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A Social Psychological Window into How Americans Think About First Amendment Religious Exemption Requests
No full textHow do Americans decide what types of beliefs rise to the standard of a sincerely held religious belief and deserve First Amendment protection? We answer this question in four studies. Study 1a (N = 99) and Study 1b (N = 151) suggest that Americans across the ideological spectrum hold schemas associating conservative (but not liberal) stances on religion-relevant culture war issues with sincerely held religious belief. Studies 2 and 3 build on these findings by interrogating how politically diverse Americans evaluate exemption requests that are either schema-consistent (e.g., a conservative stance requesting exemption from a liberal law; Study 2; N = 402) or inconsistent (e.g., a liberal stance requesting exemption from a conservative law; Study 3; N = 400). These studies reveal that Americans are more willing to grant both conservative schema-consistent and liberal schema-inconsistent religious exemption claims over nonreligious claims. However, ideological alignment between exemption claims and personal ideology also shapes Americans’ judgments about the religious sincerity of beliefs, whether denying exemption requests constitutes First Amendment violations, and whether exemptions should ultimately be granted. Collectively, results suggest that Americans hold strong schemas associating sincere religious beliefs and conservatism, but that this might not matter so much, as ideological biases influence Americans’ willingness to grant religious exemptions via both perceptual and decision-making processes
Under the Empire’s Eye: The Psychosocial Stress of Chimú Human Sacrifice (1100–1450 CE)
No full textFor centuries, the Chimú Empire (1100–1470 CE) ruled Peru’s North Coast, consolidating power through conquest, ideology, and spectacular rituals of human and animal sacrifice. Excavations at the coastal sites of Pampa La Cruz (PLC) and Huanchaquito Las Llamas (HLL) have uncovered the largest known mass sacrifices in the pre-Hispanic Americas, where hundreds of children, young women, and camelids were ritually killed during moments of political and environmental upheaval. Despite the scale of these events, little was known
about the lived experiences of those chosen for sacrifice in the months leading up to their deaths. This dissertation investigates the psychosocial stress of Chimú sacrificial victims by applying palaeoendocrinology to preserved human hair. I analyzed hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) from 61 individuals, integrating these results with evidence of skeletal trauma, mortuary practices, and environmental instability linked to El Niño floods. Because hair records stress in
monthly increments, this method provides rare molecular insight into short-term experiences often invisible in skeletal remains. Four primary insights emerge from this molecular and archaeological dataset. First, many individuals exhibited elevated cortisol in the months preceding death, reflecting the psychosocial toll of containment, anticipation, and ritual preparation. Second, stress levels were higher in the late Chimú sacrifices at HLL, underscoring the combined pressures of ecological catastrophe and imperial fragility. Third, older children consistently displayed higher stress than younger ones, pointing to age-based
differences in the embodied experience of sacrifice. Fourth, individuals subjected to invasive procedures, such as heart extraction, showed distinct cortisol profiles compared to those without such evidence, suggesting that ritual modality shaped stress in measurable ways. This study demonstrates how Chimú imperial power was inscribed onto the body at multiple scales, from structural violence to acute hormonal stress. By combining molecular data with
archaeological context, it reframes sacrifice as a prolonged, embodied process of imperial control and establishes cortisol analysis as a powerful tool for reconstructing lived experience in the ancient Andes
Analytical Modeling of Optical Coherence Tomography
No full textOptical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has become an indispensable imaging modality in ophthalmology and dermatology, prized for its micrometer-level resolution, non-invasiveness, and significant penetration depth. Despite its precision in revealing skin morphology, standard OCT lacks the ability to help dermatologists reliably differentiate between early-stage cancerous melanoma and benign nevi.
This research addresses this critical diagnostic gap by introducing a novel analytical model to extract objective optical features from OCT images. This model is founded on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle and complex ray matrices, uniquely accounting for wavelength-dependent optical properties and illumination. This framework not only improves diagnostics but also opens avenues for enhancing OCT system design via bandwidth tuning. Ultimately, the model's hardware independence and strong potential for clinical translation establish it as a powerful and broadly applicable diagnostic tool, well beyond its initial application in dermatology
How Acculturation Shapes Sleep in Thai Women in the United States During Menopausal Transition: A Mediation and Moderation Analysis
No full textINTRODUCTION: This study examines acculturation's impact on sleep quality, efficiency, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk among Thai women in the United States transitioning through menopause.
METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional descriptive study recruited 120 Thai women aged 40 to 65. Questionnaires assessed sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]), OSA risk (Berlin), menopausal symptoms (Menopause Rating), acculturation (Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Scale), and anxiety (Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System). Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations, multivariable regression, and mediation/moderation analyses.
RESULTS: Mean age was 51.53 (SD = 7.73) years. Most were good sleepers (PSQI B = -1.086, p = .027) and higher sleep efficiency (B = 2.425, p = .021). Mediation analysis indicated that length of stay in the United States indirectly affected sleep quality (B = -0.022, p = .026) and efficiency (B = 0.051, p = .018) via acculturation.
