The LAIR at East Texas A&M
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The Effect of Context Reinstatement on the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM): False Memory Task
No full textReinstatement of the external context present at study can later facilitate the retrieval of the encoded information at test. According to the contextual distortion hypothesis, however, context reinstatement can also contribute to false recognition of non-studied items when (i) those items are conceptually related to the target items (also known as lures) and (ii) the presentation of the lure in the reinstated context drives the recognition based on the conceptual resemblance of that lure with the studied list and background scene (Doss et al., 2018). The current study implemented the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm to study the effect of context reinstatement on recognition. Consistent with the contextual distortion hypothesis, we found an increased rate of hits to targets (correct recognition of studied items) as well as an increased rate of false alarms to lures (mistaken recognition of non-studied items) when the context was reinstated rather than when it was switched. We also found that false alarms to critical lures (lures that are the most similar to targets) were accompanied by “recollect” judgments at a rate almost identical to “recollect” judgments for hits
Differential Gene Expressions Patterns in Diabetes in Relation to Cognitive Declines Associated with Diabetes
No full textThe chronic metabolic disorder classified as diabetes, is growing at an alarming rate in many countries all across the globe. Diabetes is characterized by an above average blood glucose measurement, due to insulin production and insulin response abnormalities within the body. This increase in blood glucose has detrimental effects on all physiological systems, commonly associated with organs such as the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. One of the less understood and commonly disregarded side effects of diabetes is related to the cognitive declines associated with the disease. Cognitive declines associated with diabetes include memory loss, speech impairments, and decreased motor functions, which manifest through observable physical changes in the brain including neuroinflammation, cerebral atrophy, and abnormalities in the white matter of the brain. It is well established that there are differential gene expression patterns present between diabetic and non-diabetic conditions, but how this affects cognition is still not well understood. Using publicly available gene expression data from the Jackson Laboratory, gene expression patterns were observed from hypothalamus tissue in both diabetic and non-diabetic mice from three different strains of mice. It was found that 40 genes showed significant differential gene expression patterns in all three strains of the diabetically induced mice compared to the non-diabetic mice. Of these genes, using publicly available gene expression data, products of these genes and associated function were linked with the cognitive declines observed in diabetes. Such functions include increased apoptosis in neuronal cells, increased neuroinflammation, increased exposure to toxins, increased production of reactive oxygen species, decrease in apoptotic regulator proteins, and much more. These findings seem to indicate that the differential gene expression patterns observed in diabetes likely have a role in the cognitive declines associated with diabetes
A Phenomenological Investigation into the Lived Experiences of Service Dog Utilizing Undergraduate Students
No full textThe transition from high school to college can be a difficult time for students. Utilizing a service dog can make that experience more complex (Hadley, 2018). College is an important time in a young adult’s life as they develop independence and their identity (Chickering, 1969). This study recognizes the role that universities and colleges play in the development of students who utilize service dogs, as such the purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of service dog utilizing undergraduate students who attend in-person classes on campus at Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC) and to examine how these experiences have influenced the student’s perception of attending face-to-face classes on a college campus. This study used two open-ended questions to outline the research: What are the lived experiences of service dog utilizing students that attend classes at TAMUC and how have those experiences influenced the service dog utilizing students that attend TAMUC thoughts and beliefs about attending in person classes on a college campus? Qualitative methodology was used to address the questions of this research. Specifically, this study used a phenomenological approach for data collection and analysis. Utilizing convenience and snowball sampling techniques, this study’s participants were identified and after the researcher obtained consent, this study’s participants participated in two 45-90 minute in person interviews in an effort to identify the essence of the experience. After hand-coding the data, four themes were identified. These themes include: Experiences with Faculty and Staff, Interactions with Other Students, Classroom and Facility Design, and Service Dog Considerations. This study not only brought to light strengths, weaknesses and opportunities that exist for service dog utilizing students but also to university faculty, staff and other student peers including experiences with faulty and staff, interactions with student peers, classroom layout, desk design, safety in labs, and campus housing
A Study of the Relational Worldview of Latina Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
No full textThe objective of the present research study is to explore the relationship between particular cultural beliefs and values and the Latina women attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The study will focus on understanding the relationship on IPV among Latin families and the various cultural ideologies and traditions. There has been a gap in the literature, specifically on IPV among Hispanic families and due to the substantial growth of Latin American communities in the U.S, it has become clear that a substantial demand for unique services towards culturally diverse and vulnerable populations is crucial. A phenomenological study method was utilized. Data of the “lived experiences” was collected from eight participants who identified as victims of IPV of Hispanic descent in around Dallas Metroplex using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The results of the study and the data analysis revealed five themes and four subthemes that suggest that this population describes a culture that has influenced the acceptance of violence against women as well as female obedience to their gender roles. Implications for the field of counseling and future research were also generated from the findings
Leadership Style and Effectiveness Among Principals in High-Risk Charter Schools: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Survey Study
