bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of an Ultrasound-Sensitive Platform for Co-Delivery of Oxygen and Lonidamine to Hypoxic Tumor Sites
Authors:   , Daroshefski Nicholas , Wheatley Margaret A.
Published: July 2021

Tumor hypoxia, arising from the disorganized vasculature of angiogenesis, remains a barrier to the success of radiation therapy in treating cancer. Hypoxia confers radioresistance onto cancer cells, enabling them to repair DNA that is damaged by ionizing radiation. SE61O2 is an oxygen (O2) microbubble (MB) stabilized by a surfactant shell composed of Span60 and D-[alpha]-Tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS). These MBs can be injected intravenously to increase the reflection of ultrasound (US) in soft tissues, functioning as an ultrasound contrast agent (UCA). SE61O2 has also shown promise as a platform to deliver O2 to hypoxic tumors, reversing tumor hypoxia and inducing radiosusceptibility in laboratory mice. The duration of this effect, however, is not long enough to be clinically viable in humans. To extend the duration of oxygenation, SE61O2 MBs containing the drug lonidamine (LND), an aerobic respiration inhibitor, have been developed. A protocol for fabricating drug-loaded SE61O2 MBs was first developed using Nile red (NR) as a model hydrophobic drug. This protocol was then used to fabricate LND-loaded SE61O2 MBs (SE61O2-LND). SE61O2-LND MBs were required to demonstrate an acoustic enhancement [greater than or equal to] 15dB, a half-life [greater than or equal to] 1.5 min, and a size [less than or equal to] 6[mu]m. Additionally, they had to be able to deliver an LND dose of at least 2[mu]g/mL. Acoustic characterization of the SE61O2-LND MBs revealed that while they demonstrated sufficient enhancement (23.832 ± 1.317dB), their half-life was 1.333 ± 0.288 minutes. DLS measurements of the MBs revealed that they were 1.597 ± 0.327[mu]m in diameter, well below the 6[mu]m requirement. These findings were not significantly different from those of the MBs made with NR. While LND-loaded MBs were found to contain 5.10 ± 4.48[mu]g/mL LND, loading was inconsistent. Of the 8 samples made, 4 contained less than 2[mu]g/mL LND. Additional work is needed to increase LND loading and improve consistency. A method to assess the in vitro effects of LND using lactate quantification via fluorescence was also explored. This method failed to detect a change in L-lactate concentration following treatment with LND and it was concluded that more sensitive detection methods would have to be used in future work. Implementation of SE61O2-LND MBs has the potential to deliver O2 to reverse tumor hypoxia and slow its consumption by cancer cells by inhibiting aerobic metabolism via LND. This would extend the duration of tumor radiosusceptibility and increase the efficacy of radiation therapies, improving prognoses for patients with both early and late stage cancers.
Criminal Prosecution of Substance Use During Pregnancy
Authors:   , Desai Alisha , DeMatteo David S.
Published: July 2021

As substance use disorders continue to impact society, the number of women who misuse substances during pregnancy has increased. The resulting growing prevalence of neonatal withdrawal has medical, legal, and child welfare implications. However, approaches to intervention have been met with a significant lack of consensus among treatment providers, the general public, policymakers, and the legal system. This study examined judges' and the general public's opinions on a legal and child welfare approach to prenatal substance use. Participants in the judge sample (N = 175), which consisted of United States judges who preside over state-level court, were randomized to one of three prenatal substance use conditions: 1) alcohol; 2) benzodiazepine; and 3) prescription opioid. Participants in the general public sample (N = 467), which consisted of voting-eligible United States citizens, were randomized to one of four conditions: 1) alcohol; 2) benzodiazepine; 3) prescription opioid; and 4) heroin. Overall, only 37.7% of judges recommended that the mother be criminally prosecuted after giving birth to a child with NAS, whereas the majority of the general public (72.2%) recommended prosecution. General public participants were significantly more likely to recommend ongoing monitoring for a woman who used benzodiazepines and loss of custody for a woman who used heroin. Significant differences in child welfare and criminal prosecution outcomes did not emerge among the judge sample as a function of type of substance use. Implications for research, policy, legal practice, and rehabilitation are discussed.
Urinary Catheter Usage and Care
Authors:   , Caldwell Deborah , Poyss Alicemarie R. , McCathern Ben
Published: July 2021

