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Investigating The Functions Of Copper Material Culture From Four Oneota Sites In The Lake Koshkonong Locality Of Wisconsin, Jacqueline Marie Pozza

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores Oneota use of native copper in the Lake Koshkonong locality between A.D. 1100 and 1400. Over 600 pieces of Oneota copper artifacts originating from four sites were documented and analyzed in order to investigate distribution, production, utilization, and the ideological and social significance behind this raw material. The artifacts analyzed for this study were recovered from Oneota sites adjacent to Lake Koshkonong in Jefferson County, Wisconsin: Crabapple Point (47JE93), Schmeling (47JE833), Koshkonong Creek Village (47JE379), and Crescent Bay Hunt Club (47JE904). These assemblages primarily included awls, beads, pendants, and fragmented material. The data set also includes unique …

Part 1: Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Novel Gram-Positive Antibiotics Part 2: Synthesis Of Dihydrobenzofurans Via A New Transition Metal Catalyzed Reaction Part 3: Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Bz/Gabaa Α6 Positive Allosteric Modulators, Christopher Michael Witzigmann

Theses and Dissertations

Part 1. Lead compound SK-03-92 represents a new scaffold for antibiotic drug discovery. Development of a new process for the synthesis of analogs has led to the development of a number of new ligands with even more potent activity against gram-positive bacteria, including drug-resistant strains of S. aureus. Compounds 36 and 38 represent some of the most potent analogs developed thus far, and preliminary results indicate that they are also not cytotoxic. Research into a Heck-mediated transition metal catalyzed pathway towards electron-rich stilbenoid analogs has greatly expanded the scope of future SAR studies. This development has led to 14 new …

Assessing Model-Data Fit For Compensatory And Non-Compensatory Multidimensional Item Response Models Using Vuong And Clarke Statistics, Leanne Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

The primary importance of the study was that no statistics were able to provide probabilistic statements about model-data fit between the non-nested compensatory and non-compensatory MIRT models. Secondarily, the Vuong and Clarke statistics have been utilized prolifically in economics and political science and have great potential to contribute to educational measurement. Finally, application of the Vuong and Clarke statistics will not only reduce the damage of misspecified MIRT models but will also promote the use of less known models, in this case, the non-compensatory models.

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the Vuong and Clarke statistics can …

Experimental Investigation Of Chicken Manure Pyrolysis And Gasification, Mohamed Hussein Hussein

Theses and Dissertations

The dependency on renewable resources of energy in power production is a necessary step that mankind has to take if we want our advances in life and technology to resume. In a century or two, fossil fuels will be depleted, and if we do not start to take action, Energy will be the most expensive and rare item on our planet. Biomass is one of the sources of renewable energy with an advantage of being the closest in characteristics to fossil fuels. The evolved gases are similar to fossil fuel gases which makes itthe easiest source to switch to, with …

Corrosion Of Aluminum Current Collector In Cost Effective Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries, Shengyi Li

Theses and Dissertations

Rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIB) have been widely used as commercial energy storage systems for portable equipment, electronic devices and high power applications (e.g. electronic vehicles). One issue with the commercialized LIB is that expensive, highly toxic and flammable organic solvents are used in the electrolyte and the fabrication process of electrodes. The toxic organic based solvents increase the production cost and lead to significant safety concerns in the event of a battery overcharge or short circuit. The recent development of “green manufacturing” technology allows manufacturers to replace the organic solvents used in the cathode coating process by aqueous based …

Durability Of Mechanically Loaded, Freeze Thawed Concrete Determined By Water Absorption, Brian Daniel Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

The design of concrete bridges is primarily focused on strength characteristics. However, it is often the case that durability characteristics, specifically early deterioration of the bridge deck, requires expensive repairs before the designed service life of the bridge can come to term. Lin et al. (2012) identified the development of microcracks as a possible source of this early deterioration. He proposed that these microcracks propagated due to high local compressive stress induced by overweight trucks. The resulting permeability increase caused by the propagation of these microcracks is not significant enough to cause the kind of early deterioration of bridge deck …

Analyzing Transportation Services For Older Adults In Southeastern Wisconsin, Elizabeth Jean Saunderson

Theses and Dissertations

Older adults are important users to consider in the evaluation of transportation services. Many older non-drivers take fewer trips than their driving peers. It is important that transportation services meet the needs of older adults to provide greater access to this subset of the population. This thesis applies the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate the thirty-one non-private transportation services that exist in southeastern Wisconsin. The AHP structure uses multiple criteria to evaluate and rank several alternatives based on a stated goal. An optimization model using the LINGO solver introduces a fuzzy scale level to the AHP and assigns weights …

Type 1 Diabetes: Factors That Affect Youth/Parent Dyads’ Health Related Quality Of Life And Youth Metabolic Control, Joan Pennington Totka

