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Who Are They, And Why Are They Hesitant? - Exploring Media Misinformation Susceptibility On Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy In The Us: A Latent Profile Analysis Study
No full textThis dissertation investigates the multifaceted nature of vaccine hesitancy (VH) within the U.S. adult population, focusing on attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and the interplay of media use, political ideology, and misinformation susceptibility. Utilizing Motivated Reasoning (MR) and Uses and Gratifications (U&G) theories, the study explores how cognitive, ideological, and media-related factors shape vaccine hesitancy. Data were collected through a comprehensive survey employing quota sampling, followed by Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), ANOVA, and regression models to identify distinct profiles of vaccine-hesitant individuals.Key findings highlight the critical role of misinformation susceptibility, media trust, and political ideology in shaping vaccine hesitancy. LPA revealed detailed profiles of vaccine-hesitant individuals, categorized by their media consumption patterns, cognitive evaluation abilities, and ideological beliefs. Regression analyses identified core predictors, including COVID-19 vaccine uptake, conspiracy beliefs, hours spent on partisan media, and frequency of fact-checking, underscoring the complexity of VH as influenced by both individual and systemic factors. The study\u27s implications emphasize the need for targeted public health strategies that address misinformation and ideological biases. Media literacy initiatives and bipartisan collaboration with trusted community leaders are recommended to enhance the reach and effectiveness of vaccination campaigns. Additionally, the findings suggest that health communication strategies should consider the evolving digital media landscape and ideological polarization when addressing vaccine hesitancy. This study provides a pivotal step in understanding vaccine hesitancy\u27s nuanced dimensions, offering actionable insights for public health officials, policymakers, and media literacy advocates to combat misinformation and improve vaccine uptake in the digital age
Exploring The Lived Experience Of The Primary Caregiver During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygen Treatment
No full textExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a significant advancement in the treatment of life-threatening illnesses once conventional treatment options are no longer effective. This advanced technology is indicated for health conditions that result in severe heart and lung failure. Moreover, this temporary supportive treatment offers hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Although significant research has been geared towards advancing ECMO technology, little is known about the experiences of the primary caregivers during ECMO treatment. The existing literature clearly shows that family support and involvement in health-related issues has a tremendous impact on long-term patient outcomes. It then becomes crucial to understand the perspectives of families as it relates to ECMO care. Through a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach this study will examine the lived experience of the primary caregiver of an individual with a life-threatening illness requiring ECMO. Utilizing Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping as a theoretical foundation, this study will, 1) explore the lived experience of the adult ECMO primary caregiver during the acute phase of ECMO treatment and 2) describe the coping strategies used by primary caregivers. The study involved one-on-one interviews with the primary caregivers of ECMO patients to gather information. Data collection took place between June 30 and September 22, 2024, with nine participants involved. Utilizing Coliazzi\u27s analysis for phenomenological research, several patterns emerged from the interview transcripts, leading to the identification of five major themes: 1) Disbelief and Confusion, 2) The Need for Knowledge—What is ECMO? 3) Balancing Act, 4) Hope and Fear, and 5) Gratitude. Additionally, families of ECMO patients experience heightened levels of emotional distress, psychological trauma, and caregiving challenges, putting them at greater risk for maladaptive coping strategies. The study revealed various coping mechanisms that families use, which can ultimately aid nurses in supporting ECMO families during this challenging time. This knowledge enables healthcare providers to develop interventions that better address the specific needs of ECMO families, helping to mitigate the long-term psychological and emotional impacts of witnessing their loved ones undergo ECMO treatment. Developing such interventions help enhance clinical care and improve patient outcomes
Signs Of Crossing: Tracing Borderscapes Through The Us-Mexico Middle Place
