15133 research outputs found
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Understanding premenstrual syndrome among college students and its association with dietary habits
No full textPremenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a complex symptom affecting females\u27 quality of life. Many studies have suggested that diet influences experiencing PMS. College students are more likely to be influenced by PMS, but little is known about this population. This study aimed to (1) compare the dietary habits by PMS presence among female college students, (2) examine the relationship between PMS severity and diet quality, and (3) explore common symptoms of PMS and how these affect students\u27 quality of life. Using a cross-sectional survey design with convenience sampling methods, data were collected from February to March 2025 at a university in northern New Jersey. An online survey was employed with both closed- and open-ended questions. The survey included demographics, the short Healthy Eating Index (sHEI) questions, and premenstrual symptoms. The Independent samples t-test, correlation analysis, and content analysis were performed. A total of 178 female students were included in the analysis. The presence of PMS was 37.6%. The mean sHEI score was higher in the non-PMS group than in the PMS group: 48.25 vs. 46.16 (p=0.18). There was a weak but positive correlation between sHEI scores and the severity of PMS (r=0.09, P=0.45). Common PMS symptoms frequently mentioned were bloating (n=40), cramps (n=32), and fatigue (n=31). The impact of PMS on life quality included decreased study effectiveness, challenges to performing daily activities, and social disengagement. Further research is needed to validate the direction of the relationship between dietary habits and PMS
How does establishing concrete ESG practices influence the financial performance of companies in the U.S. built environment sector compared to global organizations over the past 10 years?
No full textOver the past decade, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting has become increasingly prominent in corporate America over the last decade, specifically in the built environment industry. This study aims to analyze the financial impact of ESG adoption by comparing U.S. companies with global organizations. . A combination of trend analysis from publicly posted ESG reports (policies, targets, year over year progress) alongside statistical comparison on financial performance indicators such as revenue and profitability, this research assesses the long-term economic effects of ESG integration. The anticipated results will reflect that an increase in transparency with the public will boost company success noticeably overtime. Potential implications may include market volatility, investor behavior and sector-specific risks may also influence outcome. This study will contribute to ongoing discussion on ESG’s role in corporate financial resilience, addressing potential challenges such as greenwashing, regional disparities, and the evolving regulatory landscape
The importance of considering mental health during criminal sentencing
No full textMany persons charged with offenses present evidence that their actions were the result of underlying mental illness. Individuals suffering from mental illness often do not possess the same understanding of right from wrong as persons who are not mentally ill. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines provide that mental health can be relevant in sentencing decisions. However, in 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the Guidelines were only advisory in nature. Studies have shown that the major factor used in determining sentences has been a defendant’s prior criminal record irrespective of a defendant’s mental health. What can be done to require that federal courts give appropriate consideration to the mental health of a defendant when determining sentences? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding. From September 2025 through March 2025, using qualitative research methodology, I analyzed sources from the disciplines of law and psychology. Those sources included the Constitution, federal statutes, Supreme Court opinions, and relevant articles from scholarly journals. I identified conflicting insights from each discipline and found common ground between them. Through integration of the insights, I achieved a more comprehensive understanding of the problem leading to suggested solutions. I conclude that fundamental fairness and due process of law require that the mental health of a defendant be considered in determining a sentence. Reforming federal sentencing guidelines and enacting appropriate legislation is necessary so that the mental health of a defendant is required to be taken into account in a sentencing decision
Evaluation of mammal and herptile biodiversity at Montclair State University
