Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of The Readiness Of Architectural Design Companies To Adopt Eco-Friendly Nanotechnologies In Sustainable Building Design, Ashwaq Essa Al Khalil

Dissertations and Theses

Nanotechnology is emerging as a promising innovation in sustainable architectural design, although its adoption remains slow. Research highlights the advantages of incorporating nanotechnologies in architecture, including improved material performance, enhanced thermal efficiency, reduced energy consumption, improved durability, and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These advantages make nanomaterials a promising solution for sustainable building design, particularly in hot-climate regions where energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with conventional building design practices remain major concerns.

Despite this potential, nanotechnology adoption in architecture faces several challenges, including limited real-world applications, slow diffusion in practice, and persistent organizational, economic, and regulatory barriers. …

Flagellar Coordination In A Swimming Multicellular Bacterium, Erandi Sachinthanie Imiya Mudiyanselage, Melina Mati, Alexander P. Petroff

Physics

Microbial locomotion is well understood when cells use either a small number of flagella or a high density of cilia. However many microbes live in an intermediate regime where coordination strategies such as flagellar bundles and metachronal waves are not possible. The mechanisms by which such organisms coordinate the motion of their swimming appendages are not well understood. Here, we study the only known obligatory multicellular bacterium, which are of the genus Magnetoglobus. Cells of this genus live exclusively in spherical communities called consortia, which are composed of a monolayer of tens of cells. Approximately a thousand of flagella project …

Statistical Methods In Research, Horahenage Dixon Vimalajeewa

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This course portfolio documents the design, delivery, assessment, student-learning evidence, and reflective evaluation of STAT 801A-700: Statistical Methods in Research, an online asynchronous service course designed to introduce students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to foundational statistical reasoning and applied data analysis. The course is a non-calculus-based introduction to statistical methods used to answer research questions, with emphasis on collecting, organizing, describing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. The course also emphasizes applications relevant to biology, agriculture, and other research-oriented fields. This is an online distance course aimed to develop students’ understanding of basic probability and statistical concepts, recognize the importance …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Organometallic Polymers And Their Cytotoxicity Towards Human Cancer Cell Lines, Paul Peter Slawek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to synthesize organometallic polymers from dialkyl (methyl, ethyl, butyl, cyclohexyl, and octyl) and diaryl (phenyl) tin dichlorides and three organic monomers, dipicolinic acid (DPA), chloramphenicol (CH), and isomannide (IS), using interfacial polymerization. Structure-activity relationships were investigated through physicochemical characterization (light-scattering photometry, proton NMR, and IR spectroscopy) and cytotoxicity was evaluated against six human cancer cell lines (AsPC-1, PANC-1, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HT-29, PC-3), with cisplatin serving as the reference standard.

Five DPA/tin polymers were synthesized, with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.60–0.71 μg/mL. Their cytotoxicity was significantly lower than that of cisplatin (0.0023-0.044 μg/mL), suggesting that …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Synergistic Bioactive– Organometallic Condensation Polymers, Francesca Isabel Mosca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the synthesis and structural characterization of polymers with anticipated anticancer and antiviral properties by combining metal-containing Lewis acids, organotin dichlorides (R2SnCl2), Group 4 metallocene dichlorides (Cp2TiCl2, Cp2ZrCl2 and Cp2HfCl2), and triphenyl Group 15 metal dichlorides (Ph3AsCl2, Ph3SbCl2 and Ph3BiCl2), with biologically active Lewis bases, lamivudine, a synthetic nucleoside, and camphoric acid, a dicarboxylic acid, to achieve synergistic effect.

Five classes of polymers were synthesized using interfacial polymerization: lamivudine and organotin dichlorides, lamivudine and Group 4 metallocene dichlorides, camphoric acid and triphenyl Group 15 metal dichlorides, camphoric acid and organotin dichlorides, and camphoric acid and Group 4 …

Comparison Of Fish Biomass And Fish Carbon Content Associated With Reef Sites At The Rio Grande Valley Artificial Reef In The Gulf Of Mexico, Allison K. White, Md Saydur Rahman, Richard J. Kline

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

As global fisheries stocks have decreased due to overfishing and climate change, artificial reefs have gained significant attention. In addition to providing or restoring habitat, artificial reefs may serve as carbon capture sinks and potential climate mitigation strategies. The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Reef is an artificial reef located in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas. The RGV Reef area spans 1,650 acres and is comprised of hundreds of groupings of recycled and pre-formed materials ranging from low relief (1–2 ft) to high relief (8–30 ft) reef structures. This reef provides a variety of novel habitat …

Biologically Informed Negative Samplingfor Antibody Chain Pairing Classification, Ishita Singh

Computer Science Senior Theses

Antibody heavy and light chain (H/L) pairing is fundamental to antigen recognition and stability. While single-cell sequencing preserves native pairing information, widely used bulk repertoire and spatial transcriptomics platforms do not, motivating the need for efficient ML methods to infer H/L pairing. Training a binary classifier for this task faces the methodological challenge of a lack of true biological negatives, since natural selection eliminates B cells with incompatible H/L pairs.

