract provided.

Designing For Best Use Of The Downtown I-345 Corridor In Dallas, Tx: Stakeholder Perspectives, Matthew Thornton

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

What is a city? It’s more than a location where many people live and work. It is a conglomeration of shared experience over generations. One generation informs the next, which informs how each subsequent generation adds to the development of their shared home. This is what gives each city its own unique form, character, and identity. But what happens if a city repeatedly outgrows itself, disconnects its communities, and demolishes the physical memory of its own cultural history? Dallas, Texas is one such city confronting these issues and is perceived as one without significant place memory or culture (if not …

Clinical Characteristics And Electrophysiologic Properties Of Scn5a Variants In Fever-Induced Brugada Syndrome, Gan-Xiao Chen, Hector Barajas-Martinez, Giuseppe Ciconte, Cheng-I Wu, Michelle M Monasky, Hao Xia, Bian Li, John A Capra, Kai Guo, Zhong-He Zhang, Xiu Chen, Bo Yang, Hong Jiang, Gary Tse, Chloe Miu Mak, Yoshiyasu Aizawa, Michael H Gollob, Charles Antzelevitch, Arthur A M Wilde, Carlo Pappone, Dan Hu

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a severe inherited arrhythmia syndrome that can be unmasked by fever.

Methods: A multicentre clinical analysis was performed in 261 patients diagnosed with fever-induced BrS, including 198 (75.9%) and 27 (10.3%) patients who received next-generation genetic sequencing and epicardial arrhythmogenic substrate (AS) mapping, respectively.

Findings: In fever-induced BrS patients, pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) SCN5A variant carriers developed fever-induced BrS at a younger age, and more often in females and those of Caucasian descent. They exhibited significant electrophysical abnormalities, including a larger epicardial AS area, and more prolonged abnormal epicardial electrograms. During a median follow-up …

Parental Warmth And Disciplinary Strategies In Two-Parent-Adoptive And Biological Families, Jordan Coburn

Theses and Dissertations

Adopted children enter families with parents who on average are older, have higher income, and have more education than other family structures. Because adopted children are moving into families with more resources, research suggests that they would do just as well as, and perhaps even better than, children in biological two-parent households. However, this is not always the case. Understanding how different variables could offset any negative results of adoption is a puzzle that researchers are continually exploring. Previous research has investigated differences in investments from adoptive and biological parents through multiple theoretical lenses. I seek to add to current …

Structural Reasoning With Rational Expressions, Dana Steinhorst

Theses and Dissertations

Many students struggle to make sense of algebraic expressions in math. This lack of understanding results in students making symbolic manipulation errors, hindering their procedural fluency. Researchers believe these errors are linked to students' lack of structural reasoning. While research has shown that students rarely engage in expert structural reasoning, little is known about how students actually reason structurally. In this study, I interviewed six high school calculus students to study the way they identified, matched, and evaluated structures as they solved problems involving rational expressions and equations. I analyzed the participant interviews and outlined the matching process they used …

Teaching Social-Emotional Learning To Children With Autism Using Animated Avatar Video Modeling, Emelie Davis

Theses and Dissertations

People with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties understanding or applying skills related to Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). An individual having a better understanding of SEL concepts is generally associated with more fulfilling connections with others and increased satisfaction in life. Since people with ASD tend to have greater success with learning in structured environments, we created a module to teach these skills using Nearpod. These modules were created with videos of a person embodying a cartoon dog face using Animoji for two reasons; because the animation was meant to appeal to children, and the creation was …

Determination Of A Catalytic Mechanism By Time Resolved Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy And Time Domain Analysis Of Data From Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry, Jacob T. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Heterobimetallic catalysts offer large potential for efficient and selective catalysis of a wide range of reactions. Better understanding of these catalytic mechanisms could yield further improvement in their catalytic abilities. Cp(CO)2Fe-Cu(IPr) (IPr = N,N-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) is a catalyst that has been reported to catalyze arene borylation. The catalytic mechanism of this catalyst that had been previously proposed had the initial step being a metal-metal cleavage. However, computational modeling suggested an alternate mechanism that could be more energetically favorable. Rather than a metal-metal cleavage as the initial step, we proposed a photoactivated carbonyl dissociation. To support this proposition, we performed time resolved …

Zeros Of A Family Of Complex-Valued Harmonic Rational Functions, Alexander Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra is a useful tool in determining the number of zeros of complex-valued polynomials and rational functions. It does not, however, apply to complex-valued harmonic polynomials and rational functions generally. In this thesis, we determine behaviors of the family of complex-valued harmonic functions $f_{c}(z) = z^{n} + \frac{c}{\overline{z}^{k}} - 1$ that defy intuition for analytic polynomials. We first determine the sum of the orders of zeros by using the harmonic analogue of Rouch\'e's Theorem. We then determine useful geometry of the critical curve and its image in order to count winding numbers by applying the harmonic …

Issues In Melanoma Detection: Semisupervised Deep Learning Algorithm Development Via A Combination Of Human And Artificial Intelligence, Xinyuan Zhang, Ziqian Xie, Yang Xiang, Imran Baig, Mena Kozman, Carly Stender, Luca Giancardo, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Automatic skin lesion recognition has shown to be effective in increasing access to reliable dermatology evaluation; however, most existing algorithms rely solely on images. Many diagnostic rules, including the 3-point checklist, are not considered by artificial intelligence algorithms, which comprise human knowledge and reflect the diagnosis process of human experts.

OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we aimed to develop a semisupervised model that can not only integrate the dermoscopic features and scoring rule from the 3-point checklist but also automate the feature-annotation process.

METHODS: We first trained the semisupervised model on a small, annotated data set with disease and dermoscopic …

A New Gtseq Resource To Facilitate Multijurisdictional Research And Management Of Walleye Sander Vitreus, Peter T. Euclide, Wesley A. Larson, Matthew Bootsma, Loren M. Miller, Kim T. Scribner, Wendylee Stott, Chris C. Wilson, Emily K. Latch

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Conservation and management professionals often work across jurisdictional boundaries to identify broad ecological patterns. These collaborations help to protect populations whose distributions span political borders. One common limitation to multijurisdictional collaboration is consistency in data recording and reporting. This limitation can impact genetic research, which relies on data about specific markers in an organism's genome. Incomplete overlap of markers between separate studies can prevent direct comparisons of results. Standardized marker panels can reduce the impact of this issue and provide a common starting place for new research. Genotyping-in-thousands (GTSeq) is one approach used to create standardized marker panels for nonmodel …

Regional Airline Pilot Profession Post Colgan 3407, Brett Maas

Honors Theses

Colgan Air Flight 3407 was a devastating aircraft accident that resulted in the loss of 50 lives (Beresnevicius, 2019). Multiple factors played into the accident, such as pilot credentials, pilot experience, weather, and fatigue. As a result of the accident, the regional airline pilot profession was changed entirely. Changes that spurred because of the accident were both regulatory and compensatory in nature. Regulatory changes include the introduction of the Pilot Records Database (online database that stores pilot training histories), increased flight experience requirements to become a First Officer at an air carrier, and the introduction of proactive rest rules with …

Black Holes, Disk Structures, And Cosmological Implications In E-Dimensional Space, Subhash Kak, Menas C. Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We examine a modern view of the universe that builds on achieved successes of quantum mechanics, general relativity, and information theory, bringing them together in integrated approach that is founded on the realization that space itself is e-dimensional. The global and local implications of noninteger dimensionality are examined, and how it may have increased from the value of zero to its current value is investigated. We find surprising aspects that tie to structures in the universe, black holes, and the role of observations.

Bob Reich Oral History Interview, Bob Reich, Mathew Lin

Raymond College

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Climate Change On Firm Level Costs With Focus On Mena Region, Farah Osama Saieed

Theses and Dissertations

This paper has a main objective of identifying the relationship between environmental factors and climate change on operating costs incurred by firms. This paper also attempts to compare the direction and intensity of the effect on different sectors in order to analyze whether climate change effect differs based on the nature of the business operations. Several papers have previously addressed the relationship between climate change factors ad profits. This literature will add to previous studies by observing the effect on the cost rather than the profits. In addition to providing results that minimize endogeneity, which is found in a large …

Teaching Autistic Children To Independently Wash Their Hands: A Systematic Review Of Behavioral Techniques, Alexis Vazquez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

With COVID 19 having changed the world’s perception on daily hygiene, people are aiming to improve the rate and efficacy of their hand washing. Autistic children, having a history of challenges with daily living skills, may need support when learning the skill of hand washing. The current review discusses interventions used to teach autistic children effective hand washing and investigates if those interventions meet criteria to be considered an evidence-based practice. Six studies met the inclusion criteria and data were synthesized narratively. Given the importance of hand washing in society, more research is necessary to achieve optimal outcomes. The review …

Understanding The Experiences Of African American Caregivers Of Loved Ones With Dementia, Paula R. Madison

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Background: Dementia is a public health problem that is estimated to triple by 2050.Globally, dementia is the seventh leading cause of death among all diseases and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people. The direct medical costs and indirect social and economic costs of dementia are burdensome to society, and by 2030 it is projected to cost more than $2.8 TRILLION dollars worldwide. African Americans are two to four times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than White Americans; and more likely to rely on informal care from family and friends. African …

Mendelian Randomization And Genetic Colocalization Infer The Effects Of The Multi-Tissue Proteome On 211 Complex Disease-Related Phenotypes, Chengran Yang, Anne M Fagan, Richard J Perrin, Herve Rhinn, Oscar Harari, Carlos Cruchaga

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Human proteins are widely used as drug targets. Integration of large-scale protein-level genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and disease-related GWAS has thus connected genetic variation to disease mechanisms via protein. Previous proteome-by-phenome-wide Mendelian randomization (MR) studies have been mainly focused on plasma proteomes. Previous MR studies using the brain proteome only reported protein effects on a set of pre-selected tissue-specific diseases. No studies, however, have used high-throughput proteomics from multiple tissues to perform MR on hundreds of phenotypes.

