Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation On Effects Of Lactate Adaptation Using Metabolic Indicators And Amino Acids To Explore Cell Metabolism, Lisa Uy

All Theses

Biopharmaceutical products are drugs that are made from living cells. One protein type of high importance to biopharmaceuticals is monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies allow for highly specific, targeted treatment of diseases and detection of molecules related to diseases. With major roles in detecting and/or treating diseases like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and some cancers, monoclonal antibodies are in demand. This demand has led to a need for efficient cell culture systems to produce high yields of protein with minimal waste. The most commonly used cell culture system for these high-value proteins is Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) …

Amidst The Cardboard City, Olaf Tollefsen

All Theses

Amidst the Cardboard City examines moments where joyous potential is brought into the seemingly bland moments of daily life. The focus of this inquiry takes the form of a narrative that follows the character Birdman as he journeys through his environment, becoming more and more active within it as he strives for a greater freedom within his world. The thesis artworks take the form of nine multiple-block woodcut prints made through a unique photomechanical process involving set building, digital photography, color separations, hand printing, and laser engraving. A large, eight-foot by eight-foot by eight-foot gallery installation was also exhibited. This …

Toward Carbon Neutrality: The Modeling And Implementation Of An Algal Carbon Capture System, Elizabeth Zanin Flanagan

All Theses

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from anthropogenic sources are causing widespread ecological disruptions. The uptake of CO2 by aquatic photoautotrophs is one strategy for carbon capture to mitigate these emissions. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate carbonate chemistry and algal growth equations to improve MATLAB model predictive capability in a closed-reactor system and to develop, design, and evaluate a non-fossil fuel technology and strategy for operation of the Algal Carbon Capture System (ACCS). A dynamic growth model based on carbon-limited algal specific growth rate with Monod kinetics, considering CO2, bicarbonate (HCO3), and carbonate (CO32-) as substitutable substrates, provided the …

The Role Of Package Design Typicality On A Hand Sanitizer Purchase, Ami Lee Frierson

All Theses

ABSTRACTCategory visual codes are visible themes that appear across a category, defining what is typical for that category. In package design, these visual codes may include the shape, size, font, color, or material of the packaged products seen on shelves. Generally, research has shown that atypical designs do not stand out to consumers; they go unseen since consumers are only looking for specific characteristics within that category. However, many studies indicate that consumer perception of atypical package design is moderated by several other variables that influence purchase decision. In March 2020, the Food and Drug Administration passed a temporary policy …

The Mvohc Project, Brooke Day

All Theses

ABSTRACT

A Mvohc is a Morphic Vessel of Human Consciousness. The Mvohc Project traverses' theories of spatial identity in tandem with creative world-building as a method for examining the intricacies of the human condition and reimagining reality. My creations are designed to promote autonomy over the contemporary world's ever-evolving societal complexities to empower individuals, foster imagination and communication, and create space for positive change. This body of work incorporates fleshy biomorphic sculptures inspired by science fiction, deep-sea marine life, and the human body. The abject creatures are partnered with constructed audio-scapes that encompass the frenzy of an overarching internal monologue, …

Effect Of Long And Short Chain Fatty Acids On Methane Yield And Microbial Community Composition In Anaerobic Co-Digestion, Emmaline Spier Camposano

All Theses

Fats, oils and greases are produced from a variety of industries, including animal rendering operations, vegetable oil processing plants and the hospitality industry. These hydrophobic, COD-rich compounds are known to cause issues in municipal wastewater collection and treatment systems. Anaerobic co-digestion has been shown to be an effective way to treat FOG and presents an opportunity to produce greater quantities of biogas. However, many microorganisms are sensitive to the degradation products of FOG, including long and short chain fatty acids. Two studies were performed to address potential inhibitory effects of both.

The first study co-digested various percentages of FOG with …

A Comparison Of Preferences: Testing The Correlation Between The National Register Of Historic Places And The South Carolina Picture Project, Vito Scocozzo

All Theses

Current affairs relating to the architectural stylings of federal buildings have sparked discussions regarding the preferences of the American people for different styles of architecture. Studies have identified a disconnect between the preferences of the general public and professionals who work with the built environment. This thesis seeks to continue these discussions and better understand how they relate to historic preservation by answering the following question: Do the historic resources and buildings nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) by historic preservation professionals directly compare to the historic resources identified by a wider public base as represented by …

The Effects Of Audio/Visual Stimulation And Virtual Reality To Increase The Rate Of Retention In First Semester Freshmen Graphic Communications Students, Hanna Gibson

All Theses

In March of 2020, the world entered the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving educators to answer the question, "how do we teach in a virtual environment?". This was especially difficult for deeply rooted STEM programs such as Graphic Communications at Clemson University. This research aims to analyze multiple methods of virtual teaching for correlation between enhanced retention rates.