In this thesis, I introduce a biologically informed negative sampling strategy for H/L pairing classification, drawing on known V-gene biases in heavy and light chain pairing. Pseudo-negatives are constructed by …

Mathematical Analysis Of Within-Host Models: Viral–Immune Dynamics, Bifurcations, And Disease Severity, Nazia Afrin

Doctoral Dissertations

My research develops and analyzes ODE-based within-host models at multiple scales. Using dynamical systems theory and numerical methods, I study host–pathogen interactions and immune responses, providing insights into disease dynamics and control. The first model describes the complex dynamics of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and addresses the question: what mechanisms determine whether the infection is cleared during the acute phase or progresses to a chronic state? A key feature of this model is the assumption that all classes of liver cells (uninfected, infected, and protected from reinfection) proliferate at different rates. The findings provide insight into two important aspects …

The Impact Of Evolution And Strong Allee Effects On The Dynamics Of A Discrete-Time Predator-Prey System, Neerob Basak

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the dynamics of discrete-time predator-prey systems, focusing on both evolutionary responses and ecological interactions. The first part of this dissertation, in Chapters 2 and 3, explores how evolutionary processes, particularly the development of resistance to toxicants in predators, influence the persistence and stability of predator-prey populations. In this part, we extend the predator-prey model developed in Ackleh et al., 2019 to incorporate the evolution of a predator's resistance to toxicant effects. We consider three cases: (1) lethal effects, where the toxicant directly influences the predator's survival; (2) sublethal effects, where the toxicant impacts the predator's fecundity, and …

A Bifurcation Theorem And Its Application To Discrete-Time Models In Ecology And Epidemiology, Jenita Jahangir

Doctoral Dissertations

Matrix models are useful for modeling populations or diseases that involve discrete developmental stages, multiple stages of infection, and interactions among species. To study the coexistence dynamics in matrix models, we extend a bifurcation theorem for resident-invader host-parasitoid type populations by allowing every block of the projection matrix, depending on the bifurcation parameter and the off-diagonal blocks, to be nonzero. As an application, in the first part of the dissertation, we propose a discrete-time host-parasitoid model with stage structure in both species. For this model, we establish conditions for the existence and global stability of the extinction and parasitoid-free equilibria. …

Strang-Type Exponential Integrators For Stiff Reaction-Diffusion Systems, Saburi Tolulope Rasheed

Doctoral Dissertations

Reaction-diffusion systems, as examples of semilinear parabolic partial differential equations, have played significant roles in the mathematical modeling of physical, chemical, and biological processes. Several reaction-diffusion systems typically do not have exact solutions in closed form, and numerically solving them also comes with challenges due to the presence of the nonlinear local interaction/chemical reaction dynamics representing the reaction term, coupling between components, multidimensionality of the diffusion operator, and stiffness of the diffusion and/or reaction terms. Wederive and analyze several second-order accurate exponential integrators of the Strang type for the time discretization of stiff reaction-diffusion systems. We utilize the finite difference …

The Interplay Of Seasonality, Evolution, And Density-Dependence In Discrete-Time Predator-Prey Dynamics, Narendra Pant

Doctoral Dissertations

We extend the discrete-time mathematical models developed in (Ackleh et al., 2019) and (Ackleh et al., 2024) to account for seasonal prey reproduction and build a class of discrete-time predator-prey seasonal models. Each model distinguishes between breeding and non-breeding seasons, representing prey reproduction as a periodic function of period 2. Altogether, three different models are analyzed. In the first part, we extend the predator-prey model from (Ackleh et al., 2019) to incorporate seasonality. We study the resulting dynamics and show that when the inherent reproduction number of the prey and the invasion reproduction number of the predator are larger than …

Emerging Catalysts And System Designs For High-Current-Density Co2 Electroreduction To Multicarbon Fuels And Chemicals Toward Industrial-Scale Applications, Godwin Uche Edor

