University at Albany, State University of New York
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School-Based Grief Interventions for Childhood Bereavement: A Systematic Review
Get PDFChildhood bereavement is a critical national issue in the United States. Children and adolescents who experience the death of a significant person, such as a parent or sibling, are predisposed to a variety of negative risk factors and long-term implications across several domains, including academic and social-emotional functioning. Schools are in the unique position to offer free, accessible mental health services to grieving students. As such, it is vital that school mental health professionals have access to information about evidence- and school-based grief interventions. The current study is a systematic review of school-based grief interventions for students who have experienced the death of a loved one. In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, five databases and an ancestry method via citation searching were utilized to identify and retrieve studies. A total of 16 studies were included in the review. Findings indicate that 12 different names/types of interventions and seven different modalities are highlighted in the literature. Most of the studies identified exhibited significant methodological problems. Two interventions were found to have clinically and statistically significant results and two other interventions were found to have statistically significant results as well as a high degree of methodological rigor. Limitations, future research directions, and recommendations for practice are discussed
Innovative Solutions in Medical Diagnostics, Seafood Industry, Environmental, and Forensic Applications through Integrating Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning
No full textThere is an urgent need for rapid and on-site analytical methods to address various environmental and forensic challenges. This dissertation explores the application of Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning for three critical areas: evaluating perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure in wildlife, authenticating tuna species in the seafood industry, identifying body fluids at crime scenes, and medical diagnostics.
First, Raman spectroscopy and support vector machine discriminant analysis (SVMDA) were employed to detect PFAS levels in the blood plasma of smallmouth bass from two different tributaries, rivers, or streams that flow into larger bodies of water. The method achieved 100% accuracy in differentiating between samples containing either low or high PFAS concentrations, highlighting its potential as a diagnostic tool for fish health.
Second, the capability of Raman spectroscopy to authenticate three commonly sold tuna species—yellowfin, bluefin, and escolar was assessed. The developed method accurately identified the species using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA), demonstrating its value as a quality control tool in the seafood industry to prevent fraudulent labeling.
Third, Raman spectroscopy combined with Random Forest machine learning was utilized to identify six main body fluids and distinguish them from 49 potential environmental interferences that may be discovered at crime scenes. The method achieved 100% accuracy in external validation, indicating its effectiveness as a rapid, non-destructive technique for body fluid detection, which is crucial for criminal investigations.
Lastly, the detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was explored using a novel screening method combining Raman spectroscopy with deep learning, specifically Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), to analyze blood plasma. The ANN model demonstrated high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in distinguishing between moderate AD patients and healthy controls. This integrative approach offers a promising, non-invasive, rapid, and accurate screening method for early AD detection, potentially enhancing diagnostic capabilities and paving the way for earlier and more effective therapeutic interventions.
Overall, this research showcases the versatility and efficacy of Raman spectroscopy and machine learning in providing reliable, accurate, and rapid analysis across different fields. Thus offering significant advancements in environmental monitoring, food authentication, and forensic science
Uncertainty As An Opportunity For Capitalist Market —Assisted Reproductive Technology As An Infertility Care Service In Taiwan
Get PDFThis dissertation studies the utilization of assisted reproductive technology (ART) as an infertility care service in Taiwan. Predominantly grounded in interviews with clinical experts from fertility institutes, including fertility physicians, embryologists, and consultants during 2017 and 2019, along with observation and primary/secondary data analysis, the research demonstrates how uncertainty can be transformed into an “opportunity” for the contemporary capitalist market. The transformation of “reproductive uncertainty” into an opportunity for the burgeoning biomedical market drives the ongoing expansion of infertility care services based on in vitro fertilization (IVF), technoscientific developments in reproductive medicine, and the further biomedicalization of human reproduction
The Role Of Climate Feedbacks, Poleward Energy Transport, And Clouds In Causing Arctic Amplification And Their Link To Sea-Ice Loss
