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Articles 1 - 30 of 257
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Arsenic Targets Neural Plate Border Specifier Cells In P19 Cells, Christopher Mccoy
Arsenic Targets Neural Plate Border Specifier Cells In P19 Cells, Christopher Mccoy
All Theses
Epidemiological studies have shown that arsenic exposure during early embryogenesis can cause reduced weight gain and neurological deficits later on in life. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies have indicated that arsenic suppresses neurogenesis and myogenesis. The exact mechanism of how arsenic causes these undesired developmental outcomes is poorly understood, however both skeletal muscle and sensory neuron development require the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to initiate the specific differentiation of precursor cells. We were interested in determining the target cell population of arsenic and its metabolites. Arsenic's metabolites were of interest because they have been shown to be more …
Prevalence Of Human Noroviruses In Commercial Retail Food Establishment Without A Recently Reported Outbreak Of Gastroenteritis, Chaoyi Tang
All Theses
Human noroviruses (NoV) are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis, causing nearly 58% of foodborne disease in the USA. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of NoV on select bathroom surfaces in food establishments in South Carolina (SC). All SC counties (N=46) were sorted by population density into high-, medium-, and low-density categories. Three counties were randomly selected from each population category. Lists of all foodservice establishments in each selected county (N=9) were obtained from the Department of Health and Environmental Control and a total of 120 foodservice establishments were randomly selected. Swabs were collected from …
Hand Hygiene Promotion: An Essential Strategy For Preventing Foodborne Disease In Elementary Schools, Zhangqi Wang
Hand Hygiene Promotion: An Essential Strategy For Preventing Foodborne Disease In Elementary Schools, Zhangqi Wang
All Theses
Student absenteeism is a pervasive problem in the United States, causing a number of educational, economic, and institutional problems. Hand-hygiene interventions have been reported to be a method for reducing illness-associated student absenteeism. As an increasing number of schools offer self-service, including salad bars and bowls of whole fresh fruit, opportunities for the transmission of foodborne pathogens via hands could possibly increase illness-associated student absenteeism. To address this problem, we conducted a two-phase study. First, we conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate peer-reviewed studies (N=24) that reported an association between hand hygiene interventions and illness-associated absenteeism reduction in elementary …
Determining The Fate Of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Dairy Compost During Storage Using The Optimized Detection Method, Hongye Wang
All Theses
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), a member of Enterobacteriaceae family, has been recognized as emerging pathogens. Dairy compost is commonly applied to farmland as a soil amendment. Despite the agricultural benefit of manure-based soil amendment, the inadequately treated compost can contribute to fresh produce contamination on the farm. Moreover, the epidemiological results showed that the non-O157 STEC cases have surpassed those of E. coli O157. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the behavior of non-O157 STEC strains in the dairy manure-based compost. The objectives of this study were to: 1) optimize a culturing method for detecting non-O157 STEC from dairy …
Stochastic Wavenumber Estimation: Damage Detection Through Simulated Guide Lamb Waves, Garrison Stevens
Stochastic Wavenumber Estimation: Damage Detection Through Simulated Guide Lamb Waves, Garrison Stevens
All Theses
Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a field of research that seeks to identify the onset of damage in infrastructure systems such that catastrophic failures can be averted. Acoustic Wavenumber Spectroscopy (AWS) is an emerging SHM technique that can identify and locate change of thickness resulting from damage in thin plates through the estimation of the characteristic wavenumber. AWS measures the ultrasonically induced vibrations of thin plates by laser scanners and monitors the propagation of Rayleigh-Lamb waves through the structure. This method is particularly suitable for thin-walled structures such as those contained in pipes, airplanes, and wind turbine blades. While AWS …
Geotechnical Analysis Of The Foundation Of Fort Sumter National Monument Using Numerical Modeling, Daniel Kyser
Geotechnical Analysis Of The Foundation Of Fort Sumter National Monument Using Numerical Modeling, Daniel Kyser
All Theses
The foundational condition of the historical coastal fortification of Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC was analyzed though the use of numerical modeling. In this study, two-dimensional Finite Element (FE) analyses were conducted to assess the stability of the foundation-casemates-wall system in a coupled manner subjected to potential loadings such as ocean waves, storm surge and earthquake. The finite element model was verified by modeling the historical events (construction between 1820 and 1860, demolition due to artillery bombardment, reconstruction, earthquake, building of the Battery Huger, and the removal of fill from the parade ground) since the construction of the fort in …
