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Salinity In Propagation: Germination And Juvenile Acclimatization Of Wetland Halophytes Using Saline Irrigation, Morgan Tomlin

All Theses

The introduction of poor water quality into commercial nursery crop production is predicated on optimized methods that apply saline irrigation without compromising plant success and health. Halophytes have many mechanisms of salt tolerance; however, these are greatly tied to physiological and developmental maturity. Thus, evaluating salt tolerance of halophytic crops (Hibiscus moscheutos and Kosteletzkya virginica) during seed germination and juvenile phases of life may provide insight into the efficacy of integrating poor quality water in horticultural operations.

Four seed priming methods (hydropriming, proline priming, low concentration halopriming, and high concentration halopriming) were evaluated as pre-sowing techniques to ameliorate …

Towards Validating Satellite Remote Sensing Of Aerosols With Ground-Based Low-Cost Sensors, Francine Roberts

All Theses

Poor ambient air quality has significant impacts on the environment and human health. Extensive regulation and monitoring has resulted in improvements since the first iteration of the Clean Air Act was passed in 1955. However, work still needs to be done in regard to higher spatial and temporal monitoring. Temporally, sensors used for regulatory purposes often only report every other or every third day. Spatially, they are often spread across vast distances due to cost. The following research is working towards improving the spatiotemporal measurements of particulate matter (PM), specifically in South Carolina. The two methods available for improving the …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Entrepreneurship Programs On Student Interest In Entrepreneurship Competitions, Toni Sharp

All Theses

According to a survey by ACNielsen International Research, over half of Americans want to start their own business to build wealth and achieve independence (Bygrave & Zacharakis, 2011). In the research community, most entrepreneurship education research happens in business schools (Matlay, 2006). As a result of continually researching one form of entrepreneurship, less attention has been paid to other forms contributing to the “definitional obscurity with important consequences for the direction of the field” of entrepreneurship (Baker & Welter, 2017). This has created a need for research on entrepreneurship at the college level in fields outside of business.

Clemson University …

Photodynamic Therapy To Treat Triple Negative Breast Cancer In Vitro, Hunter S. Warren

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Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most resilient form of breast cancer, being one of the leading causes of death for women and making up 7% of all cancer deaths. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) offers a minimally invasive solution to TNBC as a passive-targeting treatment that reduces the need for other well established yet harsh treatments that can be taxing on the patient. PDT involves the use of a high-energy red light on the area of a tumor injected with photosensitizers (PS) that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the tumor, triggering cell death. The PS tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (m-THPC) was used …

Utilizing The Land-Based Learning Model For The Clemson Agricultural Safety, Growing Safe Tigers Program, Maryann Lovern

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The Clemson Agricultural Safety, Growing Safe Tigers program was developed in 2019 with the goal of increasing the awareness of agricultural safety in South Carolina. By utilizing the land-based learning model, a need for agricultural safety education was identified through incident surveillance strategies. Agricultural incidents were quantified using AgInjuryNews.org and recommendations were made for the program to provide more tailored information to the four regions of South Carolina, based on the primary cause of incident for each region.

Educators’ understanding of place and interconnected systems was determined pertaining to agricultural safety to provide a baseline for how agricultural education teachers …

An Interdisciplinary Approach To Online Genetics Education, Pinar Ozmizrak

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This dissertation presents an interdisciplinary approach to online genetics education.

Chapter I provides an overview of remote education and a brief history of genetics. While the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a turn to emergency online education, exposure to this form of delivery has led to increased intentional online education.

