Search results

Title: 2B4 IS A CHECKPOINT MOLECULE FOR iNKT CELL ANTI-TUMOR RESPONSE
Creator: Bahal, Devika Naresh
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are robust cytotoxic effectors and immune modulators, which makes them ideal candidates for cancer immunotherapy. However, the use of iNKTs for cellular therapy against cancer has been limited due to their transient response in pre-clinical trials. Although TCR-CD1d interactions are generally required for iNKT cell cytotoxicity, the receptors and signaling mechanisms that co-operate with the TCR to promote maximal anti-tumor responses are poorly...
Show moreInvariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are robust cytotoxic effectors and immune modulators, which makes them ideal candidates for cancer immunotherapy. However, the use of iNKTs for cellular therapy against cancer has been limited due to their transient response in pre-clinical trials. Although TCR-CD1d interactions are generally required for iNKT cell cytotoxicity, the receptors and signaling mechanisms that co-operate with the TCR to promote maximal anti-tumor responses are poorly understood. Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms that regulate anti-tumor responses is critical for the development of effective iNKT-based therapies. Our efforts have shown that 2B4, a SLAM receptor, when expressed on iNKTs reduces their cytotoxic response against lymphoma cells. Surprisingly, 2B4 is not expressed on resting iNKTs but gets rapidly upregulated via stimulation through the TCR. 2B4 has two isoforms, which are splice variants of each other, of which the inhibitory long form is predominantly expressed in activated iNKTs. Our data show that 2B4 is a checkpoint molecule and has an inhibitory role in iNKT cell cytotoxicity. Indeed, when we overexpressed 2B4 in an iNKT cell hybridoma, the killing capacity of the iNKT cell line was abrogated. Moreover, 2B4 can be converted to a potent activating receptor by swapping its intracellular domains with proline motifs, which drastically augments tumor cell lysis. Taken together, this study highlights the important role of 2B4 in iNKT cell cytolysis and broadens the knowledge of immunoregulatory receptors in iNKT cells for future applications in cancer therapy.
Show less

Title: 3D Object Detection and Tracking for Autonomous Vehicles
Creator: Pang, Su
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Autonomous driving systems require accurate 3D object detection and tracking to achieve reliable path planning and navigation. For object detection, there have been significant advances in neural networks for single-modality approaches. However, it has been surprisingly difficult to train networks to use multiple modalities in a way that demonstrates gain over single-modality networks. In this dissertation, we first propose three networks for Camera-LiDAR and Camera-Radar fusion. For Camera...
Show moreAutonomous driving systems require accurate 3D object detection and tracking to achieve reliable path planning and navigation. For object detection, there have been significant advances in neural networks for single-modality approaches. However, it has been surprisingly difficult to train networks to use multiple modalities in a way that demonstrates gain over single-modality networks. In this dissertation, we first propose three networks for Camera-LiDAR and Camera-Radar fusion. For Camera-LiDAR fusion, CLOCs (Camera-LiDAR Object Candidates fusion) and Fast-CLOCs are presented. CLOCs fusion provides a multi-modal fusion framework that significantly improves the performance of single-modality detectors. CLOCs operates on the combined output candidates before Non-Maximum Suppression (NMS) of any 2D and any 3D detector, and is trained to leverage their geometric and semantic consistencies to produce more accurate 3D detection results. Fast-CLOCs can run in near real-time with less computational requirements compared to CLOCs. Fast-CLOCs eliminates the separate heavy 2D detector, and instead uses a 3D detector-cued 2D image detector (3D-Q-2D) to reduce memory and computation. For Camera-Radar fusion, we propose TransCAR, a Transformer-based Camera-And-Radar fusion solution for 3D object detection. The cross-attention layer within the transformer decoder can adaptively learn the soft-association between the radar features and vision queries instead of hard-association based on sensor calibration only. Then, we propose to solve the 3D multiple object tracking (MOT) problem for autonomous driving applications using a random finite set-based (RFS) Multiple Measurement Models filter (RFS-M3). In particular, we propose multiple measurement models for a Poisson multi-Bernoulli mixture (PMBM) filter in support of different application scenarios. Our RFS-M3 filter can naturally model these uncertainties accurately and elegantly. We combine learning-based detections with our RFS-M3 tracker by incorporating the detection confidence score into the PMBM prediction and update step. We have evaluated our CLOCs, Fast-CLOCs and TransCAR fusion-based 3D detector and RFS-M3 3D tracker using challenging datasets including KITTI, nuScenes, Argoverse and Waymo that are released by academia and industry leaders. Superior experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.
Show less

