TCU Digital Repository (Texas Christian Univ.)
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PARENTIFICATION’S EFFECT ON SELF-ESTEEM, SELF-EFFICACY, AND ATTACHMENT TENDENCIES
No full textThis research project analyzed the relationships between parentification, self-esteem, self efficacy, and insecure attachment tendencies. This study included 228 participants ranging from 18-26 years old. Participants completed measures via the SONA system. Within the existing research around parentification, there exists a gap in literature examining the effects of parentification in college-aged adults; this developmental stage of life is significant in that the individual leaves the setting where parentification occurs and enters adulthood. We hypothesized that individuals who experienced parentification would have high self-efficacy and low self esteem, as well as being more anxious or avoidant in relationships compared to those with low levels of parentification. The results of this study aligned with the hypotheses. The findings of this study may lead to implications around discussions and interventions on how to assist family systems that utilize parentification as a means of survival
Pt-Fe loaded nanostructured silicon and improvement of the magnetic performance
No full textThis work reports the pore-filling of porous silicon (PSi) and the loading of silicon nanotubes (SiNTs) with Pt-Fe nanoparticles (NPs) and the corresponding different magnetic behavior of the two composite systems. The fabrication of magnetic hard/soft nanostructures is in demand for the purpose of achieving both a high energy product as well as the replacement of rare earth permanent magnets. Pt-Fe templated by PSi shows a higher coercivity and remanence than SiNTs/Pt-Fe and thus a higher hard magnetic performance, the difference between coercivities being about 57%. Considering that the Pt-Fe deposits employ different molar ratios of Pt to Fe the coercivities vary in a range of 5% in the case of both template types. Comparing Pt-Fe loaded samples with Co-loaded samples in all cases, an increase of the coercivity and the remanence is observed for Pt-Fe, whereas in the case of PSi as template material the increase is significantly stronger (about twice as much) than in the case of SiNTs samples. Furthermore, the samples are investigated at high temperatures up to 950 K to determine the Curie temperature of the systems. Loading of PSi and SiNTs with PtFe NPs with different molar ratios of the components and investigation of their magnetic behavior, especially with respect to the energy product of the systems is discussed. The differences between the two template systems regarding the magnetic characteristics are figured out. Furthermore a comparison with Co-loaded PSi and SiNTs is presented. High-temperature magnetic measurements are performed especially to determine Curie temperature (TC). imag
Frustrative nonreward and the basal ganglia: role of outputs from the nucleus accumbens in reward loss
No full textMammals in general experience bouts of negative emotion when they unexpectedly experience a reduction in expected reward, known as unexpected reward downshifts (URDs). The specific biological and psychological mechanisms which have evolved to respond to downshifted rewards with behaviors related to anxiety, conflict, and even pain, are known collectively as frustration. The present set of experiments examined three neural pathways in and their role in the frustration response to URDs. Using a double-infection chemogenetic manipulation procedure, neurons originating in the nucelus accumbens (NAc) and synapsing onto the globus pallidus externus (GPe), globus pallidus internus (GPe), or ventral pallidum (VP), were activated during key moments in a reward loss paradigm. Animals were trained with 32% sucrose and downshifted to 2% sucrose. It was found that exciting the pathway between the NAc and GPe had no effect on their response to being downshifted, whereas activating either the pathway between the NAc to GPi or the pathway from the NAc to VP caused a significant increase in consummatory suppression and exacerbation of the frustration response. All these effects were in the absence of any gross motor effects shown in an open field. Overall, these findings provide new insights into how animals process the emotional value of rewards when their expectations are violated
Editorial: Neuropsychology of human social decision-making: the role of emotions
No full textAs social beings, humans live in an increasingly complex social environment, particularly in the current time of the Internet and AI. Characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), decision-making in such an environment has long been considered among the cores of human social behaviors. Notably, rapid advancements in neuroscientific techniques in the past few decades allowed a more comprehensive approach to understanding cognitive as well as emotional mechanisms underlying social decision-making
Genomic evidence for domestication selection in three hatchery populations of Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