Masters Theses

Electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2RR) offers a sustainable route to convert CO2 into value-added fuels and chemicals, particularly multicarbon (C2+) products due to their higher energy density and economic value compared to C1 counterparts. Industrial adoption of eCO2RR technology is hindered by the difficulty in stably reaching superior Faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2+ products at ≥ 200 mA cm-2 at low applied overpotential due to sluggish C–C coupling kinetics, competing reactions, and catalyst instability. Hence, we examine the recent advances in eCO2RR catalyst engineering strategies, such as nanostructural and electronic modifications of Cu-based catalysts (e.g., interfacial, surface, facet, and defect engineering, …

Micro-Hyperspectral Imaging Of Phytoplankton Enables Deconvolution Of Mixed Communities For Spaceborne Hyperspectral Remote Sensing, Chisom Okwuchi Emeghiebo

Masters Theses

Characterizing phytoplankton diversity is critical for large-scale biodiversity monitoring and harmful algal bloom (HAB) detection. Here, we present a micro hyperspectral imaging method to characterize reflectance signatures, for the first time across major phytoplankton groups. Spectral variability among taxa in laboratory cultures is interpreted using algal pigment and absorption analyses, demonstrating that pigment composition and absorption govern reflectance features. Chlorophytes and cryptophytes exhibit distinct spectral signatures and are readily distinguishable, whereas diatoms and dinoflagellates show greater spectral similarity, with differentiation relying on subtle reflectance features associated with chlorophyll c₁c₂ near ~463 nm and within 620–650 nm. We further applied this …

Linking Greenhouse Gas Fluxes And Plant Responses To Saltwater Intrusion Events Using Remote Sensing, Madeline Jean Moore

Masters Theses

As sea level rise and coastal subsidence increase coastal Louisiana's vulnerability to saltwater intrusion (SWI) events, accurate and rapid monitoring of vegetation responses to these events is becoming increasingly important. In this study, we utilized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery to assess short-term vegetation responses to simulated SWI events in the Visser’s Experimental Wetland Complex in Saint Martinville, Louisiana. Vegetation patches of two common freshwater wetland species, Panicum hemitomon (Maidencane) and Typha domingensis (Southern Cattail), were exposed to 5 ppt salinity for 6-, 10-, and 17-day durations. Multispectral imagery of both species was collected before and after each SWI …

Classifying Storm Surges Along Louisiana Coast Using Machine Learning, Faith Ewere Okunbor

Masters Theses

Storm surges are among the most significant threats to coastal wetlands, causing flooding and saltwater intrusion that alter hydrology, vegetation structure, and long-term ecosystem resilience. Along the Louisiana coast, storm surge effects vary depending on storm behavior, shoreline geometry, and marsh hydrologic connectivity, yet are commonly characterized using broad storm metrics rather than site-specific environmental responses. This study develops a data-driven framework to classify storm surges across coastal Louisiana wetlands using observations from the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). Hourly water-level and salinity time series from twelve hurricanes (2007-2024) were analyzed using a 40-day storm-centered window. Hydrologic and salinity metrics …

Regioselective Tellurination Reactions And Their Utilities, Itunu Comfort Olanrewaju

Masters Theses

This thesis provides a comprehensive study of regioselective tellurination and its applications by integrating experimental and computational techniques, with an aim of synthesizing libraries of organotellurium heterocycles. This study addresses existing challenges in regioselective tellurination, such as unpredictable regioselectivity and avoidance of toxic reagents by harnessing intramolecular Te…O coordination and electrophilic aromatic tellurination. This strategy enables the development of previously poorly accessible compounds including benzotellurazinones, 2-acylaminobenzotellurazoles, and previously unknown 2,3-dihydrobenzo [b] oxatelluranes, which were prepared by antiMarkovnikov anti-addition of TeCl4 to C-C triple bonds. Experimental studies were complemented by computational DFT analyses to provide mechanistic and energetic insight into the …

Real-Time Simulation Of Bio-Luminescent Light Propagation Using Compute Shaders Within Unreal Engine, Jaden D. Halevi

Computer Science Senior Theses

Presented in this paper is a GPU-native approach to interactive fluid simulation within Unreal Engine 5. The system, BioFluidSim, implements an incompressible Navier-Stokes solver using Unreal’s Niagara Grid2D compute shader pipeline, with a modular biological emission output stage parameterized from experimentally measured Lingulodinium polyedrum bioluminescence behavior. The system is evaluated against FluidNinja Live, a commercially available fragment shader fluid implementation, as a performance baseline. Beyond performance, BioFluidSim offers greater physical fidelity than the fragment shader baseline. Helmholtz–Hodge pressure projection enforces a divergence-free velocity field at runtime, a physical constraint approximated but not enforced by fragment shader approaches. The biological emission …

