Yes / A secondary cooperative overlay dynamic spectrum access protocol in cognitive radio networks is proposed, allowing secondary users to access the primary system using full power without causing harmful interference to primary users. Moreover, an enhancement in the primary system will be achieved as a result of secondary relaying of primary messages. A detailed description of the protocol is given and illustrated with network scenarios.

The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) was established by Congress in 2010, with a focus on disseminating the evidence-based Lifestyle Change Program (LCP). This 12-month program consists of 26 lessons covering various topics related to goal setting, tracking food and physical activity, motivation, and support groups. Many organizations, including Cooperative Extension (CE), have adopted this program. In the first study conducted by the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), the outcomes of the prediabetes LCP were examined across different age groups and delivery modalities. It was found that distance learning LCPs had slightly higher enrollment levels compared to in-person programs (51% vs. 49%). Moreover, participants aged 60 and older had a significantly higher attendance rate in the distance learning program. The VCE LCP resulted in 49 participants (35%) achieving at least a 5% weight loss, with 29 of them being 60 years or older. When considering the program delivery method, a higher percentage of individuals enrolled in distance learning programs (53%) achieved at least a 5% weight loss. Additionally, 86 participants (62%) engaged in an average of 150 minutes of physical activity per week, with a higher percentage in the in-person programs (64%) and among those aged 60 and older (67%). In Study 2, the distance learning LCP implementation fidelity was evaluated across five states, along with its association with program outcomes. The evaluation tool assessed structural and instructional implementation components. The results indicated that certain structural components directly influenced increased physical activity among participants. Additionally, the coaches' preparedness for the sessions directly impacted participants' weight loss. In addition to implementation fidelity, age was identified as an independent factor affecting weight loss percentage and attendance. Overall, the findings from both studies underscore the significance of effective implementation fidelity to program design in achieving desired health outcomes. The LCP shows promise as an intervention for individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and can be effectively implemented through both in-person and distance learning methods by Cooperative Extension programs nationwide. / Doctor of Philosophy / The prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in the United States is a significant concern. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that around 34.2 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, with approximately 96 million adults having prediabetes in 2022. Lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity and losing weight, can reduce the risk of prediabetes progressing to diabetes. In response, the CDC established the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) in 2010, focusing on an evidence-based Lifestyle Change Program (LCP). The LCP is a 12-month program covering various topics and has been adopted by organizations like Cooperative Extension (CE). Two studies were conducted to assess the effectiveness and implementation of the LCP. The first study, carried out by the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), compared outcomes of distance learning and in-person LCPs among adults of different ages. It found slightly higher enrollment levels in distance learning programs and observed a higher attendance rate among participants aged 60 and older in the distance learning program. The study showed that the VCE LCP resulted in a 35% weight loss for 49 participants, with 59% of them being 60 years or older. Distance learning programs also had higher success rates in achieving a 5% weight loss and 150 minutes of physical activity per week. The second study evaluated the implementation fidelity of the distance learning LCP conducted by Cooperative Extension in five states. It found that certain program components, both structural and instructional, directly influenced participants' physical activity levels. The preparedness of coaches for the sessions significantly impacted weight loss outcomes. In addition to implementation fidelity, age was identified as an independent factor affecting weight loss and attendance. Both studies underscore the importance of effective program implementation fidelity to program design in achieving desired health outcomes. The findings support the LCP as a promising intervention for individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It highlights its effectiveness through both in-person and distance learning methods implemented by Cooperative Extension programs nationwide.

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Cooperative interactions permeate through nature, bringing about emergent behavior and complexity. Using a simple cooperative model, I illustrate the mean field dynamics that occur at the critical point of a second order phase transition in the framework of Langevin equations. Through this formalism I discuss the response, both linear and nonlinear, to external forces. Emphasis is placed on how information is transferred from one individual to another in order to facilitate the collective response of the cooperative network to a localized perturbation. The results are relevant to a wide variety of systems, ranging from nematic liquid crystals, to flocks and swarms, social groups, and neural networks.

