University of Southern Mississippi
Aquila Digital Community (University of Southern Mississippi, USM)Not a member yet
11361 research outputs found
Sort by
An Examination of the Strong Start Intervention to Support the Pro-Social Behaviors in At-Risk Head Start Students
Get PDFChildren from lower-income and diverse families are at a higher risk for social-emotional and academic difficulties. Implementation of early childhood interventions plays a crucial role in the healthy development of children’s social-emotional development. Merrell’s Strong Kids (Merrell et al., 2009), a commonly used SEL class-wide intervention, facilitates learning of the five core SEL components through weekly lessons and has been shown to have long-term improvements on children’s internalizing symptoms, social and emotional knowledge, student-teacher relationships, prosocial behaviors, and is well received by teachers. The current study examined the efficacy of Strong Kids implemented as a one-on-one intervention, rather than a class-wide or group intervention, for at-risk preschool-aged children enrolled in Head Start programs. A single-case design was used, which included 3 children from a rural Head Start center in the southeast of the U.S. Additionally, systematic direct observations were used to measure behavior change. Results demonstrated that Strong Kids, implemented at the individual level, successfully increased children’s pro-social behaviors and decreased engagement in negative social behavior
Effects of Increasing Cycling Cadence on Post-Cycling Gait Velocity: An Experimental Study
Get PDFPrevious research has shown that increasing cycling cadence, rather than the workrate, can result in improved post-cycling gait velocity. However, the specific threshold of cycling cadence required to bring about clinically meaningful changes in gait velocity remains unknown. To address this knowledge gap, our study aimed to determine the minimum incremental increase in cycling cadence that would lead to a significant improvement in post-cycling gait velocity. A total of 42 young adults participated in our study and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: TEN, TWENTY, and THIRTY. Each group was assigned to cycle at a cadence at the corresponding percentage higher than the participant’s self-selected gait cadence. Each participant engaged in a 15-minute cycling session at their respective assigned cycling cadence. Before and after the cycling phase, the participants completed a 10 Minute Walk Test while measurements of velocity, other spatiotemporal parameters of gait, ground reaction forces, lower extremity kinematics, and kinetics were recorded. A two-way ANOVA test revealed no statistically significant changes in spatiotemporal, ground reaction force, kinematics, and kinetics variables pre- and post-cycling. However, there were both statistically significant and clinically meaningful changes in post-cycling gait velocity in THIRTY only. This suggests that a cycling cadence of 30% or higher is the minimum requirement to produce a clinically significant improvement in gait velocity
How to Explain Allen-Manandhar’s Method to Beginner Mathematicians : A Convergence Analysis of a Hybrid Method for Variable-Coefficient Boundary Value Problems
Get PDFIn this project, analogies are employed to make complex math concepts approachable to beginners who may only have a basic understanding of calculus and linear algebra. Serving as the focal point of this project, Allen-Manandhar’s method solves an equation, known as an ordinary differential equation (ODE). The mentioned equation with its coefficients is comparable to a pie recipe with ingredients. With the outcome to a recipe seen as its solution, the solution to our pie recipe is a perfectly baked pie, as in without error. The chosen method for baking a pie then classifies as its baking approach that when executed “solves” the recipe. However, with more complicated ingredients (variable coefficients), the resulting pie must become approximated, which introduces error. Allen-Manandhar’s method is the baking approach analyzed for how well it finds the baked pie solution to the recipe equation and then compared to another pie baking approach. Using this analogy and a convergence analysis, the goal is to determine if our baking approach produces the most perfect pie possible. To see the inner workings of the method itself, physical steps to perform on a cube help translate what mathematical steps the method performs on the equation to find its solution. Compared to another baking approach, the results show that our method loses in accuracy and efficiency when solving linear, variable-coefficient ODEs in two-point boundary value problems. While our baking approach does not bake the best or fastest pie in comparison, it shows promise with constant coefficients in certain situations
Effect of Reverse Engineering Pedagogy on Students’ Learning Performance, Cultural Heritage Literacy, and Creativity in a Paper Sculpture C-STEAM Course
Get PDFThe traditional cultures around the world not only symbolize the spirit and soul of different countries, but also provide the most essential resources for education. This study examined the effect of reverse engineering pedagogy (REP) and forward project pedagogy (FPP) on students’ cultural heritage literacy and creativity in a cultural-oriented STEAM course (C-STEAM). A total of 128 undergraduate students from a major university in China participated in a paper sculpture C-STEAM project, and were randomly divided into two groups: the treatment group (with 64 students) which adopted REP, and the control group (with 64 students) which adopted FPP. Results indicated that both FPP and REP promoted students’ cultural heritage literacy and creativity. Although students’ risk-taking and curiosity in the FPP group outperformed those in the REP group, students in the REP group achieved significantly better learning performance and higher levels of cultural understanding than those in the FPP group. In particular, the REP group wisely established a close relationship between cultural heritage and creativity by presenting complete cultural works in advance. This discovery has important research significance and practical value, by enlightening us to reflect deeply on the effect of REP when implementing the C-STEAM curriculum, and to identify the potential linkage between cultural inheritance and creativity
Understanding the Functional Role of Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) Threonyl-tRNA synthetase in reproductive fitness
Get PDFIntroduction: Transfer RNA synthetases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the addition of amino acids to their corresponding transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and play an essential role in protein synthesis. Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites that rely on prolonged feeding periods to complete their life cycle on a vertebrate host. Tick tRNA synthetases help the tick in continuous protein synthesis for efficient blood feeding and reproductive fitness, thus presenting a potential target for developing new tick control strategies. Studies have been conducted assessing the functionality of different tRNA synthetases such as Valine-tRNA synthetase, Asparagine-tRNA synthetase, Lysine-tRNA synthetase, and Leucine-tRNA synthetase in Ixodes scapularis resulting in impaired feeding, as well as Seryl-tRNA synthetases which has been vital in mitochondrial respiration in Drosophila and reduced Zika virus prevalence in Aedes aegypti. Amblyomma americanum is another pathogen transmitting arthropod that transmits pathogen such as Ehrlichia chaffeensis but the role of tRNA synthetase particularly ThrRS has not been evaluated in detail and its role in tick physiology remains unexplored. We hypothesized that Threonyl tRNA synthetase is essential in tick hematophagy and reproductive fitness.