Title: 3D printing in the biosciences : applications for diabetic complications
Creator: Castiaux, Andre, II
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Work presented in this dissertation demonstrates the utility of 3D printers in scientific research with specific applications to diabetic research. An overview of 3D printing techniques is discussed with special emphasis on PolyJet 3D printing. This printing technique is utilized to explore Cell-to-Cell communication in relationship to diabetes, binding of protein- ligand complexes under diabetic conditions, and teaching and research applications tangentially related to diabetes. PolyJet 3D...
Show moreWork presented in this dissertation demonstrates the utility of 3D printers in scientific research with specific applications to diabetic research. An overview of 3D printing techniques is discussed with special emphasis on PolyJet 3D printing. This printing technique is utilized to explore Cell-to-Cell communication in relationship to diabetes, binding of protein- ligand complexes under diabetic conditions, and teaching and research applications tangentially related to diabetes. PolyJet 3D printing technology is a recent technique to the 3D printing field. It works by utilizing a liquid photocurable resin that can be sprayed onto a substrate layer by layer and cured into a final desirable three-dimensional object. With this printer multiple materials and colors can be incorporated into a single model. By incorporating multiple materials into a device, researchers can use the rubber like properties to imbed and seal various non-printable components into a rigid plastic device. One such non-printable component of interest is membranes for size exclusion of molecules up through cells.Diabetes is characterized by the bodies inability to produce insulin (Type 1) or the bodies inability to effectively utilize the insulin produced (Type 2) leading to elevated glucose levels within the body. With this definition, there is an implication made that insulin is the only important molecule in relation to this disease. However, C-peptide is co-secreted with insulin and is suspected to play an important role in the health of the microvasculature. The ability to monitor the communication between cells types would lend to a better understanding of the role of C-peptide under diabetic conditions. Specifically, looking at the communication of pancreatic β-cells, where C-peptide and insulin are synthesized, with red blood cells and endothelial cells, would allow researchers to understand the potential beneficial effects of C-peptide. Proposed within is a new ex vivo 3D printed platform that can selectively capture cells secretions while monitoring the effects on various cell types under both heathy and diseased states.In addition to understanding the role of molecules no longer present or effective under diabetic conditions, it is important to understand the role of molecules synthesized under diabetic conditions. Specifically, the increased glucose concentration leads to the non-enzymatic addition of glucose (glycation) to long lived molecules in the body or Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and can alter the behavior of molecules in vivo. A 3D printed device was developed to study the effect of glycation on albumins ability to bind zinc. It was determined that under healthy condition human serum albumin (HSA) will bind a maximum of 2 molecules of zinc per molecule of HSA whereas under diabetic or glycated conditions there is 1 molecule of zinc per 2 molecules of HSA.In addition to research related to diabetic conditions, applications for 3D printing exist in labware and teaching aids. Utilizing 3D printers, cheap disposable pumps can be employed in hazardous conditions such as handling of radioactive materials. Data presented here demonstrates the development of a multichannel 3D printed peristaltic pump. The majority of the components are 3D printed and the pump is powered by a microcontroller and a continuous rotation servo motor. All in this pump can be assembled for under $150 and can achieve flow rates from 0.4 to 1.4 mL/ min.
Show less

Title: A CASE STUDY EXPLORING HOW K-12 STUDENTS LEARN TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CIVIC GOOD
Creator: Askari, Emilia Shirin
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This case study explores what K-12 students learn from a 13-week class activity about attracting attention to civic issues on social media. This research responds to calls by scholars of civic education to expand notions of civic engagement and digital citizenship, which often have focused on urging students to protect their reputations in digital spaces. In contrast, the learning activity examined here encourages community-oriented digital citizenship, preparing students to inform and...
Show moreThis case study explores what K-12 students learn from a 13-week class activity about attracting attention to civic issues on social media. This research responds to calls by scholars of civic education to expand notions of civic engagement and digital citizenship, which often have focused on urging students to protect their reputations in digital spaces. In contrast, the learning activity examined here encourages community-oriented digital citizenship, preparing students to inform and possibly empower social change. This study is grounded in Cognitive Flexibility Theory, which focuses on learning in ill-structured domains such as public social media. Further, the study builds on the increasingly popular idea of the Fifth Estate, which posits that people acting in civic ways in public spaces can be a powerful check on government, playing a role similar to that of journalism institutions, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate. Data collected in this study included a pre-survey, a written reflection and post interviews with 4 students as well as artifacts such as social media posts. Students employed two main strategies to draw attention to civic issues on social media: audience-signaling and networking. Further, students learned to seek credible and diverse information using class accounts on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. Finally, students offered definitions of digital citizenship and shared thoughts about how schools should teach it via social media. This study fills a gap in the research literature about K-12 teaching with social media; few prior studies take advantage of social media’s affordance as a bridge between the classroom and communities outside the school. This study also illuminates learning as schools globally moved online in response to the pandemic.
Show less

