Digital Commons Network^™

Single-Nucleus Multi-Omics Of Human Stem Cell-Derived Islets Identifies Deficiencies In Lineage Specification, Punn Augsornworawat, Nathaniel J Hogrebe, Matthew Ishahak, Mason D Schmidt, Erica Marquez, Marlie M Maestas, Daniel A Veronese-Paniagua, Sarah E Gale, Julia R Miller, Leonardo Velazco-Cruz, Jeffrey R Millman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Insulin-producing β cells created from human pluripotent stem cells have potential as a therapy for insulin-dependent diabetes, but human pluripotent stem cell-derived islets (SC-islets) still differ from their in vivo counterparts. To better understand the state of cell types within SC-islets and identify lineage specification deficiencies, we used single-nucleus multi-omic sequencing to analyse chromatin accessibility and transcriptional profiles of SC-islets and primary human islets. Here we provide an analysis that enabled the derivation of gene lists and activity for identifying each SC-islet cell type compared with primary islets. Within SC-islets, we found that the difference between β cells and awry …

A High-Efficiency Gene Silencing In Plants Using Two-Hit Asymmetrical Artificial Micrornas, Sachin Teotia, Xiaoran Wang, Na Zhou, Mengmeng Wang, Haiping Liu, Jun Qin, Dianwei Han, Chingwen Li, Christine E. Li, Shangjin Pan, Haifeng Tang, Wenjun Kang, Zhanhui Zhang, Xiaoqing Tang, Ting Peng, Guiliang Tang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation. They are produced through an enzyme-guided process called dicing and have an asymmetrical structure with two nucleotide overhangs at the 3′ ends. Artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs or amiRs) are designed to mimic the structure of miRNAs and can be used to silence specific genes of interest. Traditionally, amiRNAs are designed based on an endogenous miRNA precursor with certain mismatches at specific positions to increase their efficiency. In this study, the authors modified the highly expressed miR168a in Arabidopsis thaliana by replacing the single miR168 stem-loop/duplex with …

Comparison Of Control Parameters For Roller Blinds, Hani Alkhatib, Philippe Lemarchand, Brian Norton, Dominic O'Sullivan

Articles

Roller blinds can reduce the heating and cooling building energy consumption required to maintain thermal comfort. The effectiveness of roller blinds is influenced by the strategies and input parameters for their control. This study is the first to identify the most effective of seven alternative control parameters to control roller blinds. It further defines the benefits from using paired control parameters to maximise energy savings and optimise occupants’ comfort. For the particular case studies and conditions examined, it is concluded that operating roller blinds using indoor air temperature as a single control parameter with rule-based controller provided, 16 %, 19 …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Of Cue Identification And Problem Framing In Nurses' Clinical Decision Making, Kereen F. Mullenbach

Dissertations

This qualitative descriptive study was designed to explore the relationship of cue identification and problem framing as part of the problem solving and decision making of medical surgical nurses as they thought-aloud while they performed an assessment of a human patient simulator. The most important aspect of problem solving is the identification of the correct problem. Nurses are expected to identify problems in complex, uncertain, unstable, and time-limited situations. Few studies have been conducted using a Human Patient Simulator to create a realistic situation while controlling for uniformity and consistency. The conceptual framework for the study was Information Processing Theory …

Institutional Repositories For Higher Educational Institutions: A New Opportunity For Academic Libraries, Taher Hussain Khan Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Digital information created for pedagogical and research purposes is gaining traction, and there is a growing interest within academic institutions to gather, archive, and provide value-added services based on this content. The term "institutional repository" refers to a novel system for storing and sharing digital academic works produced by students and teachers at different educational institutions. It was conceived as a solution to the issues plaguing the present model of scholarly communication, which is dominated by for-profit journal publishers and suppliers. Libraries will need to hire librarians with knowledge of digital collection management and the Open Archive Information System (OAIS) …

The Impact Of Continuing Professional Development Programs On Service Delivery At Uganda Christian University Library., Kizito Mayira