No full textThe Northeastern United States is an area experiencing environmental shifts and habitat loss due to anthropogenic activity. We surveyed mammal, reptile, and amphibian populations within the Montclair State University campus, ponds, and surrounding trails to evaluate current species composition, distribution and seasonal variations. Data collection spanned eight weeks divided into late winter and spring phases, using direct tracking, visual encounter, and auditory call surveys. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity were recorded to assess their influence on animals’ activity. Out of the 61 mammals of New Jersey, 7 species have been identified to date. White tailed deer, cottontails and gray squirrels were seen active in both winter and spring, while hibernating mammals like groundhogs and chipmunk first appeared in late February. Red foxes and raccoons were encountered once. Of the 71 reptiles and amphibians, 3 species have been identified. We observed a pickerel frog, eastern painted turtle, adult bullfrogs, and large numbers of bullfrog tadpoles. We expect to see more species appear in the spring season and possibly witness the breeding cycle of amphibians. Our results contribute to understanding local biodiversity, species richness, and population density. They can be used to identify any major ecological changes that need to be addressed for wildlife conservation. The study is ongoing, and data collection will continue until mid-April
Decoding psychology through text: Insights into text-based symptom classification
No full textThe diagnosis of mental health disorders is challenging due to the absence of an all-encompassing diagnostic framework, symptom overlap, the high prevalence of comorbidity, and the subjective nature of diagnoses (APA, 2013; Cameron, 2007). These challenges can lead to suboptimal treatment outcomes and a lack of trust in healthcare systems. This study leveraged a dataset of anonymous user statements categorized into mental health conditions (available on Kaggle - Sarkar, 2025). We constructed a generalized mental health machine learning classifier to identify best-performing diagnostic metrics for seven mental health disorder classes. We used an encoder-only pre-trained large language model (LLM) BERT (Wolf et al., 2020; Devlin et al., 2019) as our classifier, as BERT suite models are well-suited for sentiment analysis, where subtle linguistic and contextual cues are critical. We performed analysis of part-of-speech use and word n-grams, and then fine-tuned models and evaluated their performance. Our highest-performing model achieved a F1 score of 87.7%, which included only mental health conditions. This meant excluding ‘Stress’ and ‘Suicidal’, since previous models struggled to disambiguate these from diagnosable disorders. These results highlight the challenges of using ambiguous self-reflections about mental health to classify conditions that are deeply psychological, behavioral, and contextually dependent. Our work provides insights into the nuanced ways patients describe their symptoms, as well as the potential limitations of using LLMs for mental health diagnoses. These findings demonstrate the complexities of building reliable models in this domain while contributing to advancements in understanding mental health dynamics and improving resource accessibility
Fostering belonging, retention, and success: A scalable 25-minute intervention
No full textStudents who feel disconnected from their university are more likely to drop out, experience lower academic achievement, and report higher levels of stress and anxiety. Academic belonging plays a crucial role in student well-being and success (Ahn & Davis, 2020; Casad et al., 2018; Hausmann et al., 2007; Murphy et al., 2020; Walton et al., 2023; Yeager et al., 2016). A strong sense of belonging is linked to increased motivation, engagement, and achievement. Most research on belonging interventions focuses on residential or elite institutions, but students at non-residential public universities, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, face unique challenges, and thus finding a way to address these students’ lack of belonging is crucial to our shared vision for success for all students. We will share our experiences and research findings implementing a short lay “belonging intervention” in a new student experience at our large, minority-majority public institution. Our goal is to advance the success of all students, particularly those who our internal research shows experience lower belonging and greater isolation. We will share some of our findings, offer practical strategies for implementing a homegrown belonging intervention that can be adapted by others, and hope to further a dialogue and collective brainstorming among participants about easy-to-implement, scalable strategies to increase student belonging and resiliency, and thus student success
Testing lysogeny and phage resistance in mesa-derived bacteria arthrobacter sp.
