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Integrating Hydrology And Human Water Footprints: A Case Study Of The Great Salt Lake Basin, Rachel Lynne Seeley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Global demand for water is outrunning supply, and how we account for water is part of the problem. Many water management frameworks are based solely on how much physical water moves through rivers, aquifers, and other water bodies, missing the water that is embedded in food and other products a region produces and exports. This study developed a new, generalizable water accounting framework that incorporates this “hidden water,” known as virtual water, into water management and applied the framework in the Great Salt Lake Basin.

The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, and an often-overlooked driver of the lake’s decline is …

Understanding The Correlation Between Prediction Performance And Trust In Ai Through Scenario-Based Tasks, Likhitha Kammara

Theses and Dissertations

Trust in artificial intelligence is commonly assessed through self-reported scales or behavioral reliance, yet behavioral reliance is retrospective and can only be observed after a decision has already been made. This thesis examines whether prediction accuracy — a user's ability to predict what an AI system will recommend before its output is revealed — can serve as a prospective correlate of trust in the same empirical sense as behavioral reliance. The study was conducted in two phases using scenario-based AI decision tasks across disaster response, healthcare, and infrastructure restoration contexts, employing a between-group design in which participants either predicted AI …

Expression Levels Of Heat Shock Protein 72 And Their Correlation With Biomarkers Of Renal Function Among Hispanic Construction Workers Exposed To Ambient Heat In El Paso, Texas, Maria Fuentes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Heat shock proteins (HSP) are intracellular molecular proteins that are upregulated in response to cellular stress, including heat exposure. Through their protective functions, HSP help maintain protein structure, prevent protein denaturation, and preserve cellular homeostasis during states of physiological stress. Because of their cytoprotective properties, HSP have emerged as potential biomarkers for detecting early signs of tissue injury and predicting clinical outcomes associated with heat related illnesses (HRI), including acute kidney injuries (AKI). AKI is a leading cause of hospitalizations due to heat stress exposure and heat stroke. In the absence of early detection and effective therapeutic interventions, AKI may …

Integrating Transcriptomics And Predictive Analytics For Multi-Cancer Prognostic Modeling Across Demographic Subgroups, Arnav Joshi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cancer prognosis is shaped by complex molecular and clinical factors that challenge survival modeling using high-dimensional genomic data. Transcriptomic profiling provides a means to characterize molecular patterns associated with disease aggressiveness, yet the behavior of transcriptome-informed predictive models remains sensitive to endpoint choice, cohort structure, and demographic stratification. This dissertation presents a computational framework for transcriptomic analysis and survival modeling across multiple cancer types with explicit race-aware design. Using bulk RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, transcriptomic analyses were performed for breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD), and liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). Differential expression and …

Environmental And Toxicological Assessments In The Fine Jewelry And Sapphire Industry: A Chemistry Approach, Maricarmen Lerma

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the potential environmental and public health impacts associated with fine jewelry and the gemstone industry, specifically focusing on potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in sapphires. Heavy metal contamination within consumer goods and raw materials has become a pervasive issue in the United States. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs), such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), pose significant toxic health risks. Human exposure to these PTEs via inhalation, ingestion, or dermal contact can induce severe health effects; Pb is associated with cognitive impairment and developmental delays in children, Cd exposure can cause pulmonary and renal damage …

Optimizing Urban Forestry Through Green Infrastructure: Tree Health And Water Retention In Ciudad Juarez Rain Gardens, Tomas Rogelio Lizarraga Ruiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Urban green spaces (UGS) in arid regions face significant challenges due to water scarcity and extreme thermal demand. This study evaluates the efficacy of Nature Based Solutions (NBS), rain gardens and median strips, in enhancing the physiological resilience of urban trees in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Using a comparative framework, the research monitored a native evergreen (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) and an introduced deciduous species (Morus sp.) across six planting treatments. Statistical analysis reveals that green infrastructure (GI) acts as a critical physiological accelerant. Trees situated within rain gardens and medians significantly outperformed those in restricted pot and sidewalk settings, maintaining higher stomatal …