Title: A CONSTRUCT VALIDATION STUDY OF IMPLICIT AND TIME SENSITIVE VOCABULARY MEASURES
Creator: Hui, Bronson
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Vocabulary researchers have started expanding their assessment toolbox by incorporating timed tasks and psycholinguistic instruments (e.g., priming tasks) to gain insights into lexical development (e.g., Elgort, 2011; Godfroid, 2020b; Nakata & Elgort, 2020; Vandenberghe et al., 2021). These timed sensitive and implicit word measures differ qualitatively from traditional paper- or accuracy-based vocabulary tests and are believed to tap into lexical strength and representations in the mental...
Show moreVocabulary researchers have started expanding their assessment toolbox by incorporating timed tasks and psycholinguistic instruments (e.g., priming tasks) to gain insights into lexical development (e.g., Elgort, 2011; Godfroid, 2020b; Nakata & Elgort, 2020; Vandenberghe et al., 2021). These timed sensitive and implicit word measures differ qualitatively from traditional paper- or accuracy-based vocabulary tests and are believed to tap into lexical strength and representations in the mental lexicon (Elgort, 2018; Godfroid, 2020b). As a result, there have been calls to use both traditional (explicit) and these timed and implicit word measures in a complementary manner (e.g., Godfroid, 2020b; Nakata & Elgort, 2020; Vandenberghe et al., 2021). At the same time, researchers must first develop a thorough understanding of how these different types of measures (explicit vs. implicit and timed vs. untimed) relate to each other before they can make informed decisions on their measurement battery. It is thus well-motivated to examine the construct validity of these measures empirically and systematically. In this validation study, I took the first step to fill this research gap by assessing both the predictive and factorial structure validity of these measures. One hundred and forty-five learners of English took part in five vocabulary tasks: (1) a receptive form-meaning task, where they chose an option representing the meaning of the target word embedded in a sentence, (2) a productive form-meaning task, where they produced the target word to fit a sentence context, (3) a computerized Yes-No (reaction time) test, where they indicated if they knew the target word by pressing keys on their keyboard, (4) a masked repetition priming task with lexical decisions, where they judged if a letter string forms a word in English, and (5) a semantic priming task with lexical decisions. Items in all five tests were the same 40 English words sampled across the 2K - 5K frequency bands. Data analysis involved item inspection and extraction of person-related parameters based on Rasch and/or mixed-effects models. The measures of person ability obtained from individual tasks were then submitted to confirmatory factor analyses in order to assess the psychometric dimensionality of the measure battery. The resulting latent factor(s), representing a pure measure of vocabulary under a specific conceptualization, was then used to predict self-reported proficiency to shed light on their predictive validity. With method effects accounted for, the one-factor solution (“Vocabulary Knowledge”) produces a good fit and is preferred based on the principle of parsimony for both the implicit vs. explicit and timed vs. untimed distinctions. This result provides evidence for psychometric unidimensionality of these measures as representing a potential unitary construct of vocabulary knowledge. At the same time, the vocabulary construct has the most explanatory power (predictive validity) when conceptualized distinctly as lexical knowledge (measured untimed tasks) and strength (measured by timed tasks). Taken together, these results foreground the need for researchers to further specify the nature of the vocabulary construct as well as the operational task features with which it can be assessed empirically. Importantly, I call for more measurement validation work as researchers expand their assessment toolboxes in vocabulary research.
Show less

Title: A Critical Race Examination of Four Young Black Men's Participation in Community College Developmental/Remedial Mathematics
Creator: Jones, Durrell Antonio
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: A CRITICAL RACE EXAMINATION OF FOUR YOUNG BLACK MEN’S PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DEVELOPMENTAL/REMEDIAL MATHEMATICS ByDurrell Antonio JonesCounterstory, an analytical tool of Critical Race Theory, was used in this dissertation to foreground the voices of four young Black men completing a non-credit bearing developmental or remedial mathematics (DevRemMath) course at Suburban Community College (SCC). This study presents young Black men’s first-person perspectives about the conditions...
Show moreA CRITICAL RACE EXAMINATION OF FOUR YOUNG BLACK MEN’S PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DEVELOPMENTAL/REMEDIAL MATHEMATICS ByDurrell Antonio JonesCounterstory, an analytical tool of Critical Race Theory, was used in this dissertation to foreground the voices of four young Black men completing a non-credit bearing developmental or remedial mathematics (DevRemMath) course at Suburban Community College (SCC). This study presents young Black men’s first-person perspectives about the conditions that determined their learning and doing of postsecondary mathematics, which is operationalized in this dissertation as participation. Their narratives further clarify the race-gender dimensions of participation, and the factors that promoted or deterred participation in DevRemMath at SCC. The study offers several implications for advancing racial justice in DevRemMath and postsecondary mathematics learning, which include reframing how faculty and administration respond to the needs of young Black men in planning and delivering DevRemMath instruction, as well as naming the significance of faculty interactions with young Black men to counter barriers to their academic success. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for (re)structuring DevRemMath spaces in order to better strengthen young Black men’s participation in the learning and doing of postsecondary mathematics. Keywords: Critical Race Theory (CRT), Counter Storytelling, Master narrative, Developmental mathematics, Remedial mathematics, Black males, Community College
Show less