Control And Entrainment Of Oscillatory Dynamics In An Oncolytic Virus–Tumor Model Under Periodic Therapy Forcing, Aya Salaheddin Shujrawi

Theses

This thesis investigates the dynamics of a tumour–virus interaction model under sinusoidal periodic viral injection, using the three-compartment ordinary differential equation framework of Baabdulla and Hillen (2024). The aim is to characterise how the frequency and amplitude of periodic injection interact with the system's intrinsic oscillatory dynamics, and to identify conditions for stable frequency entrainment. Equilibrium and Hopf bifurcation analysis of the autonomous system yields a supercritical bifurcation at θ_H^auto ≈ 338.45 with intrinsic frequency Ω₀^auto ≈ 0.7552. Introducing a constant baseline injection u₀ = 0.05 raises the threshold to θ_H^forced ≈ 364.85 and shifts …

Spatiotemporal Pah Patterns In Size-Fractionated Particles (Pm>10-Pm0.1) From Northern Thailand Biomass Burning Via Sentinel-2, Phakphum Paluang, Watinee Thavorntam, Sarawut Sangkham, Phuchiwan Suriyawong, Hisam Samae, Thaneeya Chetiyanukornkul, Masami Furuuchi, Worradorn Phairuang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Biomass burning, particularly from forest fires and crop residue burning during the dry season, is a major source of particulate pollution across many Asian countries. However, accurately identifying these emissions remains challenging due to uncertainties in burned area estimation and the limited availability of country-specific emission factors. This study quantified the spatiotemporal distribution of emissions from biomass burning using satellite imagery. Burned areas were classified using a random forest (RF) algorithm implemented on the Google Colaboratory (Colab) platform. The RF model showed strong performance, with a kappa coefficient of 0.85 and an average accuracy of 0.81. Emission estimates for the …

Exploring Regenerative Vegetable Systems On The Central Coast Of California, Una S. O'Connell

Master's Theses

As climate change and current agricultural practices place pressure on the long term sustainability and resilience of food production systems, there is growing interest in whether existing agricultural systems can adapt to maintain productivity while improving environmental outcomes.

This study evaluated the effects of regenerative versus standard organic vegetable production systems on yield, insect communities, and weed suppression across three field trials conducted on California's Central Coast. In addition, I collected baseline soil health data for all trials. Trials 1 and 2 were carried out at the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Organic Farm using cabbage and broccoli as cash …

An Evaluation Of Road Network Structure As A Predictor Of Traffic Volume, Colin M. Mcdonald

Master's Theses

This thesis evaluates the relationships between various graph theory metrics and taxi traffic volume for the cities of San Francisco, California and Porto, Portugal. We also evaluate a modified betweenness centrality metric which incorporates the count of distinct origin-destination pairs from the taxi data as the weight function. This thesis extends a paper by Pengyao Ye, Bo Wu, and Wenbo Fan by reducing circularity through a temporal train-test split and by comparing both line-graph and primal-graph formulations of betweenness centrality.

We found that past traffic volume is almost perfectly correlated with future traffic volume and that the modified betweenness centrality …

Updates To The Caniform Fauna (Carnivora, Caniformia) Of The John Day Formation, Oregon, Usa, John D. Orcutt, Kevin C. Talbott, Michael J. Monroe, Nicholas A. Famoso

Biology Faculty Scholarship

The John Day Formation of central Oregon preserves a diversity of Oligo-Miocene caniform carnivorans, many of which were first described from the formation. However, many historically important specimens lack detailed locality or stratigraphic information, complicating any analysis of faunal change through time. Here, we describe 16 new specimens of caniforms from the John Day Formation, most with precise stratigraphic information. We report multiple specimens of the amphicyonids Daphoenus Leidy, 1853, Paradaphoenus cuspigerus (Cope, 1878), and Temnocyon altigenis (Cope, 1878), all previously known from the formation. We also report the first definitive occurrence of the hesperocyonine canid Osbornodon Wang, 1994 from …

Shared Language For Responsible Ai Integration, Asa B. Stone, Mark C. Stone, Alisha Bevins, Jean Claude Niyomugabo, Irene Magara, Jacob Abaare, Derek M. Heeren, Mubarak Abu Zouriq

PRAIRIE: Pioneering Responsible AI for Research, Innovation, and Education

As AI rapidly reshapes how we work and learn, employers increasingly seek graduates who can think before they prompt, exercising judgment under pressure rather than merely producing output. Yet students are praised for AI use in one course and penalized for it in the next, and faculty are left to lead responsibly on shifting ground, with no shared language to guide them.

