ASU Scholarship Showcase

Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIFs) are one of the potential candidates as highly conducting networks with surface area with a possibility to be used as catalyst support. In the present study, highly active state-of-the-art Pt-NCNTFs catalyst was synthesized by pyrolyzing ZIF-67 along with Pt precursor under flowing Ar-H₂ (90-10 %) gas at 700 °C. XRD analysis indicated the formation of Pt-Co alloy on the surface of the nanostructured catalyst support. The high resolution TEM examination showed the particle size range of 7 to 10 nm. Proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance was evaluated by fabricating membrane electrode assemblies using Nafion-212 electrolyte using H₂/O₂ gases (100 % RH) at various temperatures. The peak power density of 630 mW.cm² was obtained with Pt-NCNTFs cathode catalyst and commercial Pt/C anode catalyst at 70 °C at ambient pressure.

Background: African American women are one of the least active demographic groups in the US, with only 36% meeting the national physical activity recommendations in comparison to 46% of White women. Physical activity begins to decline in African American women in adolescence and continues to decline into young adulthood. Yet, few interventions have been developed to promote physical activity in African American women during this critical period of life. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a culturally-relevant Internet-enhanced physical activity pilot intervention for overweight/obese African American college females and to examine psychosocial and behavioral characteristics associated with intervention adherence and completion.

Methods: A 6-month single group pre-posttest design was used. Participants (n = 27) accessed a culturally-relevant Social Cognitive Theory-based physical activity promotion website while engaging in a minimum of four moderate-intensity physical activity sessions each week. Acceptability and feasibility of the intervention was assessed by participant retention and a consumer satisfaction survey completed by participants.

Results: Fifty-six percent of participants (n = 15) completed the intervention. Study completers were more physically active at baseline (P = 0.05) and had greater social support for exercise from family members (P = 0.04). Sixty percent of study completers (n = 9) reported the website as “enjoyable” or “very enjoyable” to use and 60% (n = 9) reported increased motivation from participation in the physical activity program. Moreover, 87% (n = 13) reported they would recommend the website to a friend.

Conclusions: Results provide some preliminary support for the acceptability and feasibility of an Internet-enhanced physical activity program for overweight/obese African American women, while highlighting important limitations of the approach. Successful promotion of physical activity in college aged African American women as they emerge into adulthood may result in the development of life-long healthy physical activity patterns which may ultimately reduce physical activity-related health disparities in this high risk underserved population. Future studies with larger samples are needed to further explore the use of Internet-based programs to promote physical activity in this population.

The number and variety of connectivity estimation methods is likely to continue to grow over the coming decade. Comparisons between methods are necessary to prune this growth to only the most accurate and robust methods. However, the nature of connectivity is elusive with different methods potentially attempting to identify different aspects of connectivity. Commonalities of connectivity definitions across methods upon which base direct comparisons can be difficult to derive. Here, we explicitly define “effective connectivity” using a common set of observation and state equations that are appropriate for three connectivity methods: dynamic causal modeling (DCM), multivariate autoregressive modeling (MAR), and switching linear dynamic systems for fMRI (sLDSf). In addition while deriving this set, we show how many other popular functional and effective connectivity methods are actually simplifications of these equations. We discuss implications of these connections for the practice of using one method to simulate data for another method. After mathematically connecting the three effective connectivity methods, simulated fMRI data with varying numbers of regions and task conditions is generated from the common equation. This simulated data explicitly contains the type of the connectivity that the three models were intended to identify. Each method is applied to the simulated data sets and the accuracy of parameter identification is analyzed. All methods perform above chance levels at identifying correct connectivity parameters. The sLDSf method was superior in parameter estimation accuracy to both DCM and MAR for all types of comparisons.

Objective: This cross sectional study aims to determine the effects of gender and parental perception of safety at school on children’s physical activity (PA) levels.

Materials and Methods: Parents of school aged Mexican children residing in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta, completed surveys about their children’s PA measures. The physical activity indicators were evaluated using linear and logistical regression models.

Results: Analysis did not indicate that gender moderated the relationship between parental perception of safety and PA measures, but significant gender issues exist with girls participating less than boys in the three measures of PA in this study (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Results suggest the need for additional interventions promoting physical activity in girls in Mexico.