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TYPE 1 DIABETES: FACTORS THAT AFFECT YOUTH/PARENT DYADS’ QUALITY OF LIFE AND YOUTH METABOLIC CONTROL

by

Joan Pennington Totka

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016

Under the Supervision of Professor Julia Snethen

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is one of the most psychologically and behaviorally demanding of all chronic illnesses for youth (preadolescents and adolescents) with T1D and their primary caregivers. T1D affects one out of every 400 to 600 youth, making it one of the most common chronic conditions in school-aged youth in the United States. Advances in technology and treatment continue; however, more than 80% of youth do not …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Geometry Changes In The Simulation Of Basilar Aneurysms, Paul Eserkaln

Theses and Dissertations

Computer simulation is a useful tool in the research and treatment of basilar aneurysms. Current technology allows researchers to create 3D models from cerebral vasculature in-vivo, allowing for the investigation of surgical options with minimal risk to the patient. The method used to construct these models overlooks smaller lateral arterial branches which are difficult to discern due to resolution limits of the imaging process. These lateral branches have minimal impact on the overall blood flow through the basilar artery, but they play a significant role in the health of the patient, so it is important to ensure sufficient blood will …

Hashtagging Your Health: Using Psychosocial Variables And Social Media Use To Understand Impression Management And Exercise Behaviors In Women, Caitlyn Hauff

Theses and Dissertations

Our society has become heavily reliant on social media, especially in the health and exercise domain. Social and environmental factors impact females’ body image perceptions and create body image disturbances, yet little research is dedicated to the exploration of how social media, and social comparisons through social media exposure, impact exercise behaviors and body image perceptions in females. Considering Perloff's (2014) theoretical model, the current study explored how the interaction between individual psychosocial variables and social media use predict exercise behaviors and engagement in impression management in women. Using a mixed methodological approach, the specific aims of this study were …

School Selection Patterns Choice And Traditional Public Schoolsthrough The Lenses Of Rational Choice Theory And Behavioral Economics Theory, Steven Krull

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses rational choice theory and behavioral economics theory to examine parent considerations when selecting an enrollment rich traditional public school (one that grew or sustained enrollment) for their child. Traditional public schools provide children general academic instruction at a school determined by the geographic boundary of their home. For many years, traditional public schools were the dominant publically funded institution for educating children. However, in the current era of school choice, parents now can select from a variety of educational options. In Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), traditional public schools compete for students with private voucher schools, inter-district open …

Experimental Methods In Cryogenic Spectroscopy: Stark Effect Measurements In Substituted Myoglobin, Bradley Michael Moran

Theses and Dissertations

Dawning from well-defined tertiary structure, the active regions of enzymatic proteins exist as specifically tailored electrostatic microenvironments capable of facilitating chemical interaction. The specific influence these charge distributions have on ligand binding dynamics, and their impact on specificity, reactivity, and biological functionality, have yet to be fully understood. A quantitative determination of these intrinsic fields would offer insight towards the mechanistic aspects of protein functionality. This work seeks to investigate the internal molecular electric fields that are present at the oxygen binding site of myoglobin.

Experiments are performed at 1 K on samples located within a glassy matrix, using the …

High Temperature Oxidation Of Alumina Forming Cast Austenitic Stainless Steels Within An Environment Of Pure Steam, Elmer A. Prenzlow

Theses and Dissertations

Steam cracking of hydrocarbons in the petrochemical industry is a multibillion dollar industry. The processes performed in these plants create byproducts that negatively affect the integrity of stainless steel piping through high temperature corrosion. Alloys used presently in industry rely on the formation of chromium oxide (chromia) as a protective layer between the bulk metal pipe and chemical byproducts. However, chromia can become susceptible to attack from aggressive species such as carbon, water vapor, and sulfur compounds, thus creating a need for a better protection method.

A new series of austenitic stainless steels have been developed in recent years that, …

The Information-Seeking Strategies Of Humanities Scholars Using Resources In Languages Other Than English, Carol Sabbar

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE INFORMATION-SEEKING STRATEGIES OF HUMANITIES SCHOLARS

USING RESOURCES IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH

by

Carol Sabbar

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016

Under the Supervision of Dr. Iris Xie

This dissertation explores the information-seeking strategies used by scholars in the humanities who rely on resources in languages other than English. It investigates not only the strategies they choose but also the shifts that they make among strategies and the role that language, culture, and geography play in the information-seeking context. The study used purposive sampling to engage 40 human subjects, all of whom are post-doctoral humanities scholars based in the …

Improving The Speech Intelligibility By Cochlear Implant Users, Behnam Azimi

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we focus on improving the intelligibility of speech for cochlear implants (CI) users. As an auditory prosthetic device, CI can restore hearing sensations for most patients with profound hearing loss in both ears in a quiet background. However, CI users still have serious problems in understanding speech in noisy and reverberant environments. Also, bandwidth limitation, missing temporal fine structures, and reduced spectral resolution due to a limited number of electrodes are other factors that raise the difficulty of hearing in noisy conditions for CI users, regardless of the type of noise. To mitigate these difficulties for CI …