No full text“Border crisis” is a term that the US-Mexico borderlands just can’t seem to shake. There is a “crisis” at the border, but it is a multispecies one that spreads across time and space. Signs of Crossing: Tracing Borderscapes Through the US-Mexico Middle Place is an Environmental Humanities reading of the US-Mexico border space that traces environmental degradation and loss in borderscapes of US Latinx, Mexican, Mexican American, crossing narratives, and borderland texts and aesthetic representations. I analyze the destruction and militarization of complex landscapes and ecosystems (Chapter 1); the shared vulnerabilities and collective threats on human and nonhuman animal bodies amidst border militarization, habitat loss, and increased human activity (Chapter 2); the fragmentation and degradation of border plant ecosystems (Chapter 3); and the removal and eradication of migrant objects and artifacts as a calculated step in the militarization of the borderlands (Chapter 4). I argue that the US-Mexico borderlands are spaces of shared vulnerability, indistinction, and open possibility between human and more-than-human life. Here, survival amidst climate chaos means forming rebellious and eco-imaginative interspecific kinships that seek ecojustice for all border crossers. Through place-based, community, and scholarly research, I seek out critical pathways of posthuman solidarity along the border by highlighting multispecies activism, coalition, ecojustice, and radical, anticolonial joy in order to countermap and counternarrate the US-MX border “crisis”. The “crisis” at the border is a multispecies one, and it offers lessons in survival and flourishing amidst an age of increased militarization of borders, limitations on the right to movement, and climate chaos
An Auto-Historia-Teoria Of Kismet Encounters: Building Bridges Between Multiple-Marginalized Identites - Queer, Latine, And Disabled - In A Colonial Education System
No full textExisting education research has identified a series of factors that impact student identity formation, belonging, and academic performance in secondary and post-secondary education. Such research usually focuses on one to two identity groups - like ethnicity and gender or sexuality and disability. However, very few center on the experiences of queer, disabled, students of color. Using a decolonial methodological approach to qualitative research. This dissertation uses Chicana/Indigenous epistemologies as research methodologies to identify challenges students of multiple marginalized identities encounter in schooling and how they might find strength in their elders and cultural stories. The findings encourage educators to normalize mistakes, avoid assumptions, and embrace fluidity to foster a more inclusive and socially just approach to their pedagogy
Bridging Methodological Gaps In Legionella Monitoring Of Full-Scale Cooling Towers
No full textCooling towers (CTs) are vital for industrial and commercial operations, playing a critical role in heat exchange systems. However, they also can present significant public health risks as hotspots for Legionella bacteria, the pathogens responsible for Legionnaires’ disease. Under favorable environmental and operational conditions, Legionella can proliferate in CTs and spread through aerosolized droplets, posing substantial risks to vulnerable populations. Despite advancements in monitoring technologies and microbial control strategies, current practices often struggle to predict and control Legionella colonization. Challenges include the inconsistent collection of data, methodological gaps, and limited integration of biologically relevant parameters. This dissertation aims to address these limitations by evaluating and improving Legionella monitoring methodologies through three interconnected objectives.
The first aim involved a retrospective analysis of over 70 CTs in Detroit, MI, monitored following the discovery of nearby legionellosis cases. Data from automated controllers and culture-based Legionella tests were analyzed to evaluate the predictive power of standard water quality parameters. Advanced statistical tools were applied to identify key factors influencing Legionella colonization but with limited statistical power. This highlighted the limitations of traditional data collection and monitoring practices that were investigated with a designed observational experiment.The second aim focused on a prospective case study applying a systematic approach to measure Legionella dynamics in six full-scale systems. To improve statistical power, the experiment performed weekly water quality testing, integrating supplemental parameters like free halogen, pH, and dissolved oxygen. Legionella quantification was performed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) alongside traditional culture methods. The effect of changes to the microbial control program on Legionella results were successfully identified due to the improved statistical quality of the prospective data.
The third aim synthesized findings into predictive models to enhance Legionella monitoring and risk assessment frameworks. Using tailored regression approaches, the prospective models significantly improved inferential and predictive capabilities compared to retrospective models. Additionally, the alignment of culture and qPCR data provided insights into reconciling standardized action thresholds.