METHODS: Here, we performed MR and colocalization analysis using multi-tissue (cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), plasma, and brain from pre- and post-meta-analysis of several …

Single-Shot, Ultrafast, Multi-Frame X-Ray Imaging Of Defect-Bearing Ablator Materials In Extreme Conditions, Daniel S. Hodge

Theses and Dissertations

Characterization of the dynamic behavior of defect-bearing ablator materials subjected to extreme conditions is essential in advancing fusion energy as an reliable and abundant energy source. By understanding how materials evolve spatially and temporally we can minimize hydrodynamic instabilities, which are major contributing factors to energy yield degradation in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. In this thesis we demonstrate the capabilities of an ultrafast x-ray imaging (UXI) detector, the Icarus V2, where we capture multiple frames of single void-bearing sample compressed by a high-intensity laser shockwave. Using the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source …

Delivering Explicit Math Instruction Through Point-Of-View Video Modeling To Elementary Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Patsy Mccray Gibbs

Theses and Dissertations

There is significant literature demonstrating the effectiveness of video modeling for teaching skills to students with disabilities. Still, much less is known about how video modeling, particularly point-of-view video modeling (POV-VM), might be applied to teach academic skills to children with an autism spectrum disorder. This multiple probe single-case design study used explicit instruction techniques to teach multiplication, division, and fraction skills to two elementary-aged students with an autism spectrum disorder. A visual analysis of the data showed that POV-VM using explicit techniques to deliver the videos is an effective intervention for autistic students This research study adds to the …

A Phenomenological Study Of Collegiate Recovery Leadership, Marni Goldberg

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Due to the marginalized status of the population they serve, collegiate recovery programs are generally underfunded and employ one staff member who typically holds other job tasks in addition to those of collegiate recovery leader. The consequence of the varied nature by which collegiate recovery programs are founded and implemented is inconsistency, which can threaten the longevity of the field. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to elicit information directly from collegiate recovery leaders to gain a deeper understanding of their lived experience, in order to determine how to best serve and support higher education students in recovery from …

Gabapentin Disrupts Binding Of Perlecan To The Α 2Δ1 Voltage Sensitive Calcium Channel Subunit And Impairs Skeletal Mechanosensation, Perla C Reyes Fernandez, Christian S Wright, Adrianna N Masterson, Xin Yi, Tristen V Tellman, Andrei Bonteanu, Katie Rust, Megan L Noonan, Kenneth E White, Karl J Lewis, Uma Sankar, Julia M Hum, Gregory Bix, Danielle Wu, Alexander G Robling, Rajesh Sardar, Mary C Farach-Carson, William R Thompson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Our understanding of how osteocytes, the principal mechanosensors within bone, sense and perceive force remains unclear. Previous work identified "tethering elements" (TEs) spanning the pericellular space of osteocytes and transmitting mechanical information into biochemical signals. While we identified the heparan sulfate proteoglycan perlecan (PLN) as a component of these TEs, PLN must attach to the cell surface to induce biochemical responses. As voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCCs) are critical for bone mechanotransduction, we hypothesized that PLN binds the extracellular α2δ1 subunit of VSCCs to couple the bone matrix to the osteocyte membrane. Here, we showed co-localization of PLN and α2δ1 along …

Decision-Based Learning As A Tool For Teaching Statistics In A Peruvian University, Gloria Mora Barba

Theses and Dissertations

Many students find that learning statistics is difficult, especially novice learners first taking statistical classes. Instructors also struggle to teach statistics due to many challenges, such as students' misconceptions, lack of math skills, negative attitudes, and deficient instructional methods. A new pedagogical approach called Decision-Based Learning (DBL) has been developed to help instructors and students overcome these challenges. A group of Peruvian university professors in 2018 and 2019 were trained to use DBL. However, limited studies have explored DBL instructors' and students' experiences using DBL in Peru. The aim of this qualitative research study is to deeply understand the experiences …

Outdoor Recreation And Its Effect On Our Relationship With The Environment, Martin Brannaman

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study was conducted at the University of Nebraska Outdoor Adventure Center. This study employed a pre-post retrospective assessment looking at individuals' connection with nature after embarking on a direct outdoor experience. A direct outdoor experience is when an individual is outside and not surrounded by manmade structures (Kil, 2016). I believe that after a direct outdoor experience the sample group will have a significant change in their connection to nature. The objective is to measure change in a group's connection to nature, through the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS, Mayer & Frantz, 2004). The population was a group of …

The Presynaptic Role Of Phosphagen Systems, Carlos David Oliva

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

De novo generation of ATP through glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation is too slow to sustain intense neuronal activity and stabilize ATP levels, suggesting there might be another energy pool at play. The phosphagen system, extensively researched in muscles, is an ATP regeneration pathway; quickly producing ATP through ADP re-phosphorylation. Its presence has been observed in neurons, yet its involvement in neuronal power demands remains poorly understood. To investigate the phosphagen system’s impact on neuronal energy metabolism, we examined Drosophila melanogaster motor neurons, which had arginine kinase knocked down while using genetically-encoded fluorescent reporters of pH, calcium, and ATP. Data obtained …