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Understanding the Wellness Needs of Black Men Student Athletes
No full textRace, ethnicity, and gender significantly impact the wellness of Black collegiate athletes, particularly males. However, the literature on the wellness of collegiate-level student-athletes highlights a lack of diversity in gender and racial/ethnic representation, often overlooking Black student-athletes, who form the second largest group in college sports (Boyd et al., 2017; Elder et al., 2014; NCAA, 2012). Notably, there is an underrepresentation of males (Hinton et al., 2004; Stickler et al., 2022). Additionally, the dearth of qualitative research on this issue is troubling, as such studies can provide deeper insights into these experiences (Biggerstaff, 2012). This qualitative, reflexive thematic analysis aimed to understand how Black men student-athletes defined, perceived, and conceptualized wellness and the factors they believed may have contributed to their wellness. This study focused on the questions, “What are the wellness needs of Black men student-athletes?” and “What influences their overall wellness?” The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 NCAA Black men student-athletes from various regions in the U.S. Findings revealed that Black men student athletes viewed wellness as inclusive of the connection between body and mind and emphasizing taking initiative for collective success in their personal, academic, and athletic pursuits. They also believed wellness encompassed a sense of belonging in their environments
A Comparative Analysis of In-person Versus Virtual Literacy Coaching to Support Tutor Intervention Fidelity
No full textDespite the increasing emphasis on instructional coaching to enhance intervention fidelity, limited research has compared the effectiveness of in-person versus virtual coaching modalities in structured literacy intervention programs. This study addresses this gap by exploring how coaching modality affects tutor intervention fidelity within the Reading Corps high-impact tutoring program. The central research question was: How does in-person literacy coaching compare to virtual literacy coaching in terms of tutor intervention fidelity? Using a causal-comparative design, the study analyzed archival fidelity check data from two school years: 2018–2019 (in-person coaching) and 2020–2021 (virtual coaching). The sample comprised four tutors, two in each condition, with 131 intervention fidelity observations. Tutors provided structured literacy interventions to K–3 students, and fidelity was assessed by trained coaches using standardized observation tools known as intervention integrity observation checklists. Initial quantitative analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the in-person and virtual coaching groups. Tutors who received virtual coaching achieved higher average fidelity scores (M = 97.63%, SD = 4.57) than those who received in-person coaching (M = 92.31%, SD = 8.22). In post hoc analyses, the finding that virtual coaching yielded higher intervention fidelity persisted when controlling for intervention type and coaching fidelity. These analyses showed large effect sizes (Hedges’ g = -0.69 to -0.77) along with statistically significant differences between groups. While consistent, findings must be interpreted in light of their limitations, including small sample size, non-randomized design, and confounding variables. Nonetheless, the results suggest that virtual coaching can effectively promote high fidelity in literacy interventions and may provide practical advantages in resource-limited or geographically dispersed contexts. The study adds to the evidence base for technology-enabled coaching models and informs program leaders and policymakers about the potential scalability of virtual coaching. Future research should further investigate the connection between intervention fidelity and student outcomes, as well as explore the generalizability of virtual coaching across diverse educational environments
Urban Base Cations: Fate, Transport, and Effect on Nitrogen Cycling Genes in Green Stormwater Infrastructure
No full textUrbanization has significantly changed the natural cycling of base cations, primarily due to the use of deicer salts, such as sodium chloride, and chemical weathering of limestone and concrete infrastructure. An unintended consequence is the accumulation of salt across urban settings. These base cations, transported mainly by stormwater runoff, accumulate in soils, streams, lakes, and groundwater, posing risks to soil health, water quality, and ecosystems. To mitigate stormwater runoff and pollutants, cities have adopted stormwater best management practices, shifting from traditional gray to hybrid gray-green infrastructure. As a result, salt-laden runoff is increasingly routed into green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), where salts can accumulate. This accumulation may deteriorate soil structure, inhibit infiltration, increase erosion, hinder plant growth, alter biogeochemical cycles, and reduce microbial biomass, activity, and diversity. Elevated salt content in the soil is an acknowledged concern that impedes the GSI soil’s capacity to fulfill key functions such as infiltrating and evapotranspiring stormwater runoff and treating excess nitrogen (N). However, long-term salt accumulation and its potential to cause salinization and sodification remain