Digital Commons Network^™

Regulation Of Mrna And Circrna As A Cause And Consequence Of Aging In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Rebekah Napier-Jameson

Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations

A role for RNA binding proteins in regulating lifespan has emerged. We identified a pair of neuronal RBPs, exc-7 and mbl-1, which display synthetic lifespan defects. Such a strong synthetic phenotype represented an opportunity to use transcriptomics to search for potential causative targets that are synthetically regulated. We identified a small handful of genes synthetically dysregulated in double mutants and systematically tested each candidate gene for functional contribution to the exc-7; mbl-1 lifespan phenotype. We identified one such gene, the ion transporter nhx-6, which is highly upregulated in double mutants. Overexpression of nhx-6 causes reduced lifespan, and deletion …

Absolving Conflict Through Principles Of Servant-Leadership, Brandon Stoddard

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

This article explores the inevitable and unchecked conflicts that arise between people and how it can turn into unmanageable rage and harmed relationships. Both instigators and recipients of conflict are ultimately wounded by its accompanying outcomes. By sharing several examples from my life, including the threat of harm from a deadly weapon towards my three-year-old son by his uncle, I demonstrate the hurt caused by conflict and how principles of servant-leaders can help individuals restore positive associations. When faith is stronger than the bitterness and hostility that often plagues humanity, love offers a longer-term perspective thereby opening a way towards …

Servant-Leadership In Nursing Education, Kendrea Todt, Sarah Covington

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Recent changes in healthcare policy including the sentinel paper from the Institutes of Medicine, now known as the National Academy of Medicine, 2010 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health and the most recent, The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity reports have demonstrated the changing role of nurses creating a growing need for nurse leaders. The healthcare industry is seeking to find a leadership style that will facilitate the goals of providing quality care in a collaborative environment. With its natural focus on service, the style of the servant-leader is one option. …

2023 Fall - Commencement Program, Office Of The Registrar, East Tennessee State University

ETSU Commencement Ceremonies and Programs

No abstract provided.

Daily Stress And Negative Affect As Predictors Of Orthorexia Nervosa Symptoms Among College Students: Testing Direct And Moderated Associations Using Daily Diary Methodology, Sharyl Wee

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a condition involving a pathological obsession with healthy or “clean” eating (Bratman, 1997). Prevalence estimates of ON range from 35.4% to 83% in the U.S. population (Niedzielski & Kaźmierczak-Wojtás, 2021). Starting out innocuously as a habit of eating healthier foods, ON becomes socially and physically impairing when individuals spend a large amount of time and effort planning and preparing healthy meals, eventually turning into an obsession that interferes with other domains of life (Oberle et al., 2017). Although ON is not in the DSM-5, preliminary investigation has shown that it may fall on the eating disorder …

Neurobehavioral And Eeg Characteristics In Latino Targets Of Bullying, Isabel Solis

Psychology ETDs

Bullying adversely impacts the well-being and development of youth, calling for a comprehensive understanding of its neurobehavioral and social mechanisms for targeted interventions. Despite the increasing demographic of Latino children, little is known about their early life experiences and individual traits that leave them susceptible to becoming targets of bullying. The present study utilized a mixed-methods design to address this gap, incorporating interviews, neuropsychological assessments, and resting-state EEG (rsEEG) spectral power within the alpha (8-13Hz) and theta (4-7Hz) frequency bands. The aim was to compare the cognitive, emotional, social, and neural characteristics of nine Latino Targets (LT) of bullying and …

Community Connect: A Strategy To Mitigate The Effects Of Church Shopping On Small Urban And Rural Congregations, Jimmy Greene

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

While serving as an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, I began to realize that church shopping poses an existential worry to the survival of small churches in North America, mainly those with limited resources. The demand of some church shoppers for social amenities like indoor gyms and theater-style folding seats over personal relationship with God creates low morale for small churches, which often lack a positive response strategy.

