Graduate Student Research Conference

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/8272

The Graduate College invites graduate students from all disciplines to present at the Graduate Student Research Conference (GSRC) (previously known as the International Research Conference) and showcase their original research and creative works!

Graduate Student Research Conference Website: https://www.gradcollege.txst.edu/events/research/graduate-student-research-conference.html

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Distribution of the Mediterranean gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) in Texas
(2021-04) Bassett, Lawrence G.; Zughaiyir, Ferris E.; Forstner, Michael R. J.
The Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) is a small (10 – 12.7 cm total length) nocturnal gekkonid lizard native to southern Europe, northern Africa, and far-west Asia. It has been introduced to many areas outside its native range and has established numerous populations throughout the United States. The first report of H. turcicus from Texas was from Cameron County in 1955. Since then, H. turcicus has become established throughout much of the state and new county occurrence records continue to be published regularly. Despite the efforts of numerous herpetologists, the distribution of H. turcicus within Texas remains poorly known. The last county-delineated state-wide distribution map was published in 2013 and was promptly made obsolete with the publication of 16 Texas county records in 2014. In total, 55 Texas county records have been published for H. turcicus since the last state-wide distribution map was printed. We provide an updated state-wide distribution map and report on our efforts to elucidate the distribution of H. turcicus in Texas. From 2019 – 2021, we travelled to 23 Texas counties to search for H. turcicus. Nocturnal surveys were conducted in each county around anthropogenic structures in urban habitats. Mediterranean geckos were found in 21 counties and voucher specimens were deposited at the Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center at the University of Texas at Arlington. Our findings demonstrate substantial range expansion of H. turcicus in Texas. Further surveys should be conducted throughout the state as conspicuous gaps in our distribution map exist. Special attention should be given to H. turcicus populations occupying semi-natural habitats in west Texas and determining interactions between this non-native lizard and the native herpetofauna.
Automotive Crashes Across Texas in 2020
(2021-04) Atkins, Dane
Despite increasing vehicles miles traveled – more cars and more drivers – automotive fatality rates have been in decline for decades. However, in 2020, amidst a global pandemic and widespread societal lockdowns, driving behaviors changed dramatically. Reports emerged as early as mid-summer and were later reaffirmed by the National Highway Safety Administration: the number of automotive collisions in 2020 had decreased from previous years, but the number of fatal crashes held steady – or even increased. I validate these observations for the State of Texas and provide a closer examination of the spatial and temporal trends underlying the increased fatality rates. The analysis utilizes four years of official crash records from the state of Texas, where the fatal crash rate from the year 2020 is compared to earlier year-records using a statistical difference of proportions test. Overall, fatal crash rates increased across the state, but these increases were primarily associated with highly urbanized areas (rural areas enjoyed a slight decrease in fatal crash rates). Although fatality rates peaked in April 2020, the fatality rate remained unusually high throughout the year.
The Social and Emotional Side of Dyslexia
(2021-04) Marshall, Amber
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects a person’s ability to understand letter and sound relationships, which in turn affects their ability to decode words. This can impact a person’s ability to read accurately and efficiently, limiting comprehension of text. Beginning around third grade, significant amounts of information are acquired through reading. Since dyslexia affects a person's ability to read and comprehend, this can negatively affect academic performance. It may also have damaging effects on social and emotional well-being. This presentation explores the social and emotional impact dyslexia has on students to determine a need for social and emotional support in conjunction with interventions, and to investigate the efficacy thereof. Research indicates the negative social and emotional impacts of dyslexia can affect students through adulthood. This article outlines what dyslexia is, how it can impact students’ social and emotional well-being, and provides seven research-based interventions and their effectiveness in supporting students with dyslexia in the classroom. Dyslexia also has a very personal element for the author. As a student and now adult with dyslexia and a teacher of students who share the diagnosis, Marshall is dedicated to providing academic interventions while being cognizant of the negative impact on students’ social and emotional well-being. Supplementing academic interventions with positive social and emotional support can provide lasting benefits for individuals diagnosed with dyslexia.
