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Culturally Tailored Community Brain Health Education for Chinese Americans Aged 50 or Above: A Mixed-Methods Open Pilot Study
No full textBackground: Chinese Americans, the largest Asian American subgroup in the U.S., face linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic barriers to dementia prevention. To promote brain health in this population, a culturally tailored community approach is essential. This study evaluates a culturally tailored community brain health education program to enhance brain health knowledge and motivate lifestyle changes to prevent the risk of dementia among Chinese Americans aged 50 or older. Methods: The program was developed and evaluated in four phases. First, we assessed participants’ interests in brain health topics, availability, and preferred delivery modes. Next, experts on the identified topics developed educational content and outcome assessments. The third phase focused on implementing a six-session program covering general knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, diet, sleep, physical exercise, health checks, and mindfulness. Finally, we evaluated the program’s feasibility and effectiveness using pre–post surveys, feedback questionnaires, and focus groups. Results: Seventy-seven participants registered for the program, and sixty-nine (90%) attended at least four sessions. The quantitative results, based on paired t-tests, showed significant increases in brain health knowledge, sleep quality, and behavioral motivation for lifestyle changes, and a decrease in depressive symptoms, with two-tailed p-values lower than 0.05. The qualitative results further revealed promising feasibility and acceptability, as well as the perceived benefits of the program. Conclusions: The findings highlight the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a culturally tailored community education approach for promoting brain health and lifestyle changes. Sustained community outreach and education efforts among Chinese Americans are needed.Family and Consumer Science
Investigating Undergraduate Geography Students' Generative Artificial Intelligence Use
No full textThe rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology is set to transform society, educational spaces, and the field of geography; however, there is little available data on GenAI usage habits amongst undergraduate geography students, a key contingent of individuals set to influence geography research and fieldwork practices in the future. This research on GenAI use among geography students provides insight into how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts geography education. The present study identifies how geography undergraduate students are engaging with GenAI technologies and applies a mixed-methods research design. Using a survey questionnaire and interviews, this study gathers insights directly from undergraduate geography students across the United States on their GenAI use habits, their trust in GenAI to support geography coursework, and whether they feel that GenAI enhances their geographic knowledge and skills. Research participant feedback shows that geography undergraduates are familiar with GenAI, and when they use GenAI, they are mainly using it primarily for question-answering, summarization, advanced search, and, specific to Geographic Information System (GIS) coursework, for coding. Participant feedback also reflects, that geography undergraduates tend to have more trust in GenAI when they feel they have a means to validate GenAI’s response or control where GenAI sources information to generate its response. Geography undergraduate students were more likely to view GenAI as a tool capable of enhancing their geographic knowledge and skills for coursework that relies more heavily on technical task execution rather than qualitative analytics.Geography and Environmental Studie
Design of FIR filter using Hybrid Vedic Multiplier and Hybrid Adders
No full textThe proposed work introduces a fast and energy-efficient Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter that employs a Hybrid Vedic multiplier and an advanced hybrid adder. The core computational block, the Vedic multiplier is based on ancient Indian mathematical techniques, particularly the Urdhva Tiryagbhyam sutra, which allows for the decomposition of complex multiplications into smaller, parallel operations. This parallelism not only reduces computational delay but also contributes to lower power consumption, making it well-suited for performance-critical applications.
To complement the multiplier, the proposed FIR filter integrates a novel hybrid adder that combines the strengths of Brent-Kung and Kogge-Stone adder architectures. This hybrid adder strikes a balance between area and speed, offering enhanced performance in terms of logic depth and wiring complexity compared to conventional adder designs. As a result, the overall FIR filter design achieves a superior speed-area trade-off, making it ideal for real-time digital signal processing (DSP) tasks.
The architecture is implemented and validated using Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL) within the Xilinx Vivado Design Suite. Targeting a 16-tap FIR filter configuration, simulation results demonstrate a notable delay reduction, achieving a critical path delay of 7.941 nanoseconds. In addition to timing analysis, power consumption and resource utilization metrics were also evaluated to substantiate the proposed design’s efficiency.
