Digital Commons Network^™

The Practice Of Silence And Solitude And Its Results, Lizzie Suwala

Senior Honors Theses

Silence and solitude as a spiritual discipline is seen across many different worldviews including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Humanism, and can be exercised alongside disciplines like prayer, meditation, and mindfulness. Each worldview has a unique purpose in why silence and solitude is practiced such as to commune with God, to prepare one’s heart for times of prayer, to avoid suffering, to experience revelations, and to find peace in an anxious world. Loneliness stems from unmet expectations of social interactions that lead to aversion in one’s current relationships and within themselves. Understanding the purpose of silence and solitude leads to the …

Past Meets Present For Museum Project Manager, Rebecca Lauck Cleary

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – Like most 18-year-olds, Greta Koshenina came to the University of Mississippi unclear of what she wanted to do with her life. But through her studies in the College of Liberal Arts and at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, she discovered her interests and turned them into a full-time position at the University Museum.

Challenges And Opportunities Of Developing An Efl Writing Course In Algeria: A Collaborative Auto-Ethnographic Study, Wafa Zekri, Kamal Belmihoub

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gene Expression Profiles In A Prospective, Community-Based Cohort, Jan Dahrendorff, Agaz Wani, Thomas Keller, Don Armstrong, Annie Qu, Derek E. Wildman, Maria Carmen Valero, Karestan C. Koenen, Allison E. Aiello, Monica Uddin

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and debilitating psychiatric disorder that may occur in individuals exposed to traumatic events such as accidents, interpersonal violence, war, combat, or natural disasters. Additionally, PTSD has been implicated in the development of a variety of chronic conditions including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, suggesting that the biological alterations associated with the disorder can manifest themselves as chronic diseases in those suffering from PTSD. The biological underpinnings of the disorder are not well understood. Gene expression studies can illuminate the complex physiology of PTSD reflecting the embodiment of trauma, i.e., the process in which traumatic …

Relief In Gastrointestinal Symptoms With Medical Marijuana Over 1 Year, Matthew P. Wallingford, Erin L. Kelly, Allison Herens, Daniel Hanna, Emily Hajjar, Brooke Worster

Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Subjective improvement in gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms was assessed among patients using medical marijuana (MMJ).

METHODS: Participants completed surveys at 0 days, 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months with questions about the severity of their GI symptoms on a scale from 1 (mild) to 3 (severe).

RESULTS: In each survey, participants reported a significant decrease in GI symptom severity when using MMJ versus when not using MMJ (p < 0.05). The most common self-reported side effects from using MMJ were increased appetite (12-21.4%), fatigue (6-16.7%), anxiety (4-11.9%), cough (4-11.9%), headache (6-7.9%), and dry mouth (4-7.1%).

CONCLUSION: In patients with chronic GI symptoms, MMJ may provide persistent symptom severity improvement. Limited product availability and mild to moderate side effects are factors to consider before trialing MMJ.

Optimal Aoi For Systems With Queueing Delay In Both Forward And Backward Directions, Chih-Chun Wang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technical Reports

Age-Of-Information (AoI) is a metric that focuses directly on the application-layer objectives, and a canonical AoI minimization problem is the update-through-queues models. Existing results in this direction fall into two categories: The open-loop setting for which the sender is oblivious of the packet departure time, versus the closed-loop setting for which the decision is based on instantaneous Acknowledgment (ACK). Neither setting perfectly reflects modern networked systems, which almost always rely on feedback that experiences some delay. Motivated by this observation, this work subjects the ACK traffic to a second queue so that the closed-loop decision is made based on delayed …

Cross-Sectional Study Of Personal Protective Equipment Use, Training And Biosafety Preparedness Among Healthcare Workers During The First Months Of The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic In Brazil, Kerstin Muner, Julia Kilgour, Tatiana Ometta, Ana Perola Drulla Brandao, Andrea Pires Dos Santos, Ana Marcia Sa Guimaraes

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Objectives Brazil has high rates of COVID-19 and tuberculosis among healthcare workers (HCWs). Personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential for their protection. We aimed to evaluate PPE use, training, and preparedness among HCWs in the early months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Brazil.

Methods A cross-sectional study was performed using questionnaires available to HCWs through a website created to provide PPE guidelines. χ2 test and robust Poisson regression identified factors associated with HCWs treating COVID-19 patients (TCOVID-19), lack of training on PPE use and N95 respirator reuse. The speech content of open-ended questions was analysed.

Results We analysed 1410 questionnaires …

2024-04-16 Pg-55 Update - Faculty Feedback, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty feedback on PG-55 Update submitted to the Faculty Senate on April 16, 2024.

