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Insight Into A Sexually Dimorphic Ostracod Crustacean By Mass Spectrometry And Microtomography, Cindy D. Davis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The importance of the central nervous system cannot be understated. An array ofmolecules associated with the brain regulate basic behaviors as well as sex specific behaviors. Describing the molecular background is not the only way that I can learn more of the central nervous system. Describing the anatomy of the central nervous system can be crucial in understanding what regions of the brain is particularly key to the animal. Euphilomedes carcharodonta is a small marine crustacean native to the subtidal zone of the California coast. This ostracod makes for a compelling candidate to explore these research interests as this organism …

Filipina American Mothers’ Experiences Obtaining Services For Their Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Nina Chelle Boling

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted developmental condition that manifests in early childhood, affecting various aspects of neurologic, biological, adaptive, social, linguistic, and cognitive functions. A timely and accurate diagnosis of ASD is crucial for effective intervention, promoting personal and social growth, and fostering independent adulthood. However, obtaining this diagnosis can pose challenges, particularly for people of color, who often encounter disparities in healthcare access compared to their White counterparts. This study aims to investigate the experiences of Filipina mothers raising children with ASD, specifically focusing on their journey to access appropriate autism services.

As of 2019, there were …

Plasticity In Response To Temperature Magnitude And Variation---From Life History To Thermal Tolerance And Coloration, Austin Rex Hoffman

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Warming associated with climate change has many direct and downstream effects on animals. For example, warmer developmental temperatures can improve heat tolerance and reduce insect melanization, which is related to coloration, thermoregulation, immunity, desiccation resistance, and potentially life-history traits, such as investment into reproduction and dispersal. Increased temperature variation is also a feature of climate change, and it may have a larger impact on animals than warming. However, I lack insight into the combined effects of temperature magnitude and variability on important traits of life history, thermal tolerance, and coloration. Thus, I integrated temperature variation into thermal performance using a …

Development Of Nano Formulations Of Lipophilic Platinum Complexes Against Lung Cancer, Zizhao Xu

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide and urges the development of more effective and safer treatment options. Conventional platinum-based drugs like cisplatin, while effective, are associated with significant systemic toxicity, particularly nephrotoxicity. Nano formulations, such as liposomal and micellar delivery systems, represent a promising approach to enhance the anticancer activity and reduce the toxicity of platinum complexes.

This study develops and evaluates novel miriplatin-loaded nano formulations for lung cancer therapy. We prepared and screened various liposomal and micellar formulations of miriplatin by either thin-film hydration or co-solvent evaporation, which identified a number of formulations with appropriate sizes …

Transgenerational Effects Of Stress On The Plasma Proteome Of A Marine Mammal, Emily Voelkner

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The physiological stress response enables animals to respond to changes in their environment, and is mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in mammals. Increased activation of the HPA axis by repeated stress during critical life stages like reproduction could affect fitness. Information about a stressor can be communicated to offspring via hormone signals prenatally, or postnatally via milk, and affect offspring development and stress reactivity. Experimentally activating the HPA axis by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) administration results in the synthesis of the major glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, which has well-studied far-reaching effects on growth, metabolism, and immunity. Beyond cortisol levels alone, biomarkers …

Utilizing Ai Integrated Neuroimaging Technology To Expand Upon Machine Learning In Positron Emission Tomography Technology With The Aim Of Detecting Amyloid Beta Biomarkers Early In The Onset Of Alzheimer's., Ethan S. Terman

UROP Posters

Early intervention in Alzheimer's is vital for treatment. The earlier a professional can detect symptoms and make a diagnosis the earlier a prognosis can be implemented. With the prevalence of data in our day-to-day world combined with Artificial intelligence (AI), utilizing both for machine learning can pave the way for more accurate and efficient detection of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. AI combined with Machine learning (ML) increases diagnostic efficiency and reduces human errors, making it a valuable resource for physicians and clinicians alike. With the increasing amount of data processing and image interpretation required, the ability to use AI …

Lycosidae Abundance And Diversity Across Lawn And Leaf Litter Substrate, Sage O. Lockett, Dan Albrecht-Mallinger

