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Effects of online health-related threat exposure: Implications for digital information-seeking behaviors, risk perception, and cognitive efficiency
No full textThe Internet has become a leading technology in the mass propagation of innumerable forms of health-related information. To make sense of and benefit from all this information, individuals would have to ceaselessly attend to various media sources and forms of messaging, parse and cognitively manage the relevant content, and decide how to react in the most efficacious manner. While the experience of navigating this intricate, disconcerting, and often threat-laden health-related media ecosystem can seem overwhelming for many, the potential consequences of such exposures have received scant attention in the literature. Thus, the aims of the studies delineated in this work were to fill a critical gap in our understanding of how exposure to potentially threatening health-related information (THRI) may influence subsequent cognitive processes, behaviors, and perceptions, and determine whether aspects of those effects are meaningfully related to a health-relevant individual difference. Study 1 examined the extent to which exposure to a threatening communication about heart disease via a novel mock website impacted digital information-seeking behaviors, objectively measured cognitive efficiency, self-reported workload, and perceived risk in a college student population. Consistent with our hypothesis, exposure to THRI resulted in a slight reduction in working memory performance compared to the non-threatening health-related information (N-THRI) condition. Similarly, participants exposed to THRI reported higher perceived risk of experiencing a heart attack compared to those in the N-THRI condition. However, exposure to THRI did not meaningfully increase self-reported workload compared to the N-THRI condition. No differences were observed in webpage click count, total time spent on the webpage, or clickstream data between the THRI and N-THRI conditions. Study 2 expanded on the initial study by (1) incorporating a visual modification to the mock website and by (2) investigating individual differences in need for cognition. Contrary to our first hypothesis, those in the low-threat health-related information (L-THRI) condition reported slightly higher perceived risk compared to those in the high-threat health-related information (H-THRI) condition. Consistent with our second hypothesis, need for cognition was positively associated with click count and total time spent on the webpage. Support was not found for our third hypothesis that the effect of threatening information exposure on attitudes and intentions would be stronger among individuals reporting greater need for cognition. Analyses of exploratory questions related to need for cognition, threat, and fear control suggested that need for cognition was negatively associated with self-reported trait information avoidance, however level of threat was not. Interestingly, need for cognition and level of threat were meaningfully associated with backlash, as was the interaction of need for cognition and threat level. Simple effects were observed for threat level at the mean and at one standard deviation below the mean for need for cognition, suggesting that average and below-average levels of need for cognition are associated with a greater effect of threatening information on backlash. Similar to Study 1, no meaningful differences in click count, duration spent on the webpage, or clickstream data were observed between the L-THRI and H-THRI conditions. Taken together, these studies bridge a gap in the current understanding of how exposure to threatening digital health-related media may alter individuals’ behaviors, perceptions and coping tendencies, as well as their cognitive performance. The findings have potential implications related to an individual’s ability to attend to and interact with health-related content, as well as mechanisms underlying critical health decision-making when encountering threatening information. Furthermore, the results can be used to inform the design and dissemination of digital health communication programs and public health campaigns targeting disease prevention and/or behavior change, especially those with a focus on health-promoting behaviors in particularly vulnerable populations. As such, prioritizing the consideration of both health information content and the cognitive characteristics of the target audience may prove to be an especially fruitful strategy when developing essential digital health interventions and public health messaging.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
Institutional food waste management: assessing the efficacy of landfill, anaerobic digestion, and composting
No full textThis research investigates three food waste management strategies—landfilling, anaerobic digestion, and composting—by focusing on Rutgers University's Neilson Dining Hall. Each method, labeled as Scenario 1 (landfilling), Scenario 2 (anaerobic digestion), and Scenario 3 (composting), is analyzed in terms of three criteria: output generation, emission production, and cost. Using a quantitative approach, data was collected from both literature and technology-specific sources to evaluate these scenarios.The findings suggest that composting is the most environmentally friendly method in terms of emissions. While comparing the byproducts from landfilling and anaerobic digestion is feasible, composting produces different outputs, making such a comparison less straightforward. Landfills, while reducing food waste volume and having lower operational costs, produce less efficient and less clean gas compared to anaerobic digesters. Additionally, landfills leak approximately 83% more gas daily than anaerobic digesters and are only marginally cheaper, with landfills costing $0.07/kWh less in manufacturing costs. These results imply that large institutions, such as universities, should focus on sustainable food waste management by prioritizing anaerobic digestion and composting, and gradually phase out landfilling as a viable option.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vit
Mitigation of cross contamination of E.coli TVS 353 using PAW during washing of baby spinach leaves.
