Digital Commons Network^™

Removal Of Long- And Short-Chain Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances From Surface Water Using Green Sorption Media–Nanofiltration Hybrid Processes, Md Touhidul Islam

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent environmental contaminants that pose significant risks to human health and aquatic ecosystems. This dissertation addresses the removal of both long- and short-chain PFAS from surface water through an integrated approach that combines green sorption media (GSM) with nanofiltration (NF). The research comprises laboratory-scale and field-scale studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of novel recycled-material-based GSM formulations—namely, CPS and ZIPGEM—as pretreatment options to mitigate membrane fouling and enhance PFAS removal during NF. The study also investigates the adsorption mechanisms under varying water chemistry conditions, including pH, ammonia, and divalent cation concentrations. …

Examining Information Flows Within Transformer Models Using Transfer Entropy, Clayton Barham

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, in terms of both power and prevalence, motivates the need for new ways to study explainability in deep neural networks. This is especially true for transformer architectures and large language models, which are the driving force behind the current surge in artificial intelligence. The complexity of transformer architecture foils many pre-existing methods for studying explainability in deep neural networks. To address this gap in knowledge, this dissertation proposes a new method of studying explainability in transformer architectures that leverages insights from neuroscience, employing transfer entropy to map information flows between components of the transformer …

Insights Into Iapodian Lifeways: Phytolith And Starch Grain Analysis Of Animal And Human Dental Calculus From Croatia, Angelinne Moreno

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The Piplica hillfort is located near the village of Lovinac within the Lika region of Croatia. The Bronze Age is a pivotal period in Europe that encompasses changes in landscapes, social structures, and famously includes vast production of metals. The Bronze Age in Lika is characterized by changes in social, political, and economic lifeways; denser populations; expanded trade networks; and advancements in agriculture, husbandry, and metal-working. However, little is known about the Iapodes people, who inhabited the Lika region during the Late Bronze Age, and how they interacted with their environment.

The Iapodes were only known from classical Greek written …

Enhancing Social Participation: The Role Of Communication Accommodations On Young Children With Ccn, Carli C. Brent

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

BACKGROUND: Children with complex communication needs (CCN) have difficulty using and/or understanding speech to communicate, thus facing barriers for successful social participation in family-leisure activities due to limited access to communication supports in these environments. Social participation includes an individual’s active involvement in activities that consist of a social element to produce opportunities for meaningful interactions with others. Children with CCN benefit from communication supports, like Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. AAC supports children with CCN to effectively communicate with themselves, others, and their environment. While communication supports have been recently implemented into private and public spaces, the …

Boba Tea Shops And Identity: Exploration Of Boba Shops Among College Students In Greater Orlando, Naydelin Karime Trejo Vega

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis explores the cultural and social significance of boba tea shops among college students aged 18 to 26 in Greater Orlando. Although many people view boba tea as a trendy drink, this study treats it as a meaningful part of some students’ daily lives, identity formation, and sense of belonging. Through a multi-method approach that includes participant observation, surveys, and semi-structured interviews, I examine what motivates college students to purchase boba tea and how boba shops impact their identity and sense of belonging. I conducted fieldwork at three different boba tea shops in Greater Orlando—two franchises and one locally …

Distribution And Morphology Of Spinal Afferent Innervation Of The Gastric Muscular And Submucosal Layers Of Rats: Anterograde Tracing, Andrew M. Kwiat

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Chronic pain afflicts over 25 million Americans, with approximately 2 million developing opioid addiction due to insufficient treatment options. Visceral chronic pain, particularly abdominal pain, poses a significant clinical challenge, yet its underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly defined. This thesis presents a comprehensive anatomical analysis of spinal afferent innervation in the muscularis externa and submucosal layers of the rat stomach—two tissue compartments implicated in visceral sensation and pain. Using anterograde tracing, dextran-biotin was injected into thoracic dorsal root ganglia (T7–T11) of male Sprague Dawley rats (3–5 months) to label spinal afferent axons in the stomach. Flat-mount preparations of muscular and …