1st Person Ev With Electronic Differential, Tessa Biondo

Honors Theses

The First Person EV with Electronic Differential for Vehicle Dynamics Analysis project makes a significant leap forward in the exploration of electric vehicle (EV) stability and performance enhancement. Lead by a team of skilled electrical engineering students under the guidance of WMU’s associate Professor Dr. Sandun Kuruppu, this project aims to improve EV stability by optimizing power and torque distribution between wheels using an electronic differential system. The project encompasses the design and assembly of a 1/7^th scale custom electric vehicle, capable of remote control via a first-person view (FPV) camera and modified USB wheel and pedal assembly. The …

5675 Wiredcats Scouting Hub, Sebastian Smiley

Honors Theses

The WiredCats Scouting Hub was created to provide FIRST team 5675 with an application that allows them to make more informed strategic decisions regarding their competitive play. The app synthesizes data from multiple sources, parsing multiple data formats into a single source of truth. It also presents data to users through graphs and charts and provides interactive tables. The application meets the requirements set forth by the leadership of team 5675, effectively providing the capabilities they seek.

Kalamazoo Nature Center Mobile Application, Jacob Tebben

Honors Theses

This project aimed to address the challenge of enhancing visitor engagement and information dissemination at the Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC) through the development of an integrated mobile and desktop application system. This initiative arose due to the limitations posed by traditional mobile applications which often become outdated and need to be updated by a dedicated software team. This project was designed for any user of the KNC desktop app to be able to update content on the mobile app, without the need of a dedicated software team.

The mobile application was designed for visitor use, enabling them to access up-to-date …

Veterinarian Perception Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Mortality Of Pets, Jason Bainbridge

Honors Theses

The pandemic led to many changes in society, changes that may have affected pets either directly or indirectly from the new way people had to live life. The primary variable of investigation is if the changes were significant enough to affect pets enough to see a trend in mortality. This thesis used a survey, sent out to veterinarians for their perspective, to see the effects the pandemic had on the mortality of pets, as well as any secondary variables. This survey had 38 responses, with 34 being eligible to complete the survey. The survey did not obtain the information of …

Effects Of Three Different Loading Models On Strength And Body Composition In Resistance Trained Persons, Orlando Rivera

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Background: Periodization of the annual training plan is a commonly utilized tool within the strength and conditioning community. Within the periodized plan, load is a key variable that is often manipulated to optimize strength development. At the present moment, a common model for load prescription involves the use of a percentage-based training (PBT) plan. However, inherent problems within a PBT loading model may reduce the accuracy of the training stimulus due to various reasons including atypical one repetition maximum (1RM) performance, strength improvements, or an acute decrease in an individual’s ability to perform. Thus, autoregulatory loading models may be a …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Sexual Orientation: An Intersectional Analysis Of Nationally Representative Data, Davin Hami, Joshua P. Mersky, Chienti Plummer Lee

All Other Contributions

No abstract provided.

Principles To Extend A Buildings Lifespan, Jordan Betsey

Architecture Cultures Student Papers

Architecture has long been a practice that creates things to stand. However, The elements that determine the lifespan of a building are still debated. Architects have studied materials, construction, and the like. The three principles that guarantee a building's long life are a building's function, maintenance, and cultural significance. Through my research of the Clark Library Building in Marietta, GA, I found that these three principles of function, maintenance, and cultural significance may give a basis to guess how to extend a building long past its predicted lifespan.

Decadal Evolution Of Ice-Ocean Interactions At A Large East Greenland Glacier Resolved At Fjord Scale With Downscaled Ocean Models And Observations, M. Wood, A. Khazendar, I. Fenty, K. Mankoff, A. T. Nguyen, K. Schulz, J. K. Willis, H. Zhang

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In recent decades, the Greenland ice sheet has been losing mass through glacier retreat and ice flow acceleration. This mass loss is linked with variations in submarine melt, yet existing ocean models are either coarse global simulations focused on decadal-scale variability or fine-scale simulations for process-based investigations. Here, we unite these scales with a framework to downscale from a global state estimate (15 km) into a regional model (3 km) that resolves circulation on the continental shelf. We further downscale into a fjord-scale model (500 m) that resolves circulation inside fjords and quantifies melt. We demonstrate this approach in Scoresby …

Discovery Of A Variable Energy-Dependent X-Ray Polarization In The Accreting Neutron Star Gx 5−1, Sergio Fabiani, Fiamma Capitanio, Rosario Iaria, Juri Poutanen, Andrea Gnarini, Francesco Ursini, Ruben Farinelli, Anna Bobrikova, James F. Steiner, Jiri Svoboda, Alessio Anitra, Maria C. Baglio, Francesco Carotenuto, Melania Del Santo, Carlo Ferrigno, Fraser Lewis, David M. Russell, Thomas D. Russell, Jakob Van Den Eijnden, Massimo Cocchi, Alessandro Di Marco, Fabio La Monaca, Kuan Liu, John Rankin, Martin C. Weisskopf