Method: In this study, we investigated the crucial role of threonyl transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetase in the lone-star tick (Amblyomma americanum) during prolonged blood feeding on the host and assessed its role in reproductive fitness. To validate this hypothesis, the RNA interference (RNAi) approach was used to evaluate the functional role of the target gene on the tick blood feeding and reproductive fitness.
Result: Silencing of threonyl-tRNA synthetase in female adult ticks impaired the egg-laying capacity of ticks. Tick phenotype changes such as partially fed weight, engorged weight, and egg laying were also impaired. This study provides a deep insight into the functional role of threonyl tRNA synthetase in designing new tick-specific inhibitors to prevent ticks and tick-borne diseases
A History of Mississippi Segregation Academies and How They Serve as Agents of Socialization in Students’ Political Affiliations
Get PDFSegregation academies are products of the desegregation of public schools in the American South. For decades, they have educated generations of families within this region of the United States. Today, segregation academies are still active educational institutions, with thousands of schools representing a period of history that founded them based on the exclusion of African Americans. Previous literature on segregation academies details their histories, but little focuses on them within a twenty-first-century context. Further, this research asks how segregation academies socialize their students in political affiliations. Little research on political socialization has differentiated by school type, and none have studied segregation academies. Therefore, through a qualitative interview study, this research seeks to answer the research question to fill this literature gap. This study finds that not only do segregation academies socialize, but they tend to socialize in a conservative direction. Interview participants also experience reverse socialization in that their political affiliations are different than the conservative viewpoint their school provided. These unique findings suggest a path forward in which segregation academies can learn to nurture all student beliefs in an environment where all opinions can be heard and respected
Religious Extremism and Female Autonomy: How Dystopian Literature Reflects Contemporary Issues
Get PDFThis thesis analyzes two texts: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. These two texts examine dystopian worlds in which the lines are blurred, or completely eradicated, between church and state. Christian fundamentalism and/or evangelicalism becomes intertwined with Christian extremism which results in a detrimental society for many minority groups. The purpose of this thesis is to specifically explore the ways women are mistreated in these societies.
Moreover, this thesis explains how America’s puritanical Christian roots have led to modern-day ideals of America as a “New Jerusalem”. America, like the dystopian societies, has intertwined fundamentalism and evangelicalism with extremism, particularly in the political sphere. Current events show a trend amongst Conservative male politicians to use Christian values to influence their votes. Throughout this thesis, connections are shown between issues presented in the dystopian societies in The Handmaid’s Tale and When She Woke and in America today to portray how dystopian literature reflects contemporary issues
Effects of Dissolved Oxygen and pH on Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Growth
Get PDFCoastal ecosystems, known for their abundant natural resources and role in environmental processes, are facing challenges posed by climate change, pollution and anthropogenic activities. Among these challenges is the expansion of hypoxic zones, characterized by low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, which poses a significant threat to benthic organisms and oyster fisheries. This research investigates the interaction between hypoxia and pH dynamics, intensified by freshwater input, and the biomineralization of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica). To explore these dynamics, experimental trials were conducted in 24 tanks, simulating normoxic, hypoxic, and fresh hypoxic conditions, to assess the impact of hypoxia on pH levels and the growth of juvenile oysters. The experimental setup included 30-day trials with controlled salinity, temperature, and DO levels, replicating conditions observed in the Mississippi Sound. Results revealed significant difference in dry shell weight during hypoxic conditions indicating shell erosion, although pH was not lower during hypoxia as expected. It can be concluded based on the data that dissolved shell material acted as a buffer and increased the pH. The analysis of biological parameters, including weight, size, and condition index, illustrates the potential ramifications of shell dissolution under hypoxic conditions. Significantly lower dry shell weight in hypoxic and fresh hypoxic conditions further substantiate the hypothesis of pH-driven shell erosion. This study illustrates the susceptibility of oysters to increased fluxes of freshwater, and the impacts events such as climate change and the opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway can have on coastal ecosystems
Late Have I Loved Thee: Reintroducing the Journal of Health Ethics Twenty Years Later
Get PDFThe Editor-in-Chief provides an overview of Volume 20, Issue 1
Examining the ethics behind ICU admission during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFDuring the COVID-19 pandemic surge, the demand for ICU beds far exceeds its supply in the hospitals. The healthcare team had to confront themselves with an ethical dilemma of distributing the limited beds to patients who required ICU admission and therefore needed to prioritize. This paper examines various ethical theories and principles that were used during the pandemic in assigning patients to ICU beds and proposes an algorithm to aid in decision making for ICU bed assignment in order to achieve a fair allocation of this scarce resource