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The Nature Of Guerilla Warfare In The Heart Of 'Mosby's Confederacy': Reconstruction In Fauquier County, Virginia, Brett D. Zeggil

All Theses

During the American Civil War, Colonel John S. Mosby launched one of the most successful guerilla campaigns for the Confederate war effort. 'Mosby's Confederacy,' a section of northern Virginia that encompassed four counties, came under the control of Mosby, and what would eventually become the Forty-third Battalion Virginia Cavalry, from 1863 through the end of the war. One county in particular, Fauquier, Virginia, served as the base of Mosby's operations. The partisan style of warfare, that Mosby employed, demanded a significant amount of participation and collaboration from the local citizenry. The majority of Fauquier's white community embraced Mosby's Rangers and …

Ph Sensing And Imaging With Nanoparticles And Implantable Films, Fenglin Wang

All Dissertations

pH is a very important parameter in biological systems. Monitoring pH in situ may provide useful information for studying pH regulated cellular events, diagnosing diseases and assessing treatment efficacy. Various strategies have been introduced for developing pH sensors. However, it is still challenging to monitor pH in biological systems with high specificity, especially through thick tissue. In this dissertation, we describe three types of pH sensors which are used to noninvasively monitor pH in living cells, monitor and map bacterial growth caused pH variation through thick tissue with minimal autofluorescence background. In Chapter 2, a pH nanosensor with high specificity …

Chemical And Functional Properties Of Brosimum Alicastrum Seed Powder (Maya Nut, Ramón Nut), Chad Thomas Carter

All Theses

Brosimum alicastrum is a member of the Moraceae family of edible botanicals. The fruit from this tree contains an edible seed that may be dried or roasted, ground into powder and incorporated into baked goods. Although researchers have claimed that B. alicastrum seed powders have high nutritional value, there is very little published evidence to support these claims. Moreover, little is known about the functional properties of B. alicastrum seed powders in traditional baked goods. Thus, the purpose of this research was to determine the nutritional composition of B. alicastrum seed powder and the feasibility of incorporating this seed powder …

The Effect Of Supplementing Rumen Undegradable Unsaturated Fatty Acids On Marbling In Early-Weaned Steers, Kayla Suzanne Mangrum

All Theses

The objective of this study was to determine if supplementation of a rumen undegradable unsaturated fatty acid (FA) source would improve marbling in early-weaned steers. All steers (Angus, n = 23 and Angus × Hereford, n = 24) were weaned at 150 ± 5 d of age. Steers were blocked by BW and breed then randomly assigned to either control (CON; 1.5 kg of corn gluten feed (CGF), n = 23) or a rumen undegradable fat isocaloric supplementation (RUF; 200 g of Megalac-R in 1.06 kg of CGF, n = 24) for 110 d (fed 5 d/wk). All steers had …

Conspicuous Consumers: The Victorian Department Store And The Women's Movement, Joslyn Mccraw Vonkaenel

All Theses

This project involves examining the influence of the department store and other Victorian inventions on women’s rights. By analyzing the works of Elizabeth Gaskell, Emilé Zola, George Gissing, and Amy Levy, I explore the different representations of shopgirls and consumers in nineteenth century fiction and how they connect to modern women in the online community.

Synthesized: A Narrative Exploring The Perception Of Analog Synthesizer Enthusiasts' Identity And Communication, Christoph Stefan Kresse

All Theses

This document is a written reflection of the production process of the creative project Synthesized, a scholarly-rooted documentary exploring the analog synthesizer world with focus on organizational structure and perception of social identity. After exploring how this production complements existing works on the synthesizer, electronic music, identity, Communication and group association, this reflection explores my creative process and decision making as an artist and filmmaker through the lens of a qualitative researcher. As part of this, I will discuss logistic, as well as artistic and creative, challenges. This includes how I negotiated limited access, resources, time constraints, selecting an event …