Targeting Il-6 Signaling And Release Pathways Modulates Inflammation And Restores Intestinal Epithelial Integrity And Function During Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis Infection, Ala' Mahmoud Saleem Alhendi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Like TNFα, IL-6 is upregulated in Crohn’s disease (CD) associated with Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) infection. Limited therapeutic response to anti-IL-6 therapy may be related to the dual role of IL-6. In this study, we investigated the effects and the signaling mechanism of IL-6 in intestinal epithelial integrity and function during MAP infection using an in vitro model that consists of THP-1, HT-29 and Caco-2 cell lines. Clinically, we determined that plasma samples from MAP-infected CD patients have higher IL-6 levels compared to controls (P-value < 0.001). In CD-like macrophages, MAP infection has significantly upregulated the secretion of IL-6 and the shedding of IL-6 receptor (IL-6R). Moreover, it resulted in significant upregulation of intestinal damage markers including CLDN2, NOX-1 and SERPINE1. Blocking IL-6 signaling exacerbated that damage and enhanced the levels of the damage markers. In HT-29 cells, MAP infection upregulated MUC2 expression, a protective response that was reversed when IL-6R was neutralized. More importantly, blocking IL-6 signaling during MAP infection rescued damaged Caco-2 cells from MAP-induced apoptosis. We also examined the role of monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4), a proton-coupled lactate symporter, that facilitates the inflammatory shift in macrophages, and its impact on intestinal epithelial homeostasis during MAP infection. MAP infection increased lactate export and upregulated the expression of MCT4, TNFα, and IL-6 via TLR2. Inhibition of MCT4 during MAP infection using α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCα) significantly reduced TNFα and IL-6 and led to restoring baseline oxidative status, mucin level, and SERPINE1. It also enhanced tight junction protein TJP1 (ZO-1) expression. These findings emphasize the role of IL-6 in MAP-associated CD pathogenesis and explain the ineffective response to IL-6 therapies in CD patients. Moreover, our findings revealed the role of MCT4 in CD pathophysiology during MAP infection and highlighted MCT4 as a potential therapeutic target for effective CD treatment.

You And Me: Imagination As A Coping Mechanism For Childhood Trauma, Rachel B. Sacks

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

You and Me is a two-dimensional (2D) animated short film about a young girl who suffers from an unknown illness. As she tries to rest, two otherworldly monsters transform her room into an unsettling nightmare. These monsters stem from her own distorted perceptions of the doctor and nurse caring for her. You and Me focuses on the difficulties that children navigating medical challenges face in communicating their fears with their caretakers. It is a film rooted staunchly in the subjective world of its protagonist. The art style deliberately combines conventionally appealing character design with surrealist imagery and evocative, unsettling lighting …

Gothic Girlhood Horrors, Nina M. Lopez

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Gothic Girlhood Horrors is a collection of creative nonfiction examining the formative experiences of girlhood. Through experimental essays, short stories, and other forms of prose, it investigates how universal and personal a young woman’s experiences can be. Part I, “HOW TO BECOME A GIRL,” opens with a coming-of-age story. “GIRL CRAZY” takes inspiration from memoirist Elissa Washuta’s “Sexually Based Offenses,” with the narrator engaging in a hypothetical conversation. Some essays explore the narrator’s relationship with motherhood; others delve into the complex relationship with her own mother. Key moments of girlhood are highlighted, such as dying hair (“let down your hair”) …

Utilizing Recommendation Systems To Achieve More Personalized Themed Experiences, Bryan P. Mcgowan

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Digital platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube demonstrate the effectiveness of recommendation systems to personalize content and drive revenue, yet themed attractions have historically offered limited personalization. This thesis explores how recommendation systems can enhance adaptive themed experiences, focusing on branching narratives and dynamic environments that respond to guest behavior. Research from literature relevant to recommendation systems, along with analyses of successful attractions and digital experiences, informed the creative solutions developed for The Nexus. In this immersive walkthrough attraction, guests pass through a magical portal into a multiverse that adapts to their preferences and actions. This research shows how …

Digitally-Mediated Nature-Connectedness?: Listeners’ Emotional Responses To And Perception Of Digitized Nature Sounds, Marissa Salas