Inhibition Of Vibrio Cholerae Biofilm Formation By Water-Soluble Cranberry Extracts, Daniel Pederson
Inhibition Of Vibrio Cholerae Biofilm Formation By Water-Soluble Cranberry Extracts, Daniel Pederson
All Theses
Vibrio cholerae, a Gram-negative bacterium found in natural aquatic environments, is the causative agent of cholera, a severe diarrheal disease most commonly spread through drinking water. An essential component to this pathogen's success and persistence in the environment is its ability to attach to both biotic and abiotic surfaces via biofilm formation. Biofilms not only aid in surface attachment, but also provide a barrier that protects and enhances survival. Water-soluble extracts from the North American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) were found to dramatically inhibit V. cholerae biofilm formation at a low concentration of 2mg/ml. This inhibition was not due to acidification …
Comparative Fecundity During Laboratory Rearing In South Carolina (March-May) Of Field-Collected Versus F1 Laboratory-Reared Laricobius Nigrinus (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), Dragana Trninic
All Theses
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in Laricobius nigrinus Fender fecundity between field-collected and laboratory-reared beetles. Laricobius nigrinus used for this study were separated into four cohorts based on origin: Cohort 1 – Wild-caught from Seattle, WA – native population; Cohort 2 – Wild-caught from Banner Elk, NC – naturalized population; Cohort 3 – Laboratory-reared F1generation from Seattle, WA parents; and Cohort 4 – Laboratory-reared F1 generation from Banner Elk, NC parents. In 2013, the first year of this study, gender determination of live beetles had not been developed for L. nigrinus. For …
Building Information Modeling: Beyond Design, Commissioning And Construction, Timothy Brooks
Building Information Modeling: Beyond Design, Commissioning And Construction, Timothy Brooks
All Theses
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is continuing to grow in popularity among contractors and more recently among owners as the complexity and usefulness of models are improved. Many construction firms have used BIM or adopted it in their practices to some degree. However, while it is growing in popularity, its use in facility management by the owner is still lagging. This research examines how construction processes can be better organized to supply the owner a BIM that would be useful for facility management activities. The research was conducted to identify successful post-construction BIM implementation practices and the ways in which contractors …
Charitable Donations: An Analysis Of The Differences In Donation Patterns By Income Level, Elizabeth Ficklin
Charitable Donations: An Analysis Of The Differences In Donation Patterns By Income Level, Elizabeth Ficklin
All Theses
This thesis examines the possibility of grouping charitable donors by income level to develop a set of models that can more accurately predict charitable donations. Previous work is inconsistent in predicting charitable donations. This work helps to determine if these inconsistencies are a result of methodological differences between researchers, or if group membership is an important factor in predicting charitable donations as suggested by some researchers. This research only found four variables that were common to all three income groups, frequency of church attendance, family income, age, and years of education. Results show that additional variables can serve as predictors …
Combined Numberical And Experimental Assessment Of Steel Roof Decks Subjected To Windborne Debris, Robert Roper
Combined Numberical And Experimental Assessment Of Steel Roof Decks Subjected To Windborne Debris, Robert Roper
All Theses
In the summer of 2013, a steel roof deck manufacturer (Company A) approached Clemson University about testing their steel roof decking product to evaluate the performance of the steel roof deck to resist impact from tornado windborne debris using FEMA P-361 Design and Construction Guidance for Community Safe Rooms. To assist Company A in better serving their customers in areas prone to severe wind events and to facilitate use of their products in community safe rooms, debris impact tests were conducted on two cold-formed corrugated steel roof decking products. Community safe rooms are buildings that are constructed in accordance with …
Characterizing The Effect Of Vegetable Oil-Based Electron Donor Concentration On Complete Dechlorination Of Trichloroethene And Vinyl Chloride, Alex Haluska
All Theses
Chlorinated ethenes are known or suspected carcinogens. They are also among the most frequently detected organic groundwater contaminants because of wide use and poor disposal practices. Within anaerobic aquifer systems, Fe(III) reduction is a prevalent terminal electron accepting process and has often been reported as a competitive electron acceptor with respect to trichloroethene (TCE), cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), and vinyl chloride (VC) reduction. Often, practitioners add excessive amounts of electron donor to compensate for this competition in an effort to avoid incomplete dechlorination or "cis-DCE and VC stall." Contaminated aquifer material incubations were setup to assess dechlorination rates and extent under Fe(III)-reducing …