Reader Interrupted: Poetry As Thing In The Lyrical Works Of Emily Dickinson, Sarah Katherine Melchers

All Theses

This paper stemmed from a desire to place Dickinson's poetry in conversation within the broader discourse of Thing Theory, namely using Bill Brown, Theodor Adorno, and Jane Bennett collectively. These claims derive as well from my own experiences in reading Dickinson's poetry: those times when faced with delightful frustration, enjoyably utter-confusion, followed closely by a frantic desire to understand at all costs. Dickinson's poetry is that which truly 'plunge[s]' us 'for a moment into [a] torrent of sensation' (Santayana 260). Nestled somewhere between my chest and my gut, there is this unnamable feeling that arrests me in a physical way, …

Raising Specters: Queer Reclamation In Toni Morrison's A Mercy, Justin Allen Holliday

All Theses

An enslaved individual usually escapes or is manumitted before writing his or her narrative. But what if an individual composes that narrative while still enslaved? Toni Morrison teases out this question in A Mercy, a novel told in part by Florens, an enslaved African girl in seventeenth-century colonial America, who etches her narrative with a nail on the interior of a mansion, exhibiting her resourcefulness and desperation to write her story. However, a third-person narrator fills in the gaps of what Florens cannot know about the other characters. This other narrative voice becomes necessary because Florens suffers from the trauma …

"Nine Mahogany Table…Two Marble Slabbs And Stands…And A Cow": The First Generation Furniture Of Drayton Hall, Shannon Marie Devlin

All Theses

When the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased Drayton Hall in 1974, they made a groundbreaking decision. The Trust took a conservation approach to the house, preserving Drayton Hall as found and presenting it to the public unfurnished. The decision proved to have significant ramifications and as a direct result, interpreting the material culture at the site slid to the side. Drayton Hall has over a million objects in its collections ranging from archaeological sherds to pieces of furniture, yet the collections play little to no role in site interpretation to the public. The first generation furniture (ca. 1738-1779), at …

Sensations Recalibrated, Ayako Abe-Miller

All Theses

In my art, I work within a Taoist and Shinto-based context to provide opportunities for the individual to discover aspects of her/his pre-socialized self. The notion of the pre-socialized self, referred to as the innocent self in both Taoism and Shinto, is expressed through a vital force generated from one's total being. The vital force that emits from one’s entire body and soul is called Tamashii in Japanese.

I am interested in evoking my audience’s pure Tamashii that is hidden or dormant in their current lifestyle by providing an opportunity for the audience to become more aware of their mind, …

Character Surfacing And Feathering For Ufo, Sarah R. Runge

All Theses

This thesis focuses on the methods used to create the look of the unusual flying ostrich in UFO, a short, stylized film about an earthbound bird with his head in the clouds. That this aspiring aviator is not an ordinary ostrich is visibly indicated by his unusual markings, reflecting his unusual mindset that allows him to achieve the impossible. The techniques used to accomplish the final appearance of the unusual ostrich will be explored in this thesis, with a particular focus on the methods used to create and style the feathers, and the techniques used to hand paint the assorted …

Finding The Needle And The Haystack: New Insights Into Locating Bog Turtles (Glyptemys Muhlenbergii) And Their Habitat In The Southeastern United States, Theresa Sonja Margareta Stratmann

All Theses

Because rare and cryptic species can be difficult to locate, distribution maps for these species are often inaccurate or incomplete. Bog Turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) are emblematic of this challenge. In fact, conducting surveys of known, historical, and potential Bog Turtle habitat is a specific need stated in the Bog Turtle Northern Population Recovery Plan and in most Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies of states within the southern range. Therefore we examined ways to better locate Bog Turtle habitat and Bog Turtles within that habitat. First we determined a detection probability for a standardized trapping method so we could effectively survey for …

