Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Substance Abuse Treatment Within The Illinois Prison System And Its Effect On Recidivism, Maria Dimeglio

Master's Theses

The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of two specific substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs within the Illinois State prison system between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2015. This study utilizes a quasi-experimental research design to evaluate the corrections-based Therapeutic Community (TC) programs at the Sheridan and Southwestern Illinois Correctional Centers. These programs are evaluated based on the effects they have on reoffending, specifically highlighting their effect on young individuals. The final sample used in the present study was taken from a population of 72,906 men released from the Illinois state prison system between July 1, 2010, …

Fleeing Towards Healing: How Cam Can Heal Refugee Communities, Sarah B. Shaalan

Master's Theses

Alternative methods of healing can be found across the globe and are used by all kinds of people including refugees. This thesis will explore the potential benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine otherwise known as “CAM” as a supplementary strategy for helping refugees to deal with stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other harmful effects sustained on their journey and lives as displaced peoples. I will do so by first situating my project in the literature on Eurocentrism in healing practices and the emergence of CAM as an alternative. Then, using extensive primary and secondary sources, supplemented by an …

The Role Of Micrornas In Lung Inflammation After Alcohol And Burn Injury, Connor O'Neal Guzior

Master's Theses

Acute lung injury (ALI) and the subsequent development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are among the leading causes of post-burn morbidity and mortality. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules that are known to regulate gene expression and help regulate lung homeostasis. In this study, we profiled four anti-inflammatory miRNAs (miR-146a, miR-150, miR-194, and miR-671) in lung tissue following an alcohol and burn injury. We found that miR-146a and miR-671 were significantly downregulated in lungs one day after combined injury, leading to increased lung inflammation and pathology. Biological sex did not have an effect on this pathophysiological process. We also …

Fine-Tuning Gene Expression: A Novel Therapeutic Approach For Rett Syndrome, Yewon Rhee

Master's Theses

Rett Syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by a myriad of debilitating symptoms impacting nearly every aspect of life, including motor and gait impairment, social and cognitive deficits, as well as seizures and breathing abnormalities. RTT is caused by X-linked de novo loss-of-function mutations in the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2), which is an essential epigenetic modulator. Any cure for RTT must directly target MECP2, a highly dosage-sensitive gene. This thesis developed a novel MECP2-targeted therapeutic approach using site-blocking antisense oligonucleotides to prevent microRNA-induced repression of MECP2, allowing fine-tuned control of gene expression. Here we report …

Thermal Preconditioning Effects On Perforation Propensity Of Transvenous Implantable Cardiac Leads Used For Pacing And Defibrillation, Diane Muff

Master's Theses

Thermal preconditioning to simulate shipping, handling and storage conditions did not affect distal tip stiffness values for permanently implantable cardiac leads used for pacing and defibrillation. Leads that were subjected to extreme temperatures and temperature cycling did not show changes in buckle force values compared with control specimens which were maintained at ambient room conditions. Absolute differences between all measurements were small, generally under 0.05 N and were attributable to measurement variability.

Buckle force values are used to assess the propensity of leads to perforate the heart, a rare but potentially serious complication of implantable pacing and defibrillation systems. Since …

Hydrological Analysis Of Post-Fire Responses Within The Little Creek Watershed Of Swanton Pacific Ranch, Alexander Jeffrey Wiens

Master's Theses

Climate change and a growing wildland-urban interface are associated with an increase in the number and severity of wildfires. While severe wildfires do cause a costly and dangerous impact on the environment and the public, their after-effects comprise important subjects of study. In post-fire hydrologic studies, the reduced infiltration and plant cover that results from wildfires can commonly be associated with increased peakflows and erosion. Phenomena such as the flooding and debris flows in Montecito after the Thomas Fire in late 2017 can have important implications on infrastructure and human lives. Quantifying post-fire peak flows and flooding volumes has therefore …

