17179 research outputs found
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A Biocultural Approach to Skeletal and Dental Non-Specific Stress Markers in Migrants from the Southern U.S. Border
No full textNo abstract prepared.Anthropolog
Oral history interview: Frank Bashore
No full textEdited and unedited transcript files (.pdf) and edited and unedited video files available with closed captioning.Oral history interview with Carrie Bashore Donovan about her father Colonel Frank Bashore
Enhancing Real-World Fall Detection Using Commodity Devices: A Systematic Study
No full textThe widespread adoption of smartphones and smartwatches has enabled non-intrusive fall detection through built-in sensors and on-device computation. While these devices are widely used by older adults, existing systems still struggle to accurately detect soft falls in real-world settings. There is a notable drop in performance when fall-detection models trained offline on labeled accelerometer data are deployed and tested in real-world conditions using streaming, real-time data. To address this, our experimental study investigates whether incorporating additional sensor modalities, specifically gyroscope data with accelerometer data from wrist and hip locations, can help bridge this performance gap. Through systematic experimentation, we demonstrated that combining accelerometer data from the hip and the wrist yields a model capable of achieving an F1-score of 88% using a Transformer-based neural network in offline evaluation, which is an improvement of 8% over a model trained solely on wrist accelerometer data. However, when it is deployed in an uncontrolled home environment with streaming real-time data, this model produced a high number of false positives. To address this, we retrained the model using feedback data that comprised both false positives and true positives and was collected from ten participants during real-time testing. This refinement yielded an F1-sore of 92% and significantly reduced false positives while maintaining comparable accuracy in detecting true falls in real-world settings. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the improved model generalizes well to older adults’ movement patterns, with minimal false-positive detections.Computer Scienc
Practicing Meta-Analytics with Rectification
No full textThis article demonstrates the necessity of assessing homogeneity in meta-analyses using the Higgins method. The researchers realize the importance of assessing homogeneity in meta-analytic work. However, a significant issue with the Higgins method has been identified. In this article, we explain the nature of this problem and propose solutions to address it. Our narrative in this article is to point out the problem, analyze it, and present it well. A prerequisite to check the consistency of findings in comparable studies in meta-analyses is that the studies should be homogeneous, not heterogeneous. The Higgins 2 score, a version of the Cochran Q value, is commonly used to assess heterogeneity. The Higgins score is an improvement in the Q value. However, there is a problem with Higgins score statistically. The Higgins score is supposed to follow a Chi-squared distribution, but it does not do so because the Chi-squared distribution becomes invalid once the Q score is less than the degrees of freedom. This problem was recently rectified using an alternative method (2 score). Using this method, we examined 14 published articles representing 133 datasets and observed that many studies declared homogeneous by the Higgins method were, in fact, heterogeneous. This article urges the research community to be cautious in making inferences using the Higgins method.Health Administratio
Comparing the Utility of Capture–Mark–Recapture, Telemetry, and Genetic Data in Assessing Population-Level Dispersal
No full textGaps in dispersal data limit habitat protection efforts. We sought to characterize such gaps and compare the utility of dispersal data from demographic and genetic methods in making habitat protection decisions. Here, we used a search string to retrieve dispersal studies for amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. We included studies based on a set of selection criteria. We used this sample of selected studies to assess for persistence of taxonomic and geographic biases. We extracted non-effective (i.e., demographic) and effective (i.e., genetic) dispersal rates. We weighted these dispersal rates by associated sample size and standard deviation to indicate the ability to capture population-level dispersal. We then tested for variation in weighted dispersal by study type using Bayesian mixed-effects models. Amphibians were the most under-represented taxonomic group in our sample. Dispersal studies were mostly retrieved from developed nations indicating the distribution of dispersal research reflected GDP rather than the number of threatened species. The magnitude of dispersal from genetic methods exceeded demographic methods in all vertebrate groups considered in our study. Further, genetic studies consistently sampled a larger number of individuals. Thus, genetic methods may be better suited to characterize population-level dispersal. However, demographic and genetic approaches enable examination of the dispersal process at varying spatial and temporal scales and a combination of these approaches can be used to address persistent gaps in dispersal and enable land-management decisions.Biolog
