bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dual loss of RGS2 and RGS5 decreases cardiomyocyte contractility and causes arrhythmia in adult mice
Authors:   , Bernadyn Tyler Francis , Osei-Owusu Patrick
Published: July 2021

Cardiomyocyte contractility is essential to maintaining proper cardiac output and blood flow throughout the circulatory system. This action is dependent upon proper G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. Previous studies showed G-protein dysregulation due to the loss of regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) 2 and 5, separately, impairs cardiac structure and function, including hypertrophy and arrhythmia. RGS2 and 5 are GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) that accelerate the hydrolysis of GTP by G proteins, resulting in a rapid signaling termination. We examined how the dual absence of Rgs2 and 5 (Rgs2/5 dbKO) affects cardiac function. We found that Rgs2/5 dbKO mice showed cardiac hypertrophy and a dilated left ventricle at baseline. Cardiac contractile response to a dobutamine stress test was sex-dependently reduced in male Rgs2/5 dbKO relative to WT mice. In addition, chronic systemic infusion of the [beta]-adrenergic receptor agonist, isoproterenol, led to marked exacerbation of cardiac hypertrophy in Rgs2/5 dbKO mice. When subjected to surgery-induced stress, male Rgs2/5 dbKO mice showed 80% mortality within 72 - 96 hours after surgery, accompanied by extreme hypertension and decreased cardiac contractile function. At the cellular level, cardiomyocytes from Rgs2/5 dbKO mice showed reduced contractile response to electrical pacing and exhibited irregular excitation-contraction coupling and death in response to increasing concentrations of different [beta]-adrenergic agonists. We conclude that RGS2 and 5 act synergistically within the heart to regulate signaling mechanisms that mediate cardiac structure and function. Thus, a thorough understanding of the G protein signaling regulation by multiple RGS proteins is key to identifying novel therapeutic targets for heart disease.
The Arts within Juvenile Correctional Institutions and Facilities
Authors:   , Cash Leah A. , Awais Yasmine J. , Ierardi Florence
Published: July 2021

The juvenile justice system has gone through a transformation over the past few decades; from children being tried as adults to now focusing on rehabilitating juveniles in lieu of merely charging them with criminal acts. The present capstone will present how the following facilitators; creative art therapists, art therapists and multidisciplinary artists, conducted art interventions and programs that impact juveniles while in detention. The motivation for this capstone and reviewing how facilitators have been working within detention centers was due to an internship at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center in Lima, Pennsylvania. The history of the juvenile justice system will be outlined, and the mental health needs will be highlighted with respect to its impact on juveniles in locked or secured facilities. Finally, a critical analysis of articles that studied the arts, art therapy and creative art therapy will be discussed, concluding with a reflection on the influence that the arts and art therapy has on the juvenile population in detention.
Design, production and evaluation of a Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 2-based vaccine for inclusion in a multivalent formulation targeting multiple parasite stages
Authors:   , Eacret Jacqueline Schneider , Blankenhorn Elizabeth , Burns James M.
Published: July 2021

Development of a highly efficacious vaccine will be necessary for malaria elimination. Studies in Plasmodium falciparum endemic areas indicate that naturally acquired antibody responses to MSP2 are associated with resistance to malaria, making PfMSP2 an attractive vaccine candidate. To overcome challenges encountered with subunit malaria vaccines, we established that the use of highly immunogenic rPfMSP8 as a carrier protein for vaccine candidates rPfMSP119 and rPfs25 facilitated production, minimized antigenic competition and enhanced induction of functional antibodies. Here, we exploited the benefits of our rPfMSP8 fusion partner to optimize a rPfMSP2-based subunit vaccine. A synthetic PfMSP2 (3D7) codon harmonized gene was used to produce unfused rPfMSP2 or chimeric rPfMSP2/8 in E. coli. Purified, rPfMSP2 formed amyloid-like fibrils in vitro, however rPfMSP2/8 did not. Immunization of rabbits and mice with both rPfMSP2 antigens elicited high titer anti-PfMSP2 antibodies that recognized the major allelic variants of native PfMSP2. Competition assays revealed differences in antibody specificities induced by the two rPfMSP2-based vaccines, with evidence of epitope masking by rPfMSP2-associated fibrils. Immunogenicity studies in mice demonstrated that formulation of rPfMSP2 vaccines with GLA-SE, a synthetic TLR4 agonist, elicited cytophilic IgG isotypes and production of Th1-associated cytokines. T cell responses were specific for epitopes within PfMSP2 and PfMSP8 domains. The rPfMSP2/8 + GLA-SE formulation induced significantly higher antibody titers with superior durability and capacity to opsonize P. falciparum merozoites for phagocytosis. Immunization with a trivalent vaccine including PfMSP2/8, PfMSP1/8 and Pfs25/8 induced high levels of antigen-specific antibody, with no evidence of antigenic competition. These results are highly encouraging for the addition of rPfMSP2/8 as a component of an efficacious, multivalent, multistage malaria vaccine.
Authentic Engagement and Education
Authors:   , Malinoski Nicole Lynn , Grant Allen C.
Published: July 2021

