bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nanoprobes, nanostructured materials and solid state materials
Authors:   , Yin Houping , Wei Yen
Published: July 2021

Novel templates have been developed to prepare nanostructured porous materials through nonsurfactant templated pathway. And new applications of these materials, such as drug delivery and molecular imprinting, have been explored. The relationship between template content and pore structure has been investigated. The composition and pore structures were studied in detail using IR, TGA, SEM, TEM, BET and XRD. The obtained mesoporous materials have tunable diameters in the range of 2-12 nm. Due to the many advantages of this nonsurfactant templated pathway, such as environment friendly and biocompatibility, controlled release of antibiotics in the nanoporous materials were studied. The in vitro release properties were found to depend on the silica structures which were well tuned by varying the template content. A controlled long-term release pattern of vancomycin was achieved when the template content was 30 wt% or lower. Nanoscale electrochemical probes with dimensions as small as 50 nm in diameter and 1-2 [mu]m in length were fabricated using electron beam deposition on the apex of conventional micron size electrodes. The electroactive region was limited to the extreme tip of the nanoprobe by coating with an insulating polymer and re-opening of the coating at the extreme tip. The novel nanoelectrodes thus prepared were employed to probe neurons in mouse brain slice and the results suggest that the nanoprobes were capable of recording neuronal excitatory postsynaptic potential signals. Interesting solid state chemistry was found in oxygenated iron phthalocyanine. Their Mössbauer spectra show the formation of four oxygenated species apart from the unoxygenated parent compound. The oxygen-bridged compounds formed in the solid matrix bear no resemblance to the one formed by solution chemistry. Tentative assignment of species has been made with the help of Mössbauer and IR spectroscopy. An effort to modify aniline trimer for potential nanoelectronics applications and to investigate the formation of "nano-pancake" shape aggregation was also reported.
1-Hydroxyanthraquinone
Authors:   , Arlauskas-Dekleva Lynn Ann , Gealt Michael A.
Published: July 2021

The effect of 1-hydroxyanthraquinone (OHAQ) on respiration rate and biomass production was evaluated in Paracoccus denitrificans and in mixed cultures derived from a municipal wastewater treatment facility. OHAQ addition resulted in classic "uncoupling" activity characterized by an increase in the respiration rate and decrease in the biomass production. In anaerobic batch cultures, OHAQ increased the nitrogen production rate 64.5 % and decreased biomass production 30.7% in Paracoccus. In aerobic batch cultures, OHAQ increased the oxygen utilization rate 38.5% and decreased the biomass production 39.3%. OHAQ addition to a continuous Paracoccus culture resulted in an increase in the respiratory activity compared to the steady state control values. There was a 10.4% in the carbon evolution rate (CER) and a 10.8 % increase in the specific oxygen utilization rate (SOUR). The growth of the organism was not adversely affected by the presence of OHAQ suggesting that the compound could increase the capacity of wastewater treatment facilities without modification to existing equipment. The addition OHAQ to mixed cultures derived from a municipal wastewater treatment facility resulted in an increase in the initial oxygen utilization rate and a reduction in the overall biomass production. The overall oxygen utilization was not adversely affected by OHAQ. In test vessels containing 300 mg/L MLSS, 10 mg/L OHAQ increased the initial oxygen consumption rate 16.9% and decreased the biomass production 10.8 %. The activity of OHAQ derivatives was related to the electronic properties and position of the substitution on the anthraquinone ring system. There was no correlation to the Log P, pKa or water solubility of the compound. These studies demonstrate that the activity of OHAQ is the result of the "uncoupling" of aerobic and anaerobic respiration. The results indicate that OHAQ has the potential to reduce both the capital and operating costs of biological wastewater treatment systems, especially in the industrial setting, by simultaneously improving the metabolic capacity and decreasing the biomass production rates. The uncoupling activity of anthraquinones combined with the low toxicity of compounds suggests that these compounds may be used for reducing biomass production in commercial bioprocesses in addition to traditional wastewater treatment systems.
Nanostructured, Electroactive and Bioapplicable Materials
Authors:   , Cheng Shan , Wei Yen
Published: July 2021