Title: A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF NON-HOMOGENEOUS SOFT MAGNETIC CORE FOR ELECTRICAL MACHINES - AN APPLICATION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Creator: Pham, Thang Quoc
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The development of a new generation of energy efficient, high torque and power density electrical machines is part of a solution toward the global energy problem. An important step in improving electrical machine performance involves optimization of the machine geometry, winding configuration, and overcoming limitations within traditional magnetic materials. In electrical machine, the magnetic iron core accounts for a significant portion of its weight and size. Under a rotating magnetic field...
Show moreThe development of a new generation of energy efficient, high torque and power density electrical machines is part of a solution toward the global energy problem. An important step in improving electrical machine performance involves optimization of the machine geometry, winding configuration, and overcoming limitations within traditional magnetic materials. In electrical machine, the magnetic iron core accounts for a significant portion of its weight and size. Under a rotating magnetic field, conventional iron cores are subjected to a nonuniform magnetic field distribution. This leads to uneven saturation distribution, extra core loss, and sub-optimal utilization of the permeability at certain regions within the iron cores. Deploying materials with non-homogeneous magnetic permeability can lead to a more uniform magnetic flux density distribution and potentially better power density. Additionally, a multi-permeability iron core, where the permeability is tuned as a function of both position and electrical machine performance, can lead to a more efficient use of the core and an additional degree of freedom for core design. This work evaluates the use of iron cores with non-homogeneous magnetic permeability for electrical machines. It is numerically demonstrated that an iron core with spatially tuned permeability can be used to manipulate the airgap flux density waveform, torque, and iron loss in electrical machines.Exploration and exploitation of non-homogeneous iron cores for electrical machines requires an accurate, low cost modelling technique. Finite element analysis can be used to model non-homogeneous iron cores but it can lead to an expensive computational requirement. Traditional magnetic equivalent circuits can provide quick estimation of the electrical machine performance in comparison to finite elements. However, this technique typically models just the main flux path and/or ignores the permeability in the iron cores. In this work, a technique is developed to model non-homogeneous, multi permeability iron cores in electrical machines. It is shown that the proposed technique closely approximates finite element results and reduces the simulation time nearly 80%. It is also demonstrated that the modelling technique can be integrated into a multi-objective optimization problem for development of novel iron cores.Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D-printing, is a layer-based manufacturing technique which can fabricate unique, complex shapes. It also has the potential to fabricate non-homogeneous iron cores. Adoption of these complex iron cores for development of high performance electrical machines requires understanding of the magnetic properties and demonstration that printed iron cores can reach variable levels of permeability. In this work, the B-H characteristics are experimentally extracted using conventional magnetic characterization techniques. A simplified magnetic anisotropy test bed was developed to quantify levels of magnetic anisotropy. It is shown that 3D-printed iron cores can achieve different levels of relative permeability and low levels of magnetic anisotropy.
Show less

Title: A MULTICASE STUDY OF THREE GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS PARTICIPATING IN THE MDISC TEACHING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Creator: Kuechle, Valentin Alexander Balthasar
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this multicase study (Stake, 2005), I studied a semester-long online implementation of the “Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Classrooms” (Herbel-Eisenmann, Cirillo, et al., 2017) (MDISC) teaching professional development (T-PD)—slightly modified for the university context—which I offered to three mathematics-teaching graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) (i.e., Finnegan, Valeria, and Alice) who were no longer in their first year of teaching. I sought to understand: (a) How does the...
Show moreIn this multicase study (Stake, 2005), I studied a semester-long online implementation of the “Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Classrooms” (Herbel-Eisenmann, Cirillo, et al., 2017) (MDISC) teaching professional development (T-PD)—slightly modified for the university context—which I offered to three mathematics-teaching graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) (i.e., Finnegan, Valeria, and Alice) who were no longer in their first year of teaching. I sought to understand: (a) How does the classroom discourse change in each of the participant’s classes over the course of their participation in the MDISC T-PD?; and (b) How do participants talk about their use of the teacher discourse moves (TDMs) (e.g., Cirillo et al., 2014; Herbel-Eisenmann et al., 2013)? To analyze the change in classroom discourse, I studied two sets of classroom discourse dimensions: (a) the TDMs (i.e., waiting, inviting student participation, revoicing, asking students to revoice, probing a student’s thinking, and creating opportunities to engage with another’s reasoning), which were a central set of practical tools offered by the T-PD; and (b) student discourse dimensions drawn from the discourse dimensions of the “Equity QUantified In Participation” (EQUIP) tool (Reinholz & Shah, 2018).In line with a multicase approach, this study consists of one case report for each participant, with each report driven by an emic issue, as well as a multicase report thereafter in which the participants’ similarities and differences with respect to the research questions are explored. Finnegan, Valeria, and Alice’s respective emic issues were: (a) How can an instructor who wants students to participate in their class invite student participation?; (b) How does an instructor who weighs wielding her authority to engage students against respecting students’ agency (even if that agency is used to not participate) implement the TDMs?; and (c) How does an instructor who finds herself in a stage of “survival” (Beisiegel et al., 2019; Katz, 1972) implement and talk about the TDMs? Finnegan, who sought to invite student participation, especially took to TDMs that helped him do so: waiting (particularly wait time 1 [Rowe, 1986]), probing a student’s thinking, and inviting student participation via cold-calling. Valeria, who did not want to force students to do things, felt more comfortable implementing TDMs that relied more on what she was doing than on what students were doing. She mainly used waiting (particularly wait time 1), revoicing, and inviting student participation via inviting further responses. Last, Alice, who found herself in a stage of survival, continued using those TDMs that she was already familiar with, that is, waiting and revoicing. This study contributes to the emerging area of T-PD for GTAs beyond their first year of teaching. In addition, it offers a refinement of the TDMs and a detailed account of how and why participants used (or did not) each TDM. The TDM refinement includes: (a) a refinement of “waiting” that builds on work by Rowe (1986) and Ingram and Elliott (2016); (b) a refinement of “probing a student’s thinking” that distinguishes between two types of probing (i.e., to clarify a student’s turn or to go deeper with it) enacted in two ways (i.e., instructor- or student-centric) in response to student statements or questions; and (c) a refinement of “creating opportunities to engage with another’s reasoning” by distinguishing between five types of such engagement (i.e., adding to, anticipating, comparing to, evaluating, and understanding). Further, the participants’ uses for revoicing add to work on different uses of revoicing (e.g., Herbel-Eisenmann et al., 2009), and the participants’ hesitations about asking students to revoice provide insight into the challenges of learning to use this TDM.
Show less