This qualitative case study explored the characteristics of authentic engagement of high school seniors. School engagement is a positive influence on a student's academic achievement, but to fully comprehend school engagement, understanding and perspectives of student experiences is needed. This study intended to capture student perceptions of the factors and characteristics that shaped their sense of belonging, connectedness, and engagement with high school. Literature pertaining to a creating sense of belonging, engagement opportunities of high school students, and the different dimensions of school engagement were reviewed and served as the research foundation for the study. A social constructivist approach was used to understand the factors that influence school engagement and answer the research questions that focused on the forces and challenges of engagement with the school community. A review of archival records on various student engagement levels and student grade point average along with four focus groups interviews was utilized to explore the key characteristics of school engagement of high school students.
Security posture based incident forecasting
Authors:   , Mulugeta Dagmawi , Weber Steven P. , Goodman Ben
Published: July 2021

The pervasiveness of technology (e.g., the internet) is coupled with an expansion of the threat landscape. The numerous network services, versions of these services, and possible configurations make it difficult to predict the likelihood of a security incident (e.g., data breach) for hosts on the public internet. We attempt to explore this problem by analyzing data from Censys, a database of internet-wide scans, to collect network configurations for organizations that reported security incidents in 2017-2018. We seek to determine which common patterns in network configurations are associated with likelihood of reporting a security incident by providing a comparison between victim and non-victim organizations' hosts. We design a data pipeline that extracts 1,386 features from each host machine, enabling us to build upon previous academic approaches by utilizing a more holistic feature space. We then use an Isolation Forest (Outlier Detection) algorithm, a novel addition to the problem domain, to identify outlying hosts in organizations' networks and effectively reduce the data space. We find that we can identify outlying hosts with 0.84±0.01 accuracy, 0.84±0.01 f1-score, and 0.18±0.04 fpr. We then present the important properties that make a host an outlier in the feature space. For example, we find that Diffie-Hellman on https protocol and presence of SSH protocol are important indicators of outlying machines. These representative liers (outliers and inliers) are then used to create risk vectors for the victim and non-victim organizations. Using these risk vectors, we are able to discriminate between organizations that report security incidents with an average 0.73 ± 0.06 accuracy, 0.73 ± 0.06 f1-score, and 0.25 ± 0.10 fpr. Through use of these techniques, we are able to correlate between certain features and the victim label, thus demonstrating the predictive power of specific features (e.g., SSH protocol and FREAK vulnerability). In short, we (1) introduce a novel approach to building a rich configuration-centric feature space within which we successfully (2) analyze network postures and their correlations with security incidents, while (3) reducing the data space, and simultaneously, the processing cost of this sort of analyses.
Evaluation of environmental and nutritional changes in a home food environment intervention for weight loss
Authors:   , Piers Amani D. , Lowe Michael R.
Published: July 2021

There is a pressing need to improve standard behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs to improve both short-term and long-term weight loss outcomes. One limitation of current BWL programs is that they rely heavily on participants' own self-control to make and sustain major changes to their diet and overall energy intake. However, the reliability of willpower alone to maintain weight loss has been called into question; over time, when weight loss slows and motivation drops, adherence to the implementation of core BWL skills and principles may drop and lead to weight regain. Increased structure and targeted skills designed to shift the burden away from self-control could help improve dietary intake and weight loss outcomes in BWL. The current study aimed to investigate changes in the home food environment and dietary intake across three weight loss conditions: standard behavior therapy, behavior therapy plus meal replacement provisions, and behavior therapy supplemented with nutritional and food environment counseling (Nutritrol). Across all three conditions, results showed that participants were able to make positive quantitative (i.e., reductions in overall energy intake) and qualitative (e.g., decrease in percentage of energy intake coming from fat) changes over the course of the intervention, although the sustainability of these changes in the follow-up period was mixed. Over time, Nutritrol showed a meaningful advantage over the other conditions regarding the percentage of intake that came from carbohydrates and fats, and the overall amount of fiber that was consumed. Contrary to our hypotheses, no other differences were detected in dietary quality, quantity of energy intake, or obesogenic nature of the home food environment between conditions. Possible explanations for these lack of significant findings, including measurement tool limitations or insufficient treatment doses, are discussed.
Survey of Etching Techniques to Produce Cr₂C MXene from Cr₂AlC
Authors:   , Trainor Nicholas , Gogotsi Yury
Published: July 2021