CAUTIs are one of the most common preventable causes of mortality in the United States. Urinary catheter-related infections increase the length of stay, antibiotic use, and healthcare cost. The daily risk of acquiring bacteriuria when an indwelling catheter in situ is 3-7%. This project aims to reduce CAUTI rates by reducing inappropriate urinary catheterization and duration of catheterization by 10 %. A gap analysis was performed to assess the system's current state of compliance with Catheter Usage and Care policy. Twenty-five charts total reviewed from October 2017 thru March 2018. The indications catheterization included: ten for neurogenic bladder, eleven for urinary retention, two post-operative surgical procedure, one for urinary obstruction and one for pelvic fracture. The ten for neurogenic bladder, one for urinary obstruction and one urology patient, did not meet the criteria of inclusion. A patient associated with a pelvic fracture had three days of unnecessary catheter days. Findings included the Catheter Usage and Care policy compliance rate of 86%. The cause of untimely removal is the failure to remove the urinary catheter when the indication is no longer valid, and no daily assessment of the urinary catheter indication. To improve patient outcomes, hospitals can use strategies to reduce CAUTI through the application of accepted evidence-based prevention practices. Documentation of the indication for the urinary catheter daily will assist in decreasing urinary catheter-related infections.
Integrated design of 3D materials
Authors:   , Christe Daniel , Kontsos Antonios , Najafi Ahmad Raeisi
Published: July 2021

Advanced manufacturing (AM) refers to design and manufacturing through the combination of sensing, information, computation, software, testing, and/or the use of novel materials. Although several examples on the use of AM methods to design novel 3D-architectured materials have been proposed, a critical challenge in such approaches remains the validation of simulation results as well as manufacturing procedures especially in the context of the reported variability in both properties and behavior for current AM methods. An appropriate component to benchmark design for AM is their pairing with advanced testing and characterization methods capable to provide quality assessment either in situ or in post mortem. This thesis targets, therefore, the investigation of a proof-of-concept methodology that combines computational modeling with testing methods to attempt to close the loop between digital design and final manufactured product. To demonstrate such approach, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), an extrusion-based process in which molten filament is deposited and rapidly solidified on a heated build plate, constructing parts in a layerwise fashion is chosen due to its widespread use. For computations, an Interface-enriched Gradient-based Finite Element Method (IGFEM) shape optimization was utilized to select the optimal shape of a designed exemplary microstructure consisting of an elliptical hole. A specific criterion for optimization was used involving the overall compliance of the 3D-printed geometry which in this case was in the form of uniaxial tension test specimens. For experimental validation, FDM produced coupons using ABS were tested and compared against the simulated microstructure. Extensions of this study in the cases of more complex microstructures consisting of several volume fractions of different types of microstructures in similar specimens, as well as compression loading specimens are reported to demonstrate the way such method could reduce design time while being validated.
Geometric and Combinatorial Methods for Digital Elevation Models
Authors:   , Haag Scott Myers , Shokoufandeh Ali , Salvucci Dario D.
Published: July 2021

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are the de facto 3D models used to represent geo-spatial structures in many natural systems and are used in process-based modeling. From a computational perspective, DEMs are discrete, 2D manifold-grids in 3D space from which flow properties can be computed. An important family of problems involves identifying iso-flow surfaces from DEMs at discrete locations. In practical terms, such iso-flow surfaces correspond to sub-regions of the 3D-manifold whose aggregate flow passesthrough a single grid cell. Algorithmic solutions to these types of problems have numerous applications in Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Science research, allowing the efficient mapping of watershed boundaries. Existing algorithms for identifying iso-surfaces run in quadratic complexity as a function of the number of cells on their boundary. Our investigation shows that linear time algorithms to identify iso-surfaces are possible due to the combinatorial geometric properties of DEMs. Finally, a general method to return univariate statistical values for an iso-flow surfaces is developed. These algorithms rely on a number of new data structures, the Modified Nested Sets, Log Reduced Nested Sets, and a Modified Interval Search Tree. In empirical tests we show significant ( 500 faster) for a number of these iso-surface problems.
Social Problem-Solving Moderates the Relationship Between Postdeployment Reintegration Difficulties and Suicide Ideation Among U.S. Veterans
Authors:   , Leib Marisa , Nezu Arthur M.
Published: July 2021