Screening St. Augustinegrass For Usda Zone 7, Nathaniel Gambrell
Screening St. Augustinegrass For Usda Zone 7, Nathaniel Gambrell
All Theses
St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] generally has poor cold tolerance yet excellent shade tolerance. As mostly hot summers follow cold winters in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, severely damaging tall fescue [Festuca arundineacea Schreb.] and centipedegrass [Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack.], a St. Augustinegrass cultivar cold tolerant enough to be grown for shady lawns would greatly benefit both home owners and sod growers in USDA Hardiness Zone 7. Eight St. Augustinegrass samples were selected, including industry standards 'Raleigh' and 'Palmetto', for further testing from an established germplasm collection of material collected from lawns grown in USDA Hardiness Zone 7. …
The Effects Of Chlorine Dioxide Gas On The Sensory Properties Of Whole Tomatoes, Christopher Gottilla
The Effects Of Chlorine Dioxide Gas On The Sensory Properties Of Whole Tomatoes, Christopher Gottilla
All Theses
This experiment sought to measure the changes in sensory quality that occur in tomatoes as the result of chlorine dioxide gas treatment. Tasti-Lee tomatoes (VFFF Hybrid #5755) were treated with two different levels of chlorine dioxide gas (10mg and 50mg of ClO2-forming material per kg of tomato) utilizing sachets. Testing compared the treated tomatoes and an untreated control group. These tests included flat-plate compression for firmness, sensory evaluation using a difference from control test, color analysis of the skin and flesh using a colorimeter, and enumeration of aerobic microbes and yeasts and molds. Flat-plate compression of whole tomatoes revealed no …
Pilot Study Of A Budget-Tailored Culinary Nutrition Education Program For Undergraduate Food Science Students, Dorothy Kerrison
Pilot Study Of A Budget-Tailored Culinary Nutrition Education Program For Undergraduate Food Science Students, Dorothy Kerrison
All Theses
The primary objective of this pilot study is to provide evidence that a budget-tailored culinary nutrition program is both appropriate and applicable to undergraduate food science students both in everyday life as well as their future health careers. Two validated programs were combined into one program in order to evaluate their combined effects: Cooking With a Chef and Cooking Matters at the Store. The secondary objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the components and reliability of a questionnaire created specifically for this pilot study. A review of past literature was written, which included culinary nutrition as a source …
Design, Analysis And Implementation Of An Experimental System To Harvest Energy From Atmospheric Temperature Variations Using Ethyl Chloride Filled Bellows, Gibran Ali
All Theses
The increase in global warming and the dwindling supplies of fossil fuels have shifted the focus from traditional to alternate sources of energy. This has resulted in a concerted effort towards finding new energy sources as well as better understanding traditional renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. In addition to the shift in focus towards alternate energy, the last two decades have offered a dramatic rise in the use of digital technologies such as wireless sensor networks that require small but isolated power supplies. Energy harvesting, a method to gather energy from ambient sources including sunlight, vibrations, …
Design Of A Mobile Web-Based Dashboard To Improve Work Practices Of Crna Board Runners, Mahesh Sreedharan
Design Of A Mobile Web-Based Dashboard To Improve Work Practices Of Crna Board Runners, Mahesh Sreedharan
All Theses
Traditional artifacts such as whiteboards serve as key tools in helping healthcare professionals keep track of frequently changing information and managing their work schedule. The simplicity of these tools has made them easy to adopt into the work culture and since these artifacts are not usually electronic, they need no external technical support or maintenance. However, these artifacts present unique challenges to their users, the primary one being lack of mobility offered. The whiteboards are usually stationary and the users will have to assemble near them to update or gather information. In a hospital, this adds significant overhead to the …
Computational Exploration Of Chaotic Dynamics With An Associated Biological System, Akshay Galande
Computational Exploration Of Chaotic Dynamics With An Associated Biological System, Akshay Galande
All Theses
Study of microbial populations has always been topic of interest for researchers. This is because microorganisms have been of instrumental use in the various studies related to population dynamics, artificial bio-fuels etc. Comparatively short lifespan and availability are two big advantages they have which make them suitable for aforementioned studies. Their population dynamic helps us understand evolution. A lot can be revealed about resource consumption of a system by comparing it to the similar system where bacteria play the role of different factors in the system. Also, study of population dynamics of bacteria can reveal necessary initial conditions for the …