Changes in distribution policies have increased median MELD at transplant with recipients requiring increasing intensive care perioperatively. We aimed to evaluate association of preoperative variables with postoperative respiratory failure (PRF)/increased intensive care unit length of stay (ICU LOS)/short-term survival in a high MELD cohort undergoing liver transplant (LT). Retrospective analysis identified cases of PRF and increased ICU LOS with recipient, donor, and surgical variables examined. Variables were entered into regression with end points of PRF and ICU LOS > 3 days. 164 recipients were examined: 41 (25.0%) experienced PRF and 74 (45.1%) prolonged ICU LOS. Significant predictors of PRF with univariate analysis: BMI > 30, pretransplant MELD, preoperative respiratory failure, LVEF < 50%, FVC < 80%, intraoperative transfusion > 6 units, warm ischemic time > 4 minutes, and cold ischemic time > 240 minutes. On multivariate analysis, only pretransplant MELD predicted PRF (OR 1.14, 𝑝 = 0.01). Significant predictors of prolonged ICU LOS with univariate analysis are as follows: pretransplant MELD, FVC < 80%, FEV1 < 80%, deceased donor, and cold ischemic time > 240 minutes. On multivariate analysis, only pretransplant MELD predicted prolonged ICU LOS (OR 1.28, 𝑝 < 0.001). One-year survival among cohorts with PRF and increased ICU LOS was similar to subjects without. Pretransplant MELD is a robust predictor of PRF and ICU LOS. Higher MELDs at LT are expected to increase need for ICU utilization and modify expectations for recovery in the immediate postoperative period.

Objectives: To determine the off-shift sleep strategies of bi-ethnic night-shift nurses, the relationship between these sleep strategies and adaptation to shift work, and identify the participant-level characteristics associated with a given sleep strategy.

Methods: African-American and non-Hispanic White female, night-shift nurses from an academic hospital were recruited to complete a survey on sleep–wake patterns (n = 213). Participants completed the standard shiftwork index and the biological clocks questionnaire to determine sleep strategies and adaptation to night-shift work. In addition, chronotype was determined quantitatively with a modified version of the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire. Most participants worked ~3 consecutive 12-h night-shifts followed by several days off.

Results: Five sleep strategies used on days off were identified: (a) night stay, (b) nap proxy, (c) switch sleeper, (d) no sleep, and (e) incomplete switcher. Nap proxy and no sleep types were associated with poorer adaptation to night-shift work. The switch sleeper and incomplete switcher types were identified as more adaptive strategies that were associated with less sleep disturbance, a later chronotype, and less cardiovascular problems.

Conclusion: Behavioral sleep strategies are related to adaptation to a typical night-shift schedule among hospital nurses. Nurses are crucial to the safety and well-being of their patients. Therefore, adoption of more adaptive sleep strategies may reduce sleep/wake dysregulation in this population, and improve cardiovascular outcomes.

Previous studies have shown that parental protectiveness is associated with increased pain and disability in Functional Abdominal Pain Disorder (FAPD) but the role that perceived child self-efficacy may play remains unclear. One reason why parents may react protectively towards their child’s pain is that they perceive their child to be unable to cope or function normally while in pain (perceived low self-efficacy). This study sought to examine (a) the association between parent-perceived child pain self-efficacy and child health outcomes (symptom severity and disability); and (b) the role of parental protectiveness as a mediator of this association. Participants were 316 parents of children aged 7–12 years with FAPD. Parents completed measures of perceived child self-efficacy when in pain, their own protective responses to their child’s pain, child gastrointestinal (GI) symptom severity, and child functional disability. Parent-perceived child self-efficacy was inversely associated with parent-reported child GI symptom severity and disability, and parental protectiveness mediated these associations. These results suggest that parents who perceive their child to have low self-efficacy to cope with pain respond more protectively when they believe he/she is in pain, and this, in turn, is associated with higher levels of GI symptoms and disability in their child. This finding suggests that directly addressing parent beliefs about their child’s ability to manage pain should be included as a component of FAPD, and potentially other child treatment interventions.

Background: Numerous studies have reported that spending time in nature is associated with the improvement of various health outcomes and well-being. This review evaluated the physical and psychological benefits of a specific type of exposure to nature, forest therapy.

