Digital Commons Network^™

Nano Scale Mechanical Analysis Of Biomaterials Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Diganta Dutta

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a probe-based microscope that uses nanoscale and structural imaging where high resolution is desired. AFM has also been used in mechanical, electrical, and thermal engineering applications. This unique technique provides vital local material properties like the modulus of elasticity, hardness, surface potential, Hamaker constant, and the surface charge density from force versus displacement curve. Therefore, AFM was used to measure both the diameter and mechanical properties of the collagen nanostraws in human costal cartilage. Human costal cartilage forms a bridge between the sternum and bony ribs. The chest wall of some humans is deformed …

The Impact Of Design-Based Modeling Instruction On Seventh Graders' Spatial Abilities And Model-Based Argumentation, William J. Mcconnell

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Due to the call of current science education reform for the integration of engineering practices within science classrooms, design-based instruction is receiving much attention in science education literature. Although some aspect of modeling is often included in well-known design-based instructional methods, it is not always a primary focus. The purpose of this study was to better understand how design-based instruction with an emphasis on scientific modeling might impact students' spatial abilities and their model-based argumentation abilities. In the following mixed-method multiple case study, seven seventh grade students attending a secular private school in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Wellness And Wellness Promotion In Counselor Education Programs, Brett Kyle Gleason

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological investigation explored the lived wellness experiences and perceptions of wellness promotion of doctoral level counseling trainees enrolled in CACREP-accredited programs. Participants included a national heterogeneous sample of 12 doctoral level counselor trainees currently enrolled in CACREP-accredited counseling programs. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted to provide a textural-structural description of doctoral students' lived wellness experiences and perceptions of wellness promotion while enrolled in a CACREP-accredited counseling program. Three structural codes includingcomponents of wellness, program culture, and recommendations were identified along with 13 textural codes throughout participant interviews. The findings of this study provide insight into wellness …

Systems Theory-Based Construct For Identifying Metasystem Pathologies For Complex System Governance, Polinpapilinho F. Katina

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a systems theory-based construct for metasystem pathologies identification in support of the problem formulation phase of systems-based methodologies using an inductive research design. Problem formulation has been identified as one of the most critical stages in complex system development since it influences later stages in complex system understanding. In modern society where the operating landscape is characteristically ambiguous, mired by complexity, emergence. interdependence, and uncertainty, the concept of problem formulation is used to ensure right issues affecting complex systems surface and addressed to meet expected system performance and viability. In this research, …

Artificial Maturation Studies Of Polymethylenic Plant Biopolymers: Investigating The Chemical Alterations From Plant Material To Coal, Blaine Elizabeth Hartman

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

The thermal maturation and alternation of vascular plant material into coals and as expelled petroleum-like compounds is the main focus of this dissertation. Utilizing artificial maturation studies, like hydrothermal liquefaction, yields useful information regarding how plant material is preserved in coals and the potential certain plant biopolymers possess to generate liquid fuels is acquired. The studies within this dissertation focus on utilizing the aliphatic biopolymers, cutin, cutan, and suberan, found in the epidermis of certain plants. These biopolymers contain minimal amounts of heteroatoms and are comprised of long polymethylenic chains, which are desirable characteristics in generating bio-oils. Additionally, understanding the …

Molecular Phylogeny Of The Genus Houstonia And Allies In Rubiaceae, Hunter Lee Shanks

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Houstonia (Rubiaceae) is a strictly North American genus of 24 species distributed from Mexico, throughout the United States, up to Canada. Houstonia has proven to be a taxonomically difficult genus since the Linnaean description of Houstonia and the related genera: Hedyotis and Oldenlandia in 1753. For over 250 years botanists have lumped and separated Houstonia from Hedyotis and Oldenlandia based on various morphological characters. The most recent circumscription of Houstonia (Terrell 1996) separated the genus into two subgenera with each subgenus containing two sections. Nuclear (ITS) and plastid (trnL-F, rps16) DNA sequences were used to build a molecular phylogeny depicting …