Two-dimensional chromium carbide MXene (Cr₂CTX) is predicted to possess a high hydrogen capacity and antiferromagentism which may be employed in hydrogen storage and spintronic applications. As of the time of the work detailed in this thesis, there have not yet been any reported success synthesis of Cr₂CTX. Herein is a systematic survey of different possible etching conditions to produce Cr₂CTX from Cr₂AlC. Three distinct etching techniques previously used to synthesize MXenes were studied. Wet etchings were conducted using either hydrofluoric acid along with sulfuric and hydrochloric acid or hydrochloric acid with fluoride salts. HF/HCl and KF/HCl were the most promising etchants, producing XRD peaks consistent with MXenes. Importantly, samples produced using the wet etchants often contained both unreacted MAX and degradation products, such as CrO3, demonstrating that chromium and aluminum are being etched at comparable rates, preventing the formation of the desired MXene. Additionally, a molten salt technique using zinc chloride was also studied by varying the time and ratio of reagents. This technique also hold promise with several samples possessing XRD peaks consistent with Cr₂CTX. Additionally, the lack of chromium chlorides and presence of zinc chromite indicate that MXene degradation is due to oxygen in the system rather than the molten salt treatment itself.
Oxygen Tolerant and Room Temperature RAFT for Synthesizing Well-defined Polymer Architectures
Authors:   , Wilson Olivia R. , Magenau Andrew J. D.
Published: July 2021

A reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process was developed capable of being performed at room temperature and in the presence of oxygen by initiating polymerization through an alkylborane-amine complex. This air-stable alkylborane-amine complex was chemically deblocked with carboxylic acid or isocyanate functionalities to liberate a reactive alkylborane that consumes oxygen and generates radicals to drive the RAFT process. Alkylborane initiated RAFT (AI-RAFT) was demonstrated to allow a wide range of molecular weights to be targeted while maintaining narrow molecular weight distributions. In specific conditions, rapid polymerization was possible within minutes under an ambient environment, without any prior deoxygenation, yielding moderate monomer conversion and narrow dispersity polymer. Optimal conditions for conducting AI-RAFT were investigated with propionic acid and isophorone diisocyanate revealing that carboxylic acids require a larger excess of deblocker to alkylborane to promote high monomer conversion. The deblocker functionality was also observed to have an impact on polymerization kinetics, and in some cases, to influence the dispersity and achievable molecular weight. The retention of living chain-ends was confirmed by synthesizing block copolymers using AI-RAFT derived macro-chain transfer agents, which were found to most efficiently chain-extend when synthesized using lower concentrations of alkylborane initiator. In this thesis, a chemically induced RAFT process is introduced without requirement of any thermal, photochemical, electrical, or mechanical stimulus capable of polymerizing acrylamide, acrylate, and methacrylate monomers in limited amounts of oxygen at room temperature.
Dance/Movement Therapy, Creative Arts Therapy, and How Dance and Performing Arts Managers Can Assist Program Participants and Employees in Times of Need
Authors:   , Carnesi Lauren K. , Gibbs Amy , Brody Jean
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this study was to analyze dance/movement therapy's role within the creative arts therapy landscape and the process of determining when dance/movement therapy would be recommended over other creative arts therapy modalities. The thesis provides information to help dance and performing arts managers to assist a program participant, or employee, potentially navigate the emotional, psychological, and potentially physical side of a situation they are facing. The final chapter includes resources and references for arts managers, offers of encouragement to use the resources, and a discussion on why being brave and vulnerable is more important than playing it safe.
Effects of Production Pressure on CRNA Practice and Patient Safety
Authors:   , McMillen Michael L. , Wilson Linda
Published: July 2021

