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Optimal Manipulation Motion Action Planner Enabled By Physics Informed Neural Networks, Jonathon E. Slightam, Logan E. Beaver Jan 2025

Optimal Manipulation Motion Action Planner Enabled By Physics Informed Neural Networks, Jonathon E. Slightam, Logan E. Beaver

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Autonomous robotic manipulation in unstructured environments faces many challenges and is hindered by capabilities that bridge the gap between perception and acting on the world. Action plans that are centric to object motion rather than end-of-arm tooling behavior may aid this. This paper presents an autonomous action planner for a feedback linearizeable system comprised of three base motions that can be leveraged on their own or in combination to give custom motion plans. The optimization routine for the three different types of motion are presented, which are integrated into physics informed neural networks. A component of this is the autonomy …


Child Labor Advocacy Through The Years, Emma Naggar Jan 2025

Child Labor Advocacy Through The Years, Emma Naggar

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.


The Existence Of Empathy In Photographs Jan 2025

The Existence Of Empathy In Photographs

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.


Collision-Induced Absorption Spectra Of N₂ And Ch₄, Ryan M. Johnson, Peter F. Bernath, Brant Billinghurst, Jianbao Zhao Jan 2025

Collision-Induced Absorption Spectra Of N₂ And Ch₄, Ryan M. Johnson, Peter F. Bernath, Brant Billinghurst, Jianbao Zhao

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Collision-induced spectra are essential for radiative transfer modeling of Titan's atmosphere. We present experimental spectra of nitrogen–methane mixtures with an accompanying fit of N₂-CH₄ collision-induced absorption in the 30–400 cm⁻¹ region at about 130 K. We found a peak absorption of 2.30 × 10⁻⁵ cm⁻¹ amagat⁻² at 75 cm⁻¹ and a secondary peak of 1.35 × 10⁻⁵ c⁻¹ amagat⁻² at 206.5 cm⁻¹, which agrees with previous studies. Our work does not support the suggestion that N₂-CH₄ CIA in the far-infrared should be increased by about 50%, as suggested by spectroscopic modeling of Titan using data from A. Borysow & C. …


Transient Transmembrane-Electrostatically Localized Protons And Transmembrane Potential In A Laser Flashed Bacteriorhodopsin Purple Membrane Open Flat Sheet - Summary, James Weifu Lee Jan 2025

Transient Transmembrane-Electrostatically Localized Protons And Transmembrane Potential In A Laser Flashed Bacteriorhodopsin Purple Membrane Open Flat Sheet - Summary, James Weifu Lee

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The transmembrane-electrostatically localized protons/cations charges (TELCs, also known as TELPs) model may serve as a unified framework to explain a wide range of bioenergetic phenomena. Transient transmembrane-electrostatically localized protons (TELPs) and transmembrane potential in a laser flash-energized bacteriorhodopsin (bR) purple membrane (PM) open flat sheet are now better analyzed. Under the Heberle et al. (1994) experimental conditions, the number of bR molecules is now calculated to be 8200 per PM open flat sheet with a diameter of 600 nm. With a single-turnover laser flash intensity of 3 mJ/cm² to photoexcite 10% of the bR molecules, the laser flash-induced peak TELCs …


Experimental Absorption Cross Sections For Zro, Léo Lavy, Peter F. Bernath, Manish Bhusal, Jacques Liévin Jan 2025

Experimental Absorption Cross Sections For Zro, Léo Lavy, Peter F. Bernath, Manish Bhusal, Jacques Liévin

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Absorption cross sections for ZrO are provided and can be used as a template to interpret spectra of S-type stars. The ZrO spectrum was measured in emission from a carbon furnace at 2700 K and calibrated using synthetic spectra of ⁹⁰Zr¹⁶O. A set of nearly isolated molecular lines has been used for the calibration. We also thoroughly review the literature on the spectroscopy of ZrO. Comparison of the experimental spectrum with currently available line lists revealed issues in ZrO spectral simulation. (a) Within band systems, the relative intensities are not always well reproduced. (b) We identify yet unreported band systems, …


Mindfulness And Psychological Adjustment In International Students: The Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation Strategies, Jyoti Lama Jan 2025

Mindfulness And Psychological Adjustment In International Students: The Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation Strategies, Jyoti Lama

Masters Theses

This study examined the relationship between mindfulness and psychological adjustment among international students, focusing on the mediating roles of two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Specifically, it explored whether mindfulness is associated with lower acculturative stress and higher coping self-efficacy, and whether using the emotion regulation strategies of cognitive appraisal and expressive suppression mediate these relationships. Eighty-nine international students from mid-sized U.S. universities participated in an online survey assessing mindfulness, emotion regulation, acculturative stress, and coping self-efficacy. Mediation analyses using bootstrapping showed that cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and coping self-efficacy, but not between …


