In this dissertation research, we aim to solve problems of two types of survival data, clustered survival data with potentially informative cluster size and sojourn time data. The methods for these two types of data are different. However, both...
Recently our lab has shown that with broadband stimuli (either visual noise or natural scenes), performance for detecting oriented content is worst at horizontal, best at the obliques, and intermediate at vertical orientations--an anisotropy...
Since the beginning of the VLSI era, various technologies have been adopted for developing the design and characterization of analog circuits. For robust design, the influences of the process parameter variations have been considered over the...
This study investigates the placebo effect in randomized controlled trials of low back pain. This effect has not been analyzed over time or in respect to low back pain. A meta-analysis was performed using the Pubmed/Medline database for low back...
Ground-level ozone forecast models were developed for the following middle and small metropolitan areas in Kentucky: Ashland, Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Paducah. These models were nonlinear regression models, based on models previously developed...
Iron oxide, Fe2O3, is a promising material for water splitting reaction using solar
energy due to its stability and optimal bandgap of 2 eV. Even the recent efforts, however,
using Fe2O3 thin film materials reported low efficiencies due to poor...
Because of limitations in randomized controlled trials, medical researchers are often forced to rely upon studies of observational data. Confounding is a major difficulty encountered in such studies that can create considerable bias in estimates of...
When observers view a naturalistic (l/f) broadband image, the various spatial components present in the image stimulate many detecting-mechanisms that suppress each other. This suppression is anisotropic, being relatively greater for mechanisms...
This study examined intake and post-investigative disposition decision making among professionals engaged in child protective services to understand disproportionality and disparities in the child welfare system. Using child welfare, decision...
Marginal inference for waiting times in multi-stage time-to-event models is complicated by right censoring of observations as well as the prior history of events in the model. In general, complications arise due to the evolution of the censoring...
Recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis indicate that most mutations are dependent on the activity of translesion synthesis DNA polymerases. The impact of reducing the level of these polymerases on mutagenesis and...
The phase II clinical trial is a critical step in the drug development process. In the oncology setting, phase II studies typically evaluate one primary endpoint, which is efficacy. In practice, a binary measurement representing the response to the...
Hematite synthesized by low pressure oxygen plasma has been shown previously to exhibit promising characteristics as a photo-anode for a photoelectrochemical water splitting cell. It is cheap, stable and has a 2.1 eV bandgap and exhibits a...
Characterization of the optical and electrical properties of organic solar cell materials is of prime importance to organic solar cell design. This thesis describes the use of capacitive photocurrent measurements to study the exciton generation and...
Ozone forecast models using nonlinear regression (NLR) have been successfully applied to daily ozone forecast for seven metro areas in Kentucky, including Ashland, Bowling Green, Covington, Lexington, Louisville, Owensboro, and Paducah. In this...
College students--Social networks; College students--Conduct of life; Socialization
This meta-analysis draws studies from the literature on college student persistence, need theories, and positive psychology in investigating the strongest predictors of social functioning in college students in the United States and Canada. The...
Anxiety in children; Anxiety--Physiological aspects
Anxiety disorders are prevalent in both adult and child populations, and are associated with significant economic and psychosocial costs. There are clearly familial patterns of transmission within the anxiety disorders, and the inherited risk is...
Worry in children; Anxiety in children; Cognition in children; Child psychology
Although worry is common in children, little is known about its development and maintenance. The current study reviews several areas of the literature to inform a comprehensive cognitive model of clinical worry in children. Parental influences on...
Student evaluation of teachers; College teachers--Rating of; College students--Attitudes; Teacher-student relationships
This dissertation explored the relationship between student, course, and
instructor-level variables and student course ratings. The selection of predictor variables
was based on a thorough review of the extensive body of existing literature on...
Urinary incontinence is a major public health problem affecting 30% of community dwelling women aged 35-85. Urinary incontinence may have a significant impact on activities of daily living depending on the severity of symptoms. Women with urinary...
