Digital Commons Network^™

A Colorimetric Sensor Array For Differentiating Emerging Material Contaminants Based On Surface Chemistry, Ifunanya Chiamaka Ede

All Master's Theses

Emerging materials contaminants, such as microplastics (MPs) and engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), are now recognized to contaminate oceans, seas, freshwater, and drinking water through many different exposure pathways. The extent of the materials' water contamination problem has only begun to be properly appreciated in the last decade. While comprehensive global data on the exact quantity of nano- and microcontaminants in drinking water is challenging to ascertain, studies have shown that microplastics and nanoparticles can now be found in drinking water sources worldwide.  Indeed, a well-publicized recent study has shown that 93% of bottled water around the world contains microplastic contamination.

Detecting …

In Vitro Microfluidics System For Mechanobiologic Investigations, Michael A. Daanen

Honors Theses

Mechanobiology is an emerging field that aims to study the relationships between mechanical forces and cellular behavior. Such mechanobiological relationships are especially critical in the cardiovascular system, where endothelial cells lining the vasculature align in response to fluid shear stresses from blood flow (Sinha, 2016). Implanted flow devices, diabetes, chronic hypertension, and various other diseases and pathophysiologies alter vessel geometries and flow dynamics. Such alterations impact fluid shear stress and endothelial cell behavior, leading to microcirculatory dysfunction, vessel leakage, and organ failure (Poredos, 2021; Papadaki, 1999; Leitschuh, 1987). To simulate dysfunctional endothelial cell behavior in vitro and evaluate novel therapeutic …

One Peak, Two Peaks: On The Effects Of Enhanced Evaporation In An Ammonium Sulfate And Succinic Acid Aerosol System, Julia Reynolds

Honors Theses

Aerosols, defined as suspensions of liquid or solid particles in a gaseous medium, are ubiquitous in both indoor and outdoor environments. They have significant impacts ranging from public health concerns to climate dynamics. In laboratory settings, aerosols are most often generated through a technique known as atomization. The atomization or nebulization is from dilute, aqueous solutions of various chemical compositions. This process typically produces a unimodal, lognormal particle size distribution with exceedingly rare exceptions. Colleagues in a different laboratory (Dr. Freedman’s Group at Pennsylvania State University), however, mentioned they observed a bimodal size distribution, a distribution with more than one …

Harnessing Electroosmotic Hybrid Nanofluid Dynamics In Curved Arteries: Insights Into Biomedical Flow Enhancement, M. A. El Kot, A. M. Alsharif, Y. Abd Elmaboud, Sara Abdelsalam

Basic Science Engineering

No abstract provided.

Removal Of Antibiotics Under Visible Light By Using C,N-Tio2 Incorporated Into Magnetite Mesoporous Silica Composites, Dwita Widyawati

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Water contamination, particularly from antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, is a significant environmental challenge necessitating the development of new remediation solutions. A promising technique for eliminating CIP from the environment is photocatalysis. The synthesis of C,N-doped TiO2 embedded within magnetite mesoporous silica (MSI) composites is prepared to serve as a promising semiconductor catalyst for photodegradation under visible illumination. Tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT), glucose, and urea are used as precursors in the sol-gel synthesis process, which controls elemental ratios to produce a unique mesoporous composite material intended to improve antibiotic photodegradation in the presence of visible light. Comparisons showed significant differences between capped …

Blocfog : Enhanced Transactional Data Encryption Via Fog Computing And Blockchain, Leon Wirz

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in financial transactions presents ongoing challenges, particularly in achieving a balance between strong security, fine-grained access control, and system efficiency. Existing approaches often rely on complex cryptographic operations that strain end-user devices or lack the flexibility needed for decentralized environments. Although blockchain provides advantages such as auditability and tamper resistance, its use is often limited by high computational costs and latency. This research proposes an efficient and scalable access control framework that integrates Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE) with a lightweight fog computing layer. The system is designed to offload heavy cryptographic tasks from end users …

Improving Chinese Hate Speech Detection With Bert-Fasttext Fusion And Bert-Bilstm Fusion, Methini Ma