Oral history interview: Lionel Montez
No full textEdited and unedited transcript files (.pdf) and edited and unedited video files available with closed captioning.Oral history interview with James Zertuche about his uncle, Lionel Montez
A CURE for Science Teaching Self Efficacy in Pre Service Elementary Teachers
No full textA basic understanding of science is vital to developing a scientifically informed society. Well-prepared teachers are crucial for quality science education. However, only about 30% of elementary teachers in the U.S. feel confident teaching science. Teachers with high science teaching self-efficacy have better student learning outcomes than those with lower science teaching self-efficacy. To increase science teaching self-efficacy, pre-service teachers (PSETs) must have positive, constructive experiences with science. A practical science instructional method is Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). CUREs are a course structure where students are expected to complete scientific research projects. CUREs have five defining features: collaboration, relevance, discovery, iteration, and scientific practices. Students participating in a CURE gain content knowledge, scientific and collaboration skills, and improved science self-efficacy. My project is one of the first to examine the influence of participation in a CURE on PSETs' science teaching self-efficacy. The course implemented a water quality CURE with the PSETs completing a collaborative research project. PSETs collected water quality data using Texas Stream Team protocols, analyzed their data, and presented their findings to their peers. I collected questionnaire responses to measure PSET perceptions of the CURE experience and changes in PSETs perceived science teaching self-efficacy. PSETs who participated in the CURE reported a significant increase in science teaching self-efficacy and perceived the lab as aligning with CURE essential elements. CUREs could be part of future effective PSET education to produce confident elementary science educators.Biolog
The Pain of Silence
No full textWritten, produced, and directed by Texas State University Psychology and Theatre student Sophie Twyman, The Pain of Silence is a 10-minute mostly silent short film created to emphasize how powerful human connection can be. The film centers Hannah, a young woman whose depression makes her world feel like a bleak, colorless, silent, and boring place. Her perspective of the world all changes with a kind gesture from a mysterious stranger. Throughout this short film we watch her grow to rediscover the warm and exciting feeling of sound and color in her life again. This short film uses silence as an artistic tool to help the audience feel a deep connection with the pain Hannah feels every day. The Pain of Silence is a reminder that no
matter how lost we feel, a good connection is so powerful that it can get us back to feeling like ourselves again even when we have forgotten who we used to be and what we used to feel like.Psycholog
Oral history interview: Brandon Poulos
No full textEdited transcript file (.pdf), edited video recording (.mp4), unedited video recording (.mp4), and unedited transcript (.pdf) available.Interview with Ashleigh Poulos who reflects on the life of her husband, Brandon Poulos. Brandon Poulos is a Veteran of the United States Navy who passed away in 2025, leaving behind a wife and two daughters. He is remembered as an amazing person and deeply missed by his family
Investigating the Temporal Effects of Thermal Stress on Corticosterone Release and Growth in Toad Tadpoles
No full textCorticosterone (CORT) is a key glucocorticoid hormone that regulates energy balance and physiological responses to environmental stressors, making it a valuable biomarker for assessing how organisms cope with changing conditions. Understanding how amphibians respond to chronic thermal stress is critical in the context of climate change and urbanization. We investigated the effects of a week-long exposure to elevated water temperatures on CORT release rates and growth in Gulf Coast toad (Incilius nebulifer) tadpoles, a species adapted to variable thermal environments. Using a non-invasive water-borne hormone method, we measured CORT at multiple time points (1 h, 2 h, 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 5 days) post-treatment to assess how CORT varied with time after exposure to elevated heat vs. the control temperature. We found a significant time-by-treatment response in tadpoles after a week of exposure to 32 °C versus 23 °C (control) temperatures. Both control and treatment individuals showed a marked decrease in CORT release rates 6 h post-return to room temperature, but by 24 h post-experiment, CORT release rates were higher in the tadpoles exposed to 32 °C. Heat-exposed tadpoles also showed significantly faster growth during and after treatment, but a lower survival to 12 days, indicating a potential trade-off between survival and accelerated growth. Overall, our study highlights a trade-off for populations of I. nebulifer when exposed to thermal stress and suggests that amphibian responses to chronic environmental stressors are shaped by adaptive physiological strategies, with implications for understanding and conserving amphibian populations in a rapidly changing world.Biolog