“Everything is Theory Versus Practice”: Department Policy Changes in the Time of Black Lives Matter
(2021-04) Wong, Kimberly; Garza, Leslie; Robbins, Meagan
The current study investigated how policing has changed from the viewpoint of police officers, due to the modern racial justice movement that has come to mainstream attention in the United States. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of current police officers, regarding recent department policy changes and resulting shifts to routine policing behaviors. Using narratives from the perspective of police officers, the research explored how these two functions have been altered due to the present controversy surrounding policing and demand for police reform. Results and future implications will be discussed.
Craig Courtney's Arrangement of Lift Every Voice and Sing: Analysis for Performance
(2021-04) Park, Esther
The melody of Lift Every Voice and Sing can be frequently heard in TV shows, radio programs, civic organization meetings, sung by church choirs and school choirs across the United States. This song is known as the Black National Anthem and has long been a symbol of the African-American movement for social justice. Many musicians, composers, singers and listeners have been inspired by this song. Before this semester began, I had to decide on the repertoire I would conduct for the Texas State Men’s Choir. Finding an appropriate piece was difficult as a Korean student as I have not been exposed to a men’s choir until now. I suggested some music that I was interested into my supervising professor, Dr. Jonathan Babcock. He recommended Lift Every Voice and Sing arranged by Craig Courtney. I was immediately interested in the piece and was eager to learn more about the African American spiritual style. In preparation for rehearsals and performance I needed to know the origin and meaning of the text and music. The more I discovered about the background of this style of music, the more I was interested in it. In my exploration, I listened to several different arrangements of the song and began considering what makes the arrangement by Courtney unique. I concluded that I needed to analyze Craig Courtney’s Arrangement of Lift Every Voice and Sing as my project. Craig Courtney arranged this Lift Every Voice and Sing for a chorus in 2010. One of the first discoveries I made is that Courtney does not use the third stanza of the original song. Courtney instead includes the refrain of the well-known spiritual, Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, as the introduction. I was curious why the composer chose this particular spiritual at the beginning of his arrangement. In addition, I am curious whether the meaning of the third stanza is relevant to “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”. I would also like to explore the scoring used for each stanza. Why did the arranger choose the beginning passage to be in unison in the first stanza and tutti in the second? A performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing by the Texas State Men’s Choir will be included in my presentation. My presentation will show the theoretical and practical aspects of Craig Courtney’s arrangement that makes it unique from other arrangements. Craig Courtney will be visiting the Texas State Men’s Choir, providing a wonderful opportunity for the chorus and me to learn his interpretation of the piece. In addition, the Men’s Choir will perform Lift Every Voice and Sing in a Concert Broadcast on April 24, 2021, to which our university community is invited.
Legitimacy, Cultural Production, and Top Chef
(2021-04) Myers, Michelle
The distribution of capital (value/acclaim) is rooted in existing social hierarchies and the relative value of positions within the cultural milieu. In the world of haute cuisine, the value of products and producers is intimately tied to the gendered organization of the professional kitchen and societal norms and expectations about men’s versus women’s work. Previous work exploring legitimacy in culinary arts has found that female chefs are relegated to the home kitchen while men dominate professional spaces. Women are lauded for comfort cooking while men are praised for quality and skill. Competitive reality television is a persistent and popular form of entertainment that is often overlooked in its ability to reify and promote social inequalities. Bravo TV’s Top Chef combines elements of competitive reality television with the elite world of culinary arts and fine dining. The purpose of this study is to explore the way that value is established, debated and potentially negated on TV’s Top Chef. Is value awarded differently based on race or gender? I conducted a thematic content analysis of twelve episodes spanning three seasons of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, focusing on the judges’ critiques as well as the interactions and personal commentaries of the contestants. Results show that while Top Chef provides a seemingly level playing field across gender, race, and training the contestants themselves still enact the creation and definition of boundaries for access to legitimacy in fine dining around existing social hierarchies. Furthermore, marginalized contestants utilize a persistent “rags-to-riches” narrative to gain cultural legitimacy. While food appears to be judged meritocratically by characteristics of the chef, the value is determined by its distance from food associated with the masses.