UROP Posters

Significant knowledge gaps exist in how land-cover impacts ground-hunting spider populations. To fill these gaps, this study investigates a common family of ground-hunting spiders, Lycosidae, to determine differences in their abundance and diversity in deciduous leaf litter and managed turfgrass (lawn). The study was conducted within a forested ecosystem at Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Rivers Center in Charles City County, Virginia. I placed 10 belt transects (1m x 20m) on lawn substrate and 10 identical transects in deciduous forest leaf litter substrate. I performed repeated visual census via eyeshine and manual capture of up to three individuals per transect …

Neurodevelopmental Vulnerability To Gestational Ozone Exposure, Vishnupriya Alavala, Sarah E. Brent, Christopher G. Canal, Joseph Wang, Russell P. Hunter, Matthew J. Campen, Andrew K. Ottens

UROP Posters

Ambient air pollution accounts for about 4.2 million premature deaths annually per the World Health Organization. Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive air pollutant found in smog and is implicated in cellular damage leading to organ dysfunction. Ambient air pollution is associated with neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and cognitive disorders though ozone’s role is unknown. Studies here look at ozone exposure shortly after implantation vs. shortly before term to evaluate differences in neurodevelopmental susceptibility over time.

To inquire on the effects of ozone on the fetal brain, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed once to 0.3 ppm of O3 or filtered air (FA) …

The Combined Focal Loss And Dice Loss Function Improves The Segmentation Of Beta-Sheets In Medium-Resolution Cryo-Electron-Microscopy Density Maps, Yongcheng Mu, Thu Nguyen, Bryan Hawickhorst, Willy Wriggers, Jiangwen Sun, Jing He

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Although multiple neural networks have been proposed for detecting secondary structures from medium-resolution (5–10 Å) cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps, the loss functions used in the existing deep learning networks are primarily based on cross-entropy loss, which is known to be sensitive to class imbalances. To monitor and tune the performance of various loss functions for the secondary structure detection problem, we investigated five loss functions: cross-entropy, Focal loss, Dice loss, and two combined loss functions. Using a U-Net architecture in our DeepSSETracer method and a dataset composed of 1,355 box-cropped atomic-structure/density-map pairs, we found that a newly designed loss function …

Gwid: An R Package And Shiny Application For Genome-Wide Analysis Of Ibd Data, Soroush Mahmoudiandehkordi, Mehdi Maadooliat, Steven J. Schrodi

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

Summary

Genome-wide identity by descent (gwid) is an R package developed for the analysis of identity-by-descent (IBD) data pertaining to dichotomous traits. This package offers a set of tools to assess differential IBD levels for the two states of a binary trait, yielding informative and meaningful results. Furthermore, it provides convenient functions to visualize the outcomes of these analyses, enhancing the interpretability and accessibility of the results. To assess the performance of the package, we conducted an evaluation using real genotype data derived from the SNPs to investigate rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility from the Marshfield Clinic Personalized Medicine Research Project.

Availability …

Prenatal Intention To Human Milk Feed In The Native Hawaiian Population: Predictors Of Any Human Milk Feeding From Birth To Six Months Postpartum, Méabh Murray, Jessie Kai, Amanda Dentinger, Leah Kaplan, Meliza Roman, Eileen O'Brien, John Kearney, Bliss Kaneshiro, Fengqing Zhu, Marie K. Fialkowski

Articles

Background: Rates of non-communicable diseases are disproportionately high among Native Hawaiian (NH) people, and the proportion of NH infants being fed human milk (HM) is the lowest among all ethnicities within the state of Hawaiʻi. The aim of this study was to explore biological, socio-economic, and psychosocial determinants of the initiation and duration of human milk feeding (HMF) among a study of NH mothers and infants. Methods: A sample of 85 NH mother-infant dyads who were participating in a larger prospective study were involved in this research. Recruitment for the parent was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment started …

A Food-Exchange Model For Achieving The Recommended Dietary Intakes For Saturated Fat In Irish Children: Analysis From The Cross-Sectional National Children's Food Survey Ii, Aileen O'Connor, Maria Buffini, Anne P. Nugent, Laura Kehoe, Albert Flynn, Janette Walton, John Kearney, Breige Mcnulty