Get PDFArctic amplification (AA) refers to larger warming in the Northern high latitudes than the rest of the world under increased greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. Many processes have been suggested to influence AA such as sea-ice loss, positive climate feedbacks, enhanced downwelling longwave (LW) radiation from increased water vapor and cloud cover, or enhanced poleward energy transport. However, many of these processes are coupled with each other and with Arctic warming, making it difficult to separate and quantify their individual contributions to Arctic warming and AA. This dissertation focuses on the roles of sea-ice loss, climate feedbacks, cloud property changes, and Arctic atmospheric energy convergence in driving Arctic warming and AA
Optimization And Fabrication Of Semiconductor Power Devices On 4H-Sic
Get PDFThe work presented in this document focuses on the design, optimization, and fabrication of power devices on 4H-Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrates. Power devices convert or control electric power flow and are the main components of electronic power systems worldwide. Power electronic systems are used in both low-power and high power settings, including prevalent applications such as fast charging set-ups for personal electronic devices, electric vehicle motor drives, and renewable energy storage and grid connections. With a wide spread of applications and the further electrification of our society on the horizon, it is crucial to minimize the power loss of power electronic systems and contribute to a more energy-efficient world. To achieve more efficient power electronic systems, the heart of the electronic system, the power device, must be optimized. Silicon (Si) power devices dominate the market for low-power applications with efficient device design and fabrication. As the power need increases for 600 V and above rated applications, Si devices are still being employed, but due to the material properties of the substrate, their energy efficiency has reached its limit. Here, the use of the wide-bandgap material 4H-SiC power devices has become an excellent choice to replace their Si counterpart, as they offer the potential for reduced power loss and robust device operation. As the use of 4H-SiC power devices becomes more and more prevalent in power electronic systems ranging from 600 V to 20 kV applications, it is imperative to continue to improve their device performance and ease of fabrication and implementation
Chemical Biology Approach To Study Rna Modifications
Get PDFNucleic acid modifications have gained compelling interest for their pivotal roles in cellular and biological processes. These modifications introduced a new layer of regulation without altering the original genetic sequence. In this burgeoning field of epitranscriptomics, many of the chemical modifications have emerged as potential biomarkers in therapeutic applications. Inosine is an essential post-transcriptional RNA modification that has functional roles in modulating the fate of all RNAs. The enzyme ADAR catalyzes the deamination of adenosine to inosine. This can also lead to change in the eukaryotic transcriptome due to A-G miscoding since inosine preferentially base pairs with cytosine. Moreover, hyper-editing or multiple A to G transitions in clusters were detected in measles virus (MV). Inosine modifications either directly on viral RNA or on cellular RNA can have anti or pro-viral repercussions. While many of the significant roles of inosine in cellular RNAs are well understood, the effects of hyper-editing of A to I on viral polymerase activity during RNA replication remain elusive. Moreover, biological strategies such as molecular cloning and RNA-seq for transcriptomic interrogation rely on RT-PCR with little to no emphasis placed on the first step reverse transcription, which may reshape the sequence results when hyper-modification is present. In chapter 2, we systematically explore the influence of inosine modification, varying the number and position of inosines, on decoding outcomes, using three different reverse transcriptases (RTs) followed by standard Sanger sequencing. We find that inosine alone or in clusters can differentially affect RT activity. To gain structural insights into the accommodation of inosine in the polymerase site of HIV-1-RT and how this structural context affects the base pairing rules for inosine, we perform molecular dynamics simulations of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1-RT). The simulations highlight the importance of the protein-nucleotide interaction as a critical factor when deciphering the base pairing behavior of inosine clusters. This effort sets the groundwork for decrypting the physiological significance of inosine and linking the fidelity of reverse transcriptase and the possible diverse transcription outcomes of cellular RNAs and/or viral RNAs where hyper-edited inosines are present in the transcripts. Deoxyinosine is generated from the deamination of deoxyadenosine from exposure to nitrosative compounds in the environments. Due to the lack of N2-amino group and the similar electrostatic potentials of the two, the G-to-I mutation was commonly used to study inosine induced Hoogsteen base paring, as well as the effects of ligand binding to both duplex and quadruplex DNAs. The telomeric DNA, a distal region of eukaryotic chromosome containing guanine-rich repetitive sequence of (TTAGGG)n, which can adopt G-quadruplexes (G4s). Previous studies have demonstrated the implication of G4 in tumor inhibition. In chapter 3, we