Novel nanostructured porous sol-gel materials, nanocomposites, electroactive and bioapplicable materials have been successfully developed for a wide range of perceivable applications. Several versatile nonsurfactant templated sol-gel pathways have been developed to prepare nanostructured porous materials and composites with different morphologies (e.g., monoliths, nanospheres, nanoparticles, and thin films), structures, compositions and properties. The synthetic conditions were systematically studied and optimized. The template effects on pore structure as well as synthetic process, especially template removal steps, have been investigated. The composition and pore structures were thoroughly studied with various spectroscopic and microscopic methods such as IR, TGA, SEM, TEM, BET and XRD. The obtained mesoporous materials usually exhibit high surface area, large pore volume and narrowly distributed pore diameter. The porosity can be fine tuned simply by adjusting the template concentration. The convenient synthesis as well as the distinctive structure and physical-chemical properties render these sol-gel materials great suitability for a wide range of potential applications, such as chemical and biological sensors, catalysts, drug delivery and functional coatings. Biocompatible and electroactive nanocomposites have been prepared through a biological agent (i.e., collagen) templated chemical polymerization of aniline monomers. The resultant polyaniline-collagen complexes exhibit well controlled doping-dedoping electroactivity and much enhanced solubility. Demonstrated with cell growth studies, the polyaniline-collagen complexes show improved biocompatibility in comparison to polyaniline. The new materials can be used to fabricate scaffolds, with which the effect of electrical stimuli on cell growth and differentiation can be evaluated with the hope of ultimately using electrical signal to stimulate controllable cell and tissue regeneration. Aniline derivative substituted quinoline ligand compounds and their complexes have been prepared and investigated as potential electroluminescent materials.
Molecular dynamics simulations of small molecule diffusion in hydrogels
Authors:   , Sivasubramanian Arvind , Lowman Anthony M.
Published: July 2021

Solute diffusion across polymer matrices is important in several technological applications such as controlled drug delivery, gel electrophoresis and gas separation. Our primary objective is to investigate the effect of size-exclusion on solute diffusion in polymer matrices with a focus on crosslinked hydrogel networks. The diffusion co-efficient of a solute in a hydrogel depends on the free-volume available as determined by the solute size and the polymer concentration. However, hydrogels have a highly disordered pore structure due to the random nature of the crosslinking techniques used in their preparation. The characterization of the free-volume of this pore structure by experimental techniques or mathematical modeling is not straightforward. Consequently, this precludes a direct testing of the correlation between diffusion and free-volume. In this thesis, we prepare simple, defect-free, end-crosslinked polymer networks via computer simulation. We choose a coarse-grained bead-spring representation for our polymer chains. In addition to crosslinked networks, we also prepare other host matrices: polymer solutions composed of flexible chains and fibrous matrices composed of interpenetrating rods. The free-volume available to a solute of a given size in these host matrices is characterized by calculating the so-called accessible volume fraction. Subsequently, the solute diffusion coefficients are computed by performing Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Our general finding is that the solute diffusion coefficients in these host matrices correlate well with the accessible volume fraction, which collapses onto one single variable the twin effects of solute size and polymer concentration. In the case of a crosslinked network with a given crosslinking density, solute diffusivities are a unique function of the accessible volume fraction. We also conclude that the mobility of the chains in the polymer matrix has a significant effect on solute diffusion, even at high accessible volume fraction. We have also investigated the effect of attractive solute-polymer interactions on solute partitioning and diffusion in crosslinked networks. A solute with specific interactions diffuses faster than an inert solute of the same size. We attribute this to the active partitioning of solutes across the bottlenecks in the network that the solute encounters during diffusion.
International asset pricing and exchange rate risk
Authors:   , Bayraktar Sema , Chiang Thomas Chi-Nan
Published: July 2021

This thesis examines the impact of exchange rate risk on asset pricing under varying market structures. To understand this effect, in the first part of the thesis the analytical derivation of an international asset-pricing model within a mean-variance framework is attempted. In the second part, to gain more insight to what the model shows economically, the price comparisons and changes in welfare under varying market structures are numerically analyzed. Finally, in the third part of the thesis the model is investigated empirically to check whether it is supported or not by real data. The main result of the theoretical part is that as long as representative agents are consuming the imported goods they would price the exchange rate risk in asset pricing. This is because exchange rate through terms of trade would affect the real purchasing power of the consumers. In numerical part, it is shown that, in a model with real exchange rate (also terms of trade in this study) shock-absorbing effect, there is no welfare increase on integration. Finally, empirical testing of the model provides partial support for the theoretical results of the first part.
Effects of interlaminar stress gradients on free edge delamination in composite laminates
Authors:   , Chung Simon , Wang Albert S. D.
Published: July 2021

