From Caution to College: The Effects on Veterans with Self- Reported Trauma Symptoms Sharing their Experiences with the Campus Community

Over 900,000 veterans are using benefits for higher education today; the vast majority of them served in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Over 25% of GWOT service members that have been treated by the Veterans Affairs (VA) are reported to have symptoms of posttraumatic stress or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTS/PTSD). PTS/PTSD negatively impacts student veterans’ abilities to navigate stressful environments such as college and university settings. The Veterans Embracing Transition (VET) Connect Program at San José State University (SJSU) is designed to connect veterans with non-veterans as peer educators. Five of the 13 VET Connect peer educators (38.5%) who were interviewed reported having symptoms of PTSD. Through their service as peer educators on and off campus, these participants demonstrated signs of healthy coping effects through sharing experiences and educating non-veterans of the struggles related to military culture, service, combat, and loss. This study was conducted in collaboration with Sophia Alcala. We worked on independent research questions and observations using data derived from the same larger study simultaneously under the supervision of Dr. Klaw

Identification of Hemodynamically Optimal Coronary Stent Designs Based on Vessel Caliber

Coronary stent design influences local patterns of wall shear stress (WSS) that are associated with neointimal growth, restenosis, and the endothelialization of stent struts. The number of circumferentially repeating crowns NC for a given stent de- sign is often modified depending on the target vessel caliber, but the hemodynamic implications of altering NC have not previously been studied. In this investigation, we analyzed the relationship between vessel diameter and the hemodynamically optimal NC using a derivative-free optimization algorithm coupled with computational fluid dynamics. The algorithm computed the optimal vessel diameter, defined as minimizing the area of stent-induced low WSS, for various configurations (i.e., NC) of a generic slotted-tube design and designs that resemble commercially available stents. Stents were modeled in idealized coronary arteries with a vessel diameter that was allowed to vary between 2 and 5 mm. The results indicate that the optimal vessel diameter increases for stent configurations with greater NC, and the designs of current commercial stents incorporate a greater NC than hemodynamically optimal stent designs. This finding suggests that reducing the NC of current stents may improve the hemodynamic environment within stented arteries and reduce the likelihood of excessive neointimal growth and thrombus formation

Implicit Gender Bias in the Classroom: Memories from K-12 Education

Implicit biases affect everyone in society, including within the K-12 education system. This study investigated what memories of implicit gender bias preservice teachers (PSTs) recalled from their K-12 education. These memories may be connected to the PSTs’ embedded implicit biases and indicate the long-term impact of teachers’ biases on students. A total of 141 undergraduate PSTs from two universities were surveyed regarding gender expectations and recognition of LGBTQ+ people. Results indicated an inconsistency between espoused beliefs and practices within the classrooms. Because schools often reflect society’s norms and perpetuate them through implicit bias, understanding what biases are currently accepted and reinforced in schools allows teacher education programs to unpack these specific biases with their preservice teachers to promote greater equality and ultimately reduce sexism in our society

Multi-frequency fine resolution imaging radar instrumentation and data acquisition

Development of a dual polarized L-band radar imaging system to be used in conjunction with the present dual polarized X-band radar is described. The technique used called for heterodyning the transmitted frequency from X-band to L-band and again heterodyning the received L-band signals back to X-band for amplification, detection, and recording