Artist-Oriented Surfacing Workflow, Virginia Bailey Nearing

All Theses

Surfacing is the art of creating materials for digital objects, and it is an incredible technical and artistic challenge. Creating materials and textures for 3D meshes involves managing potentially hundreds of image files, moving data between multiple software packages, and building shaders that will work consistently through a digital production hierarchy. All while attempting to create a piece of art that will tell a story of what an object is, how it was made, and where it has been. Balancing these technical and artistic components is an extraordinary challenge, and it is easy for an artist to get overwhelmed or …

Designing, Building, And Modeling Maneuverable Applications Within Shared Computing Resources, William Clay Moody

All Dissertations

Extending the military principle of maneuver into war-fighting domain of cyberspace, academic and military researchers have produced many theoretical and strategic works, though few have focused on researching actual applications and systems that apply this principle. We present our research in designing, building and modeling maneuverable applications in order to gain the system advantages of resource provisioning, application optimization, and cybersecurity improvement. We have coined the phrase “Maneuverable Applications” to be defined as distributed and parallel application that take advantage of the modification, relocation, addition or removal of computing resources, giving the perception of movement. Our work with maneuverable applications …

Encouraging Engagement With Therapeutic Landscapes: Using Transparent Spaces To Optimize Stress Reduction In Urban Health Facilities, Shan Jiang

All Dissertations

Large hospitals are being built in the way that divorces patients from the natural environments (i.e., daylight, natural ventilation and therapeutic landscapes) (Verderber & Fine, 2000). Empirical research on this subject suggests that patients experience physical environment-related stress in such settings due to lack of control and insufficient connectivity with the exterior world (Ulrich et al., 2004). On the other hand, nature has been proven therapeutic in many ways, such as in reducing mental fatigue (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989), reducing stress (Ulrich, 1999), reducing pain (Vincent, 2009). Although gardens are seeing a revival in hospitals in the recent decade, issues …

Don't Turn On The Light!: Exploring Summer Camp Professionals' Perceptions And Camp Policies On Ghost Stories, Areil C. Blanton

All Theses

Varying opinions exist among camp professionals regarding whether ghost stories should be shared or prohibited in a summer camp setting. Summer camps offer a controlled and safe environment for campers to challenge limits and conquer fears (Ventrura & Garst, 2013). Ghost stories can be used as a method to hook campers into the program and build community within the camp (Higgens, 2008). However, not all campers may be emotionally equipped to handle ghost stories resulting in perceptions of the camp being an unsafe and scary environment (Ellis, 1981). The purpose of this study is to explore attitudes, philosophies and policies …

Further Assessment Of Ppcps In Feed Grade Chicken Feather Meal Including Potential Sources, Zhixin Chen

All Theses

The poultry and rendering industries have played important roles in both the diets of humans as well as environmentally sustainable development. However, a recent article published by Dr. D. C. Love and co-workers at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future revealed concerns that pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) might be able to re-enter the human food supply by being present in feed grade chicken feather meal, i.e., be consumed by and accumulate in the tissue of chickens or other animals. Their study showed twenty-four PPCPs that were detected above the reporting limits in a total of twelve feather …

Surfacing Jellyfish For Peanut Butter Jelly, Brianne Campbell

All Theses

This thesis discusses the surfacing techniques and process used in the creation of two main characters and the supporting crowd characters in the short animation, Peanut Butter Jelly. The goal was to create a custom RenderMan shader that could be used for both characters, and that had qualities of refraction and subsurface scattering, to allow the characters to appear soft and translucent like jellyfish. Shader writing in RenderMan, map painting in Mari, and design decisions are covered to explain the way the goal was achieved. The process for creating an interesting secondary character that cooperated seamlessly with the main jellyfish …

A Discourse Of Hoodwinking: Falcons And Performativity In The Taming Of The Shrew, Dustin Cleag Mosley