Title: A NEW BRAZILIAN ENERGY PORTFOLIO : THE CASE FOR SUN AND WATER
Creator: Brown, Erik Jacob
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The Amazon is a delicate ecosystem that has global-scale environmental and climatologicalimpact, and is at risk of overdevelopment, over-modification and destruction. Issues associated with the installation and operation of traditional reservoir-dam systems in the Amazon are examined, and it is suggested to supplement the current Brazilian energy portfolio and replace future dam plans with hybrid in-stream generator and photovoltaic systems to provide for distributed renewable microgrids as...
Show moreThe Amazon is a delicate ecosystem that has global-scale environmental and climatologicalimpact, and is at risk of overdevelopment, over-modification and destruction. Issues associated with the installation and operation of traditional reservoir-dam systems in the Amazon are examined, and it is suggested to supplement the current Brazilian energy portfolio and replace future dam plans with hybrid in-stream generator and photovoltaic systems to provide for distributed renewable microgrids as well as on-grid power needs. These systems can be installed at various scales, from a single-household off-grid implementation, up through and including offsetting or replacing current and future planned large-scale dams for on-grid use. This solution offers a socially and environmentally safer alternative to dams, by reducing or eliminating several issues with reservoir-based dams: deforestation for reservoirs, flooding from reservoirs, displacement of local families, inhibition of sediment and marine life transport, and greenhouse gas emissions. The financial and energetic feasibility of the proposed system is compared, including transmission costs, to several common electrification methods. Other supporting topics are also investigated, such as the fish-friendly design of in-stream devices, and the maximum reach of the proposed hybrid microgrid system relative to the in-stream deployment sites.
Show less

Title: A Neural Networks Based Method With Genetic Data Analysis of Complex Diseases
Creator: Lin, Jinghang
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The genetic etiologies of common diseases are highly complex and heterogeneous. Classic statistical methods, such as linear regression, have successfully identified numerous genetic variants associated with complex diseases. Nonetheless, for most complex diseases, the identified variants only account for a small proportion of heritability. Challenges remain to discover additional variants contributing to complex diseases. In this dissertation, we developed an expectile neural network (ENN)...
Show moreThe genetic etiologies of common diseases are highly complex and heterogeneous. Classic statistical methods, such as linear regression, have successfully identified numerous genetic variants associated with complex diseases. Nonetheless, for most complex diseases, the identified variants only account for a small proportion of heritability. Challenges remain to discover additional variants contributing to complex diseases. In this dissertation, we developed an expectile neural network (ENN) method and applied the method to genetic data analysis. ENN provides a comprehensive view of relationships between genetic variants and disease phenotypes and can be used to discover genetic variants predisposing to sub-populations (e.g., high-risk groups). We integrate the idea of neural networks into ENN, making it capable of capturing non-linear and non-additive genetic effects (e.g., gene-gene interactions). Through simulations, we showed that the proposed method outperformed an existing expectile regression when there exist complex relationships between genetic variants and disease phenotypes. We also applied the proposed method to the genetic data from the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment(SAGE), investigating the relationships of candidate genes with smoking quantity. Neural networks have been widely used in applications. However, few studies have been focused on the statistical properties of neural networks. We further investigate the Asymptotic properties of ENN (e.g., consistency). Simulations have been conducted to test the validity of the theory.
Show less

Title: A PEDAGOGICAL FUSION RECIPE : AN EXPLORATION OF TEACHERS’ AND CHEFS’ CREATIVITY IN PRACTICE THROUGH THE USE OF RESOURCES
Creator: Evalt, Samuel
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this dissertation, I explored creativity in practice. I ask: 1) How do the participants define creativity?; 2) In what way does creativity reflect the positioning between actor and resource?; 3) What creative practices emerge when individuals choose to use, or not use, resources?; 4) How do resources mediate creativity? To understand creativity in practice, I used a case study featuring eight participants across two fields, four teachers and four chefs. The two fields provided a way to...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I explored creativity in practice. I ask: 1) How do the participants define creativity?; 2) In what way does creativity reflect the positioning between actor and resource?; 3) What creative practices emerge when individuals choose to use, or not use, resources?; 4) How do resources mediate creativity? To understand creativity in practice, I used a case study featuring eight participants across two fields, four teachers and four chefs. The two fields provided a way to understand and build a comparative case study about creativity in practice through the use of resources. I interviewed and collected digital artifacts from the participant teachers and chefs. The interviews were transcribed. Then I used qualitative coding to analyze the interview and artifact data. The findings revealed nuanced elements of creativity in practice and resources, which reflected layered voices. The findings highlighted of recreative and creative practices. And more importantly, resources mediated creativity in practice to illustrate the nexus of creativity in practice. I framed creativity as a sociocultural practice and an epistemological construction rather than cognitive and ontologically based. I argue that creativity in practice is messy. Films and media portray a mythology of creativity as a cognitive and ontological construction of individual genius. The teachers and chefs shared narratives that reflected the reality of creativity as messy through the layers of learning and practices. Resources represent the mediator for learning and practices. It is through resources that creators can strengthen their nexus of creativity in practice in critical or non-critical ways. Ultimately, the significance of the research helps deconstruct creativity in practice to make visible the challenges and messiness for all creators.
Show less

