The Mazdakites, The ʿAyyārs And The Mithraists, Parvaneh Pourshariati

Publications and Research

No revolutionary movement in Iranian Late Antiquity has attracted as much attention as the fascinating and enigmatic Mazdakite uprising of the late fifth century. The scholarly consensus about these has it that 1) they engaged in ibāḥat al-nisā, sharing of wives; 2) advocated the sharing of property and 3) that their past time was wine imbibing and merrymaking. I shall argue here that, as Shaki correctly suspected but did not pursue the topic, the description of the Mazdakite in our primary sources (the Letter of Tansar, Ibn Qutayba, Ṭabarī, Dīnkard, Shahrestānī), actually follows the praxis of the ʿayyārs, chivalrous men …

Leftovers, James Magruder

Bryant Literary Review

No abstract provided.

The Field Excerpt, Sara Slingerland Sheiner

Bryant Literary Review

No abstract provided.

Parp-Ish: Gaps In Molecular Understanding And Clinical Trials Targeting Parp Exacerbate Racial Disparities In Prostate Cancer, Moriah L. Cunningham, Matthew J. Schiewer

Department of Urology Faculty Papers

PARP is a nuclear enzyme with a major function in the DNA damage response. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) have been developed for treating tumors harboring homologous recombination repair (HRR) defects that lead to a dependency on PARP. There are currently three PARPi approved for use in advanced prostate cancer (PCa), and several others are in clinical trials for this disease. Recent clinical trial results have reported differential efficacy based on the specific PARPi utilized as well as patient race. There is a racial disparity in PCa, where African American (AA) males are twice as likely to develop and die from the …

Improving Oral Health And Related Health Behaviours (Substance Use, Smoking, Diet) In People With Severe And Multiple Disadvantage: A Systematic Review Of Effectiveness And Cost-Effectiveness Of Interventions, Laura J. Mcgowan, Deepti A. John, Ryan P.W. Kenny, Emma C. Joyes, Emma A. Adams, Hosein Shabaninejad, Catherine Richmond, Fiona R. Beyer, David Landes, Richard G. Watt, Falko F. Sniehotta, Martha Paisi, Claire Bambra, Dawn Craig, Eileen Kaner, Sheena E. Ramsay

Peninsula Dental School

Background: People experiencing homelessness co-occurring with substance use or offending (‘severe and multiple disadvantage’ SMD) often have high levels of poor oral health and related health behaviours (particularly, substance use, smoking, poor diet). This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions in adults experiencing SMD to improve oral health and related health behaviours. Methods and findings: From inception to February 2023, five bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus) and grey literature were searched. Two researchers independently screened the search results. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), comparative studies and economic evaluations were included that reported outcomes …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On The Mobile Payment Banking System, Sydney Mason

Senior Honors Theses

This study includes an examination of the effect of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on electronic payment apps. Ever since the pandemic caused a global shutdown, the banking industry was forced to adjust their usual operations and adopt new technological advancements that would allow for contactless payment. Consumers, worried about contracting the virus through the physical exchange of currency, resorted to utilizing payment apps. This contributed to the increase in electronic payment usage. This research addresses the effect of COVID-19 on three different electronic payment apps, Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle. A comparative longitudinal analysis shows the increase in total transactions from …

An Improvement-Focused Assessment Of Pressurized Metered-Dose Inhaler With Spacer (Mdi-S) Technique Among Pediatric Providers, Soha Shah, Salimeh Khazaei Nejad

2024 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Background: Uncontrolled asthma results in significant costs to families and society. To achieve the best possible results for asthma control, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program recommends that providers demonstrate and assess metered-dose inhaler–spacer (MDI-S) technique at each medical visit. However, healthcare professionals are not always well-versed in the correct usage of inhalation devices. Our study aims to assess the knowledge and technique of pediatric healthcare professionals about the use of MDI-S and to assess if these can be improved with a brief video-based intervention. Methods: Study participants were recruited from pediatric residents, pediatric advanced practice providers, pediatric hospitalists, …

