A Mixed Methods Study of Undergraduate Research Motivations at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO)

Undergraduate research provides unique experiences and skill sets that are applicable in various careers. However, there has been an increasing need for greater diversity among researchers, namely undergraduate researchers, and the motivations behind undergraduate research participation need to be further explored. The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic information of undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), and what motivations were the most prevalent in undergraduate research at UNO. A mixed-methods approach was utilized through a quantitative portion and a qualitative portion. The quantitative portion was a web-based survey which gauged for 22 independent variables, the central variables being race/ethnicity, gender, and severity of disability. The surveys acquired 111 respondents’ and results were analyzed through correlations and ANOVA’s. The qualitative portion utilized six in-depth interviews with UNO undergraduate students and were coded for common themes. Survey results indicated that there is a significant, negative correlation between the severity of disability and research interest among many other significant results with various independent variables. Common themes throughout the interviews included intrinsic motivation, gender bias, and racial/ethnic bias. Overall, this study confirmed that demographic factors affect who pursues research and that intrinsic motivation is a leading factor as to why undergraduate students pursue research. Accommodations in research spaces, increasing awareness of research opportunities on campus, positive faculty/student relationships, and funding for undergraduate research should be greatly considered

Adolescent Adjustment: How Social Withdrawal and Number of Friends Affect Peer Victimization

This presentation will discuss a study examining the relationship between social withdrawal and total number of friends on peer victimization, which is when a child or adolescent is outcast, harassed, or bullied by peers. This study took place in Barranquilla, Colombia and Montréal, Canada. 1375 children ranging from 6-15 years of age participated in this study. Social withdrawal, number of friends, and peer victimization was measured through peer nominations. A multiple regression analysis was performed and found that social withdrawal was a positive predictor of peer victimization, β=.41,t(1193)=15.69,p\u3c.05, while a greater number of friends was a negative predictor for peer victimization, β=-.15,t(1193)=-5.78,p\u3c.05. The findings indicate that positive social interaction and a network of friends lessened the likelihood of being victimized by peers. Future directions could look at parent/guardian relationships on peer victimization and effective intervention strategies to reduce victimization

IoT and Neural Network-Based Water Pumping Control System For Smart Irrigation

This article aims at saving the wasted water in the process of irrigation using the Internet of Things (IoT) based on a set of sensors and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) neural network. The developed system handles the sensor data using the Arduino board to control the water pump automatically. The sensors measure the environmental factors; namely temperature, humidity, and soil moisture to estimate the required time for the operation of water irrigation. The water pump control system consists of software and hardware tools such as Arduino Remote XY interface and electronic sensors in the framework of IoT technology. The machine learning algorithm such as the MLP neural network plays an important role to support the decision of automatic control of IoT-based irrigation system, managing the water consumption effectively.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Single-layer-coated beam splitters for the division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter

A design procedure is presented for a near-optimal, single-layer-coated prism beam splitter that serves as the key optical element of the division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter (DOAP). For given film and substrate refractive indices, the angle of incidence and film thickness are selected such that the ellipsometric differential phase shifts in reflection and transmission Delta_r and Delta_t differ by ±pi/2, and the normalized determinant of the instrument matrix is maximized. The best results are obtained by using high-index films on low-index substrates. This is illustrated by examples of ZnS and GaP films on silica prisms in the visible and Si, Ge, and PbTe films on Irtran 1 substrates in the infrared. A 16° Si-prism DOAP beam splitter at the 1.55-µm lightwave-communications wavelength is also presented. It uses a 163-nm SiO2 coating on the entrance face to satisfy the optimum delta condition at 73° incidence, and the determinant of the instrument matrix is 78.23% of its theoretical maximum. The exit face of the Si prism is antireflection coated with a 208-nm Si3N4 film

Single-layer-coated beam splitters for the division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter

A design procedure is presented for a near-optimal, single-layer-coated prism beam splitter that serves as the key optical element of the division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter (DOAP). For given film and substrate refractive indices, the angle of incidence and film thickness are selected such that the ellipsometric differential phase shifts in reflection and transmission Delta_r and Delta_t differ by ±pi/2, and the normalized determinant of the instrument matrix is maximized. The best results are obtained by using high-index films on low-index substrates. This is illustrated by examples of ZnS and GaP films on silica prisms in the visible and Si, Ge, and PbTe films on Irtran 1 substrates in the infrared. A 16° Si-prism DOAP beam splitter at the 1.55-µm lightwave-communications wavelength is also presented. It uses a 163-nm SiO2 coating on the entrance face to satisfy the optimum delta condition at 73° incidence, and the determinant of the instrument matrix is 78.23% of its theoretical maximum. The exit face of the Si prism is antireflection coated with a 208-nm Si3N4 film