No full textNon thermal plasma is an emerging technology with potential application in microbial decontamination of fresh produce. In this study the mitigation of cross contamination between a spinach leaf contaminated by E. coli TVS 353 and uncontaminated leaves during washing using plasma activated water (PAW) was investigated. The specific objectives of the research were as follows: i.To evaluate the effectiveness of PAW against E. coli TVS 353 in a planktonic system.ii.To study the effectiveness of PAW for a single spinach leaf and a synthetic leaf, spot inoculated with E. coli TVS 353.
iii.To investigate the efficacy of PAW in mitigating cross contamination during washing of baby spinach leaves. The PAW was generated by exposing sterile distilled water to the atmospheric pressure plasma jet and was characterized in terms of pH and electrical conductivity. In the planktonic system study, 0.1 mL of the initial inoculum containing 10.28 CFU/ml was added in 500 mL of PAW. Maximum reduction of 1.8 ±0.10 log CFU/ml was observed after 20 min suggesting that some inactivation of E. coli TVS 353 is possible due to the reactive species found in the plasma activated water.When a single leaf inoculated at 9.20 CFU/leaf was immersed in 500 mL of PAW and agitated for 20 min, it resulted in microbial recovery of 4.26 ± 0.03 log CFU/leaf from the synthetic and 4.94 ± 0.60 log CFU/leaf from real baby spinach leaf. Overall, the inactivation of the micro-organism was more difficult in a real baby spinach leaf compared to a synthetic leaf as the synthetic leaf lacked the biological structure and texture of a real spinach leaf.
The cross-contamination study involved one inoculated real baby spinach leaf having 9.35 log CFU/leaf and ten baby spinach leaves. After agitation all eleven leaves in PAW for 10 min, bacterial recovery from the inoculated leaf was 4.30 ± 0.15 log CFU/leaf and uninoculated leaves the maximum bacterial recovery was 3.09 ±0.54 log CFU/leaf on average. After increasing the exposure time to 20 min, after agitation in PAW, the bacterial recovery from the inoculated leaf was 4.07 ±0.28 log CFU/leaf whereas from the uninoculated leaves the maximum bacterial recovery was 4.17 ± 0.19 log CFU/leaf on average. When agitation was done in sterile distilled water (SDW) for 10 min, the microbial recovery from the inoculated leaf was 6.37 ±0.07 log CFU/leaf and from the uninoculated leaves were 4.14 ±0.14 log CFU/leaf on average. After increasing the exposure time to 20 min, the microbial recovery from the inoculated leaf was 5.92± 0.55 CFU/leaf and from the uninoculated leaves was 4.48 ±0.54 log CFU/leaf on average.
