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Description
College campuses are one of the most common places for substance abuse. Typically, these substances are thought of to be alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. However, Adderall is the second most commonly abused drug on college campuses. It is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Adderall increases attention span and focus, so it is also commonly used as a study drug. Students frequently buy Adderall from a friend with a prescription, and use it to stay up all night cramming for an exam or finishing a project. This is a topic that not much research has been done on since Adderall only became widely used starting in the mid 2000’s. Since it is unethical to run experiments to learn more about Adderall use, and there is a limited amount of data online, a different approach had to be taken to explore this issue further. As a mathematics major, I determined that the best way to do so was to create an SIR mathematical model. In this model we have five different populations, or compartments: the population susceptible to Adderall use, people who use Adderall with an Adderall prescription, people who use Adderall without an Adderall prescription, people with an Adderall prescription stop using Adderall, and people without an Adderall prescription stop using Adderall. We also observed the rates at which people move between each population. Using this model, we created a set of differential equations to analyze and run simulations with. Looking at steady state, equilibrium points, stability, best and worst-case scenarios, and parameter impact, we drew conclusions and came up with possible courses of action. Overall, creating this model taught me not only about drug abuse, but about how useful mathematical modeling can be, especially concerning substance abuse.
ContributorsMooney, Taylor Anne (Author) / Wirkus, Stephen (Thesis director) / Caldwell, Wendy (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
It was hypothesized that information about current romantic involvement could make a male target more attractive to females. A 2 (Gender) X 4 (Romantic Involvement: Current Romance, Past Romance, Friend, and Control) factorial design was created to test competing predictions from scarcity/reactance, impression-formation, and sociobiological perspectives. A total of 235 male and female subjects saw a photograph of an opposite gender target person, then read a brief description about the target that contained one of the three involvement manipulations, or contained no involvement manipulation (Control). Subjects then rated the target along a 14 item scale to measure romantic attraction. ANOVA and MANOVA results revealed main effects of Gender and Romantic Involvement. Simple effects for Romantic Involvement were found for female, but not male subjects. A priori contrasts testing the predictions from the competing theoretical perspectives provided support only for the socio-biological prediction for female subjects.
ContributorsJoanes, Thomas (Author) / Linder, Darwin (Committee member) / Braver, Sanford (Committee member) / Young, Michael Cochise (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created1991-12
Description
The gut microbiome of many termites consists of a diverse range of protists that aid in the digestion of food particles. One of these families of protists is Oxymonadida. This project focuses on finding the evolutionary relationship between oxymonads and their most recent common ancestor, Trimastigidae, by building phylogenetic trees. This project was important because there is a large amount of species of oxymonads. This is because oxymonads adapt to the particular termite it lives in, and there are many species of termites. Understanding each species relationship helps give more knowledge and insight as to where some of the unknown species may go, even though they may not have DNA sequences yet. One unpublished sequence for Microrhopalodina was used in this paper, which previously had no molecular data available. The trees retrieved in this project had some discrepancies compared to previous studies and found an interesting relationship for Microrhopalodina. Microrhopalodina was included in the Oxymonas clade, indicating a very close relationship between the two species. It may even suggest that Microrhopalodina should be considered part of the species Oxymonas. Furthermore, Streblomastix branched in between Monocercomonoides and Trimastigidae, which is a different result than previous papers have found. Streblomastix was previously found to branch between Blattamonas and Monocercomonoides. The most recent paper on Blattamonas stated that they were unsure what family this species belongs to due to its molecular diversity, but its appearance resembles Monocercomonoides which is part of the family Polymastigidae. The trees produced in this project may indicate that Blattamonas belongs in the Polymastigidae family after all.