Relationship Between Peel Force, Opening Force, And Burst Force For A Semi-Rigid Cup And Lid, Pre- And Post-Retort, Raj Navalakha
Relationship Between Peel Force, Opening Force, And Burst Force For A Semi-Rigid Cup And Lid, Pre- And Post-Retort, Raj Navalakha
All Theses
This research determines if there is any relationship between the peel force, the opening force and the burst force for a semi-rigid cup and lid system, for pre- and post-retort conditions. It also compares the relationship (regression lines) between these forces pre- and post-retort. These seal results were studied by varying the sealing parameters of dwell time and temperature while keeping the pressure constant. Polypropylene cups and a peelable barrier retort lidding were used in this study. As compared to past research, a different peel testing technique was used to measure the peel and the opening force. The entire lid …
A Study Of The Regularity Of Autocorrelation Of Manipulation Of Wrist Motion During Eating, Xueting Yu
A Study Of The Regularity Of Autocorrelation Of Manipulation Of Wrist Motion During Eating, Xueting Yu
All Theses
This thesis considers the problem of detecting the eating activities (e.g. meals, snacks) of people by tracking their wrist motion. Our goal is to automatically de- tect the start and end times of eating activities during free-living. It builds upon previous work done by our research group [6] [7] [8] [21]. The detection is done by segmenting data into segments then classifying the segments as EA (eating activity) and NonEA (non-eating activity) using a Bayesian classier. Previous features used in the classier developed by our group included the sum of acceleration, the amount of manipulation, the amount of wrist roll …
Deveopment Of Explant Registry And Mechanical Testing Of Pristine And Explained Surgical Mesh, Colin Burns-Heffner
Deveopment Of Explant Registry And Mechanical Testing Of Pristine And Explained Surgical Mesh, Colin Burns-Heffner
All Theses
Abdominal hernia repair is the most commonly performed general surgical procedure, with synthetic surgical mesh commonly used to buttress the defect in the abdominal wall. A majority of surgical mesh is made from Polypropylene (PP), which has been shown to invoke a foreign body response as long as the material remains in the body. Complications such as chronic pain require further investigation of mesh performance in hernia repair to better understand how performance differs for various surgical mesh materials. The broad objective of this thesis is to quantitatively characterize surgical mesh after exposure to human physiology in an in-vivo environment. …
Storm Water Damage Risk Assessment Along The South Carolina Heritage Trail, Charles Pellett
Storm Water Damage Risk Assessment Along The South Carolina Heritage Trail, Charles Pellett
All Theses
This study was conducted to better predict and assess damage to high-value small-spatial scale landscapes from storm water. Storm water damage in the form of rill formation across the South Carolina Botanic Gardens (SCBG) Natural Heritage Garden Trail has been modelled as a function of contributing area using D8 and D-infinity flow direction algorithms on a preprocessed LiDAR-derived elevation raster. D8 and D-infinity algorithms were also applied over a set of stochastic Monte Carlo simulations (n=1,000) representing elevation error. The contributing area was calculated using each of the four methods for each 5'x5' cell along the trail. The output was …
Corruption And Productivity, Chris Kelly
Corruption And Productivity, Chris Kelly
All Theses
Corruption is suggested to have a negative impact on productivity and thus growth. Several studies have studied the relationship closely, including Hall and Jones (1999) and Lambsdorff (2003). This paper seeks to build on their foundation and specify a new and robust model by looking at the effect of corruption controls on total factor productivity through a two-stage least squares regression. Since it is through public institutions that corruption manifests, also examined are differences between `inclusive' and `extractive' institutions. Also important is the degree to which a state is centralized. Extraction by way of corrupt institutions differs in highly centralized …
The Determinants Of The Salary In Nba And The Overpayment In The Year Of Signing A New Contract, Nuoya Li
The Determinants Of The Salary In Nba And The Overpayment In The Year Of Signing A New Contract, Nuoya Li
All Theses
Based on lots of previous research, the salary in National Basketball Association is determined by both personal characteristics and on-court performance. However, which kind of performance seems more important? Furthermore, does signing a new contract have any incentive or effect on the player's performance which makes the player be overpaid or underpaid in the year of signing the contract? And which kind of contracts and what kind of players tend to be overpaid? In my paper I introduce the on-court performance, personal characteristics and salary. Then I build a connection between them and run 2 regressions to analyze the determinants …