A Screening Life Cycle Analysis Of One-Way And Reusable Crate Designs – Estimating Environmental Impacts Via Lca Software, Nicolas R. Corona

Master's Theses

A comparison analysis conducted via COMPASS life cycle analysis software has indicated that a one-way crate design, rather than a reusable crate design, is in fact the more environmentally friendly packaging system. These results can be interpreted differently, however, as the manufacturer of said crate designs must confirm what impact indicators they would like to reference as environmental goalposts. The conducted analysis provides insight into what the environmental impacts of each packaging system look like as packaging at all three system levels has been identified as a means of reducing environmental impacts globally. As such, the manufacturer of said crate …

Hydrologic Response Of Meadow Restoration Following The Removal Of Encroached Conifers, Oriana Ramirez

Master's Theses

Meadows are important within forest ecosystems because they provide diverse species habitats, facilitate water cycling, help with sediment capture, aid in carbon sequestration, and create natural fire breaks in forested regions. However, fire suppression, poor grazing practices, and climate change have accelerated the encroachment of conifers into historical meadow habitat. This has led to an extensive loss of meadow habitat within the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain Ranges. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to quantify changes in percent soil moisture and groundwater levels following the removal of encroached lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in a historic meadow habitat …

Engineering An Injectable Hydrogel With Self-Assembling 3d Vasculature, Kendyl Cohn

Master's Theses

This research developed methods for culturing self-assembling capillaries in an injectable gel as a potential method for vascularizing tissue-on-a-chip models to mimic physiological drug delivery. Additionally, a mathematical model was developed as a tool for understanding nutrient delivery and comparison of potential delivery systems. Organs-on-a-chip provide novel platforms for studying biology and physiology in 3D, allow exploration of tissue engineering on a manageable scale, and serve as models for drug screening and drug-delivery testing.

Methods were first developed for co-culture of endothelial cells and fibroblasts (3T3s or HDFs) in 2D, evaluating culture time, seeding density and ratio of HUVECs and …

Sustaining Sustainable Farming: An Evaluation Of The Reasoned Action And Comprehensive Action Determination Frameworks For Persistence, Jet J. Tan

Master's Theses

This paper investigates the persistence of agricultural practices funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (CDFA OEFI). The central inquiry revolves around determining the most effective behavior model for analyzing persistence, comparing the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), Comprehensive Action Determination Model (CADM), and CADM augmented with structural variables. The study's methodology integrates literature review, analysis of OEFI-funded practices, and statistical modeling to assess persistence levels. Contrary to existing literature, our findings reveal significantly higher levels of persistence than anticipated. Moreover, through model comparison, CADM augmented with political economic variables emerges as the …

Development Of An Advanced Step Counting Algorithm With Integrated Activity Detection For Free Living Environments, Paige M. Dolan

Master's Theses

Physical activity plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health and reducing the risk of various chronic diseases. Step counting has emerged as a popular method for assessing physical activity levels, given its simplicity and ease of use. However, accurately measuring step counts in free-living environments presents significant challenges, with most activity trackers exhibiting a percent error above 20%. This study aims to address these challenges by creating a machine learning algorithm that leverages activity labels to improve step count accuracy in real-world conditions. Two approaches to balancing data were used: one employed a simpler oversampling technique, while the other …

Deciphering The Contribution Of Microglia To Neurodegeneration In Friedreich's Ataxia, Sydney N. Gillette

Master's Theses

Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is the most prevalent inherited ataxia, affecting one in every 50,000 individuals in the United States. This hereditary condition is caused by an abnormal GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion within the first intron of the frataxin gene resulting in decreased levels of the frataxin protein (FXN). Insufficient cellular frataxin levels results in iron accumulation, increased reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial dysfunction. Tissues most heavily impacted are those most dependent on oxidative phosphorylation as an energy source and include the nervous system and muscle tissue. This is evident in the clinical phenotype which includes muscle weakness, ataxia, neurodegeneration …

