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Development And Characterization Of Solid-Contact Paper-Based And Micro Ion-Selective Electrodes For Environmental Analysis, Stephanie Armas Jan 2018

Development And Characterization Of Solid-Contact Paper-Based And Micro Ion-Selective Electrodes For Environmental Analysis, Stephanie Armas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) have extensively been used for food analysis, as medical diagnostic tools, and for some environmental applications. However, ISEs are hindered by the need of a bulky reference electrode and the pre-conditioning step of the sensor, which can often be lengthy. This work will discuss how the direct addition of target analyte into the cocktail sensing membrane can circumvent the pre-conditioning step. Furthermore, the work is presented in an optimized ready-to-use single strip design, where the bulky glass reference electrode (RE) is no longer needed. The bulky RE was replaced by drop casting a simple two-component mixture consisting …

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Exploring The Self-Reported Dietary Habits And Physical Activity Between Athletes And Non-Athletes In Four Central Florida Public High Schools, Alison Redd Jan 2018

Exploring The Self-Reported Dietary Habits And Physical Activity Between Athletes And Non-Athletes In Four Central Florida Public High Schools, Alison Redd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The federal reimbursable meals offered in American school cafeterias have recently been revised with improved nutrition standards yet may not meet the needs of student athletes who require additional energy intake. While many epidemiological studies report high numbers of adolescents who are overweight or obese, there are close to eight million high school students involved in interscholastic sports—more now than ever before. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to establish participation rates in the federal school meals programs in a local Central Florida school district between athlete and non-athlete high school populations. Additionally, the study aimed to establish athlete …

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Implementing Gameplay Skills To Increase Eye Contact And Communication For Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorder And Comorbid Disabilities, Celestial Wills-Jackson Jan 2018

Implementing Gameplay Skills To Increase Eye Contact And Communication For Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorder And Comorbid Disabilities, Celestial Wills-Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of gameplay activities using a structured social skills program to increase both eye contact responses and the number of verbal responses during peer relationships for students with comorbid disabilities in a clinical setting. This SEL intervention was modified for children with comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD). A single-subject, multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used. Participants included adolescents (n = 6) with comorbid disabilities, predominantly ASD and EBD, their board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA), and six behavior technicians. The researcher established and maintained face-to-face reciprocal peer social engagements (communication) …

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Altruistic Punishment Theory And Inter-Group Violence, Clayton Besaw Jan 2018

Altruistic Punishment Theory And Inter-Group Violence, Clayton Besaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role of altruistic punishment, the act of punishing outsiders perceived to harm members of one's group at a personal cost, in explaining individual motivations to participate in inter-group violence. It first develops a social theory of this type punishment. This theory argues that an egalitarian social logic may be key to understanding motivations of parochial altruism, and that one's social environment may influence thresholds of anger needed to induce punishment behavior. Empirically, it conducts two survey-experimental studies. The first experiment utilizes subject partisan identity in the context of American politics and hypothetical acts of violence to …

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Changes In Running And Multiple Object Tracking Performance During A 90-Minute Intermittent Soccer Performance Test (Ispt): A Pilot Study, Ryan Girts Jan 2018

Changes In Running And Multiple Object Tracking Performance During A 90-Minute Intermittent Soccer Performance Test (Ispt): A Pilot Study, Ryan Girts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multiple object tracking (MOT) is a cognitive process that involves the active processing of dynamic visual information. In athletes, MOT speed is critical for maintaining spatial awareness of teammates, opponents, and the ball while moving at high velocities during a match. Understanding how MOT speed changes throughout the course of a competitive game may enhance strategies for maintaining optimal player performance. The objective of this study was to examine changes in MOT speed and running performance during a 90-minute intermittent soccer performance test (iSPT). A secondary purpose was to examine the relationship between aerobic capacity and changes in MOT speed. …

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A Bioarchaeological Study Of Osteoarthritis Of Agro-Pastoralists From Mistihalj, Bosnia And Herzegovina: A Lifestyle Set In Time, Zorina Manoni Jan 2018

A Bioarchaeological Study Of Osteoarthritis Of Agro-Pastoralists From Mistihalj, Bosnia And Herzegovina: A Lifestyle Set In Time, Zorina Manoni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Activity stresses are an important factor in the development, patterning, and severity of osteoarthritis. This bioarchaeological thesis explores the prevalence and patterning of osteoarthritis between individuals buried at a Late Medieval Necropolis and a church Crypt built in the 19th century at the Mistihalj site in Bosnia and Herzegovina to understand the physiological effects of their peasant agro-pastoralist lifestyle. Composite scores of osteoarthritis were generated for visual observations of upper limb joints (shoulder, elbow, and wrist) and lower limb joints (hip, knee, and ankle) of 37 female and 39 male adult (between 20 and 50 or more years of age) …

