Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Perceptions Of School Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Of Artificial Green Elements In Hot Arid Region, Hala Fouad Albalkhi

Theses

Recently, global statistics demonstrated a continued increase in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) worldwide, especially in Gulf countries, where the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranks second in terms of autism prevalence. Studies emphasized the positive effects of green elements on the academic performance and skills of school children. The presence of indoor plants can lead to benefits such as stress reduction and positive health and well-being in children with ASD. However, green elements are less utilized in Al Ain schools due to difficulty in maintaining natural plants in buildings. This study aims to examine the perceptions of children with Autism Spectrum …

Urologic Sequelae Following Phalloplasty: An Explanation Of Common Complications Following Transmale Gender Affirmation Surgery, Michelle Kittleman

Theses

Medical advancement and societal acceptance in recent years has paved the way for gender affirmation surgery to become a growing subspecialty, with more transgender individuals seeking permanent methods to treating gender dysphoria. In a 2016 report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), there had been a 20% increase in female-to-male gender affirmation surgeries over the past year, totaling over 1,700 surgeries (Schardein, 2020). Those seeking genital gender affirmation surgery, also known as ‘bottom’ surgery (Puckett, 2018), often have goals pertaining to the ability to urinate upright, with secondary goals relating to sexual penetration functions. Gender reconstruction procedures, such …

Inclusive Safety Understanding The Safety Managers' Views On The Fit And Function Of Construction Safety Vests For All Body Types, Oliver Anthony Leograndis

Construction Management

With the construction industry evolving to embrace a more diverse workforce, it is crucial that personal protective equipment (PPE) adapts alongside this demographic shift to better accommodate women and those with diverse body types in the industry. To provide tangible momentum for the growing need of inclusive PPE, the Cal Poly Construction Management Department developed and hosted a “Verifying Everybody’s Safety Together” (VEST) Hackathon Event. This event provided an all-encompassing look at women’s construction vests and how they can be improved upon. The event had a variety of construction industry personnel in attendance, including five safety managers of different companies. …

Skip The Grid: Solar Powered Systems In The Navajo Nation, Julian A. Chavez

Construction Management

The Skip the Grid initiative, a collaboration between Cal Poly students, SOLV Energy, Goal Zero, and facilitated by the non-profit Heart of America, aimed to enhance the quality of life for Navajo Nation families. Facing disparities in access to electricity and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project installed photovoltaic energy systems with lights in 27 homes, benefiting students of the Red Mesa Unified School District. This initiative addressed the challenges of remote learning by providing reliable, no-cost, off-grid power solutions. Completed on March 30, 2023, the project not only improved the immediate circumstances in the Navajo Nation, but also …

Skip The Grid: Providing Power And Light To The Navajo Nation, Esai Contreras

Construction Management

Skip the Grid was created as an initiative to power communities that are in need. This project was made possible through a collaborative effort from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) students, industry partners SOLV Energy and Goal Zero, and facilitated through the educational non-profit organization Heart of America (HOA). The goal of this project was to help families of school age children in the Navajo Nation by providing solar energy systems including a battery and lighting. We hoped to achieve a long-lasting effect on the families by installing necessities for families with school-aged children. For the …

Protocol Development For Digisection: Making A Case For Standardizing Educational Technology Use For Digital Dissection And Anatomical Studies., Joshua Owolabi

PCOM Scholarly Works

The changes that have characterized advancements in anatomical sciences and medical education have significantly influenced pedagogies and the mode of delivery of teaching and training in the context of medical education. Another reality is the impact of educational technology (EdTech) penetration and integration into medical sciences and education. These events have undoubtedly influenced certain traditional practices and pedagogies including dissection. For example, EdTech and innovations have introduced virtual human images and three-dimensional (3D) human body representations for the purposes of teaching and dissection. Another instance includes the fact that the old dissection guides for gross anatomy, which follow the traditional …

Curative Effects Of Triphala Extract Against Swim Stress-Induced Gastric Ulcers Via Reduced Ulcer Index, Strengthened Gastric Mucosa And Improved Redox State In Rats, M Khushtar, H H. Siddiqui, R K. Dixit, Sahir Sultan Alvi