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study was about the Impact of Continuing Professional Development programs on service delivery at Uganda Christian University Library. The main objective of the study was to assess how CPD programs have affected librarians’ service delivery at Uganda Christian University Library. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Data was collected through 28 questionnaires distributed physically to library staff. The findings of the study indicated that UCU library staff have attended CPD programs in form of Workshops, internal and external training programs, workshops, conferences, job shadowing, mentoring and focus groups. These have helped them acquire skills in customer care, presentation, …

Characterization Of Lps As A Virulence Factor In Burkholderia Cepacia During Plant And Human Infection, Jack Klahr, Elizabeth Danka

Biology Senior Theses

Burkholderia cepacia is a gram-negative bacterium first characterized as the causative agent of sour skin in onion crops. More recently, B. cepacia has become a clinical concern as an opportunistic pathogen that can colonize the upper respiratory tract of cystic fibrosis patients and increase mortality in these patients. Infection is exacerbated by the intrinsic resistance to antibiotics found in this genus of organisms. Additional virulence factors help the bacteria persist in the host during infection. However, few of these factors have been described. In this work, we characterized a putative virulence factor that was first identified through an onion infection …

Spinel, An Overlooked Crystalline Phase Of Igzo, Hendrik F.W. Dekkers, Akhilesh Kumar Mandal, Evangelos Agiannis, Adrian Vaisman Chasin, Romain Delhougne, Attilio Belmonte, Gouri Sankar Kar

Semiconductor Technology for Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits and Thin Film Transistors (ULSIC VS TFT 8)

In the family of semiconducting oxides, InGaZnO4 (IGZO) is most attractive due to the absence of mobile holes and the preservation of a relative high electron mobility when the material is in the amorphous phase. Especially this last characteristic enables low deposition temperature (Td), beneficial for the application as semiconducting channels of thin film transistors (TFT) in optical displays and 3D memory elements. However, a disadvantage related to the amorphous phase is the distribution of bonding energies of oxygen anions, which is directly related to the distributed distances with respect to the neighboring metal cations [1], leading to free electron …

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Self Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, And Organizational Commitment Of Science And Math Teachers In Alabama, Andrew N. Wood

Dissertations

This study investigated the correlations between occupational citizenship behaviors, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of math and science teachers. The purpose was to discern how these variables interacted to determine how best to support these teachers so they may be more likely to stay teaching in their organizations until retirement. The researcher surveyed math and science teachers within the State of Alabama. There were 314 math and science teachers who completed the survey instrument. Six hypotheses were evaluated to determine if all the variables had positive relationships with each other. From the correlation analysis, used for hypothesis testing, total …

Conference Program, Yue Kuo

Semiconductor Technology for Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits and Thin Film Transistors (ULSIC VS TFT 8)

No abstract provided.

#Notyourmammy: Explicating The Experiences Of Black Women Graduate Students As Learners And Laborers In American Academia, Kristian Ashley Contreras

Dissertations - ALL

The #NotYourMammyStudy explored the ways Black women are expected to engage in affective work – the production of feelings or affects that prioritize the needs/expectations of others – while learning in and laboring for White Serving Institutions in American higher education. This interdisciplinary qualitative study utilized a Transnational Black Feminist Framework to draw on the experiences of 28 Black women pursuing terminal graduate degrees at White Serving Institutions (WSIs) with a consideration of how the university exploits Black women through the colonial trope of the Mammy figure. The #NotYourMammyStudy offers an incisive critique of the structures of exploitation within American …

Our Magnitude And Bond: An Ethics Of Care For Art Museum Education, Dana Carlisle Kletchka

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

This work responds to contemporary concerns about the future of art museum education and public practice and art museums more broadly in the wake of a global pandemic that has, at present, killed more than a million people in the United States and sickened millions more. I respond to questions posed by the board of the Journal of Social Theory in Art Education in relation to the theme of Inclusion Invasion, expand upon the relations between art museums and communities posited by a post-critical, socially responsive museological framework, and explore the potential for a feminist philosophical Ethics of Care …

