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Supporting Invisible Dreams: A Counseling Group for Undocumented Students Utilizing CBT, Narrative Therapy, and Rendon's Validation Theory
Get PDFUndocumented college students face unique challenges such as financial issues (Rivera et al., 2024), career and employment struggles (Salazar et al., 2023), difficulty accessing health care (Morrison, 2022), feelings of alienation and discrimination due to their status (Nienhusser & Romandia, 2022), and exposure to anti-immigrant political propaganda (Flores et al., 2022; Alcott & Watt, 2017; Pourat et al., 2021). These challenges often lead to decreased mental health and chronic stress (Cha et al., 2019; Rivera et al., 2024). However, due to cultural stigma and fear or seeking help, undocumented students often struggle alone (Kam et al., 2018). This project aims to utilize the frameworks of cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, and validation theory to create a counseling group centered around the experiences of undocumented students. Facilitated by two counselors, this group is designed to foster resilience and support among its members
Modeling Ryanodine Receptors
No full textThe heart is able to pump blood through the human body by precisely controlling the timing of contractions in every cell. The heart can only control this timing if it can control the flow of calcium ions in every cell. The ryanodine receptors (RyRs) are gates that can hold calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) when the cell is relaxed, and can open to release calcium during contraction. If the function of an RyR is disrupted, then the heart may lose the ability to pump blood. Previous studies have found a correlation between the structure of connections between adjacent RyRs and conditions of heart failure. By implementing a computer simulation of a conformational spread model that accounts for communications both between and within RyRs, it can be shown that the structure of RyRs is directly related to the ability to store calcium in the SR. When RyRs are disconnected, they are exponentially more likely to spontaneously open and let calcium leak out into the cell, thereby disrupting the muscle contractions. In addition to creating and implementing a computational model for RyR behavior, explicit solutions for the timing of transitions were found for a single disconnected RyR-type gate of arbitrary size
TCR binding prediction using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers augmented with random TCR pairing
No full textT-cell receptors (TCRs) play a vital role in the adaptive immune system by recognizing peptide antigens presented by MHC molecules. Predicting peptide: TCR binding interactions in silico has gained increasing importance for applications in immunotherapy, vaccine design, and diagnostics. BERTrand, a transformer-based model leveraging BERT, has been previously used to predict such interactions but suffers from high computational costs and modest generalization performance. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of replacing the BERT encoder in the BERTrand pipeline with a lightweight CNN-based model, NetTCR-2.0. After reproducing BERTrand's performance on benchmark datasets - achieving an average AUROC of ~ 0.60 - the NetTCR-2.0 model was integrated and evaluated using 5-fold cross-validation on the same filtered dataset. NetTCR-2.0, despite using only the TCR CDR3β chain and no pretraining, achieved a higher AUROC (0.7121) and demonstrated improved computational efficiency. These findings validate the core hypothesis that a simpler CNN-based model can outperform transformer-based architectures in peptide: TCR binding prediction, particularly in resource-constrained environments. The study contributes a practical, modular, and accessible approach for future immunoinformatics application
Legal and policy confusion after the fall of Roe v. Wade
No full textThe 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization marked a historic shift in reproductive rights in the United States by overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion. This has led to significant challenges for healthcare delivery, patient rights, and public policy. Conflicting and ambiguous state-level abortion laws have created legal uncertainty for both healthcare providers and patients. This study explores how state-level abortion policies implemented following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization have contributed to widespread legal uncertainty in abortion care by analyzing peer-reviewed and grey literature. Guided by the Garbage Can Model, the research identifies three key areas that contribute to legal uncertainty: ambiguous language, inconsistent judicial enforcement, and interstate legal conflicts. The results demonstrate that the current policy environment has created significant confusion among healthcare providers and patients, especially in states where laws are either rapidly shifting or lack clear medical guidelines. Findings highlight how states have implemented contradictory abortion laws, such as trigger bans and shield laws, without clear implementation guidelines, exposing healthcare providers to legal risk and leaving patients without access to consistent care. This legal confusion is detrimental in emergency and cross-state contexts. By highlighting these challenges, the study underscores the need for more transparent and effective legal frameworks that safeguard reproductive autonomy and promote safe healthcare
Rebirth
No full textThis Graduate thesis provided extensive program notes for a graduate-level vocal recital provided by this author in 2025, which examines the rebirth of different period and differentcomposer. The solo vocal works presented herein by George Frideric Handel; Antonio Secchi;Joseph Haydn; Claude Debussy; Robert Schumann; Clara Edwards; Charles Gounod and Huangzi (China). Each selections of repertoire is examined to determine the type of rebirth, based on the historical context of each composer, the compositional background, Structures of score analysis and exactly illustrated the rebirth for singer and composer. Within the art of singing, a significant amount of repertoire features different perspectives regarding religious and philosophical concepts, particularly the concept of rebirth. This paper seeks to explore this concept by considering several pieces from the 18th to 20th centuries, regarding the theme of rebirth. In this paper, I will analyze works such as "By the Bend of the River" by H.T. Burleigh(1866-1949), "ODivine Redeemer" by Charles Gounod (1818-1893), "Del mio core" by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), "Mondnacht" by Robert Schumann (1810-1856), "Beau Soir" by Claude Debussy (1862-1918), "思乡 (Yearning for Home)" by Huang Zi (1904-1938) and Liu Qing(Song of The Yue Boatman). These works by prominent composers provide insight into the nature of human life, not only through analyzing lyrical and musical devices but by also delving into the context of the times in which these pieces were written. By understanding the essence of renewal and transformation as a universal element of music and life, we can in turn become better musicians and artists
Predictive Maintenance in Manufacturing Machinery Using Machine Learning