Based on these results, PAW was more effective in inactivating and reducing the bacterial transfer compared to the SDW, thus reducing the cross contamination. But when comparing the results for exposure time of 10 min and 20 min for PAW treatment, the cross contamination in uninoculated leaf was reduced substantially to 3.09 log CFU/ml average leaf whereas for 20 min the uninoculated leaf had a recovery of 4.17 log CFU/ml average leaf, suggesting that at higher exposure time (20 min) microbes were either reattaching or were difficult to inactivate.M.S.Includes bibliographical reference
Authoritarian bargains: the politics of business-elite relations in China
No full textThis dissertation proposes a theoretical framework for understanding the subset of thebusiness elite necessary for autocratic survival and tests this in three empirical essays
of firms in China. It addresses the following primary questions: (1) Identification:
What subset of the business elite is necessary for regime survival?; (2) Method: How
do autocrats coopt the business elite responsible for their survival?; and (3) Economic
outcome: What returns does this arrangement bring to the business elite? To answer
these questions, I collected and matched a large volume of data from the annual
reports of publicly listed companies, public procurement contracts, and commercial
court proceedings to construct three original datasets. Utilizing a range of
methodologies, I show that autocrats extend long-term policy concessions rather than
reversible economic rents to this subset of the business elite. The effect is pronounced
across different contexts: in a formal party institution (Central Committee), among
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and lastly in an emerging strategic sector (Artificial
Intelligence). Situated at the intersection of authoritarian politics and
government-business relations, this dissertation offers a nuanced exploration of the
relationship between autocrats and the business elite, highlighting how their mutual
dependency fosters regime stability and economic performance.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
Growth regulation and abiotic stress tolerance in annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.)
No full textAnnual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) is a cool-season grass species distributed worldwide. Its ability to persist under low mow heights and intensive management practices allow P. annua to serve as a desirable turfgrass for putting greens in mild climates. However, its low tolerance to heat and drought stress diminishes P. annua performance during summer in transitional and temperate climates. Under such circumstances, P. annua decline results in undesirable putting greens, especially in stands that commonly exist mixed with creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.). It is for this reason that P. annua is typically considered a problematic weed. However, control is often difficult and golf course superintendents may opt to cultivate P. annua despite its low summer stress tolerance. This requires high external inputs during summer months to maintain acceptable levels of play. Despite being consistently ranked as having poor heat and drought tolerance compared to other cool-season grass species, little is known regarding the mechanisms governing P. annua inferior resistance. The objectives of this research were to test the application of different products on improving P. annua summer performance and provide insight into the mechanisms governing P. annua low heat and drought stress tolerance. The first experiment was conducted over a two-year period at one location in New Jersey, on adjacent field plots. The study evaluated the effectiveness of several fungicides alone and in combination with a plant growth regulator for a total of 4 treatment programs [Daconil Action (chlorothalonil and acibenzolar-S-methyl); Appear II (Potassium phosphite); Daconil Action + Appear II; Daconil Action + Appear II + Primo Maxx (trinexapac-ethyl)] on improving P. annua summer performance. Treatments were applied every two weeks from June through September on P. annua managed under putting green conditions. Results indicated the ability of the fungicide treatments alone (Daconil Action or Appear II) or in combination (Daconil Action + Appear II or Daconil Action + Appear II + Primo Maxx) to improve P. annua summer performance to varying degrees; with the combination treatments having more consistent and greater effects. Two additional studies were conducted in growth chambers to gain insight into the mechanisms governing P. annua low heat and drought stress tolerance. One compared P. annua response to heat stress to the relatively more tolerant A. stolonifera, while the second compared their differential response under drought stress followed by post-drought recovery. Physiological parameters and metabolic analysis were conducted, and interspecific differences were observed between P. annua and A. stolonifera. Under heat stress P. annua exhibited more severe stress than A. stolonifera paired with the following metabolic differences: a relatively lower accumulation of sugars, such as sucrose, and a greater decline in organic acids and carbon intermediates that serve as substrates in photosynthesis, respiration, secondary metabolism, and stress protection. Under drought stress, P. annua exhibited greater signs of stress followed by slower recovery upon rewatering compared to A. stolonifera. Its lower drought resistance and slower recovery were associated with an inferior accumulation of metabolites (sugars and