This research study proposes a mitigating strategy, Community Connect, to address the social, psychological, missional, and ecclesiological impacts of church shopping on small churches. This socio-missiological, ecclesiological, and pedagogical approach …

Interpretable Word-Level Sentiment Analysis With Attention-Based Multiple Instance Classification Models, Chenyu Yang

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

In this study, our main objective is to tackle the black-box nature of popular machine learning models in sentiment analysis and enhance model interpretability. We aim to gain more insight into the decision-making process of sentiment analysis models, which is often obscure in those complex models. To achieve this goal, we introduce two word-level sentiment analysis models.

The first model is called the attention-based multiple instance classification (AMIC) model. It combines the transparent model structure of multiple instance classification and the self-attention mechanism in deep learning to incorporate the contextual information from documents. As demonstrated by a wine review dataset …

2023-December-16-Etsu Celebrates Class Of Fall 2023, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

East Tennessee State University celebrated more than 1,400 members of the Class of 2023 during two Commencement ceremonies held at the Ballad Health Athletic Center today.

During the morning ceremony, Dr. Jessica Burchette, associate professor of Pharmacy Practice at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, was the keynote speaker. Burchette is the 2023 recipient of the ETSU Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching, the highest teaching honor bestowed by the university.

In her remarks, Burchette provided five tips to the graduating class. Among them, she encouraged the graduates to “prioritize people” and to find ways to serve and be generous.

“When …

Machine Learning For Automated Cervical Vertebral Maturation Assessment On Lateral Cephalograms, Nuo Dong

Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Skeletal maturation age is an important guide in growing adolescent patients to determine the proper time to start orthodontic treatment. The most practical and commonly used method to determine skeletal age in today’s clinical practice is the Cervical Vertebral Maturation (CVM) method [2]. Based on the morphology of the cervical vertebrae, six maturational stages can be determined – designated CS 1 to CS 6. The main drawback of this technique is the time required to determine CS number. Objective: In this research a machine learning (ML) algorithm to automatically determine CVM staging from the lateral cephalometric radiograph was developed. …

Portrayals Of Gender And Race In Instagram Advertising: An Exploratory Content Analysis, Taylor Moore

Honors College Theses

Race and gender stereotyping is a longstanding problem in the world of advertising. This research utilized content and statistical analysis to answer three questions regarding race and gender stereotyping in Instagram advertising: (1) what portrayals are being shown? (2) how are these portrayals being shown? And (3) are diverse advertisements reinforcing or challenging stereotypes? Tweny advertisements were chosen off Instagram to analyze. Through an analysis of literature on the topic, a code book defining race, person of color, sex, gender, and gender expression was created. Using these variables and classifying the ads as a stereotype/counterstereotype/neutral, allowed for the creation of …

Transport And Mixing Of Water Masses Across The Southeast Caribbean Ocean Imaged By Seismic Reflection Data, Joseph Renzaglia

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The Caribbean Sea serves as a major pathway for global thermohaline circulation (THC), which is a complex and vital component of the Earth’s climate system, influencing global heat distribution and oceanic circulation. Though relatively stratified, it is the boundary layer that distributes mass and temperature between the surface waters and the deep ocean where we observe various multiscale mixing processes from mesoscale to fine-scale. In regions where bathymetry is shallower and mechanical mixing forces, such as winds and tides, are more dominant, diapycnal diffusivity is typically stronger, driving vertical mixing. This type of mixing occurs at small scales, typically as …

Design And Fabrication Of A Low Power 7.2 Terabit Transmitter For Exascale Computing, Scott Mcwilliams

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Enhanced Coupled Strength (ECS) gratings fabricated into III-V based devices offer high reflected power per unit length and broad band reflectivity as compared to conventional 1st order gratings, desired qualities for short-haul high speed transmitters that can be implemented without the need for chip-level temperature control, contributing to the low power per transmitted bit. For commercial DBR lasers, the grating reflectivity results in an extremely narrow reflectivity spectrum, which is highly desired for most/many applications, but requires a power hungry thermo-electric cooler to maintain a fixed frequency. The proposed LEAM (laser electro-absorption modulator) requires a broad reflectivity spectrum, which, by …