Edge delamination in fiber-reinforced composite laminates has been asignificant structural reliability concern. This particular laminate failure mode is caused by the high interlaminar stresses concentrated near the free edges. Due to the complex fiber/matrix microstructure of laminates, an accurate evaluation of these stresses and determining their exact role in laminate failure has been difficult. Traditional approaches to this problem have been based on the "effective-ply" theory in which the plies in the laminate are represented by an elastic homogenized medium. One result of this theory is the presence of stress singularities at bi- material interfaces near the free edge. These stress singularities are thought to be possible causes for edge lamination. In this research, two key issues in the free edge delamination problem are addressed: 1) to identify the physical sources for delamination, and 2) to establish a physical criterion for the onset and growth of delamination. For the first issue, a rigorous numerical stress ana lysis method is devised to accurately determine the full field stress solution, including the stress singularity. Key lamination parameters known to influence the delamination are included in the analysis. The analytical results show that delamination occurs at the largest sized interlaminar stress concentration zone, or zone of dominance (ZOD). The ZOD is shown to be more sensitive to the lamination parameters than the edge singularity is. For the second issue, the "effective flaw concept" is used to model delamination within the confines of linear elastic fracture mechanics. In this concept, an edge flaw is introduced as a starter crack inside the ZOD, and the growth of the flaw is simulated using finite element methods. Good agreement between the simulated results and experiments is achieved provided that the effective flaw is sufficiently large. However, because the crack growth simulation is performed on the "effectiveply", justification of the effective flaw at this point is heuristic. An effort is then made to recover the stress field at the fiber/matrix level near the free edges. Comparisons are made between the macro and micro-stress fields, in hope to provide a rational connection to the effective flaw of the macro-analysis.
Self-organization of microdischarges in DBD plasma
Authors:   , Chirokov Alexandre V. , Fridman Alexander A.
Published: July 2021

Dielectric-barrier discharge, also referred as a silent discharge, combine the ease of atmospheric pressure operation with non-equilibrium plasma conditions suited for many plasma chemical processes. Numbers of interesting industrial applications in addition to the well know ozone generation was found. In particular, it is very effective in plasma treatment of polymer surfaces to promote wettability, printability and adhesion [1, 2]. In air at atmospheric pressure the discharge consist of large number of filaments that can form at regular pattern. Different types of periodic patterns were observed experimentally. Their properties were analyzed in detail. Microdischarge interaction model in dielectric-barrier discharge was proposed in order to explain experimentally observed patterns. Monte-Carlo simulation of microdischarge interaction in discharge gap based on proposed model was developed. Comparison between modeled and experimental patterns was performed by several methods. Effect of different driving voltage on observed patterns was evaluated. Gas phase discharge chemistry was calculated; impact of patterns on chemistry was investigated. For patterns analyze and comparison 2D correlation function of the pattern averaged over the observed space, Voronoi Polyhedron approach as well as two dimensional Fourier transform was used.
Optimal hydrogels for fast and safe delivery of bioactive compounds
Authors:   , Gadkari Siddharth B. , Papazoglou Elisabeth S.
Published: July 2021

The design of injectable, biocompatible hydrogels encapsulating bioactive substances and exhibiting minimal aerosol formation is an important problem and its optimal solution can lead to more effective delivery vehicles in various applications. The delivery rate from such hydrogels is generally slow if one targets minimal aerosol formation. This thesis explores different biomaterials as potential hydrogels for such applications. The design criteria are good extrusion consistency without phase separation, fast release rate of the encapsulated biomolecule and ability to maintain the functionality of the encapsulated entity. In vitro tests were developed to evaluate the hydrogels synthesized. We were able to develop a gel showing good extrusion consistency and fast release rate of an active virus.
Predicting adherence in a multifaceted medical regimen
Authors:   , Girdwood Candace P. , Nezu Arthur M.
Published: July 2021

Patient nonadherence to medical regimens is acknowledged as a significant problem in patient care and there has been a substantial amount of research focusing on behavioral explanations. Previous research has utilized the Health Belief Model (HBM) to understand and predict adherence, however, it has yielded "lower than expected" predictability (pg. 182; Rosenstock, Strecher, & Becker, 1988). The originators of the HBM have suggested but not tested, the importance of self-efficacy theory in increasing the predictive strength of the current model. The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive strength of the HBM with the added self-evaluative component of selfefficacy, in determining self-care behaviors in individuals with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Participants included 118 individuals with a diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Individuals were given self-report instruments measuring self-efficacy, health beliefs, and adherence, as well as demographic data. Adherence for 62 participants was also measured via blood assay levels of hemoglobin (HbA1c). Instruments include a demographic questionnaire, the Activities Questionnaire, the Diabetes Health Belief Questionnaire (DHBQ), and the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). Five hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the amount of variance predicted by the new HBM. No significance was found increasing predictability with the Self-Efficacy measure. Findings are discussed within the context of measurement errors and power. Recent trends in health behavioral change are reviewed and discussed.
Nafion® blend membranes for the direct methanol fuel cell
Authors:   , DeLuca Nicholas William , Elabd Yossef A.
Published: July 2021