investigated how the structural dynamics of a G-quadruplex, formed by the human telomeric sequence is affected by inosine, a prevalent modified nucleotide. We used the standard (TTAGGG)n telomere repeats with guanosine mutated to inosine at each G position. Sequences (GGG)4, (IGG)4, (GIG)4, (GGI)4, (IGI)4, (IIG)4, (GII)4, and (III)4, bridged by TTA linker, are studied using biophysical experiments and molecular modeling. The effects of metal cations in quadruplex folding were explored in both Na+ and K+ containing buffers using CD and UV-melting studies. Our results show that antiparallel quadruplex topology forms with the native sequence (GGG)4 and the terminal modified DNAs (IGG)4 and (GGI)4 in both Na+ and K+ containing buffers. Specifically, quadruplex hybrid was observed for (GGG)4 in K+ buffer. Among the other modified sequences, (GIG)4, (IGI)4 and (GII)4 show parallel features, while (IIG)4 and (III)4 show no detectable conformation in the presence of either Na+ or K+. Our studies indicate that terminal lesions (IGG)4 and (GGI)4 may induce certain unknown conformations. The folding dynamics become undetectable in the presence of more than one inosine substitution except (IGI)4 in both buffer ions. In addition, both UV melting and CD melting studies implied that in most cases the K+ cation confers more thermodynamic stability compared to Na+. Collectively, our conformational studies revealed the diverse structural polymorphisms of G4 with positional dependent G-to-I mutations in different ion conditions. Beyond the nucleobase modifications found in DNA and RNA, the discovery of phosphorotioate (PS) on DNA such that one of the non-bridging oxygens is replaced by the sulfur in the sugar-phosphate backbone has again amazed us on this ingeniously evolved protective mechanism against nuclease degradation in bacteria. Since then, scientists have extended the application of this physiological DNA modification on gene therapeutics to reduce immune response and enhance transcription/translation. Due to the architectural similarity of DNA and RNA, we were wondering about the existence of RNA phosphorotioate (PS) modification. In chapter 4, we set out a method for both detection and quantification of RNA PS modification in a serious model cells using mass spectrometry. We reported the existence of PS modification in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The GpsG modification exists in the Rp configuration and was quantified with liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). By knocking out the DndA gene in E. coli, we show the Dnd clusters that regulate DNA PS modification may also play roles in RNA PS modification. We also show that the GpsG modification locates on rRNA in E. coli, L. lactis, and HeLa cells, and it is not detected in rRNA-depleted total RNAs from these cells. The aforementioned PS modification naturally occurred in the genome of bacteria as restriction-modification (R-M) system against phage invasion. CRISPR-Cas system is another mechanism possesses by the bacteria as an adaptive immunity against foreign DNA interference. This programmable DNA editing tool has shown promising applications in treating human genetic diseases. Clinical success of CRISPR technology is dependent on incorporation of modifications into the single guide RNA (sgRNA). However, chemical synthesis of modified sgRNAs, which are over 100 nucleotides in length, is difficult and low-yielding. In chapter 5, we developed a conjugation strategy that utilized bio-orthogonal chemistry to efficiently assemble functional sgRNAs containing nucleobase modifications. The described approach entails the chemical synthesis of two shorter RNA oligonucleotides: a 31-mer containing tetrazine (Tz) group and a 70-mer modified with a trans-cyclooctene (TCO) moiety. The two oligonucleotides were conjugated to form functional sgRNAs. The two-component conjugation methodology was utilized to synthesize a library of sgRNAs containing nucleobase modifications such as m1A, m6A, s2U and s4U. The impacts of these RNA modifications on overall CRISPR activity were investigated in vitro and in Cas9-expressing HEK293T cells. Our study demonstrated that the nature and the position of modification can have drastically different impacts on the CRISPR editing outcomes. In addition to CRISPR-Cas9 for DNA editing, CRISPR-Cas13 also holds promise to correct gene causing diseases at the transcripts level. Discovered in recent years, Cas13 is a single effector CRISPR associated RNA-guided RNase that can be programmed to cleave desire single stranded RNA to induce RNA decay. Inactive or dead Cas13 (dCas13) can be engineered to precisely locate target RNA sequences without endonuclease activity, this way when fuse with other functional moiety such as effector enzyme (reader, writer or eraser) can achieve regulation at local transcript level. In chapter 6, we have engineered fusion constructs with dCas13b fused with Nsun2 (m5C writer) and separately fused with TET (m5C eraser) to study the potential role of m5C on mRNA. This is still an ongoing project with data presented here are unpublished results
Investigating U.S. Entrepreneurship Instructors\u27 Critical Pedagogy And Innovative Teaching Practice: A Mixed Method Approach