This thesis attempts to solve the problem facing global STEM educators when they are attempting to prepare material for students in a virtual environment. This is achieved by presenting them with how different methodologies impact the retention rate on freshmen level students enrolled in …

They Say, We Say: A Standpoint Analysis Of Stay-At-Home Mothers’ Engagement With Public Discourse, Ayesha Tanzila

All Theses

The purpose of this research was to study stay-at-home mothers’ engagement with the prevailing discourse surrounding them. Staying home and engaging in "invisible and unpaid" labor has led this group of mothers to be out of public sight and somewhat voiceless. Thus, public discourse about SAHMs without significant input by SAHMs has resulted in a monolithic and static identity. Using standpoint analysis as the theoretical framework and textual analysis as the methodology, I have analyzed opinion pieces written by SAHMs, published on popular magazine portals, and on their blogs, through which they attempt to navigate this public depiction of themselves. …

Utility Of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation For Weed And Disease Management In Solanaceous Vegetable Crops, Gursewak Singh

All Theses

Managing weeds is one of the most challenging aspects of growing specialty crops. Weed control options are limited for specialty crops due to absence of effective herbicide options. The limited current herbicide options risk carryover and damage to subsequent crops. Bacterial wilt is another problem causing significant yield losses in southeast vegetable production. After the termination of methyl bromide due to health and environmental concerns, several other chemical fumigants gained interest, including 1,3-dichloropropene, chloropicrin and metam sodium/potassium. While less toxic to the environment than methyl bromide, these fumigants pose carcinogenic and mutagenic threats. Alternative weed control and diseases management tactics …

The Effect Of Using Palm Oil As An Electron Donor For The Reductive Dechlorination Of Trichloroethylene (Tce), Shivani Swamy

All Theses

TCE is currently remediated using physical methods like air stripping and granular activated carbon adsorption. While physical and chemical processes work on a site-specific basis, biological strategies have been favored as they are economical and reliable. The objective of this work was to determine the feasibility of using palm oil as an electron donor in the reductive dechlorination of TCE to ethene. Palm oil was considered for the study because it is locally grown in many parts of the world. The palm oil that does not meet the industry standards is discarded. Despite the environmental impacts caused by the palm …

Secure Data Collection And Analysis In Smart Health Monitoring, Pei Huang

All Dissertations

Smart health monitoring uses real-time monitored data to support diagnosis, treatment, and health decision-making in modern smart healthcare systems and benefit our daily life. The accurate health monitoring and prompt transmission of health data are facilitated by the ever-evolving on-body sensors, wireless communication technologies, and wireless sensing techniques. Although the users have witnessed the convenience of smart health monitoring, severe privacy and security concerns on the valuable and sensitive collected data come along with the merit. The data collection, transmission, and analysis are vulnerable to various attacks, e.g., eavesdropping, due to the open nature of wireless media, the resource constraints …

Effects Of Food-Grade Nonionic Surfactants On The Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative Stability Of Lycopene In Oil-In-Water Emulsions, Jeffrey Allen Bowles

All Dissertations

In this research a novel method for the rapid, direct measurement of oxidative lycopene degradation in oil-in-water emulsions via colorimetric means was developed. This analytical method was used to conduct experiments monitoring the degradation of lycopene-containing oil-in-water emulsions of decane spontaneously formed in the presence of nonionic surfactants (Span and Tween) of different tail lengths and molar ratios. The structure and ratio of these nonionic surfactants was manipulated to probe the mechanism of lycopene stabilization when iron-catalyzed oxidation was the main pathway of degradation, as controlled by pH and oil phase selection. The effect of addition of chloride salts with …

“I Thought I Was Going To War”: Experiences Of Health-Care Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic – An Exploration Of Projectcope, Smith F. Heavner

All Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain health-care systems throughout the world. While early reports compared its impacts to other contemporary disease outbreaks (e.g., SARS and MERS), it quickly became apparent that COVID-19 would dwarf these contemporary crises, escalating to a scale more on par with the 1918 influenza outbreak. This disaster will have unprecedented effects on health-care workers, among whom burnout was already a serious concern. Burnout and linked phenomena moral distress, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma are associated with increased turnover and intent to leave health-care professions, decreased quality of care delivered to patients, and poor mental and physical …

Enhancing The Performance Of Text Mining, Farah Mahmoud Al Shanik

All Dissertations

The amount of text data produced in science, finance, social media, and medicine is growing at an unprecedented pace. The raw text data typically introduces major computational and analytical obstacles (e.g., extremely high dimensionality) to data mining and machine learning algorithms. Besides, the growth in the size of text data makes the search process more difficult for information retrieval systems, making retrieving relevant results to match the users’ search queries challenging. Moreover, the availability of text data in different languages creates the need to develop new methods to analyze multilingual topics to help policymakers in governmental and health systems to …

An Assessment Of The Needs Of School-Based Agricultural Educators And Other Professionals In Agricultural Service Agencies For A Professional Online Master’S Degree In Agricultural Education, Maria Mercedes Rossi

All Dissertations

Online learning is one form of distance education mediated through information and communications technology such as the Internet or other technologies. The teaching content is delivered online, and instructors develop teaching modules that enhance their learning and interactivity (student-student, teacher-student, and content-student). Using social cognitive theory (SCT) concepts, the research team developed and validated a multidimensional instrument tool to assess the needs for a professional online master’s degree in agricultural education. The study aimed to assess participants’ readiness and motivations to learn online and identify participants’ needs and experience with online learning. Participants’ perceptions of online learning were assessed and …

The Future Of Humankind: Comparative Cross-Cultural Study Of Youth Environmental Engagement And Environmental Outcomes, Lyudmyla Tsykalova

All Dissertations

Throughout history, the relationship of humans with nature evolved with culture. Climate change calls for a cultural shift in how we relate to nature and fellow humans, pointing to the need to rethink most human activities. Youth are frequently seen as agents of change. However, the widespread understanding that youth environmental engagement is necessary and brings more sustainable outcomes has almost no supporting empirical evidence. Research is needed to reveal whether youth environmental engagement is related to climate policies and ecological consequences and how this engagement varies across cultures.

Based on data from over 300,000 15-year-olds from 40 countries across …

Interventions To Increase Prospective Teacher Candidates' Praxis Ii Content Exam Scores, Takara Hart

All Dissertations

Teacher shortages are a pervasive issue in South Carolina’s public schools. Some prospective teacher candidates have shown obstacles in meeting the minimum required Praxis II Content exam score. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and develop specific Praxis II Content exam interventions to improve scores for six prospective teacher candidates in South Carolina. All participants were trying to meet the licensure exam requirement for various alternative certification programs. Malcolm Knowles’ Andragogy Adult Learning Theory guided the study as a theoretical framework, and Lev Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Constructivism provided the conceptual frame. Descriptive coding and analysis, using Dedoose …

A Youthful Metaverse: Towards Designing Safe, Equitable, And Emotionally Fulfilling Social Virtual Reality Spaces For Younger Users, Divine Maloney

All Dissertations

Social virtual reality (VR) represents the modern rendition of the metaverse, this dissertation aims to fill the research gaps while highlighting trends of youth in VR. The scientific contributions of this research include 1) expanding the current HCI understanding of the social dynamics and the interactions of teens in emerging novel online digital spaces; 2) bridging two research areas that have not been widely studied in HCI, social VR and young users in social VR; and 3) generating design implications to inform the design of future social VR platforms to better support and protect teens’ online social experiences, results which …

Coupled Thermal Mechanical Analysis Methodology For Thermal Performance Evaluation And Failure Mode Identification Of Thermal Barrier Coatings For Heavy Duty Diesel Engines, Sean Moser

All Dissertations

Consumer demand and government regulation, as well as the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck program has motivated extraordinary effort to maximize the heavy-duty diesel engine’s thermal efficiency. Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) provide an avenue for increasing the thermal efficiency of the mixing controlled combustion (MCC) process through the reduction of heat transfer losses. The myriad of previous studies presents conflicting conclusions, both in the merit of TBCs for cycle improvement, and also for coating durability and potential adverse effects from coating failure. While the most recent studies with thin thermal barrier coatings (~100-250 µm) have shown a majority of positive cycle …

