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Phenotypic And Genotypic Characterization Of Lumbosacral Stenosis In Labrador Retrievers, Meenakshi Mukherjee Jan 2016

Phenotypic And Genotypic Characterization Of Lumbosacral Stenosis In Labrador Retrievers, Meenakshi Mukherjee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lumbosacral stenosis (LS) is a structural narrowing of the spinal canal in the canine lumbosacral spine. Large-sized working and sporting dog breeds such as Labrador retrievers are predisposed for reasons that are incompletely understood. Early diagnosis is essential for maximizing the quality of life, and minimizing the likelihood of early retirement in working dogs. Lumbosacral stenosis is usually considered to be a condition associated with degenerative changes observed with normal aging, however presence of the disease in young and middle aged working dogs has also been reported. This leads to the probable theory that some dogs in large breeds like …

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Controller Synthesis Of Multi-Axial Robotic System Used For Wearable Devices, Qian Mou Jan 2016

Controller Synthesis Of Multi-Axial Robotic System Used For Wearable Devices, Qian Mou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Wearable devices are commonly used in different fields to help improving performance of movements for different groups of users. The long-term goal of this study is to develop a low-cost assistive robotic device that allows patients to perform rehabilitation activities independently and reproduces natural movement to help stroke patients and elderly adults in their daily activities while moving their arms. In the past few decades, various types of wearable robotic devices have been developed to assist different physical movements. Among different types of actuators, the twisted-string actuation system is one of those that has advantages of light-weight, low cost, and …

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Gender Estimation From Fingerprints Using Dwt And Entropy, Sneha Nagabhyru Jan 2016

Gender Estimation From Fingerprints Using Dwt And Entropy, Sneha Nagabhyru

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gender estimation from fingerprints have wide range of applications, especially in the field of forensics where identifying the gender of a criminal can reduce the list of suspects significantly. Although there have been quite a few research papers in the field of gender estimation from fingerprints most of those experiments used a lot of features but were only able to achieve poor classification results. That being the motivation behind the study we successfully proposed two different approaches for gender estimation from fingerprints and achieved high classification accuracy.;In this study we have developed two different approaches for gender estimation from fingerprints. …

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Exploiting Random Walks For Robust, Scalable, Structure-Free Data Aggregation And Routing In Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (Manets), Masahiro Nakagawa Jan 2016

Exploiting Random Walks For Robust, Scalable, Structure-Free Data Aggregation And Routing In Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (Manets), Masahiro Nakagawa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The focus of this thesis is on the design of scalable data aggregation protocols for Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). Data aggregation Protocols that rely on network structures such as trees or backbones are not well suited for MANETs because the underlying topology of MANETs is constantly changing. On the other hand, unstructured techniques such as flooding and gossiping have a high messaging overhead and take a long time to finish. Therefore, in this thesis, we explore the use of random walks as a structure-free alternative for data aggregation in MANETs.;The basic idea is to introduce one or more tokens that …

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Associations Among Task Self-Efficacy, Physical Activity And Subjective Wellbeing, Abigail M. Nehrkorn Jan 2016

Associations Among Task Self-Efficacy, Physical Activity And Subjective Wellbeing, Abigail M. Nehrkorn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The physical and psychological health benefits resulting from physical activity engagement have been documented in previous literature, including the connection between physical activity and subjective wellbeing (SWB). Associations have also been found between task-related self-efficacy and physical activity, connecting these concepts to Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 1982, 1997), such that retaining a higher belief in one's physical activity abilities has been associated with successful physical activity engagement. Previous literature has documented these separate associations, but not as much focus has been placed on examining task self-efficacy, physical activity, and SWB in one model, especially during the time of …

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Numerical Modeling And Simulations For Techno-Economic Assessment Of Non-Conventional Energy Systems, Manish Nandanwar Jan 2016

Numerical Modeling And Simulations For Techno-Economic Assessment Of Non-Conventional Energy Systems, Manish Nandanwar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The techno-economic analyses of two non-conventional energy systems -- enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and natural gas hydrate systems were performed using a numerical simulation approach. These energy systems, which are still in the development stage and not yet commercialized, are characterized by common components, which are surface plant facilities and subsurface fluid flow and heat transfer. This study aims at a better understanding and advanced evaluation of energy potential as well as the economic viability of these systems by the development of new robust numerical models in order to obtain a more realistic representation of the physical systems.;The first part …