The Marginalized Other: Distortions and Limitations in the Representations of Latina Women in American Media
(2021-04) Blanco, Clarice A.
In an era where there are Latina Congresswomen, professors, astronauts, CEOs, and other highly regarded career titles, the American media still portrays Latinas as sexual objects for the White Gaze to control and contain as desirable, exotic, consumable, and other. As a result, this study explores how and why Latina bodies are exploited commercially by American media through Latina celebrities, such as Jennifer Lopez (J. Lo) and Salma Hayek who foreground this critical discourse analysis because of the overwhelming publicity that is centered on their bodies. Through detailed rhetorical analysis of J. Lo’s performance at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show and Salma Hayek’s Mexican American character in the film Fools Rush In (1997), the author explores the theories of Karma Chavez’s validation of bodies, Lisa Flores’s raced bodies, and the American tropes of tropicalism and Latinidad that both burdens and empowers these Latina celebrities and Latina Americans. Additionally, the author argues that the (limited) Latina role models [Lopez and Hayek specifically], Latina Americans have been designated by the media, is potentially problematic as the media creates a standardized Latina body (rooted in Latinidad) that marks other Latina body shapes as invalid. The author’s analysis indicates Latina celebrities are marketed as other and exotic to sell beauty, sex, and diversity, and the limited and lack of authentic Latina representation in American media leaves Latina Americans feeling invisible.
Bacteria fight club: Identifying probiotics for goldfish
(2021-04) Ortiz, Whitney; Huertas, Mar; Carlos-Shanley, Camila
Exposure to pollutants, like nitrite, negatively impacts fish both directly and indirectly. Nitrite can cause brown blood disease in fish when they are exposed to elevated nitrite concentrations. This occurs when hemoglobin is converted into methemoglobin which cannot transport oxygen. Although the direct effects of nitrite are well studied, it is unknown how nitrite impacts the microbiome. The microbiome is important because it supports the immune system by taking resources from pathogens and competing directly with them using antimicrobial molecules. When the microbiome is disrupted, it can lead to increased susceptibility to disease and disturbed physiological functions, which can lead to death. Probiotics, a microorganism administered for its beneficial attributes, are often used to stabilize a disrupted microbiome. The added bacteria are specifically selected to correct an imbalance by recolonizing the microbiome, releasing useful metabolites, and competing with pathogens. The impact of elevated nitrite concentrations on fish is important because they are a major food source. However, when they are farmed in aquaculture, they are exposed to elevated levels of nitrite. This study aimed to identify probiotic candidates that could be used to stabilize the fish microbiomes after they were exposed to elevated concentrations of nitrite. To accomplish this, bacteria were isolated from the tissues of healthy goldfish by swabbing with sterile swabs, growing on ½ BHI or R2A media, and identified using Sanger sequencing. A competition and agar plug assay were then used to determine the antimicrobial properties of the candidates against Yersinia ruckeri, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Vibrio harveyi, and Aeromonas hydrophilia which are common fish pathogens in aquaculture. The pathogens were plated with the probiotic candidates to see which candidate inhibited the growth of the pathogens. Of the 22 candidates tested, 15 were able to inhibit the growth of at least one pathogen on an agar plug or competition assay. The candidates were then exposed to the same tests with nitrite in the media to identify those that could inhibit pathogen growth when grown with nitrite. The two best candidates were a Pseudomonas and Pseudoxanothomonas species. These bacteria were isolated from healthy goldfish and should be safe while also inhibiting pathogen growth. Probiotics have the potential to mitigate the negative effects of nitrite exposure in fish, and bacteria isolated from healthy fish should not pose a risk. These probiotics could be used in aquaculture to reduce the cost and increase fish production. While probiotics have been used to stabilize the microbiome, there has been no research into how probiotics could be used to stabilize the microbiome from nitrite exposure. Additionally, this probiotic would be used while the fish are still being exposed to elevated nitrite levels and would have to both thrive and prevent pathogen growth at these higher levels. This research, therefore, is investigating the potential benefits of unexplored probiotics that have the potential to drastically help aquaculture production.