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Hate speech detection is an essential technique in the online environment, especially on social media platforms. This technique helps to create a safer space and reduce the risk of real-world harm. In Chinese, this task is particularly challenging because of unique linguistic structures and the frequent use of indirect expressions, sarcasm, homophones, character variants, and abbreviations. This study investigates how to improve Chinese hate speech detection by combining BERT with FastText and BERT with BiLSTM. There are six model variants that are configured: frozen BERT and fine-tuned BERT, each further extended with either FastText sentence embeddings or a clause-level BiLSTM. …

Gel Based Sensing Platforms For Ammonia Detection, Patita Salee

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research focuses on the development of two biopolymer-based colorimetric platforms for ammonia detection in environmental water and gaseous samples. To detect ammonia in water samples, an agarose hydrogel membrane containing salicylate, hypochlorite, and sodium nitroprusside was incorporated into a flow analysis system to perform the Berthelot reaction within the gel. Ammonium in the sample was converted to monochloramine in an alkaline reagent stream, and its subsequent interaction with the sensing membrane yielded an indosalicylate blue chromophore, causing the gel to change from pale yellow to green–blue as the ammonia concentration increased. Under the optimal operating conditions, the method provided …

Journal Of Earth And Life Science, Academic Year 2024-2025, Megan Boche, Nathan D. Pyburn, Ben Hoover, Jayden R. Alsleben, Hector Montoya, Jr, Reed Cumberland, Rose Kuhlmann, Ray Anderson, Ellie Isakson, Seth Sisneros-Martinez, Zanden Mellen, Quady Bernu, Cian Verbridge, Benjamin D. Strei, Madelaine Adamich, Arian Garcia, Tegwen Romportl, Sandra J. Marcu, Bemidji State University

Journal of Earth and Life Science

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Plant Density And Microplastic Concentration In The Water In Lake Bemidji, Mn, Arian Garcia

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Microplastics, plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, are an increasing environmental threat, particularly due to their widespread distribution and toxicity. While much research has focused on larger freshwater and marine ecosystems, the presence and impacts of microplastics in smaller inland lakes remain less understood. This study investigates the relationship between plant density and microplastic concentrations in Lake Bemidji, a smaller freshwater lake. A total of 30 water samples were collected across varying vegetation conditions, ranging from open water (0%) to 90% plant coverage. Microplastics were identified and categorized into six morphological types: fibers, fragments, films, spheres/beads, and foam. The samples …

A Sample Of Fish Communities In Beaver Ponds Of Northern Minnesota, Reed Cumberland, Rose Kuhlmann

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The North American beaver Castor canadensis is an ecosystem engineer and a keystone species to the environment. Beaver inhabit ponds and construct dams to build ponds that provide habitat for certain fish. Little information is provided on the species of fish that live in beaver ponds. The objective of this study is to sample the fish communities in beaver ponds while comparing the effectiveness of two styles of minnow traps. Twelve beaver ponds were selected in the Bemidji area to be sampled. The quantity and species caught in each style of trap were recorded to compare effectiveness of each trap …

Effects Of Round-Up On The Environment, Sandra J. Marcu

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Many people around the world have used and still currently use Roundup but are unaware of the effects it has on the environment. Roundup is a spray on application weedkiller that is widely used around the world today both residentially and commercially. It enables its user to grow a garden or a field of crops with a no-tilling approach to eliminate weeds. It is a well-known and popular choice for killing weeds that has been around since the mid 1970’s (Oca, 2017). John Franz, a Monsanto scientist discovered that glyphosate (main ingredient in Roundup) was an herbicide or weedkiller, and …

The Effectiveness Of The Minnesota Buffer Law And Its Impacts On People, Ellen P. Isakson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

In January 2015, the then-governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton announced new legislation that would require 50-foot vegetation buffers along all waterways in Minnesota; this legislation would come to be known as the Minnesota buffer law, exact requirements being “perennial vegetative buffers of up to 50 feet along lakes, rivers, and streams and buffers of 16.5 feet along ditches” (Albert, 2017; MN Board of Water and Soil Resources [MN BWSR] 4 ). A buffer in the context of vegetation and natural resource management is a strip of vegetation around a body of water “designed to intercept stormwater runoff and minimize soil …

Stars, Statutes, And Sharing: Designing Global Ip Frameworks For Space-Based Discoveries, Ed Koellner

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

As humanity stretches farther into space physically, commercially, and intellectually, contemporary legal frameworks are beginning to creak under the pressure. Intellectual property laws seem to be playing catch-up. Those laws were written for a world bound by borders and gravity, not for orbital labs, the Earth’s Moon, or AI-generated inventions drifting above the Earth.