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Targeting The Peripheral Immune System As A Source Of Precision Stroke Biomarkers: Implications For Clinical Diagnostics And Immunotherapeutics, Grant C. O'Connell Jan 2016

Targeting The Peripheral Immune System As A Source Of Precision Stroke Biomarkers: Implications For Clinical Diagnostics And Immunotherapeutics, Grant C. O'Connell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Early and accurate diagnosis of stroke improves the probability of positive outcome, however the tools available to clinicians for the identification of stroke are limited. It is well established that the peripheral immune system responds robustly to ischemic brain injury, and thus may be a viable source of stroke biomarkers. The objective of this work was to utilize high throughput transcriptomics in combination with machine learning techniques to identify patterns of gene expression in peripheral whole blood with the potential to diagnose ischemic stroke, and to further determine the role of such gene expression patterns within the context of stroke …

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Disaggregating Behavioral And Psychological Components Of Religious And Spiritual Development Across Adolescence: Variations By Geographic Location, Rebecca Olson Jan 2016

Disaggregating Behavioral And Psychological Components Of Religious And Spiritual Development Across Adolescence: Variations By Geographic Location, Rebecca Olson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Religious behavior and spirituality have been consistently found to be associated with a host of positive youth outcomes including increased grade point average (Ferris, Oosterhoff, & Metzger, 2013) and community service (Paxton, Reith, & Glanville, 2014) and decreased substance use (Milot & Ludden, 2009). However, few studies have investigated how religious behavior and spirituality uniquely and interactively predict these outcomes, as well as how these associations vary across city and rural contexts. The current study sought to investigate how religious behavior and spirituality predict youth outcomes in both rural and city youth populations. Participants included 743 youth from a mid-sized …

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Nutritional Consequences Of Various Ingredients In Broilers, Turkeys, And Swine, Kolby L. Foltz Jan 2016

Nutritional Consequences Of Various Ingredients In Broilers, Turkeys, And Swine, Kolby L. Foltz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Experiments were conducted to evaluate various ingredients' effects on broiler, turkey, and porcine performance, as well as feed mill efficacy. In chapter 2, the effects of zinc (Zn) supplement source and corn particle size on broiler performance, breast yield, and tibia ash were assessed from d 1-40. Zinc treatments included a basal diet (no added Zn), 80 mg/kg Zn sulfate, and three diets with 40 mg/kg Zn sulfate + 40 mg/kg of varying Zn amino acid chelates, and corn particle size was either 550 mum or 1,050 mum. Broilers fed diets containing 550 ?m corn had higher feed intake (FI) …

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Characterization Of Nox Emissions From Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles During Off-Cycle Operation, Ranjith Reddy Kalluri Jan 2016

Characterization Of Nox Emissions From Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles During Off-Cycle Operation, Ranjith Reddy Kalluri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Persisting air quality problems in the US have triggered several policy responses that are targeted at lowering the emissions of light-duty vehicles. In addition, the promulgation of Clean Air Act of 1963 and other stringent emissions regulations in the recent times (USEPA Tier 2 Bin 5) to improve the quality of ambient air, mandated the OEMs to develop advanced engine combustion strategies and after-treatment pathways to minimize NOx, PM emissions and attain these ultra-low regulatory targets. Significant difference in emissions rates between certification cycles and real world operation has been observed.;The objective of this study is to conduct in-use emissions …

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Large Deflection Analysis Of Composite Beams, Sai Manohari Kancharla Jan 2016

Large Deflection Analysis Of Composite Beams, Sai Manohari Kancharla

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A beam made of composite material undergoing large deflections is analyzed based on a higher-order shear deformation theory. Composite materials offer several advantages over conventional materials in the form of improved strength to weight ratio, high impact strength, corrosion resistance, and design flexibility. The Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is valid only for small deflections and may be too restrictive in a number of applications. The formulation of the large deflection analysis of composite beams is carried out using the principle of virtual work. The spatial discretization is done using an h-p version finite element method. The nonlinear large deflection equations are …

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Evaluating The Performance Of A Large-Scale Facial Image Dataset Using Agglomerated Match Score Statistics, Mounica Kamireddy Jan 2016

Evaluating The Performance Of A Large-Scale Facial Image Dataset Using Agglomerated Match Score Statistics, Mounica Kamireddy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biometrics systems are experiencing wide-spread usage in identification and access control applications. To estimate the performance of any biometric systems, their characteristics need to be analyzed to make concrete conclusions for real time usage. Performance testing of hardware or software components of either custom or state-of-the-art commercial biometric systems is typically carried out on large datasets. Several public and private datasets are used in current biometric research. West Virginia University has completed several large scale multimodal biometric data collection with an aim to create research datasets that can be used by disciplines concerning secured biometric applications. However, the demographic and …