Series Aperture Coupled Fed Phased Array Antenna, Guang Yang

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Phased arrays are employed in a wide range of civil and Military contexts, including RADAR, cellular communications, and satellite communications. However, modern phased-array antennas require complex design and bulky structure at high costs, hindering their implementation in many applications. The critical aspect of a phased array design lies in power splitting with a proper phase to each radiating element. Conventional power splitters such as quarter-wavelength or Wilkinson power splitters suffer problems associated with complex array network and high power dissipation. Furthermore, popular phase shifters such as MEMS switch, ferrite-based or PIN diode have drawbacks of low power-handling capability, expensive packaging, …

Recovery Perceptions And Techniques Of Ultramarathon Runners, Denise Howard

Doctorate in Kinesiology

Ultramarathons have become increasingly popular over the last few decades. Ultramarathons are run on various terrains in different climates and are extremely distressing physiologically and psychologically. Recovery is crucial to restore physiological and psychological functioning yet is underappreciated. Compared to other sports, research related to ultra-endurance is limited, and a gap in research exists on effective recovery modalities and duration for ultrarunners. This study aimed to examine ultrarunners' practice and perceptions regarding recovery techniques and duration. An electronic survey designed for this study collected participants' perceptions about recovery and included physiological and psychological recovery factors. A total of 159 ultrarunners …

Bridging The Gaps: Listening To Early Education Leaders As Minnesota Public School Districts Work To Align Their Pre-K And K-12 Systems, Lisa A. Willman

Doctorate in Education

This qualitative study employed a grounded-theory approach to examine how Minnesota public schools align their pre-K to their K-12 systems. One-time, on-line interviews with eight early education leaders probed their districts’ catalyst for aligning the systems, how they continued the work after it was initiated, what successes and challenges they encountered, and their recommendations for other districts planning to do such alignment. Data were gathered using the built-in video-recording option in Google Meet, which also created closed captions and a printed transcript of the information. The resulting data were then analyzed via ATLAS.ti using eight main categories derived from Kauerz …

Colloid Fabrication For Biomedical Engineering Applications Through Droplet Microfluidics, Lewis I. Larsen

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

The goal of this work was to leverage soft colloid fabrication through droplet microfluidics to improve the biomedical fields of radiotracer microspheres for selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) and 3D hydrogel tissue constructs for cell culture with future potential as a platform to study liver diseases and drug response. The importance of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging microspheres infused with positron-emitting radioisotopes such as Ga-68, Cu-64, and F-18 is that they accurately map tumor-to-liver uptake (TLR) ratio and lung shunting factor of hepatocellular carcinoma. These pretreatment radiotracers model the intravascular accumulation behavior of radioactive therapeutic Y-90 SIRT microspheres. Qualifying patients, …

The Art Of Sustaining Orchestras Through Intentional Educational Experiences, Kimberly Souther

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to identify the most current and successful advances in audience engagement that champion connection and result in sustainability through purposeful educational experiences.

The Symphony Orchestra currently serves an audience which represents a multiplicity of perspectives, background, and understanding. In an era of expanded canon and outreach to local communities, the orchestra must acknowledge that change is necessary if we are to truly create fulfilling experiences for our listeners. Unfortunately, many orchestras fail to connect their outreach to the concert hall, woefully categorizing their patrons into pre-determined subsets. What if all patrons were trusted with …