Unsupervised Learning For Minimum Error Adaptive Sampling Of Atmospheric Vertical Temperature Profiles, Alejandro Medina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) collect atmospheric data on fixed schedules, and endurance limits make blind searching costly. This thesis develops an unsupervised representation that summarizes a multi-decade radiosonde archive into a compact library of atmospheric states, giving a UAS an expectation of the column before it flies. The method standardizes both axes of a profile against the sounding's own surface conditions, which makes the representation independent of season and of station elevation. Applied to 27,270 soundings from Norman, Oklahoma, over the lowest 1.5 km of the atmosphere, 12 representative profiles reconstruct the record to within 1.0 °C of mean absolute …

Physically Based And Machine Learning-Driven Frameworks For Parallax Quantification, Artifact Detection, And Bias Diagnosis In Passive Microwave Precipitation Retrievals, Andres Felipe Monsalve Salazar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Passive microwave (PMW) radiometers are a primary source of global satellite precipitation estimates, but their retrievals are degraded by parallax-induced geolocation displacement, orbit-level artifacts, and environment-dependent biases. This dissertation develops physically based and machine learning-driven methods to assess the quality and increase the reliability of PMW precipitation retrievals, using the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and its Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) as the primary testbed. It comprises three independent but complementary studies centered on the diagnosis of retrieval errors and the detection of observational artifacts. The first study introduces a physically based parallax correction that realigns cloud-level microwave signals with …

Geospatial Assessement Of Fine Particulate Matter Pollution, Extreme Heat, And Their Co-Occurrence In El Paso County, Texas, Benjamin Damilare Ojo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Extreme heat and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are two of the most consequential environmental threats to human health in the United States, and both are intensifying under climate change. Their risks are distributed unequally across urban populations and, when the two hazards coincide, they produce health effects greater than those of each individual hazard. This dissertation assesses extreme heat, fine particulate pollution, and their compound co-occurrence in El Paso County, Texas, including the city of El Paso, an arid, predominantly Hispanic border city in the Chihuahuan Desert from 2023 to 2025. Using multi-source data that integrates NASA's geostationary Tropospheric Emissions: …

Transnational Indigenous Environmental Justice: A Distant Comparative Study Of Nepali And U.S. Environmental Policies And Counter-Archives In Technical Communication, Shankar Paudel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how institutional communication, state bureaucracy, and Indigenous sovereignty intersect within Rhetoric and Writing Studies (RWS) and Technical and Professional Communication (TPC). Current TPC research increasingly focuses on social justice; however, the field still lacks ethical frameworks to deal with the complicated dynamics of transnational Indigenous Environmental Justice Communication (IEJC). This study addresses this gap by examining how two distinct Indigenous communities - the Tharus of Chitwan, Nepal, and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tigua Indians of El Paso, Texas - communicatively navigate, contest, and resist state environmental policies.

Grounded in decolonial Distant Comparativism, Mestiza Consciousness, Rhetoric of …

Advancing Electrochemical Strategies For Pfas Sensing And Degradation, Diego Camilo Puerto Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ensuring universal access to safe water is a critical global challenge, particularly due to pollution from contaminants of emerging concern such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These synthetic fluorinated chemicals have been widely used since the late 1940s because of their chemical stability and hydrophobic/lipophobic properties. However, the toxicity and persistence of legacy PFAS, including PFOA and PFOS, led to their gradual phase-out and replacement by shorter-chain alternatives such as GenX and PFBS. These replacement PFAS remain less explored in terms of reliable detection and degradation strategies, despite increasing evidence of their environmental occurrence, mobility, and potential toxicity. The …

Assessing The Health Impacts Of Pm2.5 And Ozone Exposure: A Study Of Hospitalizations In El Paso, Alexia Breanna Reyes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Air pollution has been widely associated with adverse cardiovascular health outcomes; however, most research in arid regions has focused on high-intensity dust events rather than routine, non-dust conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the association between non-dust air pollution and cardiovascular hospitalizations in El Paso County, Texas. A time series analysis was conducted using hospitalization data from 2010 to 2014. Daily counts on non-dust event days of cardiovascular hospitalizations, including hypertensive diseases, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and diseases of pulmonary circulation, were examined in relation to ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone. Quasi-Poisson regression models with …