Articles

Objective: To identify the main foods determining saturated fatty acid (SFA) intakes and model the impact of food exchanges to improve compliance with dietary fat recommendations in Irish children. Design: Estimated food and nutrient intakes were obtained from a cross-sectional study, the National Children's Food Survey II. Participants were categorised into low, medium, and high SFA consumers, and the contribution of food categories to SFA intakes were compared. A food-exchange model was developed, whereby a selected range of high SFA foods were exchanged with lower SFA or unsaturated fat alternatives. Setting: Participants were randomly selected from primary schools throughout the …

Perceptions Of Healthy And Sustainable Eating: A Qualitative Study Of Irish Adults, Daniel Hazley, Mairead Stack, John M. Kearney

Articles

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Food Insecurity Among Caregivers Of Young Children During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Ireland, Elizabeth J. O'Sullivan, Caoimhe Daly, Aileen Kennedy

Articles

Our objectives were to explore the prevalence of food insecurity in primary caregivers of young children in Ireland and to compare two tools for measuring food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among caregivers of children aged <2 years in Ireland in May/June 2020. Relevant survey questions were closed-ended using two established tools for measuring food poverty/insecurity; the Irish Food Poverty Indicator and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the prevalence of food poverty/insecurity. To explore agreement in the classification of food insecurity by the Food Poverty Indicator and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, Cohen's κ was used. Analyses are based on 716 participants; most had a 3rd-level education and were married or in a partnership. Per the food poverty index, Ireland's national measure of food poverty, 3.9% (n = 28) of our sample were experiencing food poverty. This rose to 10.5% (n = 75) experiencing food insecurity when using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, which also measures worry/anxiety around access to food. There was low agreement between the tools, with 11.3% of the sample classified as food secure by one tool and food insecure by the other. Our current measure of food poverty in Ireland may not be sufficient to describe the food-access struggles or worry/anxiety about food access, experienced by the population, particularly during an emergency like COVID-19.

The Underlying Role Of Food Guilt In Adolescent Food Choice: A Potential Conceptual Model For Adolescent Food Choice Negotiations Under Circumstances Of Conscious Internal Conflict, Aisling N. Daly, John M. Kearney, Elizabeth J. O'Sullivan

Articles

Food choice decisions are challenging to conceptualise, and literature is lacking specific to adolescent food choice decisions. Understanding adolescent nutrition and food choice is becoming increasingly important. This research aims to understand what influences the food choices of Irish adolescents, and the mental negotiations occurring in food-based decisions. Additionally, it aims to develop a holistic conceptual model of food choice, specific to adolescents. A qualitative study was conducted in N = 47 Irish adolescents, via focus group discussions using vignettes to introduce discussion topics around food and eating habits. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, involving both semantic and …

Mud Acoustics, Charles W. Holland, Stan E. Dosso, Jason D. Chaytor

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Imaging the ocean requires an understanding of how different seafloor sediments interact with sound waves.

A Review Of Rattlesnake Venoms, Phuc Phan, Anant Deshwal, Tyler Anthony Mcmahon, Matthew Slikas, Elodie Andrews, Brian Becker, Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh Kumar

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Venom components are invaluable in biomedical research owing to their specificity and potency. Many of these components exist in two genera of rattlesnakes, Crotalus and Sistrurus, with high toxicity and proteolytic activity variation. This review focuses on venom components within rattlesnakes, and offers a comparison and itemized list of factors dictating venom composition, as well as presenting their known characteristics, activities, and significant applications in biosciences. There are 64 families and subfamilies of proteins present in Crotalus and Sistrurus venom. Snake venom serine proteases (SVSP), snake venom metalloproteases (SVMP), and phospholipases A2 (PLA2) are the standard components in Crotalus …

The Objectives Of Medicaid: A Statutory And Scholarly Examination Of America's Most Important Health Program, Barak D. Richman, Laura Richman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

