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Investigation to Examine the Profile of Auditory Brainstem and Hearing Thresholds Using Tone Burst Audiometry Brainstem Response in a Preclinical Migraine Model
No full textMigraine is a disabling neurological disease that is characterized by prominent auditory symptoms, including hyperacusis, which is defined as extreme sensitivity to sounds. The goal of this study was to investigate changes in hearing sensitivity and neural changes in the brainstem by measuring neural activity of the auditory brainstem in an established preclinical model of chronic migraine. To induce a chronic migraine state within the trigeminal system, male and female Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to three known human risk factors including neck muscle tension and REM sleep deprivation that promote latent sensitization, and exposure to a pungent odor, which acts as a trigger to stimulate trigeminal activation and pain signaling. Tone burst auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were measured using the Duet device (Intelligent Hearing Systems, Miami, FL) to determine the effects of migraine pathology on brainstem auditory pathways in eight male and six female rats at baseline (naïve) condition and post migraine condition. Tone burst ABR was recorded in each ear to 4 kHz, 12 kHz, 22 kHz, and 32 kHz stimuli. To assess neural changes in the brainstem, suprathreshold ABRs were recorded at 80 dB sound pressure level and waveform morphology, latency, and amplitude responses were analyzed. To determine the threshold, tone burst ABR was recorded at 50 dB and 20 dB and then at 30 dB or 10 dB depending on the response at 20 dB. The threshold value was defined as the lowest intensity to elicit a reliable wave II, which is the largest wave in rats. At baseline (naïve condition), the 80 dB ABR morphology exhibited the presence of distinct waves I, II, and III at lower frequencies (4 kHz and 12 kHz) and waves I, II, III, IV, and V at higher frequencies (22 kHz and 32 kHz), with wave II being the largest wave. As the frequencies increased from 4 kHz to 32 kHz, latencies decreased, and amplitudes increased with a larger amplitude observed in the right ear at 4 kHz and 12 kHz (wave II mean = 1.98 µV) compared to the left ear (wave II mean = 1.65 µV). After induction of migraine pathology, ABR thresholds were elevated to mild-moderate degree, latencies decreased at 4 kHz, 12 kHz, 22 kHz, and 32 kHz and amplitudes increased, mainly wave II, at 4 kHz and 32 kHz. Results from this novel study provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence of neural changes in auditory brainstem response and changes in high frequency hearing sensitivity in a preclinical chronic migraine model
Reflective Freewriting as a Strategy to Improve Pre-Service Teacher’s Physics Content Knowledge and Overall Attitude Toward Physics and Physics Teaching
No full textA pilot study conducted in the pre-service teacher (PST) physics classroom at Missouri State University sought to validate a tool for learning. A writing treatment, in which students were asked to participate in reflective freewriting exercises over the course of the semester was administered to one lab group. The Physics Attitude Scale was used to determine whether a positive impact was made on pre-service teacher attitudes about physics and teaching physics. Classroom exams and lab reports were used to determine whether or not aptitude was affected. This action research study used qualitative data to assess content knowledge and overall shift in attitude as well as qualitative data gathered from the reflective writing assignments to obtain a more comprehensive view of shifting attitudes and aptitudes. The researcher’s narrative notes followed implementation and reception of the writing treatment and were used to provide greater insight into effectiveness of the treatment. This study found that PST attitudes did experience a clear shift in attitude but could not, with certainty, attribute the shift to the writing treatment alone. It was also found that aptitude was likely not affected. This research hopes to spur further work to assess the connection between reflective writing and PST perspective and understanding of physics
Ash Grove
No full textThis thesis presents a collection of poems that attempts to foreground often dismissed or invisible landscapes and the people who inhabit those spaces. Drawing attention to moments of stillness, creating a space for contemplation and reflection, the poems in this collection stitch together a myriad of speakers whose voices grapple with landscapes of the past, interiority, place, and memory. These poems often center on the speaker\u27s interior observations set against an exterior backdrop. These works are informed by the works of Carl Phillips and Robert Lowell, the British poet, Alice Oswald, the German-British painter, Lucian Freud, and the Chilean poet, Roberto Bolaño
a part from you