Influencing The Inflammatory Response Through Multi-Scale Geometry, Antibiotic Release, And Fluid Management In A Textile-Based Biomaterial Wound Dressing, Elizabeth Gianino

All Dissertations

The total population of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in the United states is expected to rise by 54% between the years of 2015 and 2030 contributing to $200 billion in health care expense. The exponential rise in common diabetic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, puts a large population at risk for complications such as infection, amputation, and even death. Peripheral neuropathy leading to late diagnoses, patient non-compliance, and lack of holistic treatment options all contribute to complications with the incidence of new ulcer formation after treatment reaching 50%. This work explores the design, development, and in vitro evaluation …

Essays On The Housing Market In China And Some Evidence On Inflation Targeting, Yanchao Li

All Dissertations

The housing market in China enjoys great prosperity after a continuously rapid development for more than a decade. However, there are growing concerns about possible bubbles as the price continues to rise while ordinary workers cannot afford a house. The government of China has implemented different kinds of regulations to slow rapid price increases and stabilize the market since 2007. The first paper looks at the characteristics and determinants of housing prices in different tiers of cities in China over the period 2002–2017, and then the second paper examines the impact of different types of regulations on the real estate …

Exploring The Role Of Ampk In Nutrient Sensing And Signaling In The Human Parasite Trypanosoma Brucei, Jessica Jones

All Dissertations

African trypanosomes are protozoan parasites that cause the diseases African sleeping sickness and nagana, in humans and cattle respectively. These parasites have complex life cycles with infection of a mammalian host, ~5mM glucose, following transmission by an insect vector, essentially zero glucose. With these pathogens being exposed to rapidly changing glucose abundance in a host-dependent manner, the ability to sense and rapidly respond to changes in the availability of the hexose are critical. First, I provide a review of glucose metabolism in Trypanosoma brucei. Then, we explore the role of the catalytic α subunit of AMPK, a eukaryotic master …

Cultivation 2.0: The Mediated Environment As Message In The 21st Century, Chelsea Slack

All Dissertations

It is hard to deny social media and its omnipresence is affecting users. What’s more, the online mediated environment is becoming increasingly diverse, with more social media platforms being created and used each year. What is social media doing to us? How do different platforms affect views of users? To answer these questions, this study applied cultivation theory to the mediated environment, which included the social media platforms of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. With 413 respondents, the results of this study indicated that Facebook consumption is related to first order cultivation effects, and non-Facebook platforms contribute to …

Development Of Tissue Engineered Scaffolds For Cardiovascular Repair And Replacement In Pediatric Patients, Dipasha Sinha

All Dissertations

Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD) are abnormalities present in the heart and great vessels at birth. It is one of the most frequently diagnosed congenital disorders, affecting approximately 40,000 live birth each year in the United States. The incidence of new CHD patients and the relative distribution of defects have not changed over time and remain a birth rate function. Out of the new patients found to have CHD each year, an estimated 2,500 patients have a defect that requires a substitute, non-native valve, or conduit artery to replace structures that are congenitally absent or hypoplastic. Materials in current use for …

Development Of Solution Blow Spun Nanofibers As Electrical And Whole Cell Biosensing Interfaces, Craig Levar Miller

All Dissertations

Infectious pathogens place a huge burden on the US economy with more than $120 billion spent annually for direct and indirect costs for the treatment of infectious diseases. Rapid detection schemes continue to evolve in order to meet the demand of early diagnosis. In chronic wound infections, bacterial load is capable of impeding the healing process. Additionally, bacterial virulence production works coherently with bacterial load to produce toxins and molecules that prolongs the healing cycle. This work examines the use of nonwoven polymeric conductive and non-conductive nanofiber mats as synthetic biosensor scaffolds, drug delivery and biosensor interface constructs. A custom-made …

American Sign Language For Everyone: Considerations For Universal Design And Youth Identity, Samuel J. Supalla, Anita Small, Joanne S. Cripps

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Asl In The Academy: We Have Come A Long Way, But More Work Remains, Russell S. Rosen

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

American Sign Language And The Academy: The Little Language That Could, Brenda Jo Brueggemann

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Assimilating And Differentiating Societies And Their Relationship To Genetic Patterning: Does It Take A “Them” To Make An “Us”?, Judy Kegl

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.