Causal Inference Using Bayesian Network For Search And Rescue, Amanda Belden

Master's Theses

People who are considered missing have much higher probabilities of being found dead compared to those who are not considered missing in terms of Search and Rescue (SAR) missions. Dementia patients are incredibly likely to be declared missing, and in fact after removing those with dementia the probability of the mission being regarded as missing person case is only about 10%. Additionally, those who go missing are much more likely to be on private land than on protected areas such as forests and parks. These and similar associations can be represented and investigated using a Bayesian network that has been …

A User-Centric Continuous Authentication Modality Evaluation And Selection Scheme, Bharath R. Senthilkumar

Master's Theses

One of one-time authentication’s most prominent vulnerabilities is the possibility of lunchtime attacks. In such scenarios, an adversary could exploit an unattended device with an active session and no measures are taken to prevent them from committing malicious acts. To address this issue, continuous authentication is utilized by continuously verifying whether an individual is a device’s rightful owner through various modalities, with data sourced from sensors. In the current body of research within this rising domain, various single-modal and multi-modal continuous authentication systems exist, that focus on employing unique combinations of modalities and improving existing supervised learning models used to …

Implementation And Efficiency Of Electric Motors In Lygus Bug Vacuums For Strawberries, Adam J. Rantz

Master's Theses

Further automation of the agricultural industry and an increase in organic fruit production are needed to address labor shortage and increased demand. The move to an autonomous bug vacuum is easier if the equipment is electric, and not powered by a tractor’s PTO (power take-off) shaft. The main objective of this project was to design a set of lygus bug vacuums to go on a robot that meets industry standards while using electric power instead of hydraulic. The frame of the vacuum was designed using the industry standard. While hydraulic systems have been a very effective power source for vacuums …

Qwixx Strategies Using Simulation And Mcmc Methods, Joshua W. Blank

Master's Theses

This study explores optimal strategies for maximizing scores and winning in the popular dice game Qwixx, analyzing both single and multiplayer gameplay scenarios. Through extensive simulations, various strategies were tested and compared, including a scorebased approach that uses a formula tuned by MCMC random walks, and race-to-lock approaches which use absorbing Markov chain qualities of individual score sheet rows to find ways to lock rows as quickly as possible. Results indicate that employing a scorebased strategy, considering gap, count, position, skip, and likelihood scores, significantly improves performance in single player games, while move restrictions based on specific dice roll sums …

The Effect Of Probiotic Supplementation On Serum Metabolite Concentrations In Young Holstein Heifers, Emily G. Meissner

Master's Theses

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of a multi-strain probiotic on serum concentrations of selected metabolites in young calves. Holstein heifers (n = 112) from a commercial dairy were enrolled within 48 h of birth and placed into individual hutches. Calves were weaned at 60 d of age and remained in their hutches until 90 d of age, when they were moved to group housing. Calves were placed into 2 treatment groups: 1) control and 2) B. subtilis, B. lichenformis, L. animalis, and P. freudenreichii probiotic (Bovamine Dairy Plus, Chr. Hansen, Milwaukee, WI). Control calves received …

The Impact Of Video Assistant Referee (Var) On The English Premier League, Jack Kenyon Brown

Master's Theses

The aim of this study is to examine how the introduction of the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) system influenced the English Premier League (EPL). Since its implementation in the English Premier League in 2019, VAR has been a constant source of debate and controversy. Many studies have been done on the immediate impact of VAR on other elite professional soccer leagues, but the scope of results is very limited and due to be updated. The data for the ensuing analysis consists of 3800 matches played in the English Premier League during the five seasons before (14/15, 15/16, 16/17, 17/18, and …

Feasibility And Characterization Of Leak-Tight Single-Track Thin Walls Produced By Laser Powder Bed Fusion In 316l Stainless Steel, Peyton J. Archibald