No full textFish hatcheries are widely used to enhance fisheries and supplement declining wild populations. However, substantial evidence suggests that hatchery fish are subject to differential selection pressures compared to their wild counterparts. Domestication selection, or adaptation to the hatchery environment, poses a risk to wild populations if traits specific to success in the hatchery environment have a genetic component and there is subsequent introgression between hatchery and wild fish. Few studies have investigated domestication selection in hatcheries on a genomic level, and even fewer have done so in parallel across multiple hatchery-wild population pairs. In this study, we used low-coverage whole-genome sequencing to investigate signals of domestication selection in three separate hatchery populations of Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, after approximately seven generations of divergence from their corresponding wild progenitor populations. We sequenced 192 individuals from populations across Southeast Alaska and estimated genotype likelihoods at over six million loci. We discovered a total of 14 outlier peaks displaying high genetic differentiation (F-ST) between hatchery-wild pairs, although no peaks were shared across the three comparisons. Peaks were small (53 kb on average) and often displayed elevated absolute genetic divergence (D-xy) and linkage disequilibrium, suggesting some level of domestication selection has occurred. Our study provides evidence that domestication selection can lead to genetic differences between hatchery and wild populations in only a few generations. Additionally, our data suggest that population-specific adaptation to hatchery environments likely occurs through different genetic pathways, even for populations with similar standing genetic variation. These results highlight the need to collect paired genotype-phenotype data to understand how domestication may be affecting fitness and to identify potential management practices that may mitigate genetic risks despite multiple pathways of domestication
Green, sustainable syntheses of various squaraine dyes and their applications as environment-sensitive probes & dual-state emitters
No full textSquaraine dyes, distinguished by their distinctive donor-acceptor-donor molecular architecture,
represent a class of small photoluminescent molecules with broad applicability across the realms
of physical sciences, medicine, and engineering. Despite considerable research devoted to these
dyes, the development of efficient, modular, and environmentally benign synthetic routes to
squaraines remains unexplored. This limitation not only impedes progress in fundamental studies
but also hinders the translation of squaraines into practical applications.
This dissertation is focused on our investigations into the synthesis, characterization and
applications of various types of squaraine dyes. Specifically, several squaraine dyes have been
shown to be viable environment-sensitive probes. Furthermore, the general requirements for
achieving multiplexing sensing capabilities using these probes have been established.
Additionally, our research has revealed that a subset of the synthesized squaraine dyes exhibits
dual-state emission, emitting both in solution and in the solid state. Through computational
approaches, we have elucidated the mechanisms underlying this dual-state emission phenomenon.
To capitalize on the novel and intriguing properties of these dyes, considerable efforts have been
devoted to developing facile, efficient, scalable, and sustainable synthetic strategies. These
strategies aim to produce a diverse range of structurally and functionally distinct squaraine dyes
with enhanced properties, thereby broadening their potential applications
Transparent Tuition: Finding Your Financial Fit
No full textDuring the college admissions process, students are presented with an overload of information from each school they are applying to and accepted by. A critical aspect for deciding on a school is the estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) and the financial aid package. Each school calculates their COA differently and thus offers a unique financial aid package. It is important for students to have a way of comparing and evaluating a school's cost with financial aid. While college counselors have developed excel sheets with algorithms that compare personalized cost with financial aid and scholarships, not all students are familiar with excel which may result in an inaccurate analysis. Transparent Tuition is a tool for students to accurately compare financial aid options from each university they are applying to. This project was developed using React.js and Spring Boot. These are two development libraries that will make Transparent Tuition scalable in the future. By creating a user-friendly web tool, students can better understand the school?s information and make a more educated decision when deciding on their university. Students will be able to connect with a college counselor to receive advice regarding their options when choosing a university. This will allow students to make an educated decision on their college based on both the short-term and long-term financial impact
Improving urban flyways for bats: the importance of tree canopy structure
