Digital Commons Network^™

Can Endothelin-1 Help Address The Diagnostic And Prognostic Challenges In Multimorbid Acute Heart Failure Patients?, Daniela Constantinescu, Alexandru Dan Costache, Maria-Ruxandra Cepoi, Adrian Crișan, Sabina Andreea Leancă, Cătălin Loghin, Ionela-Lăcrămioara Șerban, Irina Iuliana Costache-Enache

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The management of acute heart failure (AHF) is becoming increasingly complex, especially in patients with multiple comorbidities. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoconstrictive peptide, is an important mediator of neurohormonal activation, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiac remodeling-key processes involved in the pathogenesis of AHF. The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of ET-1 in multimorbid AHF patients, compared to established markers such as amino terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI). We conducted a single-center prospective study including 76 patients; 54 with AHF and 22 serving as controls. Upon admission, all patients …

Cell Type-Specific Multi-Omics Analysis Of Cocaine Use Disorder In The Human Caudate Nucleus, Laura Stertz, Fabian Streit, Diana Avetyan, Maja P Völker, Svenja Müller, Anita C Hansson, Thomas D Meyer, Marcella Rietschel, Julia Ladewig, Rainer Spanagel, Ana M M Oliveira, Consuelo Walss-Bass, Rick E Bernardi, Philipp Koch, Stephanie H Witt

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Structural and functional alterations in the brain's reward circuitry are present in cocaine use disorder (CocUD), but their molecular underpinnings remain unclear. To investigate these mechanisms, we performed single-nuclei multiome profiling on postmortem caudate nucleus tissue from six individuals with CocUD and eight controls. We profiled 30,030 nuclei, identifying 13 cell types including D1- and D2-medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and glial cells. We observed 1485 differentially regulated genes and 10,342 differentially accessible peaks, with alterations in MSNs and astrocytes related to neurotransmitter activity and synapse organization. Gene regulatory network analysis identified transcription factors including ZEB1 as exhibiting distinct CocUD-specific subclusters, …

Analysis Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Initiatives In Environmental Education In Wisconsin, Jody Bauer, Robert Hougham, Sarah Burgess

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

This research aims to identify the quantity, quality, and condition of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in environmental education in Wisconsin. Researchers surveyed environmental education organizations across the state to collect and disseminate data related to the status and needs of these initiatives, and to identify areas of strength, improvement, or future staff learning opportunities. Some of the current DEI concerns in environmental education focus on the lack of diversity represented by staffing, achievement gaps represented by marginalized students, and a lack of overall accessibility to the outdoors or outdoor education for diverse communities. Findings from this study reinforce …

Ethnic/Racial Differences In Reading College Readiness: A Texas Pre- And Post-Pandemic Analysis, Neil A. Laminack, John R. Slate, Janene W. Hemmen

School Leadership Review

In this statewide multiyear investigation, the extent to which differences were present on the STAAR English I End-of-Course exam for Texas high school students as a function of their ethnicity/race (i.e., Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White) for the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school years were examined. Archival data from the Public Education Information Management System were obtained for the two school years pre-pandemic (2017-2018 and 2018-2019) and the three years post-pandemic (2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023). Across all five school years and on all three grade-level standards, Approaches, Meets, and Masters, Asian students met the standards at the highest …

Exploring Teaching And Learning In Diverse Multilingual Spaces, Juliet M. Luther

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

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Critical Language Awareness For Spanish-English Bilingual 5th Graders, Mary Hudgens Henderson

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

Critical Language Awareness (CLA) instruction can and should be a part of K-12 education. This study reports on a CLA unit taught to Spanish-English bilingual 5^th graders enrolled in a dual language bilingual classroom in the southwest U.S. Scores from a pretest and three posttests administered throughout the school year were compared to peer bilingual and monolingual 5^th graders in an English-only classroom who did not participate in CLA instruction. A Mixed ANOVA repeated measures analysis found that bilingual students in the dual language bilingual classroom had high levels of CLA knowledge both before and after participating in …

Voices From The Frontline: School Leaders On Effective Communication, Abdelnasser Hosni Hussein