School of Medicine Publications

Recently, the percentage of Peptic ulcer disease not linked to either Helicobacter pylori or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has increased and signifies the prominent role of psychophysiological stress in the establishment and advancements of gastric ulcers and other peptic ulcer diseases. The current study was intended not only to develop post-treatment swim stress-induced peptic ulcer disease rat model but also to analyze the curative effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of Triphala in swim stress-induced peptic ulcer disease model. A post-treatment swim stress-induced peptic ulcer disease rat model was developed followed by therapeutic intervention of hydro-alcoholic extract of Triphala. The gross evaluation of …

Are Avocados Toast? A Framework To Analyze Decision-Making For Emerging Epidemics, Applied To Laurel Wilt, Berea A. Etherton, Robin A. Choudhury, R. I. Alcalá-Briseño, Y. Xing, A. I. Plex Sulá, D. Carrillo, J. Wasielewski, L. L. Stelinski, K. A. Grogan, F. Ballen

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

CONTEXT

When emerging pathogens threaten global food security, collective actionfor disease management is key for protecting food systems. We evaluate how the informal exchange of information about epidemic and economic outcomes can influence the management decisions of individuals and the resulting epidemics, in the context of the avocado laurel wilt epidemic in south Florida.

OBJECTIVES

In scenario analyses, we addressed how socioeconomic networks, laurel wilt epidemic networks, policy incentive structures, and social behaviors combine to influence (a) information exchange across this region, (b) growers' decisions about disease management, and (c) epidemic spread and yield loss. We identified the scenarios …

Identification And Management Of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk In South Asian Populations In The Us, Anandita Agarwala, Priyanka Satish, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Anurag Mehta, Miguel Cainzos-Achirica, Nilay S Shah, Alka M Kanaya, Garima V Sharma, Dave L Dixon, Roger S Blumenthal, Pradeep Natarajan, Khurram Nasir, Salim S Virani, Jaideep Patel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

South Asians (SAs, individuals with ancestry from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) are among the fastest growing ethnic subgroups in the United States. SAs typically experience a high prevalence of diabetes, abdominal obesity, and hypertension, among other cardiovascular disease risk factors, which are often under recognized and undermanaged. The excess coronary heart disease risk in this growing population must be critically assessed and managed with culturally appropriate preventive services. Accordingly, this scientific document prepared by a multidisciplinary group of clinicians and investigators in cardiology, internal medicine, pharmacy, and SA-centric researchers describes key characteristics of traditional and …

Imaging Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis To Guide Lipid Management, Are We There Yet?, Pamela Piña, Daniel Lorenzatti, Rita Paula, Jonathan Daich, Aldo L Schenone, Carlos Gongora, Mario J Garcia, Michael J Blaha, Matthew J Budoff, Daniel S Berman, Salim S Virani, Leandro Slipczuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk (ASCVD) is an ongoing epidemic, and lipid abnormalities are its primordial cause. Most individuals suffering a first ASCVD event are previously asymptomatic and often do not receive preventative therapies. The cornerstone of primary prevention has been the identification of individuals at risk through risk calculators based on clinical and laboratory traditional risk factors plus risk enhancers. However, it is well accepted that a clinical risk calculator misclassifies a significant proportion of individuals leading to the prescription of a lipid-lowering medication with very little yield or a missed opportunity for lipid-lowering agents with a potentially preventable event. …

Ferroptosis In Life: To Be Or Not To Be, Ling Xu, Yu'e Liu, Xi Chen, Hua Zhong, Yi Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Ferroptosis is a novel type of programmed cell death, characterized by a dysregulated iron metabolism and accumulation of lipid peroxides. It features the alteration of mitochondria and aberrant accumulation of excessive iron as well as loss of the cysteine-glutathione-GPX4 axis. Eventually, the accumulated lipid peroxides result in lethal damage to the cells. Ferroptosis is induced by the overloading of iron and the accumulation of ROS and can be inhibited by the activation of the GPX4 pathway, FS1-CoQ10 pathway, GCH1-BH4 pathway, and the DHODH pathway, it is also regulated by the oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Ferroptosis involves various physiological and pathological …

