Digital Commons Network^™

Music And Narrative Memory, Maxwell Kayser

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Music can overlap with many activities, but its effects on our memory for those activities are not fully understood. The experiments here investigated the effects of calm and intense background music on both memory and narrative transportation (the feeling that one is absorbed into the events of a narrative) during reading. Participants read narratives either in silence or with background music and completed a measure of narrative transportation (Transportation Scale-Short Form; Appel et al., 2015). Participants were then tested, either in silence or with background music, on memory for explicit details and inferences from the narrative. Across both experiments, memory …

Symptom Network Comparisons Between Pre- And Post-Concussion, Christine Salva

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Increased awareness about the short and long-term negative outcomes associated with sport-related concussion has resulted in active monitoring of cognitive and symptom profiles of athletes using a variety of assessments. The traditional approach to interpretation of cognitive and symptom measures has been based on a latent construct framework where domain scores reflecting latent constructs representing cognitive or symptom domains are collected at baseline and then compared to those obtained after concussion during the acute injury phase, with repeated additional assessments to determine when cognitive and symptom alterations have resolved. More recently, network approaches have been used to examine changes in …

Developing A Remote Gamma Spectra Collection System For Radiation Sciences At The University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Haven Searcy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Educational institutions of all levels have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic with none more so than higher education. The challenges faced by researchers are numerous while performing a study and have only increased since the pandemic. Many colleges or universities have halted research to cut off unnecessary contact in order to protect study participants and research personnel. In the Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences (DHPDS) at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, a solution was developed that would allow scientists and students alike to be able to analyze already prepared samples either in the lab or …

Cultivating Nursing Student Competency Through Serious Gaming Simulation-Enhanced Prebriefing, Shopha M. Tserotas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Problem: Simulation is an effective teaching strategy for undergraduate nursing students, providing a safe environment for learning in a low-risk setting. However, students are not fully prepared to take full advantage of high-fidelity simulation activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of serious gaming simulation-enhanced prebriefing on student competency and simulation effectiveness. Methodology: The study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental design using secondary data. Participants included undergraduate nursing students in a southern private university. The students were enrolled in the prelicensure nursing program and the obstetric or the transition to practice course. The control group received …

Density-Driven Investigations Of Ruthenium Binary Compounds Rux2 (X = O, S, N), Melanie White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Exploration and fine-tuning of the energy landscape of materials can be accessed by means of changes in material density, a key principle of high pressure research. Density-driven changes impact variations in oxidation states and coordination numbers for the element constituents of a compound. Pressure-induced modification of intrinsic density can promote the formation of new materials, variations in physical properties, and transformations in crystallographic symmetry. With this as our foundation, we focus on ruthenium binary compounds - altering the anion species to change electronegativity while probing pressure and temperature effects. This led us to the present study of ruthenium oxide RuO2, …

Alteration Of Peripheral Cytokines In Alzheimer’S Disease, Zhengshi Yang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with the clinical symptoms of gradual cognitive decline and memory loss. Biologically, abnormal accumulation of Aβ (Aβ) plaque and tau tangles in the brain are the core pathological hallmarks in AD. Although inflammatory response is not specific to AD, emerging evidence suggests that the disrupted innate immune system within the central nervous system, particularly microglial activation, might act as the bridge linking Aβ aggregation to pathological phosphorylation and aggregation of tau. The inflammatory response was suggested to initially have a neuroprotective role of attempting to clear Aβ plaques, and then become neurotoxic …

Delineating Genetic Influences On Neurodegenerative Disorders And Infectious Diseases Through Advanced Computational Methods, Xiaowei Zhuang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Genetics plays a critical role in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders and pathogen evolution in infectious diseases. For example, identifying genetic variants associated with a disease phenotype uncovers functional pathways that could lead to potential drug targets and therapeutic interventions. In addition, tracking the genetic evolution of pathogens enables early detection and warning of infectious disease outbreaks. In both applications, given the large amount of genetic data, advanced computational methods, including longitudinal and multivariate models, could significantly boost the statistical power and capture interrelationships among traits, environmental factors and genetic influences. This dissertation focuses on four applications of …

Adapting Deep Learning Models For Downstream Web Tasks: Multimodal Models, Task Development, Agent Adaptation, Graham Annett

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a framework for the development of deep learning models tailored for dynamic web tasks, leveraging generalized pre-trained multimodal transformers. A task generation framework, applied to multiple web datasets, is introduced, facilitating instruction fine-tuning of models for executing multi-step web workflows. This approach enhances the adaptability of pre-trained models to a spectrum of novel web tasks, which is vital for the reliable operation of web agents.

