6834 research outputs found
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Biovolume and ecoguild analysis of Late Paleozoic Ice Age benthic communities.
No full textThe Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA), spanning approximately 360-292 Mya, coincided with extinctions observed in the fossil record, and previous work has interpreted the glaciation as a period of sluggish faunal turnover with depressed rates of speciation. Such studies, however, have relied on globally distributed database data, and conventional techniques for assessing community composition often fail to account for taxa that disarticulate readily post-mortem adequately. In this study, biovolume estimation techniques and ecological guild analysis are employed to analyze three benthic paleocommunities from the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous) of Texas. Two in situ bulk samples were extracted from the lower and upper sections of shale strata to assess change in benthic communities over time. The results indicate considerable heterogeneity in benthic community structure through time. These findings emphasize the importance of small-scale paleocommunity analyses for understanding larger scale macroevolutionary trends in the context of the LPIA
Automating local controlled vocabulary standardization : a zero-cost, system-agnostic approach.
No full textLearn how to harness the power of MarcEdit, Notepad++, and the ComparePlus plugin for Notepad++ to quickly and efficiently automate standardizing and normalizing your local controlled vocabularies without the use of authority records. Using a few simple tricks, you'll learn about extracting the target metadata from a select field, creating a simple macro in Notepad++ to clean your metadata, and how to use the ComparePlus plugin to validate your metadata against a list of authorized local controlled vocabulary terms. A small number of simple regular expressions (regex) will be included in this presentation, but pre-existing knowledge of regex is not at all required. Save time and tears with this free, lightweight, scalable approach applicable to any system
Accountability talk : a qualitative study examining quality rating and improvement systems and their Influence on early childhood language and communication outcomes.
No full textThe development of language and communication skills in early childhood is foundational for a child’s cognitive, social, and academic growth, significantly influencing lifelong success. Early language experiences lay the groundwork for problem-solving, literacy, and effective social interaction, with strong communication skills correlating to enhanced school readiness, academic achievement, and career outcomes.
In response to the critical need for accessible high-quality education, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) have emerged as an essential framework in early childhood education. QRIS assess and enhance program quality by focusing on improving staff qualifications, curriculum, learning environments, and family engagement. These systems provide families with transparent information about program standards while encouraging providers to pursue continuous improvement.
This dissertation explores the intersection of early childhood education quality, language development, and the role of QRIS in shaping positive developmental trajectories for young learners. By conducting interviews with early learning program directors, this research provides an in-depth understanding of how QRIS influence language and communication development in young children
Control and in-situ measurement of adaptive and reconfigurable RF systems.
No full textDemand for wireless spectrum is at an all-time high and is anticipated to grow at an exponential rate for the foreseeable future. To meet this demand, systems will need to share limited spectral resources in an effective manner. Adaptive spectrum sharing is enabled by both smart spectral brokering systems that coordinate real-time sharing and reconfigurable hardware that can be optimized to improve performance in different operating conditions, enabling additional flexibility in spectrum assignments. This dissertation examines a spatial-spectral brokering system that can coordinate between active and passive spectral users in a computationally efficient manner to minimize harmful interference while maximizing the number of active users. As a wireless system adapts in response to a new allocation from a spectral brokering system, reconfigurable circuitry will allow the transmitter to re-tune and operate effectively. An algorithm for controlling a tunable power amplifier matching network that can optimize fundamental, second, and third harmonic terminations for improvements in output power or efficiency is shown. Additionally, extension to nine optimization parameters and implementation of impedance tuning into a metacognition-guided system are examined. Optimization of reconfigurable hardware requires a feedback system to evaluate real-time performance changes and assess the array transmission pattern. To enable this, an in-situ RF current and voltage measurement technique is presented that enables optimization algorithms for both single element transmitters and array systems. When combined with knowledge of the transmitting antenna or array, in-situ measurements also enable the prediction of far-field radiation patterns
Deformation of the Martian lithosphere through time.