The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) will replace lithium ion batteries in portable electronic devices, where current DMFCs operate at double the power density of current lithium ion batteries with instant recharge (refuel) capability. However, the DMFC could provide much higher power densities if the heart of the fuel cell - the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) - were more resistant to the fuel (methanol). Therefore, the development of Nafion® (the most commonly used PEM in fuel cells) alternatives that exhibit high proton conductivity and low methanol permeability (high selectivity) is an active area of research. Polymer blends are a simple and cost-effective method to develop membranes that conjoin both of the desired transport properties. To date, there is limited research in the area of PEM blends, and furthermore, a number of unresolved questions. In this study, the effects of blend composition, chemistry, and processing on polymer morphology and subsequently the transport properties and selectivity were investigated. A key result in this study was comparing solution cast membranes to heat pressed membranes. Both heat pressed membranes and unannealed solution cast membranes resulted in immiscible blends with low selectivity, while annealed solution cast membranes improved miscibility and subsequently selectivity. These results were confirmed, where the DMFC performance of an annealed solution cast blend membrane of Nafion®/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) (with only 5 wt% PVA) was 33% higher than Nafion® (the commercial standard) at a high methanol fuel concentration (8 M).
Bidirectional optical operation of a ring cavity driven by an external field
Authors:   , Ye Zongxiong , Narducci Lorenzo M.
Published: July 2021

Four kinds of protective coatings FFcarbide derived carbon (CDC), boron nitride (BN), Al-O-N and BN doped Al-O-N (BAN) have been successfully synthesized on the surface of SiC fibers on the target to enhance the mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of the coated SiC fibers for the application as the reinforcements in the Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) in the high temperatures. First of all, CDC coatings have been uniformly produced on Tyranno ZMI SiC fibers with good thickness control within nanometer accuracy by the chlorination in the temperature range of 550-700°C at atmospheric pressure. Kinetics of the carbon coating growth on the fibers has been systematically studied and thus a good foundation was set up for the further coating synthesis. BN coatings have been synthesized on the surface of SiC powders, fibers and fabrics by a novel carbothermal nitridation method. Non-bridging has been achieved in the BN-coated fiber tows by the nitridation in ammonia at atmospheric pressure in a temperature below 1200°C, which is lower compared to the traditional BN synthesis method and does not cause the degradation of the coated-fibers. BN coatings on the carbon nanotubes have also been formed and unlike the common methods, no additional dopant (such as metal catalyst) is introduced into the system during the BN coatings syntheses, thus the contamination of the final product is avoided. A novel Al-O-N coating has been explored with the most impressive point is that a more than 65% improvement in the tensile strength (up to ~5.1GPa) and a three-time increase in the Weibull modulus compared to the as-received fibers are resulted by the formation of 200nm Al-O-N coating on the SiC fibers. It exceeds the strength of all other small diameter SiC fibers reported in the literature. Furthermore, BAN coating has also been produced on the surface of SiC fibers and about 20% enhancement in mechanical strength is achieved compared to that of the original fibers. Oxidation experiments of the SiC fibers with four kinds of coatings under 1000°C and 1200°C in air have been carried out and better oxidation resistance of the coated fibers are presented compared to the as-received fibers. In summary, exploration of various coatings synthesis for the SiC fibers has been successfully conducted in this work. The coating material suitable for the SiC fibers should be chosen properly according to its specific application in the CFCCs and well thickness-control to meet the corresponding requirements.
Multifunctional polymers via incorporation of ionic groups at molecular and mesoscopic length scales
Authors:   , Rahmathullah Mohamed Aflal Mohamed , Palmese Giuseppe R. , Elabd Yossef A.
Published: July 2021