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Deciphering The Role Of Adrenergic Hormones In Embryonic Cardiac Calcium Signaling And Metabolism, Jessica Peoples Jan 2018

Deciphering The Role Of Adrenergic Hormones In Embryonic Cardiac Calcium Signaling And Metabolism, Jessica Peoples

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The adrenergic hormones norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) are critical regulators of mammalian cardiovascular physiology. NE and EPI mediate stress responses to enhance cardiovascular function, however dysregulation of adrenergic signaling leads to heart failure, congenital heart malformations, and sudden cardiac death. Adrenergic hormone-expressing cells were found in the early embryonic heart, and NE has been determined essential for embryonic cardiac development. Despite extensive work in adults, the regulatory roles and adrenergic targets of these hormones during embryonic cardiac development have not yet been fully determined. Prior transcriptomic studies from our lab showed that expression of signal transduction and metabolic genes …

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Exacerbation Of Δefp Sickness In Escherichia Coli By An Uncharacterized Rna Helicase, Robert Wingo Jan 2018

Exacerbation Of Δefp Sickness In Escherichia Coli By An Uncharacterized Rna Helicase, Robert Wingo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Escherichia coli, growth is rate-limited by translation capacity [1]. Stalled ribosomes have profound effects on a cell such as altered mRNA abundance, decreased ribosome availability, and an imbalanced proteome. The absence of elongation factor P (EF-P), a universally conserved transpeptidation enhancer, presents an extreme example of this scenario, wherein ribosomes accumulate disproportionately onto messages that are more slowly translated and cell growth becomes notably impaired. We discovered that faster-growing cells arise spontaneously in Δefp cultures, suggesting that translation defects could be circumvented by mutating other genes. This thesis presents a genetic and biochemical analysis of a mechanism Δefp cells …

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International Saudi Female Students' Experiences Of Acculturation During Their Study At An American Public University In The South (Apus), Hnan Alzahrani Jan 2018

International Saudi Female Students' Experiences Of Acculturation During Their Study At An American Public University In The South (Apus), Hnan Alzahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to my literature review and my reflection of its meaning, few studies have been conducted that explore the adjustment and acculturation experiences of female international students in US colleges and universities specifically on Saudi female students. Therefore, this study explored the academic and socio-cultural experiences of Saudi female students before and after arriving in the US. Furthermore, this study identified the sources of acculturative stress and Saudi female students' successful strategies for coping with these stressors. Eight Saudi female students participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews and Moustakas' (1994) transcendental phenomenology was utilized in analyzing students' voices. During the data …

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Qualitative And Quantitative Elemental Composition Analysis Of The Surrounding Pollen Coating Via Icp-Ms, Brandy Voyer Jan 2018

Qualitative And Quantitative Elemental Composition Analysis Of The Surrounding Pollen Coating Via Icp-Ms, Brandy Voyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pollen evidence has proven to be a powerful forensic tool to trace a suspect or item to a victim or a crime scene. This is possible because it is microscopic, abundant in nature, resistant to degradation and decay; it presents dispersal patterns that can be used to generate a 'fingerprint' within specific areas, and has illustrated a unique morphology that can be used to classify species. While the pollen grain morphology has been extensively used to characterize the specific species, not much has been investigated as pertains to the coating that surrounds the pollen grain aside from it being categorized …

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The Tragic City: Black Rebellion And The Struggle For Freedom In Miami, 1945-1990, Porsha Dossie Jan 2018

The Tragic City: Black Rebellion And The Struggle For Freedom In Miami, 1945-1990, Porsha Dossie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the creation of South Florida's tri-ethnic racial hierarchy during the postwar period, from 1945-1990. This racial hierarchy, coupled with discriminatory housing practices and police violence, created the necessary conditions for Dade County's first deadly uprising in 1968. Following the acquittal of several officers charged in the killing of an unarmed black businessman, a second uprising in 1980 culminated in three days and three nights of violent street warfare between law enforcement and black residents in Miami's northwest Liberty City neighborhood. The presence of state sanctioned violence at the hands of police in Liberty City set the stage …

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Regulation Of Extra-Pituitary Prolactin In Monocytes And Macrophages, Richard Barrett Jan 2018