Suicide is a significant health concern among U.S. veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs released a report indicating that the rate of suicide for veterans is 1.5% greater in comparison to non-veterans. The rise in suicide among veterans has shown to be associated with the transition from military to civilian life. Approximately, 25% of veterans reported difficulty after deployment in major life domains including social functioning, productivity, community involvement and self-care (Sayer, Carlson, & Fraizer, 2010). The research has demonstrated that social problem-solving (SPS) can buffer the negative effects of stressful life events and daily problems (Nezu, Nezu, & D'Zurilla, 2013). Among the population of veterans, SPS has shown to be associated with reduced distress levels and increased resilience. To date, no research has investigated the relationship between postdeployment reintegration difficulties and SPS, or how they affect suicidal behaviors. The present study aimed to examine whether SPS moderates the relationship between postdeployment reintegration difficulties and suicide ideation. A sample of 198 veterans completed an online survey that included a demographic questionnaire and the following validated self-report measures: Military to Civilian Questionnaire (M2C-Q), Social Problem- Solving Inventory-Short Form (SPSI-R:S), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). As expected, postdeployment reintegration difficulties and SPS were both found to be significantly correlated with suicide ideation. Additionally, SPS was found to moderate the relationship between postdeployment reintegration difficulties and suicide ideation. In other words, when participants reported high levels of postdeployment reintegration difficulties, "effective problem solvers" experienced significantly lower levels of suicide ideation compared to "ineffective problem solvers." These findings demonstrate the importance of adaptive social problem-solving abilities in decreasing suicidal behaviors in individuals with postdeployment reintegration difficulties and provides the preliminary rationale for utilizing Emotion Centered Problem-Solving Therapy (EC-PST) treatment approach. Future research that evaluates the efficacy of EC-PST could provide evidence for the use of this intervention in veterans experiencing reintegration difficulties at increased risk for suicide.
Identifying Delays in Care of Clinically Decompensating Patients in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
Authors:   , Rohlf Kate , Poyss Alicemarie R. , Quinn Carrie
Published: July 2021

The post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) has an average Phase I length of stay goal of 60 minutes. The PACU has not met this goal. The purpose of this study is to identify a gap in care that could affect Phase I time. One gap identified was the time added for patients requiring a STAT order for a decompensating condition. These orders included a STAT chest x-ray, arterial blood gas, hemoglobin & hematocrit draw, or electrocardiogram. Direct observation revealed that up to ten minutes per patient was added by the current workflow. The study was a retrospective review of 74 patient charts of overall Phase I time and whether the patient had a STAT order placed during their PACU stay. The results concluded that the average Phase I time for patients without a STAT order was 74.4 minutes compared to 103.5 minutes for patients with a STAT order placed. This was an increase of 39%. A cost-savings analysis revealed that patients with STAT orders placed had an additional stay cost of $205 compared to hospital goal. A second cost-analysis reveals a staff productivity loss of $2,800 per month per RN, based on two patients per week required a STAT order. The recommendation from this study is for the organization to create a standing conditional order set for the PACU in the electronic medical record. There is a potential cost-savings of more than $3,000 per month. This could increase patient safety, expedite care, and improve patient throughput in the PACU.
Neurochemical and electrophysiological characterization of target-specific neuronal populations in the dorsal raphe nucleus and their susceptibility to chronic corticosterone as a model of depression
Authors:   , Prouty Eric William , Waterhouse Barry D.
Published: July 2021

Serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe (DR) nucleus project throughout the forebrain and are implicated in many homeostatic physiological processes and neuropsychiatric disorders. Heterogeneity among DR 5-HT neurons with respect to their anatomical relationships, neurochemical profiles, and electrophysiological properties is well-recognized, but only recently have studies begun aligning such phenotypic variations with specific brain functions. The goal of this work was to link DR neurons to the operation of cognitive and emotional circuitry or sensory processing networks by characterizing cells according to their neurotransmitter expression, electrophysiological profiles, and efferent connectivity; specifically, neurons projecting to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC, a region involved in cognition and mood regulation) or the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a visual sensory relay. A further goal was to determine whether serotonergic regulation of cognitive/emotional function might be selectively impacted by a glucocorticoid-excess model of rodent depression; therefore, we examined the effect of chronic corticosterone (CORT) administration on the electrophysiology of these target-specific neuronal populations. Following retrograde tracer injection in mPFC or LGN (and once-daily subcutaneous injections of CORT at 40 mg/kg for 21 days in a subset of animals), rat brainstem sections containing the DR were immunohistochemically stained for 5-HT and co-transmitters or used for whole-cell patch clamp recordings. We found that neuronal nitric oxide synthase was expressed in a significantly greater proportion of neurons projecting to mPFC than to LGN (60% vs 22%)-a neurochemical bias consistent with the emerging role of nitric oxide in stress responses and depression. Additionally, only mPFC-projecting neurons displayed CORT-induced hypo-excitability, suggesting that protracted exposure to excess glucocorticoids may preferentially reduce 5-HT output in the mPFC. In summary, these data indicate that subsets of DR 5-HT neurons, defined by efferent connectivity and co-transmitter expression, respond selectively to elevated CORT levels and may account for functionally-specific differences in 5-HT transmission under normal conditions and in neuropsychiatric disease states. Based upon these initial findings we propose that the observed hypo-excitability in DR-mPFC projecting cells may underlie the cognitive deficits and emotional disturbances characteristic of depression and that functional enhancement of these cells may correlate with positive therapeutic responses to serotonergic antidepressants.
Reducing "Psychopath" Labeling Effects in Capital Sentencing
Authors:   , Fairfax-Columbo Jaymes , DeMatteo David S.
Published: July 2021

