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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Kavazanjian, Edward
- Creators: Allenby, Braden
- Creators: Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby
Description
22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) is one of the most frequent chromosomal microdeletion syndromes in humans. This case study focuses on the language and reading profile of a female adult with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome who was undiagnosed until the age of 27 years old. To comprehensively describe the participant's profile, a series of assessment measures was administered in the speech, language, cognition, reading, and motor domains. Understanding how 22q11.2DS has impacted the life of a recently diagnosed adult will provide insight into how to best facilitate long-term language and educational support for this population and inform future research.
ContributorsPhilp, Jennifer Lynn (Author) / Scherer, Nancy (Thesis director) / Peter, Beate (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Currently conventional Subtitle D landfills are the primary means of disposing of our waste in the United States. While this method of waste disposal aims at protecting the environment, it does so through the use of liners and caps that effectively freeze the breakdown of waste. Because this method can keep landfills active, and thus a potential groundwater threat for over a hundred years, I take an in depth look at the ability of bioreactor landfills to quickly stabilize waste. In the thesis I detail the current state of bioreactor landfill technologies, assessing the pros and cons of anaerobic and aerobic bioreactor technologies. Finally, with an industrial perspective, I conclude that moving on to bioreactor landfills as an alternative isn't as simple as it may first appear, and that it is a contextually specific solution that must be further refined before replacing current landfills.
ContributorsWhitten, George Avery (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis director) / Allenby, Braden (Committee member) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Hearing and vision are two senses that most individuals use on a daily basis. The simultaneous presentation of competing visual and auditory stimuli often affects our sensory perception. It is often believed that vision is the more dominant sense over audition in spatial localization tasks. Recent work suggests that visual information can influence auditory localization when the sound is emanating from a physical location or from a phantom location generated through stereophony (the so-called "summing localization"). The present study investigates the role of cross-modal fusion in an auditory localization task. The focuses of the experiments are two-fold: (1) reveal the extent of fusion between auditory and visual stimuli and (2) investigate how fusion is correlated with the amount of visual bias a subject experiences. We found that fusion often occurs when light flash and "summing localization" stimuli were presented from the same hemifield. However, little correlation was observed between the magnitude of visual bias and the extent of perceived fusion between light and sound stimuli. In some cases, subjects reported distinctive locations for light and sound and still experienced visual capture.
ContributorsBalderas, Leslie Ann (Author) / Zhou, Yi (Thesis director) / Yost, William (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
It is important to consider attention when designing and conducting an experiment due to the significant impact it can have on how people process information. This study compared the influence attention can have on performance of an auditory task. Using an EEG system and measuring cortical evoked response potentials (ERPs) the assumptions about keeping eyes open during passive listening tasks which related to the low attention parameter of MMN, as well as requiring an active response for the high attention parameter of the P300 were tested. The hypotheses were that the presence of an active, focused component will increase the magnitude of the P300 (as is generally accepted), that the presence of an active, focused component will decrease the magnitude of the MMN (as is currently debated), and that closed eyes would diminish the magnitude of both components (as also is currently debated). The presence of significant values for both the P300 amplitude and P300 adaptive mean indicated a successful causal link between the presence of an active condition and an increased P300 waveform, while the high individual variability present throughout the data focus the scope of future study on MMN and P300.
ContributorsKonduri, Gopi (Author) / Peter, Beate (Thesis director) / Lancaster, Hope (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The purpose of this study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of parental competence and outcome expectations on early speech and language intervention both pre- and post- intervention using the 16-item Early Intervention Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale (EIPSES). The parent competence factor measures parents’ beliefs in their capabilities to promote their child’s development, whereas the outcome expectations factor measures parent’s belief in the influence of external factors, such as early intervention (Guimond et al, 2008). The results of this study are expected to assist early interventionists in better understanding and supporting parents’ needs. Four parent-child dyads participated in this study and were provided the EIPSES questionnaire electronically. Parents were administered the questionnaire prior to intervention, and immediately following the intervention. When questionnaire responses were compared pre- and post-intervention, the results indicate an increase in parental self-efficacy and decrease in outcome expectations. Furthermore, conclusions drawn from this study indicate that implementing an Enhanced Milieu Teaching with Phonological Emphasis (EMT+PE) parent intervention program is a beneficial way of increasing the overall self-efficacy for parents of children with cleft palate and/or lip (CP/L).
ContributorsChiarello, Brianna (Author) / Wimmer, Abbigail (Co-author) / Scherer, Nancy (Thesis director) / Wombacher, Natalie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2021-12
Description
The purpose of this study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of parental competence and outcome expectations on early speech and language intervention both pre- and post- intervention using the 16-item Early Intervention Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale (EIPSES). The parent competence factor measures parents’ beliefs in their capabilities to promote their child’s development, whereas the outcome expectations factor measures parent’s belief in the influence of external factors, such as early intervention (Guimond et al, 2008). The results of this study are expected to assist early interventionists in better understanding and supporting parents’ needs. Four parent-child dyads participated in this study and were provided the EIPSES questionnaire electronically. Parents were administered the questionnaire prior to intervention, and immediately following the intervention. When questionnaire responses were compared pre- and post-intervention, the results indicate an increase in parental self-efficacy and decrease in outcome expectations. Furthermore, conclusions drawn from this study indicate that implementing an Enhanced Milieu Teaching with Phonological Emphasis (EMT+PE) parent intervention program is a beneficial way of increasing the overall self-efficacy for parents of children with cleft palate and/or lip (CP/L).
