The level of Social Isolation and Loneliness among American Muslims aged 50 years and above and their associations with Depression, Morbidity, Self-rated Health, and Healthcare Utilization

Background: Social isolation and loneliness are growing public health concerns, especially among older adults, due to their association with poor health outcomes like depression, lower self-rated health, and increased healthcare use. However, little is known about these issues among American Muslims aged 50 and older—a group often underrepresented in research. This study aims to examine levels of social isolation and loneliness in this population and explore their relationships with morbidity, self-rated health, healthcare utilization, and the mediating role of depression.Method: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with a convenience sample of 105 American Muslims aged 50+ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Participants were recruited from Islamic centers and healthcare organizations and completed a survey assessing social isolation (Berkman–Syme Social Network Index), loneliness (UCLA-3 Loneliness Scale), depression (CES-D-10), self-rated health, morbidity, and healthcare utilization. Demographic data included age, gender, race, place of birth, immigration year, and perceived discrimination. Correlation and mediation analyses were used to examine variable relationships and the role of depression. Results: Participants had a mean age of 64 years (SD = 9). Social isolation was reported by 18.1% and loneliness by 21%. Social isolation significantly correlated with loneliness (β = .38, p < .001) and was associated with poorer self-rated health (β = .35, p < .001). Similarly, loneliness was linked to worse self-rated health (β = .35, p = .003) and increased healthcare utilization (β = .27, p < .05). Depression mediated the associations between both social isolation and loneliness with health outcomes. No significant relationship was found between social isolation or loneliness and morbidity. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for culturally sensitive nursing interventions and community programs addressing depression and social disconnection among aging American Muslims.2027-05-2

Active Shooters: Recommendations and considerations for law enforcement and school officials

A seminar paper presented to the graduate faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science - Criminal JusticePurpose The purpose of the research is to review historical school shootings and examine past policies and tactics about school shootings to determine what is effective and what should be considered as a standard in training. After reviewing data and research, recommendations are made to provide updates to current policies and procedures regarding active shooting incidents. that support the most optimal ways to minimize threat and danger to students, staff, and law enforcement in schools during an active shooter response and how best to prepare for reunification if such an incident were to happen. Method of Approach Information utilized in this paper will be gathered from a compilation of scholarly and professional sources. The sources will provide overviews of historical school shootings and data will be compiled from these sources, including information leading up to the events, significant findings related to the events, and potential ways to predict or limit such events from occurring. This paper will also review routine activities theory as guidance to provide a framework for a better understanding of how and why these situations may occur, which in turn, can offer helpful considerations to law enforcement and school administration to minimize the probability of harm or death in school shootings. Key Findings These findings support a comprehensive approach to school shooting preparedness and response, including a reunification plan that will reduce anxiety and chaos and provide a focused set of rules and support for students, staff, and families to prevent better outcomes. The importance of applying criminological theory, such as routine activity theory, to assess potential risk factors and use of threat assessment strategies is also helpful to potentially prevent such events from occurring. School staff and SROs can potentially recognize those students who may be withdrawing or not conforming to societal norms and offer resources to support them such as counseling or addressing student concerns such as bullying. A key aspect of success in these situations is the collaboration of school districts and law enforcement agencies to train and work together

MARINE ENERGY CROSS-FLOW TURBINES IN HIGH CONFINEMENT

Marine renewable energy technology has recently garnered significant interest. Among the various technologies that extract usable power from fluid flows, cross-flow turbines (CFTs) are particularly well-suited for use in river and tidal channels. CFTs are advantageous due to their ability to operate with lower relative incoming fluid velocities, their insensitivity to flow direction, and their suitability for deployment in array configurations [5,8]. To improve the efficiency of CFTs, various strategies have been explored to augment power generation. Geometrical optimisations including blade shape [33], pitch angle variation, blade count [25, 27], varying chord to radius ratios [21, 22], various array configurations [5, 8, 14], or turbine control or operation strategies such as intracycle blade velocity control [30], active pitch control [12], and confinement exploitation [19, 20, 22]. This thesis focuses on exploring the subject of the augmentation of power generated via confinement exploitation

Pre-Professional Occupational Therapy Students' Learning of Interprofessional Team Skills During Clinical Fieldwork