When Kentucky and Arkansas instituted work requirements in 2018 as a condition to receiving Medicaid benefits, residents from both states sued the Trump Administration to block the program, arguing that the requirements were contrary to the Medicaid statute. In Gresham v. Azar, the DC Circuit agreed, holding that "the objective of Medicaid was to furnish medical assistance." Even though the Secretary of Health and Human Services determined that the work requirements were "likely to assist in improving health outcomes," the court concluded that "better health outcomes as [an] objective of Medicaid… lacks textual support. Indeed, the statute makes no mention …

Addressing Equity Gaps In Stem: A Self-Study, Prabhjeet Kaur Brar

Dissertations

The Hispanic/Latinx population is increasing nationwide and in the state of California; however, the Hispanic/Latinx population remains underrepresented in STEM professions contributing to a lack of diversity in STEM. To increase the academic success of the Hispanic/Latinx student population in STEM majors, high leverage research-based teaching strategies through the lens of historically responsive literacy were applied and examined throughout this research. The purpose of this mixed-methods self-study was to examine the impact of research-based effective strategies/high leverage practices on Latinx students’ success rates in my introductory biology classrooms. The study focused on two biology course sections with a laboratory. Each …

Queer A.F.: Queer Educators In Affinity Family Personal-Professional Development, James Egisto Aguirre

Dissertations

Scholarship shows that affinity groups are spaces of support, learning, and healthy career development that are responsive to the needs of a particular marginalized community. The concept of heteroprofessionalism– the implicit or explicit pressure/s queer educators feel to fit within the proverbial cisgender/heterosexual (cishet) box–is but one of a myriad issues and pressures affect queer educators across the nation. This study brings queer educators from one school district together to unpack their experiences through the lens of heteroprofessionalism. Via queer theory, qualitative, written response data was collected and subsequently analyzed in three, half-day sessions offered in spring 2024. Thirty participants …

Raman Microspectroscopy For Detection Of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders Using Minimally Invasive Brush Biopsy Samples, Isha Behl

Doctoral

Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. The current gold standard for screening and diagnosis of oral premalignant and cancerous lesions is histopathological examination. Subjectivity is a major limitation of this technique, however. Other diagnostic methods exist, but they are not sensitive enough for early detection of potentially malignant disorders (PMDs), as these methods are based on morphological changes, which can occur late in malignant transformation. Raman spectroscopy, on the other hand, can provide molecular level information of the biological sample, through unique vibrational fingerprints of molecules. This is advantageous over the gold standard method, as molecular …

Bystanders To A Public Health Crisis: The Failures Of The U.S. Multi-Agency Regulatory Approach To Food Safety In The Face Of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Katya S. Cronin

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) are devastating our food systems and our health. Recent studies link even small exposure to PFAS to a host of adverse health outcomes, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, thyroid disease, liver damage, childhood obesity, infertility, and birth defects.

Food consumption is a primary route of PFAS exposure. PFAS are omnipresent at dangerous levels in our marine and agricultural environments, including in water, soil, fertilizers, compost, and air. From there, they can find their way into virtually every plant, fish, animal, and animal product, and ultimately (in the greatest concentration) into the consumer. In addition, PFAS-laden food …

Why Sustainable Procurement? Read All About It, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

As procurement professionals (knowingly or unknowingly) await regulations promulgated in an effort to adapt to and mitigate climate change, significant opportunities exist within current federal regulations and policy to affect change. For now, the burden to stimulate innovation falls upon procurement professionals, individually, and collectively. In that context, information is power. What better place to start than with a good book?

With an eye towards informing productive conversations across the federal acquisition community about evolving expectations, practices, and policies in sustainable procurement, this article suggests some reading from the massive and diverse body of work related to climate change.

This …

The New Gender Perspective: The Dawn Of Intersectional Autonomy In Women’S Rights, Rosa Celorio

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

International human rights jurisprudence has increasingly mandated state action which integrates a gender perspective, taking into consideration the discriminatory norms, harmful social practices, stereotypes, and violence that women have and still suffer. A range of supranational bodies have issued case decisions promoting the adoption of gender-sensitive legislation, policies, programs, and the establishment of administration of justice systems well-trained and equipped to address women’s rights violations.