This article takes a closer look at the increasingly complex intersection of space law, intellectual property, and artificial intelligence. This domain is no longer reserved for state-led missions or high-level treaties. Now and in the near future, a university lab or a private startup might be …

Alpha-Synuclein Interaction With Gedunin, Tony Matundura Nyabayo

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other Proteinopathies develop when α-synuclein misfolds and aggregates into toxic amyloids. While existing treatments for PD are primarily focused on managing its symptoms, a viable solution for slowing down the progress of Parkinson’s disease involves targeting the toxic α-synuclein amyloids. Gedunin, a natural inhibitor of heat shock protein 90, has been extensively used to treat malaria. Also, recent research investigations have shed light on its potential beyond malaria therapy, indicating that Gedunin may offer a possible solution for treating a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Using plate-based assays, we examined how Gedunin influences α-synuclein fibrillation and its …

Lc-Ms Discriminates Between Effects Of Sulfur Nanoparticles Vs Molybdenum Disulfide Nanoparticles On Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa), Mary Fakunle

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Nanotechnology is gaining attention in agriculture, majorly due to their potential benefits in farming practices. Sulfur and molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles are reported to enhance plant growth, protection, and nutrient delivery. However, there is a need to understand how nano-fertilizers affect the metabolites and nutritional benefits of plants. Here, lettuce was cultivated under greenhouse in one of three treatments: control, 50 ppm S NPs, and 20 ppm MoS2 NPs. A method was developed on Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) instrument to quantify the concentration of amino acids and antioxidants in the harvested lettuce plants. Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry …

A Retrieval Augmented Approach To Improving Accuracy Of Biomedical Term Normalization By Large Language Models, Thanh Son Do

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Ontology normalization is crucial in biomedical text processing, as it enables the mapping of medical expressions to standardized ontology terms and their corresponding identifiers. This thesis explores the feasibility of using large language models (LLMs) for ontology normalization, with a specific focus on the Human Phenotype Ontology and Gene Ontology. Prior research studies indicated that LLMs employing zero-shot learning tend to exhibit low accuracy and are prone to frequent hallucinations. We propose a retrieval augmented generation (RAG) approach to address these limitations and enhance normalization accuracy. We generated synthetic test sets of ontology-derived synonyms to evaluate normalization performance and developed …

Critical Mineral Exploration In The Superior Province Of Northwestern Minnesota - A Geophysical Data Analysis, Michell L. Waterman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Archean basement geology of northwest Minnesota, a region covered by glacial deposits and historically underexplored for minerals, was analyzed using gravity, magnetic, radiometric, and geochemical data. These datasets were integrated to aid in identifying subsurface structures and evaluating the area's potential for economic mineralization within the Wabigoon, Quetico, and Wawa Subprovinces of the Superior Province. Gravity and magnetic datasets, analyzed through upward continuation, derivative maps, and two-dimensional modeling, revealed distinct northeast-to-southwest-trending maxima corresponding to fault-bounded, high-density, and magnetically susceptible bodies. These features were interpreted as mafic to ultramafic intrusions and dikes, several of which align with known Proterozoic fault …

Human Serum Albumin Interaction With Organochlorine Pesticides, D. S. Sanford, R. Yadav, A. Mishra

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant blood plasma protein and plays a crucial role in drug transport and physiological homeostasis. HSA has a highly flexible structure consisting of three domains, each with multiple binding sites lined with hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues. The structural properties of HSA make it a robust reservoir and receptor for various endogenous and exogenous compounds, including therapeutic drugs. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are a subclass of pesticides characterized by their chlorine content. Once widely used, these compounds remain persistent in the environment and biological systems despite regulatory restrictions in many developed countries. The strong ligand-binding …