Title: A Phenomenological Inquiry of the Holistic Nonmedical Lived Training Experiences of End-of-Life Doulas (EOLDs)
Creator: Rozeboom, Angela M.
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: A new generation of aging United States (U.S.) citizens seems to be challenging cultural attitudes toward death and dying. The members of the senior baby-boom cohort are demanding more nonmedical end-of-life (EOL) home care, the right to experience a dignified and peaceful death, and the option of environmentally friendly burials. Subsequently, the field of end-of-life doulas (EOLDs) or death doula care is also emerging. As these practitioners raise awareness and claim to contribute to a...
Show moreA new generation of aging United States (U.S.) citizens seems to be challenging cultural attitudes toward death and dying. The members of the senior baby-boom cohort are demanding more nonmedical end-of-life (EOL) home care, the right to experience a dignified and peaceful death, and the option of environmentally friendly burials. Subsequently, the field of end-of-life doulas (EOLDs) or death doula care is also emerging. As these practitioners raise awareness and claim to contribute to a better quality of EOL care, they add a new dimension to the EOL field. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived training experiences of prospective EOLDs as they sought to aid the dying and their grieving families. Individual interviews with seven trained EOLDs who completed a training program were analyzed. The results showed that those who attended the EOLD training felt strongly “called” to do EOL work. After confronting and accepting their fears and anxieties about their future dying and death experiences, they reported feeling empowered to come alongside EOL individuals and offer genuine comfort on their dying journey and postmortem care to the family.
Show less

Title: A RISK BASED USER TOOL TO BUILD USER CENTERED LABELS FOR MEDICAL DEVICES
Creator: Estrada, Eric Joseph
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Herein we develop a user-driven, risk-based tool to inform the design of a standardized label for use with medical devices. Researchers identified 11 labeling inputs found on commercial labels and organized the inputs into a “Device Facts” box at 3 risk levels: high, medium, and low. mock labels and commercial labels were objectively compared by healthcare practitioners using a forced choice methodology where accuracy and response time served as dependent variables. Results suggested that...
Show moreHerein we develop a user-driven, risk-based tool to inform the design of a standardized label for use with medical devices. Researchers identified 11 labeling inputs found on commercial labels and organized the inputs into a “Device Facts” box at 3 risk levels: high, medium, and low. mock labels and commercial labels were objectively compared by healthcare practitioners using a forced choice methodology where accuracy and response time served as dependent variables. Results suggested that pairwise comparisons between labels (mock vs commercial) within a given risk category (e.g. high) yielded statistically significant differences at a confidence level of 95% for time to correct response. For both medium (p=0.0016) and high risk information (p<0.0001), the mock labels yielded a quicker correct response than their commercial counterparts. Only for low risk information were the commercial labels faster (p<0.0001). The gains in speed made in high/moderate risk information were not attributable trade-off. Mock labels were at least as accurate as their commercial counterparts; low and high risk yielded no sign of significant difference when mock and commercial were compared and participants were significantly more accurate with questions requiring medium risk information for the mock labels.
Show less

Title: A SIMPLIFIED CALIBRATION METHOD FOR THE ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SEISMIC SENSOR
Creator: Burk, Daniel R.
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: We have developed a simplified calibration method that enables anyone to accurately calibrate an Electro-mechanical seismic station with speed, portability and low-cost. Current calibration methods generally require either expensive laboratory based equipment, or significant time and expertise. We have developed a simplified calibration method that uses an affordable industrial laser position sensor to optically track mass motion as a means of determining seismometer response. By comparing...
Show moreWe have developed a simplified calibration method that enables anyone to accurately calibrate an Electro-mechanical seismic station with speed, portability and low-cost. Current calibration methods generally require either expensive laboratory based equipment, or significant time and expertise. We have developed a simplified calibration method that uses an affordable industrial laser position sensor to optically track mass motion as a means of determining seismometer response. By comparing the derivative of mass displacement to seismometer coil voltage, we can determine sensitivity at any frequency within the instrument passband. The method results in the calculation of sensitivity and Poles & Zeros to within five percent. We compare the Mass Displacement Tracking (MDT) calibration method against the standard laboratory vibration table calibration, as well as the against the co-location calibration method to find that it produces equivalent results.
Show less