School Leadership Review

This qualitative cross-case study aimed to explore effective communication in suburban and urban schools. The study investigated K-12 leaders' perceptions of effective communication with parents in suburban and urban school districts. Three open-ended questions guided the research: 1) What are principals’ perceptions of effective communication with parents?, 2) What are principals’ perceptions of effective strategies of school-home communication?, and 3) What are the barriers that may obstruct effective communication between principals and families? This cross-case study is unique as it focused on school leaders' perspectives to define effective communication. Strategies, methods, and barriers were identified by participant school leaders. The …

Leading With Data, Leading With Ethics: A Practical Ethics Guide In Statistics And Data Analysis For Educational Leaders, Elliott Ostler, Tami Williams, John Schultz

School Leadership Review

Abstract:

In today's data-driven and data-informed educational landscape, leaders face increasing pressure to make decisions and present results based on what appear to be comprehensive statistical analyses. However, the ethical implications of these responsibilities can be complex, particularly when statistical results carry the potential to be miscommunicated, misinterpreted, misrepresented, or even misused. This article explores some of the critical aspects of ethical statistical practices in educational leadership and provides practical considerations for leaders in using and presenting data responsibly. Specifically, the narrative contained herein emphasizes ethical practice associated with statistics and data analysis, not simply the ethics of general research …

Economic Status Of Texas Grade 8 Emergent Bilingual Students And Reading: A Pre- And Post-Pandemic Investigation, Teresa A. Dealba, John R. Slate, Clare A. Resilla

School Leadership Review

In this investigation, we examined differences in performance on the Texas state-mandated reading assessment for Emergent Bilingual students by their economic status (i.e., in poverty, not in poverty). Archival data were obtained from the Texas Education Agency Public Education Information Management System for Grade 8 students for the two pre-pandemic school years (2017-2018 and 2018-2019) and three post-pandemic school years (2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023). A lower percentage of Emergent Bilingual students in poverty met the Grade 8 STAAR Reading Approaches Grade Level standard than Emergent Bilingual students not in poverty. For the Meets Grade Level and Masters Grade Level standards, …

Design And Mixing Performance Of Passive Micromixers: A Critical Review, Afzal Husain, Asharul Islam Khan, Wasim Raza, Nabeel Al-Rawahi, Nasser Al-Azri, Abdus Samad

The Journal of Engineering Research

This study extracts and reports notable findings on passive micromixers by conducting an exhaustive review of designs, their features, and mixing performance. The study has covered the relevant articles on passive micromixers published from 2010 to 2020. The analysis of filtered and selected articles sums up passive micromixers into four categories: designed inlets, designed mixing-channel, lamination-based, and flow obstacles-based. The prominent mixing channel categories identified in the study are split-and-recombine (SAR), convergent-divergent (C-D), and mixed (SAR, C-D, and others). Moreover, differences in mixing channel designs, number of inlets, and evaluation methods have been used in comparing the mixing performance of …

Investigation Of Noise Exposures, Perception, And Health Effects In Different Microenvironments In A University Community, Patrick Amoatey, Issa Al-Harthy, Khalifa Al-Jabri, Abdullah Al-Mamun, Mahad Baawain

The Journal of Engineering Research

This study aims to assess noise levels in selected outdoor and indoor microenvironments in a University community in Oman. The perception of noise levels within the Sultan Qaboos University campus was investigated through a survey study. Also, the effect of exposed noise levels on annoyance and sleep disturbance were predicted including their potential risk on cardiovascular health. Among all the measured parameters, it was found that outdoor (41.6%-50%) and indoor (38.5%-46.2%) microenvironments have exceeded the critical levels of 55 dB during morning and afternoon periods. The respondents (698 people) identified traffic and indoor building-related activities as the main sources of …

Investigation Of The Thermal Comfort And Productivity In Japanese Mixed-Mode Office Buildings, Supriya Khadka, Mishan Shrestha

The Journal of Engineering Research

This study investigates the overall comfort and productivity of Japanese office workers in mixed-mode office buildings. The indoor thermal environment is adjusted using the air-conditioning in Japanese office buildings to maintain thermal comfort and productivity. Thus, it is necessary to research thermal comfort and productivity to understand how occupants prepare themselves to be at a comfortable temperature and perform their daily tasks under mixed-mode (MM) and free-running (FR) modes. Environmental parameters such as air temperature, relative humidity, and so on were measured in 17 Japanese office buildings with the help of digital instruments, and thermal comfort transverse surveys were conducted …