Leadership Actions For Equitable Arts Education, Sarah Gentile

Dissertations - ALL

In May of 2020, over fifty arts and education organizations released a joint statement regarding the essential nature of arts education (NAEA, 2020). This announcement and subsequent campaign highlighted some benefits of a rich arts education such as increased social-emotional well-being and levels of empathy, the development of a safe and welcoming school environment, as well as lower suspension and drop-out rates (Gehry, 2020; NAEA, 2020). It also highlighted the consistent inequities that continually plague arts education programs (Gehry, 2020).

Five district level arts leaders from New York State, striving for equity in their programs, participated in this phenomenological, multi-sited, …

This Memory Is Redacted But Not Gone, Wanda-Marie Rana

Theses - ALL

In this paper, This memory is redacted but not gone, I discuss how my artistic practice, my time in graduate school, and my own life experiences have led me to create my thesis project. The paper is split up into chapters describing the work I made while in graduate school along with my themes; memory, family, home, and identity, and methods; archive, collage, and investigation, of working. I then dedicate a chapter specifically to my thesis work before concluding the paper with my plans to continue my practice after graduate school.

The Body Knows: Embodiment And Whiteness A Rhetorical Analysis Of White Bodies Engaged In Antiracism Work, Otsego County, New York, Kerry Lynn Mess

Theses - ALL

Multiculturalism, diversity, inclusion, equity, antiracism, belonging… The humanities, social sciences, and rhetorical scholarship have all slowly given attention to questions of race and racism. Situated at the intersection of somatic psychology and rhetorical studies, this thesis uses a somatic theory lens to explore how symbolic systems, specifically language and bodies, are intertwined to understand the embodied or material effects of racism we have not yet accounted for. I borrow Karma Chávez’s language of “abstract” and “actual” (2018) to observe the rhetorical dynamics, patterns and strategies, of white bodies accounting for themselves and apply Resmaa Menakem and Douglas Robinson’s somatic theories …

The Creative Link: Creativity, Resilience, Connection And Story, Elisha Stasko

Theses - ALL

This study examines the intersection between the theories of Campbell's 'The Hero'sJourney,' Brown's 'Rising Strong,' and Catmull's 'Creativity, Inc..' and the experiences of various photographers who have undertaken projects on motherhood. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study analyzes books, interviews, blog entries, documentaries, articles and artist statements to identify patterns and themes. The study finds a consistent pattern of challenge, risk, vulnerability, and struggle, resulting in growth and connection. It concludes the creative process has parallels to patterns of resilience and the narrative arc and can facilitate connection with self and others. By recognizing this pattern in a variety of …

Sexual Minority And Religious Majority? Non-Religious Gay/Lesbian People’S And Cisgender Heterosexual Christians’ Evaluations Of Gay And Lesbian Christians, Benjamin Michael Valen

Theses - ALL

Gay and lesbian people experience anti-queer bias from various social groups, including Christians (Whitley, 2009). Despite this work, no social psychologists to our knowledge have investigated how gay/lesbian Christians (a sexual minority and religious majority group with two intersecting, “conflicting” identities) are evaluated by non-religious gay/lesbian people and cisgender heterosexual Christians, two groups who each share one identity with gay/lesbian Christians. We recruited subsamples of non-religious gay/lesbian people (n = 175) and cisgender heterosexual Christians (n = 211) and found that, in addition to evaluating their own group (“complete ingroups”) more positively than outgroups (Hypotheses 1 and 2), these subsamples …

Haudenosaunee Men And Masculinities In Higher Education: Perceptions, Reminders, And Responsibilities To Community, Hugh Burnam

Dissertations - ALL

Native men in higher education experience among the lowest persistence and graduation rates in the United States (Condition of Education, 2020). Native men are subjected to systemic barriers brought by settler colonialism such as racism and patriarchal hegemony which negatively impact their perceptions of masculinity and forces them to move away from their traditional cultural teachings (Boyden, et al., 2014; Innes & Anderson, 2015). These systemic barriers also detrimentally impact the perceptions and experiences of Native men in higher education (Poolaw, 2018; Still, 2019). The experiences of Native men in higher education still need to be explored further (Reyes & …