The proposed filter design is scalable to higher bit-widths (such as 32-bit and 64-bit lengths), indicating its potential for deployment in various high-performance DSP applications, including communication systems, biomedical signal analysis, and audio processing. This work shows how combining traditional mathematical concepts with modern hardware optimization techniques can lead to significant advancements in digital filter design, contributing to the development of faster and more energy-efficient signal processing hardware.Engineerin
Cultural and Personality Predictors of Intention to Persist in College Among Hispanic College Students
No full textThis study examined the influence of traditional Hispanic cultural values and perceived social support on college persistence among Hispanic undergraduate students at Texas State University. Specifically, this study investigated whether cultural and personality predictors such as machismo, caballerismo, familism, family support, and community support predicted undergraduate students’ intentions to persist in college. All participants (N = 236) (M = 19.26, SD = 1.26) self-identified as Hispanic and completed measures that assessed cultural values, support systems, and academic persistence. Independent samples t-tests revealed that Hispanic men endorsed significantly higher levels of machismo, caballerismo, and familism than women, but there was no gender differences found in college persistence, or perceived family and community support. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analyses indicated that college persistence was significantly and positively associated with both perceived family and community support but not with the other cultural value variables. Lastly, regression analysis further confirmed that only family and community support significantly predicted college persistence, whereas machismo, caballerismo, and familism did not. These findings highlighted the crucial role and importance that family and community support systems can have in promoting college persistence among Hispanic college students, suggesting that interventions aimed at improving academic outcomes in this population should prioritize increasing support networks over targeting cultural values for Hispanic students.Psycholog
An Evaluation of Concrete Properties of Rigid Pavements: Coefficient of Thermal Expansion and Abrasion Resistance
No full textThis thesis addresses an important gap about the direct relationship between rigid concrete pavements' Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CoTE) and abrasion resistance, as well as how these factors together affect overall durability. Although prior studies have looked at how CoTE affects pavement performance (such as warping and cracking) and variables that affect abrasion resistance, a clear connection between the two has not been found. By empirical research, this study examines if thermal stress, which may cause microcracking, lowers abrasion resistance.
Concrete samples from different highways of Texas were examined for CoTE in accordance with AASHTO T336 and TxDOT Designation: Tex-428-A. Using the ASTM C944/C944M-99 rotating-cutter method, the top, middle, and bottom surfaces were evaluated for abrasion resistance. Samples were categorized as "Low CoTE" and "High CoTE" based on a threshold of 5.5 x 10⁻⁶ strain/°F. To ascertain associations, statistical analysis was employed, including Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
Results indicate possible long-term durability issues, with 33.33% of samples exceeding TxDOT's suggested CoTE threshold level. The majority of samples showed minimal abrasion loss on all surfaces, especially the middle and bottom, but there were a few outliers with noticeably larger abrasion loss on the top surface, which reached 47.4 grams. ANOVA results showed no statistically significant difference in abrasion resistance between concrete layers with different high and low CoTE values for the top, middle, or bottom surfaces at a significance level of 0.05. Higher CoTE may indirectly increase abrasion loss because of increased thermal stress and cracking, according to the study, even if a direct association was not found.