Extreme Cold Discomfort In Extreme Hot Climates, A Study Of Building Overcooling In Office Buildings In Qatar, Abdulla Alnuaimi, Sukumar Natarajan

The Journal of Engineering Research

Indoor cold discomfort in Qatar due to “building overcooling” is increasing, as air-conditioning prevails, and global temperatures rise. Overcooling is not dependent only on the inappropriate design of cooling systems, but on “international” thermal comfort standards that are not customized for warm climates. International standards are unintentionally biased towards cooler climates and cultures, the application of which in warm climates result in colder indoor temperatures observed by building occupants and increased cooling energy demand. Overcooling is an over-expenditure of energy, resulting in uncomfortably cold indoor thermal conditions, and unnecessary carbon emissions. In this study, the analysis of field data from …

Occupant Perception Of Thermal Comfort In Sleep Environments In Qatar, Madhavi Indraganti, Farsana Kutty, Reem Ali, Lulwa Al Noaimi, Saaeda Al-Bader, Maryam Adel Al Mulla

The Journal of Engineering Research

A thermal comfort field survey in sleep environments in winter and spring seasons in Qatar collected 833 sets of objective and subjective thermal and sleep quality responses before going to bed and after getting up. The subjects felt cooler sensations most of the time, preferred warmer sensations and the sleep environments are considered comfortable overall. Griffiths comfort temperature (Tc) was 24.3 ˚C and 20.2 ˚C in FR and AC modes respectively. Subjects used air-conditioner (AC)s adaptively in heating mode in winter. In 82.7% cases in air-conditioned (AC) mode, the comfort temperature was below the lower limit of the international standard. …

In Achieving The Most Of Limited Research Budget For Engineering Research Projects: A Case Study At Sultan Qaboos University, M Zarog

The Journal of Engineering Research

Motivating engineering research in universities with limited or tight research budgets is a challenging task. There is always a conflict between researchers attempting to secure enough funds to ease their own research, and funding bodies and universities trying to achieve high quality research while lowering research expenses. This conflict leads to a situation where universities and researchers cannot achieve their goals altogether. This study attempts to partially resolve this issue by optimizing research expenditure for the benefit of both universities and researchers and suggests some policies regarding what type of research (modelling based or experimental based) universities should support. Other …

Carrier Based Pwm Technique And Adaptive Neural Network Based Rotor Resistance Estimator For The Performance Enhancement Of Vector Controlled Induction Motor Drives, Venkadesan A

The Journal of Engineering Research

In this paper, the carrier based Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technique and neural network based rotor resistance estimator are proposed for vector controller Induction motor (IM) drives. The popular sine PWM is used for induction motor drive. The popular sine PWM has poor harmonic profile and (DC) utilization. The space vector modulation (SVM) technique overcomes the disadvantages of sine PWM. But SVM is computationally complex. Hence a simple PWM technique namely “carrier based PWM technique” similar to SVM is identified and proposed for vector controlled IM drive. The experimental set up is built up and the performance of carrier based …

Load-Displacement Curves Of Spot Welded, Bonded, And Weld-Bonded Joints For Dissimilar Materials And Thickness, E.A. Al-Bahkali

The Journal of Engineering Research

Three-dimensional finite element models of spot welded, bonded and weld-bonded joints are developed using ABAQUS software. Each model consists of two strips with dissimilar materials and thickness and is subjected to an axial loading. The bonded and weld-bonded joints have specific adhesive thickness. A detailed experimental plan to define many properties and quantities such as, the elastic - plastic properties, modulus of elasticity, fracture limit, and properties of the nugget and heat affected zones are carried out. Experiments include standard testing of the base metal, the adhesive, the nugget and heat affected zone. They also include employing the indentation techniques, …

Bach Against Modernity, Mark Peters

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Bach against Modernity, authored by Michael Marissen, by Mark Peters.

Memory, Music, Manuscripts: The Ritual Dynamics Of Kōshiki In Japanese Sōtō Zen, Junko Oba

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Memory, Music, Manuscripts: The Ritual Dynamics of Kōshiki in Japanese Sōtō Zen, authored by Michaela Mross, by Junko Oba.

Hearing Islam: The Sounds Of A Global Religious Tradition, Bertie Kibreah

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Hearing Islam: The Sounds of a Global Religious Tradition, authored by Lauren E. Osborne, by Bertie Kibreah.