Microanalysis Of Polymer Chain Diffusion In Heat Seals, Russell Cooper
Microanalysis Of Polymer Chain Diffusion In Heat Seals, Russell Cooper
All Theses
Heat sealing is an integral method for the closure and protection of packaging. Previous work has shown that seal strength is developed by the interdiffusion of polymer chains within heat seals. Heat seals were made between two dissimilar materials. Poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (EAA) was heat sealed to ionomer. Diffusion within the EAA-ionomer heat seals was estimated. The diffusion estimates were then related to resulting seal strength in the EAA-ionomer sealant system. Heated tooling sealing was utilized to make heat seals at 40 psi (275.79 kPa), 0.5 seconds, and a range of temperatures between 180˚F (82.22˚C) and 300˚F (148.89˚C). Scanning electron microscopy …
Scientific Application Acceleration Utilizing Heterogeneous Architectures, Edwin Weill
Scientific Application Acceleration Utilizing Heterogeneous Architectures, Edwin Weill
All Theses
Within the past decade, there have been substantial leaps in computer architectures to exploit the parallelism that is inherently present in many applications. The scientific community has benefited from the emergence of not only multi-core processors, but also other, less traditional architectures including general purpose graphical processing units (GPGPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and Intel's many integrated cores (MICs) architecture (i.e. Xeon Phi). The popularity of the GPGPU has increased rapidly because of their ability to perform massive amounts of parallel computation quickly and at low cost with an ease of programmability. Also, with the addition of high-level programming …
Fast Fission Neutron Detection Using The Cherenkov Effect, Matthew Millard
Fast Fission Neutron Detection Using The Cherenkov Effect, Matthew Millard
All Theses
The Cherenkov effect in optically clear media of varying indices of refraction and composition was investigated for quantification of fast neutrons. The ultimate application of the proposed detection system is criticality monitoring. The optically clear medium, composed of select target nuclei, was coupled to a photomultiplier tube. Neutron reaction products of the target nuclei contained within the optical medium emit beta particles and gamma rays that produce Cherenkov photons within the medium which can be detected. Assessed media include quartz (SiO2), sapphire (Al2O3), spinel (MgAl2O4), and zinc sulfide (ZnS), which were irradiated with un-moderated 252Cf. Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code …
Optimizing Light Collection From Extractive Scintillating Resin In Flow-Cell Detectors, Amy Meldrum
Optimizing Light Collection From Extractive Scintillating Resin In Flow-Cell Detectors, Amy Meldrum
All Theses
The objectives of this study were to investigate the changes in light collection efficiency for flow cell detector as various parameters are altered to find the optimum flow cell configuration. Columns with inner diameters of 0.16 cm, 0.48 cm, 0.79 cm, and 1.11 cm were packed with synthesized nonporous, un-functionalized beads to measure their detection efficiencies for solutions containing 210Po, 14C, or 90Sr/90Y. The average diameter of the beads used in the experiments was 147 µm ± 33 µm. The highest detection efficiency for 210Po was 15.3 ± 3.9% with the 1.11 cm diameter column. The 1.11 cm diameter column …
Thermo-Physical Property Models And Effect On Heat Pipe Modelling, Devakar Dhingra
Thermo-Physical Property Models And Effect On Heat Pipe Modelling, Devakar Dhingra
All Theses
Heat transfer devices find applications in various aspects of life. Be it residential, commercial or industrial application, efficient heat transfer is a challenge to all. Other than geometric design considerations and wick selection, the optimization of heat transfer in the heat pipe also depends on fluid selection. Heat pipe technology has proven to work efficiently with properly selected thermal fluid, from cryogenic temperatures to very high temperatures. Higher heat transfer ability through small temperature differences makes the heat pipe an efficient technology. Hence, it can be stated that selecting a proper working fluid enhances the heat transfer performance of a …
The Effects Of Probiotics Supplementation On Health Using Caenorhabditis Elegans As A Model System, Miranda Klees
The Effects Of Probiotics Supplementation On Health Using Caenorhabditis Elegans As A Model System, Miranda Klees
All Theses
The 'Western Diet,' prominent among developed nations, often refers to a diet rich in meat proteins and refined sugars. Western society may in part be plagued with obesity and obesity related diseases due to a diet enriched with glucose. With an increasing glycemic index observed in Western society, it comes to no surprise that obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity related diseases are on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes obesity as an epidemic, affecting more than 35% of U.S. citizens. Shortened lifespan and increased susceptibility to pathogens are associated with these diseases and linked …