This study emphasizes how important it is to use CoTE and choose materials carefully in order to improve the durability of rigid pavements. Future research should examine the effects of aggregate mineralogy and concentrate on optimizing mix designs that balance abrasion resistance and thermal resistance, especially by incorporating low CoTE aggregates like crushed limestone to keep CoTE values below the threshold, which will further improve pavement performance. Validating laboratory results under actual mechanical and thermal loading circumstances is also crucial. Furthermore, more studies should examine the effects of additives, curing techniques, moisture fluctuation, and exposure to the environment on concrete pavements' CoTE and abrasion resistance.Engineering Technolog
Ethical and Expedient Technology: A Case Study of Artificial Intelligence Application across Institutions
No full textNo abstract prepared.Englis
A Piece of Earth
No full textMy capstone project, A Piece of Earth, explores plant life through both sculpture and painting. I want my viewers to experience plants from multiple perspectives, from their roots at the bottom to their blossoms on top, and to feel immersed in the depths and dimension of natural forms within the gallery space. The collection combines mixed media such as paper clay, papier-mache, acrylic paint, wood, cardboard, canvas panels- with oil paint that all combine to depict earthly, nature-based scenes. One of my challenges was balancing my love of painting and sculpture, while also developing a strong creative process and overall structure. To grow as an artist, I pushed myself to experiment with unfamiliar materials and techniques, and I researched how other artists displayed their own work to learn new approaches. My goal is to incorporate these influences while adding my own unique spin, creating a body of work that reflects both experimentation and personal vision.Art and Desig
Computational Simulation of Kinetic Projectile Impact for Injury Assessment
No full textThis thesis uses numerical simulations to investigate the risk of injury caused by the blunt impact of high-caliber kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) to the thoracic region. While KIPs are widely used for crowd control, their classification as non-lethal has been increasingly challenged due to documented fatalities resulting from impacts to the thoracic region. This research utilizes the Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) finite element (FE) human body model that was jointly developed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Central R&D Labs to simulate the mechanical response of the human thorax under KIP impacts. Simulations using the THUMS model complement cadaver-based experiments since they provide information about the mechanical behavior of human body under blunt ballistic impact conditions, which can be useful to determine injury thresholds and to explain injury mechanisms. The objectives of this study encompass assessing the feasibility of using the THUMS model for blunt ballistic research involving KIPs, investigating the influence of KIP shape on energy transfer to the thoracic region, and analyzing the effect of impact angle and location on injury risk. Simulations were performed using KIPs of various shapes (e.g., hemispherical, spherical) incorporating different impact angles and target locations (such as the sternum and ribs) to quantify their influence on the severity of internal injuries. The results were compared with injury thresholds reported in the literature and validated against documented case studies of KIP-related fatalities. Among others, the outcomes of this research may serve as a starting point for further studies aiming to develop safer KIP designs that are still effective for their intended purpose.Engineerin
Methods for Identifying Obesity by Examining the Morphology and Pathology of the Tibia
No full textNo abstract prepared.Anthropolog
Examining Distribution of Freshwater Mussels in Flow Refuges at Various Spatial Scales in the San Saba River, Texas
No full textFreshwater unionid mussels provide ecosystem services, such as filtering water and providing habitat for benthic algae and macroinvertebrates. Yet, they are one of the most imperiled groups of organisms in North America. Mussels are known to have a patchy distribution within rivers and understanding the factors driving this pattern is crucial for conservation efforts as well as for managing and predicting future changes. Previous studies have suggested that habitat stability and flow refuges, i.e., areas with relatively stable hydraulic conditions during high flow, may be a key factor for explaining mussel distribution. The objective of this study was to examine how flow refuges at different spatial scales may affect the distribution of mussels in the San Saba River, Texas, where three endangered mussel species occur. The overarching hypothesis of this study was that hydraulic conditions during high flow drive the distribution of mussels and flow refuges at different spatial scales facilitate higher densities of mussels, especially those adapted to more stable conditions (i.e., longer-lived, slower growing, often thick-shelled equilibrium species). Quantitative surveys were used to test specific predictions about differences in densities between different reaches, meso- and microhabitats. The strongest evidence for our flow refuge hypothesis was found at the microhabitat scale (<1m), where mussels showed a clear preference for flow refuge features such as bedrock shelves, emergent vegetation, and habitat in close proximity (<1m) to the riverbank. At the mesohabitat scale (meters to 100s of meters) equilibrium species tended to have higher densities in mesohabitats (riffles/pools) presumed to provide more stable conditions during flooding. Results were inconclusive at the reach scale and other factors such as lack of shading by riparian vegetation and associated higher temperatures could be more important. This study deepens our understanding for flow refuges at multiple spatial scales in a bedrock-dominated system. Such understanding is crucial for conservation, restoration, and re-introduction efforts that need to consider habitat features providing suitable refuges from flooding and drought.Biolog