Comparison Of Machine Learning Models For Colon Cancer Survival: Predictive Modeling Approach, Reuben Adatorwovor, Motolani E. Ogunsanya, Bin Huang, Richard Charnigo, Olufunmilola Abraham

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with survival influenced by risk factors, treatment type, and patient characteristics. Traditional statistical models, such as Kaplan-Meier curves, have been widely used to estimate survival probabilities. However, these models often have difficulty handling complex interactions, covariates, and nonlinear relationships between risk factors. Recently, machine learning (ML) techniques have emerged as promising tools for improving survival prediction by handling large covariates and capturing complex patterns.

Objective: This study compares several ML models to accurately estimate colon cancer survival by leveraging data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry. By identifying key risk …

Incident Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Among Veterans By Gender Identity: A Cohort Study, Carl G. Streed Jr., Meredith S. Duncan, Kory R. Heier, T. Elizabeth Workman, Lauren B. Beach, Guneet K. Jasuja, Hill L. Wolfe, Landon D. Hughes, John R. O’Leary, Melissa Skanderson, Joseph L. Goulet

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: Transgender and gender diverse (trans) populations are at elevated risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Objective: Measure the association of gender identity and gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) with ASCVD outcomes.

Design: Cohort study.

Participants: Over 1 million veterans receiving care in the Veterans Health Administration.

Main Measures: Gender identity was identified via a validated natural language processing (NLP) algorithm. Incident ASCVD (acute myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or revascularization after the baseline date) was identified via International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes among veterans without prevalent ASCVD. We calculated sample statistics stratified by gender identity and used Cox proportional hazard …

Modeling Recreational Risk Factors On The Landscape: A Predictive Gis Analysis Of Recreation Accident Response Near North Bend, Washington., Naomi S.J. Van Roon

All Master's Theses

Search and Rescue (SAR) teams in Washington respond to approximately 900 incidents annually, many stemming from outdoor recreation near Interstate 90 surrounding North Bend. This study utilized predictive GIS analysis to identify areas of concern within state lands, including Mount Si and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resource Conservation Areas, Raging River State Forest, and Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area. The predictive model was calibrated using SAR responses to hiking-related incidents between March and November from 2020 to 2023, and incorporated an analysis of risk factors influencing recreationalist incident probability. This research then developed a decision support system to aid land managers …

Teaching Agroecology Through Play: A Board Game On Companion Planting Using Agroecological Principles, Ashmita Das, Julie Capito-Hernandez, Estelí Jiménez-Soto

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Board games themed around environmental topics are promising tools for promoting awareness of complex sustainability issues, as the materiality, sociality, and multidimensionality of gameplay can help overcome some of the inherent limitations of more traditional learning formats. To explore the potential relevance of board games for communicating about agrifood system topics in particular, we designed and tested a game called Companion: An Agroecological Adventure, in which players take on the role of community gardeners who must apply both social and ecological principles of agroecology to cultivate a thriving garden plot. In this paper, we present the results of a study …

Food Sovereignty Among Migrant Farmworkers: The Role Of Agrobiodiversity For Autonomy And Resistance In A Mexican Coffee Plantation, Estelí Jiménez-Soto, Sanya Cowal, April Lopez

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Coffee agroecosystems represent the economic base for thousands of small growers and agricultural workers, as well as a significant proportion of many regional economies in Latin America. Every year, the production of coffee in this region attracts a great number of laborers and their families, particularly during the harvest season. Despite being essential workers in the food system, agricultural workers continue to be one of the most marginalized actors in the coffee production chain. Even with an environment of precarity, agricultural workers exercise their autonomy and food sovereignty—the process by which agricultural workers, in this case, define their food system …

Match Accuracy Of Burned Teeth: A Pilot Study Of Allied Dental Professionals, Brenda T. Bradshaw, Marsha A. Voelker, Samantha C. Vest, Sinjini Sikdar

