Digital Commons Network^™

E-Lit Choose Your Own Adventure, Sydney L. Vlach

The Hugemanities Project Big Contest

This Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Type of Electronic Literature was made with the application Twine, and it throws the reader into a life/death zombie apocalypse after a couple of tamer choices in the beginning of the story. It includes about 30 "choices", which can lead the "player" down a different path-- only one of which results in a "win".

A Strong-Qcd Regime Measurement Of The Proton’S Spin Structure, David Ruth

Doctoral Dissertations

The theory of the strong force, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) remains one of the mostimportant ways to understand the fundamental properties of ordinary matter. However, at low momentum transfer Q2, in the regime where the strong force becomes extremely strong, our understanding of QCD for ordinary nucleons becomes hazy. Several cutting edge theories such as Chiral Perturbation Theory (χPT) and Lattice QCD have provided valuable predictions in this regime, but Lattice QCD has not yet extended predictions of many important quantities to this kinematic region, and Chiral Perturbation Theory has faced several important disagreements with experimental data for the neutron over …

‘Unapologetically Vernacular’: A Study Of The Composing Process Of Youth Writing And Performing Slam And Spoken Word Poetry, Dennis Magliozzi

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the creative process and cultural resources youth poets use to generate poetry and inspire their own written material. This study is guided by the following two central research questions: In what ways do youth create their own poetry? In what ways do youth use cultural resources to inspire and develop their poetic work? This is a qualitative study that relies on three focal participants and utilizes Arts Based Educational Research (ABER) as a research strategy. After reviewing the data from participants, the following predominant themes present themselves for discussion: First, Process is …

Multi-Level Characterization Of Plasticity, Fracture, And Phase Transformation In Metals With Hexagonal Close-Packed Structure, Evgenii Vasilev

Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis, contributions to characterization of plasticity, fracture, and phase transformation in metals with hexagonal close-packed structure are presented. First, the structure-properties correlations are established for Mg-1.3Zn-0.4Ca-0.4Mn and Mg-1.5Nd alloys. Next, the role of microstructural features such as gran/twin boundaries in the development of damage and fracture in magnesium is discussed. Then, a structure metric for quantitative assessment of fracture is developed and validated on magnesium and titanium alloys. Experimental studies on plasticity are followed by crystal plasticity modelling of Taylor impact test on zirconium to correlate experimental and predicted evolution of microstructure and shape change. Finally, a phase …

Advanced Electronics And Post-Processing Algorithm For The Sontrac 3d Neutron Spectrometer, George Suarez

Doctoral Dissertations

The second-generation SONTRAC instrument is being designed by UNH and NASA to detect solar neutrons, a game-changing observation for understanding particle acceleration at the Sun. The new instrument targets small satellites with highly constrained size, mass, and power; bringing a new set of challenges to the design of the instrument electronics. SONTRAC uses silicon photomultiplier detectors to image neutron scattered proton tracks in a scintillating fiber bundle. Individual detector readout provides the best performance, but is not achievable within the size, mass and power constrains for a small satellite. To overcome this problem, we explored detectors configured in strips to …

The Layer That Did Not Swim Away: Broadband Acoustic Discrimination And Characterization Of Ocean Stratification, Elizabeth Reed-Weidner

Doctoral Dissertations

Ocean stratification plays a critical role in many oceanographic processes. The magnitude of mixing between stable water masses is regulated, in part, by the intensity of stratification. As such, stratification modulates the vertical transport of heat and many important dissolved constituents in the water column, influencing such processes as ocean ventilation, and ocean heat and carbon uptake. As human induced climate change alters oceanic stratification a thorough understanding of its distribution and variability is critical in the study of the world’s oceans. However, traditional methods are limited in terms of spatial context and rapid, near-synoptic observational methods, such as those …

Disordered Cathode Electrode Materials For Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries And The Effect Of Conditioned Electrolytes In Cycling Performances, Saewon Kim

Doctoral Dissertations

Electrochemical energy storage is essential to free various electronic devices from electric wiring. Besides the prominent lithium-ion batteries, next-generation batteries using zinc ions as charge carriers in aqueous electrolytes have risen as attractive alternatives due to their superior safety, environmental-friendliness, low cost, and excellent theoretical performance. However, high-performance cathode materials to accommodate the capacity and cyclability of zinc-ion storage have been lacking because of the strong electrostatic interaction between multivalent Zn-ions and host cathode materials. This study suggests a few varieties of vanadium oxide derivatives with large interlayer spaces, excellent structural stability, and finely tuned structural properties. Alkali-intercalated vanadates (MVOs) …

Synthetic Approaches Towards [4]Triangulene., Md Al Faruk

Doctoral Dissertations

The [n]triangulenes (n = number of rings on a side) are a triangle-shaped class of polycyclic aromatic compounds that have been of interest for almost 100 years. Triangulenes are expected to be high-spin species with unusual electronic structures and with potential applications in molecular electronics. The first examples of simple triangulenes have been synthesized very recently by reactions on a surface and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Our research group has reported the solution phase synthesis and polymerization of [3]triangulene. This thesis describes approaches toward an efficient scalable synthesis of the little-known [4]triangulene ring system. Our synthetic plan, which …