No full textUrbanization can hinder movement and restrict landscape permeability for wildlife. However, there is the potential to improve landscape connectivity by establishing and maintaining movement corridors throughout urban areas. One way to achieve this is through the urban forest; the collection of trees in an urban area. Specifically, it is the characteristics of trees within this forest that can provide the structural and functional connectivity that enables wildlife to move effectively through urban areas. To investigate this, we explored the influence of four tree characteristics, alone and in combination, on bat commuting activity along 30 potential movement corridors in an urban setting in north central Texas. Along 10, 30, and 50 m corridor sections, we calculated percent canopy cover, maximum gap distance between canopies, and canopy rugosity using a 60 cm resolution tree canopy layer, while maximum tree height was determined in situ. We then conducted behavioral observations using thermal cameras and acoustic monitoring along the 10 m section of each site between March and September of 2022 and 2023 to determine the amount of time bats were observed commuting/h and species present. Our analysis revealed that increasing percent canopy cover and rugosity positively influenced commuting activity up to a certain threshold (> 60% and > 1.3, respectively), beyond which they may became detrimental. In contrast, the presence of gaps in the canopy lowered commuting, while tree heights > 11 m increased this activity. When considered together, bats in our study area showed a preference for commuting routes with tall trees and straighter, less cluttered canopies with no gaps. Additionally, sites with these features had a greater species diversity. These findings suggest that we can manage and plan the urban forest by establishing an interconnecting network of tree†lines and forest edges to enhance landscape permeability for bats and subsequently aid urban bat conservation
Geographic Location and Corporate Ownership of Hospitals in Relation to Unfilled Positions in the 2023 Emergency Medicine Match
No full textIntroduction: In the 2023 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) match, there were 554 unfilled emergency medicine (EM) positions before the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). We sought to describe features of EM programs that participated in the match and the association between select program characteristics and unfilled positions. Methods: The primary outcome measures included the proportion of positions filled in relation to state and population density, hospital ownership type, and physician employment model. Secondary outcome measures included comparing program-specific attributes between filled and unfilled programs, including original accreditation type, year of original accreditation, the total number of approved training positions, length of training, urban-rural designation, hospital size by number of beds, resident-to-bed ratio, and the percentage of disproportionate share patients seen. Results: The NRMP Match had 276 unique participating EM programs with 554 unfilled positions. Six states offered 52% of the total NRMP positions available. Five states were associated with two-thirds of the unfilled positions. Public hospitals had a statistically significant higher match rate (88%) when compared to non-profit and for-profit hospitals, which had match rates of 80% and 75%, respectively (P < 0.001). Programs with faculty employed by a health system had the highest match rate of 87%, followed by clinician partnerships at 79% and private equity groups at 68% (P < 0.001 overall and between all subgroups). Conclusion: The 2023 match in EM saw increased rates in the number of residency positions and programs that did not fill before the SOAP. Public hospitals had higher match rates than for-profit or non-profit hospitals. Residency programs that employed academic faculty through the hospital or health system were associated with higher match rates
The age of leadership: Meta†analytic findings on the relationship between leader age and perceived leadership style and the moderating role of culture and industry type
No full textManagers' leadership style has a substantial impact on employee and organizational outcomes. In the present study, we consider the role of leaders’ chronological age in predicting followers’ perceptions of their leadership style. Whereas ample research uncovers relationships between individuals’ age and how these individuals are perceived by others, little is known about how leaders’ chronological age impacts others’ perceptions of their style. Even less is known about how such relationships vary across cultures and industries. We conducted a meta†analysis (164 unique studies; N = 397,456 observations) to explore these relationships, using the Full†Range leadership model. We found that leader age was negatively related to perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership, and positively related to perceptions of passive leadership. Further, some of these effects varied on several cultural dimensions: The negative relationship between leader age and transformational leadership was weaker in collectivistic cultures, while the negative relationship with transactional leadership was stronger in high power distance cultures. Industry type also mattered: the relationship between leader age and both transformational and contingent reward leadership styles was amplified in the public sector. Lastly, perceptions of older leaders were more negative when ratings were provided by followers rather than the leaders themselves. Our findings offer both theoretical and practical implications for leading in an increasingly age†diverse workforce, such as better informing the workforce of present age stereotypes and their imminent effect on organizations