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

• Faced with the potential closure or privatization of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), it is important to reflect on the conservation efforts using soundscapes. This dissertation explores the gap between experts and lay listeners in listening to soundscapes through the digitally-mediated spaces (e.g. YouTube). In a pilot project conducted in 2024 that used facial emotional recognition software and a talk-aloud protocol, data on emotions was collected. Using NPS video recordings on its webpages, social media accounts and via other digital channels (YouTube, etc.) created by NPS experts, this project employed an innovative, interdisciplinary, mixed-methods experimental design to investigate …

Expanding The World Of Themed Entertainment Through Choice-Based Narratives: How Video Game Design Principles Inspire Immersion In Attractions, Layla R. Mccarthy

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Within most traditional theme park attractions, guest interaction does not directly impact the unfolding of the narrative. While there are many examples of encouraged interaction, guests still lack agency. Within this research, the goal is to develop a hypothetical theme park attraction (titled The Library of Worlds) where guests will be met with various choices that influence the trajectory of the story. Drawing inspiration from non-linear storytelling and interactive gaming, this study explores integration of choice-based narratives into themed entertainment, questioning the ways in which agency can enhance immersion and connection within attractions – as well as what elements …

Live Content: Turning Guests Into Co-Creators Of Gamified Attractions, Brittany Mcchesney

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Based on an in-depth exploratory literature review, this thesis proposes to assess how a live content team might interact with the lifecycle of a gamified theme park attraction. To offer unique and memorable experiences to Guests, there has been an increase in the development of theme park attractions that are “gamified,” in that Guests can interface with some interactive game element or experience. This is especially pertinent with the development of video-game-focused lands and attractions, such as Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, Hollywood, and soon to be Epic Universe in Orlando, FL. Attractions can incorporate gamification in a …

Macabre Therapeutics: An Exploration Into The Cathartic Nature Of Splatter Utilizing The Saw Franchise As Corpus, Rosalind E. Rohrbaugh

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This project positions splatter (a subgenre of horror films that centralizes gore) as applicable for sociopolitical critique and emotional catharsis, disrupting the narrative of splatter as a solely shock-based enterprise. The project utilizes the Saw franchise as a corpus, which reignited audience interest in extreme horror in 2004, rejuvenating splatter film releases since their stagnancy throughout the 1990s. This research seeks to answer why Saw captured the attention of audiences and returned the splatter subgenre to the 21st century, utilizing psychoanalytical film analysis, sociopolitical analysis, semiotics, content analysis, and archival research as methodology and drawing on Aristotle’s Catharsis and Rhetorical …

Sketching Towards Character: An Actor's Process Of Reclaiming The Mind-Body Connection, Lauren E. Schulke

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The human body is capable of incredible things. It completes vital functions autonomically, can instinctively protect us from harm, helps us sense, process, and respond to the world we inhabit, and can even heal itself when necessary. But what happens when an actor, who is dependent on their body to express their artistry, has lost awareness of their material? With the help of this thesis and the crafting of a personal methodology, I have developed a process that works towards healing this fracture and encourages the initial crafting of character through embodiment.

This thesis details the evolution of a personal …

Under Control, Eric Tegethoff

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Under Control is a collection of six short stories focused on masculinity. The stories explore family, climate change, nationalism, and the nature of work. “A Survey of Man” and “Snake Pit” dive into the corrosive effects of capitalism on men in society. In “The Art of War,” the narrator finds the cost of pursuing healing outside of society’s prescribed norms. Society’s norms also act on the characters in “My Country, My Cybertruck” and “Bad Reporting.” The collection ends with “Virtual Idaho,” a short story that scrutinizes the masculine barriers to properly grieving for a loved one.

Understanding The Mechanism In Shaping Guest Acceptance Of Service Robots In Caribbean Hotels: The Moderating Role Of Cultural Familiarity In The Cac Model, Jamilia A. Lawrence

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Service robots continue to become increasingly popular in the hospitality and tourism industry. Understanding the cognitive and emotional processes is important in explaining the sequential processes of guests accepting new technologies. Especially in regions like the Caribbean, where human-to-human interaction and personalized services are highly valued.

This study investigates how cognitive evaluations of service robots, including utility, coolness, autonomy, courtesy, and interactivity, influence guests' emotional responses and their acceptance of the technology in Caribbean hotels. Additionally, the study explores the moderating role of cultural familiarity in the relationship between emotion and acceptance.