Regulation Of Extra-Pituitary Prolactin In Monocytes And Macrophages, Richard Barrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently it has been shown that leukocytes are capable of producing prolactin (PRL). Evidence of extra-pituitary PRL (ePRL) production is so far been limited to primates and is not shared across other mammal species such as mice and rats. While ePRL is characterized as an identical protein to traditional pituitary PRL, it is controlled under an alternative promoter and is thus regulated differently from pituitary PRL. Little is known about what regulates ePRL or its direct role in human physiology, but given that PRL has well over 300 described functions, it is likely that the autocrine and paracrine effects of …

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An Examination Of Beta Diversity Indices And Their Predictors In Two Large-Scale Systems, Philip Schroeder Jan 2018

An Examination Of Beta Diversity Indices And Their Predictors In Two Large-Scale Systems, Philip Schroeder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity is what conservation biology was developed to conserve. It is the physical manifestation of life as a concept and, be it for practical or idealistic reasons, all conservationists seek to protect or, in some cases, enhance it. Because of its monolithic importance to the field, much effort has been expended trying to better measure and understand it. Recently, greater attention has been paid to the partition of diversity; the observation that the total diversity of a system (γ) can be broken down into within-site diversity (α) and between-site diversity (β). In particular, it has been noticed that the β …

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Characterization Of Neural Cells Derived From Reelin-Deficient Schizophrenic Patient Ips Cells, Nicole Roberts Jan 2018

Characterization Of Neural Cells Derived From Reelin-Deficient Schizophrenic Patient Ips Cells, Nicole Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reelin is a large, extracellular glycoprotein that binds to several membrane receptors on neural stem cells (HNSCs), neural progenitor cells (NPCs), and neuroblasts of mammals to direct their migration. Previously, our lab established the presence of Reelin increased migration of wild-type fetal-derived HNSC's, both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we demonstrated that Reelin protein treatment also increases the formation of radial glia via Notch-1 signaling, in vitro. Radial glia are precursors to NPCs, as well as a scaffold for neuroblast migration during cortical lamination. Reelin has long been associated with Schizophrenia (SZ). Because post-mortem brains are limited to …

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Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Inhibit Doxorubicin-Induced Pyroptosis In Cell Culture Models, Zahra Tavakoli Dargani Jan 2018

Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Inhibit Doxorubicin-Induced Pyroptosis In Cell Culture Models, Zahra Tavakoli Dargani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Doxorubicin (Dox) is a potent chemotherapeutic drug used for the treatment of various cancers. Unfortunately, its use is limited as Dox induces adverse cardiotoxicity (DIC) and muscle toxicity (DIMT), which are mediated through oxidative stress, ER stress, and inflammation. However, it remains unknown whether Dox induces an inflammation mediated cell death, called “pyroptosis”. The current study is designed to determine whether Dox induces pyroptosis in cardiac and muscle cell culture models. Moreover, the protective effects of embryonic stem cell-derived exosomes (ES-Exos) in inhibiting pyroptosis will also be determined. For this purpose, we designed two different cell culture models using H9c2 …

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Interaction Between Income, Health Insurance, And Self-Rated Health: A Path Analysis., Atalie Ashley West Jan 2018

Interaction Between Income, Health Insurance, And Self-Rated Health: A Path Analysis., Atalie Ashley West

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The political focus of equitable health outcomes in the United States have long centered on access to medical care. However, there is compelling evidence that access to medical care is only the bare minimum necessary to achieve health, and the true influence of health insurance on health is still unclear. Widely accepted models of health estimate that less than 20% of health outcomes can be attributed to clinical care, while greater than 50% is related to social and economic determinants of health, with income being the most consistent predictor. As a result, this study investigated whether earned income is related …

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Knowledge And Attitudes Regarding The Recent Zika Outbreak Among A Sample Of South Florida Residents, Mohamed Elakkari Jan 2018

Knowledge And Attitudes Regarding The Recent Zika Outbreak Among A Sample Of South Florida Residents, Mohamed Elakkari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

South Florida has had the largest number of U.S. Zika infection cases during the recent outbreak. This study aimed at assessing South Floridians' basic knowledge, perceptions of the seriousness and susceptibility to Zika infection, their information sources and needs, as well as their attitudes towards the protective measures proposed by the CDC. We also wanted to assess whether any of those factors have affected the frequency of participants' undertaking of the protective behaviors. To this end, we designed an online questionnaire and surveyed the responses of five hundred South Floridians (Age=18-78 years). We found significant gaps in participants' knowledge about …