Get PDFInclusive and effective entrepreneurship education (EE) can significantly contribute to empowering underserved communities. However, EE scholars have highlighted pedagogical concerns including a lack of critical perspectives, the prevalence of lecture-centered teaching, and resistance to technology integration, raising questions about the inclusiveness and effectiveness of EE. Nevertheless, there were few studies comprehensively examining how entrepreneurship instructors employed teaching practices. Thus, this study aimed to: 1) investigate the status of U.S. entrepreneurship instructors’ teaching practices regarding critical pedagogy and innovative teaching (teaching practices endorsed by EE scholars), 2) examine factors influencing their teaching practices, and 3) explore how they have developed these teaching practices. By answering these questions, this dissertation study contributes to understanding the current teaching trends in EE, providing insights into the extent to which traditional pedagogical problems in EE have been addressed or changed. In addition, investigating how and why different teaching practices in EE were developed contributes to devising measures to improve inclusiveness and effectiveness in EE and suggesting future research directions.A mixed method study was employed by surveying 107 U.S. entrepreneurship instructors and interviewing 9 among them. Critical pedagogy included culturally responsive teaching and fostering critical consciousness (critical agency and critical reflection). Innovative teaching encompassed inquiry-based teaching and technology integration (orchestrating technological, pedagogical, content components in teaching; and handling technology issues in a classroom). Learner-centered teaching was conceptualized as included in both critical pedagogy and innovative teaching. Clustering analysis was utilized to find a meaningful pattern from various data, considering the heterogeneity in EE, and to bridge the quantitative and qualitative studies by focusing on the differences and similarities between clusters. Quantitative results showed that inquiry-based teaching, learner-centered teaching, fostering psychological empowerment (a newly generated component from critical consciousness), and orchestrating technological, pedagogical, content components in teaching were moderately or slightly matched with the teaching practices of U.S. entrepreneurship instructors. Other practices were neither matched nor unmatched. Latent Profile analysis provided Harmonious-Actively Critical Pedagogy and Discordant-Passive Critical Pedagogy groups regarding critical pedagogy; and Innovative Teaching, Technology-Separated Innovative Teaching, and Technology-Integrated Innovative Teaching groups for innovative teaching. Logistic regression analysis confirmed the significance of the professional development program in fostering sociocritical and structural reflection. Furthermore, there was a predictive relationship of racial identity to the implementation of Harmonious-Actively Critical Pedagogy and that of the endorsement of education about entrepreneurship in the implementation of Technology-Separated Innovative Teaching. Qualitative results revealed the significance of entrepreneurial identity and passion in the development of learner-centered and inquiry-based teaching. In addition, interview data provided elaborated details on the structure of the EE ecosystem that influences the realization of authentic entrepreneurial projects in higher education. The idea of entrepreneurship also supported the implementation of critical pedagogy; however, several instructors raised concerns about the disempowering effect of simplified critical pedagogy. In addition, the conception of entrepreneurship was vague in guiding technology integration, justifying both passive and active use of technologies. This study mapped the current landscape of teaching practices in EE, investigating its progress towards inclusive and innovative pedagogies. The widespread adoption of inquiry-based and learner-centered approaches signals a departure from traditional lecture-centric tendencies, potentially driven by instructors\u27 entrepreneurial identities and passions. However, further research is warranted to gauge the depth of alignment between these practices and the unique contexts of EE. Notably, the study uncovered a tension between fostering learner empowerment and cultivating critical consciousness among EE instructors. While this tension holds productive potential for teaching social problem-solving through entrepreneurial processes, discursive refinement to guide a complementary approach is needed. Currently, teaching for fostering critical consciousness receives comparatively passive and inconsistent implementation, highlighting the necessity for expanded professional development programs that promote sociocritical reflection. Moreover, while technology integration has advanced in EE, closer examination reveals inconsistencies that necessitate developing context-specific strategies. This includes providing technological support tailored to the preparation, orchestration, and evaluation phases of inquiry-based teaching in EE settings
Role Of Ses And School Characteristics In English As A Foreign Language Proficiency In Colombia: Implications For Educational Policy
Get PDFThe study of predictors of variability in educational performance aims to ascertain the impact of specific variables on individuals\u27 learning outcomes within a particular context. While extensive research exists on the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) and school characteristics on academic achievement, much of the literature stems from samples in Western industrialized regions and primarily focuses on variables such as mathematics, reading, and science