No full textI invite empathy through art that is technologically assisted to find alternative interpretations for nontheologically informed faith. The sudden passing of my dearest friend, Jimmy, encouraged me to dig through my archives of data, to cherish all the bytes that remain of him. In this endeavor, I find that death is not the end, but a post-physical state of being. I express this sentiment in a part from you, where the work utilizes inanimate constructs to place your faith in, to make sense of the complexities of grief in a digitally tethered way of life. This life that allows many states of being and celebrates an idea of existing in many placeless places. This work is my wish for those who are mending their spirits, as I am—to find hope in the bits of data we cherish (digitally and internally) and sustain beautiful sentiments beyond physicality
Riverine Fish Population Dynamics
No full textDynamic rate functions (i.e., recruitment, growth, mortality) structure fish populations and are subject to latitudinal differences. These latitudinal differences are likely reflective of climatic variation and may result in spatially distinct populations that must be managed independently, especially in large systems such as the Upper Mississippi River system (UMRS). In order to successfully manage this system, an understanding of what drives these populations is required. The UMRS is useful for this investigation as it crosses 10° temperate latitude with widespread fish species found throughout. In this study, I investigated the synergistic relationship between latitude, vital rates, and abundance. Species were selected 1) to represent a wide range of species traits and reproductive strategies and 2) that could be collected solely through routine monitoring (LTRM) without additional targeted collections. Spatial distinctions in dynamic rate functions were found among study reaches. These insights play a vital role in determining management strategies for the UMRS. This study demonstrates the relationship between latitude, vital rates, and abundance within a riverine fish community, allowing for the informing of management decisions in a complex system. Northern Snakehead (NSH) are a species native to eastern Asia but have since been introduced around the world, both unintentionally and intentionally. These fish were first documented in the Potomac River system in 2004 and have since spread and established throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Past studies have documented growth, movement, and diet, and found that the Potomac River population was characterized by variable recruitment. To that end, I sought to quantify what drives this variability. I employed an information-theoretic approach (AICc) to select a model to explain the recruitment patterns of Potomac River NSH. In the summer of 2021, juvenile NSH were captured in four tributaries. The selected recruitment variability model contained mean discharge and mean chlorophyll-a concentration in June and the coefficient of variation in May discharge. Young-of-year (YOY) NSH growth rates were high (about 2mm/day), and stomach contents displayed various diet items. Our recruitment variability results represent the first explanation of recruitment drivers for Northern Snakehead in the Potomac River. Further, NSH YOY results reflect the early shift to piscivory displayed by juveniles. These results are unique and can be used to inform management for a species that continues to establish itself in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Geometric Dissections
No full textIn the study of geometry, the notion of dissection and its mechanics are occasionally over-looked. We consider and trace the history and theorems surrounding geometric dissections in both recreational and academic mathematics. We explore the important advancements in this particular topic from antiquity through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We conclude with an exploration of the Banach-Tarski parado
Using Intentional Strategies to Promote Self-Efficacy in a Choral Classroom: An Action Research Study
No full textAs a choral music educator, I investigated the impact of strategies I designed to foster self-efficacy in one of my choral classes. Drawing on Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, I used enactive mastery, vicarious experience, verbal/social persuasion, and affective/physiological states to design specific classroom tasks that would serve as critical influences on an individual’s self-efficacy. The action research study was conducted with a mixed-gender choir class of grades 10-12 students, using Michael Zelenak’s Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale as a pre-and post-survey measure. Observational and qualitative data were also collected to enable a reflective examination of teaching practices and student-teacher interactions
SC-MATRL: Semi-Centralized Multi-Agent Transfer Reinforcement Learning
