Carroll Scholars

Carroll Scholars, a service of Corette Library, centralizes, preserves, and provides access to the research, creative scholarship, and unique resources produced and deposited by Carroll College faculty, students, and staff. Carroll Scholars makes these resources easier to find, share, and use. Find out more about Carroll Scholars at https://www.carroll.edu/library/about/carroll-scholars-institutional-repository

Recent Submissions

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    Machine Learning for Sports Betting
    (2024) Rugg, Hank; Wendt, Theodore; Fasteen, Jodi; Smillie, Mark
    With sports betting becoming more widely legal, the use of machine learning algorithms for improving an individual’s odds of placing successful sports bets has increased. In general, applying machine learning algorithms comes with challenges such as data selection, feature engineering, and dealing with time series data. In the context of gambling, it also comes with ethical considerations such as the use of such models to gamble, the accuracy of the model, and the transparency of the model. This research focuses specifically on predicting the total combined score of NBA games. This is directly applicable to the Over/Under bet – “Over” if you believe the combined total score will be above the number set by the sportsbook and “Under” if you believe the combined score will be less than the number set by the sports book. The goal of this research is to create a machine learning model that can accurately predict the total combined score of NBA games.
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    The Relationship Between Current Crime Rates and Perceived Neighborhood Safety
    (2024) Baney, Kadie; Dolan, Jamie
    A high crime rate is often hypothesized as a key contributor to decreased feelings of neighborhood safety (Putrick et al. 2019). Decreased feelings of neighborhood safety have been found to lead to increased health risks and depression (Putrick et al. 2019). Both findings lead to the question of the current study: what is the relationship between current crime rates and perceptions of safety? Previous studies have defined a positive perception of neighborhood safety as a lack of fear, a belief in police performance, and a belief in police legitimacy (Carter et al. 2021). To further clarify this definition for the purpose of this paper, fear is defined as a psychological emotion invoked by environmental factors and the belief that the likelihood of being a victim of crime is high (Zhang et al. 2021). Police performance and legitimacy is defined as trust and reliability in police work. The other variable that is analyzed within this study is current crime rates. Based on previous studies, crime rates were found through local police reports, the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) from the FBI, and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) (FBI 2021; Zhang et al. 2021). Using these variables, this research project aims to understand the impact current crime rates have on the perception of neighborhood safety.
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    Studies Towards the Acceleration of Diels-Alder Reactions using η6-metal Arene Complex Substituents
    (2024) Lohar, Noah; Hitt, David; Rowley, John; Beck, Ashley
    The Diels-Alder (DA) reaction is a cycloaddition reaction between a conjugated diene and a two-atom π system (dienophile) that forms an unsaturated six-membered ring. DA reactions under normal electron-demand conditions (diene is electron rich) are limited by the dienophile requiring an electron-withdrawing group (EWG) to proceed at a reasonable rate. These EWGs, in short, are functional groups conjugated with the π system that can act as π acceptors, most commonly nitriles, carbonyl functional groups (e.g. ketones,esters, etc.), and nitro groups. The complexation of a monocationic (𝜂5-cyclopentadienyl)metal fragment (CpM+) to the π system of a benzenoid compound in an 𝜂6 configuration results in significant electron withdrawal from substituents attached to the aryl ring. This functionality, therefore, may expand the applicability of the Diels-Alder reaction to progress by utilizing the CpM(𝜂6-aryl) substituent as activating dienophile substituents. Towards this goal, we have isolated the DA adduct between CpRu(η6-ethyl trans-cinnamate)PF6 and 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene. Characterization of the adduct has been assigned on the basis of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and IR spectra. This research also explored the synthesis of an analogous iron complex, CpFe(η6-ethyl trans-cinnamate)PF6, to accelerate DA reactions. Compared to ruthenium, iron offers many advantages primarily due to its abundance compared to ruthenium. Herein, we report our progress in synthesizing CpFe(η6-ethyl trans-cinnamate)PF6.
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    The Effects of Urbanization on Peromyscus sonoriensis: A Microbiome Analysis
    (2024) Wald, Elliot; Beck, Ashley; Honzel, Nikki; Greiner, Katherine
    Microbiome diversity is one of many intersecting factors serving as a key indicator of wildlife and ecosystem health. Gut microbiomes are intricately linked with host organism health and behavior, and can be influenced by environmental factors such as diet or exposure to new microorganisms. Here, we investigated a range of urban and rural habitats around Spokane, Washington, with the aim of assessing microbiome diversity of both soil and the western deer mouse, Peromyscus sonoriensis. Soil microbiome composition was compared to that of mice in order to study the relationship between environment and organism. In this field-based observational study, deer mice were live-trapped at 10 different parks over a two-week period in early summer of 2023. Fecal pellets (57 total samples from 43 unique mice) and soil samples (51 total, n = 3-9 per location) were collected and analyzed for microbial diversity using Nanopore MinION sequencing technology. Results showed that urbanization did not affect the deer mouse microbiome at the phylum level, but did impact soil microbiome composition. Soil samples exhibited higher overall diversity while fecal samples consisted of three main phyla. Additional measures of habitat characteristics and wildlife health were also collected in the field, and future research will investigate potential associations among microbiome composition, habitat, and other health metrics. These results provide an important baseline to establish detailed physiological impacts of habitat alteration on deer mouse health.
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    Identifying Metabolic Differences in The Synovial Fluid of Males and Females Affected by Osteoarthritis
    (2024) Kiki, Bourekis; Hahn, Alyssa; Beck, Ashley; Sheafor, Brandon; Otto-Hitt, Stefanie
    Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in the body, characterized by limited mobility due to the degradation of cartilage. Age, weight, and genetic profiles have been identified as clear risk factors for OA; women are also more likely to suffer from OA compared to men. While previous research indicates that postmenopausal women have an increased likelihood of developing OA due to decreasing estrogen, few studies have investigated metabolic differences between diseased males and females. This study seeks to understand the differences between global metabolic profiles of males and females with OA. In order to investigate metabolic discrepancies, metabolites were extracted from joint-effusion-related OA synovial fluid. Global metabolomic profiling by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was then employed to identify significant metabolic differences between sexes. The results of this study suggested a distinct metabolic response to OA in males and females, most notably a significant difference between fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. This study provides a greater understanding of metabolism in OA pathogenesis and suggests opportunities for more individualized, therapeutic interventions that target sex differences. In the future, researchers should replicate this experiment with a larger sample size and employ targeted metabolomics to further elucidate the role of fatty acid and amino acid metabolism in OA responses.