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Beyond High And Lonesome: A Comparative Analysis Of Early Male And Contemporary Female Bluegrass Vocal Styles, Hillary C. Kay Jan 2016

Beyond High And Lonesome: A Comparative Analysis Of Early Male And Contemporary Female Bluegrass Vocal Styles, Hillary C. Kay

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis is a comparative analysis of the bluegrass vocal styles of early male performers of the 1940s and 50s and contemporary female performers actively performing between 2001 and 2016. Four songs were selected from the standard bluegrass repertoire, each one having been recorded by both an early male performer and a contemporary female performer. The three body chapters of the study draw comparisons between the male performers, between the female performers, and then between the two groups. The aims of this study are to better understand 1) How bluegrass singing, which is rooted in male vocal production, is performed …

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Design And Development Of A Twisted String Exoskeleton Robot For The Upper Limb, Lei Jiang Jan 2016

Design And Development Of A Twisted String Exoskeleton Robot For The Upper Limb, Lei Jiang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

High-intensity and task-specific upper-limb treatment of active, highly repetitive movements are the effective approaches for patients with motor disorders. However, with the severe shortage of medical service in the United States and the fact that post-stroke survivors can continue to incur significant financial costs, patients often choose not to return to the hospital or clinic for complete recovery. Therefore, robot-assisted therapy can be considered as an alternative rehabilitation approach because the similar or better results as the patients who receive intensive conventional therapy offered by professional physicians.;The primary objective of this study was to design and fabricate an effective mobile …

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Does Enhanced Nitrogen Input Affect The Structure And Composition Of Forest Vegetation? Results From Long-Term Experiments At The Fernow Experimental Forest, Christopher Alan Walter Jan 2016

Does Enhanced Nitrogen Input Affect The Structure And Composition Of Forest Vegetation? Results From Long-Term Experiments At The Fernow Experimental Forest, Christopher Alan Walter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition have been studied in many ecosystems, and one general pattern of response that has emerged from these studies is a decline in species richness. Globally, anthropogenic deposition of N has more than doubled the ambient input of N in terrestrial ecosystems, and the rate at which humans produce reactive N continues to increase annually. As a result of both the current and projected future rates of N input, N deposition is a threat to biodiversity worldwide and is projected to contribute, along with other global change factors, to species extinction. To prevent the loss …

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Investigations Into The Nature Of Magnetism In Transition-Metal-Phthalocyanines, Zhengjun Wang Jan 2016

Investigations Into The Nature Of Magnetism In Transition-Metal-Phthalocyanines, Zhengjun Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this dissertation, the nature of magnetism in transition-metal-doped phthalocyanines (TMPc, TM = Co, Ni, Cu, V, and Mn, chemical formula: C 32H16N8TM) is investigated by measuring their magnetization (M) and ac susceptibilities in magnetic fields up to 90 kOe and covering the wide temperature range of 0.5 K to 300 K. These low temperatures and high magnetic field measurements combined with detailed analysis of the data have provided new information about the nature of magnetism of TMPc. The powder samples used here were structurally characterized using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.;TMPc are a class of organic semiconductors with …

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Board Out Of Your Mind: Mapping Players' Mental Models Of Game Systems And Potentials For Systems-Thinking Instruction, Joe A. Wasserman Jan 2016

Board Out Of Your Mind: Mapping Players' Mental Models Of Game Systems And Potentials For Systems-Thinking Instruction, Joe A. Wasserman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite evidence that game-based instruction is effective, and suggestive evidence that they are specifically effective for teaching systems thinking---the ability to think about complex systems---the mechanisms behind this learning are not well understood. One promising perspective on game-based learning is rooted in the development of mental models of game systems. Mental models are cognitive representations of the perceived entities and relationships between entities in a system. This study explores the entities and entity relationships in novice players' mental models of an analog game. Grounded, interpretive analysis of mental models externalized through cognitive mapping identified five categories of entities: formal game …

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Perceptions Of The Bereaved: Attributions, Emotions, And Prosocial Behavior, Christine Weir Jan 2016

Perceptions Of The Bereaved: Attributions, Emotions, And Prosocial Behavior, Christine Weir