Production pressure is often discussed in the anesthetic community with regards to its effects on patient safety, but has been rarely scrutinized. The purpose of this project was to examine the primary sources of production pressure and how they relate to patient safety in the practice of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). This quality improvement project surveyed 2000 CRNA's via email to assess the phenomenon and its impact on safety. There were 239 total responses with 17 incomplete surveys that were not used in the statistical analysis. Questions asked related to the sources of production pressure, communication, and errors caused by production pressures as well as basic demographic information. In this survey, it was determined that the phenomenon of production pressure has a significant impact on CRNA practice and safety. The production pressures relating to on time starts, turnover time, working hours and staffing levels were perceived by CRNAs to have the most significant effects on their practice. It is apparent that a culture of deviance continues to overshadow the culture of safety given the fact that greater than 55% of CRNAs witnessed errors due to production pressures with the potential to harm patients and 27% self-reported making those errors. The effects of production pressure on CRNA practice and safety are of significant concern and need to be reduced. The balance between safe, patient centered care and cost effectiveness needs to be constantly reevaluated.
Re-analysis of typical development characteristics in children's drawings, according to Victor Lowenfeld
Authors:   , Almeida Shana , Johnson Eric D. , Gerber Nancy E.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare typical developmental characteristics of eight-year-old children in art productions as established by Lowenfeld (1947), with drawings collected from eight-year-old children currently attending a Philadelphia public school to determine if there were any detectable changes between the drawings collected and what Lowenfeld considered age appropriate for an eight-year-old child. The art therapy field lacks a contemporary reanalysis of typical developmental characteristics in children's graphic productions. The most frequent description used was researched and developed by Victor Lowenfeld (1947) in the 1940s. Since then, there have been shifts in socio-cultural factors that have had direct effects on the psychological development of children today (Edelstein, 1999; Elder 1996; Gauvin, 1998; Levick 1998; O' Rand 1996). The changes in society include the cultural face of our country and world with increased immigration and the changing complexion of the family (Gantt, 1998; Levick, 1998). The major finding in this study indicates that there are differences between the drawings collected in this study and what Lowenfeld considered age appropriate for the age of study, therefore there may be changes in normal human development as reflected in children's art productions. There was no direct evidence found in this study that supports what changes have occurred, however there were implications to further research contemporary typical developmental characteristics in children's graphic productions to investigate this issue further. The differences between the drawings collected in this study and Lowenfeld's findings include 1) different rates of development in each drawing and 2) the use of broader range of developmental characteristics among all three developmental stages included in the rating form. Many limitations were found in the measurements of this study that may have influenced the outcome. The limitations included 1) environmental issues that may have influenced the data collection such as group regression, time and day of data collection, and children imitating one another, 2) geographic location, socio-economic status, and race, 3) issues identified in the rating form; for instance some of the drawing characteristics were more concrete then others, some required subjective judgment, and some may have lacked description and clarity, 4) the inaccuracy of the prescribed description given to Lowenfeld as the third rater, 5) the inability to make a comparison of the findings of Raters 1 and 2 to Lowenfeld's prescribed description. Although demographics were not collected in this study, it is possible that the results were influenced by geographic location, socio-economic status, and race.
Dance/movement therapy as an approach to the integration of body image with individuals sustaining traumatic brain injury
Authors:   , Conwell Donna , Goodill Sherry W.
Published: July 2021

With advances in acute and post-acute care, the number of survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are on the rise. This thesis reviews and synthesizes the literature on TBI, body image and its role in the process of rehabilitation, and support for dance/movement therapy as a tool for integration of self through the body with individuals surviving TBI. It is this author's conclusion that existing literature is supportive of the use of dance/movement therapy as a tool for integration of both the past and presently held sense of self through the body with the TBI patient. Research indicates that the survivors must adapt to cognitive, physical, and emotional changes in the self due to losses experienced as a result of the injury. The literature reveals that recovery appears to be somewhat developmental in nature and seems best facilitated by a multi-modal approach. This author observed that clients frequently describe the integration of previous and presently held body image through body referenced statements, either verbal or nonverbal (as loss of verbal articulation to express feelings is common with these individuals). The body is a universal reference point for the sensory experience and understanding of "self." The brain helps to organize and intake meaning of body level experiences on both conscious and unconscious levels. It appears that a psychological experience occurs in harmony with physical and cognitive processes. It is with this event that emotions become connected to the formation of one's sense of self in the world. While fragmentation in the experience, understanding of, and/or emotional attachment to the body/self is true for everyone, it is particularly important for TBI clients because of the loss of body/self. The literature reveals that dance/movement therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which the many facets of an individual (cognitive, physical, and emotional) can be reformed into a meaningful whole. Due to the diffuse nature of brain injury, -research has been difficult and limited research exists with this population. To this date little research has been done specifically connecting dance/movement therapy as an approach in the integration of self with this population.
Nonverbal communication and marriage
Authors:   , Kluft Estelle S. , Goldberg Nancy J.
Published: July 2021