Kinetics Analysis Of Acetone Hydrogenation Over Supported Pt Series Catalyst, Yaqin Tang

Theses - ALL

Since biomass energy is an important renewable energy source, in recent years, the global biomass energy development and utilization technology has developed rapidly, and the application cost has dropped rapidly. At the same time, one of the most fundamental strategies for converting biomass into petrochemical commodities is the removal of oxygen, which is also abundant in biomass. The nature, structure and source of metal catalysts are very sensitive to the influence of reaction rate and selectivity; after hydrogenation of different carbonyl compounds, the composition and properties of their bulk gas or liquid phases are also different. At the same time, …

Hematopoietic Growth Factors Promote The Proliferation And Differentiation Of Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells, Songruo Li

Theses - ALL

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes severe damage in the white matter, leading to long-term disability and increased mortality. Demyelination, characterized by the damage of myelin sheaths and oligodendrocyte cell death, is a major pathological change in white matter injury after TBI, resulting in persistent neurological deficits. Previous studies have demonstrated that co-treatments with stem cell factor (SCF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (SCF+G-CSF) in the chronic phase of severe TBI improve neurological function recovery and enhance remyelination in the white matter. The SCF+G-CSF-enhanced remyelination is positively correlated with the proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in the subventricular zone. …

Graph Augmentation Using Spectral Moments, Atul Anand Gopalakrishnan

Theses - ALL

Graph representational learning focuses on learning real value vectors that for nodes,edges or the graph, such that these vectors capture adequate information about these entities. Graph data augmentation, focuses on changing the structure or features in a graph to help improve classification performance and become more generalizable. This can be broadly categorized into feature based augmentation and structure based augmentation. Feature augmentation focuses on changing the feature matrix, without changing the structure of the graph to help improve the performance of the graph neural network. Graph structure augmentation refers to the manipulation of the adjacency matrix of a given graph …

Theaters Of The Intimate: The Feminine Culture Of Self-Care On Tiktok, Rayana Weller

Theses - ALL

In this thesis, I study the feminine culture of self-care on TikTok as it exists in prominent digital genres: skincare and soft living. These two genres represent the aspiration toward a soft perfection of both the physical self and the space around it. Situated within the theories of the female complaint (Berlant, 2008) and the paradigm of perfection (McRobbie, 2015), I argue that feminine culture on TikTok reframes the demanding and unending labor required to approximate standards of feminine perfection as a pleasing and satisfying experience of self-care. Self-care rhetoric on TikTok disguises the discipline required to pursue cultural definitions …

“They Need To Hear Our Voices:” Youth Dialogue, Participatory Research, And Educational Inequity In Central New York, Lauren Eleanor Ashby

Theses - ALL

While youth are active participants in urban and educational spaces, young people’s lived experiences are understudied in geography. In this study, I investigate the ways that youth in Central New York understand, communicate, and navigate their schools and neighborhoods through ethnography and participatory research. Situating the city of Syracuse contextually, this study uncovers the way that youth know and enact the spaces of their daily lives, and the impacts of external reputations and relational systems on how these spaces are navigated. I investigate these themes through two case studies. The first is the Common Ground Dialogue program, a school-based intergroup …

Legacies Of Empire: Museums, Neocolonialism, And Repatriation, Kailey Smith

Theses - ALL

“Legacies of Empire: Museums, Neocolonialism, and Repatriation” examines four European museums and their presentation of African cultural heritage. Analysis of the British Museum, Louvre, Musée du Quai Branly, and the AfricaMuseum uses qualitative methods and is grounded in both critical museology and decolonial theory. In conducting this analysis, I argue that these museums are engaged in various forms of memory manipulation regarding their colonial empires and that the consequent refusal of these spaces to return African cultural heritage taken during the colonial empire perpetuates the supremacy and violence of their taking. Through analysis of the museums themselves, this thesis considers …