Moreover, this work proposes an encoding schema extending the Decision Transformer, which advances the adaptability of these models for downstream tasks through targeted modality tokenization, thereby broadening their practical applicability. These enhancements …

Nil Enforcement Preemption, Josh Lens

Utah Law Review

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which serves as the multibillion-dollar college athletics industry’s primary governing body, has faced several recent legal challenges to its operations. One particularly prominent challenge projects to result in litigation that will significantly impact college athletics’s future. This article explores the circumstances that led to this precarious position: (1) the NCAA’s recent changes to its longstanding rules prohibiting student-athlete compensation for use of their names, images, and likenesses; (2) several state legislatures’ attempts to provide universities in their states with a competitive advantage by legislating restrictions on the NCAA’s ability to enforce its rules; and …

The Constitutional Meaning Of Financial Terms, Tomer Stein, Shelby Ponton

Utah Law Review

The Constitution has sixty-three financial terms. These financial terms include, for instance, “compensation,” “expenditures,” “debt,” “coin,” “revenue,” “securities,” and “bankruptcies”—all of which determine the elementary building blocks of our governmental makeup. When the Supreme Court interprets the meaning of these financial terms, it does so in isolation and without a consistent framework. This Article proposes a unified framework for the interpretation of financial terms in the Constitution which comprises two fundamental canons of construction.

First, this Article proposes that all financial terms in the Constitution should be interpreted with fiscal and monetary neutrality—interpreting financial terms in a way that does …

Echoing Into The Void: Rucho’S State-Level Progeny, Avery E. Emery

Utah Law Review

When politicians are given free rein to draw districts, they choose their voters rather than allowing the voters to choose their representatives. They rely on “highprofile paid consultants, armies of lawyers, terabytes worth of voting data, advanced software, and even a supercomputer or two”386 to guarantee large margins for their party. This decennial process has reduced electoral competition, made the House of Representatives less responsive,388 and spread a sentiment of disenfranchisement throughout the electorate.

Now is the time for the judiciary—staffed by judges whose role in our constitutional system is to check the political branches—to take decisive action to protect …

Distribution Through Taxation Versus Legal Rules, And The Epistemic Limits Of Law-And-Economics, Erick J. Sam

Utah Law Review

This Article develops an epistemic critique of the view, widely held in law-and-economics, that legal rules should always be chosen for efficiency and that redistribution to produce a fair distribution should be conducted solely through the tax-and-transfer system. In place of this orthodox view, I develop an alternative distributive theory.

The canonical ‘double distortion’ argument for the orthodox position, formulated by Kaplow and Shavell (1994), claims that opting for efficient legal rules minimizes economic distortions and maximizes aggregate social wealth, some of which can then be redistributed via the tax-and-transfer system to those who would have been better off under …

Using Gamification As Scaffolding To Support Children As They Formulate Initial Keyword-Based Search Queries, Benjamin John Bettencourt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Child searchers, ages six to twelve, are known to struggle when it comes to using mainstream search engines. One such struggle that has been identified is the query formulation process, including initial query formulation. Two avenues of assistance that have shown promise in assisting users in other endeavors are gamification and scaffolding. In an attempt to provide assistance tailored to child searchers in their initial query formulation processes, this research explores the use of a gamified scaffold built with the purpose of teaching more effective, keyword-based, query formulation practices. To study the efficacy of utilizing a gamified scaffold to support …

(R2113) A Numerical Method For Solving Linear First-Order Volterra Integro-Differential Equations With Integral Boundary Condition, Zelal Temel, Musa Cakir

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

We investigate an efficient numerical method for the linear first-order Volterra integro-differential equations with integral boundary condition. To solve this problem, boundaries are determined for its derivative and the solution. The numerical solutions of the problem are modeled over a uniform mesh using the composite right-side rectangle concept for the integral component and the implicit difference rules for the differential component. Next, the stability and convergence of the numerical approach are discussed. The numerical experiments are presented confirming the accuracy of the proposed scheme.