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study explored a new application of Weiner's Attributional Model to suicide bereavement, and how friends and coworkers respond in their emotions and prosocial behavior. This is a comprehensive theoretical model addressing how people respond to negative events occurring in the lives of others. Its premise is the influence of attributions on the behavior, affect, and cognitive processes of the helper. The model's broad underpinnings are that attributions for challenging behavior can in turn produce a crucial effect on helping behavior. Previous qualitative research on suicide survivors has suggested that attitudes and beliefs towards suicide survivors by those in the …

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Biology, Ecology And Efficacy Of Lecanicillium Muscarium As A Potential Fungal Biocontrol Of The Invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges Tsugae) On Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis), Kristen L. Wickert Jan 2016

Biology, Ecology And Efficacy Of Lecanicillium Muscarium As A Potential Fungal Biocontrol Of The Invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges Tsugae) On Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis), Kristen L. Wickert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is an exotic insect pest of eastern hemlock. The entomopathogen Lecanicillium muscarium, including the commercially available strain MycotalRTM, is a potential candidate for fungal biocontrol. There are many factors to consider when using a fungal biocontrol such as ecology and genetic variation of candidate strains and interactions with other fungi and life stages of the target insect pest. Efforts of this study focused on: 1) sampling for reservoirs for L. muscarium and other Lecanicillium spp., 2) elucidating interactions between Lecanicillium and other fungi present in hemlock tissues and 3) characterizing genetic diversity of Lecanicillium and subsequent …

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Utilization Risk Assessment And Thermal Conductivity Testing For The Low Temperature Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis For The Appalachian Basin, Kelydra Welcker Jan 2016

Utilization Risk Assessment And Thermal Conductivity Testing For The Low Temperature Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis For The Appalachian Basin, Kelydra Welcker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In order to alleviate the large carbon footprint of fossil fuel technology, renewable energy has begun to gain momentum with consumers and industries alike. Geothermal energy has the benefit of providing a reliable energy source with only 5% of the carbon dioxide emissions of fossil fuels, as well as provide a means of carbon sequestration. The application for this energy source is highly dependent on several factors, including reservoir characteristics, temperature, and regional demand. High temperature systems (>150 °C) are best suited for electricity production, while low and medium temperature reservoirs (<90 °C and 90-150 °C, respectively) may be better suited for direct use applications, such as manufacturing purposes or district heating and cooling for commercial and residential areas.;Enhanced, or engineered, geothermal systems (EGS) may provide a means to take advantage of geothermal reservoirs with lower available temperatures. To determine the efficacy of EGS technology in eastern United States, a play fairway analysis was performed on the Appalachian basin. Risk factors examined include thermal resource quality, natural reservoir quality, induced seismicity, and utilization opportunities, which is a focus of this work. Levelized cost of heat, or LCOH, was used to provide a comparison of factors, such as combination of capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and performance and fuel costs. To determine LCOH, commercial, residential, and infrastructure data were collected from the US Census and fed into GEOPHIRES, a program that uses surface piping, heat exchange equipment (residential and/or commercial), operations, upfront capital cost, and maintenance costs over the lifetime of a 30-year project. The impact of industrial demand on LCOH, such as process heating and cooling and HVAC, for dairy, wood drying, and paper mills were also examined.;Heat flow estimates are equally important in the selection of potential geothermal sites. Estimation of the temperature-at-depth uses heat flow, which is dependent on factors including geothermal gradient and thermal conductivities. Thermal conductivity is a function of depth and position, and for some models is calculated as a weighted average based on thicknesses of lithographic layers. Obtaining actual thermal conductivities can be challenging, and often require the use of databases to predict the geographic variation. For this project, thermal conductivities from Marion County well #244 rock cuttings were found using a portable electronic divided bar (PEDB) system and were compared to COSUNA estimates to assess the current model method.