Anterior Spinal Artery Syndrome Following Splanchnic Nerve Cryoablation For Oncological Pain: A Case Report, Marissa Catalanatto, Christian Vangeison, Joseph Roys, Dominic Salvatore Iii, Emanuel Narcis Husu, Donna Huang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Anterior spinal artery syndrome is a diagnosis associated with high morbidity, mortality, and long-term disability. It is a known complication following conventional celiac plexus and splanchnic nerve blocks. The popularity of minimally invasive pain procedures is growing, especially in the domain of oncology, and the interventions are being performed by specialists with varying backgrounds. Complications such as anterior spinal artery syndrome need to be at the forefront of specialists' minds whenever there is manipulation of the celiac plexus or splanchnic nerves. These structures play an integral role in maintaining circulatory perfusion. The earlier hypoperfusion is suspected or confirmed, the …

Commentary: Is The Glass Half Full Or Half Empty?, Monika Halas, Joseph S Coselli

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Immune Checkpoint Gene Vsir Predicts Patient Prognosis In Acute Myeloid Leukemia And Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Kevin Yao, Emily Zhou, Evelien Schaafsma, Baoyi Zhang, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Immune checkpoint proteins play critical functions during the immune response to cancer and have been targeted by immune checkpoint blockade therapy. V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VSIR) is one of these immune checkpoint genes and has been investigated extensively in recent years due to its conflicting roles in cancer immunity. Specifically, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the prognostic value of VSIR is debated.

Results: In both patient tumor samples and cancer cell lines we find that VSIR has the highest expression in AML out of all cancer types and, in AML, has the highest expression out of …

Outcomes Of Full And Partial Cardiac Autotransplantation For Complex Left-Sided Heart Tumors, Qasim Al Abri, Lamees I El Nihum, Areeba Ali, Duc T Nguyen, Edward A Graviss, Thomas E Macgillivray, Michael J Reardon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Complex or malignant left-sided heart tumors present a challenge for resection and reconstruction. Cardiac autotransplantation was developed to address this but is a complex technique. Partial autotransplantation was developed to simplify the procedure. This study evaluates the outcomes of partial cardiac autotransplantation compared with those of full cardiac autotransplantation.

Methods: We analyzed our prospectively collected cardiac tumor database for cases between 1998 and 2022 requiring full or partial cardiac autotransplantation. The primary end points for the study were morbidities including bleeding, total blood transfusions, renal failure, prolonged ventilation (>48 hours), arrhythmias, total cardiopulmonary bypass time, total aortic clamp …

Potential Mirna Biomarkers And Therapeutic Targets For Early Atherosclerotic Lesions, Genesio M. Karere, Jeremy P. Glenn, Ge Li, Ayati Konar, John L. Vandeberg, Laura A. Cox

School of Medicine Publications

Identification of potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers indicative of burden of early atherosclerosis that occur prior to advancement to life-threatening unstable plaques is the key to eradication of CAD prevalence and incidences. We challenged 16 baboons with a high cholesterol, high fat diet for 2 years and evaluated early-stage atherosclerotic lesions (fatty streaks, FS, and fibrous plaques, FP) in formalin-fixed common iliac arteries (CIA). We used small RNA sequencing to identify expressed miRNAs in CIA and in baseline blood samples of the same animals. We found 412 expressed miRNAs in CIA and 356 in blood samples. Eight miRNAs (miR-7975, -486-5p, …

Knowledge Sharing Practices Of Student-Teachers In Colleges Of Education In Ghana, Paapa Kwamina Fynn, George Tesilimi Banji, Emmanuel Benson

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Knowledge sharing among students often yields positive dividends. It facilitates the harmonization of learning and the creation of new knowledge. The paper sought to evaluate the knowledge-sharing practices of student-teachers in Colleges of Education in Ghana. Specifically, the paper set out to find out the attitude of student-teachers toward knowledge sharing; investigate factors that inhibit knowledge sharing; assess the type of information they shared and explored the mode through which student-teachers preferred to share information. The study employed the descriptive research design and engaged a total population of 600 student-teachers in the Colleges of education in Ghana. Statistical Package for …

Effect Of Role Conflict And Role Ambiguity On Employee Creativity, Mushtaq Ahmad, Salah Ud Din Ms Lis

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of role conflict and role ambiguity on employee’s creativity. Exactly how role stress and various performances of individuals are related has received considerable attention, in which stress has been found to affect individual creativity. However, exactly how role stress (role conflict and role ambiguity) and employee creativity are related has seldom been examined empirically. A sample size of 100 was selected and standard questionnaires were distributes among the employees of three public sector universities in Peshawar KPK Pakistan. The conclusions drawn from the study were that role conflict and …