ContributorsStotts, Cherise (Co-author, Co-author) / Jasso-Selles, Daniel E. (Co-author) / Gile, Gillian H. (Thesis director) / DeMartini, Francesca (Committee member) / Mee, Evan D. (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
With the coming advances of computational power, algorithmic trading has become one of the primary strategies to trading on the stock market. To understand why and how these strategies have been effective, this project has taken a look at the complete process of creating tools and applications to analyze and predict stock prices in order to perform low-frequency trading. The project is composed of three main components. The first component is integrating several public resources to acquire and process financial trading data and store it in order to complete the other components. Alpha Vantage API, a free open source application, provides an accurate and comprehensive dataset of features for each stock ticker requested. The second component is researching, prototyping, and implementing various trading algorithms in code. We began by focusing on the Mean Reversion algorithm as a proof of concept algorithm to develop meaningful trading strategies and identify patterns within our datasets. To augment our market prediction power (“alpha”), we implemented a Long Short-Term Memory recurrent neural network. Neural Networks are an incredibly effective but often complex tool used frequently in data science when traditional methods are found lacking. Following the implementation, the last component is to optimize, analyze, compare, and contrast all of the algorithms and identify key features to conclude the overall effectiveness of each algorithm. We were able to identify conclusively which aspects of each algorithm provided better alpha and create an entire pipeline to automate this process for live trading implementation. An additional reason for automation is to provide an educational framework such that any who may be interested in quantitative finance in the future can leverage this project to gain further insight.
ContributorsYurowkin, Alexander (Co-author) / Kumar, Rohit (Co-author) / Welfert, Bruno (Thesis director) / Li, Baoxin (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
T cells, a component of the adaptive immune system, play an instrumental role in directing immune responses and direct cell killing in response to pathogens and cancers. T cells recognize and signal through the T cell receptor, a protein heterodimer on the surface of T cells. The T cell receptor is a highly variable structure formed via somatic recombination; the structure recognizes peptides presented on the surface of nucleated cells by major histocompatibility complex proteins in a specific receptor-restricted, peptide-restricted manner. This balance between T cell diversity and T cell specificity stands as a barrier to efficacious development of articificial T cell receptors capable of clearing disease. T cell receptors may be tailored to produce pathogen- or cancer-specific immune responses from autologous T cell populations. This necessitates a pipeline for amplification, cloning, and expression of antigen-specific T cell receptors. This study aims to utilize influenza-specific T cell receptor chains from healthy donor T cells to test a model for T cell receptor cloning and expression. This study utilizes Gateway recombination for high-throughput cloning into mammalian expression vectors. This study has successfully amplified and cloned T cell receptor chains from a population of influenza-specific T cells from donor cell transcripts into mammalian cell expression vectors. Additionally, CD8, a coreceptor for the T cell receptor complex, was successfully cloned and inserted into a vector for expression in mammalian cells. Sanger sequencing has confirmed sequences for influenza-specific T cell receptor chains and the CD8 chain. Future application of this project includes expression in mammalian non-T cells to test for efficacy of expression and, ultimately, expression in cytotoxic cells to create lymphocytes capable of antigen-specific recognition and cytolytic killing of cells of interest.
ContributorsVale, Nolan Richard (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Blattman, Joseph (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Horror films are typically comprised of three specific features: jump scares, gore, and suspense shots of a shadowy figure creeping up on an unaware victim. These three elements are some of the hallmarks of what defines the horror genre as they are methods that have proven successful in eliciting a bodily response within audience members, which is crucial to a horror movie being considered successful. However, these elements are also very polarizing. Individuals that enjoy horror often like these three things, while those who don’t appreciate the genre often cite over the top gore, distain for jump scares, and the anxiety that accompanies those suspenseful shots as primary reasons for avoiding horror. Due to the fact that those spectators who like horror tend to be in the minority, horror tends to have a very weak crossover appeal, thus limiting the audience interest while also being very unpopular among critics as well.
Interestingly, three recent horror films have achieved both critical acclaim and popularity among all audiences, horror and non-horror fans alike. Get Out, A Quiet Place, and It Follows are all noticeably lacking in the three features that commonly make a horror film “successful”, and yet it would be difficult to argue that they aren't successful horror films given that they have received critical acclaim, impressive box office returns, and have a strong crossover appeal. Therefore, they must use alternative methods to achieve the bodily response of fear that is necessary to be successful in the genre. I argue that these films put the audience member in a position that mirrors what Forced Lacanian Hysteric Neurosis and that this positioning produces the bodily response that is necessary for a horror movie to be successful. This manifestation has the additional benefit of allowing those spectators who do not like the fundamental aspects of horror (jump scares, gore, and suspenseful shots) to find the pleasure of horror without experiencing on-screen events that might cause them notable distress.