This study explores the quality of communication between marital partners by investigating their movement behavior while they are conversing with each other. The first hypothesis states that movement behavior provides useful information about the way a married couple communicates with respect to a couple's sensitivity, attentiveness, flexibility, and involvement in marital communication, and with respect to an individual's ability to affiliate with and separate from his or her spouse. The second hypothesis states that additional information can be obtained by comparing a couple's reported perception of communication in the marriage to the couple's movement behavior. The results of the study support both hypotheses. The subjects are eleven married couples, predominantly young and college-educated. The results of rating each couple on an instrument of movement assessment are compared to the results of a self-report questionnaire that rates the marital communicational process. Results suggest that movement behavior plays a role in the degree of satisfaction with their communicational style felt and reported by the marital partners, and in the overall quality of the communicational process. Intrapersonal and interpersonal movement parameters are used as a means of developing and evaluating movement profiles of the couples. The profiles are compared to one another along with the results of the self-report questionnaires. Although the couples have many movement features in common, differences are found that often coincide with differences in questionnaire scores. The movement behavior indicates that high scorers tend to have more resources available for coping, tend to be more able to stay attentive during the conversation, and tend to have more movement features in common with their spouses than do low scorers. Some evidence is found that couples who score in the upper half of the range of questionnaire scores possess more resourcefulness, sensitivity, liveliness, alertness, and ease, and are more comfortable with affiliation and separation, than couples who score in the lower half of the range. The results indicate the importance of movement as a source of information about the marital relationship and the value of taking movement behavior into consideration in the course of therapeutic treatment.
The use of art making to recount parallel process in the supervisory relationship
Authors:   , Navarro Tracylynn A. E. , Hays Ronald E.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological pilot study was to investigatethe art therapist's use of art making to recount the intrapersonal experience in thesupervisory relationship. The objective of this thesis research was to obtain an in depthdescription of the art therapist's experience of art making used to recount parallel processin supervision. This research is based on the assumption that because thoughts andfeelings can often find expression in images prior to being expressed in words, artmaking about one's relationships with their patients and supervisors may provide anadditional dimension of insight into the interpersonal and relational dynamics that exist. The subjects in this study were 2 female art therapists. The subjects were asked tocreate symbols of both their therapeutic relationship with a patient and their supervisoryrelationship with a supervisor. After the completion of each image, an open endedinterview was conducted with the subjects to explore this experience in depth. The results of this phenomenological study were obtained using the data analysismethodology delineated by Moustakas (1994). The results indicated that the livedexperience of art therapists using art making to recount parallel process entailed thefollowing common themes: desire for nurturance in supervisory relationship reflectedpatient's need for nurturance; desire for clearly defined boundaries in supervisoryrelationship related to clearly defined boundaries in patient relationship; ambivalence,and anxiety, frustration and tension experienced in both relationships; desire to reduceanxiety in both relationships; deepened connections and learning experienced throughsharing of image and art process; and strong emotions evoked from interplay betweenrelationships and art making process.
Gravitoelectromagnetism (GEM)
Authors:   , Medina Jairzinho Ramos , Gilmore Robert
Published: July 2021

We derive the field equations of GEM by using a vector formulation based on the weak field approximation of Einstein's theory and a new tensor formulation based on group theory and the spin of the graviton. Both formulations are in free space and space with sources. The analogy in the description of gravity and electromagnetism is shown in these field equations. The gravitational field is decomposed into two fields: gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields, which satisfy the Maxwell-like field equations of GEM. In addition we obtain the wave equation of GEM by using the differential operators divergence, curl and gradient in terms of Clebsch-Gordon coefficients. A general wave equation for an irreducible tensor of rank j is also derived.
The Manifestation of Burnout in Theatre Arts Administrators
Authors:   , Kortsarts Michal , Goodman Julie , Yau Pamela
Published: July 2021

Burnout is a mental and physical phenomenon caused by work-related stressors that can be aggravated or subsided by a person's environment or personality. The causes and effects of burnout have been heavily studied in a variety of occupations, though the arts have historically been excluded from the conversation. This study uses the history of burnout methodology to examine how burnout manifests in theatre arts administrators through one-on-one in person interviews conducted over a series of months with 10 Greater Philadelphia Area professionals. Care was made to assure that the 10 interviewees varied in roles and locations within the organizational hierarchy of their organizations. The study found that these 10 theatre arts administrators exhibited symptoms of burnout similar to the symptoms exhibited by those studied in the empirical burnout research. It was also revealed that these artist's environments, like the environments of the empirical research subjects, affected their tendency to experience burnout. Further analysis with new subjects is needed if these findings are to be made generalizable for the greater arts administration public.
Determining the indicators of aggression using the Clay Create A Person
Authors:   , Barnaby Heather A. , Gerber Nancy E.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this pilot study is to explore a method of assessment and predictability of potential aggression in adolescents with histories of violent behavior. The assessment piloted in the study is the Clay Create A Person technique developed by this author. The rationale for the study is based upon the necessity to develop methods to assess, manage and treat adolescents with psychiatric or behavior disorders within the contemporary healthcare structure. The foundation for the study is based in art therapy theory, which combines the concepts of content and media. The content refers to the psychological literature reviewed, which reflects research on the known graphic indicators in such projective tests as the "Draw a Person". The media refers to the experimental element of this research, which is based upon the more kinesthetic or aggressive nature evoked in the clay media. This study was initially planned with a N of 10 however due to difficulties with subject availability the resulting N was 3. The design of the study is therefore a naturalistic or case study model. The three adolescents participated in the art process and an interview using the Overt Aggression Scale-Modified (OAS-M). The art productions from these subjects were then rated by 4 registered art therapy therapists for the presence or absence of researched indicators in the psychological and art therapy literature. The results of these ratings were compared with the results of the OAS-M utilizing a correlational method. Results appear to support the need for continued research in the area of utilizing three-dimensional material in a screening technique for possible aggressive behaviors in adolescents. There appeared to be a high inter-rater reliability within the four registered art therapy raters. Results concerning raters spontaneous observed aggressive indicators in a three-dimensional screening tool vs. two-dimensional screening tool seemed to prove significant. Suggestions for future research include further testing of the formulated indicators, which the raters deemed as present, with a larger subject pool. This particular study utilized subjects, which were known to be aggressive in order to gain information concerning the validity of the aggressive indicators. In future research, it would be important to test the Clay Create A Person technique on a subject pool with "unknown" histories of acting-out aggressive behaviors, as a means to develop a more applicable technique.
The effects of the confirmation bias on diagnostic decision making
Authors:   , Parmley Meagan Carleton , Herbert James D.
Published: July 2021