From Screening To Risk: Assessment Of Potentially Toxic Elements In Children's Toys Along The El Paso, Tx, U.S.A.-Ciudad Juarez, Chih, Mex Border Region, Jesus Rodriguez-Loya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Children are uniquely vulnerable to potentially toxic elements (PTEs), absorbing them more readily than adults and encountering them through the hand-to-mouth behaviors of early childhood. Exposure carries element-specific consequences: lead (Pb) impairs cognitive development with no established safe threshold; cadmium (Cd) damages the kidneys and reduces bone mineralization; arsenic (As) is a recognized carcinogen and developmental neurotoxicant; hexavalent chromium (Cr) is carcinogenic and induces allergic dermatitis; nickel (Ni) is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis in children; and excess zinc (Zn) disrupts copper absorption and causes gastrointestinal distress. Toys are a distinctive source of such exposure, yet none had …

Performance Of The Denitrification-Decomposition Model In Simulating Agronomic Properties And N2o Emissions Under Smallholder Climate-Smart Farming Systems, Esphorn Kibet, Collins M. Musafiri, Milka Kiboi, Onesmus K. Ng'etich, David K. Kosgei, Abdirahman Zeila, Franklin Mairura, Felix K. Ngetich

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model is a crucial tool for estimating soil greenhouse gas fluxes and understanding soil-plant interactions. This study evaluates the performance of the DNDC model in simulating soil temperature, moisture, crop yield, and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes across different land utilization types in Western Kenya. The land utilization types included: i) agroforestry M (agroforestry with Markhamia lutea, ii) sole sorghum, iii) agroforestry L (agroforestry with Leucaena leucocephala), iv) sole maize, and v) grazing Land, each replicated thrice. Fertilizer and manure were applied as part of the management practices, with manure applied at 2t ha⁻¹. Soil greenhouse …

A Novel Method To Corroborate The Authenticity Of Corundum-Based Red Gemstones (Rubies) Via Hyperspectral Microscopy And Other Spectroscopic Techniques, Kazi Saima Banu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Corundum-based red gemstones, commonly known as rubies, are among the most valuable-colored gemstones. However, their accurate identification is complicated by synthetic production, post-growth treatments, and the availability of visually similar materials such as red spinel, garnet, tourmaline, as well as glass imitations. The study established that conventional gemological measurements provide useful preliminary evidence for the characterization of rubies, but the combination of spectroscopic measurements can reliably establish their identity, origin, and treatment history. This dissertation develops and evaluates a nondestructive, multimethod framework that integrates conventional gemological measurements with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and hyperspectral microscopy (HSM) to characterize …

An Analysis Of Mating Strategies In Rotifers Inhabiting Temporary Habitats, Ariel Bollinger

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Reproduction is critical for organisms inhabiting ephemeral aquatic habitats where desiccation risk favors rapid and successful mating. Monogonont rotifers rely on sexual reproduction to produce diapausing eggs that withstand harsh conditions. I investigated how mating behaviors vary among populations of five rotifer species based on the hydroperiod of their habitat: Epiphanes brachionus and E. chihuahuaensis were sampled from habitats with short (SH) and long (LH) hydroperiods; Euchlanis dilatata was collected from a short (SH) and a permanent habitat; and Plationus patulus and Sinantherina socialis were collected from a long (LH) and a permanent (Perm) habitat. I hypothesized that SH populations …

Numbers, Patterns, And Memories: Early Experiences Of Mathematicians And Mathematics Education Researchers, Constantinos Xenofontos

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper offers a reflective analysis of early mathematical experiences shared by fifty-six mathematicians and mathematics education researchers, including my own, as part of Cambridge Mathematics’ “Seven Questions with . . . ” interview series. Drawing on thematic analysis, I identify five key patterns across participants’ recollections: the context of early mathematical engagement, the influence of significant others, emotional responses, shifts in mathematical thinking, and mathematics as a social or competitive experience. Many accounts emphasise informal, everyday encounters with mathematics—often preceding formal education—as central to developing interest and confidence in the subject. The findings challenge the notion of innate mathematical …

Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Mathematics Achievement And Problem-Solving Ability: Insights From Secondary Schools In India, Laishram Nirtish Singh, Anand Jyoti Sanasam, Jocyline Thokchom, Ningombam Cha Cogent, Laisom Sharmeswar Singh

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted students’ engagement with mathematics. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of the extent of this disrupting by examining differences in mathematics achievement and problem-solving ability between adjacent cohorts who learned Class 8 under different schooling conditions in India: Group A (pandemic-exposed Class 8 cohort) and Group B (post-reopening Class 8 cohort). Using a descriptive design in a natural setting, we selected a stratified sample of 1,200 students from Class 9 and Class 10 across 21 secondary schools in Manipur, India. The sample was stratified by gender, family type, school type, and locality to ensure …

Cultivating Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Hearts, Critical Consciousness, And Professional Praxis Through Book Study, Mary Raygoza, Missy D. Cosby, Sheila Orr, Barbara King, Justin T. Burris, Siddhi Soni

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

At a time when executive orders and state legislation are attempting to ban practices promoting equity, belonging, and social justice from education, specifically STEM education, in the United States, mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) remain committed to humanizing mathematics teaching and learning practices and seek opportunities to learn how to adhere to their convictions while preparing mathematics teachers for the classroom. This paper offers reflections and considerations for how the authors engaged interested MTEs to shift or strengthen their individual and collective professional praxis through a book study. Specifically, we examine the design (the what) and process (the how) of a …

Irrigation With Sewage -An Effective Procedure For In­Creasing The Yield Performance Of Grassland As Well As For Protecting Inland Waters Against Pollution, V M. Novikov, N A. Kovaleva, V P. Sayapin, L F. Mikheeva, M I. Demina

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The utilization of sewage for irrigation pur­poses is an effective procedure for increasing the yield performance of grassland as well as for protecting inland waters against pollution. Compared with irrigation only during the growing season, all-season use of sewage is more effective in increasing forage production and reducing both the quantity of sewage diverted into inland waters and the deficit of irrigation water. By way of science-based choice of the irri­gation regime, the perennial forage plant spe­cies, and their kind ofutilization, 8.0-10.0 tons and more of high-quality dry matter can be obtained per hectare, with 6,000-7,000 m3 of sewage being …

Effect Of Nitrogen Fertilization Of Pastures On The Cu, Fe And Zn Content In Fodder And Blood Of Dairy Cows, Kazimerz Rybak

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Results of one of the grazing experiments carried out in the period 1971-1975 are dis­cussed. In the experiment two rates of N fer­tilization were applied: 60 and 120 kg per hectare under each regrowth, i.e. 360-420 and 720-840 kg N/ha per year, respectively. Rates of phosphorus and potassium fertili­zation remained unchanged: 120 kg P2O5 and 160 kg K2O per hectare. High N rates led to an increase of the Cu and Zn contents and an Fe content decrease in plants, and stimulated the Cu and Fe absorption but reduced the Zn absorption by high-yielding cows. A drop of the Cu …

Effect Of High Nitrate Fertilization On The Yield And Biological Value Of Grasses Tested By Common Vole, Slawomir Pronczuk, Janina Gnat, Tadeusz Szuperski

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The effect of different fertilization doses ( 4 x 60, 4 x 120, and 1 x 480 kg N/ha) on the yield of grasses and their basic chemical composition as well as on the growth efficiency and health of animals fed those grasses was studied. Yield of grass during three following years was higher from the fields fertili_zed 4 x 120 and 1 x 480 kg N/ha, when compared to 4 x 60 kg N/ha. No differences were found be­tween 1 x 480 kg N/ha and 4 x 120 kg N/ha. Growth ·efficiency of the common voles which were fed …

Young-Cattle Rearing Along Industrial Lines And Pasturing In The Gdr, H Kleiber, F Morchen, F Lemme

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Young-cattle rearing along ind us trial lines involves a general increase ofrearing standards. When pasturing large herds of young cattle it is difficult to achieve high live weight gain. Factory-like milk production requires not only optimal live weight development of the heifers but also an excellent state of health of the animals' legs. The latter is achieved more easily through pasturing than by way of indoor rear­ing of the youngstock. The intensification of young-cattle rearing includes the intensifica­tion of pasture rearing as well. Young-cattle rearing along industrial lines brings up new problems to be solved by technological re­search workers.