Frequent First-Trimester Pregnancy Loss In Rhesus Macaques Infected With African-Lineage Zika Virus, Jenna R. Rosinski, Kevin K. Noguchi, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In the 2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) pandemic, a previously unrecognized risk of birth defects surfaced in babies whose mothers were infected with Asian-lineage ZIKV during pregnancy. Less is known about the impacts of gestational African-lineage ZIKV infections. Given high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burdens in regions where African-lineage ZIKV circulates, we evaluated whether pregnant rhesus macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) have a higher risk of African-lineage ZIKV-associated birth defects. Remarkably, in both SIV+ and SIV- animals, ZIKV infection early in the first trimester caused a high incidence (78%) of spontaneous pregnancy loss within 20 days. These findings suggest …

Influence Of Adhesive Application Method And Thermocycling On The Bonding Performance Of Different Adhesive Systems To Dentin, Lamiaa Mahmoud Moharam, Rasha Hassan Afifi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Aim: To assess the effect of multiple layers application of different adhesive systems on the microshear bond strength (μSBS) of dentin with and without thermocycling. Materials and Methods: Two hundred forty sound human premolars had their enamel surfaces removed to expose even surfaces of dentin. The teeth were mounted in acrylic resin blocks and then assigned arbitrarily into four main groups (n = 60) representing the investigated adhesives (a self-etch [SE] adhesive, a total-etch [TE] adhesive, and a multimode [MM] adhesive used in TE and SE modes). Individually, the main groups were equally alienated into three subgroups (n = 20), …

Asthma And Cardiovascular Disease: A Bidirectional Association?, Muhammad Adrish, Nicola A Hanania

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Flextype: Flexible Text Input With A Small Set Of Input Gestures, Dylan Gaines, Mackenzie M. Baker, Keith Vertanen

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In many situations, it may be impractical or impossible to enter text by selecting precise locations on a physical or touchscreen keyboard. We present an ambiguous keyboard with four character groups that has potential applications for eyes-free text entry, as well as text entry using a single switch or a brain-computer interface. We develop a procedure for optimizing these character groupings based on a disambiguation algorithm that leverages a long-span language model. We produce both alphabetically-constrained and unconstrained character groups in an offline optimization experiment and compare them in a longitudinal user study. Our results did not show a significant …

Autotetraploidization Alters Morphology, Photosynthesis, Cytological Characteristics And Fruit Quality In Sour Jujube (Ziziphus Acidojujuba Cheng Et Liu), Lihu Wang, Lixin Wang, Tingting Ye, Jin Zhao, Lili Wang, Hairong Wei, Ping Liu, Mengjun Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Artificially induced polyploidization is one of the most effective techniques for improving the biological properties and creating new cultivars of fruit trees. Up to now, systematic research on the autotetraploid of sour jujube (Ziziphus acidojujuba Cheng et Liu) has not been reported. ‘Zhuguang’ is the first released autotetraploid sour jujube induced with colchicine. The objective of this study was to compare the differences in the morphological, cytological characteristics, and fruit quality between diploid and autotetraploid. Compared with the original diploid, ‘Zhuguang’ showed dwarf phenotypes and decreased tree vigor. The sizes of the flowers, pollen, stomata, and leaves of ‘Zhuguang’ were …

Can Biodiversity Of Preexisting And Created Salt Marshes Match Across Scales? An Assessment From Microbes To Predators, Friedrich W. Keppeler, James R. Junker, Margaret J. Shaw, Scott B. Alford, Annette S. Engel, Linda M. Hooper-Bùi, Olaf P. Jensen, Katelyn Lamb, Paola C. López-Duarte, Charles W. Martin, Ashley M. Mcdonald, Jill A. Olin, Audrey T. Paterson, Michael J. Polito, Nancy N. Rabalais, Brian J. Roberts, Ryann E. Rossi, Erick M. Swenson

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Coastal wetlands are rapidly disappearing worldwide due to a variety of processes, including climate change and flood control. The rate of loss in the Mississippi River Delta is among the highest in the world and billions of dollars have been allocated to build and restore coastal wetlands. A key question guiding assessment is whether created coastal salt marshes have similar biodiversity to preexisting, reference marshes. However, the numerous biodiversity metrics used to make these determinations are typically scale dependent and often conflicting. Here, we applied ecological theory to compare the diversity of different assemblages (surface and below-surface soil microbes, plants, …