Faculty Publications

We report on the coordinated observations of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (NS-LMXB) GX 5−1 in X-rays (IXPE, NICER, NuSTAR, and INTEGRAL), optical (REM and LCO), near-infrared (REM), mid-infrared (VLT VISIR), and radio (ATCA). This Z-source was observed by IXPE twice in March–April 2023 (Obs. 1 and 2). In the radio band the source was detected, but only upper limits to the linear polarization were obtained at a 3σ level of 6.1% at 5.5 GHz and 5.9% at 9 GHz in Obs. 1 and 12.5% at 5.5 GHz and 20% at 9 GHz in Obs. 2. The mid-IR, near-IR, …

Community Needs Assessment For Obstetrics Care Among Refugee Women, Sarah Yapo, Dahlia Tesfamichael, Elizabeth Corey

Aurora GME

No abstract provided.

The Pml1-Wdr5 Axis Regulates H3k4me3 Marks And Promotes Stemness Of Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer, Chun-Peng Pai, Han Wang, Darcie D. Seachrist, Neel Agarwal, Joshua A. Adams, Zhenghao Liu, Ruth A. Keri, Kaixiang Cao, William P. Schiemann, Hung-Ying Kao

Faculty Scholarship

The alternative splicing of PML precursor mRNA gives rise to various PML isoforms, yet their expression profile in breast cancer cells remains uncharted. We discovered that PML1 is the most abundant isoform in all breast cancer subtypes, and its expression is associated with unfavorable prognosis in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers. PML depletion reduces cell proliferation, invasion, and stemness, while heterologous PML1 expression augments these processes and fuels tumor growth and resistance to fulvestrant, an FDA-approved drug for ER+ breast cancer, in a mouse model. Moreover, PML1, rather than the well-known tumor suppressor isoform PML4, rescues the proliferation of PML …

History’S Slowest Digital Transformation: The Long Road To Flight Data Monitoring, Michael Ott

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Flight data monitoring (FDM) began in the flight test community in 1939 and entered the airline industry in 1974. In the 48 years since, however, very few operators have chosen to adopt this practice, which has shown clear safety benefits where it has found acceptance. While technical issues have created some obstacles, cultural issues have proven the greatest hindrance to wider FDM adoption. These cultural issues originated in the traits associated with pilots’ personalities, especially distrust of the regulators and operators who would administer flight data analysis programs (FDAP) that used FDM information. U.S. regulators have relied on voluntary adoption, …

Application Of Density Altitude Climatology To General Aviation Impacts, Thomas A. Guinn, Daniel J. Halperin, Sarah Strazzo

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Density altitude (DA) plays a key role in flight safety because it helps pilots anticipate poor aircraft performance when temperatures are warmer than standard. In this study, a 30-year climatology of DA for the conterminous United States was created using the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate (ERA5) dataset was applied to four separate DA-based, aircraft-performance, rules-of-thumb for general aviation (GA) flight. The goal was to demonstrate a technique to create educational visualization tools showing the variation of operational flight impacts with both month and location. Four such parameters were chosen to show …

'I’M A Pilot First, Female Second': Why Flight Deck Gender Imbalance Persists And The Case For Allyship, Kimberly Perkins, Rachael H. Merola, Sourojit Ghosh, Cecilia Aragon

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Why is there greater gender parity for long-haul truck drivers, astronauts, and paleontologists than for women airline captains? This study uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the underlying causes of the gender imbalance in the United States aviation industry, in which only 3.6% of airline captains are women. Two polls and one survey gather data from professional pilots (N=1093) on their experience with stereotyping, gender bias, and allyship. Direct comments were analyzed to shed light on the results of the survey. Results suggest that, contrary to prevailing perceptions, the persistent gender imbalance in the flight deck can largely be attributed …

Integrated Organizational Machine Learning For Aviation Flight Data, Michael J. Pritchard, Austin T. Walden, Paul J. Thomas

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Increased availability of data and computing power has allowed organizations to apply machine learning techniques to various fleet monitoring activities. Additionally, our ability to acquire aircraft data has increased due to the miniaturization of small form factor computing machines. Aircraft data collection processes contain many data features in the form of multivariate time series (continuous, discrete, categorical, etc.) which can be used to train machine learning models. Yet, three major challenges still face many flight organizations: 1) integration and automation of data collection frameworks, 2) data cleanup and preparation, and 3) developing an embedded machine learning framework. Data cleanup and …

Training Methods Research Opportunities For A Pilot Workforce In Transition: A Literature Review, James Birdsong, Kurt L. Reesman

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Over the next 15 years, 50% of the U.S. commercial air carrier workforce will retire, making way for younger pilots from Generations Y and Z. This review identifies the emerging pilot workforce and training methods, including emerging technologies and learning methods, as well as research gaps.