No full textBacteriophages are viruses capable of infecting and replicating within bacterial hosts. Lysogenic bacteriophages integrate their genetic material into the bacterial genome, existing as prophages. Upon incorporation of the phage, certain bacteria form mesas, characterized by a visible ring of bacterial cells surrounding a clear zone where cells have been killed by the virus. This study aims to determine whether bacteria isolated from mesas are lysogens and evaluate how lysogeny affects bacterial resistance to further phage infections in Arthrobacter. Mesas were identified on an Arthrobacter plate infected with Inked phage, a phage previously isolated at MSU. Bacteria from these mesas were isolated using a discontinuous streaking method. Potential lysogens were chosen based on colony growth, and then tested to see if they spontaneously released phage. The supernatants from these bacterial cultures were placed onto plates covered with a bacterial lawn to test the natural release of phages. Serial dilutions of these samples were used to measure the amount of phage being produced. Additionally, potential Arthrobacter lysogens were tested for resistance to superinfection using other previously isolated phages. Preliminary results indicate evidence of phage presence capable of infecting Arthrobacter but not, at present, the Arthrobacter lysogen containing the Inked prophage. There has been one potential lysogen-like spot that was identified on Inked cultures, but its lysogenic nature is not yet confirmed. Further testing through PCR amplification targeting phage attachment sites will clarify the presence of the Inked prophage in the Arthrobacter lysogen
Phonetic convergence and speech intelligibility
No full textPhonetic convergence is the phenomenon in which listeners naturally adjust their speech patterns to match those of another talker. It has been hypothesized that phonetic convergence might enhance intelligibility to the target of convergence, the person whose speech the listener is mimicking, due to a self-speech advantage. This is the idea that people understand their own speech better because they are more familiar with their articulatory patterns, which can make speech more intelligible to themselves. To explore this hypothesis, the study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a speech intelligibility task was performed, where 20 model talkers were shadowed by 20 listeners to determine if shadowed speech was more intelligible than non-shadowed (baseline) speech. In the second phase, an AXB perceptual similarity task was conducted, where listeners heard three versions of the same word: two from the shadower (A and B), one from the model (X), and then judged if the shadowed speech was more like the model talker\u27s speech. The results showed that a model talker’s own speech was more intelligible than other talkers, supporting the self-speech advantage hypothesis. Shadowing talkers converged phonetically to the model, but no positive relationship between intelligibility and phonetic convergence was found. Instead, a negative relationship was observed, where greater convergence was linked to lower intelligibility. These findings suggest that phonetic convergence may not enhance speech intelligibility, as it could be driven by a social alignment strategy, where listeners adjust their speech to build a social connection with the speaker
Investigating the role of Ser220 mutations in m. tuberculosis IGPS
No full textTuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In recent years, antibiotic resistance has become a growing concern in treating tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the bacterial pathogen responsible for tuberculosis. Indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase (IGPS) catalyzes the fourth step of the tryptophan biosynthesis pathway, an essential amino acid for the survival of M. tuberculosis. IGPS has been suggested as a novel drug target in treating tuberculosis. It catalyzes the conversion of the substrate, CdRP to the product, IGP. Understanding the structural and functional roles of active site amino acid residues is essential for developing a potential inhibitor of IGPS. Ser220 has been hypothesized as an important amino acid residue for the binding of IGPS to CdRP. In order to determine the significance of Ser220 in substrate binding, steady state kinetic parameters were investigated after expression and purification of mutants Ser220Thr and Ser220Ala. Michaelis-Menten kinetic experiments of Wildtype, Ser220Thr, and Ser220Ala IGPS were conducted in order to determine KM and kcat values. This provides an understanding of the effect of these mutations on substrate binding and catalytic activity of MtIGPS. Ser220Thr exhibited weaker substrate binding, indicated by a 22-fold increase in KM and a 10-fold decrease in catalytic activity compared to the wild-type enzyme. Preliminary kinetic studies of Ser220Ala demonstrate a significant increase of KM, however further kinetic studies are needed to draw a clear conclusion on how this mutant interacts with CdRP. These results demonstrate the significance of Ser220Thr in the conversion of CdRP to IGP by MtIGPS
Income disparity and the need for tax reform: An interdisciplinary analysis
No full textIncome disparity among families is a systemic issue exacerbated by an entrenched global economic order and inequitable tax structures. Despite widespread recognition of these inequities, significant reforms remain elusive. The concentration of wealth among a few individuals and entities, regressive global tax systems, and inadequate social relief programs all contribute to the problem of income inequality. Neoliberal policies such as deregulation and austerity measures prioritize corporate interests over equitable economic development. Such policies widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Previous efforts to reform such policies have been unsuccessful. What can and should be done to reduce or eliminate income disparity and its effects? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. I used qualitative research methodology, specifically textual analysis. From September 2024 through March 2025, I analyzed sources from the disciplines of law and political science, including scholarly journal articles and non-scholarly industry sources, to determine conflicting insights from each discipline. I then sought common ground between such insights, and then integrated them to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. This more comprehensive understanding leads to suggestions to resolve the problem of income disparity. My research leads me to conclude that there is an urgent need for progressive tax reforms, a global economic government that prioritizes equity, and comprehensive social policies that address systemic inequities. Without meaningful reforms, the divide between the wealthy elite and the rest of society will deepen, perpetuating cycles of poverty and undermining global stability