No full textThe public education system has experienced a leadership gap, particularly amongst charter schools. For that reason, motivating and developing campus leaders with the greatest potential to become effective charter school principals can close this gap. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey research study was to determine if perceived leadership style is predictive of leadership readiness and effectiveness among principals in high-risk charter schools in Texas. The researcher used the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X (MLQ 5X) short-form survey to collect and measure the independent variables, transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect and measure the varied dependent variables, leadership readiness, and leadership effectiveness. The survey was distributed to 155 principals in high-risk charters schools in Texas. Using a non-experimental cross-sectional survey design this study addressed four research questions and hypotheses by running statistical tests on the data to describe the associations between variables. Multiple regression and a one-way ANOVA was used to examine and describe the hypotheses
Exploring Lived Experiences of Existentially-Informed Counselors Working with Suicidal Adolescents
No full textAdolescence is a developmental period marked by significant change, often accompanied by emotional and psychological turbulence. With increasing frequency, adolescents are turning toward suicide amidst their emotional difficulties. Mental health counseling acts as a primary force in preventing adolescent suicide. Little research exists regarding the application of existentially-informed counseling approaches when applied to adolescent suicidality. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with five licensed counselors who utilized existentially-informed counseling with suicidal adolescents. Four of the participant interviews were considered during data analysis. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to identify three major themes from the data, (a) balancing safety with existential concepts, (b) an existential connection: human-to-human engagement, (c) ability to manage counselor emotional response. The findings reinforce the need to adapt the crisis intervention model for suicidality, the significance of counselors engaging with adolescents on a human-to-human level, as well as the need for continued support of counselors’ emotional management
Flying Base Station Channel Capacity Limits: Dependent on Stationary Base Station and Independent of Positioning
No full textFlying base stations, also known as aerial base stations, provide wireless connectivity to the user and utilize their aerial mobility to improve communication performance. Flying base stations depend on traditional stationary terrestrial base stations for connectivity, as stationary base stations act as the gateway to the backhaul/cloud via a wired connection. We introduce the flying base station channel capacity to build on the Shannon channel capacity, which quantifies the upper-bound limit of the rate at which information can be reliably transmitted using the communication channel regardless of the modulation and coding techniques used. The flying base station’s channel capacity assumes aerial mobility and ideal positioning for maximum channel capacity. Therefore, the channel capacity limit holds for any digital and signal processing technique used and for any location or positioning of the flying base station. Because of its inherent reliance on the stationary terrestrial base station, the f lying base station channel capacity depends on the stationary base station’s parameters, such as its location and SNR performance to the user, in contrast to previous research, which focused on the link between the user and the flying base station without the stationary base station. For example, the beneficial region (where there is a positive flying base station capacity gain) depends on the stationary base station’s power and channel SNR in addition to the flying base station’s own transmission power and whether it has full duplex vs. half-duplex capability. We jointly study the mobility and the wireless communications of the flying base station to analyze its position, channel capacity, and beneficialness over the stationary terrestrial base station (capacity gain). As communication protocols and implementations for flying base stations undergo development for next-generation wireless networking, we focus on information-theoretical analyses and channel capacity to inform future research and development in flying base station networking
Training Data Augmentation with Data Distilled by Principal Component Analysis
No full textThis work develops a new method for vector data augmentation. The proposed method applies principal component analysis (PCA), determines the eigenvectors of a set of training vectors for a machine learning (ML) method and uses them to generate the distilled vectors. The training and PCA-distilled vectors have the same dimension. The user chooses the number of vectors to be distilled and augmented to the set of training vectors. A statistical approach determines the lowest number of vectors to be distilled such that when augmented to the original vectors, the extended set trains an ML classifier to achieve a required accuracy. Hence, the novelty of this study is the distillation of vectors with the PCA method and their use to augment the original set of vectors. The advantage that comes from the novelty is that it increases the statistics of ML classifiers. To validate the advantage, we conducted experiments with four public databases and applied four classifiers: a neural network, logistic regression and support vector machine with linear and polynomial kernels. For the purpose of augmentation, we conducted several distillations, including nested distillation (double distillation). The latter notion means that new vectors were distilled from already distilled vectors. We trained the classifiers with three sets of vectors: the original vectors, original vectors augmented with vectors distilled by PCA and original vectors augmented with distilled PCA vectors and double distilled by PCA vectors. The experimental results are presented in the paper, and they confirm the advantage of the PCA-distilled vectors increasing the classification statistics of ML methods if the distilled vectors augment the original training vectors
A Model-Based Reverse System Engineering Methodology for Analyzing Complex Biological Systems With a Case Study in Glycolysis
No full textWe propose a model-based reverse systems engineering (MBRSE) methodology for biological systems that relies on requirements analysis in conjunction with model-based systems engineering (MBSE). The goal of this methodology is to better understand complex multiscale biological systems, discover knowledge gaps, and make testable predictions. The similarities between human-engineered and biological systems motivate this approach. Furthermore, traditional reductionist paradigms in biology have proven insufficient for understanding and accurately predicting complex biological systems, as opposed to systems engineering approaches that have proven effective in supporting the design and analysis of complex engineered systems spanning multiple spatiotemporal scales. We employ our MBRSE methodology to analyze glycolysis in a biological case study using object process methodology as the primary MBSE language for conceptual qualitative modeling, in conjunction with SysML use case modeling. Using the MBRSE methodology, we derive twenty-two requirements, uncover five gaps in knowledge, and generate six predictions for the core metabolic pathway of glycolysis. One significant prediction is that the Warburg effect associated with cancer is the result of a natural response to tissue injury that has become unstable due to a failure in the feedback mechanism of the tissue injury control system