Chapter II focuses on computer and technology use in healthcare by nursing students. This study investigated nursing students’ perspectives using a modified version of the Pretest for Attitudes Toward Computers in Healthcare (PATCH) assessment scale to explore students’ ideas about computers and technology in healthcare delivery. According to the PATCH scale, the …

Expanding Tolerances For Wobble: Pushing Through Tensions To Provide Critical Literacy Pedagogy, Daniel Stockwell

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Secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers are in unique positions to support their students in critical literacy practices so youth can use reading and writing to advocate for social change and use what they learn in class to make the world more equitable (Morrell, 2005; 2008). This is possible if secondary ELA teachers embrace the full liberatory potential of their subject and if they intentionally enact critical literacy pedagogy (Morrell, 2008; 2017). Unfortunately, current sociopolitical discourse surrounding teaching, particularly surrounding what texts are deemed appropriate to be included in schools (see Limbong, 2022; Stout, 2022), and the outcry against the …

Elucidating Acetate Metabolism: Identification Of Transporters And Enzymes Required For Acetate Utilization In The Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus Neoformans, Perry L. Kezh

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Cryptococcus neoformans is the leading cause of fungal meningitis world-wide. While exposure to this environmental sporophyte is common during childhood, those who are immune compromised are at risk of infection. Following inhalation, this basidiomycetous fungus subsequently colonizes other organs though hematogenous dissemination, eventually crossing the blood brain barrier and colonizing the brain where it causes as cryptococcal meningitis. Changes in the availability of carbon sources stemming from the movement from soil to the lungs induce changes in fungal metabolism. Specifically, alveolar macrophages, which present a first line of defense against infection, provide a glucose-/amino acid-poor environment. As such, the use …

Fatty Acids And Parasitism: Towards A Better Understanding Of Lipid Metabolism In Trypanosoma Brucei, Joshua Saliutama

All Dissertations

Trypanosoma brucei is an extracellular eukaryotic parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans and cattle. As an extracellular parasite, T. brucei relies on the host’s nutrients to satisfy its growth requirements. The parasite is unusual because it does not uptake most of the host’s lipid species. Instead, T. brucei prefers to perform de novo synthesis of most lipid species. One of the lipid species that T. brucei can both uptake and synthesize is fatty acids. In my thesis work, I investigated the dynamics of fatty acid uptake, metabolism, and utilization of T. brucei. My work starts by determining the …

In This Skin, At This Institution, At This Time: Black Women University Administrators’ Stories Of Survival During The Pandemic And Racial Reckoning, Kyra Lobbins

All Dissertations

The underrepresentation of Black women in executive leadership positions at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) persists, despite their high-achieving credentials and degrees. However, crises such as the racial reckoning and the pandemic have revealed an increase in the number of Black women called upon to lead under risky circumstances, a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff theory. In this study, I examine the leadership strategies and behaviors of Black women executives at PWIs during these critical periods. Specifically, I explore how these leaders make meaning of their adverse experiences and crucible leadership moments and whether these experiences equipped them for …

Black Oral History As A Culturally Sustaining Practice In The Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Elizabeth Mcdonald

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This study explores how a Black oral history project can be used in a secondary social studies classroom as a culturally sustaining practice. This study uses case study methodology to answer the research question, how are Black oral histories a form of culturally sustaining practice in secondary social studies classrooms? This dissertation explores the literature surrounding Black education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, Black history and race education in social studies, and oral history. Culturally sustaining pedagogy is used as the theoretical framework for this study. This study explores the use of Black oral history in a social studies classroom at the …

Addressing The Elephant In The Room: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Principals’ Perceptions Of Opportunity Gaps, Their Leadership Practices And Access To Advanced Placement Courses For Marginalized Students, Parker Morse Andreoli

All Dissertations

Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, achievement gaps have guided education reform work. The focus on these gaps in student outcomes has been standardized and has lacked consideration of the inputs that create the academic achievement disparities between demographic groups of students. These gaps are often tied to the segregation of learning opportunities, both across and within schools, and perpetuate racist and classist stereotypes of students. A critical need to shift attention from gaps in achievement to a more appropriate measure, opportunity gaps between racially minoritized students and their White peers, is needed. In this …

Protein A And Multimodal Anion-Exchange Membrane Adsorbers For Downstream Purification Of Therapeutic Biomolecules, Joshua Osuofa

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This dissertation explores development and characterization of membrane chromatography tools for downstream purification of therapeutic biomolecules. Convective technologies, particularly membrane chromatography, are emerging in the field of bioseparations as an alternative to resin chromatography due to their improved throughput capability. On the forefront of emerging membrane technologies are multimodal and Protein A membrane adsorbers. The overarching theme of this dissertation research was to investigate advances in these membrane chromatography tools. The primary objective was to develop and characterize novel Protein A membrane adsorbers. A secondary objective was to characterize newly commercialized Protein A and multimodal anion exchange membrane adsorbers.