Research has shown that the confirmation bias affects judgments in a wide array of contexts, including clinical settings. Studies have demonstrated that the confirmation bias not only affects one's hypothesis testing strategy, but also how one interacts with others and how others in turn respond. In addition, several studies investigating the effects of diagnostic labels have found that such labels affect the way in which clinicians interpret information. Thus, once clinicians make a diagnosis, the confirmation bias has the potential to color their subsequent processing of new data, resulting in confirmation of initial diagnostic impressions even if these impressions are contradicted by subsequent data. In an attempt to mitigate the effects of the confirmation bias, several studies have investigated various debiasing techniques, including warning or educating subjects about biases. The results of these studies indicate that such techniques may be useful if subjects are adequately educated about a bias. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible effects of the confirmation bias in psychodiagnostic assessment, and to examine the effectiveness of educating clinicians specifically about the confirmation bias. Clinicians received two case vignettes, followed by additional information about each case one week later. The additional information was either consistent with the diagnosis indicated by the initial data, or inconsistent with it. Participants were asked to make a diagnosis after reading each vignette. Half of the participants received information about the confirmation bias at time two before receiving additional information about the cases. Results suggest that clinicians did evidence the confirmation bias during performance of this task. Specifically, clinicians tended to remain consistent with their original diagnosis when a change in diagnosis was required from time one to time two. In addition, the confirmation bias instructions did not have a significant effect on participants' performance during this task. Participants did not overcorrect, or incorrectly alter their initial diagnoses, when they received confirmation bias instructions. Finally, age was a predictor of diagnostic accuracy; specifically, as age increased, performance decreased. There was also some evidence to suggest that those participants who identified their orientation as cognitive behavioral performed more accurately. The results hold important implications about commonly occurring biases in the psychodiagnostic assessment process.
Polymer crystallization enabled carbon nanotube functionalization
Authors:   , Li Lingyu , Li Christopher Y.
Published: July 2021

Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) have attracted tremendous attention and numerous potential applications have been proposed. In this thesis study, a unique means to modify CNT surface with polymer crystals via controlled polymer crystallization method has been developed. CNTs were wrapped in polymer single crystal lamellae in a periodic manner, resulting in nano hybrid shish-kebab (NHSK) structures. The periodicity of the polymer lamellae can be varied from 20 - 150 nm. The kebabs are ~5 nm thick (along CNT direction) with a lateral size of ~ 20 nm to micrometers, which can be readily controlled by varying crystallization conditions. PE, Nylon 66 and PE-b-SBR were successfully decorated on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT), as well as vapor grown carbon nanofibers (CNF). The formation mechanism was attributed to "size dependent soft epitaxy". Efforts were focused on PE/SWNT system to understand the growth mechanism and the effect of experimental parameters on the periodicity. It was found that weight ratio of SWNT and PE (defined as R) played an important role and periodicity increases with increasing R. This was attributed to a reduced polymer concentration at the crystal growth front. Since NHSK formation conditions depend upon CNT structures, it further provides a unique opportunity for CNT separation. Applications of using NHSK in CNT dispersions, separation and nanocomposites have also been successfully developed. This unique means is different from all the reported methods and it opens a gateway to achieving periodically functionalized CNT for a variety of applications ranging from nanocomposites, sensors, fuel cells etc.
Self-efficacy, locus of control and the use of simulation in undergraduate nursing skills acquisition
Authors:   , Rockstraw Leland Jerome , Vaidya Sheila R.
Published: July 2021