Using the cognitive-affective-conative (CAC) model, 415 responses were …

Transformative Experience Design: Exploring The Supply-Side Perspective In The Theme Park Context, Juliana Rodrigues Vieira Tkatch

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This study investigates how hedonic tourism activities can facilitate personal transformation, particularly in the context of mass tourism. Focusing on theme parks, which draw millions of visitors annually, the research explores the design elements that can foster visitor transformation. The study aims to uncover the design elements embedded in the creation of these activities and the effects they intend to foster in visitors, answering the research question: How do theme park design practices contribute to transformative tourism experiences? This question is significant given the limited empirical work connecting experience design and transformative tourism from the supplier perspective. Using a qualitative …

Inhibition Of Activin A Signaling Slows The Progression Of Barrett's Esophagus Induced Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, Lily A. Giardino

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

In 2020, approximately 1.03 billion cases of Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) were reported worldwide, representing a significant global health burden. Chronic GERD is a potent initiator of Barrett’s Esophagus (BE), a precancerous condition in which the squamous epithelium is converted into columnar-like epithelium in the distal esophagus in response to reflux injury. Barrett’s Esophagus is the only known precursor to Esophageal Adenocarcinoma (EAC), a disease with a five-year survival rate of 21%. First line treatments focus on acid suppression and endoscopic mucosal resection but did not result in a decrease of EAC incidence highlighting the importance of new therapeutics. Previous …

Multi-Omics Analysis Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Serotype 3 Using A Murine Infection Model, Jash Kamlesh Trivedi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Streptococcus pneumoniae (SPN), a gram-positive encapsulated pathogen, inhabits the human nasopharynx asymptomatically but can cause severe infections, including invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD). Although targeted by vaccines, serotype 3 (ST3) remains highly prevalent within the United States and globally. Sequence type 180 lineage within Clonal Complex (CC)180 is the predominant lineage of serotype 3 globally. Genetically, Clonal Complex 180 is divided into clade I and II, with clade II recently surpassing clade I in prevalence. However, the molecular mechanisms driving this shift remain poorly understood. Here, we employ a multi-omics approach, combining pangenome analysis and dual-RNA sequencing, to investigate genetic factors …

Cigarettes, Flesh, & Other Cravings, Gabrielle F. Decker

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Cigarettes, Flesh, & Other Cravings is a collection of short stories that explores themes of motherhood, death, and desire. Each character struggles with the friction between society's expectations and their desires for happiness, all through the lens of the surreal and the absurd. A destructive raccoon’s nightly visits unravel a woman’s sense of control. A teenager begins an internship with a conspiracy-obsessed clown. A minuscule old woman tumbles out of a chicken egg. A fissure in a kitchen floor births an imp. A Choose Your Own Adventure examines the illusion of choice. In Hell, torture is personalized. Cigarettes, Flesh, & …

The Multifaceted Roles Of Propionic Acid In Autism Spectrum Disorder And Crohn’S Disease, Piotr P. Lagod

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including propionic (PPA) and butyric (BA) acid, exert a variable and organ-specific effect on the body. They are by-products of human microbiota metabolism and are often used as a food preservative. Studies have shown that PPA and its producers are elevated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients and their mothers. Our lab previously demonstrated that PPA alters neural stem cell differentiation in favor of glia. In this work, we utilized an in vivo mice model, in which dams and their offspring were fed a PPA-rich diet. In the brain, we observed a significant increase in …

Designing Immersive Educational Experiences: An Exploration Of Animal Attractions And Exhibits To Create A National Park Themed Experience, Sarah G. Merrill

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis analyzes the disconnect between immersive environmental storytelling and conservation education at animal attractions. How can designers create immersive educational experiences that engage audiences? Can environmental narrative practices be applied in a new way to develop effective conservation and wildlife education? A literature review assists in defining immersion, discovering the evolution of Modern Zoo design as an immersive experience, and evaluating conversation education in animal facilities. When combined with educational techniques, immersive habitat design improves guest engagement and informal conservation learning outcomes in zoos and animal-related experiences. Using Scott Lukas’ theming and immersion modes, three attractions are analyzed as …