Protecting Your Digital Life: Congress Needs To Take Lessons From Hipaa’S Playbook To Amend The Proposed Federal Privacy Law, Taeyoon Kong Kim

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jurisdiction Over Justice: How Misinterpreting Procedures Under The Federal Tort Claims Act Harms Plaintiffs, Kara L. Anderson

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

M&A Integration Time And Its Impact On M&A Success In Biotechnology Through The Lens Of Upper Echelon Theory And Rbv Scholarship, Zane J. Wilson

Executive DBA Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to explore and begin to understand specific time based variables that influence the integration process and phase of mergers and acquisitions. The research will center around the integration process that hopefully leads to the rapid development and launch of new products that are a result of the acquired companies’ expertise. The current trend in business strategies is to rely on M&A to bring in new technology, processes, products, and services, among others. In order to explore the integration period which, we define as the period between close of the deal and launch of the …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 33. The Story In Evolution., Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is best known for his independent formulation of the principle of natural selection. In this work I first review my understanding of Wallace’s intellectual development on this subject, including the notion that he had no model for the evolution of higher consciousness as of his first treatment of natural selection in 1858. This leads to some conclusions about his approach to the subject, and links to parallel ideas inherent in the philosophy of Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677).

Heat Acclimated Algae Improves Heat Tolerance And Longevity In Daphnia, Ashit Dutta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Xenohormesis suggests that consuming stressed food provides physiological adaptation to the consumer for similar stresses. To evaluate this, Daphnia magna was provided with heat-stressed Nannochloropsis limnetica grown at 25℃ whereas the control group was provided Nannochloropsis limnetica grown at 12℃. In the heat tolerance experiment, Daphnia kept at 28℃ and 20℃ while consuming 25℃ algae had significantly higher heat tolerance compared to the control. Additionally, in stressed conditions, Daphnia consuming 25℃-grown food had significantly higher lifespan compared to the control. Next, Daphnia consuming 25℃-grown algae had significantly higher levels of antioxidants which could explain the lifespan extension. Finally, in fatty …

Electrochemical Biosensing Of Cerium With A Tyrosine-Functionalized Ef-Hand Loop Peptide, Sogol Asaei, Geeta Verma, Nicholas S. Sinclair, Julie N. Renner

Faculty Scholarship

The significance of easily detecting rare earth elements (REEs) has increased due to the growing demand for REEs. Addressing this need, we present an innovative electrochemical biosensor, focusing on cerium as a model REE. This biosensor utilizes a modified EF-hand loop peptide sequence, incorporating cysteine for covalent attachment to a gold working electrode and tyrosine as an electrochemically active amino acid. The sensor was designed such that binding to cerium induces a conformational change in the peptide, affecting tyrosine's proximity to the electrode surface, modulating the current. A calibration curve was generated from cyclic voltammetry current peaks at ~0.55–0.65 V …

A Faculty Workshop On Developing Students As Discipline-Situated Researchers, William Badke, Elizabeth Kreiter, Qinqin Zhang

Communications in Information Literacy

The reference librarians of Trinity Western University have a strong mission-driven commitment to teach information literacy, but there is a significant contrast between the amount of instruction they can provide and the demanding task of developing all students as skilled researchers. The growing teach-the-teacher model suggested an option to enlist faculty in providing a larger portion of information literacy instruction themselves. With strong support from academic administration, three librarians devised an initial faculty workshop as part of the university’s faculty professional development series, followed by four detailed weekly sessions. They based their activities on several factors: first, faculty members would …

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2023/2024, Tennessee. Department Of Safety & Homeland Security.

Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Hitch Cart “Landing Gear”, Rebekah White, Jose Raygoza, Randy Hernandez, Brandon Leon

Mechanical Engineering

This report aims to allow our sponsor, to review our design process of the Hitch Cart Landing Gear Prototype. In the design overview section of this report, we discuss the primary design modifications we made to the wheel mechanism of the existing hitch cart prototype, including the addition of the ACME screws and the folding brackets. This allows our sponsor to see the intended improvements made to the past prototype and understand the primary goal of our project. Then, in the implementation section, we cover the entire manufacturing process to allow our sponsor to understand what manufacturing steps must be …

Pseudo Gps For Romi, Emmanuel Baez, Owen Guinane, Gabriel Coria, Conor Schott

Mechanical Engineering

The Pseudo-GPS system for Romi robots addresses the need for precise real-time location tracking in Cal Poly's Mechatronics lab. This project, developed by Emmanuel Baez, Gabriel Coria, Owen Guinane, and Conor Schott, under the guidance of instructor Charlie Refvem, provides a proof-of-concept system to enhance the Romi robots' geolocation capabilities for advanced robotic algorithms.