Finding Love On The Spectrum: An Analysis Of Social And Romantic Relationships Of Autistic College Students, Kaylee Spinner Jan 2025

Finding Love On The Spectrum: An Analysis Of Social And Romantic Relationships Of Autistic College Students, Kaylee Spinner

Masters Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in socialization, communication, and developing relationships with others. While many autistic individuals desire to start relationships with others, many do not have a very strong understanding of the use of nonverbal communication or how to develop these connections organically. As autistic individuals have become more open about wanting these resources to form social and romantic relationships, there has been more of a push in the literature to include social skills training for forming social relationships. However, the research on the desire for or development of romantic relationships for autistic individuals is still …


Mindfulness & Mental Health: Balanced Time Perspective As A Mediator, Eddie Trueblood Jan 2025

Mindfulness & Mental Health: Balanced Time Perspective As A Mediator, Eddie Trueblood

Masters Theses

Mindfulness is a practice of intentionally paying attention to the present moment in a nonjudgmental way. Being more mindful can decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, among other mental and physical health improvements. (Donald et al., 2016; Hofmann et al., 2010; Kabat-Zinn et al.,1992). This study examined if balanced time perspective (BTP) is one of the mechanisms of action of mindfulness in its relationship with depression, anxiety, and stress. BTP refers to a person’s ability to flexibly adapt their time perspective (attention to the past, present, or future, and positive or negative attitudes toward each) to suit the current …


Are There Predictable Shifts In Fish Communities Following Instream Habitat Restoration? A Multistream Analysis., Ryan A. Skowronski Jan 2025

Are There Predictable Shifts In Fish Communities Following Instream Habitat Restoration? A Multistream Analysis., Ryan A. Skowronski

Masters Theses

In the past two centuries, anthropogenic stressors have degraded the structure and function of streams by accelerating bank erosion, decreasing riparian buffer zones, and altering the natural flow regime. Habitat restoration has become a common mitigation strategy in response to stream degradation, though empirical research evaluating its effectiveness is lacking in the United States. This study investigated responses in fish community following habitat restoration in five restored, Illinois streams. We assigned fish species to habitat, trophic, and reproductive guilds based on their habitat preferences, feeding habits, and life history. Streams were separated into enhancement and removal groups for analysis. Shifts …


Parasite Communities Of Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales Notatus) From Several Creeks In East Central Illinois, Md Rowshan Alam Jan 2025

Parasite Communities Of Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales Notatus) From Several Creeks In East Central Illinois, Md Rowshan Alam

Masters Theses

Parasites of freshwater fish play a vital functional role in aquatic ecosystems, but the spatial and ecological determinants of their prevalence and characteristics are still poorly understood. The current study quantified the diversity, prevalence, and environmental determinants of whole parasite burdens in bluntnose minnows across multiple creeks in central Illinois. Fish sampling and the collection of stream habitat data were conducted during the summers of 2023 and 2024. Fish were examined for parasites using necropsy and histology. A total of 20,817 parasites, predominantly trematodes (Posthodiplostomum spp.), cestodes (Proteocephalus spp), and protozoans, were identified. The most prevalent and abundant …


Assessing The Role Of Daily Thermal Fluctuations In The Performance Of Mitochondrial Energy Transduction Of The Centrarchid, Lepomis Cyanellus, Grayson Hofmann Jan 2025

Assessing The Role Of Daily Thermal Fluctuations In The Performance Of Mitochondrial Energy Transduction Of The Centrarchid, Lepomis Cyanellus, Grayson Hofmann

Masters Theses

Freshwater systems are affected by current climate extremes, forcing species found in these systems to withstand drastic changes in temperature. Temperature changes affect these organisms by altering their metabolic rate and energy balance. Increases in temperature can lead to an increase in oxygen consumption, which ultimately increases the need for more energy production. Mitochondrial energy transduction of green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) and many other fish species after a thermal insult, has hardly been explored. This study complements the limited research available on mitochondrial function in similar species, as they ignore the possibility of consecutive thermal events, which are …


The Relationships Of Anxiety Sensitivity, Intolerance Of Uncertainty, And Alexithymia On University Students’ Experiences Of Depression, Anxiety, And Stress, Vanessa Watterson Jan 2025