Two …

Social Distortion: Disinformation, Polarization, And The Politics Of Identity In An Online World, Jennifer Duck Brown

All Dissertations

This dissertation addresses three issues that intertwine: Disinformation, polarization, and the politics of identity. Social media currently dominates how we receive our news and information. This coincides with a disinformation pandemic full of false news and propaganda running rampant online. What often ensues is a social distortion that poses as reality. Seventy-two percent of all Americans use some type of social media according to Pew Research. Not all social media is nefarious, but the design of the social platforms further aggravate how people learn and communicate. Through original and peer-reviewed mixed methods research on topics including the conspiracy theories of …

Effect Of Authentic Kefir And Nigella Sativa On Broilers Challenged By Coccidia And Clostridium Perfringens, Julian E. Nixon

All Dissertations

Black seed oil concentrations of 0%, 0.1%, 1% and 5% were added to milk inoculated with kefir grains and incubated at 25°C for 22 h. The pH and microbial count indicated 1% black seed oil caused low inhibition (P > 0.05) of fermentation, but 5% black seed oil caused significant inhibition of the kefir microorganisms (P < 0.05).

Cobb 500 male chicks (n = 256) were distributed in a randomized block design and received one of four treatments: CTRL1 (Non-medicated, no kefir, no Clostridium perfringens), CTRL2 (Non-medicated, no kefir, C. perfringens inoculated), CTRL3 (BMD medicated, no kefir, C. perfringens inoculated), KTRT (Non-medicated, …

Unruly Periods: Reproductive Futurities And The Rhetorics Of Menstruation, Hannah Taylor

All Dissertations

“Unruly Periods: Reproductive Temporalities and the Rhetorics of Menstruations” argues that dominant rhetorics of shame and regulation around menstruation work to maintain strict reproductive temporalities that uphold heteropatriarchal norms. Specifically, I draw upon scholarship in queer studies and disability rhetorics to assert that sexual health texts (such as puberty books), menstrual care products (pads and tampons), and technologies of menstruation (period-tracking apps) function as a form of chronobiolitics—a teleological force that seeks to reinforce bodily normalcy. In doing so, these rhetorics of menstruation deny or elide the embodied experiences of diverse, queer, and disabled menstruators, limiting reproductive possibilities. Reproductive justice …

Coming Home: Challenges Of Reintegration For Returned Migrant Women In Northern Albania, Marsida Tafilica

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Return migration is the movement of people from host countries to their country of origin after spending a period of time abroad. The aim of this doctoral research is two-folded: Firstly, it aims to explore migration and return migration experiences of Albanian women in order to understand the difficulties experienced during and after migration and how they handled obstacles. Secondly, it analyzes how women migrants perceive successful reintegration.

Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews of 19 Albanian women who returned to the city of Shkodra, the research seeks to answer the following questions: (1) Upon return, what are the perceptions of …

Multiscale Modeling And Gaussian Process Regression For Applications In Composite Materials, Joshua Arp

All Dissertations

An ongoing challenge in advanced materials design is the development of accurate multiscale models that consider uncertainty while establishing a link between knowledge or information about constituent materials to overall composite properties. Successful models can accurately predict composite properties, reducing the high financial and labor costs associated with experimental determination and accelerating material innovation. Whereas early pioneers in micromechanics developed simplistic theoretical models to map these relationships, modern advances in computer technology have enabled detailed simulators capable of accurately predicting complex and multiscale phenomena.