Elastic Electron Scattering From Mirror Nuclei 3he And 3h., Leiqaa Kurbany

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary aim of my work is the extraction of the elastic cross-sections from data collected in Jefferson Lab Hall A experiment E12-11-112, which measured inclusive elastic scattering from the mirror nuclei 3He and 3H at low momentum transfer. I determined the ratio of the 3He and 3H cross-sections since it cancels many of the systematic uncertainties that enter the absolute cross-section extraction, and it reduced fractional uncertainty to 1.85%. By going to low energy and forward angle, the effect of the magnetic form factor Fm(Q2) can be minimized, which allows for an extraction of the charge form factor Fch(Q2) …

Ionospheric O+ And H+ Outflow During Geomagnetic Storms, Niloufar Nowrouzi

Doctoral Dissertations

A geomagnetic storm begins when solar wind carrying southward IMF Bz impinges upon the Earth’s magnetosphere. There are two major structures that can cause a geomagnetic storm: streaminteraction regions (SIRs) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The two types of structures differ in the strength of the magnetic field and the time length of southward Bz, and so the effects on the magnetosphere are different. One result of the energy input from the solar wind is ionospheric outflow. Because of solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, ionospheric ions can become a significant source for the magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms. In this thesis, I performed …

Understanding Physical Properties Of Gas Bubbles In The Ocean: How Does Reality Affect What We Think We Already Know?, Alexandra Michelle Padilla

Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of methane as a greenhouse gas has led to widespread research focused on understanding the sinks and sources for atmospheric methane. One source of atmospheric methane could include methane bubbles released from the ocean’s seafloor. These gas bubbles transport methane from the seafloor through the ocean’s water column, and the methane released during their ascent affects water column geochemistry and microbial populations. Under certain physical and chemical conditions, methane transported by gas bubbles can reach the upper water column and potentially leak across the sea-air interface. The dynamics of gas bubble emission, ascent, and dissolution in the water …

Surface Functionalization With Cobalt Complexes For Electro/Photocatalytic Proton Reduction, Dejun Dong

Doctoral Dissertations

The energy shortage and the global climate change have drawn great attention from humankind. Scientists worldwide are trying to find a green energy pathway. Shifting from a primarily fossil fuel-based energy economy to a solar fuel derived energy economy is a promising solution to eliminate greenhouse gases emissions and to protect our climate.

Electrocatalysis and photocatalysis are two practical strategies devised to generate solar fuels. Catalysis using transition metal complexes have been intensively investigated as their structures can be precisely controlled allowing an understanding of the mechanism of the catalytic reactions. This ultimately allows improvement of the activity can be …

Influence Of Permafrost Thaw, Microtopography, And Precipitation On Methane Cycling In Northern Peatlands, Clarice Rachelle Perryman

Doctoral Dissertations

Northern peatlands are both globally important carbon (C) stores and sources of methane (CH4). The impacts of climate change including warming, changing precipitation and hydrology, shifts in vegetation, and thawing permafrost may increase the vulnerability of the northern peatland C stock, including the amount of C lost to the atmosphere as CH4. Variation in peatland water table depth strongly influences CH4 cycling, as water table levels largely control redox conditions and therefore rates of anaerobic CH4 production (methanogenesis) and aerobic CH4 oxidation (consumption, methanotrophy). As CH4 emissions reflect the balance of methanogenesis and methanotrophy, changes in water table depth due …

Enhancing Gdf1 Expression With Devil’S Club (Oplopanax Horridus) Extracts In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Vasiliki Papakotsi

Doctoral Dissertations

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clonal hematopoietic malignancy with highly heterogeneous molecular and clinical profiles. It is one of the deadliest blood cancers, resulting in approximately 10,000 deaths each year. Impaired hematopoiesis is one of AML’s hallmarks. This entails defective erythropoiesis and proliferation of undifferentiated myeloblasts. AML is also characterized by chemoresistance and high relapse rates. Despite significant advances in treatments, there is no cure for AML. Therefore, there is an emerging and unmet need to shift away from traditional chemotherapeutics and focus on targeted therapies with curative potential. Growth/differentiation factor 1 (GDF1) is a member of the TGFβ …

Bioinspired Phenolic Compounds For Biomedical Devices, Zhen Tian

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I investigated the metal-chelating ability and redox activity of phenoliccompounds from different sources for biomedical applications. Eumelanins are the naturally occurring biopigments that can be found in skin, hair, eyes, or brain of many living organisms. Various functional groups in eumelanin permit it to binding metal ions via comproportionation reaction. I investigated the structure-property relationship of eumelanin by X-ray scattering and electrochemical techniques. I reported the mesoscale structure of eumelanins and its impact on the charge transport. X-ray scattering suggests that eumelanin pigments exhibit the semi-crystalline structure with ordered d-spacings. These unique mesoscale structures further influence the …

Reduction Of Antipsychotic Use In Patients With Dementia Residing In Nursing Homes, Marysarah Frank

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract

Residents of nursing homes diagnosed with dementia have long been treated with psychotropic drugs for the symptoms of behavioral disturbances that are frequently associated with major neurocognitive disease. Specifically, the antipsychotic drugs have been widely used in this population. Despite a lack of evidence, antipsychotic rates have shown up to 25% of dementia patients in nursing homes (NH) are prescribed these drugs. This off-label use is not FDA approved for behavioral symptoms of dementia and the drugs have been given a black box warning related to the risk of serious and potentially irreversible side effects and even an increased …