Cooperative self-assembly between transcriptional regulators (TRs) and DNA cis-regulatory motifs (CRMs) coordinates precise gene expression in eukaryotes. Complexes of multivalent TRs enable the formation of highly specific regulatory connections between otherwise weakly-interacting, low-specificity molecular components and can be used to engineer regulatory specificity in synthetic gene circuits in yeast. Circuits composed of artificial zinc-finger TRs can be effectively insulated from aberrant misregulation of the host cell genome by relying on the collective action of multiple TRs to program functional circuit connections. Experiments and mathematical models demonstrate that assembly-mediated regulatory connections mitigate circuit-driven fitness defects, resulting in genetic and functional stability of circuits in long-term continuous culture. This naturally-inspired approach offers a simple, generalizable means for building evolutionarily robust gene circuits that can be scaled to a wide range of host organisms and applications. Assemblies of cooperative TRs have also been found to facilitate the gene regulatory network rewiring that drives evolution. TRs that arise in new spatiotemporal regulatory contexts and cooperatively bind to ancestral TRs are stabilized and localized by their interaction, providing an opportunity for developing TR-CRM connections. The stability of the cooperative complex further allows for individual connections to be strengthened or weakened to meet regulatory requirements. Engineered cooperative regulation, paired with laboratory evolution experiments, offers a unique opportunity to elucidate the direct contribution of TR cooperativity to establishing new regulatory connections across evolutionary time. With design guided by a predictive theory of gene network evolution, cooperative circuits are poised for CRM evolution in longterm culture experiments at accelerated timescales compared to circuits without TR-TR cooperativity. In a cooperatively regulated circuit, random mutations to the DNA will be preserved if they initiate or improve a regulatory connection with a stabilized TR, and will be identified by DNA sequencing. This simplified synthetic approach in a controlled culture environment will elucidate the direct contribution of TR-TR cooperativity to network rewiring and evolution.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Racial and gender discrimination in the workplace is still prevalent in western society. Authoritarian organizational hierarchies may further embed stereotypes and prejudice that reduce the likelihood for inclusion and equity within organizations. Democracy as an alternative governance structure for organizations has been proposed and practiced in organizations within western societies demonstrating effectiveness in reducing class disparities, but limited work has investigated racial and gender-based disparities. Employees working in democratically and non-democratically governed organizations were surveyed on their level of participation in organizational governance and attitudes toward their organization. Employees within democratically governed organizations experience on average higher positive job attitudes compared to employees in non-democratically governed organizations regardless of gender or race. It is found that women, Asian American, and Pacific Islander employees participate in organizational governance at equivalent rates as White male colleagues, but Black, Indigenous, and People of Color employees do not. Members of minoritized groups within democratically governed organizations experience similar feelings influence over organizational outcomes and psychological ownership compared to their White male colleagues. Findings also imply having an ownership stake in the organization plays a significant role individual participation but cannot fully account for racial disparities in participation rates within democratically governed organizations. These results imply democratically governed organizations may effectively increase racial and gender inclusion and equity, but not fully reduce existing racial disparities. Future work should continue to explore additional mechanisms that influence individual participation in organizational governance and how perceptions of status and competence differentiate between governance structures within organizations.

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Relatively little is known in existing research about how cooperative education (co-op) students experience mentoring. The parameters within which co-op students are employed are different from those of full-time professionals. Co-op students are temporary employees, and they are typically younger and have less professional experience than full-time employees. Co-op students also may complete each of their three work terms at a different company site. These unique characteristics of co-op students and co-op employment could prevent the direct application of known mentoring practices to the co-op setting. Further research on the intricacies of mentoring as it is experienced by co-op students could yield a set of mentoring best practices to be used by co-op employers and university co-op administrators. The purpose of this study was to compare organizational commitment, mentoring satisfaction, and mentoring function levels of co-op students according to mentoring type (formal and informal) and work term number. Participants were undergraduate engineering students at a large public land-grant university in the Southeast United States. The research design was causal-comparative; an online survey composed of existing instruments was used to capture student perceptions of mentoring experiences during recently completed work terms. Mentoring activity was found to be high, with 92.8% of students reporting involvement in a mentoring relationship. Students who were mentored showed higher organizational commitment than students who were not mentored. Students who reported higher levels of organizational commitment also reported an intention to stay with the company after graduation if offered a full-time position, but student satisfaction with mentoring did not share a relationship with intention to stay. Students were also equally satisfied with their mentors regardless of mentoring type (formal or informal). Student perceptions of psychosocial support increased as the number of work terms completed increased, and students in formally arranged mentoring relationships reported higher levels of psychosocial support than students in informal mentoring relationships. The type of mentoring was not related to any differences in mentoring outcomes. The researcher concluded that companies that want to convert co-op students into full-time employees should ensure that these students receive positive mentoring experiences during their co-op work terms.

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