Effect Of Parenting Techniques On Anxiety In Children, Amber Burton

Student Works

As anxiety among children becomes more prevalent, understanding how parenting styles affect its development may become more relevant. Anxiety affects various aspects of individuals' lives (socially, intellectually, physically, and spiritually), adding extra challenges. Anxiety can be influenced by genetics but is also potentially impacted by the child’s environment. Evidence suggests that children whose parents display higher levels of warmth through acceptance and caring behaviors tend to experience lower levels of anxiety (Butterfield et al., 2021). Additionally, lower levels of anxiety have been found in children with parents who utilize increased levels of autonomy, giving their children the freedom to make …

Isolation And Characterization Of Bacteriophages From Fish Tank Samples, Oluwaseyi Oluwagbeminiyi Oladele-Ajose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bacteriophages (phages) are viral obligate intracellular parasites that infect bacteria. Research has been carried out on alternative treatment plans for bacterial infections due to the increase in antibiotic resistance. Phages have been proposed as an alternative to antibiotics. This research focused on the isolation and characterization of bacteria from small aquariums. A total of 42 bacterial isolates were isolated from seven different fish tank water samples and were tested to determine if they possessed phages. Spot plaque assay revealed presence of lytic phage for only one of the isolated bacterial strains, which was determined to belong to Enterobacteriaceae family based …

757transfamily: Empowering Parents To Raise Their Transgender Child Through Knowledge, Connection, And Joy, Jessica Gurley

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

Parents of transgender and non-binary children often want to support their children, but are not sure how. Giving these parents the support and resources they need will increase their ability to support their children, further increasing the chance that their children will live a long, healthy, authentic life.

I built a website, and organized a workshop that parents can attend in order to access information and resources about the transgender community. These parents will receive the support they need to be better equipped to support their gender-diverse children. I will be collecting information about the parents' feelings and experience towards …

Policy Analysis: Increasing Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (Pdmp) Use To Improve Patient Safety, Kimberly Manning

Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are state-run electronic databases that collect and monitor the prescriptions of controlled substances. PDMPs help the prescriber understand the patient’s medication history to reduce opioid abuse and misuse, overdose risk, and harmful medication interactions. Considering the national persistent opioid epidemic and its impact on patient safety, it is essential to assess how a large healthcare system encourages PDMP use. PDMP participation is a Virginia Commonwealth licensing requirement, a Center of Disease Control 2022 opioid prescribing guideline, and a healthcare system requirement. The healthcare systems Controlled Substance Policy for Adult Patients (Feghali, 2020) was evaluated using …

Talking Back To White Systems Of Power: A Black Feminist Critical Autoethnography, Kimberly Diggs

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis is a Black Feminist Critical Autoethnography that talks back (hooks, 1989). I use autoethnographic methods to unpack memories and trauma of my experience of being a part of a predominantly white institution (PWI) and a resident of a community in which the institution resides, and whiteness transcends. I incorporate Black Feminist Thought (BFT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) as theoretical frameworks to enable counter storytelling to disrupt white, hegemonic ways of being. My evocative narratives, poems, and short vignettes provide a lens in which it means for me to be a Black woman in a community that has …

Exploring The Use Of Time Delay As A Pragmatic Cue In Text Messaging, Nicklas Phillips

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Text messaging is often used as a stand-in for face to face communication. While texting mimics the rapid back and forth, turn taking nature of oral conversation, it lacks many of the pragmatic cues conversationalists ordinarily rely on to establish common ground and inform their understanding of sometimes nonliteral meaning conveyed to them. To get around this hurdle, texters have developed sets of textisms. These are specific cues that can be used to make up for the lack of pragmatic information in the texting environment. Examples include emoji, emoticons, and punctuation. This is an experimental study exploring whether time can …

Increasing Medication Adherence In Patients With Bipolar Disorder Using Mobile App Reminder, Emmaculate Ndifor

Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is the fifth leading course of disability in the world, contributing to many co-morbid conditions and complications. Non-adherence to medication is prevalent in patients with BD. The aim of the project was to use an evidence-based technological intervention to enhance medication adherence in BD patients between 18- 65 years old at an outpatient behavioral health clinic.

