Relational Variables Associated with Self-Reported Political Idealogy

This dissertation examined the relationship between self-reported political ideology and the relational variables of attachment, shame, and grace. Previous research on political ideology has focused on conservatism, as well as morality and personality differences across the political spectrum. This study combined two samples of 155 adult participants gathered through Qualtrics and 79 undergraduate students. Each participant completed a demographics questionnaire, Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Feeney et al., 1994), Dimensions of Grace Scale (DGS; Bufford et al., 2017), Duke University Religion Index (DUREL; Koenig et al., 1997), and Internalized Shame Scale (ISS; Cook, 1988). Additionally, 19 of the undergraduate students completed the Thurston-Cradock Test of Shame (TCTS; Thurston & Cradock, 2009). Prior to analysis participants were grouped into five categories based on self-reported social political ideology (GSPI): Very Liberal, Liberal, Neither Liberal nor Conservative, Conservative, and Very Conservative. Internal consistency was evaluated for each measure used and correlations were calculated to examine the relationship among GSPI, select demographic variables, and each measure. Next, a regression analysis was conducted and established that shame and attachment characteristics do not account for a significant amount of variance in GSPI. However, this study found that age, education, and religiosity did account for significant variance in GSPI. Following this, an ANOVA was completed and found significant between group differences for DGS: Experiencing God’s Grace, DGS: Costly Grace, DGS: Grace from Others, DGS: Grace to Others, ASQ: Avoidance, DUREL: Organizational Religiosity, DUREL: Non-organizational Religiosity, and DUREL: Intrinsic Religiosity. Significant within group differences were also discovered across each of the measures, with the exception of ASQ: Avoidance. Lastly, a cluster analysis was conducted and established that political ideology can be viewed from a two, three, six, or eight-cluster perspectives, with eight clusters likely providing the most accurate depiction of group differences. Results of the study indicate that individuals across the political spectrum do not differ in shame and attachment characteristics and do display significant differences in religiosity and grace. In addition, political ideology may be more accurately represented as eight clusters rather than a liberal-conservative dichotomy that is used in much of political ideology research

MPI WITHIN A GPU

GPUs offer high-performance floating-point computation at commodity prices, but their usage is hindered by programming models which expose the user to irregularities in the current shared-memory environments and require learning new interfaces and semantics. This thesis will demonstrate that the message-passing paradigm can be conceptually cleaner than the current data-parallel models for programming GPUs because it can hide the quirks of current GPU shared-memory environments, as well as GPU-specific features, behind a well-established and well-understood interface. This will be shown by demonstrating a proof-of-concept MPI implementation which provides cleaner, simpler code with a reasonable performance cost. This thesis will also demonstrate that, although there is a virtualization constraint imposed by MPI, this constraint is harmless as long as the virtualization was already chosen to be optimal in terms of a strong execution model and nearly-optimal execution time. This will be demonstrated by examining execution times with varying virtualization using a computationally-expensive micro-kernel

Design of an integrated shallow water wave experiment

The experimental design and instrumentation for an integrated shallow-water surface gravity wave experiment is discussed. The experiment required the measurement of the water surface elevation, meteorological parameters, and directional spectra at a number of locations on a shallow lake. In addition, to acquire data under a wide range of conditions, an experimental period of three years was required. A system of telephone and radio modem links were installed to enable real-time monitoring of instrument performance at eight separate measurement locations on the lake. This system also enabled logging sessions to be optimized to ensure the maximum possible data return from this extended experimentIEEE Oceanic Engineering Societ

Reading list of selected PASM-related publications

Prepared for a chapter to be published in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Parallel Computing by Springer Publishing Company. The Encyclopedia will contain a broad coverage of the field and will include entries on machine organization, programming, algorithms, and applications. The broad coverage, together with extensive pointers to the literature for in-depth study, is expected to make the Encyclopedia a useful reference tool in parallel computing

Reengineering of the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) equipment tracking database

The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) manages the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS). DBIDS captures personal and biometric information to manage DoD-wide access, control, and personnel accountability. DBIDS equipment is installed globally, and managed by a central office on the Monterey peninsula. Program managers track data about the numbers and type of equipment installed at each site. Program managers were tracking DBIDS data using a single Microsoft Excel workbook comprised of several, interlinking worksheets (DBIDS Master Plan Spreadsheet). Data updates were error-prone and difficult, requiring close coordination to keep the number of "current" versions of the spreadsheet to a minimum. This thesis initially focused on reviewing the business rules and processes surrounding DBIDS document, and then transitioned into designing, developing, and implementing of a relational database solution to improve problem areas identified during the initial review. After implementation of the database, this thesis explored the effects of making such a change within an organization. This was attempted by identifying and measuring changes in performance and accuracy of the system; by measuring pre- and post-user satisfaction through the qualitative methods of questionnaires and interviews; and finally using this analysis to improve the project through maintenance and growth iterations.http://archive.org/details/reengineeringofd109454607Outstanding ThesisUS Navy (USN) author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Management of Late-Stage Ewingoid Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma of the Spermatic Cord with Emergent Complications: A Case Report