This work advances domain knowledge via two means: firstly, through the development of high-fidelity, physics-based finite …

Understanding The Hydromechanical Effects Of Extreme Events To Improve The Performance Of Infrastructure Foundations, Siddharth Marathe

All Dissertations

Extreme hydroclimatic events like heavy rainfall, flooding, and prolonged drought can potentially cause the failure of infrastructure foundations, leading to socio-economic losses. The objective of this dissertation is to understand the deformation and bearing capacity behavior of drilled shafts subjected to extreme hydroclimatic events, including heavy rainfall, prolonged drought, and earthquake. The Finite Element Method (FEM) results show that during rainfall, the drilled shaft settled caused by a decrease in the porewater pressure in the sand leading to a decrease in the axial bearing capacity. The axial force variation from an experimental investigation showed good agreement with the FEM. The …

Mirna Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy, Maslyn Greene

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Muscle tissue is vital to animal survival and economically essential to livestock producers. Reduced muscle growth can occur from various reasons, including genetics, nutrition, and the pre and postnatal environment. Understanding the mechanisms behind muscle growth can aid in developing strategies to increase muscle mass. Several methods to increase muscle mass in livestock animals are currently being pursued, including nutrition, hormonal therapy, and genetic selection. One newly developing avenue is using miRNA technologies to change the expression of protein-coding genes. miRNA are a type of RNA that regulate over half of protein-coding gene expression. Here we evaluate muscle characteristics such …

Buried Forensics: A Rhetorical/Material Analysis Of Gendered Death, Sarah Richardson

All Dissertations

My dissertation, titled Buried Forensics: A Rhetorical/Material Analysis of Gendered Death, illustrates how othered women who did not adhere to societal norms have been silenced, excluded, forgotten, and erased in public memory. I examine the rhetorical means through which historical women have been gendered in death. Death rhetorics, I argue, illuminate the relationship between past and present violence in conjunction with memory practices. Depending on the reasons specific women were othered, death rhetorics elucidates how these women became, and continue to be, marginalized. Specifically, my three body chapters examine the lives and deaths of women who participated in sex …

“If I Was That Cop…”: Improving Attitudes Toward Police Through An Educational Intervention For Use-Of-Force Knowledge And Empathy, Randle Aaron Molina Villanueva

All Dissertations

While public outrage in response to excessive force is appropriate and understandable (e.g., Rodney King), there are also use-of-force instances which may be misconstrued as excessive by civilians due to a lack of understanding of the law, policies, and procedures for police use of force (UOF). This can lead to negative perceptions of police officers. This poses a threat to healthy police-community relations, as positive perceptions of the police are reliable predictors of compliance and voluntary cooperation with them (Choi, 2021). To balance overly negative perceptions of police who are following protocol and potentially increase the positivity of perceptions, this …

Conceptual And Technological Advancements In Visitor Use Management Of Coastal And Estuarine Environments, Tyler Cribbs

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This dissertation demonstrates the exploration and use of conceptual and technological advancements in the science of visitor use management (VUM). The goal of this effort is to help better understand visitors to park and protected areas (PPAs) and more specifically, better manage our coastal and estuarine environments (i.e., coastal protected areas (CPAs). These concepts and techniques are 1) further implementing the use of cellphone data in recreation ecology and VUM, 2) assessing the use of advanced imagery, virtual reality (VR), in visual-based methods to determine visitor indicators and thresholds, and 3) assessing visitor’s awareness of PPAs and how it influences …

Investigating The Potential Of A Cell-Based Gene Editing Therapy For Inherited Metabolic Liver Disease, Ilayda Ates

All Dissertations

Inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) affecting the liver are relatively rare but collectively have a prevalence of 1 in 800 live births. These diseases result from autosomal recessive single-gene mutations, leading to organ dysfunction and potentially fatal consequences if left untreated. One potential therapeutic strategy for IMDs of the liver involves using CRISPR-Cas9-induced loss of function mutations. However, translating this approach into the clinic is limited by the need for safe and effective CRISPR delivery methods. Adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs), commonly used for CRISPR delivery, are associated with significant safety and efficacy concerns, including risks for immunogenicity, off-target mutagenesis, and genotoxicity …

Public Libraries As Thirdspaces For Community Participation In The Informational Society, Rieta Drinkwine