amino acids, such as sucrose, proline, and GABA) that can serve as osmolytes, have antioxidant properties, and can be metabolized upon rewatering to facilitate faster recovery. A third growth chamber study was conducted to test the ability of two ethylene inhibitors to improve P. annua tolerance to heat stress. The treatments included a chemical inhibitor, aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), and a biological ethylene inhibitor, Paraburkholderia aspalathi, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase (ACCd) activity. After 21 days of heat stress both ethylene inhibitors improved P. annua performance under heat stress, indicated by higher turf quality, green canopy cover, relative water content, chlorophyl content. Both treatments also improved P. annua root maintenance under heat stress, where AVG had significantly greater root dry weight (g), while the PGPR with ACCd activity resulted in greater root total length (cm). Overall, results provided evidence that fungicides and plant growth regulators can improve P. annua summer performance, in the absence of disease. Additionally, key metabolites were identified giving insight into the pathways involved in P. annua susceptibility to heat and drought stress. Lastly, ethylene inhibitors were identified as a possible strategy for improve P. annua performance under heat stress.M.S.Includes bibliographical reference
A Quality Improvement Project of Music Program to Improve Social Functioning for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
No full textPurpose of the Project: Music programs are proven to work in the population with Alzheimer's and can help improve social function (Zhang et al., 2017). Despite findings, practice gap continues to affect the quality of music programs reducing overall benefits. The music program at the project site is not standardized and is provided to all patients, without clear goals, frequency, and methods to track & assess benefits. As a result, the program is not fully exploited, and benefits not ascertained. The purpose of this project is to review, track, assess, and standardize music program in a defined frequency, and goal to improve social function in three areas including relationship, communication and time spent between patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Methodology:Charts were drawn from Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and sampled using a convenient sampling to identify a sample size of 30 participants, 55 years and older, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. A retrospective chart review was conducted to Identify areas of quality improvement in the administration and documentation of music, a plan was made, and music administered over a period of one month, following which a prospective chart review was done to ascertain improvement in social function. Results:pre-implementation social function total mean was 20.40 (SD =7.54) with spending time having a mean of 5.43 (SD =4.26), communication a mean of 10.23 (SD =2.96), and relationship a mean of 4.73 (SD =2.70). The post-implementation social function total mean was 20.59 (SD =7.10) with spending time having a mean of 5.93 (SD =3.80), communication a mean of 9.93 (SD =3.14), and relationship a mean of 4.72 (SD =2.55). The Z-score difference between pre and post implementation for spending time was -2.837, with a p value of .005; for communication was -1.414, with a p value of.157; for relationship was -1.000, with a p value of .317; and total social function Z score was -1.997, with a p value of .046. Implications for Practice: Improvement in spending of time increased social function and was mainly influenced by staff increased activity and participation in bringing out patients to the sessions and the encouragement of patients to attend recreational sessions; Staff activity in bringing patient out to socialize with others can improve overall socialization.D.N.P.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vit
Roth's theorem in thin subsets of primes and pointwise ergodic theorems for nonconventional ergodic averages on
No full textWe study certain sparse deterministic arithmetic sets in two different contexts. Firstly, Roth's Theorem in primes of the form is established, namely, it is shown that any subset of them with positive relative upper density contains infinitely many non-trivial three-term arithmetic progressions. Our considerations recover the results for the Piatetski--Shapiro primes for exponents close to , which are primes of the form for a fixed . We also prove that these sets obey the so-called Hardy--Littlewood majorant property. Secondly, we obtain a pointwise ergodic theorem on for nonconventional ergodic averages along . This contributes yet another counterexample for a famous conjecture of Rosenblatt and Wierdl which asserts that pointwise convergence fails on for ergodic averages along arithmetic sets with zero Banach density. We also establish a multiparameter pointwise ergodic theorem in the spirit of Dunford and Zygmund along on , by establishing certain uniform oscillation estimates and vector-valued maximal estimates for the corresponding averaging operators.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
The role of collective self-concepts in intergroup attitudes and emotions
