Assessing the medication adherence report scale as a tool in pediatric asthma

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityAsthma is the leading chronic illness in the pediatric population and affects more than 7 million children in the United States. Although effective preventive medications are available, medication nonadherence in children and adolescents continues to soar. Understanding trends and gaining insight from associations between psychometric tests can improve asthma control. The purpose of this study is to validate the use of MARS-A (Medication Adherence Report Scale) as a tool in assessing asthma medication adherence in a pediatric population as well as finding relationships between individual MARS-A items and other asthma control measures. One hundred fifty six patients diagnosed with asthma were recruited to complete the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and MARS-A questionnaire for analysis. The results demonstrated that the MARS-A had good internal validity with a Cronbach-a of 0.81 for all data, which includes multiple visits per patient. A separate analysis of internal validity was performed to factor in sensitivity, using the first and last visit's data only showing once again, good internal consistency (Cronbach-a 0.84 for the first visit dates and 0.83 for the last visit dates). Furthermore, the MARS-A showed good criterion validity with AMR, ACT, and Childhood-ACT (p=0.24, p=0.0036; p=0.31, p=0.000024; p=0.31 , p=0.00017, respectively). Sensitivity analysis across these values demonstrated similar results. Patients who reported high adherence according to MARS-A (score of 46 or higher) had a 3-fold higher odds of scoring higher on the C-ACT (odds ratio (OR)= 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.49-6.31 , p = 0.002). If a patient scored 0.5 or higher on the AMR, then they are 2.6 times more likely to score greater than or equal to 46 on the MARS-A, further supporting good criterion validity. [TRUNCATED

Optical characterization of two-dimensional photonic crystal cavities with indium arsenide quantum dot emitters

We have characterized the modes within two-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavities with self-organized indium arsenide quantum dots as an active material. Highly localized donor mode resonances with 3 to 5 nm linewidth were observed when spatially selective optical pumping the cavities. These modes could be lithographically tuned from 1100 to 1300 nm. Other, more extended modes, were also characterized and exhibited narrower resonance linewidths ranging from 0.6 to 2 nm

Neural Natural Language Inference Models Enhanced with External Knowledge

Modeling natural language inference is a very challenging task. With the availability of large annotated data, it has recently become feasible to train complex models such as neural-network-based inference models, which have shown to achieve the state-of-the-art performance. Although there exist relatively large annotated data, can machines learn all knowledge needed to perform natural language inference (NLI) from these data? If not, how can neural-network-based NLI models benefit from external knowledge and how to build NLI models to leverage it? In this paper, we enrich the state-of-the-art neural natural language inference models with external knowledge. We demonstrate that the proposed models improve neural NLI models to achieve the state-of-the-art performance on the SNLI and MultiNLI datasets.Comment: Accepted by ACL 201

The Adaptable Growth of Seashells: Informing the Design of the Built Environment through Quantitative Biomimicry

Our current design philosophy in the creation and planning of our country’s infrastructure exudes an attitude of nonchalance that is incongruous with the significant impact the built infrastructure has on the natural environment. We are living through an era of obsolescence, in which structures are demolished thoughtlessly as they outgrow their ability to meet human demands. Obsolescence can be viewed as a “hazard” in the sense that this phenomenon is leaving swaths of buildings in unusable and undesirable conditions, lessening the quality of host locales, and polluting the environment with demolitions and the need for more construction resources. Designing our buildings to be adaptable to changing needs, rather than sufficient for predicted loads and functions, may help mitigate the amount of unnecessary demolitions. However, designing adaptably is not something we know how to do well; luckily, Nature has billions of years of experience that we can turn to. Biomimicry is a design approach that emulates Nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies for sustainable solutions to human challenges. While biomimicry has been used in many fields, applications in the built environment at the structures scale are scarce. Moreover, the examples that we do see are largely concerning thermal regulation. Even more troubling is how the popularization of biomimicry has led to frequent and misleading claims that qualitative, conceptual inspiration is inherently sustainable, given mere references of Nature. This project pairs infra/structural problems with natural solutions to bring these issues to attention in the civil engineering discipline. The spiraled shell of the Turritella terebra, a marine snail, is studied in this research to provide engineers with an example of how to use biomimicry in a comprehensive way. The spiraled gastropod shell demonstrates a simple form of adaptable growth, in which it is able to change its form through time to meet increases in its own performance demands. This project discusses how the snail’s environmental conditions influence its evolutionary traits through one of Nature’s principles (form follows function). The shell is mathematically characterized and structurally modeled to identify the functional roots responsible for its interesting resulting form. By pinpointing the emergent properties leading to adaptable growth, we create an opportunity to extract fundamental lessons of adaptability for application to the built environment. Shell samples of the T. terebra are experimentally tested with a structural engineering lens, and a finite element (FE) model of the shell is validated with these results. The FE model is then used to study parametric effects of ecological constraints—such as drag on the shell, fracture due to predators, and living space—to identify how adjustments to Nature’s design compare to reality. Many interesting findings about shell growth are discussed; however, comparisons to human structures are generalized into three main notions. The shell optimizes living convenience as it ages; the shell increases its external load capacity with age/length; and the data suggests that the snail undergoes a change in motivation for survival, or that its vulnerability to certain hazards changes with growth— none of which human structures demonstrate a capability of. Implications and future work of this project include drawing adaptability connections for use in structural design, designing for adaptability at city and regional scales, educating both practicing and student engineers about the opportunities of adaptability and biomimicry, perhaps incrementally improving 3D printing to include time as a fourth dimension, and grounding this work in the field of complexity science. This project aims to cultivate interest in biomimicry within the civil engineering community. This discussion of how to further develop biomimicry into a quantitative tool is provided with the hopes that engineers are convinced to consider adaptable lessons from Nature for sustainable solutions

Got Breadfruit? Marshallese Foodways and Culture in Springdale, Arkansas

Understanding human food choices is essential in the examination of cultural knowledge and decision-making among members of any ethnic group. Ethnographic and cognitive anthropology methods, including a novel calculation of cognitive salience, were used in this study to explore the domain of traditional Marshallese foods in Springdale, Arkansas. Springdale is home to the highest population of Marshallese people outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI); the population is expected to rise as people continue to migrate from the RMI because of global climate change and other factors such as family ties. Studies of traditional foodways are increasingly crucial in social science because they offer a relevant lens for examining beliefs, behaviors, and other biocultural elements binding people together. This study is the first to examine traditional Marshallese foods in the diasporic context. It is also significant from health and nutritional perspectives because Marshallese people are at high risk for diet related diseases, such as type II diabetes. Breadfruit, long a standard starchy staple of Marshallese cuisine, was discovered to be the most important and socially shared traditional Marshallese food. Although breadfruit is gaining popularity in Western markets as a healthy superfood on par with kale and açaí, it is not yet readily available for purchase in Springdale. The practice of substituting higher-Glycemic Index (GI) white rice for lower-GI breadfruit began in the RMI during the 1930s and has carried over to the Springdale community today, where 46.5% of Marshallese adults have type II diabetes (a disease associated with higher dietary GI). The fact that breadfruit has such high cultural value and salience, despite infrequent consumption, represents Marshallese concepts of dietary change and constancy. Ultimately, the results of this work serve to illustrate how human diasporic groups adapt and respond to dramatic socio-ecological changes and challenges through culturally-constructed food beliefs, preferences, and consumption patterns