uncertain. This dissertation investigated the question through three objectives. Objective 1 demonstrated that GSI soils retain base cation and can accumulate them at levels that may lead to salinization and sodification. Objective 2 examined how soil texture, age of GSI soils, and winter temperatures influence salt parameters and base cation distribution in GSI compared to natural soils. These factors were found to explain the spatial variability of base cations, with relationships differing over time and among individual base cations. Objective 3 shifted focus to N cycling, finding that the composition and diversity of N cycling genes had low dissimilarity across GSI types and catchment areas. However, fines percentage and the concentration of salts potassium (K) and sodium (Na) were significant factors influencing the composition and diversity of N cycling, with these relationships varying among and within the metabolic pathways. Overall, this work identifies critical factors driving salt and nutrient dynamics in GSI soils. The findings offer a foundation for developing effective strategies to manage long-term salt impacts, supporting the sustainability and performance of GSI in urban stormwater management
Collective Estimation of Spectral Density Functions for Multivariate Time Series
No full textThis dissertation presents novel nonparametric methodologies for the collective estimation and analysis of spectral density functions in multiple multivariate time series (MTS). Spectral analysis is crucial for uncovering frequency-domain characteristics of time series data, revealing patterns and interdependencies that are often difficult to detect with conventional time-domain methods. While classical spectral estimation techniques have been extensively explored, they frequently encounter issues regarding the positive definiteness, stability, and interpretability of the estimated spectral matrices. To address these limitations, we develop advanced estimation techniques based on penalized Whittle likelihood and collective spectral estimation frameworks, aiming to produce consistent, stable, and interpretable estimators. Initially, we provide a comprehensive overview of classical methods for spectral analysis, emphasizing their limitations in accurately estimating spectral density matrices. Subsequently, we propose the Nonparametric Multivariate Spectral Density Estimation (NMSDE) method, which leverages a Cholesky-based penalized Whittle likelihood approach and basis expansions to guarantee positive-definite spectral density matrices. Building upon this, we introduce the Nonparametric Multivariate Collective Spectral Density Estimation (NMCSDE) method, which simultaneously estimates multiple spectral density matrices by utilizing shared spectral features across multiple time series. By exploiting this collective estimation approach, our method significantly enhances accuracy, robustness, and interpretability compared to approaches that estimate each series individually, thereby improving clustering and classification performance based on frequency-domain characteristics. Through extensive simulation studies, we demonstrate the superiority of the proposed methods compared to traditional nonparametric estimators, achieving lower canonical angle (CAN) values and higher adjusted Rand Index (ARI) scores in clustering scenarios. A practical application to electroencephalogram (EEG) data illustrates the utility of the developed methodologies in real-world settings, particularly in identifying common spectral signatures across different subjects or different channels. Overall, this research contributes robust statistical tools for spectral analysis, providing deeper insights into multivariate temporal dependencies and interactions. Directions for future research are suggested, such as extending the methods to handle nonstationary data and improving computational efficiency for large-scale applications
User Perception for Usability and Security on New Technology and Online User Privacy in Real-Time Bidding
No full textThe digital advertising capabilities to reach users with personalized ads have been steadily improving over the last couple of decades. Automated mechanisms use efficient algorithms and a wealth of data to complete transactions between websites/apps and potential advertisers as part of what is known as programmatic advertising. Among the most prevalent protocols is Real Time Bidding (RTB), which selects ads for a user visiting a website in real-time through a series of messages within online ad exchanges. Such communications have the potential to carry detailed, personal information about users without their knowledge and have raised privacy concerns. RTB also poses a challenge for legislative bodies in countries abiding by modern privacy regulations as a complicated ecosystem with multiple players behind closed doors. This dissertation discusses a field study done to understand the user perception of usability, security, and privacy towards new technologies. That would create a foundation for further studies on how users with different demographics embrace new tech products versus how protective they are of privacy incorporated with new techs. Secondly, it discusses RTB privacy issues and surveys-related articles to show the need for the research community to develop innovative measurement techniques and shed light on an important but little-explored problem. Our experiments are designed to investigate the existing privacy issues in RTB to find evidence-based claims as well as to find possible other privacy issues. We proved that the RTB ecosystem is a closed system that gives very limited access to outsiders, which makes really hard for researchers to continue working. We would say that the OpenRTB protocol can be used to manipulate rules as it has loopholes. We also augment existing literature by observing ads and cookies related to the online behavior of artificial personas we created. Our results show that inappropriate ads can sometimes be shown to an audience