Difficulties with interprofessional care and teamwork among healthcare professionals plague our healthcare system and detract from the quality of care. One strategy to remedy this problem is to increase interprofessional education at the pre-professional level, and due to increased accreditation standards, this preparation is underway for a variety of health disciplines. While the literature related to outcomes of interprofessional education programs is growing, there is little research documenting worksite-based interprofessional team skills learning for occupational therapy students. A basic qualitative study has been completed which illuminates the phenomenon of interprofessional team skills learning during Level II fieldwork for occupational therapy students. This study is guided by a theoretical framework using experiential learning theory, the Dreyfus and Dreyfus skills acquisition model, and social interdependence theory. Semi-structured interviews with occupational therapy students after their second Level II fieldwork placement were used to investigate student learning of interprofessional team skills.  Study results show that feeling supported, having low levels of conflict and fully operating as an OT professional can enhance the depth of team skills learning. Individual student learning approaches and resilience also influence depth of learning. Enhancement of OT student curricula in the areas of social skills, conflict management and assertiveness skills have the potential to improve learning, facilitating interprofessional collaboration and improving quality of care in the healthcare field for the benefit of all patients and clients

Genres of Conversation

The QUD model is largely situated in the dominant pragmatic tradition that takes conversation to be a kind of cooperative information exchange. However, it fails to account for participants’ behavior outside this idealization. We do not just cooperatively exchange information with others—we argue with our opponents; we exchange greetings with coworkers; we are interrogated by a nosy friend or neighbor; we tell jokes to friends and family, etc. In this paper, I aim to refine the QUD model to account for these behavioral differences. I will do so by shedding more light on an often neglected aspect of the QUD model—domain goals—and their interaction with the QUD. I argue that participants’ domain goals account for their behavioral differences. Domain goals are what participants aim to achieve in conversation and the world more generally, and these constrain how participants act in conversation and engage with the QUD. The fact that behavioral differences in conversation are explained by participants’ domain goals also gestures to something significant: our conversational activities should be tied to what I will call the genre of conversation. That is, a proper understanding of conversational activities must tie such activities to a specific genre. We have compelling reasons for thinking so: (i) it allows us to say why some conversational activities are more natural than others, while also supporting our expectations about how other participants will behave; and (ii) it allows us to say why the meaning of certain speech acts, e.g., utterances, vary depending on the genre. While my account of conversational dynamics makes significant progress in accounting for the nuances that the basic QUD model overlooks, there remains a host of questions ripe for serious attention but which I do not have the space to address, of which I mention a few in the Conclusion.2027-05-3

ALTERING LEAF PH TO SUPPRESS DOLLAR SPOT IN AMENITY TURFGRASS

Due to its high adaptability to novel stressors and variable environmental conditions, managing Clarireedia jacksonii, the causal agent of dollar spot disease, continues to pose a major challenge in turfgrass systems. Conventional control methods are increasingly constrained by limited chemical options, rising concerns over pesticide resistance, and inconsistent efficacy of biological products. As a result, there is a growing demand for non-conventional approaches to disease management. This field-based study evaluated the potential of foliar-applied alkaline substances to suppress dollar spot on a mixed stand of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) and annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) over two consecutive growing seasons (2023–2024). Treatments varied by chemical identity, rate, application frequency, spray volume, and their resulting foliar alkalinity, quantified as kilograms of CaCO₃-equivalent per hectare. Results demonstrated that disease suppression was strongly associated with surpassing a threshold level of foliar alkalinity, rather than the specific compound or nominal application rate. Across both years, treatments delivering >30 kg per ha CaCO₃-equivalent consistently reduced disease severity by over 85%, with weekly applications of potassium bicarbonate achieving suppression levels of up to 98%. Elevated foliar pH (>8.9) was a strong predictor of reduced disease development. While spray volume had minimal impact on outcomes, frequent reapplication proved critical to maintaining alkaline conditions on the phylloplane. However, high-alkalinity treatments also introduced phytotoxic effects, particularly under short reapplication intervals, resulting in reduced turf quality. This highlights a key trade-off between effective disease suppression and aesthetic turf performance. Although additional multi-year research and microbiological diagnostics are necessary to evaluate long-term sustainability, the present study offers strong field-based evidence supporting foliar alkalinity modulation as a viable non-conventional approach to dollar spot management. Current findings emphasize the importance of aligning product selection with site- specific goals, particularly in high-stakes turf systems. Future research into microbial interactions and physiological responses may further optimize these treatment strategies