Liposarcoma (LS), a malignant tumor of adipose origin, is the most common soft tissue sarcoma (STS), and can develop within any soft tissue. It rarely occurs in the paratesticular region, and accounts for 3-7% of spermatic cord tumors. Dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLS) and well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLS) account for two of the five subtypes of LS, with dedifferentiation occurring in 20% of cases. There have been 66 cases of DDLS of the spermatic cord reported to date, but none present with a 22/22q trisomy without the fusion or rearrangement that commonly produces these aggressive tumors. Accurate diagnosis of LS of the spermatic cord is difficult but imperative for effective treatment. Misdiagnosis leads to ineffective management and poor outcomes, as seen in this case. This is the first reported case of DDLS showing 22/22q trisomy without fusion or rearrangement, and though its clinical significance is unclear, the complications arising from this spermatic cord LS were severe with significant implications for nearby anatomical structures. As this tumor’s aggressive features demonstrated the potential for requiring emergent treatment, a review of the literature surrounding management of DDLS of the spermatic cord with advanced disease at time of presentation was found to be lacking and management poorly defined. We hope that understanding malignant changes in tumors like the one presented in this case will help guide therapies currently in development that will take advantage of specific biological targets implicated in DDLS

Association of Prematurity and Urogenital Comorbidities with Postoperative Outcomes of Ureteroneocystostomy for Vesicoureteral Reflux

Background: It is estimated that 20-30% of congenital anomalies involve the kidney and ureter, and these rates are even higher in infants with low birth weights. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) occurs when there is a backflow of urine from the bladder to the kidney. Depending on severity, this condition may require surgical correction with ureteroneocystostomy (UNC). The impact of premature birth and presence of urogenital comorbidities on outcomes of UNC is not known. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between premature birth and urogenital comorbidities with operative outcomes of UNC for VUR. Methods: The 2020 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric (NSQIP-P) database was analyzed for patients undergoing UNC for VUR. 1742 patients were evaluated with 1623 meeting inclusion criteria. The patients were divided into full term (\u3e37 weeks gestation at birth) and preterm (birth). Patient demographics, comorbid conditions, urogenital comorbidities, and outcomes were evaluated. Further analysis of factors associated with ectopic ureter was performed. Results: Out of 1623 UNC patients analyzed, 8.6% were preterm and 91.4% were full term. In basic statistics, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, esophageal/gastric/intestinal disease, developmental delay, structural CNS abnormality, neuromuscular disorder, nutritional support, congenital malformation, cardiac risk factors, ASA classification, gestational age, and urogenital comorbidities were significantly associated with prematurity. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that congenital malformation (p=0.007), major cardiac risk factors (p=0.002), and gestational age of 35-36 weeks are significantly associated with risk of ectopic ureter (p\u3c0.001). Conclusion: While prematurity alone is not associated with incidence of VUR, preterm patients undergoing UNC have a significantly higher risk of postoperative complications despite no differences in operative approach, VUR disease severity, and prior VUR procedure compared to full term patients undergoing this procedure. Preterm patients tend to have more comorbidities which may contribute to this finding. Ectopic ureter is associated with prematurity and factors such as congenital malformations and major cardiac risk factors may increase the risk for ectopic ureter in this population

Factors and Outcomes Contributing to Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer represents the 6th most common for men and is classified into muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). NMIBC (T1, Ta, Tis), accounting for approximately 75% of new bladder cancer diagnoses, is limited to the mucosa, submucosa, and lamina propria. Studies have approximated the rate of recurrence in NMIBC between 50 - 70%, which sometimes progresses to muscle invasive disease. Management of NMIBC ranges from surveillance, intravesical chemotherapy to radical cystectomy (RC) and is dependent upon the TNM staging and grading of the tumor. Clinically, staging is determined via imaging, physical exam, and histology on transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT), while pathologic grading is determined via radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). PLND has been shown to have a therapeutic benefit in localized bladder cancer when done in conjunction with RC, in addition to diagnostic and therapeutic elements. While the relationship between PLND and MIBC has been studied extensively, the role of lymph node (LN) dissection during RC for NMIBC remains unclear, with few studies and conflicting results. Furthermore, although lymph node metastasis has been found to occur in up to 16.2% of NMIBC patients, its reported that nearly half have insufficient PLND during RC and 16.6% have no PLND done at all. The aim of this data analysis is to determine the predictive factors and outcomes for LN positive patients undergoing PLND with RC in NMIBC