To prevent the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty, the United States Supreme Court has long held that jurors must be provided with guidelines to help them narrow down the class of individuals who are eligible for capital punishment. One way in which jurisdictions accomplish this is to require a finding of one or more aggravating circumstances. A handful of jurisdictions list future dangerousness as one such aggravating factor. The presence of psychopathy is often used as a proxy for future dangerousness, and scores on Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) are often utilized as evidence of psychopathy in United States courts. In capital contexts, offenders labeled as "psychopaths" or attributed psychopathic traits are significantly more likely to receive a sentence of death than offenders not labeled as such or attributed such traits. However, this "labeling effect" is problematic given that the PCL-R is at best only a weak predictor of institutional violence. In light of this concern, this study sought to explore ways to combat "psychopath" labeling effects in capital contexts utilizing jury instructions and teaching expert testimony, specifically by attempting to provide jurors with a more well-rounded understanding of psychopathy, as well as providing jurors with information on the limitations of the PCL-R in predicting future dangerousness for capital offenders. Findings did not support the existence of a psychopathy labeling effect.
Application of Pattern Recognition Techniques to Aid in Detecting Degradation of a Pulsed Power System
Authors:   , Peachey Sarah , Chmielewski Thomas A. , Peters Christopher W.
Published: July 2021

Pulsed power is the release of energy over a small interval of time, resulting in a large peak in power at the load. MERCURY is a 2.2 TW pulsed power system used in experiments at the Naval Research Lab. During high power experiments, it was noted that the coating on the inductive cells was damaged. Throughout exploration of the system, researchers determined that when the trigger misfires, the switches can be damaged, which causes ringing and energy dissipation throughout the entire system. It was desired to use the data from the high power experiments to create a tool to automatically examine all of the signals associated with one shot or machine cycle of the pulse power system. A data structure was designed to organize and analyze the data associated with one shot. With this structure in place, it is easy to extract features about the system and explore degradation trends. By exploring these trends, an algorithm was designed to identify and predict when the pulsed power system begins to experience degradation. In this way, damage to the equipment could be prevented. Pattern recognition techniques such as nonlinear unsupervised clustering were applied to data from the MERCURY system, in order to predict and diagnose degradation of equipment.
Creating Online Training Courses for the Corporate Environment
Authors:   , Ulrich Randall Curtis , Phillips Joy C.
Published: July 2021

Online training is a mainstay of the corporate environment in the twenty-first century. However, creating online instruction presents different challenges than those for traditional classroom-based learning. Instructional design for the online environment is considered to be in its formative stage, which suggests that there is no set path, model, or formula for instructional designers to follow when creating online training. The study explores the experiences of instructional designers who have created online training for the corporate training environment, focusing specifically on the instructional designers' experiences regarding any processes or models they may have followed when creating online instruction. By exploring the experiences of these instructional designers who created online courses, future instructional designers may better understand the processes or models available to them as they create their own online instruction. Three questions were addressed for this research: (1) what were the experiences of the instructional designers regarding the processes or models they followed to create online training; (2) what criteria did instructional designers use when determining whether a course's content was suitable for the online training environment; and (3) what process or instructional design model did the instructional designers follow in order to create online courses, and if no specific instructional design model was used, what was the reason for not using one. This study was conducted utilizing a collective case study method. This study was designed to explore, compare, and understand the varied experiences of the study participants within the context of their profession; and attempted to differentiate the details of each participant's experience in order to better understand what an instructional designer considers when creating an online educational or training course. Research participants' responses were categorized into four major themes: (1) Models versus Experience, (2) Choosing a Familiar Instructional Design Model, (3) Instructional Design Occurs in Teams, and (4) Personal Best Practices. All of the study participants agreed that having instructional design models to follow early in their careers is helpful, but strict adherence to those models tends to fall away as experience takes over.
The Impact of the NBA-Tencent Exclusive Streaming Agreement on Chinese Basketball Viewers
Authors:   , Tong Xingda , Tedesco Albert S.
Published: July 2021