Multifunctional polymer systems with specific functionality and strength are developed by integrating diverse polymers into physically and chemically compatible composite structures. The concept has been achieved repeatedly in nature in examples such as the human skin or stimuli-responsive plants, where sensory or actuating mechanisms are part of a structurally sound system. Similar ideas can be extended to polymeric materials by incorporating hydrophilic ionic groups within hydrophobic non-ionic polymers to achieve desired functionality and mechanical strength respectively. This notion has been the focus of this work that is broadly categorized into investigations at the molecular and mesoscopic length scales. At the molecular scale, three strategies were investigated for thermoset functionalization. First, ionic groups were grafted on nanoporous and hydrophobic epoxy-amine thermosets via sulfonation. Second, copolymerization of hydrophobic diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A vinyl ester (VE) and hydrophilic 2-Acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) was investigated. Reactivity ratios were used to determine the distribution of five and AMPS in a copolymer network based on the Mayo-Lewis terminal model. Links between structure and properties such as water uptake, proton conductivity, and proton mobility were elucidated. Fuel cell performance was evaluated and compared to Nafion®117. Third, functionalized epoxy thermosets were prepared by the encapsulation of reactive or non-reactive ionic liquids. 1-ethyl 3-methyl imidazolium dicyandiamide exhibited thermally latent cure behavior and tunable network hydrophilicity, modulus, and glass transition temperatures. At the mesoscopic length scale, two strategies were investigated in developing polymer-polymer composites. First, fiber-thermoplastic matrix composites were developed as selective permeation membranes and proton conductive membranes. This was achieved by encapsulating, within a thermoplastic matrix, either hydrophobic fibers with grafted ionic groups or hydrophilic fibers. A combination of microscopy, permeability measurements and proton conductivity were used to assess composite performance. Correlations between the spatial location of ionic groups and proton mobility were developed and extended to understand the effects of polymer structure. Second, ionomer-thermoset composites were developed as potential self-healing materials designed to combine crack-repair characteristics of the ionomer with the mechanical strength of the thermoset. Since an unmodified epoxy-amine thermoset also exhibits significant healing, a fundamental understanding on the crack-healing behavior of epoxy-amine thermosets was developed.
Feasibility of using citations as document summaries
Authors:   , Hand Jeff , Drott M. Carl
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this research is to establish whether it is feasible to use citations as document summaries. People are good at creating and selecting summaries and are generally the standard for evaluating computer generated summaries. Citations can be characterized as concept symbols or short summaries of the document they are citing. Similarity metrics have been used in retrieval and text summarization to determine how alike two documents are. Similarity metrics have never been compared to what human subjects think are similar between two documents. If similarity metrics reflect human judgment, then we can mechanize the selection of citations that act as short summaries of the document they are citing. The research approach was to gather rater data comparing document abstracts to citations about the same document and then to statistically compare those results to several document metrics; frequency count, similarity metric, citation location and type of citation. There were two groups of raters, subject experts and non-experts. Both groups of raters were asked to evaluate seven parameters between abstract and citations: purpose, subject matter, methods, conclusions, findings, implications, readability, andunderstandability. The rater was to identify how strongly the citation represented the content of the abstract, on a five point likert scale. Document metrics were collected for frequency count, cosine, and similarity metric between abstracts and associated citations. In addition, data was collected on the location of the citations and the type of citation. Location was identified and dummy coded for introduction, method, discussion, review of the literature and conclusion. Citations were categorized and dummy coded for whether they refuted, noted, supported, reviewed, or applied information about the cited document. The results show there is a relationship between some similarity metrics and human judgment of similarity.
The functioning of patients and partners after the coronary artery bypass graft surgery process
Authors:   , Palmatier Andrew D. , Nezu Christine M.
Published: July 2021

The coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) process is one of the methods used to assist individuals with serious forms of coronary artery disease. CABG patients may experience difficulty with depression, anxiety, physical functioning, and quality of life problems post-surgery. Research has shown that caregivers/partners have become more responsible for assisting the patient with their quality of life post-surgery and the caregivers have become increasingly vulnerable to psychological distress. Research has also demonstrated that distressed caregivers are associated with decreased post-surgical well-being in patients. Other studies examining the patient and partner's relationship satisfaction have found that greater relationship satisfaction and support before and after surgery are important predictors of the patient's well-being post-surgery. In addition, there have been few studies that provide information concerning what coping skills may serve as potential buffers of patient distress. The aim of this study was to examine the significance of several possible predictors of post-surgical psychological adjustment and quality of life, including the patient's history of cardiovascular disease/coronary artery disease, history of CABG, number of vessels bypassed, history of angina, and history of myocardial infarction, the patient and partner's ratings of relationship satisfaction before and after surgery, the partner's ratings of depression and anxiety, and the patient and partner's social problem-solving ability. The study consisted of 31 dyads from the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Hahnemann University Hospital. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed and as predicted the patients reporting greater relationship satisfaction after surgery experienced lower depression and greater general quality of life post-surgery. However, the results unexpectedly indicated that patient's reporting greater relationship satisfaction before surgery had an increase in depression and a decrease in general quality of life post-surgery. Also, the results indicated that the patient's physical status, partner's ratings of relationship satisfaction and ratings of depression and anxiety, and the patient and partner's social problem-solving ability did not predict the patient's post-surgical psychosocial and physical adjustment. Results suggest that the patient's post-surgical relationship satisfaction could be an important coping mechanism related to their mood and quality of life. Implications of findings, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed.
Development and optimization of a quantitative DNA base excision assay
Authors:   , Abdullah Christopher Arif , Sokhansanj Bahrad Ali
Published: July 2021

The base excision repair (BER) system routinely removes damaged bases from DNA to conserve the integrity of the genome. The aims of this study were to design and optimize an assay using fluorescent kinetic data from molecular beacon (MB) oligonucleotides to generate an enzymatic model of base excision. Damaged bases, including 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8oxoG) and uracil, were incorporated within 5'-fluorescein, 3'-Dabcyl labeled stem-loop oligonucleotides for use in this repair assay. Fluorescence data was recorded to monitor the kinetics of the base excision. Parameters were estimated using nonlinear regression to characterize the efficiency of repair proteins in whole cell extracts. This assay provides a simple, reproducible, and quantitative method to determine BER efficiency as a means of characterizing DNA repair capacity in cells.
Interactions of Dual Training and Practice in Dance/Movement Therapy and Yoga
Authors:   , Borskey Amy Nicole , Schelly Hill Ellen
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the growing instance of therapists trained in both dance/movement therapy (DMT) and yoga and to provide information about the integration of DMT and yoga and practitioners' perceptions of how this may affect their practices. This study may provide the foundation for other studies to investigate a comprehensive treatment approach combining DMT and yoga. The research of this study included interviewing nine DMTs that are also trained in yoga about their uses of the modalities in their work with patients and yoga students. Grounded theory methods were used to analyze the data. Anecdotally, there exists a population of DMTs who are also trained in yoga. A study conducted for a master's thesis by Jill Comins (2007) showed that three-fourths of the DMT respondents to a questionnaire identified other body-oriented practices as influential to their work. Yoga was recognized by 62% of these respondents. This figure is astonishing considering what little effort has been made to study and document the connection between these two modalities and the practitioner's employment and training in both disciplines. It may be valuable to know how possessing knowledge in both disciplines affects their practices and methods of conducting therapy. Since both D/MT and yoga are mind-body approaches that demonstrate positive psychotherapeutic benefits for patients being treated with them simultaneously, this ixmay be the impetus for so many DMTs to receive training in yoga as well. It seems likely that dually trained DMT/Yoga practitioners would possess information and insight as to how this dual training has influenced both their practices and their patients' therapeutic experiences. The major findings of this study highlight the use of DMT and yoga together in the practice of both DMT and yoga. The researcher found that the two modalities complement each other in practice and outlined the ways in which this theory is operative. All of the nine participants interviewed reported that their dual training indeed has had an impact in the way they experience their DMT or yoga practices, or both in some cases. They also hypothesized about how they feel their patients/students experience treatment/class because of their dual training. The specific areas in which the two modalities complement each other are, briefly, as follows: both address the fact that emotions are dealt with in practice; they address the issue of knowing the body/body awareness, observation skills, and anatomy; DMT speaks to the issue of verbalizing the emotional process; and yoga provides a method of self-care for the therapist as well as a way to bring more people to the movement experience.
Psychological empowerment of salespeople
Authors:   , Yim Hong Kit , Anderson Rolph Ely
Published: July 2021