Perch Selection By Male Dragonflies (Odonata, Anisoptera) Related To Competitive Ability And Species Composition, Jessica L. Beard

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Males of many species of dragonflies (Odonata, Anisoptera) establish territories in aquatic habitats where they compete with other males for access to food and females. Territorial males typically perch on emergent vegetation and chase rival males who intrude into their territories. This dissertation research examined the role of male size in perch height selection, position on the perch, and competitive ability. Four hypotheses were tested: 1) Dragonfly species would vary by size and that territorial species would show sexual size dimorphism (SSD), 2) Perch height selection would be related to dragonfly size, 3) Position on the perch would be related …

Impact Of Limited Organic Carbon Addition On Nitrogen Removal In A Mainstream Anammox Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor, Johnnie Wayne Godwin

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Excessive nitrogen compounds are a growing problem in the world and are leading to further environmental degradation. For future nitrogen pennit limits, conventional water treatment processes tend to not meet the requirements to drive these concentrations to low levels, and if they do, it can be rather costly. However, in mid 1990s a new bacterium was discovered that has allowed for nitrogen removal to occur at a considerably reduced cost. The use of anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (anammox or AMX) is well established in sidestream deammonification (partial nitritation and anammox). However, as of late there has been discussion of applying …

Creating Memories: Writing And Designing More Memorable Documents, James Eric Sentell

English Theses & Dissertations

If communication’s purpose is to enable action or belief (Johnson-Sheehan, 2012), then communication will be more effective—and thus more ethical—if the audience can easily remember it. However, the study of memory has long been neglected in English Studies. Therefore, communicators lack strategies for enhancing documents’ memorableness and an ethical framework for assessing (un)memorable documents and composing processes.

To develop an “ethic of memory” and identify strategies that enhance a document’s memorableness, I asked twenty subjects—ten teachers and ten college freshman—to walk down a high school hallway in which various posters and flyers had been posted by the administration, teachers, or …

Priming Middle School Females’ Engagement In Engineering And Technology, Mary Bonk Isaac

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to validate data collected between 2009-2013 via an instrument used to assess middle school girls’ identification with and interest in engineering and technology following the Society of Women Engineers’ WOW events. Recognizing the importance of measuring the impact of such mentored E & T activities on young females’ attitudes about and interest in STEM, and more specifically, engineering and technology, SWE outreach experts developed a participant survey based on event objectives and domain knowledge, but never rigorously examined whether it produced statistically valid data that could be used to draw inferences about girls’ propensity …

Energy Harvesting-Aware Design For Wireless Nanonetworks, Shahram Mohrehkesh

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Nanotechnology advancement promises to enable a new era of computing and communication devices by shifting micro scale chip design to nano scale chip design. Nanonetworks are envisioned as artifacts of nanotechnology in the domain of networking and communication. These networks will consist of nodes of nanometer to micrometer in size, with a communication range up to 1 meter. These nodes could be used in various biomedical, industrial, and environmental monitoring applications, where a nanoscale level of sensing, monitoring, control and communication is required. The special characteristics of nanonetworks require the revisiting of network design. More specifically, nanoscale limitations, new paradigms …

Donepezil’S Effect On Cardiac Function In Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease Through An In Vivo, Non Invasive Measure Of Cardiac Autonomic Function, Lewis P. Hackett

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to explore the effects of the medication Donepezil (Aricept®) on cardiac autonomic function for individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate (probable) Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using age (± 3 years) and gender matched controls, differences in heart rate variability (HRV) among individuals with Alzheimer’s disease were compared to healthy controls over a period of six months (session 1 [baseline], session 2 [3 months], and session 3 [6 months]) in both supine and standing positions. HRV was obtained through frequency-domain (Low Frequency Power, High Frequency Power, RMSSD, LF/HF Ratio) and time-domain (six minutes) measures using …

A Study Of A Simulated Infectious Disease On Healthcare Workers' Reaction, Knowledge, Attitudes, And Performance Towards Hand Hygiene, Lydia Wigglesworth-Ballard

Health Services Research Dissertations

Problem Statement. The high rate of healthcare worker-patient contact provides many opportunities for exposure to pathogens, which creates challenges in assessing healthcare workers' success at preventing healthcare associated infections caused by these dangerous pathogens.