Fragments of a Broken Image: Latino Immigrant Stories
(2021-04) Blanco, Clarice A.
¿Cómo se siente ser un inmigrante en los Estados Unidos? What is it like to be an immigrant in the United States? Using the portraiture methodology, in-depth interviews, poetry, and prose, this study attempts to explore how Latino¹ immigrants’ expectations of life were affected by their immigration to the United States. To paint the reality these participants experienced when immigrating and assimilating to American life, I identify two main themes, immigration and lifestyles changes/cultural differences, and specific supportive codes within each theme, such as language, isolation, and more. Additionally, it is important to remember that America was built by immigrants because this portrait highlights the inaccurate claims the current political climate has made about Latino immigrants—branding them as violent criminals and social outcasts. The results of this study indicate the struggles and experiences these Latino immigrants had to endure, as well as the overwhelming pressure they felt to fit in American society. Finally, this study humanizes Latino immigrants by telling their authentic migrant stories which are usually hidden for fear of deportation or violent abuse by others. "Latino," "Latina," and country of origin labels are used in this project instead of the American pan-ethnic labels of "Latinx," "Latin@," or "Latino/a," because "Latino," "Latina," and country of origin labels are the preferred terminology used in the American Latino community.
Project Happy Birthday: Improving Access to Colorectal Cancer Screenings
(2021-04) Alpers, Gwendolyn; Atamosa, Laura; Garcia, Gabriela
This research project was completed as part of the 8th Annual Cleveland Clinic Case Competition. We were tasked by the health system’s executive leadership to develop a plan for resuming the Cleveland Clinic’s colonoscopy screening program post COVID-19 and expand access to the program to members of the surrounding community. Millions of adults aged 50 to 75 are not up to date on their screenings for colorectal cancer and now, because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, even fewer people are willing to receive necessary screenings. To generate possible solutions to this problem, our team conducted extensive research on the current healthcare environment and analyzed Cleveland Clinic’s financial data. From our research, we developed an integrated growth plan that includes a short-term and a long-term growth strategy that addresses how to move forward in the post COVID-19 healthcare environment. Our solution to revitalizing the Cleveland Clinic’s colonoscopy screening program is to implement our program: Project Happy Birthday. Our plan is to create a direct-mail, screening program that allows patients to receive colorectal testing from the comfort of their home and empower individuals to take charge of their health. Each year on their birthday, patients will receive a Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) kit and a personalized birthday card. We will use FIT kits as our primary screening tool because it is affordable, fairly accurate, and covered by nearly all insurance providers, including Medicare and Medicaid. We found that the average cost of implementing a direct-mail intervention program was $40.00 per kit returned. In comparison, the average allowed cost for an episode of colonoscopy in 2010 was $2,146 among the commercial population and $1,071 within the Medicare population. Even though FIT kits require yearly intervention, their use results in greater cost savings in the long run. If the initial program is successful, a fleet of mobile health units that serve populations in and around Northeast Ohio will dispense free FIT kits to disadvantaged and underserved populations. Mobile units will park in easily accessible places around the community, such as malls, large bus stations, grocery stores, and religious centers. A trio made up of two registered nurses and one licensed practical nurse will work with these mobile health units and give onsite educational talks on the benefits of screenings and the potential risks of dismissing cancer screenings. The program will be partially funded by the cost savings that result from Project Happy Birthday. Other types of tests and the delivery of more complicated care can be provided as the program grows. With proper testing and screening for colorectal cancer, patients will experience better health outcomes and Cleveland Clinic will better be able to promote the long-term health of the communities they serve.