Title: A STUDY OF MARGINALIZED NEWS PUBLICATION COMMENTERS AND THEIR MOTIVATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF LGBTQIA+ NEWS FORUMS
Creator: Kim, Soojeong
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The majority of news comment studies focus on elite news publications such as The New York Times. These studies typically arrive at one of two conclusions: (a) news comment forums are uncivil spaces and (b) White men dominate the conversation spaces on news websites. Yet we know little about how marginalized news commenters on alternative news publications’ online comment forums perceive news spaces and participate in them. Therefore, 22 commenters active in commenting on marginalized (i.e.,...
Show moreThe majority of news comment studies focus on elite news publications such as The New York Times. These studies typically arrive at one of two conclusions: (a) news comment forums are uncivil spaces and (b) White men dominate the conversation spaces on news websites. Yet we know little about how marginalized news commenters on alternative news publications’ online comment forums perceive news spaces and participate in them. Therefore, 22 commenters active in commenting on marginalized (i.e., LGBTQIA+) publications were interviewed to investigate news commenters’ perceptions and motivations. The Social Identity and Bounded Generalized Reciprocity theoretical frameworks suggest these news comment forums should be perceived as safer and more civil spaces due to their homogenous nature. Social Identity Theory suggests that commenters should behave in a more community-oriented way because of in-group favoritism, while Bounded Generalized suggests individuals’ commenting motivations might be driven by the reciprocal expectation that in-group members will positively reciprocate their comments and support their reputational standing. The interview results rooted in the SIT and BGR theoretical lenses provided support for those commenting motivations: (1) perceived similarity, (2) reciprocity, and (3) reputation acknowledgment, which led them to perceive that interactions are civil and safe on LGBTQIA+ news forums.
Show less

Title: A STUDY ON FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION OF SWIMMING BEAM USING IMMERSED BOUNDARY- LATTICE BOLTZMANN METHOD
Creator: Rahman, Md Towhidur
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) study is of great importance to understand the hydrodynamic coupling of biological swimmers in surrounding environmental domain. Multiple numerical and experimental studies have taken place to capture the behavioral pattern from the environment, explore the physical phenomena and comprehension of dynamics to make contribution in real life applications. In this study, an immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM) for fluid-structure interaction...
Show moreFluid-structure interaction (FSI) study is of great importance to understand the hydrodynamic coupling of biological swimmers in surrounding environmental domain. Multiple numerical and experimental studies have taken place to capture the behavioral pattern from the environment, explore the physical phenomena and comprehension of dynamics to make contribution in real life applications. In this study, an immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM) for fluid-structure interaction problems is presented. The impact of solid structure on to the surrounding fluid domain is dealt with by immersed boundary method (IBM), where the structure is assumed to be immersed into surrounding fluid and the effect of the immersed boundary are considered by exertion of Lagrangian force onto the surrounding fluid grid points as body force. The flow dynamics is determined by solving discrete lattice Boltzmann equation of a single relaxation time model. The structural dynamics are solved by the finite difference method. For solving the structural dynamics, inextensibility condition was applied. A staggered grid is used in the Lagrangian coordinate system, where tension force is defined on the interfaces (half-grids) and other variables are defined on the nodes. Tension force is calculated at the intermediate steps and used as inextensibility constraint to obtain filament position at the next time step. In the present study, a detailed derivation and corresponding discretization is done for multiple free-swimming cases for a thin flexible filament. The thin flexible filament is actuated by imposing oscillatory heaving and pitching motion at the leading edge with prescribed control parameters. The flow physics of the system is investigated and pressure on the surfaces of the flexible filament is obtained. The results obtained in this study shows consistency with previous publications. The presented computational modelling may be used in future with multiple obstacles in the domain, to investigate the surface pressure variation of the swimming flexible filament and generated data sets may contribute to optimization of control mechanism of the swimmer.
Show less

Title: A SURFACE WATER δ18O BASELINE FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES OF SEASONALITY AND MOBILITY IN THE MAJES VALLEY AND PUCUNCHO BASIN OF SOUTHERN PERU
Creator: Milton, Emily Beatrice Peterson
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Oxygen isotopes in archaeological human and animal teeth provide a potential means to study past migration. In this thesis I evaluate oxygen isotopes as a way to measure highland site occupation seasonality and human movement between elevation zones in the Central Andes. I focus on two questions: 1) Do surface water δ18O values vary predictably with altitude? and 2) Do surface water δ18O values reliably record the wet and dry season? Using water samples collected from the Majes Valley and...
Show moreOxygen isotopes in archaeological human and animal teeth provide a potential means to study past migration. In this thesis I evaluate oxygen isotopes as a way to measure highland site occupation seasonality and human movement between elevation zones in the Central Andes. I focus on two questions: 1) Do surface water δ18O values vary predictably with altitude? and 2) Do surface water δ18O values reliably record the wet and dry season? Using water samples collected from the Majes Valley and Pucuncho Basin of southern Peru, I establish the seasonal and spatial distribution of δ18O. The final dataset represents 98 water samples collected during wet and dry seasons between 2018-2019, from elevations 36 to 4938 meters above sea level. Surface water δ18O and δD values in the study area are consistent with regional and global meteoric waters. Individual water bodies demonstrate relatively higher δ18O values during the dry season and lower δ18O values in the wet season, matching predictions. Lowland and highland surface waters demonstrate overlapping ranges of δ18O, making it impossible to predict the values of surface waters based on elevation alone. Rather, local δ18O appears to reflect evaporative processes influenced by stream order, catchment size, and the geographic position of a waterbody within the watershed. These data suggest oxygen isotopes are not independently suited to resolve questions of human mobility between elevation zones in the western Andes. Further testing is needed to understand the local seasonal and inter-zonal isotopic ecology.
Show less