The proposed system uses a Raspberry Pi 4 equipped with a Pi camera module and ArUco markers to track the position and orientation of Romi robots within a lab environment. Custom 3D-printed stands secure markers on the robots, and a designated origin marker defines the coordinate …

Power At Sea Oscillating Water Column, Nate Hempstead, Max Wong, Ned Eyre Eyre, Luke Wierl

Mechanical Engineering

Current Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are predominantly powered by batteries or other energy sources that require frequent maintenance and human intervention. To increase the deployment times and efficiencies of AUVs, there is a need to develop improved wave energy conversion systems that harness renewable energy from waves and tides for power generation and storage. This approach aims to reduce or eliminate the need for manual maintenance or battery replacements, while also minimizing the environmental impact on marine wildlife and the surrounding ecosystem.

Expandable And Retractable Wheel Design, Ethan Fortenberry, Emily Cottrell, Keegan Martin, Benjamin Mcconnell

Mechanical Engineering

Our sponsor, Jeremy Goren, wants to see his patented expandable wheel design come to life. He requires a functional final product actuated by linear actuators and with a continuous, circular outer shell. The overall design can be broken up into 2 parts: the inner hub and outer shell. The wheel's shell will consist of a 12-piece outer shell that guides the 6 inner shell pieces. The outer shell pieces will be connected via a UBracket. The hub will consist of 3 identical parts that will hold 2 linear actuators each. The pieces will be bolted together to create 1 singular …

Piston Crown Design, Kurt L. Lippmann, Liam T. Janssen, Alex Rangel, Larry J. Davis

Mechanical Engineering

This project investigates the effects of dimpling a piston crown, and its impact on engine combustion dynamics. Through computational methods, the effects of piston crown dimpling on flow characteristics were evaluated. Theoretical results were verified with experimental methods. Experimental methods included characterization of exhaust gas content, engine horsepower and torque, and exhaust opacity.

Swim Fly Drone, Alia Wolken, Sha'anan Levy, Andrew Jwaideh, Eduardo Santos

Mechanical Engineering

This project addresses the need for a versatile drone that is capable of operation in both air and water environments, with potential applications in infrastructure inspection, defense, search and rescue, and ocean exploration. This project focuses on the design and development of a waterproof aerial drone capable of floating on the water surface and submerging underneath to controlled depths with the integration of a custom detachable buoyancy chamber. The buoyancy chamber design utilizes syringes to compress and decompress air inside of the chamber, changing the volume of the chamber, with an actuation system controlled by a closed-loop control system that …

One Is Not Enough: Session, The Social Status Provision, And Consistent And Definitive Constructions, Miles C. Skedsvold

Mercer Law Review

Originalism really is “a theory working itself pure.” But most of the blood, sweat, and tears in the enterprise are spilled over the federal constitution. At least partially as a result of those efforts, though, more and more important legal questions are examined under state law—and in particular, state constitutions. And so it is more important than ever to work through the hard methodological questions that will help produce answers. Presiding Justice Nels S.D. Peterson’s landmark article “Principles of Georgia Constitutional Interpretation” breaks key ground in this area—and this Article aims to take the shovel and keep digging. ...

Thus, …

Premises Liability And Third-Party Attacks: A Path Forward, Pamela A. Wilkins

Mercer Law Review

Recently, in Georgia CVS Pharmacy, LLC v. Carmichael, the Supreme Court of Georgia recognized a totality of circumstances approach for determining whether a landowner owes a duty to protect patrons from third-party attacks. So right now, in Georgia, the poor lighting, high-crime surroundings, and absence of functioning panic boxes are relevant considerations for the duty calculus.

Many members of the Georgia General Assembly find this outcome intolerable. Only months after the court’s ruling in Georgia CVS Pharmacy, several state senators, focusing on the supposed “unfriendliness to business” of the current totality of circumstances rule, introduced a bill that …