Interestingly, three recent horror films have achieved both critical acclaim and popularity among all audiences, horror and non-horror fans alike. Get Out, A Quiet Place, and It Follows are all noticeably lacking in the three features that commonly make a horror film “successful”, and yet it would be difficult to argue that they aren't successful horror films given that they have received critical acclaim, impressive box office returns, and have a strong crossover appeal. Therefore, they must use alternative methods to achieve the bodily response of fear that is necessary to be successful in the genre. I argue that these films put the audience member in a position that mirrors what Forced Lacanian Hysteric Neurosis and that this positioning produces the bodily response that is necessary for a horror movie to be successful. This manifestation has the additional benefit of allowing those spectators who do not like the fundamental aspects of horror (jump scares, gore, and suspenseful shots) to find the pleasure of horror without experiencing on-screen events that might cause them notable distress.
ContributorsStevens, Summer Charis (Author) / Mack, Robert (Thesis director) / Miller, April (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Background: This paper details the development of screening and education tools for finding Social Determinants of Health (SDH) in Maricopa County’s vulnerable population. SDH is known as structural or physical differences that hinder everyone to have an equal opportunity for improved health, and one of the steps to overcome the differences is through understanding what SDHs are prevalent in the targeted community, so that the community can develop the needed resources. SDH screening process was developed in collaboration with Student Health Outreach for Wellness (SHOW), a student-run organization whose aim is to provide healthcare for underserved populations. SHOW has a unique multi-disciplinary approach of treating each of their patients, and this screening is planned to be implemented during the treatment.
Methods: A literature review was conducted and SDH screening tool were adapted from known SDH screeners, such as Health Leads, PRAPARE, and CLEAR, to fit to the general population that SHOW serves. Training was also developed to educate the student volunteers who will be conducting the SDH screening and included necessary education about the population and the importance of SDH in general. Training materials include a practice scenario, a resources guide, SMART goal sheet, an introduction to the resource guide, and a process flowchart.
Outcomes: This project consists of different versions of screening tools, a training presentation, activities, handouts, and implementation ideas required to succeed in accurate SDH determination.
Methods: A literature review was conducted and SDH screening tool were adapted from known SDH screeners, such as Health Leads, PRAPARE, and CLEAR, to fit to the general population that SHOW serves. Training was also developed to educate the student volunteers who will be conducting the SDH screening and included necessary education about the population and the importance of SDH in general. Training materials include a practice scenario, a resources guide, SMART goal sheet, an introduction to the resource guide, and a process flowchart.
Outcomes: This project consists of different versions of screening tools, a training presentation, activities, handouts, and implementation ideas required to succeed in accurate SDH determination.
ContributorsChung, Min Kyung Rebecca (Author) / Harrell, Liz (Thesis director) / Essary, Alison (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Background: Vascular brachytherapy (VBT) is an established treatment for the management of in-stent restenosis (ISR). However, whether VBT is associated with improved patient-reported outcomes is unknown and not been previously studied.
Methods: The authors evaluated 51 consecutive patients, age 18 years and older undergoing VBT in one or more coronary arteries from January 2018 to September 2019. Data on baseline characteristics, procedural outcomes, and occurrence of adverse events were obtained. All patients completed the Seattle Angina Questionnaire – 7 (SAQ-7) form before and after the intervention at 1 month and 6 months.
Results: The mean age was 69 ± 9 years and 29 (57%) of patients were males. Most patients had hypertension (n = 44, 86%) and diabetes (n = 29, 57%). The use of aspirin was 90% while 96% of patients were on P2Y12 inhibitors. 48 (94%) patients were on antianginal therapy. The procedural success was 94.1%. The mean summary SAQ-7 score improved significantly (53.2 ± 21 vs. 83 ± 19, p<0.001) at 30-days. The median Quality of Life (QoL) component of the SAQ-7 score at baseline was 31.3 (Interquartile Range [IQR]: 18.8, 62.5) and improved to 82.5 (IQR: 62.5, 100), p<0.001 at 30 days and 87.5 [IQR: 75, 100), p<0.001 at last follow up. Likewise, the median angina frequency component of the SQL-7 score pre-VBT was 55 (IQR: 45, 80) and improved significantly to 90 (IQR: 60, 100) at 30-days, p<0.001 and 100 [IQR: 68.8, 100], p=0.02 at last follow up. Lastly, the median activity component of the SAQ-7 score improved from 83.3 (IQR: 60 – 100) to 100 (IQR: 83, 100), p = 0.01 at 30-days.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated improvement in patient-reported outcome measures following vascular brachytherapy that are evident as early as 1 month after the intervention and sustained at a median follow up of 17 months.