The Relationships Of Anxiety Sensitivity, Intolerance Of Uncertainty, And Alexithymia On University Students’ Experiences Of Depression, Anxiety, And Stress, Vanessa Watterson

Masters Theses

Undergraduates’ mental health has seen a significant decline over the past several decades. Past research has identified significant correlations between specific cognitive vulnerabilities and experiences of psychological distress. The current study reviewed the literature on relationships between three cognitive vulnerabilities (anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, and alexithymia) and individuals’ experiences of depression, anxiety, and stress. Further, this study utilized a hierarchical regression model to examine the predictive abilities of anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, and alexithymia on depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The findings indicated that all three cognitive vulnerabilities had significant and unique contributions to depression, anxiety, and stress …


Experiences Of Qpoc College Students: The Complexities Of Navigating Multiple Minoritized Identities, Attainea S. Toulon Jan 2025

Experiences Of Qpoc College Students: The Complexities Of Navigating Multiple Minoritized Identities, Attainea S. Toulon

Masters Theses

Queer People of Color (QPOC) experience unique challenges within higher education as they navigate the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). This qualitative narrative study explored the lived experiences of three QPOC college students at a mid-sized public university in the Midwest. Through semi-structured interviews, participants shared how their intersecting identities shaped their sense of belonging, access to support systems, and overall university experiences. Findings revealed that while participants found affirmation through cultural organizations, staff mentors, and chosen family, they also encountered racialized exclusion within LGBTQ+ spaces and heteronormative expectations within racialized spaces.The narratives illustrated …


Disease Diagnosis Using Natural Language Processing And Deep Learning, Manas Kumar Sherla Jan 2025

Disease Diagnosis Using Natural Language Processing And Deep Learning, Manas Kumar Sherla

Masters Theses

This research presents an automated disease diagnosis framework that leverages natural language processing and deep learning to predict diagnosis codes from unstructured electronic health record (EHR) clinical notes. Using the MIMIC-III critical care dataset, clinical narratives such as discharge summaries and physician notes are extracted, validated, and preprocessed to construct a labeled corpus aligned with ICD-9 diagnoses. The study implements a pipeline comprising text cleaning, feature extraction, and supervised learning, and compares traditional models such as Logistic Regression and Bi-LSTM with transformer-based architectures built on BERT. Models are trained and evaluated with categorical cross-entropy loss and standard multi-class metrics, including …


The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On College Sport Communications, Will Barnhart Jan 2025

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On College Sport Communications, Will Barnhart

Masters Theses

As Artificial Intelligence technology (AI) becomes increasingly accessible, the importance of understanding its impact on peoples’ work lives is also increasing. One field that has received very little attention in relation to this subject is college sport communications. Prior research has focused on AI within the closely related fields of journalism and public relations, but no previous studies have been conducted on AI and college sport communicators specifically. To address that knowledge gap, this study surveyed members of the College Sport Communicators (CSC) on their attitudes toward AI and their usage of such technology. The data analysis showed that while …


Childhood Maltreatment And Social Anxiety In College Students: Examining The Role Of Distress Tolerance, Alexa N. Matthies Jan 2025

Childhood Maltreatment And Social Anxiety In College Students: Examining The Role Of Distress Tolerance, Alexa N. Matthies

Masters Theses

This study examines the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and social anxiety, with a focus on the mediating role of distress tolerance. Emotional maltreatment has been linked to numerous adverse psychological outcomes, yet its specific contribution to social anxiety symptoms requires further exploration. Using a sample of 94 participants aged 18 to 24, this research employs validated instruments, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, to assess the prevalence and impacts of emotional abuse and neglect. Findings reveal significant correlations between emotional abuse, neglect, and elevated social anxiety symptoms. Distress tolerance emerged as a key mediator, partially …


Small Town Voices And Stories: Rural Older Populations And Health Narratives, Wyatt K. Zumbahlen Jan 2025

Small Town Voices And Stories: Rural Older Populations And Health Narratives, Wyatt K. Zumbahlen

Masters Theses

Stories play a vital role in our humanity; they help us understand the world around us. As we age, our experiences, along with those of the people around us, shape our perceptions of health and influence our healthcare choices. For older adults, narratives become an essential resource in making healthcare decisions. In rural communities like Coles County, Illinois, these stories are especially important for older adults who are navigating the limited care and services available in the area. This reliance on narratives impacts their willingness to seek care, highlighting the need to recognize the power of stories in empowering older …


Habitat Use And Selection Of Silver Carp In The Lower Wabash River System, Coy B. Blair Jan 2025

Habitat Use And Selection Of Silver Carp In The Lower Wabash River System, Coy B. Blair