Factors Affecting Green Forage Intake By The Milking Goat, Lionel Huguet, Michel De Simiane, Claude Bernard Broqua

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

For the past fifteen years in France goat rearing has developed thanks to a favourable economic background. The specialization of farmers has given rise to new needs in breed­ing techniques and particularly in green forage feeding systems. From 1972 to 1975, trials were carried out to specify the utilization of green forage by milking goats in order to simplify and rationalize their diet. Three factors were studied to estimate their effect on forage intake: removal of hay from the ration, the quantities of green forage offered, and the quantities of concentrates distributed. When the green forage has a good feeding …

Phytochemical Analysis And Safety Assessment Of Watercress Nasturtium Officinale: Antioxidant Capacity, Heavy Metal Profiling, And Toxicity Using Brine Shrimp Model, Qurrota A’Yunin, Chamini Kasun Hemachandra, Muhaimin Rifa’I, Yoga Dwi Jatmiko, Maftuch Maftuch, Rizky Fadilla Agustin Rangkuti, Cucun Herlina, Zulfa Mahdiatur Rasyida, Moh Dliyauddin

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Medicinal plants have attracted growing attention as sources of natural bioactive compounds for sustainable aquaculture and health. This study evaluated the phytochemical composition, antioxidant activity, heavy metal profile, and acute toxicity of watercress (Nasturtium officinale W.T. Aiton) methanol extract using maceration, qualitative and quantitative (TPC, TFC, antioxidant DPPH) phytochemical assay, XRF, and BSLA. Phytochemical screening of plant extracts showed the existence of flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, tannins, triterpenoids, and saponins, but not steroidal. The TPC and TFC were 20.6 mg GAE/g and 10.8 mg QE/g, respectively. The extract displayed significant antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ = 64.78 µg/mL in DPPH assay). …

Evaluating Machine Learning Models On Classification Of Novel Cyber Attacks In The Healthcare Domain, Promise Ehimen

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The increasing adoption of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has improved healthcare delivery through connected medical devices while simultaneously expanding the cybersecurity risks facing healthcare organizations. Although machine learning based intrusion detection systems have demonstrated high detection accuracy, their ability to respond reliably to previously unseen cyberattacks remains uncertain. This study investigated how a Neural Network model and a Logistic Regression model classified novel cyberattacks within the IoMT environment. The Neural Network and Logistic Regression models were both trained and tested using a subset of the CICIoMT2024 benchmark dataset. The Neural Network achieved 99.82% test accuracy and a 0.94 …

Final Unreclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Systematic Review Of The Institutionalization Of Service Learning In Higher Education, Wilmer Hernan Cruz Gutierrez

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

An increasing number of universities are integrating service-learning (SL) to fulfill their social mission. However, sustainable institutionalization of SL remains a persistent challenge. This study identifies and analyzes the factors, actors, and strategies that drive and inhibit SL institutionalization in higher education. Using the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic literature review analyzed 52 documents from seven academic databases (including WoS, Scopus, and ERIC). The findings were grouped into three sections: cultural (integration into institutional values/missions), process (articulation within teaching, research, and outreach), and structural dimensions (dedicated support entities). The results obtained reveal a reciprocal relationship where cultural alignment enables processual …

A Community Planning Approach To Green Infrastructure And Hazard Mitigation, Kara Salazar, Daniel Walker, Carrie Mckillip

Journal of Extension

As communities seek to increase their resilience to climate change and natural hazards, integrating mitigation and adaptation solutions into local planning has become essential. Purdue Extension, the University of Illinois Extension, and Illinois–Indiana Sea Grant developed a program, funded by the Extension Disaster Education Network, which supports community-based updates to hazard mitigation and resilience planning, with an emphasis on green infrastructure. This paper highlights the lessons we learned after implementing the program in Hancock County, Illinois, and LaPorte, Indiana, and the toolkit we created, which provides engagement and education techniques, planning processes, and other resources to Extension professionals working in …

2026 Final Unreclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.