No full textPredictive maintenance (PdM) is a sophisticated maintenance approach that leverages empirical data and machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict the probability of equipment failure before it happens. The present study investigates and compares the performance of four widely used ML models: Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine (SVM), in classifying machinery failure modes based on the utilization of an openly accessible sensor dataset. Performance comparison was carried out using several metrics including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score, demonstrating that the Decision Tree model was the best- performing model with a 97.0% classification score across all the metrics used. The Decision Tree's closest competitor, the Random Forest model, scored 96.9%, followed by SVM with a 96.85% performance score and Logistic Regression with a 96.7% score. The findings highlight the Decision Tree and Random Forest models as the most viable choices for predictive maintenance in industrial use due to their capability to recognize non-linear dynamic trends coupled with higher classification performance. While SVM was shown to be proficient in learning exact boundaries, its computational requirement may limit practical adoption in real-world scenarios. Logistic Regression was a satisfactory baseline model; however, it was limited in its ability to deal with non-linear feature interactions. This comparison study provides important insights for industries considering the adoption of ML-based PdM approaches and offers recommendations based on accuracy, interpretability, and computational efficiency
Colorism, Mental Health Outcomes, Academic Achievement, and Substance Use Among Latine Adolescents
No full textColorism is often defined as discrimination based on skin tone, where individuals with lighter skin tones are privileged over those with darker skin tones. Although some research has addressed colorism among Latine adolescents, gaps in the literature around intersectional experiences of colorism remain. This study examined the moderating role of identity factors on the association between colorism and mental health, academic achievement, and substance use. The study consisted of 772 Latine adolescents (Mage = 15.92 years, SDage = 1.21). Colorism was measured through an adapted version of the ADDI (Fisher et al., 2000), which assessed colorism in community and school contexts. Mental health was assessed through depressive symptoms and self-esteem, academic achievement was assessed through grade point average (GPA), and substance use was assessed through a composite score. The results of hierarchical regression revealed that school moderated the association between colorism-community and self-esteem, age moderated the association between community-colorism and academic achievement, and social class moderated the association between community-colorism and depressive symptoms. No other associations were observed. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the role of context, particularly school, age, and social class on Latine adolescents' experiences of colorism. Furthermore, the need for both community-based and school-based interventions that focus on Latine adolescents lived experiences and identities are crucial and may mitigate the effects of colorism while also focusing on promoting diversity and inclusion.https://doi.org/10.46569/df65vh81
The Catholic Church's Evolutionary Controversy: An Analysis of The Catholic Church and its Followers' Beliefs Regarding Evolutionary biology
No full textObjectives: The purpose of this study is to explore if there is conflict between evolutionary biology and to answer whether Catholic followers can believe in evolution without challenging their faith. Methods: 10 newspaper articles from 1873-2015 from the Library of Congress were analyzed and compared. Additionally, a survey through Qualtrics was conducted, and participants answered various questions regarding their experiences with evolutionary biology and the Catholic church. Results: The findings of this research showed that Catholic beliefs have changed from the 19th century when compared to the 21st century. Catholic followers can believe in evolutionary biology, only if God still has a role in the development of living beings. That is, God creates the soul while evolutionary biology is more involved in the physiological development throughout time. Conclusion: Overall, as time has progressed, many Catholic people and the Catholic church itself have increased their support for evolutionary biology due to only believing in an evolution with God
Love Letter to the Arts: A Zine on Arts Education
No full textThe importance of arts education has long been debated, both in terms of its usefulness to students and its place in the public school curriculum. There have been countless studies on the benefits of the arts to children's social, emotional, and cognitive well-being. Music therapy has been shown to relieve emotional and physical stress, as well as create positive social experiences (Yanushevska-Varykh, M., 2006). Art-based interventions have yielded positive and reliable outcomes in the mental health of patients, leading to reductions in anxiety and increased quality of life. In addition, these art-based practices increased social belonging and self-worth (Jensen & Bonde, 2018). Art therapy has been shown to give patients (both children and adults) the tools to express themselves creatively when they are not able to use words (Michel, K., 2018). However, these studies have one thing in common: they are all from the perspective of adults. Psychologists, parents, teachers, and administration have all given their research, studies, and opinions on the importance of arts education, but one important voice has been left out. There is a distinct lack of student voices when discussing the importance of arts education. To remedy this lack of student voices, I created a zine (self-published "magazine") titled Love Letters to the Arts: A Zine on Arts Education. This zine aimed to discuss arts education and its struggles and successes in 21st-century California. It also features artwork from the advanced art classes of La Serna High School, my alma mater. In creating Love Letters to the Arts, I wish to call attention to arts education and its importance, while using the medium of a zine due to its significance in underrepresented communities
Baby Mozart: An Analysis on Exposure of Classical Music In Early Childhood and Its Effects on Cognitive and Language Development
No full textThis literature review analyzes the connection among music, cognitive development, and language acquisition, focusing on the effects of classical music on young children's development. It explores how classical music benefits children's primary and secondary language learning. The review synthesizes scholarly work from 1996 to 2022 that examines music exposure, language learning, and cognitive development. Findings suggest that the structure of classical music mirrors language patterns. Additionally, music exposure enhances children's executive function and self-directed behavior, similar to the effects of language learning. These connections provide teachers and parents with strategies to optimize children's language and cognitive development through music