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess allied dental professionals' match accuracy of burned teeth; a skill required by disaster victim identification (DVI) team members.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of registered dental hygienists (RDH) (n=15) and dental assistants (DA) (n=15) to assess their match accuracy of burned teeth with simulated antemortem (AM) and postmortem (PM) images. Fifteen human teeth were heated at 400°C for 15 minutes. Prior to and following heat alteration, each tooth was photographed and radiographed. Images were presented to participants in randomized order, and they were instructed to correctly match …

A Hybrid Model To Assess Commercial Port Resilience In Taiwan, Po-Hsing Tseng, James J.H. Liou

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Since 2021, international commercial ports have faced unprecedented challenges (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, Suez Canal congestion), impacting daily life, work, human well-being, properties, the environment, and socio-economic activities. The adaptation capability resilience of international commercial ports to respond to external changes has become crucial. This study develops an expert knowledge-based hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model integrating Best-Worst Method (BWM), Rough Dombi Aggregator, and Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) to evaluate port resilience capabilities, using Taiwan's international commercial ports as a case study. We propose four evaluation dimensions encompassing 13 indicators: detection capability, resistance capability, resource integration capability, and recovery capability. The BWM determined …

Optimization Of Serum And Salivary Cortisol Interpolation For Time-Dependent Modeling Frameworks In Healthy Adult Males, Nathaniel T. Berry, Travis Anderson, Christopher K. Rhea, Laurie Wideman

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Cortisol is an important marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function and follows robust circadian and diurnal rhythms. However, biomarker sampling protocols can be labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive. Objectives: Explore analytical approaches that can handle differing biological sampling frequencies to maximize these data in more detailed and time-dependent analyses. Methods: Healthy adult males [N = 8; 26.1 (±3.1) years; 176.4 (±8.6) cm; 73.1 (±12.0) kg)] completed two 24 h admissions: one at rest and one including a high-intensity exercise session on the cycle ergometer. Serum and salivary cortisol were sampled every 60 and 120 min, respectively. Six alternative sampling profiles were defined by downsampling …

Clinician Perspectives On Virtual Reality Use In Physical Therapy Practice In The United States, Danielle T. Felsberg, Jared T. Mcguirt, Scott E. Ross, Louisa D. Raisbeck, Charlend K. Howard, Christopher K. Rhea

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

The primary goal of physical rehabilitation is to assess movement impairments and restore function to improve overall quality of life. Virtual reality (VR) may provide the optimal environment to promote these goals due to its motivating and modifiable nature which can be difficult to accomplish through traditional real-world therapeutic methods. Current research of VR for rehabilitation has demonstrated that VR interventions can produce clinically meaningful change in motor outcomes. Despite this, adoption and usage of VR by physical therapy professionals is unclear due to the limited research in this area. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the …

An 11-Year (2012-2022) Review Of Journal Of Athletic Training Publication Study Designs And Sample Sizes, Zachary K. Winkelmann, Samantha E. Scarneo-Miller, Emily C. Smith, Ryan M. Argetsinger, Lindsey E. Eberman

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Research findings must be representative by creating a sample of individuals, ensuring the results can be generalized and applicable to a larger population, which has historically been guided by a power analysis. However, the varied research design methods require a unique approach to sampling and a formula for recruitment and size. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze historical data from published manuscripts in the Journal of Athletic Training (JAT) relative to study design and sample sizes. A secondary purpose was to further explore metrics for survey-based research.

Methods

This descriptive analysis explored 1267 publications in each …

High-Resolution Modeling Of Extreme Heat Events With Socioeconomic Consideration: A Real-Case Wrf-Les Approach, Maryam Golbazi, Frank Liu, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Timothy W. Juliano, Heather Richter

ODU Articles

The overarching goals of this work is to explore best practices for micro-scale modeling of a real case, identify relevant phenomena by using high-resolution modeling, and to explore their implications for public health, and climate resilience strategies in Hampton Roads, VA, USA. This project employs the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to conduct a comprehensive study of Hampton Roads, utilizing a coupled mesoscale to microscale modeling capable of resolving boundary layer turbulence. This study has three primary objectives: (1) to establish the optimal mesoscale to Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) configurations for complex geographical regions such as the Hampton Roads (HR) …