Digital Commons Network^™

Numerical Modeling Of Infrared Thermography Techniques Via Ansys, Hayder Abdulnabi Thajeel

Masters Theses

"Several inspection techniques have been developed over years. Recently, infrared thermography (IRT) technology has become a widely accepted as a nondestructive inspection (NDI) technique for different fields and various applications as well. Infrared thermography stands as one of the most an attractive and a successful NDI technique that has ability to detect the object's surface/subsurface defects remotely based on observing and measuring the surface's emitted infrared heat radiation by using an infrared camera. The finite element modeling FEM ANSYS was successfully used for the modelling of several IRT techniques; such as Pulsed Thermography (PT) and Lock-in Thermography (LT) that can …

Advanced Earth Observation For Humanitarian Information Extraction, Chandi Witharana

Doctoral Dissertations

Advanced Earth observation (EO) is increasingly recognized as an indispensible tool to support rigorous and robust decision making in crisis management. In crisis scenarios, EO data need to be streamed through time-critical workflows for delivering reliable and effective information to civil protection authorities. In this context, the over arching goal of this research is to closely examine the integral segments of routing EO-based rapid mapping workflows to understand prevailing shortfalls and to devise novel approaches to catalyze conditioned geoinformation delivery to cater increasing user demand. This study envisions three interconnected objectives, which are primarily fuelled by very high spatial resolution …

The Regulation Of Prospore Membrane Shape In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Emily M. Parodi

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The size and shape of a membrane is an important determinant in cell morphology. My work focuses on how membrane size and shape is determined, using the budding yeast S. cerevisiae as a model. During sporulation in S. cerevisiae, the diploid cell remodels its interior such that four spores are formed within an ascus. During this remodeling process, the prospore membrane is synthesized de novo and grows to surround each of the meiotic products. The prospore membrane is a double lipid bilayer and ultimately determines the sizes and shapes of the newly formed spores. My work focuses on the …

Impacts Of U.S. Biofuels Mandates On Environmental And Energy Security, Mohammad Alshawaf

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 to reduce dependency on foreign oil by increasing the use of biofuels. EISA mandates 36 billion gallons of biofuel production in 2022, representing an increase of 118% in eight years. Existing and new farmland are expected to be employed to produce corn and other feedstock necessary to fulfill the biofuel mandate. There is little research on the potential environmental impact on water resources of meeting the ESIA biofuel mandates.

The objectives of this EISA study were twofold. First, the study measured the …

Producing Space: Block-By-Block Change In A Gentrifying Neighborhood, Jen Douglas

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Gentrification of urban neighborhoods is part of an ongoing restructuring of the city, linked to the emerging occupational structure of the service economy and the remaking of built environments that were created for a production economy. It is the name given to processes in which commodification and reinvestment accompany the in-migration of professional and managerial workers, often displacing prior residents and giving altered spatial form to inequality.

This dissertation is a case study of gentrification in Hyde and Jackson Squares, part of Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The emergence of gentrification pressures and their uneven distribution within the area is documented …

Reconceptualizing Cultural Competence: White Placeling De-/Reterritorialization Within Teacher Education, Melissa Winchell

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This ethnography reconceptualizes the paradigm of cultural competence used within the literature on teacher education to describe the multicultural learning of White teacher candidates. Within the cultural competence framework, White learning is problematic, dichotomously defined, and fixed. The binary of competence/incompetence established by this paradigm has recently been questioned within the literature as deficit-based and in conflict with postmodern, critical theories of learning and teaching espoused by multicultural education espouses. This study of the researcher's multicultural education class at a private, religious, four-year undergraduate college on the East Coast of the United States used co-constructed pedagogical practices--including a co-constructed community …

Studying Soil Moisture And Land-To-Water Carbon Export In Urbanized Coastal Areas Using Remotely Sensed Data And A Regional Hydro-Ecological Model, Yun Yang

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The main objective of this research was to study the flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from a terrestrial urbanized watershed to an estuarine system using a process-based regional hydro-ecological model and remotely sensed data.