Methods. This study explored the effects of a simulated infectious disease on healthcare workers' hand hygiene knowledge, attitudes, performance, and reactions using Kirkpatrick's Four levels of Evaluation. The study utilized a mixed method pre-test – 2 post-test design. The dependent variables were hand hygiene knowledge, attitudes toward hand hygiene guidelines, hand hygiene performance, and reaction to the overall experience. Data was collected three times over a …

Effects Of Motivational Prompts On Motivation, Effort, And Performance On A Low-Stakes Standardized Test, Katrice A. Hawthorne, Linda Bol, Shana Pribesh, Yonghee Suh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Increased demands for accountability have placed an emphasis on assessment of student learning outcomes. At the post-secondary level, many of the assessments are considered low-stakes, as student performance is linked to few, if any, individual consequences. Given the prevalence of low-stakes assessment of student learning, research that investigates the relationship between student motivation, effort, and performance on low-stakes tests is warranted as these tests are increasingly being used to make judgments about the quality of student learning. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a public mid-sized university with 87 undergraduate students enrolled in four 100-level general education courses. The researchers …

Behavioral Immunity Suppresses An Epizootic In Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Mark J. Butler Iv, Donald C. Behringer Jr., Thomas W. Dolan Iii, Jessica Moss, Jeffrey D. Shields

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Sociality has evolved in a wide range of animal taxa but infectious diseases spread rapidly in populations of aggregated individuals, potentially negating the advantages of their social interactions. To disengage from the coevolutionary struggle with pathogens, some hosts have evolved various forms of "behavioral immunity"; yet, the effectiveness of such behaviors in controlling epizootics in the wild is untested. Here we show how one form of behavioral immunity (i.e., the aversion of diseased conspecifics) practiced by Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) when subject to the socially transmitted PaV1 virus, appears to have prevented an epizootic over a large seascape. We …

Isquest: Finding Insertion Sequences In Prokaryotic Sequence Fragment Data, Abhishek Biswas, David T. Gauthier, Desh Ranjan, Mohammad Zubair

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Motivation: Insertion sequences (ISs) are transposable elements present in most bacterial and archaeal genomes that play an important role in genomic evolution. The increasing availability of sequenced prokaryotic genomes offers the opportunity to study ISs comprehensively, but development of efficient and accurate tools is required for discovery and annotation. Additionally, prokaryotic genomes are frequently deposited as incomplete, or draft stage because of the substantial cost and effort required to finish genome assembly projects. Development of methods to identify IS directly from raw sequence reads or draft genomes are therefore desirable. Software tools such as Optimized Annotation System for Insertion Sequences …

Section Abstracts: Astronomy, Mathematics And Physics With Material Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Astronomy, Mathematics, and Physics with Material Science Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Biomedical And General Engineering

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Biomedical and General Engineering Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Botany

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Botany Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Agriculture, Forestry And Aquaculture

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture Section for the 93rd Annual Virginia Academy of Science Meeting, May 2015, at James Madison University

Section Abstracts: Structural Biology, Biochemistry, And Biophysics

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Structural Biology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Biology With Microbiology And Molecular Biology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Biology with Microbiology and Molecular Biology Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

93rd Annual Meeting Of The Virginia Academy Of Science: Proceedings

Virginia Journal of Science

Full proceedings of the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Chemistry

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Chemistry Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Education

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Education Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Environmental Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Environmental Science Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Natural History And Biodiversity

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Natural History and Biodiversity Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Medical Sciences

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Medical Sciences Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Section Abstracts: Statistics

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Statistics Section for the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 21-23, 2015, James Madison University, Richmond, Virginia

Non-Traditional Students Attitudes Toward Academic Advising And Its Affects On The Successful Completion Of Education Programs, Parisa Fetherson

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine non-traditional student's attitudes toward academic advising and its effect on the completion of their education goal.