A Twitter Case Study: The Spreadability of the Viral Chilean Feminist Anthem #UnVioladorEnTuCamino
(2021-04) Blanco, Clarice A.
Digital Activism has become notorious for not creating real change and, instead, creating Slacktivist or Clicktivist who consider the passive actions of sharing and liking social justice posts as real activism. Boots on the ground, picket lines, and marches are the traditional get-off-your-ass type of activism that enacts real change, or so we thought. This study explores a moment in which social media activism creates change by building a collective voice, community, and bringing awareness to gendered violence and gender inequalities—topics not usually discussed in public or private spaces. To understand how the #UnVioladorEnTuCamino anthem and Twitter movement became a global social media activism movement, the author rhetorically analyzed several Twitter posts from the beginning of the movement in November of 2019 to early 2020, as it is ongoing and still referenced online. The results of this study indicate the simplicity of use, convenience, and accessibility of Twitter internationalized this anthem and message. These results suggest the spreadability of the hashtag #UnVioladorEnTuCamino is in direct relation with the easy-to-use social media platform that already had a reputation for social activism, as well as an anonymous space provided to discuss such controversial topics of gendered violence and gender inequalities. On this basis, it is important to note the #UnVioladorEnTuCamino movement does not behave like traditional social media activism movements; it began as live performances, shifted to being shared on Twitter, and eventually adapted to Twitter by being performed and discussed for the online space.
Exploration of Temporal-spatially varying Impacts on COVID-19 Cumulative Case in Texas using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR)
(2021-04) Wu, Xiu; Chow, T. Edwin
Since COVID-19 is extremely menacing human’s health, it is a significant to expose on its factor’s impacts for curbing the virus. To address the complexity of COVID-19 expansion in spatial-temporal scale, this research is appropriately analyzed the spatial-temporal heterogeneity at county-level in Texas. First, factors impact of COVID-19 are captured on social, economic, and environmental multiple-facets and the Communality is extracted through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Second, this research is used COVID-19 CC as the dependent variable and the common factors as the independent variable. According to the degree of the virus spreading, spatial-temporal disparity is categorized four quarters in the modeling GWR analysis. The findings are exhibited that GWR models provided higher fitness, more geodata-oriented information than OLS models. In Texas El Paso, Odessa, Midland, Randall areas, population, hospitalization, and age structure presented static, positive influences on COVID-19 cumulative cases, indicating they should be adopted stringent strategies in curbing COVID-19. Winter is the most sensitive season for the virus spreading, implying the last quarter should be pay more attention to prevent the virus and take precautions. This research is expected to provide references for preventing and controlling COVID-19 and related infectious diseases, evidence for disease surveillance and response systems to facilitate the appropriate uptake and reuse of geographical data.
Facilitators and Barriers to Health Information Technology Adoption in Long-Term Care During COVID-19: A Systematic Review
(2022-03) Armenta, Valery; Nguyen, Samantha; Soliz, Joseph; Jackson, Rudolph; Mileski, Michael; Kruse, Clemens S.
This is a systematic literature review about the intersection of two broad topics: health information technology (HIT) and long-term care (LTC). These two topics are only loosely related largely due to their omission from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009. For health organizations eligible for Meaningful Use incentives from the HITECH Act, EHR adoption rose from 3.2% before to 14.2%, while ineligible organizations rose from 0.1% to 3.3% [1]. LTC facilities were not listed as eligible for Meaningful Use incentives for the adoption of HIT under HITECH. Adoption of HIT in LTC before HITECH was dismal, and afterwards it was not much better. While adoption of HIT has been observed as slow in LTC facilities, the presence of COVID-19 has forced healthcare professionals to rapidly adopt telemedicine, which requires HIT as a base infrastructure [2]. It is possible the pandemic may have served as a catalyst for LTC facilities.