This paper introduces the PRAIRIE Framework for AI Integration, a shift from reactive gatekeeping toward proactive stewardship. It emerged from a qualitative sentiment analysis of three communities (students, faculty, and industry partners) whose concerns converged on one need: …

Inverse Modeling The Geo-Spread Of Covid-19 In Brazil, Cameron Keith Mills

ETDs from 2020-2029

In 2021 Fitzgibbon, Morgan, Webb, and Wu used a modified SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered) model to predict how COVID-19 spread through Brazil [12]. For their model, six constant coefficients were used that were fitted, referenced, or assumed. In this thesis, we geo-spatially modify their SEIR model and formulate an inverse problem to recover the now spatial coefficients of the model. We first show there exists a unique solution to the modified model. To solve the inverse problem, we modify an inverse method [17] that focused on minimizing convex functionals. These recovered spatial coefficients can be used with Matlab’s …

Biomedical Applications Of Structurally Defined Natural And Semi-Synthetic Saponins, Chaeeun Lim-Paik

ETDs from 2020-2029

Triterpenoid saponins are amphiphilic glycosides that exhibit a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties, including antifungal, antiviral, molluscicidal, hypoglycemic, and hypocholesterolemic effects. These biological and pharmacological properties make saponins attractive for diverse applications. In this work, we demonstrate three biological applications: (i) immunostimulant vaccine adjuvant, (ii) protein delivery enhancement, and (iii) gene transfection enhancement. In light of the strong structure dependence of saponin activity, expanding the structural diversity of available scaffolds is essential for establishing structure-activity relationships (SAR) across these applications. Here, we expanded our saponin collection through semi-synthetic derivatization and the isolation of new saponins from distinct natural …

2026 Cyber-Resilient Health Care Workshop Report, Malcolm Schongalla, Sergey Bratus

Computer Science Technical Reports

The ISTS and the Dartmouth College Cybersecurity Cluster hosted the successful, inaugural Cyber-Resilient Health Care (CRHC) Workshop, March 5th & 6th, 2026. The event theme was "Innovation and Implementation," in response to the need to shift from reactive to proactive resiliency measures in the healthcare sector. Approximately 30 experts in clinical health care, cybersecurity, medical technology, policy, and innovation met to discuss solution-focused innovations addressing hard, cyber-related problems in health care. The agenda featured keynotes, an expert panel, innovation pitches, small group discussions, and a tabletop infrastructure disaster exercise. Participants gained insights into the obstacles and solutions involved in supporting …

Investigation Of Warfarin–Human Serum Albumin Binding By Ultrafast Affinity Extraction Using Single- And Dual-Column Affinity Microcolumn Systems, Samiul Alim

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examined the interaction of warfarin with human serum albumin (HSA) by using affinity chromatography, with particular emphasis on ultrafast affinity extraction (UAE) and affinity microcolumns. HSA affinity supports were prepared by immobilizing HSA onto diol-bonded silica via Schiff base chemistry and used to prepare affinity microcolumns for chromatographic studies under physiological-like conditions at pH 7.4 and 37.0 °C. UAE studies were performed to investigate the effects of residence time, flow rate, and column configuration on the measured apparent free fraction of warfarin and on the calculated apparent binding parameters. The results showed that the measured apparent free fraction …

Forensic Analysis Of Temporary Tattoo Markers And Inks, Daniel J. G. Chasse Jr

Student Theses

As tattoos rise in popularity, some marker manufacturers have created temporary tattoo markers so that children and adults can experience tattoos without the permanence of a regular tattoo. These new products are marketed explicitly as ‘temporary tattoo markers’ and intended for direct application to the skin. This research aims to scientifically evaluate the inks from these temporary tattoo markers to elucidate their physical and chemical properties using wet chemistry, visual examination, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV/Vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), thin layer chromatography (TLC), and diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS) to analyze temporary tattoo markers and …

Investigating The Detection Ability Of Presumptive Bloodstain Testing Through Concealment Obstacles, Skye E. Lehr

Student Theses

Bloodstain detection can provide valuable information on the ability of presumptive tests. When perpetrators seek to alter the scene of violent crimes to interfere with investigations or flee from justice, crime scene investigation becomes more complex. In this analysis, scenarios where bloodstain evidence is attempted to be removed by household cleaners and covered up by acrylic or oil-based paint, are tested using luminol and Kastle-Meyer direct testing. These bloodstains have been altered by bleach, dish soap or all-purpose cleaner and covered under multiple layers of acrylic or oil-based paint. Evidence is documented both photographically and visually to simulate crime scene …