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There are more than 9,200 public library systems with more than 17,400 outlets in the United States, more than 97% of the population lives within the service area of a public library, and libraries recorded 1.2 billion visits in 2019 (Pelczar et al. 2022; Pelczar et al. 2021). Public libraries are also viewed as trusted institutions and as positively impacting the communities they serve (Horrigan 2016). While the library profession has experienced a period defined by “crisis culture” following the emergence of the internet, there are now numerous studies within the field, as well as supporting federal policies, that position …

Extensional Flows Of Polymer Solutions In Planar Microchannels, Mahmud Kamal Raihan

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Non-Newtonian fluids such as polymer solutions often flow under microscale extensional conditions in many natural and engineering flow fields such as in microfluidic chips, porous rocks, biological membranes and filters, printheads in additive manufacturing, etc. The changing cross sectional areas of the internal flow passages therein exert additional extension on the flow along with the shearing. Numerous studies have been dedicated to understanding the extensional flows of polymer solutions over the years. However, most of these studies only focused on flexible polymers exhibiting elasticity in their macroscopic rheology, whereas rigid polymers that portray shear-thinning but often elude elasticity in the …

An Examination Of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Healthcare Utilization, And Stigmatizing Language In Populations With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (Nas), Farah Tahsin

All Dissertations

Substance use disorder (SUD) during pregnancy, which includes opioid use disorder (OUD), has developed into a significant medical and social concern, as it can cause a range of complications for pregnant women, fetuses, and infants. One common condition resulting from OUD is neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a withdrawal syndrome experienced by infants after being exposed to opioids in the womb. NAS can cause visual physiological or neurodevelopmental complications or outcomes in newborns. Unfortunately, large-scale studies focusing on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with NAS are minimal. NAS consists of indications and symptoms that can also affect the autonomic nervous, gastrointestinal, …

Storytelling In Motion: Rhetorical Approaches To Autoethnography, Critical Pedagogy, And African Filmmaking, Sethunya Mokoko

All Dissertations

This dissertation exposes the marginalization in the education systems of my country Lesotho, South Africa, an injustice that still survives long after the plague of Apartheid. Drawing on the values in African epistemologies of storytelling, I describe and illustrate their principles, then show how storytelling can transform composition pedagogy and thus help eradicate the residue of colonization. The methodology draws from auto-ethnography, narrative, spoken word, traditional oral wisdom, and African filmmaking as counter-story and resistance to the ideologies plaguing the minds of colonized South Africans. The goal is to celebrate oral traditions while improving reading comprehension and writing. With an …

In Vitro And In Vivo Diabetic Models For Assessment Of Tissue Engineered Vascular Grafts, Juan Carlos Carrillo Garcia

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Diabetes has become one of the leading causes of lower-limb loss worldwide. Every 30 seconds, a person loses a limb due to diabetic-related vascular complications. About one-third of patients needing lower-limb bypass surgery have debilitated autologous vessels unsuitable for use, and no other good long-term options are available. These detrimental effects on the vasculature are caused mainly by the hyperglycemic and hyperlipidemic conditions derived from diabetes. Under these conditions, an increase in advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and reactive oxygen species leads to irreversible crosslinks of extracellular matrix proteins, accelerating vascular pathology through vascular stiffening, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, atherosclerosis, fibrosis, …

Accurate Orientation Control Of Tendon Driven Continuum Robots That Exhibit Elasticity, Manu Srivastava

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This dissertation makes new contributions to the modeling and implementation of Tendon Driven Continuum Robots (TDCRs). Specifically, motivated by 3D printing of concrete using a continuum hose robot in construction applications, we focus on TDCRs featuring compliance in the robot backbone and actuating tendons, e.g. surgical robots/endoscopes/catheters with tendon actuation. We expand previous mechanics-based models to show how and why such compliance significantly restricts performance when traditional kinematics-based planning and control techniques are applied.

The main contribution of this work is a new Elasticity Compensation(EC) model that explains why the ad hoc approach of preloading/pretensioning the tendons compensates for compliance …