Title: A climatology of persistent high relative humidity for the lower peninsula of Michigan : implications for health and agriculture
Creator: Komoto, Kara
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: High values of relative humidity have implications for many processes including human health, animal health and production, and crop disease. Despite its importance, little research has been completed about the persistence of high relative humidity. The goals of this study were to 1) create a baseline climatology of the persistence of high relative humidity (HRH), defined as ≥ 60%, and extremely high relative humidity (EHRH), defined as ≥ 85%, for the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and 2)...
Show moreHigh values of relative humidity have implications for many processes including human health, animal health and production, and crop disease. Despite its importance, little research has been completed about the persistence of high relative humidity. The goals of this study were to 1) create a baseline climatology of the persistence of high relative humidity (HRH), defined as ≥ 60%, and extremely high relative humidity (EHRH), defined as ≥ 85%, for the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and 2) examine, using persistent EHRH events as a surrogate for leaf wetness duration, the frequency of favorable environmental conditions for apple scab and cherry leaf spot, major crop diseases in the state. Results demonstrate that although overall persistent relative humidity events often occur throughout the state, their frequency appears to be decreasing with time. Temporal trends in the frequency of favorable environmental conditions for apple scab and cherry leaf spot vary by location and disease, but there is a general trend toward fewer occurrence of favorable environmental conditions. The climatological analyses provide Michigan stakeholders with essential information for long-term planning and management to mitigate and/or adapt to persistent high relative humidity and to assess future changes in persistent high relative humidity as expected with climate change.
Show less

Title: A cluster analysis comparison of selected traditional Japanese gardens, classical Chinese gardens and modern Chinese gardens
Creator: Chen, Dexin
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Cluster analysis is a useful mathematical method that has been used to examine the differences or similarities between gardens (Xu Y. , 2015). This investigation aims to test the differences and similarities between traditional Japanese gardens in Kyoto, the classical Chinese gardens in Suzhou, and the modern Chinese gardens in Xiamen, by comparing the design elements and design principles of the gardens. A hundred and thirty-four variables are selected based upon a literature review and the...
Show more"Cluster analysis is a useful mathematical method that has been used to examine the differences or similarities between gardens (Xu Y. , 2015). This investigation aims to test the differences and similarities between traditional Japanese gardens in Kyoto, the classical Chinese gardens in Suzhou, and the modern Chinese gardens in Xiamen, by comparing the design elements and design principles of the gardens. A hundred and thirty-four variables are selected based upon a literature review and the author's personal experience in Kyoto, where the first seventy-five variables are adopted from earlier garden research by Yiwen Xu (Xu Y. , 2015). After collecting the variables and applying the Principal Component Analysis by the software SAS, a group of corresponding eigenvalues are generated. According to the Principal Component Analysis, the first two principal components covered 63.81 percent of the sample variance. The first and second principal component together divided the gardens into three groups: the first principal component indicated similarities between the traditional Japanese gardens and classical Chinese gardens; the second principal component indicated similarities between traditional Japanese gardens and modern Chinese gardens. Therefore, the final result is a group of three two-dimensional scatter graphs, where each point represents a garden's character on two coordinate axes, and the dimensions are generated from the meaningful eigenvalues."--Page ii.
Show less

Title: A critical disability studies critique of rhetorical normalcy in writing center theory, history, and practice
Creator: Appleton Pine, Andrew
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This thesis broadly theorizes how to make writing centers more accessible for disabled writers. Specifically, it applies a critical disability studies methodology both to writing center history and research practices. Importantly, this thesis resists impairment-specific approaches to accessibility, and instead seeks to develop the theoretical framework necessary to create lasting reforms in writing center theory and practice so that disabled people are included in both. Central to this thesis...
Show moreThis thesis broadly theorizes how to make writing centers more accessible for disabled writers. Specifically, it applies a critical disability studies methodology both to writing center history and research practices. Importantly, this thesis resists impairment-specific approaches to accessibility, and instead seeks to develop the theoretical framework necessary to create lasting reforms in writing center theory and practice so that disabled people are included in both. Central to this thesis is the idea of "rhetorical normalcy," which is a set of social, behavioral, and rhetorical codes that constitute the deleterious norms that both writing center studies and the larger field of rhetoric and composition have relied on throughout their history. A major claim throughout this thesis is that writing center history, theory, and practice all rely on this conception of rhetorical normalcy, often at the cost of writers with disabilities. Ultimately, this thesis argues that in order for writing centers to become radically accessible for writers with disabilities, writing center administrators and practitioners must first become aware of the role of rhetorical normalcy has always played in writing center practice, and they must look for ways to incorporate disabled writers into their theorizing and research about writing.
Show less

MSU Libraries

Digital Repository

Enabled Filters

Pages

Pages

MSU Libraries

Digital Repository

You are here

Search results

Pages

Pages