Methods: The authors evaluated 51 consecutive patients, age 18 years and older undergoing VBT in one or more coronary arteries from January 2018 to September 2019. Data on baseline characteristics, procedural outcomes, and occurrence of adverse events were obtained. All patients completed the Seattle Angina Questionnaire – 7 (SAQ-7) form before and after the intervention at 1 month and 6 months.
Results: The mean age was 69 ± 9 years and 29 (57%) of patients were males. Most patients had hypertension (n = 44, 86%) and diabetes (n = 29, 57%). The use of aspirin was 90% while 96% of patients were on P2Y12 inhibitors. 48 (94%) patients were on antianginal therapy. The procedural success was 94.1%. The mean summary SAQ-7 score improved significantly (53.2 ± 21 vs. 83 ± 19, p<0.001) at 30-days. The median Quality of Life (QoL) component of the SAQ-7 score at baseline was 31.3 (Interquartile Range [IQR]: 18.8, 62.5) and improved to 82.5 (IQR: 62.5, 100), p<0.001 at 30 days and 87.5 [IQR: 75, 100), p<0.001 at last follow up. Likewise, the median angina frequency component of the SQL-7 score pre-VBT was 55 (IQR: 45, 80) and improved significantly to 90 (IQR: 60, 100) at 30-days, p<0.001 and 100 [IQR: 68.8, 100], p=0.02 at last follow up. Lastly, the median activity component of the SAQ-7 score improved from 83.3 (IQR: 60 – 100) to 100 (IQR: 83, 100), p = 0.01 at 30-days.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated improvement in patient-reported outcome measures following vascular brachytherapy that are evident as early as 1 month after the intervention and sustained at a median follow up of 17 months.
ContributorsRawal, Sahil (Author) / Gould, Ian (Thesis director) / Sawant, Abhishek C. (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The first step in providing adequate prevention of children’s behavior problems is identifying possible predictors. There is an established relation between parenting style and behaviors and children’s future outcomes, including risk of externalizing behavior problems, but the mechanisms that may explain this relation are unclear. The current study investigated whether child executive functioning plays a mediating role between parenting style and externalizing behavior problems. I hypothesized that parenting style, specifically harsh authoritarian parenting, would predict a decrease in child executive performance, then leading to increased child behavior problems. Additionally, sex differences within this model were examined. Parenting styles and child externalizing behavior problems were measured through mother’s self-report within a sample of 322 low-income, Mexican-American mother child dyads in the Phoenix metropolitan area. A mediation model was performed, including relevant covariates, to test for significance of the mediated pathway. The results of the current study indicated that authoritarian parenting style significantly predicted greater externalizing behavior problems in the sample, but only for girls. Interestingly, it was also found that the addition of biological siblings predicted less behavior problems, again only for girls. These results promote understanding of the influences on behavior problems in children that can escalate to delinquency and criminal behavior. This information is critical for the development and improvement of strategic interventions.
ContributorsPerry, Beth Madison (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / van Huisstede, Lauren (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Hand-coding systems of measuring facial expressions were developed to study and analyze human emotions, but they are time-intensive and thus seldom used. As technology has advanced, new computer software programs, such as Affectiva, were developed to code facial expressions automatically using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Since this technology is still new, Affectiva and its validity remain understudied, and no psychological research has been conducted to compare Affectiva computer coding and hand coding of children’s emotions. The purpose of this study was to compare hand and computer coding of children’s expressions of emotion during a videotaped parent-child interaction. The study answered the following questions: 1) Do hand and computer coding agree?; and 2) Are hand and computer coding in higher agreement for some emotions than others? The sample included 25 pairs of twins from the Arizona Twin Project. Facial expressions were coded from videotape by a trained and reliable human coder and using the software Affectiva. The results showed that hand and computer coded emotion were in agreement for positive, but not negative emotions. Changing the context of the interaction to elicit more negative emotion, and using the same indicators of each emotion in computer and hand coding are suggested to improve the comparison of computer and hand coding.
ContributorsKwok, Connie (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Miadich, Samantha (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05