This article discusses how the conception of this gender perspective has evolved over time and is now centered on the pursuit of autonomy for women. Autonomy is presented as a key ingredient to ensure due …

Disability, Race, And Immigration: The Intersectional Impact Of Policing, Tania N. Valdez

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Law enforcement officers commonly must respond to situations in which a person is experiencing acute symptoms of a mental illness. Yet from the first moment of police involvement, these community members face the possibility of negative outcomes. Consequences include officers' use of excessive force leading to injury or death, criminal arrest and prosecution that results in deprivation of liberty, separation from the community, and the creation of a permanent criminal record that affects other rights.

Although potential violence and criminalization are important reasons to avoid relying on police during mental health events, another key consideration is often ignored in the …

Female Athletes With Better Psychological Readiness Are At Higher Risk For Second Acl Injury After Primary Acl Reconstruction, Ryan Zarzycki, Kathleen Cummer, Elanna Arhos, Matthew Failla, Jacob J. Capin, Angela H. Smith, Lynn Snyder-Mackler

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Approximately 1 in 4 athletes returning to sports will sustain a second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Psychological factors related to kinesiophobia, confidence, and psychological readiness are associated with second ACL injury; however, the evidence is conflicting.

Hypothesis: Athletes who sustain a second ACL injury (ie, graft rupture or contralateral ACL rupture) within 2 years of ACL reconstruction (ACLR) would have greater kinesiophobia, less confidence, and lower psychological readiness prior to return to sport (RTS) compared with athletes who do not sustain a second ACL injury.

Study Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective randomized trial.

Level …

Age-Related Development Of Bilateral Coordination Of The Upper Limbs In Children And Adolescents, Samuel Nemanich, Sheila M. Schindler-Ivens

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Bilateral coordination of the upper limbs (UL) is important for activities of daily living and physical activities. Motor coordination improves from childhood through adolescence. However, age-coordination trajectories for bilateral UL movements are not well-established, and it is unclear if bimanual coordination develops slower than unilateral coordination. In this study we examined age-related changes in UL coordination from childhood to late adolescence. Typically-developing children (N = 29, aged 7–17 years) performed unilateral and bilateral, antiphase cycling tasks with their ULs. Variations in cycling velocity and interlimb phase errors were computed as measures of coordination. Linear regression was used to examine …

Heart Rate Variability Is Reduced In Covid-19 Survivors And Associated With Physical Activity And Fatigue, Michael H. Haischer, Lauren E. Opielinski, Lindsey M. Mirkes, Toni D. Uhrich, Rachel E. Bollaert, Michael E. Danduran, Marie K. Hoeger Bement, Linda B. Piacentine, Paula E. Papanek, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) and fatigue are common after COVID-19 infection and both are potentially influenced by physical activity (PA). We compared resting HRV, PA from accelerometers and questionnaires, and self-reported fatigue in 41 COVID-19 survivors (~8 months postinfection, 38 ± 17 years) with 41 matched controls. Differences in HRV were observed on acceleration capacity (p = 0.041), deceleration capacity (p = 0.032), high-frequency peak frequency (p = 0.019), absolute low-frequency power (p = 0.042), relative very low-frequency power (p = 0.012), SD2 (from Poincare plot; p = 0.047), and DFA2 (slope of long-term …

Deploying Chatbots To Build Students' Critical Thinking Skills: Leveraging Generative Ai Effectively And Purposefully In Higher Education, Sun Sun Lim, Tamas Makany

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

No abstract provided.

Comparative Evaluation Of Different Spinal Stability Metrics, Amir Hossein Eskandari, Farshid Ghezelbash, Aboulfazl Shirazi-Adl, Christian Larivière

Études primaires

Direct in vivo measurements of spinal stability are not possible, leaving computational estimations (such as dynamic time series and structural analyses) as the feasible option. However, differences between different stability assessment approaches and metrics remain unclear. To explore this, we asked 32 participants to perform 35 cycles of repetitive lifts with and without load (4/2.6 kg for males/females). EMG signals and 3D kinematics were collected via 12 surface electrodes and 17 inertial sensors, and three dynamical stability measures were computed: short and long temporal and conventional maximum Lyapunov exponents (LyE) and maximum Floquet multipliers (FM). A dynamic subject-specific EMG-assisted musculoskeletal …