DISCUSSION: Acculturation significantly affects sleep among Thai women; higher acculturation correlates with better sleep quality and efficiency. Acculturation did not affect OSA risk, suggesting context-specific influences that may benefit sleep through increased social integration. Future research should explore underlying mechanisms in immigrant populations.</p
Codebook for interview themes
No full textThis is the codebook for themes that emerged from 19 semi-structured one-on-one interviews between the principal investigator and school nurses within Illinois. The questions are included on their own separate sheet. Interview data that influenced the development of themes is included in another document. </p
Use of Formal and Informal Strategies to Manage Stress During Level II Occupational Therapy Fieldwork
No full textNo description supplied</p
<i>Building Composites</i>
No full textBuilding Composites, Acrylic on Canvas, 4’x4’, 2024. I have been making a number of drawings that are folded pieces of paper that I carry around with me. While I travel around Chicago I take out my paper and start drawing map like lines and images as I respond to what I see around me. In “Building Composites” I take some of my favorite moments from the drawings and I replicate them in the studio on canvas.</p
Informed Consent: Complications of Transfusion
No full textSlide deck summarizing the major infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion.</p
Data for "Rapid clearance of bacteria from maternal bloodstream after delivery in pregnancies complicated by preterm pre-labor rupture of the membranes"
No full textThis file contains the data used for generating Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 for manuscript: Rapid clearance of bacteria from maternal bloodstream after delivery in pregnancies complicated by preterm pre-labor rupture of the membranesThe figures are described as follows:Figure 2. Bacterial load in maternal blood (MB) before (n=66) and after birth (n=66) measured by 16S rRNA PCR and normalized to the volume of blood (A), total DNA (B) or the human housekeeping gene glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) amplified in the same sample (C). Level of change in MB bacterial load normalized to GPI for patients where a decrease (D, n=45) or an increase in bacterial load was observed (E, n=21) after delivery. F: change in MB bacterial load peri-partum expressed as a ratio after:before delivery for mothers with fetuses non-exposed (NEXP, n=35) or exposed (EXP, n=31) to Triple I. Of the five twin pregnancies included in the study, two pregnancies were classified as EXP based on one of the fetuses presenting the cord blood biomarkers of antenatal exposure to infection/inflammation (Triple I). A-C & F: Scatterplots with group median (red thick horizontal line) and interquartile range. Groups are compared with Wilcoxon signed rank test with Yates correction. D&E: Symbols represent levels before and after birth for each patient connected by a line.Figure 3. Scatterplots of maternal serum concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6, A), interleukin-8 (IL-8, B), interleukin-10 (IL-10, C) and tumor necrosis alpha (TNFα, D) before and 1-hour after delivery. Scatterplots comparing the maternal serum concentrations of IL-6 (E), IL-8, (F), IL-10, (G) and TNFα, (G) between non-exposed (NEXP, n=35) and exposed (EXP, n=31) mothers. Exposure status of the mother was determined by laboratory analysis of cord blood for haptoglobin and IL-6 as described in Materials and Methods. Mothers with twin gestations were considered EXP if at least one fetus was determined as EXP. A-D: The two-time points are compared by Wilcoxon signed rank test with Yates correction (n=66 mothers). E-G: The two groups are compared by Mann Whitney U-test. The group median (red thick horizontal line) and interquartile range are shown overlaid on each scatterplot.Figure 4. Relationship between the peripartum changes in maternal circulating bacterial DNA versus concentration of interleukin-6 (IL-6) as determined by ELISA (x-axis, log transformed) among exposed (EXP, A, n=31) and non-exposed (NEXP, B, n=35) mothers. Exposure status of the mother was determined by laboratory analysis of cord blood for haptoglobin and IL-6 as described in Materials and Methods. Mothers with twin gestations were considered EXP if at least one of their newborns was determined as EXP. The peripartum change was calculated from the ratio of the analyte after:before delivery. The blue dotted line represents a ratio of 1 (no change). The regression line is shown by the red thick line along with its confidence interval (dotted red lines).Figure 5. A: Quantitative relationships among bacterial load in fetal membranes, placental villous tissue and maternal blood before and after delivery in a subset of deliveries with matched samples (n=27 mothers and their 31 newborns). Bacterial load among different types of samples is appreciated by dCt for bacterial 16S RNA normalized to the human housekeeping gene glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) amplified in the same sample. B: Qualitative relationships in α-diversity appreciated by the Chao-1 index of operational taxonomic units (OTU, genus level) index among fetal membranes, placental villous tissue and maternal blood before and after delivery. Exposure status of the newborns was determined by laboratory analysis of cord blood for haptoglobin and IL-6 as described in Materials and Methods. Of the 31 newborns 17 were identified as exposed (EXP) and 14 as non-exposed (NEXP). Data is shown as mean + SEM. Groups were compared using 2-way ANOVA after log transformation; Correlation between twins was adjusted using a Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model. *** p</p
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