Chinese media company Tencent and the NBA entered into an exclusive streaming contract in 2015, changing the Chinese NBA market. Tencent operates one of the most popular websites in China, and owns Wechat and QQ, which are among the most popular chat applications and software in China. By cooperating with Tencent, the NBA was able to offer a better experience and variety of content to Chinese NBA fans. In addition, the NBA could deliver content to a wide-ranging audience, due to Tencent's broad user base. However, this exclusive contract had a profound influence among Chinese NBA fans. In the past, viewers could only watch 1-2 live-stream NBA games. After the Tencent-NBA agreement, they could watch almost every NBA game. With a wide variety of choices came also the need to pay for the service. The era of free NBA games was gone, and in its place a new free-premium hybrid business model that offered free and paid content at the same time; if there were 10 basketball games on one day, they would live-stream two free games and the remaining 8 games were charged. This new business model began a new era for NBA viewers in China.
Using Nature as a Resource in Dance/Movement Therapy with Older Adults
Authors:   , Heckstall Mia , Schelly Hill Ellen
Published: July 2021

About 1.3 million adults older than 65 live in long-term care facilities (Newman & Newman, 2015). Common to this population are the challenges of cognitive limitation and the loss of sense of self imposed by dementia, the deterioration of physical functioning, social isolation and loneliness, as well as end of life concerns. This capstone project outlines a method for the incorporation of nature and natural elements in dance/movement therapy (DMT) sessions to address the psychosocial crises of this age. A review of the literature identified reminiscence, sensory stimulation, socialization, and movement as meaningful supports for this population. Elements of nature can be agents of support in all of these therapeutic modes and were the basis for exploring the incorporation of nature into DMT sessions over the course of five weeks. The outcome of this exploration was the development of a flexible method that outlines various options for introducing nature into a session. Introduction of elements of nature into a session often involved an active therapist led structure and concrete activity, however, with attention to responding to what emerged from the participants within the activity. Clinical vignettes illustrate how nature and DMT interacted with reference to the identified modes of support. For older adults, to feel connection to life is critical as they are coming to terms with the ending of their own. In these sessions nature and DMT served as a medium to support and address the psychosocial crises of participants while promoting a sense of mastery and connection. Elements of nature may be a bridge to self, others, and the world outside the walls of the nursing home.
Factors that Affect the Success of Students with Disabilities in Online Postsecondary Education Programs
Authors:   , Walker William Michael , Phillips Joy C.
Published: July 2021

Administrators, faculty, and staff at institutions of higher education (IHEs) strive to provide equal access to all areas of student life, both academic and non-academic. However, IHEs are currently limited in their ability to make appropriate accommodations for the growing numbers of students with disabilities in postsecondary education. Increasingly, these individuals are engaging in online educational environments (Verdinelli & Kutner, 2016). The purpose of this study was to discern the impact of supports provided by IHE administrators, faculty, and staff, and family on graduate students with disabilities enrolled in online courses. In looking at graduate students with disabilities who are enrolled in online courses, the research focused on three guiding research questions. 1. What are the experiences of graduate students with disabilities who are enrolled in online courses? 2. How do graduate students with disabilities report currently existing supports as facilitating or inhibiting their success in an online learning environment? 3. What supports do graduate students with disabilities report are still needed to help them experience success in an online learning environment? This phenomenological research identified 1) the ways that current supports facilitate success, 2) where missing supports can be instituted, and 3) how the experiences of students with disabilities can inform the implementation of such accommodations. The findings from this study benefit both students with disabilities enrolled in online education as well as the administrators, faculty, and staff at IHEs. These benefits come through an examination of the existing and needed accommodations that help students with disabilities experience success in a postsecondary setting. Additionally, this study can assist faculty and staff in IHEs to better understand the needs of students with disabilities enrolled in online courses and how to make these environments more inclusive and supportive.
Training Future Psychologists to be Competent in Self-Care
Authors:   , Callan Stephanie A. , Schwartz Jennifer , Daly Brian P.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to explore the ways in which clinical, counseling, and school psychology doctoral-level graduate students are trained to build competency in self-care and the scientific methodologies that are being used to assess self-care competency trainings. Twenty self-care competency training articles were identified. Results from the systematic review revealed that the majority of studies conducted were quantitative (50%), followed by mixed methods (25%), theoretical (15%), and qualitative (10%). Over half of the quantitative studies used a cross-sectional design. A pre-post test design was also commonly used, but none included a control group. The qualitative portions of the mixed study designs were varied, including exploratory, content and thematic analysis, and grounded theory. Furthermore, five themes of self-care training content were identified: Self-care interventions, mentorship and supervision, self-compassion, workbooks and training tools, and creating a culture of self-care. More rigorous methodology is needed to determine the efficacy of each of five themes of training that have been identified. Recommendations were made for future research, both within the five identified themes and for self-care training studies in general.
An Examination of the Relationship Between Level of Job Satisfaction and Intention to Remain in the Profession Among Special Education Teachers in Two Small City Settings
Authors:   , Burkhart Megan Elizabeth , Phillips Joy C.
Published: July 2021

