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Unraveling the Interplay: Religiosity, Sexual Health Knowledge, and Sexual Behaviors
No full textLimited research exists on the longitudinal effects of religiosity and sexual health education on adolescents\u27 sexual risk behaviors and their transition into adulthood. This study used The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data to investigate these effects in a nationally representative sample. Linear regression analyses explored associations between religiosity, sexual health knowledge (SHK), and sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Findings revealed significant associations between adolescent religiosity and SRBs, predicting SRBs during adolescence. However, religiosity\u27s influence diminished in emerging adulthood, and SHK did not mediate the relationship between adolescent religiosity and SRBs. These results highlight the complex interplay between religiosity, SHK, and SRBs across developmental stages, offering practical implications and avenues for future research
Exploring the Impact of P2Y2 Receptor Activation and Inflammation on Glucose Homeostasis in Mice
No full textInsulin resistance is the body\u27s impaired ability to utilize endogenous and exogenous insulin to take up blood glucose and is associated with many clinical conditions including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The cause of insulin resistance is still unknown; however, it is linked to inflammation. The activation of the purinergic P2Y2 receptor potentiates an inflammatory response under the pathogenesis of obesity and has adverse effects on glucose metabolism by regulating insulin resistance. The goal of this research is to investigate the effects of P2Y2 receptor activation on the downstream signaling pathways of the insulin receptor and glucose uptake. To determine if effects on glucose uptake are specific to the P2Y2 receptor, glucose tolerance testing (GTT) was performed in mice injected with UTP, a P2Y2 receptor ligand, and LPS, a potent activator of the inflammatory response. Glucose tolerance of male and female mice is increased when inflammation is induced by LPS. Male wildtype, but not P2Y2R knockout mice, display a reduced glucose tolerance in the presence of UTP but this effect is not observed in the presence of LPS. These effects seem to be primarily due to regulation of baseline glucose homeostasis rather than a response to challenge, as the effects are no longer present when normalized to baseline, fasting blood glucose levels. We also measured glucose transporter and insulin receptor gene expression and found no significant differences in their expression caused by inflammation or receptor activation. This research suggests that the effects of the P2Y2 receptor on glucose homeostasis are minimal, confined to males, and eliminated during acute inflammation
Outside Inside: Poems
No full textThis creative thesis includes thirty-four poems and thirteen illustrations that investigate the topic of self-exploration, creative freedom, and liberatory pleasure. My poems are souvenirs from a failed ethical standard, a trove of misogynic micro-aggressions, a spotlight on the backward- ness of gender norms, and a surprisingly strong thread that links women to the planet and to shared language, a thread humankind continuously tries to cut. The methods of research were largely a self- study and one that required consistent reflection. The results were a collection of writings that had to be revised and edited with the guidance of my thesis committee. The more intangible result is visible within the writing; I, the writer, underwent a change in approach. Not only am I now committed to the process of revision, but I also see its utility as a life skill. Readers will also clearly see a reckoning with loss of control, acceptance that control is not a pillar of the human experience, a reclaiming of the body, acknowledging the body’s temporality, advocacy against newness and speed, and a devotion and loyalty to family and friendships. I draw inspiration from Adrianne Rich’s call for writers to “wake from the dead” and Richard Hugo’s “Triggering Town,” an uncomfortable place for the writer to inhabit, but one that produces honest work. My writing is a reckoning, an I- don’t-know-how-I-really-feel made visible via openness and vulnerability. My creative lens has been inspired by the works of Ada Limón, Maggie Nelson, Sharon Olds, Naomi Shahib Nye, Louise Glück, and other writers at play
Who Pays the Price for the Cost of Voting: The Impact of Voting Policies on Presidential Election Turnout, 1996-2016
No full textThe gap between the percentage of registered White voters who cast a ballot and that of registered nonwhite voters in the 2020 United States Presidential election was approximately 13 percent. This trend varies widely across the United States due to state legislators having jurisdiction to craft, enact, and implement election and voting legislation. In 2022, 408 pieces of legislation that would have made it more difficult to register to vote, cast a ballot, or stay on the voter rolls were considered in 39 states and 11 made it into state codes across the country. Given the increase in legislation considered and passed by legislatures, this paper explores the effect of such policies on voter turnout by race in Presidential elections between 1996 to 2016. Utilizing state-level data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and the Cost of Voting Index, the analyses indicate that voting policies that increase the costs associated with voting have a moderate, negative relationship on voter turnout levels for overall voters, White voters, and Black voters. Fore Asian voters, the relationship is not statistically significant, therefore, it cannot be concluded by this analysis alone that there is a relationship between the cost of voting and voter turnout rate for Asian voters