Experimental and Computational Investigation of Ethylene Oxide Hydrate and Its Mixed Hydrates with Propane and Isobutane
No full textGas hydrates represent an important class of crystalline solids, where water molecules form cage-like frameworks that encapsulate gas molecules. They have garnered significant attention for their unique properties and diverse applications in energy and environmental science. This study investigates the formation and vibrational properties of the ethylene oxide (EO) hydrate (structure I, sI) and EO-seeded hydrates of propane and isobutane (structure II, sII) using matrix isolation Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, supported by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions, EO hydrate was formed by co-depositing a premix of EO and argon with D2O onto a CaF2 window held at 50 K, followed by a gradual annealing to 120 K for 60 minutes, and subsequent cooling to 4 K. Diagnostic shifts in vibrational modes, along with the characteristic splitting of the C-H vibrational stretching modes of EO, provided clear evidence of hydrate formation. Furthermore, due to its polarity, EO was adopted as a seeding agent to induce the formation of the sII hydrates of propane and isobutane under similar conditions, as confirmed by vibrational frequency shifts observed in both D2O and the C-H vibrational stretching modes of EO and the hydrocarbons. DFT calculations showed reasonable consistency with experimental data, validating the structural and vibrational characteristics of these hydrates. This work demonstrates the catalytic role of polar guest molecule EO in promoting hydrocarbon hydrate formation under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions. The novelty of this study lies in the combined use of experimental and computational approaches to elucidate EO’s influence on hydrate nucleation and stability, with implications for gas transport and energy storage technologies
Biochemical Characterization and RNA Binding Specificity of LSm Protein SCD6 from the Budding Yeast S. Cerevisiae
No full textThe eukaryotic Sm and Sm-like (LSm) proteins form a large family characterized by the presence of an Sm-fold, a structural fold associated with the RNA metabolism. These proteins form homo- or hetero-oligomeric ring consisting of six or seven subunits with a central pore that binds RNA and regulates its biological fates, including splicing, translation, transport, and degradation. This thesis project focuses on an LSm protein, Scd6, from the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In eukaryotic cells, almost 30% proteins fold and mature inside the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). If proteins fail to fold correctly or mis-fold, they accumulate inside the ER, causing a state known as ER stress. In response, cells activate a cellular response known as the unfolded protein response (UPR), a protective mechanism to restore ER protein homeostasis or proteostasis. In yeast S. cerevisiae, UPR is initiated by unconventional splicing of a translationally repressed HAC1 mRNA mediated by an endonuclease Ire1 and a tRNA ligase. The spliced HAC1 mRNA is then translated into Hac1 protein, a transcription factor that induces expression of protein-folding enzyme genes and chaperones, thereby alleviating ER stress. The translational repression in HAC1 mRNA is caused by a secondary structure formed by base-pair interaction between 5’-untraslated region (5’-UTR) and intronic sequences. Research from our collaborator, Dr. Dey at the UW-Milwaukee, has identified that the LSm protein Scd6 plays as a regulatory factor involved in the translational repression of HAC1 mRNA. Scd6 is a conserved protein present in yeast to humans. Little is known about its RNA binding specificity, overall protein architecture, and translational regulation. This master’s dissertation project aims at characterizing the RNA-binding properties and global tertiary structure of Scd6 in vitro, particularly focusing on how Scd6 recognizes a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) found in HAC1 pre-mRNA. The HAC1 pre-mRNA regulatory element and the Scd6 protein serve as an ideal model system to better understand RNA-protein conformational transitions that occur in translation initiation during times of eukaryotic cell stress. Scd6 was successfully overexpressed and purified using affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). Biophysical characterization by dynamic light scattering (DLS) suggested that Scd6 may exist in an oligomeric form in solution. Notably, the presence of dsRNA enhanced Scd6 stability over time, supporting its role in targeted RNA–protein interactions. These findings are significant, as LSm domain are traditionally known to bind ssRNA, yet our results demonstrate that Scd6 can recognizes dsRNA, which suggest Scd6 may have a broader role in RNA regulation