Special educator teacher attrition has been an ongoing issue in the U.S. for decades. Urban districts face particular challenges with special educator teacher attrition due to high poverty rates and limited resources. Current research indicates that many factors contribute to the high rates of special educator attrition in urban areas, but there is limited information regarding the extent of the role job satisfaction plays in special educator teacher retention. Understanding the extent of this relationship enables district leaders to make informed decisions regarding additional supports that may be necessary to improve special educator retention. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational, explanatory research was to examine the relationship between urban special educators' level of job satisfaction and their intention to remain in their current positions. The central Research Question guiding this study was: What is the relationship between job satisfaction among special educators in two small cities and their intention to remain in their current teaching position? This research was grounded in both Herzberg's motivational and hygiene theory and Maslow's needs hierarchy theory. The researcher used both purposeful and snowball sampling to identify special educators in targeted small city districts in two counties within the same U.S. east coast region. A cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain current information regarding job satisfaction and teachers' intentions to remain in their current position. Data were analyzed using SPSS software to conduct a correlational analysis between the level of small city special educators' job satisfaction and their intention to remain in their current position. Results of the survey indicated that though the majority of participants reported high levels of job satisfaction, an equally high percentage planned to pursue employment outside of their current district. These data have the potential benefit district administrators who are interested in better supporting and retaining special educators, however it is evident that additional research is needed to better understand the factors motivating special educators to leave their positions.
Antiretroviral Drug Mediated Astrocyte Senescence as a Contributor to HIV-1-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders
Authors:   , Cohen Justin Zachary , Torres Claudio A.
Published: July 2021

Aging, the time dependent deterioration in the physiological integrity of living organisms, has become pertinent to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has rendered it from a terminal to chronic illness. Despite this success, HIV-1 patients experience numerous co-morbidities that result in an accelerated aging phenotype, including a series of neurological deficits collectively known as HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Targeting mechanisms of aging has therefore been proposed as a novel HIV-1 therapy. One potential hallmark of aging to target is cellular senescence, a state of irreversible growth arrest coupled with set changes to phenotype and gene expression. Senescent cells are more prevalent in aging tissues and increasingly associated with neurodegenerative disease. We therefore hypothesized that one contributor to HAND is premature senescence of astrocytes in response to HAART drugs. Human astrocytes were treated in vitro with clinically relevant combinations of HAART drugs and examined for markers of senescence. Treated cells displayed classical markers including growth inhibition, expression of cell cycle inhibitors, senescence-associated [beta]-galactosidase activity and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Additionally, these cells demonstrated signs of oxidative stress via p38MAPK dependent total and mitochondrial ROS. This stress was accompanied by changes to astrocyte metabolism including increased mitochondrial oxygen consumption and glycolysis. Conditioned media from these cells induced cell death in the neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line. Since astrocytes interact with endothelial cells at the blood brain barrier (BBB), we wanted to examine the impact of HAART drug mediated endothelial cell senescence on astrocytes. HAART-drug treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) displayed a similar senescent and oxidative stress profile as astrocytes. Furthermore, senescent HUVECs had decreased eNOS activation, suggesting altered physiology. Most importantly, conditioned media from these HUVECs induced paracrine oxidative stress and senescence in astrocytes, which has implications for astrocyte dysfunction at the BBB. Overall, these results suggest HAART-drug mediated senescence is a detrimental contributor to HAND and drugs aimed to intervene the senescence program represent a novel avenue for therapeutics.
How School Leadership Fosters or Constrains the Development of a Creative Learning Culture
Authors:   , Stoudt Stacey L. , Phillips Joy C.
Published: July 2021