Method: A literature search was carried out using MEDLINE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, and ProQuest databases and manual searches from inception up to December 2016. Key words: “Forest” or “Shinrin -Yoku” or “Forest bath” AND “Health” or “Wellbeing”. The methodological quality of each randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was assessed according to the Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool.

Results: Six RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 79 years. Sample size ranged from 18 to 99. Populations studied varied from young healthy university students to elderly people with chronic disease. Studies reported the positive impact of forest therapy on hypertension (n = 2), cardiac and pulmonary function (n = 1), immune function (n = 2), inflammation (n = 3), oxidative stress (n = 1), stress (n = 1), stress hormone (n = 1), anxiety (n = 1), depression (n = 2), and emotional response (n = 3). The quality of all studies included in this review had a high ROB.

Conclusion: Forest therapy may play an important role in health promotion and disease prevention. However, the lack of high-quality studies limits the strength of results, rendering the evidence insufficient to establish clinical practice guidelines for its use. More robust RCTs are warranted.

Research has shown that construction projects in Saudi Arabia have exhibited poor performance for the past three decades. The traditional risk management practices have been ineffective at helping contractors deliver projects on time and within budget while meeting quality expectations. Studies have identified that client decision making is one of the main causes of risks that occur on projects in Saudi Arabia. This paper proposes a new risk management model that can minimize client decision making, and enable the client to utilize expertise, thereby improving project quality and performance. The model is derived from the Information Measurement Theory (IMT) and Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS), both developed at Arizona State University in the United States (U.S.). The model has been tested over 1800 times in both construction and non-construction projects, showing a decrease in required management by owner by up to 80% and an increase in efficiency up to 40%.

A typical building construction process runs through three main consecutive phases: design, construction and operation. Currently, architects and engineers both engage in the creation of environmental designs that adequately reflect high performance through sustainability and energy efficiency in new buildings. Occupants of buildings have also recently demonstrated a dramatic increase in awareness regarding building operation, energy usage, and indoor air quality. The process of building construction is chronologically located between both the design and the operation phases. However, this phase has not yet been addressed in either understanding contractor behavior or developing innovative sustainable techniques. These two vital aspects have the potential to levy a dramatic impact on enhancing building performance and operational costs.

Repeatedly causing apprehension to the construction industry is a question that posits, “Why is there a gap/delta/inconsistency between the designed EUI, Energy Use Intensity, and the operational EUI”? Building occupants shall not be the only party that bears blame for the delta in energy. It is true, nonetheless, that occupants are part of the reason, but the contractor – as well as the entire construction phase - also remain prime suspects worth investigating. In the present time, research is predominantly focused on occupants (post-occupancy) and designers to educate and control the gap between designed and operational EUI. This research has succeeded in the identification of the construction phase, in conjunction with contractor behavior, as another main factor for initiating this energy gap. Therefore, not only is the coupling of sustainable strategies to the construction drivers crucial to attaining a sustainable project, but also it is integral to analyzing contractor behavior within each of the construction phases that play a vital role in successfully serving sustainability. Various techniques and approaches will assist contractors in amending their method statements to ensure a sustainable project.

This research correlates an existing project to the two proposed sustainable concepts: 1) Identify cost-saving strategies that may have been implemented or avoided during the construction process, and 2) Evaluate the impacts of implementing these strategies on overall performance. The adopted contexts are to partially foster sustainable architecture concepts to the Contractor process, and then proceed to analyze its cost implication on overall project performance. Results of the validation of this approach verify that when contractors embrace a sustainable construction process the overall project will yield various financial savings. A mixed-use project was utilized to validate these concepts, which indicated three outcomes: firstly, a 25% decrease in manpower for tiling while maintaining the same productivity, thus reflecting a saving of $3,500; next, increasing the productivity of concrete activity, which would shorten the duration of the construction by 45 days and reflect a saving of $1.5 million, and last of all, reducing the overhead costs of labor camps by efficiently orienting temporary shelters, which reveals a reduction in cooling and heating that returned a saving of approximately $10,000. This research develops a comprehensive evidence-based study that addresses the above-mentioned gap in the construction phase, which targets to yield a multi-dimensional tool that will allow: 1) integrating critical thinking and decision-making approaches regarding contractor behavior, and 2) adopting innovative sustainable construction methods that reflect reduction in operating costs.