While DOC is an important component of the global carbon cycle, the link of the variations in terrestrial carbon storage is still poorly understood. Soil moisture is a key factor that influences the amount of available water for vegetation growth and the decomposition rate of organic matter in the soil and thus contributes to the amount of DOC in the soil at the land-water boundary. …

The Processing Of Amyloid Precursor Protein In The Central Nervous System Of Humans And Rhesus Macaques, Justyna Anna Dobrowolska

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Alzheimer's disease: AD) is the most common dementia, currently afflicting 30 million people worldwide, with prevalence steadily increasing. Over 99% of AD cases are classified as sporadic, in which the major risk factors are age: greater than 65 years) and the ApoE-ε4 allele: in a gene dose dependent manner). The minority of AD cases: less than 1%) are caused by autosomal dominant inheritance of a genetic mutation in one of three genes: Amyloid Precursor Protein: APP), Presenilin-1: PSEN1), or Presenilin-2: PSEN2). Mutation carriers will generally notice cognitive decline starting at a relatively young age, anytime between their 30s-50s, and eventually …

The Association Between Elementary Teacher Licensure Test Scores And Student Growth In Mathematics: An Analysis Of Massachusetts Mtel And Mcas Tests, Life Legeros

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental value-added study provided evidence for the predictive validity of the Massachusetts MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Subtest by finding an association between the licensure test results of 130 teachers and the growth of their 2640 grade 4 and 5 students. The study took advantage of a natural experiment that arose due to a policy change made by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MADESE) in response to the initial administration of a new highly rigorous math-specific licensure subtest for elementary and special education teachers in March, 2008. The emergency amendment allowed test takers to conditionally pass the …

Maternal Self-Efficacy And Perceived Stigma Among Mothers Of Children With Asd, Adhd, And Typically Developing Children, Sara D. Rosenblum-Fishman

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Maternal self-efficacy (a mother's beliefs about her parenting competence) is an important area of mothers' wellbeing and overall family functioning. This study examined environmental factors that are related maternal self-efficacy among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD group), mothers of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD group), and mothers of typically developing children (Typical group). Environmental factors included (a) messages of criticism or blame about one's parenting competence (parenting-related perceived stigma), (b) child problem behaviors, (c) maternal stress, and (d) social support. One hundred eighty mothers of school-age children living in the United States completed the measures on-line. Results …

Microfinance: A Tool For Financial Access, Poverty Alleviation Or Gender Empowerment ? - Empirical Findings From Pakistan, Ghazal Mir Zulfiqar

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In just 30 years microfinance has transformed from a credit-based rural development scheme that has claimed to reduce poverty and empower poor women, to a $70 billion financial industry. In the process, the traditional NGO-led model has given way to commercialized institutions, resulting in an increased emphasis on profitmaking. This has also led to confusion in the sector around its mission: is it to alleviate poverty and empower poor women or simply to provide the "unbanked" with access to formal sources of finance? This research considers the main debates in microfinance with regard to its mission and presents empirical evidence …

Can Women Have It All?: Hesitant Feminism In American Women's Popular Writing, Anne Aramand

Graduate Masters Theses

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins are two of the bestselling series of our generation. These series are meeting widespread popularity just as the contemporary feminist debate of: "Can women have it all?" is occurring around the country. Although Twilight and The Hunger Games are not considered overtly feminist texts, they have emerged in a time when women are reexamining the possibility of empowering themselves both in the public and the domestic sphere. Meyer and Collins have introduced female protagonists that deal with precisely this issue.

First, I will be outlining why cultural studies are …

Crater Detection Via Genetic Search Methods To Reduce Image Features, Joseph Paul Cohen

Graduate Masters Theses

Recent approaches to crater detection have been inspired by face detection's use of gray-scale texture features. Using gray-scale texture features for supervised machine learning crater detection algorithms provides better classification of craters in planetary images than previous methods. When using Haar features it is typical to generate thousands of numerical values from each candidate crater image. This magnitude of image features to extract and consider can spell disaster when the application is an entire planetary surface. One solution is to reduce the number of features extracted and considered in order to increase accuracy as well as speed. Feature subset selection …

Germs, Pigs And Silver: King Philip's War And The Deconstruction Of The Middle Ground In New England, Benjamin M. Roine

Graduate Masters Theses

Early in the seventeenth century Algonquians peoples of southern New England and English colonists built a middle ground which benefitted both groups. Trade, the existence of competition from Dutch and French colonies and powerful Algonquian tribes maintained this middle ground. However, as trade items, such as beaver pelts and wampum became rare or lost value and continued English immigration to New England weakened Dutch claims to the area, the middle ground began to crumble. As English-style farms and livestock changed the ecology of New England and the colonists sought to assert their will, Algonquians lost the ability to live as …

The Effects Of Nesting Environment On Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury, Laura Grace Rollins

Graduate Masters Theses

Term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury are at risk for devastating neurological sequelae. The objective of this study is to determine if altering the early environment for maternal care-taking impacts the immediate and long-term sequelae of HI offspring. The Rice-Vannucci model was used to induce HI in postnatal day (PND) 7 Long-Evans pups. Litters were assigned to a closed nest (CN) or normal standard housing (SH) condition. Neurobehavioral development, cognitive ability, and stress response were assessed to establish any benefits of the CN condition. Finally, postmortem brain tissue was analyzed for morphometric markers of injury.

