Stroke Knowledge Test

The Stroke Knowledge Test (SKT) was developed with the intention of helping people with Stroke. Stroke is a serious and common health problem. The SKT is intended for use by health professionals working in the area of stroke. The test can be used one-on-one or in group settings. It can be used to assess stroke knowledge among survivors, people at risk of stroke, carers and family members, or support staff working with people who have had stroke. The aim of this test is to provide a benchmark against which changes in stroke knowledge and understanding might be mapped. It can also be used to: assist health professionals to tailor their delivery of stroke educations specifically to the needs of a given client; and in research applications

Writing Arabizi: Orthographic Variation In Romanized Lebanese Arabicon Twitter

How does technology influence the script in which a language is written? Over the past few decades, a new form of writing has emerged across the Arab world. Known as Arabizi, it is a type of Romanized Arabic that uses Latin characters instead of Arabic script. It is mainly used by youth in technology-related contexts such as social media and texting, and has made many older Arabic speakers fear that more standard forms of Arabic may be in danger because of its use. Prior work on Arabizi suggests that although it is used frequently on social media, its orthography is not yet standardized (Palfreyman and Khalil, 2003; Abdel-Ghaffar et al., 2011). Therefore, this thesis aimed to examine orthographic variation in Romanized Lebanese Arabic, which has rarely beenstudied as a Romanized dialect. It was interested in how often Arabizi is used on Twitter in Lebanon and the extent of its orthographic variation. Using Twitter data collected from Beirut, tweets were analyzed to discover the most common orthographic variants in Arabizi for each Arabic letter, as well as the overall rate of Arabizi use. Results show that Arabizi was not used as frequently as hypothesized on Twitter, probably because of its low prestige and increased globalization. However, its consonants are relatively standardized, while its vowels show more variation. This thesis adds to the existing conversation about Romanized Arabic by presenting a detailed study of orthographic variation in Lebanese Arabic. The results could have useful implications for Arabic language ideology and technological endeavors, such as natural language processing or translation programs.

Molecularly imprinted biofunctional device: Using polymer surfaces on surgical instruments to catalyze blood coagulation

Heated scalpels are a common method for reducing surgical blood loss. However, these methods damage tissue. Additionally, blood products used in topical hemostatic agents have inherent risks of allergic reaction, infection, and adhesions. Unlike these methods, the presented medical device utilizes molecular imprinting, an established technique that works by the creation of artificial protein binding site in order to activate biological response. This novel medical application of molecular imprints avoids heat damage or use foreign blood products by particular sequencing of imprints to catalyze blood coagulation. Currently, molecular imprints have been utilized as artificial chaperones in potential therapies for protein conformational diseases. In other instances, molecular imprinting is utilized in biosensors, namely for detecting changes in blood sugar, and for detection of viruses by interacting with antibodies in ways to provide diagnostics. Thus far, techniques using silica has shown successful specificity for imprinting the complex shape of hemoglobin yet the potential of this technique for the application of blood-coagulating surgical instruments is largely unexplored. This research investigates this particular medical application and inclusion of acoustics in the imprinting process as well as ultrasonic waves and fiber optics for promoting controlled release of proteins from molecular imprints and distribution of functionalized nanoparticles

The Role of pH on the Inhibition of Aqueous Zinc Corrosion by L-tryptophan

A combination of in situ Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique (SVET), and time lapse photography were used to investigate the influence of the amino acid, L-tryptophan, on the localized corrosion occurring on unpolarized zinc (Zn) samples immersed in a 0.17 mol.L−1 aqueous sodium chloride electrolyte. The addition of 1 × 10−2 mol.L−1 of L-tryptophan was found to have a significant effect on the corrosion rate for all pH values tested. At both pH 2 and pH 7, primary protection was suggested to occur as a result of adsorption due to electrostatic interactions. A secondary mechanism, whereby an insoluble complex is formed between Zn (II) ions and anionic L-tryptophan, was also proposed to occur at areas of localized high pH. At pH 2 the additions resulted in an 88% decrease in mass loss, as measured by gravimetric mass loss results and SVET, demonstrating the effectiveness of L-tryptophan inhibitors for this material