All Theses

This master's thesis examines falconry's usage as a framing metaphor in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. This work provides a close reading of a familiar play in order to address old concerns in a new light by bridging both feminist critique with the newer field of animal studies. Where recent scholarly work frequently ignores falconry's presence, this work recognizes that Petruchio's taming speech and the play's later acts are structured to mirror falconry practices that would have been well known to most early moderns, but are unfamiliar to contemporary audiences. This thesis provides a detailed comparison between the …

Magnetic Nanoparticles In The Prevention Of Neointimal Hyperplasia, Elliott Mappus

All Theses

The use of vascular stents to treat occluded blood vessels is common practice; however, this procedure is often complicated by neointimal hyperplasia reocclusion and thrombogenesis. One treatment option is systematically administering heparin to activate antithrombin III leading to deactivation of thrombin and other proteases involved in blood clotting. This treatment is associated with high rates of bleeding and other vascular complications. In addition to the widely known anti-coagulation effects, heparin has long been known to exhibit an anti-proliferative effect on the growth of cells. The ideal solution would be localized delivery to the site of the interest. Recently, the advancements …

A Comparative Analysis Of Electroluminescent And Retrorefelective Materials As Nighttime Pedestrian Conspicuity Aids, Drea Kevin Fekety

All Theses

Recent literature suggests that retroreflective materials, when configured in a biological motion pattern, make vulnerable road users (such as pedestrians) more conspicuous to drivers at night. However, retroreflective elements in clothing can be effective only when a light source (e.g., automobile headlamps) illuminates the material in such a way as to allow the material to reflect sufficient light back to the eyes of the driver. Thus, retroreflective materials are not useful for pedestrians who are positioned outside the beam pattern of an approaching vehicle's headlamps. Electroluminescent materials, flexible light sources that can be attached to clothing, have the potential to …

Use Of Electrolyzed Water As A Topical Antimicrobial And Minimal Processing Technique For Fresh, Whole Peaches, Dylan Zachary Hopkins

All Theses

Three experiments were performed to enumerate the natural microflora on unwashed peaches, known as 'field' peaches, and to determine the efficacy of using acidified electrolyzed water as a topical antimicrobial to remove or reduce the number of the natural microflora or inoculated Listeria innocua from to peach surfaces. During the first experiment, field peaches were divided into four treatment groups: no wash (NW), tap water wash (TW), acidified electrolyzed water wash (AEW), and chlorinated water wash (CL). Peaches were dipped into each of the treatment solutions at ambient temperature and immediately removed (approximately 5 seconds). Peaches were then rinsed in …

Variability In Movement Patterns And Habitat Use Of Two Species Of Pelecaniformes, Caroline Poli

All Theses

Information regarding movement patterns of seabirds is useful for understanding prey abundance and distribution, predicting overlap between bird activity and anthropogenic stressors, and assessing the effectiveness of reserves at protecting nesting or foraging habitat(Cairns 1992, Weimerskirch 2007, Weimerskirch et al. 2010). I examined movement patterns of 40 brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) satellite tagged in December 2010 in South Carolina, USA, and tracked until July 2013. Birds exhibited individual variability in movement patterns and 25% of individuals remained near the breeding colony during nonbreeding. Birds captured in South Carolina that did migrate wintered as far south as Guatemala, prospected and used …

Endothelialization Using Protein Substrates And Hydrogels For Aortic Valve Applications, Elizabeth A. Fontaine

All Theses

Aortic valve disease is currently the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity in the United States.1 In 2003, approximately 290,000 patients required heart valve replacement and that number is estimated to continue to rise as the average age of the population continues to increase.2 However, the current valve replacement options have multiple limitations. Tissue engineering hopes to address these shortcomings by providing a viable valve that more closely mimics the native valve, structurally and functionally.3 An ideal valve replacement should contain endothelial and interstitial cells, with the ability to remodel the extra-cellular matrix. While tissue-engineered heart valves are not uncommon in …