Masters Theses

The spatial ecology of non-native species in invaded systems remains relatively poorly understood despite the importance of suitable habitat in the success of invasion. Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix are a highly invasive non-native species with established populations throughout the Midwestern United States. Much research has focused on habitat use of bigheaded carp in large river systems, though invasion risk remains high in smaller systems, such as tributaries of the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. The Wabash River, a unique system in the Midwest, remains largely un-impounded and is comparable to many of the smaller riverine systems at risk of …


The Lumpkin College Of Business And Technology Living-Learning Community: An Examination Of The Llc's Development And Assessment During The First Year Of The Program, Elian G. Mackey Jan 2025

The Lumpkin College Of Business And Technology Living-Learning Community: An Examination Of The Llc's Development And Assessment During The First Year Of The Program, Elian G. Mackey

Masters Theses

Living-learning communities (LLCs) are well-known as a means of fostering student engagement tied closely to academics and sense of belonging among peers outside of the classroom. However, the success of an LLC depends not only on its design and implementation but also on the strength of its assessment practices. This paper examines the efficiency of the current assessment practices of the Lumpkin College of Business and Technology LLC, Eastern Illinois University’s newest LLC in the 2024-2025 Academic Year, at this point in its development. With the community is still early in its development, assessment efforts faced challenges. Through a review …


Domestic Student Engagement With International Peers: Local Insights, Global Connections, Alissa Sutton Jan 2025

Domestic Student Engagement With International Peers: Local Insights, Global Connections, Alissa Sutton

Masters Theses

As competition to recruit international students grows, institutions must prioritize fostering a sense of belonging that supports their retention and success. Central to this is the quality of interactions between international and domestic students, which shape both groups’ social and academic experiences. This study examines the barriers and facilitators influencing domestic students’ engagement with international peers and the role of institutional support in promoting meaningful cross-cultural connections. Findings reveal that domestic students recognize the importance of engaging with international peers but they often encounter challenges such as lack of awareness, uncertainty about how to connect, and limited institutional opportunities. Support …


Burnout And Job Satisfaction In Practicing School Psychologists, Cole Westmoreland Jan 2025

Burnout And Job Satisfaction In Practicing School Psychologists, Cole Westmoreland

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the primary variables associated with burnout among practicing Midwest school psychologists. More specifically, the purpose was to determine if the same variables that correlated highly with Illinois school psychologists’ burnout levels in a 1994 study by Niebrugge and a 2004 study by Hoffman have held constant over the last two decades. Additionally, the varying roles of school psychologists and how they have impacted burnout and job satisfaction were addressed by identifying differences between ideal and actual role involvement. Survey materials used included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, 4th edition, a Job Satisfaction …


The Influence Of Family-School Communication On Junior High School Students’ Academic Success, Stephen Junior Amoah Jan 2025

The Influence Of Family-School Communication On Junior High School Students’ Academic Success, Stephen Junior Amoah

Masters Theses

This study examines the influence of family-school communication on students' academic success in the context of Ghana, with a particular focus on Junior High School (JHS) students. While existing research emphasizes the importance of family involvement in educational outcomes, limited studies explore how family-school communication directly affects academic success in Ghana. By using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines quantitative and qualitative data collection. The quantitative component includes an online survey distributed to JHS graduates, assessing the frequency, impact, methods, and barriers of communication between families and schools, as well as their perceived effect on academic performance. The survey includes …


Chronic Sleep Fragmentation Differentially Affects Alzheimer’S Disease Pathology In Male And Female AppSaa Knock-In Mice, Margaret R. Hawkins, Haleigh R. Whitlock, Carrie E. Johnson, Teresa Macheda, Ma Kayla F. Cox, Madison G. Lapid, Kelly N. Roberts, Heather M. Hash, Esther G. Drinkard, Sridhar Sunderam, Bruce F. O’Hara, Michael P. Murphy, Marilyn J. Duncan, Adam D. Bachstetter Jan 2025

Chronic Sleep Fragmentation Differentially Affects Alzheimer’S Disease Pathology In Male And Female AppSaa Knock-In Mice, Margaret R. Hawkins, Haleigh R. Whitlock, Carrie E. Johnson, Teresa Macheda, Ma Kayla F. Cox, Madison G. Lapid, Kelly N. Roberts, Heather M. Hash, Esther G. Drinkard, Sridhar Sunderam, Bruce F. O’Hara, Michael P. Murphy, Marilyn J. Duncan, Adam D. Bachstetter