Soft Thorns: Uncovering Vulnerability, Qianjin Men

Theses - ALL

The paper titled “Soft Thorns: Uncovering Vulnerability” summarizes my creative journey and evolution in the art field, as well as how I used various art forms to heal myself during my three-year graduate study. It supplies a detailed account of my artworks created during my time at Syracuse University, including my final work, Soft Thorns. Despite undergoing significant changes in my art style and work due to the passage of time and external influences, the fundamental essence of my artwork has remained centered around exploring my inner emotions and battling mental conflicts. Through experimenting with various artistic mediums such as …

Extended Controlled-Release Of Drugs And Nanoparticles From Shape Memory Polymers, David Anthony Fikhman

Theses - ALL

The ability to externally control release from implants offers a safer and more efficient way of delivering drugs to the body as compared to traditional drug depots that rely upon diffusion and do not allow for a change in dosage after implantation. Previous studies employed magnetic nanoparticle (NP)-loaded shape memory polymer (SMP) films to determine if magnetic actuation could be used to release a model drug (rhodamine B) from strained and unstrained samples and to establish structure/property relationships regarding drug release from SMPs. This previous study was limited by short release time characterization periods (7 hours) and does not provide …

Predicting The Hydration Properties Of Anti-Freeze Proteins, Britnie Carpentier

Theses - ALL

Anti-freeze proteins are a class of proteins present in various organisms to allow their cells to survive in sub-freezing temperatures. These proteins act by binding to the surface of ice crystals in the cell’s cytoplasm. Each protein has a characteristic flat face that is considered its ice binding site. Despite a common function and ice binding mechanism, the sequence and 3-D folded structure between each anti-freeze protein is vastly different and results in a knowledge gap as to the common feature in these sequences that allow them to exhibit this same function. Here I present the use of a novel …

Towards Decolonization: Migrated Kenyan Archives And The Politics Of Knowledge Production, Joy Nyokabi Karinge

Theses - ALL

“Towards Decolonization: Migrated Kenyan Archives and the Politics of Knowledge Production” examines ethical questions of archival removal in relation to access to knowledge and the politicization of access. Utilizing a theoretical framework of postcolonial theory, decolonial theory, and epistemic decolonization, this study investigates Kenyan archival holdings within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office files at The National Archives in London and the East African Archives at Syracuse University. Analysis of these archives is conducted using qualitative methods of archival research and interviews. This research reveals British colonial efforts to protect its reputation by migrating, concealing, and destroying archives and to preserve …

Contingencies In Classrooms: A Systematic Review Of Contingent Reinforcement For Academic Performance, Taylor Jean Hitchings

Theses - ALL

Contingency-based reinforcement interventions, in which students receive a reward for engaging in desired behaviors, have been used to target various behaviors at school. Previous research studies’ findings suggest that contingency-based reinforcement interventions can be used to target a variety of behaviors, including task engagement, appropriate classroom etiquette, and academic performance across a variety of subjects. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the assessment and intervention practices of 98 studies (from 1969 to 2021) that examined the effects of contingency-based reinforcement interventions when academic performance was directly targeted in the areas of math, reading, writing, spelling, and English …

Past And Future Hydro-Climatological Drivers Of Summer Precipitation Variability In The Great Lakes Region In Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (Cmip6), Tasmeem Jahan Meem

Theses - ALL

The Great Lakes Regions are the largest surface freshwater system on earth containing 20% of the global freshwater reserves and supply drinking water to 10% of the United States and 30% of the Canadian population. Nearly 25% of Canadian and 7% of American agricultural production are in the watershed. Trends and variability in precipitation over the Great Lakes basin has critical global and local implications for water resources management, which become especially problematic under climate change. Understanding how Great Lakes hydrometeorology will respond to anthropogenic climate change is complicated by the climatological complexity of the region. The Great Lakes basin …