Development of a Scale to Measure Teachers' Beliefs Toward Struggles in Mathematics
(2022-04) Kirmizi, Mehmet; Tarim, Kamuran
In this study we are developing a valid and reliable scale to measure teachers’ belief of efficacy of productive struggle. Traditionally, struggles in mathematics is considered something undesirable. However, the recent understanding frames struggles something necessary for gaining deep understanding. The idea that mistakes and errors are necessary for the growth of the brain is well supported by the evidence from different fields. Empirical evidence suggests the idea of that students can transform their unproductive struggles to productive ones. If teachers do not want to support their students struggle; students cannot take full advantage of productive struggles in mathematics. Teachers’ positive beliefs and attitudes toward struggles in mathematics is essential to harness the power of struggles. For this poster, we plan to share our work developing a scale to measure teachers’ beliefs towards struggle. We identified that productive struggle is usually tied with the four components: conceptual understanding, persistence, tasks and times, and joy of teaching. After identifying these four components we exchanged several emails with a leading scholar in the field to make align our understanding with her vision. After that we developed initial pool of items based on theoretical components that is mentioned above. The initial pool contains 52 items, we evaluate each item based on several criteria and then finally the number of items is reduced in 21. We sent initial scale to number of graduate students and pre-service mathematics and elementary school teachers. To this date we are still collecting data to asses the internal reliability of our scale.
Impact of Chamber Pressure on Indium Doped β-Gallium Oxide
(2022-04) Rahaman, Imteaz; Saha, Puja Rani; Taqy, Saif Al Arafin; Sarkar, Pallab Kumar; Saha, Jibesh Kanti; Haque, Ariful
Indium doped β-Ga2O3 (IGO) have been a major research interest for the last few decades due to their importance in bandgap engineering to fabricate high-power electronics, deep UV photonic devices, and nuclear detectors. In this work, we deposited two types of (InxGa1-x)2O3 alloy with x=25%, samples at 620 ºC substrate temperature while varying the partial oxygen chamber pressure from 1x10-3 to 5x10-2 torr. Our analysis shows that IGO exhibits significant conductivity at high growth pressure, but it shows poor electrical properties at low oxygen pressure. Further crystal analysis exhibited polycrystalline behavior for the conductive samples and monoclinic, near single-crystalline behavior for the non-conductive samples. The conductive samples has a mobility of 7.02 cm2Vs-1, resistivity of 0.05118 Ω-cm, and a carrier concentration of 1.737x10 19 cm-3. According to the bonding analysis, such superior mobility can be attributed to the generation of free electrons due to the reduction of trap sites due to the higher number of metal-oxygen lattices in the IGO thin film.
Identifying Falls Risk using an Instrumented Four-Square Stepping Test for Persons with Parkinson's Disease
(2022-04) Ogden, Bradley; Murray, Daniel; Ferguson, Albina; Blankenship, Seth; Gobert, Denise V.
Problem: Although several assessments are available to document balance, only a limited number are able to sufficiently document multi-directional decline in dynamic balance in persons with Parkinson's Disease (PPD). Purpose: Identify clinical metrics to track changes in motor coordination over time using an instrumented Four-Square Stepping Test (iFSST) to document decomposition variables of performance for PPD. Design: Exploratory Case - Control Methods: Volunteers were PPD at least 18 years of age, a Hoehn Yahr stage 1-3, able to walk at least 10 meters with/without assistive device and perform a four-square stepping task using forward, sideways and backwards stepping into squares 1,2,3,4,1,4,3,2,1 on a computerized pressure mat while timed using the Prokinetic Zeno mat for 2 trials every 6-8 weeks up to 7 sessions. Data Analysis: Statistical analysis using SPSS (vs. 26.0, IBM, Inc.) provided descriptive statistical analysis including correlation coefficients with repeated measures MANOVA for group differences at p = 0.05. Results: 44 participants (F/M = 9/35) contributed to 244 completed iFSST trials over 18 months. Timed trials averaged 8.79 +/- 2.02 sec., Backward Transitions (sq3 - sq4) and (sq2 – sq1) indicated a significantly different