In times of constant change, providing students with opportunities to develop critical 21st century skills of creativity and innovation, becomes an important responsibility of our school systems. Development of these learning opportunities requires skilled and creative leadership. Leaders who have the characteristics necessary to transform a school culture through their own creative influence are the motivation for this research. Creative leadership's influence on the formation and sustainability of a school learning culture is detailed from the perspective of teachers, informal leaders, and formal leaders within the culture. Using data collected through in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and a teacher perception questionnaire, the study offers an in-depth look at influences creative leadership has on the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of those within one public middle school culture. This inside view offers understanding of how creative leadership may foster the type of learning culture necessary for the growth and development of students ready for the challenges of a progressive world. Findings reveal a reciprocal relationship between creative leadership and creative school culture. The study offers explanation of how beliefs, attitudes, and actions of a school leader may influence teacher creativity. The personal perspectives of the participants in this case study may offer general theories or suggested courses of action for new or current school leaders seeking to cultivate a similar culture within their own school environment. Study recommendations for administrative training and professional development include topics focused on the development of the leadership traits of creativity and innovative mindset.
The Veteran Problem Inventory
Authors:   , Hays Alexa Michelle , Nezu Arthur M.
Published: July 2021

There is little information on the day-to-day problems that Veterans of the United States military experience. The paucity of such information is due to the absence of instruments specifically designed to document these problems. The authors developed such an instrument, the Veteran Problem Inventory (VPI), and present a study of 183 Veteran participants piloting this measure. This evaluation led to a revision of the questionnaire, which represents the final version of the VPI, and the categorization of items into distinct problem categories representing cognitive, employment, physical health, psychosocial, and relationship problem areas. The pattern of correlations of the VPI with other study variables (everyday stressors, depressive symptomatology, perceived stress, positive and negative affect, and problem solving abilities) provided preliminary evidence of content and concurrent validity. The nature of this research does not allow for definitive conclusions to be made; however, results from this pilot study suggest that the VPI appears to have sound psychometric properties. Additionally, this measure will fill an important gap in the assessment of Veterans in both clinical and research settings.
Computer Aided Patent Processing
Authors:   , Hu Mengke , Walsh John MacLaren
Published: July 2021

The intellectual property economy, and, more narrowly, the patent economy, form an incredibly wide-reaching and important part of the economic activity of the United States, and of the broader world. The patent ecosystem involves a diverse collection of players and interests. Inventors conceive of an idea, then patent agents and attorneys help them author and defend/refine a patent application, interacting with patent examiners at the patent offices who review it, checking for novelty, prior art, and usefulness (or industrial applicability). Once the patent is issued, and even sometimes while it is still in the application phase, middlemen companies may buy and sell it. A company owning a patent may then request that other companies license its use. Standards organizations, such as ETSI 3GPP or IEEE, are also important participants in the lifecycle of many important patents, since often certain patents are required in order to implement standards, and hence license agreement structures, such as the FRAND (fair reasonable and non-discriminatory) agreement, are set up to coordinate their licensing for use. Finally, if a company decides that another company is likely infringing on its patent, it may bring a case, which the federal courts must then hear. Today each of these problems are done by humans with minimal, near non-existent use of any custom software or algorithmic tools designed specifically to help with these tasks. The work carried out in this dissertation is part of a broader intellectual agenda which aims to address this deficiency. In order to maximize novelty, this dissertation selects two problems that are especially overlooked. One is extracting deep meaning from patent claims. The other one is using deep meaning in recommender systems mapping between patents and standards. Furthermore, in order to maximize impact and to kickstart further research in these problems, the work in this dissertation focuses on the creation and curation of datasets germane to these two problems, as well as the creation and evaluation of prototype baseline systems to solve them. In particular, a dataset of grammar annotations of patent claims is firstly curated via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Then a baseline natural language processing system is trained and evaluated for extracting deep meaning from patent claims on this dataset, showing that substantial improvements over existing techniques for extracting this deep meaning are possible by leveraging this new dataset. Next, two ground truth datasets associating patent claims and sections of standards from information provided in intellectual property rights (IPR) disclosures to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) are extracted and curated. Following that, a new machine learning based retrieval system is designed for mapping between patent claims and standards. Finally, the new machine learning based retrieval system is evaluated on both datasets and their subsets and reveals substantial improvements comparing with SVM and retrieval baseline systems.
Analysis for periodic traveling interfacial hydroelastic waves
Authors:   , Sulon David William , Ambrose David M.
Published: July 2021

We prove two bifurcation theorems for the existence of spatially periodic traveling waves in an elastic sheet between two two-dimensional fluids of infinite depth. We allow for zero or positive mass along the sheet, and treat both cases in a unified way. Our first main result is a global bifurcation theorem; we apply to this traveling hydroelastic wave problem an abstract theorem regarding bifurcation via odd crossing number. This theorem requires the relevant mapping's linearization to have one-dimensional kernel; however, there are certain parameter values at which a two-dimensional kernel is achieved. Our second main result, which makes use of an implicit function theorem argument, is a bifurcation theorem for traveling wave solutions in these cases of two-dimensional kernel. We also present an asymptotic study of Wilton ripples, which are traveling waves that occur in particular cases of a two-dimensional kernel.
Carbide derived carbon from MAX-phases and their separation applications
Authors:   , Hoffman Elizabeth N. , Barsoum Michel W.
Published: July 2021