Prefrontal Medial Cortex Dendritic Complexity Alteration Following Prenatal Alcohol Exposure And Placental Insufficiency, Zarena M. Dominguez, Suzy Davies, Roberto N. Almeida Mancero, Daniel D. Savage, Jessie R. Maxwell

2024 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Executive functioning is the ability to control and coordinate abilities and behaviors, but prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) negatively impacts these functions. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a crucial brain region that plays an essential role in higher level functioning such as motivation, long-term memory, and sociability. The effects of PAE have been shown to alter the fetal blood flow in utero, which results in placental insufficiency (PI). PI has negative impacts on fetal development and neurodevelopmental outcomes. There has been little research on the effects of the combination of PAE and PI. We aimed to further investigate the impact …

Creating A Role-Based New Intern Training, Kalib Taylor

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

The purpose of this project was to create a role-based training for new interns in the Online Learning Division of the Seminaries and Institutes department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before the creation of this training, resources for training new interns were difficult to find and incorporate into their training. Backwards design theory and case-based learning strategy were utilized to create a cohesive, holistic, spiritually edifying training experience for new interns.

Methods For Finding Best Coset Codes For Physical-Layer Security, Andrew Glenn Swain

Theses and Dissertations

Finding best coset codes for secrecy over the binary erasure wiretap channel remains a difficult problem. Greater understanding of the structure of coset codes is necessary to reduce the problem space in which we search for these best codes. This dissertation presents new necessary conditions for a code to be best, including a condition that states that a code must maximize the minimum distance of both itself and its dual. It introduces and evaluates the accuracy of new heuristics to approximate the code's equivocation based on a code's weight enumerator polynomial. We also present a new tool for visualizing the …

Predicted Strength And Ductility Of Roof Truss Diaphragms With Tension-Only Rod Bracing And Hillside Washer Rod Connections, Emma Jean Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Metal buildings with roof truss diaphragms and tension-only rod bracing are a common structural system for single story industrial and commercial buildings. Despite the widespread use of metal building diaphragms in modern construction, there is limited knowledge on their strength and ductility under seismic loads. In this study, finite element models of diaphragm subassemblies and a full-size diaphragm were created to determine the strength and ductility of metal building diaphragms with tension-only rod bracing using hillside washer rod connections. Finite element models of two-tier diaphragm specimens that had been previously tested in the laboratory were created. Girders and purlins were …

Advanced Nano-Drug Delivery Systems In The Treatment Of Ischemic Stroke, Jiajie Zhang, Zhong Chen, Qi Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In recent years, the frequency of strokes has been on the rise year by year and has become the second leading cause of death around the world, which is characterized by a high mortality rate, high recurrence rate, and high disability rate. Ischemic strokes account for a large percentage of strokes. A reperfusion injury in ischemic strokes is a complex cascade of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, immune infiltration, and mitochondrial damage. Conventional treatments are ineffective, and the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) leads to inefficient drug delivery utilization, so researchers are turning their attention to nano-drug delivery systems. Functionalized nano-drug …

Transposable Elements Regulate Thymus Development And Function, Jean-David Larouche, Céline M Laumont, Assya Trofimov, Krystel Vincent, Leslie Hesnard, Sylvie Brochu, Caroline Côté, Juliette F Humeau, Éric Bonneil, Joel Lanoix, Chantal Durette, Patrick Gendron, Jean-Philippe Laverdure, Ellen R Richie, Sébastien Lemieux, Pierre Thibault, Claude Perreault

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive sequences representing ~45% of the human and mouse genomes and are highly expressed by medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs). In this study, we investigated the role of TEs on T-cell development in the thymus. We performed multiomic analyses of TEs in human and mouse thymic cells to elucidate their role in T-cell development. We report that TE expression in the human thymus is high and shows extensive age- and cell lineage-related variations. TE expression correlates with multiple transcription factors in all cell types of the human thymus. Two cell types express particularly broad TE repertoires: …