No full textThe motivation to protect and bolster a positive group image shapes intergroup relations, including the appraisal of ingroup actions and the evaluation of outgroup members. My dissertation research contributes to this hypothesis by investigating the role of two collective self-concepts, self-compassion rooted in common humanity and collective narcissism, in the expression of prejudice, historical defensiveness, and group-based emotions. Specifically, in Paper 1, I found support for the novel hypotheses that higher self-compassion rooted in common humanity, a relatively novel collective self-concept, is associated with less negative attitudes toward outgroups and that this relation is explained by compassion for others. In Paper 2, I investigated the role of collective narcissism, another relatively novel collective self-concept, in historical defensiveness to past ingroup transgressions. Across two experiments with White American participants, collective narcissism moderated the effects of exposure to past ingroup transgressions on ingroup responsibility denial and historical denial. In Paper 3, I extend my work on collective narcissism by investigating its moderating role in the effects of prejudice expression on group-based emotions, particularly collective guilt and collective anger. Across one correlational and two experimental studies, I found support for my novel hypotheses that expressing prejudice against racial minorities alleviates negative group-based emotions among White Americans, and that this group-based emotion regulation process has a significant impact on reducing support for anti-racism education. These effects, however, emerged regardless of participants’ collective narcissism. Altogether, my dissertation has implications for intergroup relations as it demonstrates when collective self-concepts improve intergroup relations and when ingroup actions impact outgroup attitudes, group-based emotions, and anti-racism education policy support. These findings suggest that interventions seeking to increase self-compassion rooted in common humanity and reduce collective narcissism can improve intergroup relations.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
A framework for exploring banditry in Nigeria
No full textNigeria has garnered international attention for the increase in frequency and severity of bandit attacks over the past decade. Bandits have attacked a variety of different places throughout Nigeria and have killed thousands of Nigerians. The problem of banditry has grown to be a major security concern across Nigeria. While much information is known about this phenomenon, there is no database with which to systematically explore this problem. This dissertation applies the crime science framework to explore banditry in Nigeria to analyze and understand situational components around this problem. The crime science framework outlines five tenets related to crime to include underlying dispositions and the immediate situation influence crime, choice as an active part of crime, the immediate situation directly influences crime, recognition of the law of crime concentration, and altering certain facilitating mechanisms can prevent crime.
Availability and access to data is necessary for the application of this framework. Through a review of around 1,200 publications, a banditry in Nigeria dataset was collected which included 992 instances of banditry that occurred over the last half century. This study analyzed the banditry in Nigeria dataset in various ways to better understand and identify the relevant situational components of the problem. This process included spatially and temporally analyzing banditry and highlighting the immediate environment related to bandit attacks. The results reveal that spatial concentrations of banditry were found to be prevalent; however, temporal patterns were not found. These findings are due to the fact that banditry is an all-inclusive term for various criminal acts at different places with various targets. This illustrates the importance of utilizing the crime science framework and resulting analysis to discern specific components and dynamics related to the study and exploration of criminal activity.
As a result, this paper presents a banditry typology that provides a guide to disaggregating banditry. Different situational crime prevention mechanisms are presented to address each type of banditry as outlined in the typology. Banditry causes destruction and devastation of entire communities, and intervention mechanisms should focus on engaging affected communities and adopting prevention practices at a local level.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
Locality sensitive hashing in the small edit distance regime
No full textLocality Sensitive Hashing (LSH) methods for edit distance have traditionally focused on general cases, with limited attention to scenarios involving low edit distances. In this work, we propose a novel algorithm specifically designed for low edit distances (≤ log n), leveraging a gapped LSH scheme with sensitivity parameters (log n, 2 · log n, e⁻¹, e⁻ᶜ / e⁻ᶜ⁽ˡᵒᵍ² ⁿ⁾/ⁿ). By exploiting the tendency of low edit distances to correspond to long common substrings in similar positions, our approach enables efficient and accurate similarity detection. A key challenge—verifying false negatives—traditionally incurs quadratic time complexity, making it impractical for large datasets. To overcome this, we introduce a counter-based verification strategy that significantly reduces computational overhead while preserving high accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm achieves superior recall, precision, and F-score compared to existing methods in low edit distance scenarios. The combination of the gapped LSH scheme and efficient verification positions our approach as a scalable and precise solution for similarity detection in various applications.M.S.Includes bibliographical reference