Perceiving Soft Tissue Break Points In The Presence Of Friction, Bliss Altenhoff

All Dissertations

In minimally invasive surgery (MIS), surgeons face several perceptual challenges due to the remote interaction with the environment, such as distorted haptic feedback through the instruments due to friction produced from the rubber trocar sealing mechanisms at the incision site. As a result, surgeons sometimes unintentionally damage healthy tissues during MIS due to excessive force. Research has demonstrated that useful information is available in the haptic array regarding soft tissues, which allows novices to successfully perceive the penetration distance remaining until a material will fail based on displacement and reactionary forces of simulated tissues using a haptic invariant, Distance-to-Break (DTB). …

A Survey Of Protozoan Parasite Hexokinases: Characterization Studies And Potential For Therapeutic Interventions, Michael Timothy Harris

All Dissertations

Protozoan parasites find a glucose rich environment when inhabiting the human host. As a consequence of this glucose rich environment, many parasites have evolved streamlined metabolisms that repress more complex pathways (such as the TCA cycle) in favor of high glycolytic activity, making glycolytic enzymes potential drug targets. The parasites also need to produce glycoprotein coats to shield themselves from the immune system, nucleotides for rapid proliferation, and reducing equivalents for redox homeostasis. The first enzyme of the glycolytic pathway, hexokinase (HK), is critical to the biosynthesis of all of these molecules, representing a here-to-fore underappreciated drug target. Herein I …

Evaluation Of Foraging Patterns Of Linepithema Humile (Mayr), The Argentine Ant, To Improve Bait Placement In Natural Park Habitats, Jinbo Song

All Dissertations

Linepithema humile (Mayr), the Argentine ant, is an invasive ant species and a significant pest in natural and managed habitats of the southeastern United States. In the natural sites of Lake Greenwood State Park (LGSP) in the Piedmont region of South Carolina, L. humile has invaded. Although park personnel treat problem areas with liquid insecticides, control of L. humile through the park areas is minimal. The primary objectives of this study were to determine the optimal foraging distance of L. humile, evaluate over-wintering nest temperatures and foraging activity of L. humile, and evaluate liquid bait placement to control L. humile. …

An Embedded Case Study Of The Proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Statute & The Proposed Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Statute, James Vines

All Dissertations

The purpose of this explanatory, embedded case study was to understand why the proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention statute and the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment statute did not passed. The data for the study was conducted through direct observations of congressional committee hearings, document analysis and open-ended interviews. The proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention statute addresses cyberbullying by imposing criminal sanctions. The proposed Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Statute seeks to provide federal grants to institutions of higher education to implement anti-harassment programs. The findings revealed that vague terminology, language dealing with LGBT people and sexual orientation as well …

The Contribution Of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge In Conservation Of Enguserosambu Community Forest, Tanzania, Agnes Sirima

All Dissertations

Community managed forests constitute a significant proportion of the world's forests, however, little is known regarding their condition or the details of how they are managed. Documented benefits of community managed forest include poverty alleviation and in some places a decrease in the rate of deforestation. Although some community based forests do not satisfy the IUCN definition of a protected areas, they provide valuable long term sustainability of forest products and many are also rich in biodiversity and support landscape conservation strategies. Forests are also home to many cultures including the indigenous people. Indigenous communities surrounding forest areas and other …

Implementing And Evaluating A Scenario Builder Tool For Pediatric Virtual Patients, Lauren Elizabeth Cairco Dukes

All Dissertations

Baccalaureate nursing students have few opportunities to practice patient interaction be-fore they reach their clinical experiences. Traditional practice opportunities include roleplay and interviews with paid actors (called standardized patients). Unfortunately, neither of these methods realistically simulates many of the patient interactions that nurses will encounter on a daily basis.

Virtual patients are computer simulations that behave in the same way that an actual patient would in a medical context. Since these characters are simulated, they can provide realistic yet repetitive practice in patient interaction since they can represent a wide range of patients and each scenario can be practiced until …