Social Media Among College Students, Julia Martorano

Honors Projects

Within the past decade, social media has become a huge part of most peoples’ everyday life. People use social media to keep up with old friends, to see what their current friends and family are up to, to follow celebrities, and so much more. Researchers and the general public have begun to wonder if this obsession with social media is detrimental to individuals and society. Throughout my research, I strived to answer two research questions. “How does social media affect a college student’s GPA, productivity, and life satisfaction?” and “How do celebrities and companies create social media content that drives …

Chapter 9: Conventional Weapons And Weapons Systems

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 5: Principles And Sources Of The Law Of Armed Conflict

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Validity Of Self-Reported Weight And Height Among Female Young Adults In The United Arab Emirates, Dalia Haroun, Aseel Ehsanallah

All Works

Self-reported weight and height serve as important metrics in estimating overweight and obesity prevalence within epidemiological studies, primarily due to their cost and time efficiency. However, the accuracy and reliability of these self-reported measures remain controversial, with conflicting reports emerging from different regions. This study aims to compare self-reported weight and height with measured values among young female adults in the United Arab Emirates. A cross-sectional study of 131 female university students aged 17-27 reported their weight and height on a self-administered questionnaire and on the same day had their height and weight measured. Body Mass Index (BMI) values of …

Improving Restaurant Customer Service Through Job Aids, Madisyn Slater

Honors Theses

A key concern for restaurants is good customer service as it directly relates to repeated customers and revenue generation. Customer service plays a large role in keeping a business up and running, without appropriate customer-employee interactions, a business may cease to exist. The field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) has several empirically-based interventions that may help. One of these interventions, job aids, gives a brief description of what is expected and can be consulted by an employee at any point in time. However, most research uses a package intervention and has not examined the effects of job aids alone. The …

Amber Montgomery, An Individual, Appellant/ Cross-Appellee V. Dr. Jeffrey P. Gardiner, D.O., An Individual, And Utah Valley Eye Center, Inc., A Utah Corporation, Appellees/ Cross-Appellants : Brief Of Appellee, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –)

Appeal from a Final Order and Judgment of the Fourth Judicial District Court In and for Utah County, State of Utah Judge Hon. Robert Lund

Justin D. Heidman, Justin R. Elswick, Attorneys for Appellant/Cross-appellee

Kirk G. Gibbs, Devin H. Geier, Attorneys for Appellees/Cross-appellants

Exploring The Longitudinal Effects: Non-Traditional Pedagogies And Practical Learning On Biology Education And Medical Understanding, Thomas Ziebro

Honors Projects

Medical disinformation is becoming a rampant problem in the United States, and the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted it. There have been attempts to fight the problem at the source through fact verification. These attempts have been unsuccessful. This paper investigates the efficacy of non-traditional pedagogies and the correlation between them and an individual perceived and practical ability to understand their primary care provider. The purpose of this research was to establish whether non-traditional pedagogies at the secondary and post-secondary level are more effective than traditional lecture-based instruction. The research was conducted through an anonymous cross-sectional survey which included questions about educational …

Exploring How To Reduce Ethnocentrism Through Critical Analysis Of Foreign News Reports In Foreign Language Learning, Rosemarie Jensen Bybee

Theses and Dissertations

In today's globalized world, more interaction exists among people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is essential to be open-minded about cultural diversity to prevent speculative assumptions about others and to be able to interact positively with various people--one approach to addressing this problem might be through language teaching and learning. This exploratory study focused on critically analyzing foreign news reports to improve students' understanding of other cultures and reduce possible ethnocentric views. Results from the revised Generalized Ethnocentrism (GENE) scale pre-post survey indicate a slight decrease in students' ethnocentrism scores from the beginning to the end of the semester. Also, …

Advancing Brain Tumor Segmentation With Spectral–Spatial Graph Neural Networks, Sina Mohammadi, Mohamed Allali