No full textThe evolution of the surface of a planetary body is influenced, in part, by dynamic processes within its interior. These dynamic processes are primarily driven by heat transport from the interior of a body to space. The efficiency of this transport, and the initial conditions of a body, such as composition, size, etc., control the longevity, magnitude, and scale of surficial volcanic and tectonic features, called volcano-tectonic for brevity. Studying present-day volcano-tectonic features and modeling their formation allows us to determine the geodynamic conditions that would have allowed for these features to form. This further informs us how planets and moons evolve, why some look similar while others look so different, if past conditions may have allowed life to form, and why Earth is the only body currently hosting life, as far as we know. Mars represents an interesting case of stagnant lid tectonics where preserved ancient landforms give us insight into the state of geologic activity in the planet's past. The deformation of the lithosphere of Mars leaves behind diagnostic faults based on the magnitude of perturbation within the planet and the properties of the planet itself. This dissertation utilizes the deformation of the outer layer of a planet, called a lithosphere, to study Mars. I specifically use the gravity and topography field of Mars to study the formation of volcanism within Tharsis, to study dike formation surrounding Pavonis Mons, and to develop a novel methodology for a future geodetic mission to constrain models of Mars' interior further
Deconstructing feedback : a qualitative case study centered on English teachers' feedback practices and perceived roles in the pursuit of competent expository writing.
No full textThe quality of writing instruction students receive is an emerging concern in education, especially as it relates to the caliber of feedback teachers provide on students' academic writing. The following qualitative study centered high school English teachers in the discussion on feedback practices, granting teachers an opportunity to reflect on and describe their feedback practices. Carless and Winstone's (2020) teacher feedback literacy framework suggests that teachers play an essential role in students' development as competent thinkers and writers. The purpose of this case study was to explore and understand how high school English teachers structure feedback on students' expository writing, describe their role in providing feedback, and perceive improvement on students' writing. Data analysis revealed that teachers use uniform rubrics to approach writing conferences. Data also showed that teachers attempt to assume the role of a coach in providing feedback yet struggle with how much feedback to provide to their students. Perceived writing improvement stemmed from more robust argumentative frameworks in the form of thesis and topic sentences and enhanced expository rubric skills. While this study focused on teachers' perspectives in an English department at a private high school, it underscored a fundamental principle rooted in the literature: Feedback holds immense value in students' intellectual development. For this study, I employed a qualitative approach to collect data through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with five English teachers at a private high school. I examined their responses to the questionnaire to inform the questions asked during the interviews. Several key themes emerged after coding data informed by Carless and Winstone's (2020) teacher feedback literacy framework. Findings indicated that using uniform rubrics informs feedback in conferencing with students. Results also revealed that teachers attempt to ask guiding questions to spur students' thinking throughout revision writing. Although teachers agreed that they intend to embrace the role of a coach in providing feedback, many teachers struggle to do so. Teachers revealed that feedback should positively influence students' writing by encouraging students to intellectually struggle with the feedback and apply it to their writing. Schools should consider policies and procedures that champion the value of feedback
Early bonds, digital ties, and sacred shields : life course social and psychological predictors of cognitive health in later life.
No full textAs the global population continues to age, cognitive health has emerged as a pressing public health priority. While much research has focused on the biomedical explanations for cognitive aging, an increasing body of scholarship emphasizes the role of social and psychological experiences in shaping cognitive outcomes. Drawing on the life course perspective and the stress process model, this dissertation utilizes national longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine how various social and psychological factors across the life course influence cognitive health in later life.
The first empirical chapter investigates the long-term cognitive impact of early-life parent-child relationships. Results show that parental love and affection during childhood is associated with better self-rated memory in later life, while negative parental relationship predicts worse memory. Mediation analyses further reveal that these associations operate, in part, through psychological pathways. Specifically, higher self-esteem and greater sense of control in adulthood significantly mediate the relationship between positive parental relationship and better later-life memory. The second chapter focuses on social media engagement among older adults and its influence on cognitive health trajectories. Growth curve models show that while social media users tend to report lower cognitive function at baseline, those who engage actively and interactively on social media exhibit a slower rate of cognitive decline over time. Gender-stratified analyses further indicate that the cognitive benefits of active social media use is especially pronounced among older women. The third empirical chapter explores the cognitive effects of stress exposures and the moderating role of religious involvement.
Findings show that high levels of chronic stress, financial hardship, and everyday discrimination are associated with worse cognitive function at baseline. Religious attendance and perceived importance of religion significantly buffer the negative impact of financial hardship and discrimination on baseline cognition. Overall, this dissertation contributes to a better understanding of the modifiable psychosocial risk and protective factors for cognitive health in later life, offering valuable insights for policies and interventions aimed at promoting healthy cognitive aging
Writing New Englandly : ecological entanglement in the works of four regional women writers.