Nobody\u27s Perfect: Examining the Relationship Between Parenting Traits and Perfectionism and the Impact of Maladaptive Versus Adaptive Perfectionism on Cortisol Regulation After Receiving Criticism
No full textThe trait of perfectionism has been related to both internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Parenting traits, and attachment tendencies affect how children develop relationships and impact them into their adult lives. Parents have a large impact on their child’s personality traits, coping styles, and modeling reactions to outward criticism. Criticism, especially criticism delivered by parents, has been linked to perfectionism. Perfectionism often involves a self-critical component, though perfectionists have not been studied to examine stress responses (e.g. cortisol change) when receiving criticism. This study examined the relationships between parenting traits (positive and negative) and perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive). Cortisol change scores were examined in adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists after receiving criticism. Independent samples t-tests were run for each hypothesis. Positive and negative parenting traits overall were not related to adaptive or maladaptive perfectionism, respectively. Negative mothers impacted child maladaptive perfectionism, though negative fathers did not. Positive mothers and fathers did not impact child adaptive perfectionism. Additionally, adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists both had blunted cortisol response patterns after receiving criticism. This further showcases the vital role parents play in the development of perfectionism and stress response mechanisms
Sensitivity to Artificial Light and Sound in Bats Using Urban Landscapes
No full textAnthropogenic activity has prompted range shifts, extirpations, and behavioral change of native wildlife. Although humans have long altered the landscape, recent (post-1950s) increases in land use intensification has significantly impacted wildlife habitat and biodiversity. As anthropogenic developments and disturbances compromise habitat, some species have begun to exploit urban areas. While there are some commonalities among synurbic species, such as generalist diets and high fecundity, not all urban wildlife share these characteristics. As urban areas expand, it will be essential to distinguish what drives unique species to select for urban habitat. The gray bat, Myotis grisescens, is an endangered species that has increased in abundance following heightened conservation efforts of summer and winter use caves. The species has, anecdotally, become more common in highly disturbed areas despite previously recorded narrow habitat requirements. I seek to understand whether behavioral changes in the form of tolerance to anthropogenic disturbance such as light and sound can be observed between urban bats compared to their rural counterparts. I also tested if urban bats tended to be more exploratory of novel environments and bolder when approaching stimuli. I tested individuals for behavioral differences using a standard Y-maze test at spring, summer, and fall colonies. Age and sex of the individual was added as an interaction to the model. In a preliminary analysis, I considered species-level differences in behavior. I found that the classic synurbic species, Eptesicus fuscus, was more tolerant to light stimuli and explored more of the Y-maze. However, M. grisescens was more tolerant to sound. For my second chapter, I considered if M. grisescens behavior was markedly different between urban and rural colonies. Juveniles in non-urban sites were more exploratory than non-urban juveniles, and males were bolder than females. Although there was not a distinct difference between urban and non-urban M. grisescens behavior, M. grisescens were consistently more tolerant to sound than light. Future conservation decisions should be made in consideration of the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of species under selective pressure to adapt to urban areas
Context Detection With Word Embedding and Emotionally Relevant Keyword Search for Smart Home Environment
No full textVoice-enabled virtual assistants have gained widespread popularity and are increasingly common in smart homes. To enhance customization and personalization in user experiences with these assistants, implementing a context detection feature is beneficial. This feature enables the virtual assistant to gather more information from the audio data of short voice conversations with users, helping it maintain awareness of the conversation and respond more aptly. In this thesis, I propose a novel context detection approach for virtual assistants in smart homes, named WERKS, which leverages user emotions. WERKS stands for word embedding with emotionally relevant keyword search. The WERKS approach incorporates emotion detection, keyword search, and word embedding from voice commands and short conversations to achieve effective context detection. This method comprises emotion detection, basic context detection, word embedding with emotionally relevant keyword search, and ensemble defined context classification layers. Evaluation of the WERKS approach on datasets has demonstrated that it can significantly improve context detection accuracy
Hydrogeomorphic Response of Fluvial Systems to Climate Change - An Example From James River, Missouri