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

In the field of brain tumor segmentation, accurately capturing the complexities of tumor sub-regions poses significant challenges. Traditional segmentation methods usually fail to accurately segment tumor subregions. This research introduces a novel solution employing Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), enriched with spectral and spatial insight. In the supervoxel creation phase, we explored methods like VCCS, SLIC, Watershed, Meanshift, and Felzenszwalb–Huttenlocher, evaluating their performance based on homogeneity, moment of inertia, and uniformity in shape and size. After creating supervoxels, we represented 3D MRI images as a graph structure. In this study, we combined Spatial and Spectral GNNs to capture both local and …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Input Into Important Campus Decision Making, Amy Jane Boughton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Panorama Teacher Survey (PTS) results from 2018 to 2021 indicated that school leadership has improved in one North Texas district. The problem investigated in this study was that despite favorable overall results on the Panorama Teacher Survey (PTS) in the local school district, the school leadership dimension of “teacher input into important campus decisions” was consistently ranked by teachers as needing improvement and was the lowest ranking amongst the other school leadership dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions about their role in providing input into important campus decisions and to gather their recommendations for …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Reading Comprehension Among Fifth-Grade Students With Exceptionalities As A Result Of The Pandemic, Paula Webb

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study is the low reading comprehension levels of fifth-grade students with exceptionalities (SwE) (e.g. dyslexia) in a local school district in Georgia. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore fifth-grade teachers’ perceptions on their successes, challenges, and suggestions when teaching reading to SwE. The conceptual frameworks were the blended learning model and the constructivism model. The methodology of this research study was a basic qualitative design. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight fifth-grade teachers in a large school district in Georgia to investigate the reading foundational skills SwE are lacking that …

Sequential Requirements For Distinct Polθ Domains During Theta-Mediated End Joining, Carel Fijen, Lea Drogalis Beckham, Dante Terino, Yuzhen Li, Dale A Ramsden, Richard D Wood, Sylvie Doublié, Eli Rothenberg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

DNA polymerase θ (Polθ) plays a central role in a DNA double-strand break repair pathway termed theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ). TMEJ functions by pairing short-sequence "microhomologies" (MHs) in single-stranded DNA at each end of a break and subsequently initiating DNA synthesis. It is not known how the Polθ helicase domain (HD) and polymerase domain (PD) operate to bring together MHs and facilitate repair. To resolve these transient processes in real time, we utilized in vitro single-molecule FRET approaches and biochemical analyses. We find that the Polθ-HD mediates the initial capture of two ssDNA strands, bringing them in close proximity. The …

In Re: D.C., Jr., 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 25 (Apr. 18, 2024), Alyson Smith

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

In order for a juvenile defendant to be found competent to proceed to a certification hearing, courts must consider the full context of the juvenile’s case and the juvenile must understand what the stakes are should if they are certified for proceedings in adult criminal court. Such a finding of competency must be supported by substantial evidence.

On appeal from a district court order certifying a juvenile for criminal proceedings as an adult, the Nevada Supreme Court considered whether the juvenile court applied an appropriate standard to determine the juvenile’s competence, and whether the determination was supported by substantial evidence. …

Chapter 8: The Law Of Targeting

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

City Of Las Vegas V. 180 Land Co., Llc, 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 29 (Apr. 18, 2024), Aaron Kempf

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Nevada Supreme Court reviewed the appeals by both parties in the instant matter. The City of Las Vegas (“the City”) challenged the district court’s finding that a taking occurred, the just compensation award, and the other monetary awards made to 180 Land Co., LLC (“180 Land”). 180 Land challenged the district court’s determination of prejudgment interest awarded to them. In its opinion, the Nevada Supreme Court reviewed whether the land R-PD7 residential zoning or its PR-OS land designation governed 180 Land’s ability to develop the property. The court reviewed the district court’s adoption of 180 Land’s expert witness’ determination …

Determining Reading Complexity Using Regression Models, Joshua Talamayan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Reading is an essential skill when pursuing academic success. In order to assist students in developing their critical reading skills, it is essential to offer texts that are both within their capability, yet challenging enough to push them beyond their boundaries. At the moment, the majority of excerpts are matched to readability scores utilizing tools such as the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scoring in order to determine reader level. The core issue with reading scores structured around the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scoring is that the scoring process is not readily available to the public while also lacking validation studies. In this …

Kenyon Collegian - April 18, 2024

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.