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the optimization of process parameters for producing single-track thin walls using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing. Using two different coupon designs, the study assesses the feasibility of creating the thinnest possible leak-tight structures within LPBF and evaluating their mechanical properties, including burst pressure and modulus of elasticity under pressure loads. A series of experimental iterations were conducted, varying laser power and laser speed to identify optimal conditions. The findings indicate that a narrow range of process parameters can produce consistently leak-tight thin walls. The results contribute to understanding how to achieve high quality, reliable thin …

Anomaly Detection In Heterogeneous Iot Systems: Leveraging Symbolic Encoding Of Performance Metrics For Anomaly Classification, Maanav Patel

Master's Theses

Anomaly detection in Internet of Things (IoT) systems has become an increasingly popular field of research as the number of IoT devices proliferate year over year. Recent research often relies on machine learning algorithms to classify sensor readings directly. However, this approach leads to solutions being non-portable and unable to be applied to varying IoT platform infrastructure, as they are trained with sensor data specific to one configuration. Moreover, sensors generate varying amounts of non-standard data which complicates model training and limits generalization. This research focuses on addressing these problems in three ways a) the creation of an IoT Testbed …

Generative Data Augmentation: Using Dcgan To Expand Training Datasets For Chest X-Ray Pneumonia Detection, Ryan D. Maier

Master's Theses

Recent advancements in computer vision have demonstrated remarkable success in image classification tasks, particularly when provided with an ample supply of accurately labeled images for training. These techniques have also exhibited significant potential in revolutionizing computer-aided medical diagnosis by enabling the segmentation and classification of medical images, leveraging Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and similar models. However, the integration of such technologies into clinical practice faces notable challenges. Chief among these is the obstacle of acquiring high-quality medical imaging data for training purposes. Patient privacy concerns often hinder researchers from accessing large datasets, while less common medical conditions pose additional hurdles …

An Investigation Into Teaching Sports Analytics, Josh Havstad

Master's Theses

Sports analytics arrived in the mainstream media through the novel and film Moneyball. However, its origins date back to operations researchers following World War II. Often considered a subdiscipline of statistics, sports analytics draws from statistics but also includes concepts from data science, communication, and marketing. As a passionate fan of sports, I have pursued statistics in my undergraduate and graduate education with the dream of working in sports for my career. However, educational opportunities in sports analytics are limited nationwide, and more specifically, there is no educational opportunity at my university, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis …

Instant Hdr-Nerf: Fast Learning Of High Dynamic Range View Synthesis With Unknown Exposure Settings, Nam Nguyen

Master's Theses

We propose Instant High Dynamic Range Neural Radiance Fields (Instant HDR-NeRF), a method of learning high dynamic range (HDR) view synthesis from a set of low dynamic range (LDR) views with unknown and varying exposure and white balance in as little as minutes. Our method can render novel HDR views without ground-truth supervision, and novel LDR views in different exposure settings, including those that match the ground-truth LDR views. The key to our method is to model the physical process of the camera with two implicit MLPs: a radiance field and a monotonically increasing tone-mapper. Built upon Instant Neural Graphics …

Recursive Marix Game Analysis: Optimal, Simplified, And Human Strategies In Brave Rats, William A. Medwid

Master's Theses

Brave Rats is a short game with simple rules, yet establishing a comprehensive strategy is very challenging without extensive computation. After explaining the rules, this paper begins by calculating the optimal strategy by recursively solving each turn’s Minimax strategy. It then provides summary statistics about the complex, branching Minimax solution. Next, we examine six other strategy models and evaluate their performance against each other. These models’ flaws highlight the key elements that contribute to the effectiveness of the Minimax strategy and offer insight into simpler strategies that human players could mimic. Finally, we analyze 123 games of human data collected …

A Federation Of Sentries: Secure And Efficient Trusted Hardware Element Communication, Blake A. Ward