No full textClimate change has led to unpredictable hydrological patterns, significantly altering the fluvial environment and their flow regime. Despite extensive research, our knowledge about the impacts of climate change on flow regimes in the US Midwest is limited, particularly in karst-dominated fluvial landscapes. This research addresses this gap by investigating the effects of climatic change on the hydrogeomorphology of the James River, located in the karst-dominated Ozark Highlands in southwest Missouri, USA. The study focuses on two ~1.5 km stream segments—one relatively active and one stable in the context of geomorphology—near Springfield, Missouri. The research aims to (i) understand the changing streamflow regime in response to climate change by comparing streamflow return intervals between pre- (1956 – 1990) and post-(1990- 2023) climate change periods and (ii) explore the impacts of the shifting flow regime on the hydrogeomorphology of the active and stable reaches, and their variable responses. Peak streamflow data from USGS gaging stations is used to analyze flood frequency distributions, and HEC-RAS simulations are utilized to model inundation at different recurrence interval events. Results indicate that while streamflow magnitudes at all return intervals have increased with changing climate, larger floods with lower frequencies have increased considerably. The 2-year flood shows a 5% increase in magnitude, while the 25-year and 50-year floods exhibit significant increases of 86% and 72%, respectively. This finding highlights that climate change impacts are more pronounced for larger, less frequent floods, while the effect on 2-year channel-forming floods is relatively minor. The study also revealed considerable differences in the geomorphic responses between the stable and active reaches. The stable reach, characterized by confined valleys, exhibited a uniform increase in inundation width and depth before and after 1990 for all floods. In contrast, the active reach displayed varied impacts on inundation width and depth, influenced by the stream segments\u27 topographic and geomorphic characteristics. These differences highlight the critical role of large scale geomorphic settings in determining the response of fluvial systems to larger floods. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of fluvial hydrogeomorphic interactions in response to climate change. Thus, it enhances our ability to predict future floods and develop more effective flood management and preparedness strategies
Disturbance-Prone Ozark Streams: Interactions Between Plants and the Stream Environment
No full textOzark streams are extremely diverse ecosystems, despite frequent flood disturbance. Plant communities are frequently altered by bed-moving floods but are extremely resilient. We know that land-use, sediments, and nutrients can impact plant communities, but more can be divulged about how plants alter communities and how environmental variables influence plant community composition in disturbance-prone Ozark streams. To address this, I examined two key aspects of Ozark stream ecosystems: the role of American Water Willow, Justicia americana, in structuring aquatic habitats and the factors influencing gravel bar plant community composition. In the first chapter, I investigated how J. americana, a native macrophyte, functions as an ecosystem engineer within Ozark streams. I identified J. americana’s impact on streambed sediments and macroinvertebrate communities in bedrock-dominant and gravel-dominant streams. In the second chapter I identified relationships between plant communities and gravel bar characteristics (area, elevation, and canopy cover) in two Ozark streams with contrasting nutrients. J. americana patches increase sediment retention and alter macroinvertebrate richness and abundance. Gravel bar plant communities are all weedy and frequently disturbed species and canopy cover was a more powerful variable driving species composition between streams
Effects of Subchronic Oral PFOS Exposure via Drinking Water on Gut Microbiota Composition
No full textPerfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) has been phased out of production in the United States, but because of its resistance to degradation and its persistence in the environment, PFOS can be found in drinking water across America. Oral exposure to PFOS has been linked to adverse developmental, immunological, hepatic, and endocrine health. Oral PFOS exposure may alter the gut microbiota and cause dysbiosis, which is implicated in the pathology of inflammatory diseases like Crohn’s disease, diabetes, and ulcerative colitis. The goal of the study was to investigate the effects of subchronic oral PFOS exposure on the composition of the gut microbiota. Adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to PFOS via drinking water at concentrations of 0.5 and 5.0 µg/mL or only tap water (naïve) for the duration of the 28-day study. Fecal samples were collected on days 0, 14, and 28 before the DNA was isolated, pooled, and next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes was performed. A significant decrease in weight was observed in PFOS exposed males starting at week 1 (5.0 µg/mL) and 2 (0.5 µg/mL) and in females at week 3 (5.0 µg/mL). The Firmicutes to Bacteroides (F/B) ratio, an indicator of dysbiosis, decreased in PFOS exposed males and increased in females. Alpha diversity decreased in males and increased in females; clustering was observed between females exposed to 5.0 µg/mL PFOS and female and male naïve conditions in the Weighted UniFrac β-diversity. These findings indicate that oral exposure to PFOS causes mild dysbiosis, particularly in males, and hence, male PFOS exposure over time may increase the risk of diseases of the digestive system. My results support the notion that females have a protective mechanism and that their gut microbiota adapts to confer protection against PFOS-induced toxicity