Characterization And Use Of Folate Receptor Isoforms For Targeting Of Epithelial And Myeloid Cells, Sreya Biswas

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

CHARACTERIZATION AND USE OF FOLATE RECEPTOR ISOFORMS FOR TARGETING OF EPITHELIAL AND MYELOID CELLS

by

Sreya Biswas

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016

Under the Supervision of Professor Douglas A. Steeber

Folate receptor (FR) is a GPI-anchored glycoprotein with high binding affinity for folic acid. FR has two membrane-associated isoforms, α and β, that are overexpressed on epithelial and myeloid tumors, respectively. Normal cells may also exhibit FR expression at very low levels but interestingly, FR-α on normal cells is restricted to the apical surface i.e., away from the blood stream. This differential expression and orientation of the FR-α isoform …

Developing Sampling Strategies And Predicting Freeway Travel Time Using Bluetooth Data, Hasan Md Moonam

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate, reliable, and timely travel time is critical to monitor transportation system performance and assist motorists with trip-making decisions. Travel time is estimated using the data from various sources like cellular technology, automatic vehicle identification (AVI) systems. Irrespective of sources, data have characteristics in terms of accuracy and reliability shaped by the sampling rate along with other factors. As a probe based AVI technology, Bluetooth data is not immune to the sampling issue that directly affects the accuracy and reliability of the information it provides. The sampling rate can be affected by the stochastic nature of traffic state varying by …

Stage-Specific Predictive Models For Cancer Survivability, Elham Sagheb Hossein Pour

Theses and Dissertations

Survivability of cancer strongly depends on the stage of cancer. In most previous works, machine learning survivability prediction models for a particular cancer, were trained and evaluated together on all stages of the cancer. In this work, we trained and evaluated survivability prediction models for five major cancers, together on all stages and separately for every stage. We named these models joint and stage-specific models respectively. The obtained results for the cancers which we investigated reveal that, the best model to predict the survivability of the cancer for one specific stage is the model which is specifically built for that …

Microstructure, Wetting Angle And Corrosion Of Aluminum-Silicon Alloys, Shvetashva Suri

Theses and Dissertations

In this study the effect of composition, surface roughness and water droplet size on contact angle and corrosion properties of cast Aluminum-Silicon alloys containing Si from 5% to 50% have been examined. The water contact angle was measured on a given sample using a goniometer. In addition, the effect of surface roughness and droplet size on contact angle has been measured for alloys at a fixed composition. The microstructures can be found in this report with sizes of primary and eutectic Silicon as well as inter-particle spacing between Silicon. Contact angle measurements are accompanied with a photographic validation of the …

Symmetry And Reconstruction Of Particle Structure From Random Angle Diffraction Patterns, Sandi Wibowo

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of determining the structure of a biomolecule, when all the evidence from experiment consists of individual diffraction patterns from random particle orientations, is the central theoretical problem with an XFEL. One of the methods proposed is a calculation over all measured diffraction patterns of the average angular correlations between pairs of points on the diffraction patterns. It is possible to construct from these a matrix B characterized by angular momentum quantum number l, and whose elements are characterized by radii q and q’ of the resolution shells. If matrix B is considered as dot product of vectors, which …

A Feasibility Study Of Using Headspace For Mindfulness Among Individuals Undergoing Surgical Repair Of The Rotator Cuff, Hanna Rae Paul

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been found to help reduce psychological distress and pain in chronic musculoskeletal conditions. However, very limited evidence exists determining the impact of mindfulness on psychological distress and pain in acute musculoskeletal conditions including rotator cuff tears. Among individuals undergoing surgical repair of a rotator cuff tear, it is not clear how mindfulness may be combined with usual care, given the requirement of intense training as part of frequently used MBI protocols. The purpose of the present study was to determine if it was feasible to combine Headspace, a mobile application for mindfulness training that can be …

Investigation Of Sparsifying Transforms In Compressed Sensing For Magnetic Resonance Imaging With Fasttestcs, Christopher Adams Baker

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this contribution is to achieve higher reduction factors for faster Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans with better Image Quality (IQ) by using Compressed Sensing (CS). This can be accomplished by adopting and understanding better sparsifying transforms for CS in MRI. There is a tremendous number of transforms and optional settings potentially available. Additionally, the amount of research in CS is growing, with possible duplication and difficult practical evaluation and comparison. However, no in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of different redundant sparsifying transforms on MRI images with CS has been undertaken until this work. New theoretical sparsity bounds …