How Ending Gender Violence In India Improves The Nation's International Reputation And Tourism Industry: A Case For Nationalism, Sharon Nambudripad Schiffer

Graduate Masters Theses

As nations have become far more interconnected by means of globalization in the 21st century, the issues that affect one nation often have affects upon others. As India is a nation with a population of more than 1.2 billion, the issues that affect the nation also affect others. As an assault in Delhi, India made international news on December 16, 2012, the international community has become more aware of the incidents of gender-based violence that exist within the country. The ramifications of the international community's knowledge of the assault included a drastic decrease in both its international reputation and its …

Racism And Anxiety In A Black American Sample: The Role Of Mediators And A Brief Mindfulness Manipulation, Jessica Rose Graham

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

It is important to determine factors that may exacerbate the negative effects of experiences of racism on anxiety, as well as factors that might buffer racism's negative impact on anxiety in Black American samples. To examine these factors, we conducted two related studies. In study 1, 119 Black American individuals completed the Schedule of Racist Events, the five factor mindfulness questionnaire, the anxiety control questionnaire (assessing perceptions of control), the self-hatred subscale of the cross racial identity scale, and the depression anxiety and stress Scale. As hypothesized, frequency of racist experiences over the past week was significantly positively associated with …

Host Selection Of Spring Tiphia (Tiphia Vernalis) And Summer Tiphia (Tiphia Popilliavora), Natural Enemies Of Japanese And Oriental Beetles, Piyumi T. Obeysekara

Doctoral Dissertations

Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, and oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis (Waterhouse) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are major turfgrass pests in United States. Tiphia vernalis Rohwer and Tiphia popilliavora Rohwer (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae) were introduced as biocontrol agents against these beetles. To test the attractiveness of Tiphia wasps to herbivore induced plant volatiles, two choice bio assays were conducted. Results showed that both T. vernalis and T. popilliavora were strongly attracted to volatiles emitted by grub-infested tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) over healthy grasses. The elevated levels of terpenes emitted by grub-infested Kentucky bluegrass and tall …

On The Orientation Dependence Of The Casimir Force, Christopher David Markle

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

In the 83 years of its development, Casimir force theory has seen many advances.

However, there still exists a need for more comprehensive approaches, particularly to complex geometries. To this end we have developed an approach to the Casimir force and demonstrated its use in predicting the Casimir force present in many cases such as the case of a single hollow sphere, finite size parallel plates, and anisotropic conductors.

Within the field of Casimir force experimentation, many predicted characteristics have not yet been demonstrated. To that end, we are performing an experiment designed to investigate the orientational dependence of the …

Interactive Virtual Suturing Simulations: Enhancement Of Student Learning In Veterinary Medicine, Charles B. Boyd, Amy J. Staton

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Christine B. Boyd and Amy J. Staton on December 29, 2013.

The Syntax Of The Arabic Determiner Phrase, Mohamed Cheikh Beina

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to analyze the syntactic structure of the Arabic determiner phrase (DP) within the confines of Chomsky's minimalist program. Attention is drawn to a number of the misconceptions many linguists have about this constituent. Some of the issues that linguists overlook include the existence of an indefinite article as well as a possessive determiner that heads the genitive phrase. A new analysis of agreement within DP is presented, as well as an argument against the construct state analysis and analyses of other related issues.

The Role Of Astrocyte And Purinergic Signaling In Rtn Chemoreception, Ian C. Wenker

Doctoral Dissertations

Central chemoreception is the mechanism by which the brain regulates breathing in response to changes in tissue pH/CO2. It is particularly important during sleep and its disruption has been associated with certain pathologies, including central sleep apnea and central congenital hypoventilation syndrome. A region of the brainstem called the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) is thought to be an important site of central chemoreception. Recent evidence suggests that RTN chemoreception involves two mechanisms. The first appears to be H+-mediated activation of neurons via inhibition of pH-sensitive potassium channels. More recently, a second sensing mechanism has been identified; paracrine release of ATP in …