Improved sorbents with increased selectivity and permeability are needed to meet growing energy and environmental needs. New forms of carbon based sorbents have been discovered recently, including carbons produced by etching metals from metal carbides, known as carbide derived carbons (CDCs). A common method for the synthesis of CDC is by chlorination at elevated temperatures. The goal of this work is to synthesize CDC from ternary carbides and to explore the links between the initial carbide chemistry and structure with the resulting CDCs properties, including porosity. CDC was produced from MAX-phase carbides, in particular Ti₃SiC₂, Ti3AlC2, Ti₂AlC, and Ta2AlC. Additionally, CDC was produced from Ta-based binary carbides, TaC and Ta2C, and one carbo-nitride Ti₂AlC_[0.5]N_[0.5]. The CDC structure was characterized using XRD, Raman microspectroscopy, and HRTEM. Porosity characterization was performed using sorption analysis with both Ar and N2 as adsorbates. It was determined the microporosity of CDC is related to the density of the initial carbide. The layered structure of the MAX-phase carbides lent toward the formation of larger mesopores within the resulting CDCs, while the amount of mesopores was dependent on the chemistry of the carbide. Furthermore, CDC produced from carbides with extremely high theoretical porosity resulted in small specific surface areas due to a collapse of the carbon structure. To expand the potential applications for CDC beyond powder and bulk forms, CDC membranes were produced from a thin film of TiC deposited by magnetron sputtering onto porous ceramic substrates. The TiC thin film was subsequently chlorinated to produce a bilayer membrane with CDC as the active layer. Both gases and liquids are capable of passing the membrane. The membrane separates based on selective adsorption, rather than a size separation molecular sieving effect. Two applications for CDC produced from MAX-phases were investigated: protein adsorption and gas separation. Sorbents capable of adsorbing large protein molecules efficiently are desirable for many medical applications, including the treatment of sepsis. Primarily mesoporous Ti₂AlC-CDC and Ti3AlC2-CDC were proven to adsorb a significant amount of proteins compared to two current carbon adsorbents. When tested for gas separation, CDC was capable of selectively adsorbing gases including SF6, CO₂, CH4, and H2. However, the gases were not separated based on their size, but rather on their interaction with the CDC surface.
High resolution experimental studies and numerical analysis of fine bubble ozone disinfection contactors
Authors:   , Bartrand Timothy A. , Haas Charles N. , Farouk Bakhtier
Published: July 2021

Countercurrent flow hydrodynamics and mass transfer were explored using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses, tracer studies and a novel mass transfer visualization technique. In concert, these techniques yielded a comprehensive description of countercurrent hydrodynamics and mass transfer. In the laboratory bubble column reactor in which experimental studies were performed, liquid flowed upward with gas bubbles in the core of the bubble plume and downward outside the bubble plume near the cylinder walls at all gas flow rates. CFD predicted a large recirculating flow near the sparger. Well-mixed conditions were observed in a zone termed the entrance length, located near the sparger. Mass transfer visualization experiments allowed estimation of the entrance region length. The entrance region increased as a function of gas flow rate and ranged from a value of about 22% (for the lowest gas to liquid flow ratio experiment) to nearly 40% (for the highest gas to liquid flow ratio experiment. To demonstrate its utility as a design tool or for troubleshooting underperforming full scale reactors, CFD was used to predict hydrodynamics, Cryptosporidium parvum inactivation and bromate formation in a full scale reactor. Despite being relatively crude the CFD model identified flowfield features conducive to bromate formation or deleterious to C. parvum inactivation. Specifically, in chambers in which ozone is applied, large recirculating flows were predicted. Water detained in these recirculating flows have relatively long detention times and contribute to bromate formation in waters with sufficient bromide content. The current study demonstrates that, even in a simple tall right circular cylindrical bubble column, hydrodynamics plays a major role in contact of ozone with microorganisms and substances that form bromate. Both experimental and analytical studies identified significant spatial variations in mixing and mass transfer in the relatively simple bubble column reactor. These findings indicate that CFD could be more widely used as a component of pilot scale studies of ozone bubble contactor reactors or in design of full scale contactors. Given current computer prices and speeds, CFD analysis is appropriate for plants with capacities which are smaller than the very large capacity plants for which CFD is presently used.