Playing Across Borders: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity in the Transnational Circulation of Japanese Video Games

This dissertation examines how discourses of gender, sexuality, and race operate across the transnational circulation of Japanese video games to US audiences. Through analyses of four prominent characters from the late 1990s to early 2000s - Cloud (Final Fantasy VII), Naoto (Persona 4), Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2), and Sheik (Ocarina of Time) - I argue that scholarship examining queerness in games requires understanding how identities constructed through Japanese video games are shaped by specific economic, social, and political histories. US readings of Japanese characters as queer are inseparable from discourses of Orientalism, often perpetuating notions that position the West as inherently more progressive while sublimating Asian bodies. Furthermore, Japanese video games actively hybridize Western genres and play conventions, strategically deploying familiar fantasy tropes while maintaining cultural distinctiveness, with these discussions entangled in broader US-Japan political and historical relationship. The dissertation contributes to queer theory, game studies, and fan studies by examining how interpretive communities operate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Ultimately, these characters often challenge certain aspects of heteronormative systems while inadvertently reinforcing others, particularly as US fans stake claims about what constitutes authentic queerness in Japanese media contexts

Generation of CRISPR-Mediated EPAC2 Expression Reporter Melanoma Cell Line for High Throughput Screening for Anti-Melanoma Agents

Senior Honors Thesis, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Wisconsin-MadisonThis thesis investigates the regulatory role of EPAC2, a cAMP-responsive guanine nucleotide exchange factor, in melanoma cells and explores its potential as a target for therapeutic intervention. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, HiBiT-tagged EPAC2 constructs were engineered to enable real-time fluorescence-based quantification of endogenous protein levels. These modified cells will then be exposed to a library of natural compounds to identify agents that inhibit EPAC2 expression. The study incorporates molecular cloning, transfection, and antibiotic selection to establish a robust platform for compound screening. This work lays the foundation for further exploration of EPAC2 as a pharmacological target and introduces a versatile tool for functional screening of signaling proteins in cancer cells

From the Fillmore to the Zen-dō: The Trippy History of American Buddhism

In this thesis, I consider both why boomers were driven to cultivate that psychedelic soil and what it was about that fertile seedbed that made it so conducive to the sprouts of American Buddhism. In doing so, I hope to shed light on how the blooms - the subsequent, various manifestations of American meditation-based convert Buddhism13 - have been fundamentally shaped by their shared relation to a psychedelic, countercultural past. The aspirations, beliefs, and views of the sixties counterculture continue to leave their mark on Buddhism in the United States. In future projects and research (likely including my PhD dissertation), I plan to continue the story by looking at how and why Buddhist practitioners and teachers that emerged from the counterculture report shedding other aspects of their “hippie” lifestyle (most notably, drugs, which for many had previously been a central element) as their dedication to Buddhist practice increased

The Effects of Extreme Temperatures on the Declining Western Danaus Plexippus (Monarch Butterfly) Population

The Western Monarch butterfly population encounters several threats to survival during their migration, including severe weather, human interference, inadequate milkweed availability, and unstable temperatures. However, the recent changes in regional temperatures resulting in part from the increase in global temperatures has been one of the main causes for the significant population decline over the last few decades. Monarchs are a key pollinator and have emerged as a model species for studying long-range migration. Considered to be on the verge of extinction, Western Monarch survival depends in part on acquiring a better understanding of the ways temperature affects them during their life cycles and migration. In this study, the relationship between extreme temperatures and the decline of the Western Monarch butterfly is examined. Using Monarch population data and historical weather data, a multiple linear regression is performed that captures 81% of the variance of the Monarch population. Furthermore, a five- and ten-year survival rate is calculated to determine the possibility of extinction. While a comprehensive forward analysis is unable to be explored in this study, several implications regarding current climate model projections are discussed