Nitric Oxide-Driven Modifications Of Lipoic Arm Inhibit Α-Ketoacid Dehydrogenases, Gretchen L Seim, Steven V John, Nicholas L Arp, Zixiang Fang, David J Pagliarini, Jing Fan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (OGDC), which belong to the mitochondrial α-ketoacid dehydrogenase family, play crucial roles in cellular metabolism. These multi-subunit enzyme complexes use lipoic arms covalently attached to their E2 subunits to transfer an acyl group to coenzyme A (CoA). Here, we report a novel mechanism capable of substantially inhibiting PDHC and OGDC: reactive nitrogen species (RNS) can covalently modify the thiols on their lipoic arms, generating a series of adducts that block catalytic activity. S-Nitroso-CoA, a product between RNS and the E2 subunit's natural substrate, CoA, can efficiently deliver these modifications onto the lipoic …

Openline Newsletter, March 2023, Civil Service Council

OpenLine Newsletter

A monthly newsletter for Civil Service employees, March 2023.

Smurf1 Attenuates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress By Promoting The Degradation Of Keap1 To Activate Nrf2 Antioxidant Pathway, Amita Singh, Gabriel Bonnell, Justin De Prey, Natalie Buchwald, Kyrillos Eskander, Keith J Kincaid, Christina A Wilson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cerebral small-vessels are generally located in the brain at branch points from major cerebral blood vessels and perfuse subcortical structures such as the white matter tracts, basal ganglia, thalamus, and pons. Cerebral small-vessel disease (CSVD) can lead to several different clinical manifestations including ischemic lacunar stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and vascular dementia. Risk factors for CSVD overlap with conventional vascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia, as well as genetic causes. As in cardiovascular disease, treatment of CSVD involves both primary and secondary prevention. Aspirin has not been established as a primary prevention strategy for CSVD among the general …

Blood Neutrophil Count And Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio For Prediction Of Disease Progression And Mortality In Two Independent Systemic Sclerosis Cohorts, Nancy Wareing, Vishnu Mohan, Rana Taherian, Elizabeth R Volkmann, Marka A Lyons, Holly Wilhalme, Michael D Roth, Rosa M Estrada-Y-Martin, Brian Skaug, Maureen D Mayes, Donald P Tashkin, Shervin Assassi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To assess the predictive significance of blood neutrophil count and the ratio between neutrophil and lymphocyte count (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR]) for disease severity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

METHODS: Neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were prospectively measured in the Genetics versus Environment in Scleroderma Outcome Study (GENISOS) and the Scleroderma Lung Study II (SLS II). Forced vital capacity percent predicted (FVC%) and modified Rodnan skin thickness score (MRSS) were used as surrogate measures for disease severity. Longitudinal analyses were performed using generalized linear mixed models. Cox proportional hazards models evaluated the predictive significance of these cell counts for mortality. …

An Echogenic Clot Method For Thrombolysis Monitoring In Thrombotic Stroke Models, Dalton E Carter, Tao Peng, Melanie R Moody, Shao-Ling Huang, David D Mcpherson, Melvin E Klegerman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To demonstrate thrombolytic efficacy of a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-loaded echogenic liposome (TELIP) formulation in a rabbit thrombotic stroke model (the most relevant animal model for evaluation of directed thrombolytic therapy for ischemic stroke), we sought to develop a means of monitoring thrombus dissolution quantitatively by ultrasound imaging methods. We hypothesized that a gas-free ultrasound contrast agent can be incorporated into blood clots at a concentration that does not affect the tPA-mediated clot dissolution rate, while enabling quantitative assessment of the clot dissolution rate. Clots were formed from a mixture of whole rabbit blood, 1 M calcium chloride, human thrombin …

Emotion Socialization In The Indian Cultural Context, Tripti Kathuria, Shagufa Kapadia Prof., Wolfgang Friedlmeier

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

The social cultural norms that guide parental practices regarding emotion socialization are determined by cultural meanings ascribed to emotion, emotion expression, regulation, and larger socialization goals. The majority of the empirical research on emotion socialization has been carried out in the US and in Western European countries. The current article aims at understanding emotion socialization in the Indian context interweaving broader views on parenting and socialization, socialization goals, and ancient and modern emotion concepts that shape emotion socialization in India. The heterogeneity of the Indian culture as well as modernization processes that influence these practices suggest heterogeneity of emotion socialization …