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Dissecting The Components Of Neuropathic Pain, Dale George Jan 2018

Dissecting The Components Of Neuropathic Pain, Dale George

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pain is a public health issue affecting the lives of nearly 116 million adults in the US, annually. Understanding the physiological and phenotypic changes that occur in response to painful stimuli is of tremendous clinical interest, but, the complexity of pain and the lack of a representative in vitro model hinders the development of new therapeutics. Pain stimuli are first perceived and transmitted by the neurons within the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) which become hyperexcitable under these conditions. It has now been established that satellite glial cells (SGCs) that ensheathe the DRG cell body actively contribute to this neuronal dysregulation. …

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Integration Of Fundamental Research And Cer: The Role Of Authenticity In Developing Views On The Nature Of Teaching, Learning, And Doing Science, Julie Donnelly Jan 2018

Integration Of Fundamental Research And Cer: The Role Of Authenticity In Developing Views On The Nature Of Teaching, Learning, And Doing Science, Julie Donnelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an integration of fundamental research and chemical education. It begins with two nonlinear spectroscopic studies of compounds important to the study of brain chemistry. In Chapter 2, we present a novel method using quantum mechanics for modelling ligand docking and the potential of nonlinear circular dichroism for elucidating the mechanism of cannabinoids docking to their receptor, a contribution to studies of varying psychological effects of cannabinoids. Considering existent challenges with measuring this phenomenon, in Chapter 3, we evaluate two-photon absorption properties of Thioflavin T (ThT) in varying glycerol/water content solutions and discuss the enhancement of nonlinear absorption …

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Nanoscale Characterization And Mechanism Of Electroless Deposition Of Silver Metal, Christopher Grabill Jan 2018

Nanoscale Characterization And Mechanism Of Electroless Deposition Of Silver Metal, Christopher Grabill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation of the nanoscale characteristics and mechanism of electrolessly deposited silver metal seeded by gold nanoparticles. The process of growing seed-nanoparticles on a polymer surface was studied. Several bifunctional amines and organic reducing agents were used to explore how these chemical factors affect the size and distribution of gold nanoparticles formed at the interface. The nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). An electroless deposition (ED) bath developed by Danscher was selected to study electroless deposition of silver in detail. The chemical species in the bath …

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Split Aptameric Turn-On Fluorescence Sensor For Detection Of Sequence Specific Nucleic Acid At Ambient Temperature, Nanami Kikuchi Jan 2018

Split Aptameric Turn-On Fluorescence Sensor For Detection Of Sequence Specific Nucleic Acid At Ambient Temperature, Nanami Kikuchi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) enable sensitive detection of low density infections that microscopy and rapid diagnostic test are not capable of detecting. They enable quantitative and qualitative nucleic acid detection, genotype analysis, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection. Current state of the art molecular probes used with NAATs includes molecular beacon (MB), Taqman and its variations. This work presents novel molecular probe designed from Spinach and Dapoxyl aptamers. The aptamers are split into two parts (split aptamer), allowing greater sensitivity and selectivity towards fully complementary nucleic acid analyte. The major advantage of split aptamer probe over state-of-the-art fluorescent probes …

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Celebrities, Fans, And Queering Gender Norms: A Critical Examination Of Lady Gaga's, Nicki Minaj's, And Fans' Use Of Instagram, Brandy Dieterle Jan 2018

Celebrities, Fans, And Queering Gender Norms: A Critical Examination Of Lady Gaga's, Nicki Minaj's, And Fans' Use Of Instagram, Brandy Dieterle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation used queer rhetoric as a lens for studying queering gender norms on Instagram by using Lady Gaga's, Nicki Minaj's, and fan posts as case studies. The research considers how celebrities may use social media, like Instagram, for queering gender norms, and what this might look like. This research also aimed to better understand if and how fans may take up celebrities' efforts at queering gender norms and, in turn, queer gender norms in their own Instagram posts where they tag Gaga or Minaj. To conduct this research, I took a multimodal methodological approach and collected and coded 1,000 …

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The Impact Of A Neurofeedback Training Intervention On College Students' Levels Of Anxiety, Stress, Depression, And Cortisol, Caitlyn Bennett Jan 2018

The Impact Of A Neurofeedback Training Intervention On College Students' Levels Of Anxiety, Stress, Depression, And Cortisol, Caitlyn Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety, depression, and stress are three of the most common experiences that impact college student functioning and academic achievement. At least one in six college students struggle with anxiety, increasing risk for developing depressive symptoms or disorders that further impact wellness. However, as mental health concerns increase across campuses, universities are not equipped to meet the demand of mental health support for college students. Neurofeedback (NF) training presents as an innovative intervention to treat anxiety, depression, and stress as it is designed to regulate brain processes in an effort to increase more effective brain functioning. A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group …