Thomas Pereira’S 'Lülü Zuanyao' 律呂纂要 (Ca. 1685): A Jesuit Music Theory Textbook For The Chinese Emperor, Qingfan Jiang

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Thomas Pereira (1646–1708), a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, arrived in Beijing in 1672 and was appointed by the Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722) as his music tutor. For the emperor's music lessons, Pereira authored Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要 [Elements of Music] (ca. 1685), the first known Western music theory treatise written in Chinese. My translation includes the first half of Zuanyao that focuses on Western music notation, solmization, and the hexachordal system. As a product of the global circulation of musical knowledge in the early modern period, Zuanyao is significant in three ways. First, it illustrates the direct influence of the music education Pereira …

"Everyone Watches Womens Sports", Promoting Inclusion And Raising Awareness Through Social Media, Katelyn Bytheway

Student Research Symposium

The "Everyone Watches Women's Sports" campaign is an initiative by TOGETHXER, a media and commerce company founded by athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel, and Sue Bird. Launched in December 2023, the campaign aims to elevate the visibility and support of women's sports.

Exploring Person-Centered Care Practices Among Audiologists Nationwide: Pilot Survey Insights, Theressa Hurd

Student Research Symposium

Currently, there is minimal research exploring audiologists' implementation of PCC.

Bridging Worlds Through Stories, Téa Randall, Mykenzie Preisler

Student Research Symposium

What is the role of a translator?

Prison Environment And Conditions Affect Recidivism Rates — Norway And South Africa, Hayes Breitbach, Abby Horstmann, Gus Beirman

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Harsh prison conditions and lack of rehabilitation and reintegration programs in South African prisons reflect the high recidivism rates in the country. South African prisoners are subject to inhumane conditions such as overcrowding and health concerns, violations of human rights, and are stripped of their dignity. Paired with social stigma against those who have been incarcerated, these inhumane conditions lead to poor reintegration and higher recidivism rates. This research project advocates for prison reform focusing on rehabilitation, reintegration, and improved facility conditions. There are multiple examples of competent and humane prisons in the world, such as Norway’s correctional institutions, which …

Learning To Laugh At The Bomb: Las Vegas & Atomic Testing, Max Demers-Wolf

Student Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Rurality: A Secondary & Post-Secondary Perspective, Emmalee Folsom

Student Research Symposium

How can we as secondary educators push rural students to embrace their rural identities in conjunction with their academic skills to not only become powerful members of society, but to see themselves as candidates for post-secondary education?

Women's Suffrage In The Cedar Valley: Professionalism And Women's Activism At The Iowa State Teachers College, 1860-1920, Amber Hoodjer

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This presentation is titled “Women’s Suffrage in the Cedar Valley: Professionalism and Women’s Activism at the Iowa State Teachers College, 1876-1920” because in it, I will discuss the culture on the ISTC campus, attitudes towards suffrage, and how ISTC’s activism was connected to the larger community.

Assessing Food Safety Practices In The Era Of Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Restaurant, Retail, And Hotel Sectors In Muscat Governorate, Oman, Mohammed Al-Khusaibi

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

This study evaluated the adherence of food retailers, restaurants and hotels in Muscat Governorate to the precautionary measures to control the spread of COVID-19. This study found that only 18% of hotels implemented a Food System Management System (FSMS) while no restaurant or retailer implemented any FSMS. The majority of food retailers (89%) and restaurants (96%) did not conduct COVID-19 measures assessment while the assessment was conducted by 53% of caterers. All caterers assessed visitors/suppliers on COVID-19 symptoms and 94% of them kept details in a record book, followed by 96 and 76 %, respectively in retailers and restaurants. Safety …

Dynamics Of Physical Capital In Artisanal Fisheries And Policy Implications, Shekar Bose, Hussein Samh Al-Masroori, Salim Darwish Salim Al-Hasani

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

The dynamics of physical capital stock and net investment in artisanal fisheries of Al-Seeb - a coastal fishing town of Muscat Governorate are examined covering the period 2004-2013 . Data were gathered from two sources namely the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and field survey. A hedonic regression model is used to examine the influence of boat characteristics on the boat acquisition prices and then to derive the growth rate of physical capital stock. Boat characteristics comprising of ‘age’, ‘horsepower (hp)’ and ‘length (vl)’ are found to be statistically significant at the 5% level and carry sign consistent with the …