Methods: Baseline assessment included a pre Morisky Medication Adherence (MMAS-4) questionnaire. The development of an intervention to improve medication adherence was based on Johnson’s (2002) Medication Adherence Model (MAM).

Interventions: Participants downloaded the Medisafe app, registered medications and set …

The Effectiveness Of Garlic Extract Against Spodoptera Litura On Chili, Efrin Firmansyah, Cecep Hidayat, Anna Aina Roosda, Adinda Nurul Fatah Adi Pradana, R Soelistijono

Jurnal Kultivasi

Spodoptera litura is a polyphagous pest and attack many families of cultivated plants, such as chili plants. Application of synthetic pesticides is still the mainstay for controlling this pest in the field. To support eco-friendly plant protection management, it is important to explore potential natural materials such as garlic extract. This research aims to determine the potential of garlic extract in controlling S. litura on chili plants, and to see its indirect effect on chili yield. The research was carried out in two sites, in the laboratory and the field. The experiment used a completely randomized design with 6 treatments …

Callus Induction And Proliferation Of Centella Asiatica L. Generated From Leaves And Petioles In The Presence Of Dicamba And Bap, Suci Rahayu, Darmawan Saptadi, Chotimatul Azmi, Kusumawaty Kusumanegara, Tri Handayani, Ika Roostika, Nurliani Bermawie, Haris Maulana

Jurnal Kultivasi

Centella's need for industrial raw materials is high as a medicinal plant. These needs can be met through rapid multiplication using tissue culture techniques. In this study, induction and proliferation for a callus of centella cv. Castina 3 was conducted in the MS basal medium plus 4 mgL-1 Dicamba withand enriched with 7 concentrations of BAP (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.1 mgL-1). Two kinds of explant were used, i.e., leaf and petiole. The results revealed that the addition of BAP in MS plus Dicamba medim stimulated better and produced a higher callus growth rate, both from leaf …

Correlation Analysis Between Agronomic Character And Yield Of Padjadjaran Maize Hybrids At Medium And High Population Densities, Yuyun Yuwariah, Qinthara Nail Haysa, Damara Bakti Muhammad, Dedi Ruswandi, Fiky Yulianto Wicaksono

Jurnal Kultivasi

Maize is a prospective food commodity that developed in Indonesia. The use of hybrid corn gives better yield than open-pollinated varieties. Spacing management in hybrid maize production can reduce competition between plants, so that the plant canopy and roots can grow optimally. This research aimed to compare the differences in the phenotypic performance of the agronomic characters of Padjadjaran maize hybrid, determine the dominant agronomic characteristics, and determine the correlation between the growth and yield characteristics at medium- and high-population densities. The experiment was carried out from December 2021 until May 2022 at Sanggar Penelitian, Latihan dan Pengembangan Pertanian (SPLPP) …

Ceo Narcissism: An Unconventional Approach To Understanding The Importance Of Further Research, Melissa Goldsmith

Student Theses and Dissertations

CEOs are in a unique position of power and can significantly change an organization's overall work culture, global financial standing, policies/governance, and reputation. As such, the CEO must exemplify good stewardship, implement sound strategies to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, consider different perspectives, and maintain respect for others' skill sets and expertise. For decades, corporations have focused on this ideal picture of leadership. It is essential to understand how the leadership traits once venerated have changed to include the darker side of a CEO's personality, specifically, the embodiment of narcissistic traits that prove detrimental to the organization's performance …

Creating Space For Black Queer Narratives: A Conversation Between Nella Larsen And James Baldwin, Trinity L. Hollis

Student Theses and Dissertations

My project seeks to use the fiction of James Baldwin and Nella Larsen to understand how queerness interacts with race, namely Black identity. I’m guided by Black feminist thought to consider themes of intersectionality, the notion that all aspects of identity are experienced simultaneously. This thesis makes an effort not to alienate one identity from another; the literature that I’m close reading is proof that Blackness and queerness inform each other.