The confidence to perform a skill (self-efficacy) is affected by multiple factors (ability, personality, self-estimate of ability, locus of control, and motivation). Sixty beginning nursing students (freshman and early sophomores) were studied as to their self-efficacy and locus of control in the acquisition of basic nursing skills in two simulated educational methods. Students were randomly assigned to the human-patient simulator (HPS) a computerized life-size mannequin, or to the standardized patient (SP) an actor trained to simulate a patient. Educational simulations share essential attributes: 1) they imitate but do not duplicate reality, 2) they offer chances to 'make an error' and 3) they provide feedback. These characteristics make simulations important in nursing practice thus allowing the student to learn from their mistakes without causing any harm and provide objective feedback (McGuire, 1999). Data was collected using pre and post self efficacy and locus of control questionnaires from students who received 80% or greater on performance of nursing skills such as: measuring blood pressure and pulse. Analysis of the data suggests a significant (p<0.001) increase in self-efficacy from pre to post score and a non-significant change towards an internal locus of control. Implications for healthcare and for nursing programs are discussed.
Environmental scanning electron microscopy study of the interaction of carbon nanotubes with fluids
Authors:   , Rossi María Pía , Gogotsi Yury
Published: July 2021

The behavior of fluids at the nanoscale is currently of interest, as nanotechnology promises tools for the precise delivery and analysis of minute volumes of liquids. Because of their reported properties, ease of manipulation and hollow cavity, carbon nanotubes have attracted attention for fluidic delivery. Thus far, experimental studies on wetting of carbon nanotubes have been limited, and other work revolves around theoretical modeling. Consequently, there is a considerable lack of experimental data on the subject. In this work, environmental scanning electron microscopy was employed for visualization of the interaction of carbon nanotubes with fluids such as water, liquid crystals, and biological solutions. Carbon nanotubes of diverse surface structure and chemistry were evaluated, and hydrophobic and hydrophilic behavior was observed. Nanotubes made by catalytic chemical vapor deposition showed highly hydrophobic behavior by the formation of spherical water droplets on nanotube agglomerates. This behavior was caused by roughness of the agglomerates as well as pinning of the droplets on defects and functional groups along the walls of the nanotubes. On highly graphitic carbon nanotube agglomerates, no droplet formation was observed due to the lack of defects and terminations on the surface. Formation of "barrel" and "clam-shell" shaped droplets on individual nanotubes was also observed. Capillary condensation inside carbon nanotubes made by non-catalytic chemical vapor deposition was also observed in the environmental scanning electron microscope. Condensation was marked by the formation of a thin film of water on the inner walls of the nanotubes, followed by growth of a meniscus of low contact angle, indicating the hydrophilic nature of the nanotubes. Spontaneous elastic deformation of the nanotubes was observed upon the formation of the film due to surface tension effects. By annealing, the carbon nanotubes were graphitized, and highly hydrophobic behavior was discernible by the lack of condensation of water inside the graphitized nanotubes. Filling of these carbon nanotubes with non-aqueous fluids including liquid crystals, and biological macromolecules, such as proteins and protein solutions, demonstrated the ability of carbon nanotubes to hold and transport a variety of substances. Finally, the ability of the carbon nanotubes to penetrate cells was also confirmed.
Development of injectable hydrogels for nucleus pulposus replacement
Authors:   , Thomas Jonathan D. , Lowman Anthony M. , Marcolongo Michele
Published: July 2021