By addressing critical gaps in current practices, this dissertation advances Legionella monitoring strategies, offering practical, data-driven tools to enhance public health outcomes and mitigate risks associated with CT systems
Investigating The Role Of Knee Damping In Reducing Joint Forces During Walking And Its Implications For Osteoarthritis Patients
No full textArthritis is a leading cause of activity limitation and chronic pain worldwide. Particularly in cases of knee osteoarthritis, mobility impairments are largely due to pain at the arthritic joint. During normal gait, forces across the knee joint peak during the weight acceptance and early midstance phases. Hence, providing damping at the knee joint during this period of the gait cycle may be effective in decreasing the joint forces and pain experienced by osteoarthritis patients while walking. To examine the role of knee damping in reducing joint forces, an eddy current braking device was automated to provide targeted resistance at the knee joint. Ten healthy subjects participated in an experiment where four levels of damping were applied at the knee joint during the weight acceptance and early midstance phases of the gait cycle. Subjects walked on an instrumented treadmill in a motion capture area while wearing electromyography (EMG) sensors on key knee flexor and extensor muscles. Inverse kinematics and dynamics were run to obtain the joint angles and forces that characterized subject motion. These parameters were used to complete static optimization and simulate knee joint reaction force in OpenSim. Results did not show a significant difference in ground reaction force or simulated joint reaction force with the application of damping at the knee joint. However, experimental EMG data demonstrated significant decreases in the activation of certain knee flexor and extensor muscles with the addition of knee joint damping. This was most notable for the vastus lateralis and medialis muscles. These findings indicate there may be benefits of resistive torque in offloading the knee joint that warrant further examination
The Effect Of Regulatory Intensity On Corporate Audit Fees And Payout Policies
No full textThis dissertation explores how firm‐level regulatory intensity affects both external audit outcomes and shareholder distributions. Using a machine‐learning measure of regulatory burden (RegIn) merged with twenty years of Compustat and Audit Analytics data, Chapter One shows that higher RegIn raises audit fees and extends engagement duration, particularly for firms with weak internal controls or litigation exposure. A difference‐in‐differences test around Dodd‐Frank confirms a causal link. Chapter Two demonstrates that heavier regulatory demands prompt firms to increase total payouts—driven chiefly by dividends—as institutional investors use dividends to discipline management amid uncertainty. This dividend response is most pronounced in firms with concentrated institutional ownership and weaker governance, and it correlates with higher firm valuations. The findings illuminate how regulatory oversight shapes audit resource allocation and payout policies
Structural And Mechanistic Insights Into Usp10 And Usp7: Conformational Regulation And Inhibition Strategies
No full textUbiquitin-specific proteases USP10 and USP7 play crucial roles in regulating diverse cellular processes and have emerged as attractive therapeutic targets in cancer. In this dissertation, we present a multi-scale structural and molecular dynamics investigation of these deubiquitinases, combining predictive modeling, crystallographic data, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For USP10, which lacks a crystal structure, AlphaFold model and MD simulations revealed a stable and highly conserved USP domain, with some flexible loops surrounding the active site and the Ub-binding pocket, suggesting auto-regulatory structural elements that may control conformational regulation, substrate access, and enzymatic activity. USP10’s flexible N-terminal region contains regulatory loops that transiently interact with the catalytic domain, suggesting another layer of regulation and substrate control. Compound GL462 is a potential USP10 inhibitor, exhibiting a binding mode near the active site. Protein stability and inhibition assays confirmed GL462’s destabilizing effect on USP10 through a selective protein unfolding mechanism. Its potent inhibitory activity, positioning it as a promising lead for further development. For USP7, comparative analyses of the apo and ubiquitin-bound structures revealed that proper alignment of the catalytic triad and opening of the switching loop are key elements for USP7 activation. Classical and metadynamics simulations showed that certain mutations in the switching loop, such as H294E, stabilize an active-like state with minimal energy cost, while others, like V302K, remain energetically trapped in either an intermediate or inactive conformation, highlighting the critical role of switching loop dynamics in USP7 activation. Analysis of sixteen USP7-inhibitor complexes identified two distinct binding modes. Mode 1 compounds appear to rigidly block activation by binding to a critical region within the catalytic cleft. In contrast, Mode 2 inhibitors bind at the Thumb-Fingers interface, located at the edge of the ubiquitin-binding pocket, thereby interfering with ubiquitin binding while permitting reversible regulation. Metadynamics simulations revealed distinct energy barriers associated with these inhibitors, correlating with their conformational flexibility and mechanisms of action. Taken together, these findings reveal key structural features regulating USP10 and USP7 conformational activation, regulation, and inhibition, providing a framework for developing targeted inhibitors with therapeutic potential