No full textThis project examines how four nineteenth-century New England women writers chart the internal and external landscapes of their region, exploring the topography of New England as well as the New Englander psyche. I argue that the ways they depict these interior landscapes are inextricable from and mutually informed by the exterior ones. At its best, this entanglement of place and people looks like what I am calling "transcorporeal beloved community," drawing on Stacy Alaimo's new materialist theory of human and more-than-human enmeshment and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for a community borne out of radical freedom and repentant repair. Wendell Berry has built upon King's ideas about beloved community to include a relationship to place, a relationship that these nineteenth-century women regionalists vividly depict. Each chapter will focus on a different work by the best-known female New England regional author, Sarah Orne Jewett, paired with a work by one of her lesser-read contemporaries, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Celia Thaxter, and Rose Terry Cooke. Together, these four authors present an alternate approach to the nation-building work of their male contemporaries, one focused on rootedness in place and local community rather than expansion of territory and national identity. Such a project remedies the frequent abstractions in the fields of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, and new materialism by positing that regional fiction is always saturated and sustained by the particular. I aim to invigorate contemporary conversations about conservation, community, and climate with voices from the past that also cared deeply about these matters. Reading past literature that envisioned generative, mutual relationships with place can aid in envisioning what such a relationship looks like today as we fight global warming, loss of biodiversity, and social injustice. In this way, regionalism can shake off its limiting connotations and instead be a model for the field of ecocriticism in challenging the destructive and isolating forces of consumerism. This project brings the subtle activism of the past into the future, that we might approach the challenges of our own day not with postures of fear or scarcity, but with the joyful curiosity of our forebears
Undergraduate and graduate college students’ attitude towards a career in public relations.
No full textThis study examines United States college students’ perceptions of a public relations career, focusing on gender, ethnic diversity, perceptions of the profession and internship experience. The survey used Qualtrics to collect a sample of 144 respondents. The findings revealed race-related issues were a top concern for college students as they prepare for a career in the public relations industry. This research is important as previous research has not examined a sample of undergraduate and graduate students. Future research should emphasize the advancement of cultural awareness for underrepresented students and practitioners. In education, universities should encourage courses on ethnic diversity challenges to enhance awareness and understanding. In practice, organizations must prioritize annual cultural awareness training, increase diverse leadership representation, and expand recruitment efforts to foster a more inclusive workforce. These steps are essential for building a truly diverse and forward-thinking classroom and profession
Investigating the role of epithelial to mesenchymal transition conferred metabolic reprogramming in breast cells : a focus on ophiobolin A and other natural products.
No full textCritical for development and wound healing, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular program whereby epithelial cells undergo morphological and gene expression changes, gaining a mesenchymal phenotype. In cancer, EMT promotes invasion, migration, and resistance to cell death. Breast cancer, the leading malignancy among women, relies on EMT for metastasis in mouse models. Negative for HER2, estrogen, and progesterone receptors, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has limited treatment options, necessitating research into novel targets.
Conferred by EMT, metabolic reprogramming optimizes metabolism for environments and energy demands of metastasis. However, increased metabolic plasticity possibly presents novel therapeutic vulnerabilities. We hypothesize that natural product, drug-like, small molecules such as agelastatins and ophiobolins target EMT-conferred weaknesses such as metabolic plasticity. Notably, derivatives within both groups demonstrate potent, anti-cancer activity. In particular, ophiobolin A (OpA) exhibits selective cytotoxicity towards EMT+ cells, though its mechanism of action remain unclear.
To gain mechanistic insight into OpA’s selectivity for EMT+ cells, we used non-transformed mammary and breast cancer cell models with and without EMT features. First, we investigated mitochondrial and metabolic changes in an EMT model induced by the transcription factor Twist and recapitulated in breast cancer cells. Metabolic analysis revealed an EMT-associated glycolytic phenotype, increased mitochondrial size, and ATP production. Mitochondrial morphology varied with the method of EMT induction. We next investigated OpA-induced cytotoxicity and its impact on mitochondria in non-transformed mammary and breast cancer cell models. OpA was found to bind to CISD3 and SLC25A40, two proteins that regulate mitochondrial biology. Differential activity towards trans-mitochondrial cybrids indicated a mitochondria-mediated mechanism of selection. Additionally, OpA activates antioxidant mechanisms in EMT+, but not EMT-, cells, specifically via activation of NRF2, an increase in free glutathione increase, and a decrease in ROS. We hypothesize this mechanism is overwhelmed in EMT+ cancer cells at higher OpA doses, leading to cell death.
Future investigations should utilize kinetic assays for longer durations at higher OpA concentrations to provide insight into this mechanism. Better understanding of EMT+ cell vulnerabilities in TNBC could lead to novel interventions, offering more targeted, effective treatments for this aggressive breast cancer subtype and improving patient outcomes