Addressing The Target Outcomes, Functional Objectives And Functional Skills Of Aspiring Aviators In Individualized Education Plans And Section 504 Plans, Gary C. Booker

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has very specific requirements for individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that center around the executive function abilities of individuals without the aid of ADHD medications, which are forbidden for use by the FAA. These abilities are evaluated by the FAA's medical examination process, which involve a background investigation into a person's history. K-12 Administrators and educators can assist young aspiring pilots with ADHD by placing aviation-specific functional educational goals in their Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans.

Development Of A Safety Performance Decision-Making Tool For Flight Training Organizations, Marisa Aguiar, Carolina L. Anderson, Dothang Truong, Gregory S. Woo, Kenneth Byrnes

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The purpose of the research was to create and validate a safety performance decision-making tool to transform a reactive safety model into a predictive, decision-making tool, specific to flight training organizations, to increase safety and aid in operational decision-making. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the study conducted simulation runs based on operational ranges to simulate the operating conditions with varying levels of controllable resources in terms of personnel (Aviation Maintenance Technicians and Instructor Pilots) and expenditures (active flight students and available aircraft). Four What-if Scenarios were conducted by manipulating the controllable inputs. Changes to the controllable inputs are reflected by variations …

Production Of Mrna Vaccine For Influenza, Christina Miller

Honors Theses

The objective of this project is to design a process to produce an mRNA influenza vaccine that serves as an alternative to conventional influenza vaccines, replacing current options with innovative mRNA technologies. Given that older populations are most likely to follow up on immunizations consistently, and the increasing average age worldwide, the market for this project appears to be expanding in the next 80 years. Additionally, experts predict more frequent mutations and outbreaks of viral disease from a variety of factors including globalization and global temperature trends. Rapid response to these viral outbreaks will continue to be as, or even …

Identifying Multilevel Predictors Of Behavioral Outcomes Like Park Use: A Comparison Of Conditional And Marginal Modeling Approaches, Marilyn E. Wende, S. Morgan Hughey, Alexander C. Mclain, Shirelle Hallum, J. Aaron Hipp, Jasper Schipperijn, Ellen W. Stowe, Andrew T. Kaczynski Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This study compared marginal and conditional modeling approaches for identifying individual, park and neighborhood park use predictors. Data were derived from the ParkIndex study, which occurred in 128 block groups in Brooklyn (New York), Seattle (Washington), Raleigh (North Carolina), and Greenville (South Carolina). Survey respondents (n = 320) indicated parks within one half-mile of their block group used within the past month. Parks (n = 263) were audited using the Community Park Audit Tool. Measures were collected at the individual (park visitation, physical activity, sociodemographic characteristics), park (distance, quality, size), and block group (park count, population density, age structure, racial …

Systems, Models, And Simulation For Novel Microfabrication Of Silicon Carbide And Metal Mesh Filters, Hunter R. J. Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations

As the boundaries of Moore's Law rapidly approach, research is increasingly turning to exotic materials and metamaterials to advance the capabilities of electronic and micromechanical systems. This thesis presents systems, models, and simulation techniques for novel microfabrication in the realms of silicon carbide (SiC) and metal mesh filters. Through the unification of femtosecond laser pulses, high numerical aperture (NA) objective lenses, and system power and motion control, a system capable of achieving arbitrary 3D features without line-of-sight with aspect ratios up to 109:1 in SiC is developed. Additionally, a model of a direct-write femtosecond-laser-ablation fabricated metal mesh filter (MMF) is …

Multifunctional And Moisture Tolerant Zinc-Based Mono- And Bi-Metallic Metal-Organic Framework (Mof) Thin Films, Emmanuel Agbata

Theses and Dissertations

Many applications of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly dependent on their structures. The type and consistency of structure inform their properties. Zinc-based MOFs are applicable in different fields because of the low toxicity of zinc materials and are therefore also useful for catalysis. While MOF-5, a zinc-based MOF with carboxylate linkers is moisture intolerant, a variant of this is moisture tolerant. The introduction of a nitrogen-based linker in the zinc MOF which renders the structure moisture-tolerant. This material has not been explored as much, despite its multifunctional properties. Furthermore, the growth of Zn-based bimetallics of this MOF has not yet …