Salespeople are in great need of empowerment to effectively fulfill their roles as ultimate customer relationship managers (Anderson and Huang 2006; Moutot and Bascoul 2008), yet empowerment is an infrequent construct in the sales research literature. This study focuses on the psychological aspect of empowerment among salespeople to shed more light on the understanding of empowerment in a selling context. In order to provide sales managers with guidance regarding how to better coordinate and motivate their salespeople, in our first essay, using an experimental design, we investigate the essential conditions for inducing feelings of empowerment among the sales force. Then, in our second essay, we examine a model of the nomological network of psychological empowerment in a selling environment by collecting field data using a survey instrument. In particular, we examine consequences of psychological empowerment in terms of constructs which bear relevance to salespeople, including attitudinal variables (role conflict, salesperson job satisfaction, and organizational commitment), job outcomes (customer-oriented selling and organizational citizenship behavior), as well as those which are of strong relevance to the selling firms (customer satisfaction and customer loyalty). Responses from business-to-business salespeople were analyzed with regression analyses, providing support to most of our hypotheses. Findings are discussed and implications for practices are explicated.
The Use and Function of Altered States of Consciousness within Dance/Movement Therapy
Authors:   , Woods Amberlee , Schelly Hill Ellen
Published: July 2021

The purpose of the study was to research trance and altered states of consciousness (ASC), within dance, psychotherapy and anthropological literature, so that dance/movement therapists may practice with an informed understanding of the altered state experience, its potential therapeutic benefit, and methods for working with altered states in the practice of dance/movement therapy (DMT). The question guiding the study was: "How can different forms of ASC in DMT and dance therapeutically inform the practice of DMT?" The study aimed to answer this question through a literature based study utilizing grounded theory methodology. The study analyzed the identified literatures through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Eleven core themes were recovered through the process of open coding and axial coding and eventually related to one overarching theme relevant to the nature of ASC in DMT. These eleven themes were the following: community and group, healing potential, spirituality and religion, ritual, rhythm, experience of the self, body action and rapid motion, catharsis and abreaction, energy and revitalization, recovery of play and creativity and focus, attention and absorption. The overarching theme derived through these eleven themes answered the initial research question through the finding that different forms of ASC therapeutically inform DMT through providing healing qualities that are similar to the therapeutic processes and goals in DMT. While specific DMT approaches such as Authentic Movement and Experiencing cultivate and utilize ASC, ASC are also an integral part of the DMT process through their shared fundamental components of DMTsuch as breath, body action, imagery, ritual, and rhythm. The study also suggests that ASC can therapeutically inform DMT through providing a comprehensive multicultural lens. The themes of ritual and spirituality provided this multicultural lens through the suggestion that dance/movement therapists should support and facilitate these processes within DMT. The research implied that there was need for more research concerning the "grounding process" after ASC and how one may be brought out of the altered state. The study also suggested that there be further research into the physiological and neurological changes that occur during ASC and its implications regarding the physiological and neurological changes that occur during DMT.
Exploration of the knowledge of and motivation for learning preservation practices for personal digital information
Authors:   , Japzon Andrea Copeland , Agosto Denise E.
Published: July 2021

This research investigated preservation practices related to personal digital information. It sought to answer three main research questions: 1. What kinds of personal digital information do public library users collect and why? 2. What are the cognitive, affective, and psycho-social influences that contribute to the preservation of personal digital information? 3. How can individuals improve their digital preservation practices and what would motivate them to make improvements to these practices? Twenty-six participants were recruited from public library friends groups from a large metropolitan region on the east coast of the United States. Three areas within the study of information behavior informed the research design: everyday life information seeking (ELIS); information horizons and information source horizons; and cognitive and affective issues in information behavior. Data analysis entailed the use of the constant comparison method and descriptive statistics. Data analysis led to the creation of a theoretical model of personal digital preservation practices. The model shows the effects of social, cognitive, and affective conditions on personal preservation decisions, as well as the effects of memory loss and technological advances over time, combined with information escalation over time. Because the preservation of personal digital information is the result of personal, social, and technological interactions, the integration of these factors in the study of digital preservation practices is necessary for a viable solution to the digital preservation problem. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications for future research.
Thermoacoustically induced and acoustically driven flows and heat transfer in enclosures
Authors:   , Aktas Murat K. , Farouk Bakhtier
Published: July 2021