Cultural Expression Through Art

Our project’s goal is to work towards greater cultural awareness within the Missoula community by focusing on educating children about culture through art. Cultural education has been slow to be implemented in schools, although it is increasing in importance as diversity in the Missoula community and the rest of the U.S. continues to increase. Cultural awareness is a broad term that covers multiple aspects of awareness: empathy, competence, safety, and intelligence. Learning cultural awareness begins at a young age, so we designed a hands-on learning experience directed at students in grades 4 through 6. We decided to use art as a way to connect students to culture in an engaging and memorable way. Due to COVID-19, we created a virtual learning experience using materials that students could easily find at home or any store. Our website contains an introductory lesson on what culture is as well as other lessons led by educators who volunteered to partner with us. Educators provided an art tutorial video as well as a lesson about the culture behind the art project. We partnered with a local nonprofit, The Flagship Program, to offer the website to a small group of students in order to test our website’s functionality and obtain feedback from educators and their students about the material and areas for improvement. By encouraging cultural awareness at young ages, we can support students in developing cross-cultural skills that will foster future global awareness and communication skills. Art itself is a cultural activity that fosters growth, inclusivity, and innovation. By looking at art forms originating in different cultures, our project shows one of the many ways that cultural education can be incorporated into classrooms

Direct Optical Detection of Microorganisms in Exoplanet Atmospheres: Methods

The purpose of this project is to develop an optical method for detecting the presence of life, specifically microorganisms, in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. We are developing algorithms that distinguish between aerosols of biological origin (microorganisms) from aerosols of non-biological origin (dust, hydrosols, etc.) using analysis of their respective and combined extinction spectra. The method uses large databases of computer-modeled spectra to analyze optical measurements and identify biological aerosols. Whereas most exoplanet researchers focus on detecting molecular spectral signatures, we are focusing on detecting the microorganisms directly rather than their molecular by-products. This method holds significant potential for detecting microorganisms from light scattered from an exoplanet’s atmosphere. In order to simulate exoplanet atmospheres using information available today, Jupiter’s atmosphere was used as a model. This was accomplished by creating a MATLAB program that simulates the scattering of light using complex mathematical models. The optical information for clouds of different types was programmed into MATLAB, as well as the optical data for different kinds of microorganisms. Extinction spectra were simulated using many different size distributions; these distributions were centered at particle sizes typical of microorganisms, liquid clouds, and ice clouds. Many experiment were carried out in order to analyze the effects of different variables on the resulting extinction spectra. These experiments and their results are detailed in our second poster, entitled “Direct Optical Detection of Microorganisms in Exoplanet Atmospheres: Models & Results.

The Rise of a New Mental Health Epidemic: TikTok and Social Media, and Their Negative Impact on Young Adults

The effects of TikTok and social media are explored to understand how detrimental social networking sites are to one\u27s mental health. The research and literature show how the overuse of social media contributes to social media addiction, mental health issues, body dysmorphia, and cyberbullying. A study is analyzed that reports how many are affected by cyberbullying and whether they received counseling for their mental health. It was concluded that social media does much more harm than good, and users could try altering their lives by reducing the amount of time spent on social networking sites

Direct Optical Detection of Microorganisms in Exoplanet Atmospheres: Models & Results

This poster will focus on the analysis of extinction spectra obtained from simulations of exoplanet atmospheres; these spectra have been simulated using a variety of particle types and size distributions. To simulate these spectra, we have created a MATLAB program that uses mathematical models and complex algorithms to model Mie and spherical scattering. This scattering of light from aerosols has been modeled in the ultraviolet to near infrared band (200-1100 nm). We have modeled atmospheric compositions that are typical of Jovian planets, using known information about the atmosphere of Jupiter (see our first poster, entitled “Direct Optical Detection of Microorganisms in Exoplanet Atmospheres: Methods”). Extinction spectra were simulated for six particle types: Erwinia herbicola (EH), Bacillus atrophaeus (BG), ovalbumin (OV), ammonia ice, water, and water ice. Initial results show that the extinction spectra of microorganisms are distinctly different from those of water and ammonia ice clouds; all spectra resemble complex polynomial functions, but the size and location of the peaks vary according to the composition of the particles simulated. These differences are amplified when the size of the particles tested is proportional to the wavelength of the light. There are many variables that could affect this change in extinction spectra. The resulting data from the simulations detailed above has been analyzed to determine which variables most affect the spectra. This analysis focused on the variation of four parameters: refractive index, average particle size, percent volume, and standard deviation