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An Exploratory Analysis Of A Five Minute Speech Sample Of Mothers Of Children With Selective Mutism, Lisa Kovac Jan 2018

An Exploratory Analysis Of A Five Minute Speech Sample Of Mothers Of Children With Selective Mutism, Lisa Kovac

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Selective mutism (SM), an anxiety disorder wherein children have difficulty speaking or communicating when they are uncomfortable, is relevant for the early childhood population as symptoms often manifest upon school entry (Steinhausen & Juzi, 1996) and early treatment leads to better treatment prognosis (Oerbeck, Stein, Wentzel-Larsen, Langsrud & Kristensen, 2014). Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini and Keller, (2013) utilized an integrative behavioral treatment for children (ages 4-8) with SM and reported a 75% treatment responder status after 24 weeks of therapy. Their mothers are the focus of this study. This exploratory study examined the content of Five Minute Speech Samples at baseline …

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When Coquis Sing: Introducing Young Audiences To Death And Bereavement Through An Original Play, Michelle Loricco Jan 2018

When Coquis Sing: Introducing Young Audiences To Death And Bereavement Through An Original Play, Michelle Loricco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis documents the play development process of When Coquis Sing, an original play for young people that introduces the death of a parent on stage. Through the analysis of research from leading child psychologists and practical instruction from the Dougy Center, the National Center for grieving children and their families, this research defines important terms and demystifies language surrounding death to aid caregivers in having clear and concise conversations with children about death. The purpose of this document is to counter the American cultural perception of death as a taboo topic for children. Hosting open conversations about death leads …

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The Power Of Play: Creating A Theatre For The Very Young Experience, Maria Katsadouros Jan 2018

The Power Of Play: Creating A Theatre For The Very Young Experience, Maria Katsadouros

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The opportunity to enhance the sense of fulfillment necessary in revolutionizing and liberating a person's daily life, regardless of their age, can be found in the manifestation of play. It is through the acknowledgment of instinct, nature, and discovery that play reveals its power. As a Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) practitioner, I utilize creative play to inspire exploration and innovation among students under the age of six. However, what are the ways in which theatre, specifically TVY, invites all generations of people to experience the power of play? This thesis documents the three-year development of When Pigs Fly, …

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Lexico-Grammatical Complexity In Eap Student Writing: A Learner Corpus Analysis, Ekaterina Goussakova Jan 2018

Lexico-Grammatical Complexity In Eap Student Writing: A Learner Corpus Analysis, Ekaterina Goussakova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this descriptive linguistic study, the lexico-grammatical complexity of placement and exit English for Academic Purposes (EAP) student writing samples was analyzed using corpus linguistic methods to explore language development as a result of student enrollment in the EAP program. Writing samples were typed, matched, and tagged. A concordance software was used to produce lexical realizations of grammatical features. A comparison was made of normed frequency counts for nine phrasal and clausal features as well as raw frequencies for type to token ratio (TTR), average word length, and word count. In addition, the contribution of variables such as advanced grammar …

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From Excited Charge Dynamics To Cluster Diffusion: Development And Application Of Techniques Beyond Dft And Kmc, Shree Ram Acharya Jan 2018

From Excited Charge Dynamics To Cluster Diffusion: Development And Application Of Techniques Beyond Dft And Kmc, Shree Ram Acharya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on developing reliable and accurate computational techniques which enable the examination of static and dynamic properties of various activated phenomena using deterministic and stochastic approaches. To explore ultrafast electron dynamics in materials with strong electron-electron correlation, under the influence of a laser pulse, an ab initio electronic structure method based on time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) in combination with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) is developed and applied to: 1) single-band Hubbard model; 2) multi-band metal Ni; and 3) multi-band insulator MnO. The ultrafast demagnetization in Ni reveal the importance of memory and correlation effects, leading to …

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Want Preschoolers To Become Successful? Allow Them To Play More, Kimberly Nassoiy Nov 2017

Want Preschoolers To Become Successful? Allow Them To Play More, Kimberly Nassoiy

UCF Forum

I work in a field where play reigns supreme. I’m an early childhood educator.

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Hastac Schedule, Hastac Presenters Nov 2017

Hastac Schedule, Hastac Presenters

HASTAC 2017

Full schedule of HASTAC 2017

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