Study Of Computational Image Matching Techniques: Improving Our View Of Biomedical Image Data, Ahmadreza Baghaie

Theses and Dissertations

Image matching techniques are proven to be necessary in various fields of science and engineering, with many new methods and applications introduced over the years. In this PhD thesis, several computational image matching methods are introduced and investigated for improving the analysis of various biomedical image data. These improvements include the use of matching techniques for enhancing visualization of cross-sectional imaging modalities such as Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), denoising of retinal Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), and high quality 3D reconstruction of surfaces from Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images. This work greatly improves the process of data …

Reconstruction Of 3d Image For Particles By The Method Of Angular Correlations From Xfel Data, Sung Soon Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The world’s first X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), is now generating X-ray pulses of unprecedented brilliance (one billion times brighter than the most powerful existing sources), and at the amazing rate of only a few femtoseconds. The first such experiments are being performed on relatively large objects such as viruses, which produce low resolution, low-noise diffraction patterns on the basis of the so called “diffraction before destruction” principle. Despite the promise of using XFEL for the determination of the structures of viruses, the results so far from …

Molecular And Functional Analysis Of The Pixb Gene In Xenorhabdus Nematophila, John Lucas

Theses and Dissertations

Xenorhabdus nematophila and the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae form a mutualistic relationship facilitating the infection, death and consumption of an insect host. The infective juvenile (IJ) form of S. carpocapsae invades the insect host through natural openings and proceeds to the hemocoel where exposure to hemolymph stimulates the release of X. nematophila from the anterior vesicle. Excreted X. nematophila releases immunosuppressive compounds and insect toxins into the insect hemolymph that facilitates death of the host. As X. nematophila reaches high cell density it secretes exoenzymes that degrade insect tissues and produces antibiotics that reduce microbial competition. S. carpocapsae utilizes the …

Farm Aid: A Case Study Of A Charity Rock Organization, Andrew Palen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact that the non-profit organization Farm Aid has had on the farming industry, policy, and the concert realm known as charity rock. This study also examines how the organization has maintained its longevity. By conducting an evaluation on Farm Aid and its history, the organization’s messaging and means to communicate, a detailed analysis of the past media coverage on Farm Aid from 1985-2010, and a phone interview with Executive Director Carolyn Mugar, I have determined that Farm Aid’s impact is complex and not clear. Farm Aid, while very active in the political sphere, including lobbying for …

Solid State Protective Device Topological Trade-Offs For Mvdc Systems, Vikas Singh

Theses and Dissertations

Presently accepted approaches to protection are “Unit-Based” which means the power converter(s) feeding the bus coordinate with no-load electromechanical switches to isolate faulted portions of the bus. However, “Breaker-Based” approaches, which rely upon solid state circuit breakers for fault mitigation can result in higher reliability of power and potentially higher survivability. The inherent speed of operation of solid state protective devices will also play a role in fault isolation, hence reducing stress level on all system components. A comparison study is performed of protective device topologies that are suitable for shipboard distribution systems rated between 4kVdc and 20kVdc from the …

Gay Liberation Is One Thing, But Nobody Likes A Dyke: Emerging Frames In Queer Radio, Ryan Charles Sugden

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how a social movement uses the media to progress in society. I conduct a framing analysis on the queer community’s use of radio during two time periods: 1970s queer radio program Gay Perspective and a 2015-2016 program, Queery. I examine the show through three emerging frames: Cultured, Diversity, and Assimilation. The thesis studies how segments of the LGBTQIA+ community framed the discussion of gay rights in the 1970s and how those frames have (and haven’t) changed in 2016. Gay Perspective focused much of its energy on trying to demonstrate the need for rights and attempts to demonstrate …

Rail: African & African American Labor And The Ties That Bind In The Atlantic World, Benjamin David Wendorf

Theses and Dissertations

As was intended, the construction of railways transformed the landscape and societies of the Atlantic World. Great fortunes and forces emerged in the directions of the tracks, sufficient to create structures of economy and organize communities in ways that persisted long after a railway’s use had diminished. In this dissertation, the author argues that the connections and reorganization effected by railway construction created new economic paths in the American South, Panama, and Gold Coast West Africa; the transformations were marked by struggles for power along racial lines, enslavement and coercion in labor, and the interchange between communities and their existing …

Travel Time Estimation On Urban Arterials - A Real Time Aspect, Jingcheng Wu

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to develop simple and direct approaches to estimate the vehicle queue length and travel time along signalized arterial links for real-time traffic operations. This dissertation is the first to demonstrate a process using vehicle trajectory data to generate detector volume, speed and time occupancy data, along with the generalized flow rate, density and space mean speed data. This approach minimizes detector over-counting and miss-counting issues. The detection zone can be of any shape or size and at any location along the trajectory. The relationships among detector volume, speed and time occupancy along signalized arterials are analyzed theoretically …