Hip-Hop, Medellín And Social Change, Veronica Henao Posada

Master's Theses

This study explores the ways in which the Hip-hop movement is producing social change in Medellín, Colombia. Looking specifically at a Hip-hop school called Cuatro Elementos Skuela, which exists autonomously and with very little state support in the Medellín neighborhood of Aranjuez, I argue that young people are contributing to the reconstruction of the city’s social, cultural and economic fabric. I start by explaining the historical context of Medellín, describing the different sets of conflicts that unleashed high levels of violence and caused the fragmentation of the social, cultural and economic fabric. Moreover, I review the role of the …

Volatization Of Extraterrestrial Materials As Determined By Zinc Isotopic Analysis, Randal Christopher Paniello

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

None

Development Of A Resource Manager Framework For Adaptive Beamformer Selection, Jeremy P. Stringer

Theses and Dissertations

Adaptive digital beamforming (DBF) algorithms are designed to mitigate the effects of interference and noise in the electromagnetic (EM) environment encountered by modern electronic support (ES) receivers. Traditionally, an ES receiver employs a single adaptive DBF algorithm that is part of the design of the receiver system. While the traditional form of receiver implementation is effective in many scenarios it has inherent limitations. This dissertation proposes a new ES receiver framework capable of overcoming the limitations of traditional ES receivers. The proposed receiver framework is capable of forming multiple, independent, simultaneous adaptive digital beams toward multiple signals of interest in …

Timing And Spectroscopy Requirements For A Plastic Scintillating Fiber Bundle Time-Of-Flight Neutron Spectrometer, Paul A. Clement

Theses and Dissertations

The design parameters of a Time-of-Flight (TOF) neutron spectrometer composed of BCF-12 plastic scintillating fibers were investigated. A GEANT4 transport model was developed for analyzing the interaction of 2.5 MeV neutrons with a 14 x 14 BCF-12 fiber bundle. The bundle simulation demonstrated that 0.359% of all neutrons incident on the bundle will double scatter. The timing and data collection e efficiencies of a Tektronix DPO7104 series digital oscilloscope were examined to determine the signal processing requirements for future fiber bundle measurements. The minimum detectable neutron energy was computed by taking into account the bundle scintillation e efficiency, light collection …

Electronic And Physical Characterization Of Hydrothermally Grown Single Crystal Tho2, Tony D. Kelly Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Actinide single crystals are important to the fabrication of next generation electronic devices that could possibly have radiation with the atmosphere and surroundings. Th02 single crystals were obtained previous to this work by hydrothermal synthesis. As these crystals were the first of their kind, the geometric and electric structure of the crystals needed to be extracted. The valence and conduction bands were studied in order to ascertain the band gap using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES). The unoccupied structure was further characterized using x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and relativistic, real-space Green's functions calculations. The …

Systems Metabolic Engineering Of Microbial Cell Factories For The Synthesis Of Value-Added Chemicals, Arul Mozhy Varman

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Microbial cell factories offer us an excellent opportunity for the conversion of many different cheaply available raw materials into valuable chemicals. Systems metabolic engineering aims at developing rational strategies for the engineering of microbial hosts by providing global level information of a cell. This dissertation focuses on metabolic engineering, bioprocess modeling and pathway analysis, to develop robust microbial cell factories for the synthesis of value-added chemicals. The following research tasks were completed in this regard.

First, statistical models were developed for the prediction of product yields in engineered microbial cell factories - Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli: Chapter 2). A …

Real-Time, Multiple Pan/Tilt/Zoom Computer Vision Tracking And 3d Positioning System For Unmanned Aerial System Metrology, Daniel D. Doyle

Theses and Dissertations

The study of structural characteristics of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) continues to be an important field of research for developing state of the art nano/micro systems. Development of a metrology system using computer vision (CV) tracking and 3D point extraction would provide an avenue for making these theoretical developments. This work provides a portable, scalable system capable of real-time tracking, zooming, and 3D position estimation of a UAS using multiple cameras. Current state-of-the-art photogrammetry systems use retro-reflective markers or single point lasers to obtain object poses and/or positions over time. Using a CV pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) system has the potential to …

Mems Cantilever Sensor For Thz Photoacoustic Chemical Sensing And Spectroscopy, Nathan E. Glauvitz

Theses and Dissertations

Sensitive Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) cantilever designs were modeled, fabricated, and tested to measure the photoacoustic (PA) response of gasses to terahertz (THz) radiation. Surface and bulk micromachining technologies were employed to create the extremely sensitive devices that could detect very small changes in pressure. Fabricated devices were then tested in a custom made THz PA vacuum test chamber where the cantilever deflections caused by the photoacoustic effect were measured with a laser interferometer and iris beam clipped methods. The sensitive cantilever designs achieved a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient of 2.83x10^-10 cm^-1 W Hz^-1/2 using a 25 …