strategy between fallers & non-fallers (p=0.028) with decreased efficiency (COPe) scores (< 50%). Conclusions: Preliminary results indicate a significant deficit in backwards stepping transitions for PPD with an identified history of falls compared to PPD without falls. Clinical Relevance: Results suggest that multi-directional step performance using iFSST can yield early detection of fall risk in persons with degenerative motor disorders. References: Winser SJ, Kannan P, Bello UM & Whitney SL. “Measures of balance and falls risk prediction in people with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review of the psychometric properties.” Clinical Rehabilitation, 2019, Vol. 33(12) 1949 – 1962. Kim J, Kim I, Kim YE, Koh SB. “The Four-Square Step Test for Assessing Cognitively Demanding Dynamic Balance in Parkinson’s Disease Patient.” J Mov Disord 2021;14(3):208- 213. pISSN 2005-940X / eISSN 2093-4939. https://doi.org/10.14802/jmd.20146. Gouelle A & Highsmith MJ. “Instrumented Four Square Step Test in Adults with Transfemoral Amputation: Test-Retest Reliability and Discriminant Validity Between Two Types of Microprocessor Knees”, Sensors 2020, 20, 4782; http://doi:10.3390/s20174782
Monitoring Air Quality using Domain Adaptation and GAN
(2022-04) Dey, Arunavo; Islam, Tanzima
Recent environmental pollution is most detrimental to air which is one of most necessary elements of nature for living beings. Recent excessive ozone pollution made the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to call for an Ozone Action Day for the Austin area for Saturday, March 19, 2022 [1] to prevent ozone pollution. But in most of the cases predicting air quality with the help of data collected from somewhere else doesn’t help much. Moreover measuring directly the amount of pollution may not be feasible always. Collecting directly the elements to predict one specific amount also may not be feasible. So, in this work it has been tried to measure one element from other available elements without taking account their contribution to the specific element. Here measuring ozone from other data has been tried out. Also taking elements from one city air it has been experimented to measure pollution in a complete different city. By studying this real life scenario it has been tried to measure the performance among different domain adaptation methods including optimal DANN and optimal transport and subspace alignment to measure their effectiveness in this real life scenario.
Rapid Nucleic Acid Concentration from Wastewater with Minimal Equipment: New Strategy for COVID-19 Surveillance
(2022-04) Long, Shannon
Background: As of 26 March 2022, COVID-19 has killed over six million people worldwide, with almost one million of those deaths being in the United States (World Health Organization, 2022). Wastewater-based epidemiology is an effective tool for monitoring COVID-19 on a community level and catching and suppressing emerging outbreaks (Betancourt et al., 2021). However, this requires SARS-CoV-2 RNA to be concentrated from wastewater for PCR testing. A rapid, inexpensive, and uncomplicated method of RNA concentration would facilitate widespread deployment of wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19, especially in low-resource settings. Hollow silica microspheres float in water and can be functionalized to bind target molecules on cells of interest (Weigum et al., 2016), so they could potentially be adapted to bind to RNA and carry it to the top of a sample. Purpose: To demonstrate the capacity of hollow silica microspheres to isolate RNA from aqueous solution. Methodology: Hollow silica microspheres were functionalized with chitosan, a nucleotide-binding molecule (Yang et al., 2017). The functionalized microspheres were then mixed with a fluorescent oligonucleotide for varying amounts of time, after which micrographs were taken. Fluorescence around the microspheres was quantified with ImageJ. Research: Preliminary findings suggest that the functionalized microspheres can capture oligonucleotides in as little as ten minutes. Follow-up experiments are exploring nucleotide capture at sub-10-minute intervals. Conclusion: Chitosan-functionalized hollow silica microspheres have potential as a tool for rapid RNA concentration from wastewater. Future experiments will focus on liberating nucleic acids from the microspheres for detection after capture, in addition to further optimization of the nucleic acid capture process, including reducing the time needed for capture.