Master's Theses

Previous work introduced TrustGuard, a design for a containment architecture that allows only the result of the correct execution of approved software to be outputted. A containment architecture prevents results from malicious hardware or software from being communicated externally. At the core of TrustGuard is a trusted, pluggable device that sits on the path between an untrusted processor and the outside world. This device, called the Sentry, is responsible for validating the correctness of all communication before it leaves the system. This thesis seeks to leverage the correctness guarantees that the Sentry provides to enable efficient secure communication between two …

Exploring The Feasibility Of The Resonance Corridor Method For Post Mission Disposal Of High-Leo Constellations, Payton G. Porter

Master's Theses

In the upcoming decade, the proliferation of high-LEO constellations is expected to exceed 20,000 objects, yet comprehensive Post Mission Disposal (PMD) strategies for these constellations are currently lacking. With the inherent challenges of efficiently deorbiting satellites from High-LEO orbits, there arises an urgent need to explore innovative approaches. Building upon insights garnered from the ReDSHIFT project and anticipating the proliferation of high-LEO constellations such as OneWeb, TeleSat, and GuoWang, this thesis delves into the potential viability of the Resonance Corridor Method for PMD. The investigation encompasses key metrics, including deorbit timelines and $\Delta v$ requirements to meet regulatory standards or …

Predicting Rheology Of Uv-Curable Nanoparticle Ink Components And Compositions For Inkjet Additive Manufacturing, Cameron D. Lutz

Master's Theses

Inkjet additive manufacturing is the next step toward ubiquitous manufacturing by enabling multi-material printing that can exhibit various mechanical, electronic, and thermal properties. These characteristics are realized in the careful formulation of the inks and their functional materials, but there are many constraints that need to be satisfied to allow optimal jetting performance and build quality when used in an inkjet 3-D printer. Previous research has addressed the desirable rheology characteristics to enable stable drop formation and how the metallic nanoparticles affect the viscosity of inks. The contending goals of increasing nanoparticle-loading to improve material deposition rates while trying to …

San Luis Obispo In A Box: Damage Accumulation And Combined Stressor Matching In Accelerated Uv Testing, Cameron N. Causey

Master's Theses

The goal of service life prediction is to accurately predict the useful lifetime of a coating system in a typical service environment. Field testing is the most true-to-life form of service life testing but requires long exposure times, often not quick enough to readily aid redesign in the product development cycle. As an alternative, accelerated weathering chambers are used to speed up coating failure in a laboratory setting. These devices do indeed accelerate failure but often produce failure modes that are not seen in actual service or produce material rankings that are not reproducible. This work explores the principle of …

A Comparative Study Of The Npm, Pypi, Maven, And Rubygems Open-Source Communities, Saurav Gupta

Master's Theses

Open-source software (OSS) ecosystems, defined as environments composed of package managers and programming languages (e.g., NPM for JavaScript), are essential for software development and foster collaboration and innovation. Although their significance is acknowledged, understanding what makes OSS communities healthy and sustainable requires further exploration. This thesis quantitatively assesses the health of OSS projects and communities within the NPM, PyPI, Maven, and RubyGems ecosystems. We explore five research questions addressing project standards, community responsiveness, contribution distribution, contributor retention, and newcomer integration strategies. Our analysis shows varied documentation practices, insider engagement levels, and contribution patterns. Our findings highlight both strengths and different …

Enhancing Direction Finding Accuracy In Perturbed Digital Arrays Via Rf Ranging-Based Self Calibration, Ariel Freiman

Master's Theses

Direction finding with radio-frequency (RF) waves have numerous applications in radio navigation, wireless localization, emergency aid, and air traffic control, among others. Direction-finding using digital arrays outperforms traditional analog techniques but requires precise knowledge of the location of the array elements to obtain accurate results. Array perturbations can lead to algorithm failures and false detection, compromising direction-finding capabilities.

This research proposes implementing a Matched Filter - Least Square (MF-LS) algorithm for Two-Way Ranging (TWR) to enhance direction-finding accuracy in arrays with perturbed element locations. The MF-LS algorithm leverages the properties of matched filters to accurately determine element positions by measuring …