Intervertebral disc degeneration has been reported as the underlying cause for 75% of cases of lower back pain and is marked by dehydration of the nucleus pulposus within the intervertebral disc. There have been many implant designs to replace the nucleus pulposus. Some researchers have proposed the replacement of the nucleus pulposus with hydrogel materials. The insertion of devices made from these materials further compromises the annulus of the disc. An ideal nucleus replacement could be injected into the disc space and form a solid in vivo. However, injectable replacements using curing elastomers and thermoplastic materials are not ideal because of the potentially harmful exothermic heat evolved from their reactions and the toxicity of the reactants used. We propose a hydrogel system that can be injected as a liquid at 25°C and solidified to yield a hydrogel within the intervertebral disc at 37°C. In aqueous solutions, these polymers have Lower Critical Solution Temperatures (LCST) between 25-37°C, making them unique candidate materials for this application. Poly(Nisopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) is the most widely studied LCST polymer due to its drastic transition near body temperature. However, by itself, pure PNIPAAm forms a hydrogel that has low water content and can readily undergo plastic deformation. To increase the water content and impart elasticity to PNIPAAm hydrogels, grafted and branched hydrogel systems were created that incorporated the thermogelling PNIPAAm and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). In this research, the effects of polymer composition and monomer to initiator ratio, which controls polymer MW, on the in vitro swelling properties (mass, chemical, and compressive mechanical stability) of hydrogels formed from aqueous solutions of these polymers were evaluated. Immersion studies were also conducted in solutions to simulate the osmotic environment of the nucleus pulposus. The effects of repeated compression and unloading cycles on the water content and dimensional recovery of hydrogels made from three candidate polymer formulations were also determined. Unlike PNIPAAm and PEG grafted PNIPAAm hydrogels, PEG branched hydrogels have covalently linked networks. Addition of 7 mol% PEG branches to PNIPAAm resulted in a hydrogel with a higher water content and better elastic recovery than hydrogels made from pure PNIPAAm. PEG branched PNIPAAm hydrogels were shown to have mass, chemical, and compressive mechanical stability in vitro. Furthermore, these hydrogels showed superior dimensional recovery after compressive cycling than pure PNIPAAm and PEG grafted PNIPAAm hydrogels. The 7 mol% PEG branched PNIPAAm hydrogels have suitable swelling and mechanical properties to potentially serve as a nucleus pulposus replacement.
Televised news media exposure, fear of terrorism, and social problem-solving
Authors:   , Greenberg Jeffrey H. , Nezu Christine M.
Published: July 2021

The modern threat of terrorism has become a stark reminder for the American populace of the dangerous world that we live in today. Each day Americans are exposed to significant quantities of information via various forms of media which are proposed to influence their subjective feelings of fear. Undergraduate students completed measures of social problem solving, televised news media exposure, fear of terrorism, stressful life experiences, and state and trait anxiety. It was proposed that televised news media exposure would be positively correlated with fear of terrorism. Additional positive relationships were proposed to exist between negative problem orientation and fear of terrorism, avoidant problem solving style and fear of terrorism and impulsive problem solving style and fear of terrorism. Negative relationships were proposed to exist between positive problem orientation and fear of terrorism, rational problem solving style and fear of terrorism and total problem solving and fear of terrorism. Finally, total problem solving was proposed to moderate the relationship between televised news media exposure and fear of terrorism. Negative problem orientation was found to be significantly correlated with self-reported fear of terrorism. Additionally, impulsive/careless problem solving style was correlated with self reported fear of terrorism. Implications for psychological interventions and future directions for research are discussed.
Effect of identity and number of chiral microemulsion components in chiral microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography
Authors:   , Kahle Kimberly Ann , Foley Joe Preston
Published: July 2021

The field of microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) is one of the newer subsets of electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) in which microemulsion droplets (consisting of three components: surfactant, cosurfactant, and oil) aid in analyte separation. The benefits to utilizing this methodology include short analysis times, high efficiencies, multiple parameters to fine-tune, ability to solubilize hydrophobic compounds, and minute consumption of both mobile phase and sample. This research area continues to expand as additional microemulsion formulations are examined for the analysis of more diverse and complex samples. In particular, the composition of the nanodroplets has a major impact on the separation characteristics. Therefore, the effect of each individual microemulsion constituent depends on the identity of the other components. It was the aim of this work to examine the impact of cosurfactant and oil identity and stereochemistry in dodecoxycarbonylvaline (DDCV)-based chiral microemulsion formulations for chiral MEEKC. In Chapter 3, the preparation of novel dual-chirality microemulsions is described wherein the chiral surfactant DDCV, in each of its stereochemical configurations, is combined with the chiral cosurfactant S-2-hexanol for the separation of two pairs of enantiomers. Additionally, results with racemic 2-hexanol were obtained and compared to previously published data using 1-butanol as the cosurfactant. The focus of Chapter 4 is the effect of achiral cosurfactant identity in which seven different achiral alcohols are examined for their influence on chromatographic figures of merit. Both the alkyl chain length and the hydroxyl group position caused distinct changes in the separation characteristics. Chapters 5 through 7 describe several novel multi-chirality microemulsion formulations. Combinations of a chiral surfactant (DDCV) and a chiral oil are evaluated with two different chiral oils: dibutyl tartrate in Chapter 5 and diethyl tartrate in Chapter 6. Finally, in Chapter 7, novel triple-chirality microemulsions containing DDCV, S-2-hexanol, and diethyl tartrate are used for the analysis of six pairs of chiral enantiomers. The findings of these studies demonstrate that both the identity and stereochemistry of the individual microemulsion components affect efficiency, enantioselectivity, and resolution. Importantly, the incorporation of additional chiral reagents to a microemulsion formulation provides a unique method of improving chiral separations.