I'M Sorry You Have To Read This, Mark Blok

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

I’m Sorry You Have to Read This is a collection of essays that explore Russian culture, Jewish traditions, and American identity. Through reflections on illness, the indignities of premature balding, and the ongoing puzzle of cultural belonging, these essays navigate the awkward and absurd passage from childhood to adulthood. The first essay, “Traditions Schmaditions,” explores cultural identity, assimilation, and generational inheritance within a Russian-Jewish immigrant family. At its core, it’s about obligation and fear, and the struggle to break free from traditions kept out of habit rather than intention. Following essays of culture-shaping experiences that explore learning to define adulthood …

Drag In Theme Parks: An Application Of Queer Theory And Intergroup Contact Theory, Corey D. Clancy

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The intent of this paper is to evaluate whether the artistic expression of Drag can be understood and appreciated by its critics when employed at Theme Parks. This will be accomplished through the lenses and applications of Queer Theory and Intergroup Contact Theory by researching what the art of Drag is, defining its different expressions, interviewing members of the Drag community, and creating clear guidelines and “Criteria for Drag in Theme Parks.”

With such passionate feelings on Drag in culture today, this research will aim to take subjectivity out of the matter and focus objectively on the impacts that Drag …

& Everything Else, Ian R. Abercrombie

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

& EVERYTHING ELSE is a collection of stories that explores various forms of obsession. In “BEG FOR SCRAPS,” Pickle, a former bomb-sniffing dog, fixates on his owner, who’s fallen into a cycle of neglect post-divorce. “LET THEM FIGHT” follows Casey, a 20-something on a date to see, for the umpteenth time, a kaiju movie that conjures their escapist tendencies from a traumatic childhood. “DINNER WITH THE FOOL,” narrated by a state-appointed clown obsessed with jokes, describes a family contending with their matriarch’s planned suicide. “BIRDWATCHING” follows three characters, each with their own odd obsession: Jodie who wants to photograph a …

Bent Never Broken: A Study Of Multidimensional Perfectionism Through Animation, Sabrina R. Dias

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Bent Never Broken is a 3D animated short film about a martial artist that strives to gain his mother’s love through perfection. The film focuses on maladaptive multidimensional perfectionism and how it affects parent-child relationships. Bent Never Broken utilizes stylized rendering and animation to maintain maturity and appeal. It has a mature storyline with an ending that enforces the idea that perfection does not equate to love, and that it is okay to walk away from maladjusted parent-child relationships.

The Transition Of Tradition: The Modernismo Era Of Puerto Rican Postcolonial Short Fiction, Natalie Donis

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Modernismo, an artistic and literary cultural movement that swept across Latin America, profoundly shaped Puerto Rican short fiction by introducing innovative narrative techniques before the novel gained prominence on the island. Emerging during the sociopolitical upheaval following the Spanish American War and Puerto Rico's annexation by the United States, modernismo responded to both European artistic trends and the cultural tensions of colonial transition. In my research, in Puerto Rico, Moderismo emerged in the short story before the novel. This research examines how Puerto Rican short stories by José Luis González and Emilio Díaz Valcárcel, from this era, grapple with themes …

Catching Light Finding Encouragement Through Art And The Role Of Women In Impressionism, Vlada Evtushenko

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Catching Light is a two-dimensional (2D) animated film about the importance of human connection through the tale of an artist rediscovering their passion for painting through the support of a fellow artist. Catching Light is told through the lens of the period in art history when the artists, who eventually came to be known as 'Impressionists', broke free from the traditions of the Academy. The story highlights how the Art Academy restricted and discriminated against people based on social class and gender, and its disrespect towards the craft of paintmaking. By setting this story in the late 19th century, Catching …

The Value Of Balance: Exploring Timelessness Of Narrative Styles And Character Dynamics Through Animation, Jessica Gray

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Dazzling: A Timekeepers Tale is a 2D/3D animated short film that explores timeless storytelling, perception of time, anthropomorphism, and friendship. The film illustrates the necessity for balance between curiosity and caution when striving to learn. Through the dual protagonists’ contrasting personalities, they reach a deeper understanding of each other, thus learning the value of balance. This theme was constructed around a fantasy space that will function as a means of understanding varying perceptions of time. Thesis research explores ideas of balance between traditional Western narrative structures such as the Hero’s Journey, Aesopic fables, and Buddy Comedy within a combination of …