Biology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Sleep fragmentation often precedes Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis and represents a potential modifiable risk factor, especially among women who have higher prevalence of both sleep disorders and AD. Methods: This study investigated how chronic sleep fragmentation affects neuroinflammation and amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation in male and female APPSAA knock-in mice, a physiologically relevant AD model expressing APP at normal levels. APPSAA mice of both sexes (N=8/sex/strain, 8 months old) underwent either 5 weeks of chronic sleep fragmentation administered during the light phase using an automated sweeper system or undisturbed sleep. Sleep-wake patterns and circadian rhythms were monitored using …


Simpson's Tachytely Or Bradytely? The Importance Of Quantifying Rate Uncertainty, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Lee Hsiang Liow Jan 2025

Simpson's Tachytely Or Bradytely? The Importance Of Quantifying Rate Uncertainty, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Lee Hsiang Liow

Biology Faculty Publications

The spectacular variation in species forms and richness across space and time can be explored using sophisticated and powerful tools recently developed by evolutionary modellers. In this contribution, we ask if the classic ‘Simpsonian’ view of tachytelic (fast), horotelic (standard) and bradytelic (slow) diversification rates can be distinguished with currently available tools and data. A neglected topic here is the role that the uncertainty of diversification rate estimates plays, where the lack of in-depth uncertainty measures could hinder our ability to confidently suggest differences in speciation or extinction rates in any given comparison. We propose quantifying the relative uncertainty of …


“I Just Don’T Find It Interesting”, Jennifer L. Osterhage, Utku Caybas, Jaeyun Han, Ellen L. Usher Jan 2025

“I Just Don’T Find It Interesting”, Jennifer L. Osterhage, Utku Caybas, Jaeyun Han, Ellen L. Usher

Biology Faculty Publications

Situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT) posits that students’ expectancies for success, task values, and perceived costs affect their performance in STEM courses. Less is known about how students’ majors and timing of course completion affect motivational processes. Using the SEVT framework, this study utilised a convergent mixed methods approach to investigate academic motivation among students (N = 646) who enrolled in introductory biology at a large public university. Survey data revealed that students majoring in Biology were more motivated than students from other majors, although academic major was not directly associated with final grade. Upper-level students reported significantly lower competence-related beliefs …


Seasonal Divergence In Reproductive Timing On The Verge Of Spring, Devraj Singh, Adam M. Fudickar, Ellen D. Ketterson Jan 2025

Seasonal Divergence In Reproductive Timing On The Verge Of Spring, Devraj Singh, Adam M. Fudickar, Ellen D. Ketterson

Biology Faculty Publications

Every year as spring approaches and day length increases, many birds begin to reproduce, an annual expression of seasonal phenology that requires physiological preparation. In species distributed over a broad geographic range, populations that breed at higher latitudes are often migratory and delay reproduction until later in the year as compared to those breeding at lower latitudes. Dark-eyed Juncos serve as an excellent model for understanding the timing mechanisms regulating population-level variation in seasonal reproductive responses. We compared two seasonally sympatric dark-eyed junco populations in early spring. One migrates (Junco hyemalis hyemalis) and breeds in Alaska and Canada, while the …


Chromatin Remodeling Protein Bptf Mediates Chromatin Accessibility At Gene Promoters In Planarian Stem Cells, Prince Verma, John M. Allen, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, Elizabeth M. Duncan Jan 2025

Chromatin Remodeling Protein Bptf Mediates Chromatin Accessibility At Gene Promoters In Planarian Stem Cells, Prince Verma, John M. Allen, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, Elizabeth M. Duncan

Biology Faculty Publications

Background The regulation of chromatin accessibility is essential in eukaryotic cells as one of several mechanisms that ensure gene activation occurs at appropriate times and in appropriate cell types. Accordingly, mutations in chromatin remodeling proteins are linked to many different developmental disorders and cancers. One example of a chromatin protein that has been linked to both developmental abnormalities and cancer is BPTF/NURF301, the largest subunit of the Nucleosome Remodeling Factor (NuRF) complex. The BPTF subunit is not only important for the formation of NuRF but also helps direct its activity to particular regions of chromatin by preferentially binding histone H3 …


Unraveling Silence, Precious Gyekye Jan 2025

Unraveling Silence, Precious Gyekye

School of Art Graduate Exhibitions, Portfolios, and Theses

No abstract provided.


Adetope Peter Kiladejo Master Of Fine Arts, Peter Kiladejo Jan 2025

Adetope Peter Kiladejo Master Of Fine Arts, Peter Kiladejo

School of Art Graduate Exhibitions, Portfolios, and Theses

No abstract provided.