ContributorsWimmer, Abbigail (Author) / Chiarello, Brianna (Co-author) / Scherer, Nancy (Thesis director) / Wombacher, Natalie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2021-12
Characterization and Manipulation of Microbiomes From Arid Landfills for Improved Methane Production
Description
Environmentally harmful byproducts from solid waste’s decomposition, including methane (CH4) emissions, are managed through standardized landfill engineering and gas-capture mechanisms. Yet only a limited number of studies have analyzed the development and composition of Bacteria and Archaea involved in CH4 production from landfills. The objectives of this research were to compare microbiomes and bioactivity from CH4-producing communities in contrasting spatial areas of arid landfills and to tests a new technology to biostimulate CH4 production (methanogenesis) from solid waste under dynamic environmental conditions controlled in the laboratory. My hypothesis was that the diversity and abundance of methanogenic Archaea in municipal solid waste (MSW), or its leachate, play an important role on CH4 production partially attributed to the group’s wide hydrogen (H2) consumption capabilities. I tested this hypothesis by conducting complementary field observations and laboratory experiments. I describe niches of methanogenic Archaea in MSW leachate across defined areas within a single landfill, while demonstrating functional H2-dependent activity. To alleviate limited H2 bioavailability encountered in-situ, I present biostimulant feasibility and proof-of-concepts studies through the amendment of zero valent metals (ZVMs). My results demonstrate that older-aged MSW was minimally biostimulated for greater CH4 production relative to a control when exposed to iron (Fe0) or manganese (Mn0), due to highly discernable traits of soluble carbon, nitrogen, and unidentified fluorophores found in water extracts between young and old aged, starting MSW. Acetate and inhibitory H2 partial pressures accumulated in microcosms containing old-aged MSW. In a final experiment, repeated amendments of ZVMs to MSW in a 600 day mesocosm experiment mediated significantly higher CH4 concentrations and yields during the first of three ZVM injections. Fe0 and Mn0 experimental treatments at mesocosm-scale also highlighted accelerated development of seemingly important, but elusive Archaea including Methanobacteriaceae, a methane-producing family that is found in diverse environments. Also, prokaryotic classes including Candidatus Bathyarchaeota, an uncultured group commonly found in carbon-rich ecosystems, and Clostridia; All three taxa I identified as highly predictive in the time-dependent progression of MSW decomposition. Altogether, my experiments demonstrate the importance of H2 bioavailability on CH4 production and the consistent development of Methanobacteriaceae in productive MSW microbiomes.
ContributorsReynolds, Mark Christian (Author) / Cadillo-Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xuan (Committee member) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Zero-Valent Metals (ZVM) are highly reactive materials and have been proved to be effective in contaminant reduction in soils and groundwater remediation. In fact, zero-Valent Iron (ZVI) has proven to be very effective in removing, particularly chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and odorous sulfides. Addition of ZVI has also been proved in enhancing the methane gas generation in anaerobic digestion of activated sludge. However, no studies have been conducted regarding the effect of ZVM stimulation to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) degradation. Therefore, a collaborative study was developed to manipulate microbial activity in the landfill bioreactors to favor methane production by adding ZVMs. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of added ZVM on the leachate generated from replicated lab scale landfill bioreactors. The specific objective was to investigate the effects of ZVMs addition on the organic and inorganic pollutants in leachate. The hypothesis here evaluated was that adding ZVM including ZVI and Zero Valent Manganese (ZVMn) will enhance the removal rates of the organic pollutants present in the leachate, likely by a putative higher rate of microbial metabolism. Test with six (4.23 gallons) bioreactors assembled with MSW collected from the Salt River Landfill and Southwest Regional Landfill showed that under 5 grams /liter of ZVI and 0.625 grams/liter of ZVMn additions, no significant difference was observed in the pH and temperature data of the leachate generated from these reactors. The conductivity data suggested the steady rise across all reactors over the period of time. The removal efficiency of sCOD was highest (27.112 mg/lit/day) for the reactors added with ZVMn at the end of 150 days for bottom layer, however the removal rate was highest (16.955 mg/lit/day) for ZVI after the end of 150 days of the middle layer. Similar trends in the results was observed in TC analysis. HPLC study indicated the dominance of the concentration of heptanoate and isovalerate were leachate generated from the bottom layer across all reactors. Heptanoate continued to dominate in the ZVMn added leachate even after middle layer injection. IC analysis concluded the chloride was dominant in the leachate generated from all the reactors and there was a steady increase in the chloride content over the period of time. Along with chloride, fluoride, bromide, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and sulfate were also detected in considerable concentrations. In the summary, the addition of the zero valent metals has proved to be efficient in removal of the organics present in the leachate.
ContributorsPandit, Gandhar Abhay (Author) / Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Olson, Larry (Thesis advisor) / Boyer, Treavor (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019