In this study, the behavior of acoustic waves induced by thermal and mechanical effects and the interaction of these waves with flow fields and rigid walls were investigated. The study focuses on two important effects of the acoustic-fluid dynamic interactions. These effects are termed as 'thermoacoustic convection' and 'acoustic streaming' and are analyzed using computational and experimental techniques. The generation and the short-time behavior of thermoacoustic waves in compressible gas-filled two-dimensional enclosures were investigated first. The vertical walls of the enclosure were heated or cooled to generate the thermoacoustic waves. The numerical solutions were obtained by employing a flux corrected transport (FCT) algorithm for the Euler equations and by coupling these to the viscous and diffusive terms of the fully compressible form of Navier-Stokes equations. When a vertical wall temperature is rapidly changed, the resulting waves induce remarkable pressure-induced flows in the enclosure. The long time effects of the thermoacoustic wave motion on the developing natural convection were studied next. The strength of the pressure waves associated with the thermoacoustic effect and the resulting flow patterns were found to be strongly correlated to the rapidity of the wall heating process. The interactions of mechanically driven acoustic waves with in a viscous fluid were studied next. A standing wave field in a two-dimensional enclosure was created by the vibration of one side wall of the enclosure. The interaction of this wave field with the solid boundaries leads to the production of Schlichting (inner) and Rayleigh (outer) type acoustic streaming flow patterns in the enclosure. The effect of the enclosure height and the amount of maximum wall displacement for vibratory motion were studied primarily. These parameters play significant role in the characteristics of the resulting flow structures. It is found that the streaming patterns vary strongly with a change of the standing acoustic wave form from 'harmonic wave profile' to 'sharp shock wave' type profile. The formation of streaming in an air filled acoustic chamber was also investigated experimentally. The computationally predicted results demonstrate qualitative agreement with the measured pressure values and the visualized streaming flow structures in the experiments.
Investigating the neuropsychological bases of script knowledge
Authors:   , Cosentino Stephanie A. , Chute Douglas L.
Published: July 2021

Objectives: Scripts, or multi-step plans of behavior characterized by typical objects, actions, and locations, serve as important links between knowledge of the world and goal directed behavior. Existing research on the neuropsychological basis of script knowledge posits that scripts are stored as unitary knowledge structures in the prefrontal cortex. However, patterns of impaired script knowledge in patients with prefrontal compromise suggest that scripts are likely multidimensional in nature, supported by multiple neural networks. The main goal of the current study was to systematically explore this idea, and specifically, to assess the extent to which executive and semantic processes support script knowledge. Methods: A novel test was created to dissociate the role of executive functioning and semantic knowledge in script knowledge. This test was administered to patients with various types dementia affecting prefrontal and temporal cortex, including Alzheimer's disease (n =15) and subtypes of frontotemporal dementia [semantic dementia (SD; n = 13); behavioral disorder dysexecutive (BDD; n = 12)]. Results: Consistent with predictions, patients with BDD exhibited significantly more errors of script organization/sequencing than errors of semantic content, and these errors were correlated most highly with performance on tests of executive functioning. Further, patients with BDD made significantly more sequencing errors than patients with AD. Patients with AD and SD were predicted to make significantly more semantic errors than sequencing errors, however, results did not support this dissociation. It is likely that impaired semantic knowledge in these groups led patients to commit a similar number of semantic and sequencing errors since the test was administered in verbal format. Conclusions: Collectively, findings from the current study implicate the involvement of at least two large-scale neural networks in sustaining script knowledge, and suggest that there are multiple ways in which this knowledge can deteriorate. This multidimensionalview of script knowledge is inconsistent with the view that scripts are stored as unitary knowledge structures in the prefrontal cortex.
Elucidation of levels of bacterial viability post-non-equilibrium dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment
Authors:   , Cooper Moogega , Fridman Alexander A.
Published: July 2021

As a solution to chemically and thermally destructive sterilization methods currently used for spacecraft, non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma is proposed to treat surfaces inoculated with everyday and extremophile bacteria. The purpose of this study is to show that non-thermal plasma has the ability to completely destroy bacteria to the DNA level on the surface of spacecraft materials without thermal degradation of the material. This is achieved by a threefold approach: physical, biological, and chemical. The physical approach involves characterizing plasma discharges in varying regimes to understand the properties of the discharge. The biological approach entails gathering evidence of reduction in bacterial load due to dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment and understanding the sequence of events leading to a microorganism's death when exposed to plasma. Polymerase Chain Reaction, Gel Electrophoresis, florescent assays and colony counts are among the techniques needed for this facet. The chemical approach adds understanding of sterilization mechanisms via the analysis of chemical reactions caused by UV photons, ions, and other components of plasma. This facet requires, in addition to biological assays, the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to determine the morphological changes of the bacteria with increased plasma dose. This threefold approach has shown that plasma succeeds in achieving complete disintegration of bacteria and alluded to the possible mechanisms. This will ultimately aide in preventing both forward contamination of planets and moons and reverse contamination of Earth for future NASA space missions.