No full textDistributed decision-making in multi-agent systems (MAS) poses significant challenges for interactive behavior learning in both cooperative and competitive environments. While reinforcement learning (RL) has shown great success in single-agent domains like Checkers, Chess and Go, researchers are motivated to extend RL to MAS. However, as the number of agents increases, effectively dealing with each agent becomes increasingly complex. To mitigate the resulting complexity, a semi-centralized Multi-Agent Influence Dense Reinforcement Learning (MAIDRL) algorithm was previously developed, enhancing agent influence maps to facilitate effective multi-agent control in StarCraft Multi-Agent Challenge (SMAC) scenarios. While MAIDRL shows improved performance in homogeneous multi-agent scenarios, it struggles to make optimal decisions in complex heterogeneous systems. In this research, two major objectives are pursued: first, extending MAIDRL to improve performance in both homogeneous and heterogeneous scenarios, and second, unifying the representations in state space and action space for enabling transfer learning (TL) to leverage knowledge gained from one scenario for other unseen scenarios. To achieve the first objective, this study extends the DenseNet in MAIDRL architecture and introduces a semi-centralized Multi-Agent Dense-CNN Reinforcement Learning framework (MAIDCRL) by incorporating convolutional layers into the deep model. The results demonstrate that the CNN-enabled MAIDCRL significantly enhances learning performance and achieves a faster learning rate compared to the existing MAIDRL, particularly in more complex heterogeneous SMAC scenarios. Additionally, a novel framework is introduced to enable TL for Multi-Agent RL by unifying diverse state spaces into fixed-size inputs, allowing for a unified deep-learning policy applicable across different scenarios within MAS. Furthermore, Curriculum Transfer Learning is adopted, enabling progressive knowledge and skill acquisition through pre-designed homogeneous learning scenarios organized by difficulty levels. This approach facilitates inter- and intra-agent knowledge transfer, leading to high-performance multi-agent learning in more complex heterogeneous scenarios
Impact of Sample Conditions on DNA Phosphodiester Backbone BI/BII Conformational Equilibrium Dynamics
No full textDNA damage, such as single base lesions and mismatches, is highly prevalent within cells. If these DNA damage events are not repaired, they could lead to mutations and thus disease and cancer. Intricate repair mechanisms are in place to fix these damage events, one such being Base Excision Repair (BER) and associated enzyme: Thymine DNA Glycosylase (TDG). The first step of this repair process, recognition of the lesion by TDG, is not well understood. The following thesis presents results to better understand the fundamental biophysical question of how a DNA lesion within a mismatch context is recognized in a million fold excess of normal DNA bases. Part one of this research involves the investigation of an 8mer non-palindromic DNA sequence containing a U:G mismatch and how this mismatch alters the phosphodiester backbone of the DNA around the lesion site. Results showed that there was a stepwise difference in the free energy of the conformational equilibrium of the DNA backbone around the lesion site, following trends that have been shown for palindromic DNA sequences. Part two investigates attempts to optimize the expression and purification conditions for Thymine DNA Glycosylase. Part three involves analyzing how DNA sample conditions influence the backbone conformational equilibrium dynamics within a dodecamer palindromic sequence containing a T:G mismatch. Of particular interest, the free energy was impacted for the lesion sequence at the phosphate 3ʹ to the base-pairing partner in the presence of potassium and magnesium ions and impacted to a lesser extent at the phosphate 3ʹ to the lesion in the presence of potassium ion. For the DNA analysis of the phosphodiester conformational equilibrium dynamics, 1-D and 2-D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy was used
Between Choice and Compulsion: An Examination and Critique of the Evolution of \u27Original Sin\u27
No full text“Why are we the way that we are?” is one of the hardest questions to answer because it requires grasping the origin of human beings. This has left philosophers and theologians in century-long debates on forming a “cosmogony of ontology” (i.e., how the origin of the universe informs the human condition). The concept, “original sin” was developed by a North African theologian named Augustine (354 – 430 CE). Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, and inaccurate translation of Romans 5:12, taught that a person is born morally culpable for a fault antecedent to their existence. This way of thinking about the world, my thesis argues, has major ethical considerations and ramifications for not just Christianity, but all influenced by it: If innate moral corruption was not our choice, then how can we be guilty of unjust acts that arise necessarily from it? The first and larger portion of the thesis analyzes the historical and philosophical development of the doctrine up until the Reformation. The smaller, latter part of my thesis concludes with an ethnographic report on the attitudes and stances of religious people towards original sin today. My findings from contemporary sermons, children’s books, interviews, and popular media reveal that the belief in original sin has declined among Christians today, but is accepted by Catholics, Protestant Fundamentalists, and even secular determinists (e.g., “Atheists for Niebuhr”). My thesis is that Augustine’s doctrine of original sin is exegetically unsound and in conflict with Paul’s concept of sin, and that if the doctrine is not substantially revised or abolished, the possibility for moral freedom in orthodox Christianity is essentially absent