Exposure to NO2 in occupational built environments in urban centre in Lahore

Increased economic growth, urbanisation and substantial rise in automobile vehicles has contributed towards the elevated levels of air pollution in major cities in Pakistan. Aone week study was conducted by using passive samplers to assess NO2 concentration in occupational built environments at two most congested and populated sites of Lahore. Both sites were locatedon the busy roads of Lahore. At Site-I the highest concentration was in outdoors followed by corridor and indoor. While at Site II all the sampling location wereindoors and level were comparable to that of outdoor levelsat Site I. The results suggest the likely contribution of ambient sources in exposure to indoor NO2 in educational and other occupational built environments in urban centres

Minimax Estimation of the Scale Parameter of Laplace Distribution under Squared-Log Error Loss Function

In this paper, we obtained Minimax estimator of the scale parameter  for the Laplace distribution under the Squared log error loss function by applying the theorem of Lehmann [1950], and compared it with Minimax estimator under Quadratic loss function in addition of Maximum Likelihood Estimator according to Monte-Carlo simulation study. The performance of these estimators is compared depending on the mean squared errors (MSE’s). Keywords: Minimax estimator, Laplace distribution, Bayes estimator, Squared-log error loss function, Jeffery prior, Mean squared error

The influence of different types of fixed orthodontic appliance on the growth and adherence of microorganisms (in vitro study)

Orthodontic appliances serve as different impact zones and modify microbial adherence and colonization, acting as foreign reserves and possible sources of infection. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different types of fixed orthodontic appliances on the growth and adherence of microorganisms in oral flora which are Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Candida albicans. Sixty-four of four different fixed orthodontic appliance-samples were used, divided into four groups of sixteen. Type I: Sapphire brackets- Coated wires, type II: Sapphire brackets- Stainless steel wires, type III: Stainless steel brackets- Coated wires and type IV: Stainless steel brackets- Stainless steel wires. Oral strains of S. mutans and Candida albicans were studied in the present study using biochemical test then microbial suspensions were prepared to do the tests of each microorganism including the antimicrobial effects of different appliance-samples on the growth of microorganisms and their adhesion tests. The results showed significant differences between the different appliances in terms of inhibition zone formation (P<0.001). The adhesion test, which is classified into low, medium and high, showed the adhesion of S. mutans, is low with type I and II, medium with type III and high with type IV, whereas the adhesion of Candida albicans is medium with both type I and II and high with both type III and IV with high significant differences (P<0.001). Appliance with high esthetic appearance, sapphire brackets and coated arch wire, showed the least adherence of S. mutans and Candida albicans in comparison to other appliances with less esthetic and more metal components

Effect of Doping Ratio on FTIR Spectrum of Coumarin Doped Polystyrene films

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is one of the powerful tools for identifying and investigating the presence of various functional groups in polymers. We studied the transmission FTIR spectra of coumarin laser dye, polystyrene polymer, and coumarin doped polystyrene films with different doping ratio of coumarin solution. All samples prepared by casting method. Increasing doping ratio of coumarin solution will clear the role of coumarin laser dye on FTIR spectrum by appearing peaks refers to dye which have evaluated and compared with other researches.. KeyWord: FTIR Spectrum, Coumarin, Polystyrene Polymer, Effect of Doping Ratio, Dye Doped Polymer Films

High Frequency of cagA and vacA s1a/m2 Genotype among Helicobacter pylori Infected Gastric Biopsies of Pakistani Children

The vacuolating cytotoxin VacA and cytotoxin associated gene product CagA, encoded by vacA and cagA are major virulence determinants associated with pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori. The presence and prevalence of two major H. pylori virulence associated genes among gastric biopsies of Pakistani children were investigated in the current study. Fifty one gastric biopsy specimens of children were analysed for 16S rRNA, vacA and cagA genes using PCR. The results showed that 21 (41.2%) biopsies were positive for H. pylori as determined by 16S rRNA PCR. In the 21 H. pylori positive gastric biopsies, 19 (90.5%) showed vacA s1a, 1 (4.75%) was vacA s1b and 1 (4.75%) was vacA s2 whereas, 5 (23.8%) were vacA m1 and 16 (76.2%) were vacA m2. None of the H. pylori positive biopsies carried vacA s1c subtype. The cagA gene was found in 13 (61.9%) of H. pylori infected biopsies and different vacA combinations were found with or without cagA gene. H. pylori was detected with high frequency of cagA while vacA s1a and vacA m2 regions with vacA s1a/m2 genotype were predominant in H. pylori infected gastric biopsies of children