Impact of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill on Climate Change and Human Well-being: A Case Study on Aminbazar Landfill, Dhaka North City Corporation, Bangladesh
(2022-04) Khondoker, Marufa; Rahman, M. Maksudur; Hwang, Sangchul
Global warming and climate change have become warning topics to think about around the globe. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have increased by over 90% since 1970, with fossil fuel burning and industrial processes accounting for around 78 percent of the entire increase in greenhouse gas emissions between 1970 and 2011 (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, US). Apart from industries, there are other contributors who are responsible for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, such as unmanaged Solid waste landfills. Globally the estimation of methane gas is still a topic of debate, and several methods are there. Also, most of the reports have come up with qualitative data regarding the health impact of the waste workers and the dwellers. This work aims to calculate methane (CH4) emissions from Aminbazar solid waste (SW) disposal site, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Microbes digest degradable organic carbon from rubbish in solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) under anaerobic conditions, producing methane (CH4) and other compounds. The Aminbazar trash disposal area, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), has been visited, and waste statistics and other vital information have been gathered from the Waste Report and the Key Informant Interview (KII) of DNCC high officials. The Aminbazar landfill has been in operation since 2007, and it is scheduled to close in 2023. This dump is better controlled and has more data than the other Dhaka South City Corporation landfill, Matuail (DSCC). Hence, the Aminbazar disposal site has been selected to estimate the trend of Methane gas (CH4) using two contradictory methods, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 default method and the LandGEM model (a first-order decay method). Then, results have been compared and analyzed that the IPCC default method estimates 40-60% more methane gas than the LandGEM model due to the assumptions applied. Eventually, it has been found that If we consider that Aminbazar landfill emits an average of 40 Gg of methane gas per year, we may conclude that the landfill is responsible for emitting 2.96 kg/acre/day of methane gas. Furthermore, the people of DNCC contribute to global warming by generating 17.96 grams of methane gas per day. (This assumes a total population of 6.1 million in the DNCC area). Interviews with landfill officials and neighboring people were done in a qualitative format. According to the findings, landfills are located relatively close to residential areas, bodies of water, and agricultural regions, exposing people to a variety of health and environmental concerns. Improper solid waste management procedures at landfills have a negative impact on the environment through leachate percolation, trash combustion, and vector breeding. To lessen the accompanying environmental pollution and health hazards, the existing solid waste management system requires administrative and technical changes. More research needs to be conducted to calculate methane gas emissions from waste disposal sites in Bangladesh.
What Does It Mean to be in an Academic Space that Doesn’t Reflect Your Cultural Background? Identidad, Empoderamiento, y Representación Latina in the Texas State MARC Program
(2022-04) Blanco, Clarice A.
What does it mean to be in an academic space that doesn’t reflect you or your cultural background? As Latina/o/x1 students navigate higher education, they are isolated as Latina/o/x-faculty-to-Latina/o/x-student ratios continue to be unbalanced. Additionally, Latina/o/x students are preoccupied with negotiating issues on identidad management and formation as well as feeling empowered to persevere in a predominately White space. There is already a significant amount of scholarship that stress the importance of ethnic faculty representación, but most of this research is focused on K-12 education, not the university level, or does not consider Latina/o/x representación specifically. This case study seeks to understand how the lack of ethnic faculty representación in a particular place and program—the Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Composition program at Texas State University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution—affects a cohort of Latina students and how it informs (a) identidad, (b) empoderamiento, and (c) representación étnica through academic relationships, participation, and self-identification in a predominantly White academic space. To do so, I incorporate student perspectives through semi-structured interviews with the Latina MARC students enrolled in the Spring 2021 semester. Footnote: 1 To acknowledge the diversity of this community, "Latino" and "Latina," are used in this paper to address individual male- and female-identifying people, as well as "Latina/o/x" and "Latinas/os/xs" to address the general group of people who are of Latin American origin and descent. To acknowledge the individual identities in this case study, I will use the specific labels the participants and myself identify as, such as "Latina" and "Chicana."

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