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Eye Detection And Face Recognition Across The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Cameron F. Whitelam Jan 2016

Eye Detection And Face Recognition Across The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Cameron F. Whitelam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biometrics, or the science of identifying individuals based on their physiological or behavioral traits, has increasingly been used to replace typical identifying markers such as passwords, PIN numbers, passports, etc. Different modalities, such as face, fingerprint, iris, gait, etc. can be used for this purpose. One of the most studied forms of biometrics is face recognition (FR). Due to a number of advantages over typical visible to visible FR, recent trends have been pushing the FR community to perform cross-spectral matching of visible images to face images from higher spectra in the electromagnetic spectrum.;In this work, the SWIR band of …

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Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy Of Gaas Excitons And Quantum Microcavity Polaritons, Brian L. Wilmer Jan 2016

Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy Of Gaas Excitons And Quantum Microcavity Polaritons, Brian L. Wilmer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Light-matter interactions associated with excitons and exciton related complexes are explored in bulk GaAs and semiconductor microcavities using multidimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS). This approach provides rich spectra determining quantum excitation pathways, structural influences on the excitons, and coherence times.;Polarization, excitation density, and temperature-dependent MDCS is performed on excitons in strained bulk GaAs layers, probing the coherent response for differing amounts of strain. Biaxial tensile strain lifts the degeneracy of heavy-hole and light-hole valence states, leading to an observed splitting of the associated excitons at low temperature. Increasing the strain increases the magnitude of the heavy-/light- hole exciton peak splitting, induces …

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Using A Duration-Based Schedule Performance Index To Monitor The Performance Of Projects Including Estimating The Final Cost, Nooshin Yousefi Jan 2016

Using A Duration-Based Schedule Performance Index To Monitor The Performance Of Projects Including Estimating The Final Cost, Nooshin Yousefi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

One of the main concerns of project managers is monitoring the schedule performance of construction projects. A project manager needs tools to not only understand the status of project schedule performance, but also to find the causes of delays and the corresponding corrective actions. Hence, discovering time deviations from the project plan provides more reliable project schedule control. Applying statistical quality control charts on the project schedule performance index is suggested in this study. The use of quality control charts in this research monitors the process plan and provides first alarms for applying changes by detecting the time deviations over …

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Total Synthesis Of Ht-13-A And Ht-13-B, Total Synthesis Of Aurantioclavine, Progress Towards The Synthesis Of Cycloclavine, Yilin Zhang Jan 2016

Total Synthesis Of Ht-13-A And Ht-13-B, Total Synthesis Of Aurantioclavine, Progress Towards The Synthesis Of Cycloclavine, Yilin Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Total synthesis of tetracyclic indole alkaloid ht-13-A and ht-13-B has been accomplished from commercially available (S)-4-amino-2-hydroxybutyric acid and trans4-hydroxy-L-proline respectively. The key synthetic steps include an acyliminium ion allylation, a Mitsunobu reaction, a palladium-catalyzed Stille-Kelly cross coupling reaction, and a carbon monoxide mediated palladium-catalyzed reductive Nheterocyclization. The total synthesis of aurantioclavine has been studied. The synthesis commenced with 2-amino-3-nitrophenol. Key synthetic steps include a Stille coupling reaction, a Heck reaction, a Lewis acid mediated cyclization and a carbon monoxide mediated palladium-catalyzed reductive N-heterocyclization. In addition, the first asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-cycloclavine has been studied. Key synthetic steps include a …

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An Integrated Lateral Flow Device For Flow Control And Blood Separation, Veronica Betancur Calle Jan 2016

An Integrated Lateral Flow Device For Flow Control And Blood Separation, Veronica Betancur Calle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lateral flow devices (LFD) have been used and are promising in many applications, including point-of-care diagnosis in medical, clinical, food and environmental control and monitoring. In particular, disposable paper-based lateral flow strips utilize low-cost materials and do not require expensive fabrication instruments. Many examples of diagnostic tests have been developed using microfluidics paper analytical devices (muPADs), including tests for the detection of total glucose and protein in urine (colorimetric), detection of beta-galactosidase (fluorescence), and liver enzyme tests for monitoring the health of patients been treated with multiple medications for HIV and/or tuberculosis that can cause hepatotoxicity. However, there are constraints …

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Designing A Valid And Reliable Instrument To Measure Teachers' Use And Perceptions Of Initiatives That Address The Low Socioeconomic Achievement Gap In West Virginia Title I Schools, Rosemary Beatrice Coyle Anderson Jan 2016

Designing A Valid And Reliable Instrument To Measure Teachers' Use And Perceptions Of Initiatives That Address The Low Socioeconomic Achievement Gap In West Virginia Title I Schools, Rosemary Beatrice Coyle Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Initiatives that research tells us should be increasing achievement for poor children have not succeeded in reducing the achievement gap for the low socioeconomic subset in the United States and in West Virginia schools (Reardon, 2011; WVDE, 2009). This study developed a valid and reliable instrument to examine teachers' perceptions of the use of 16 research based initiatives that have been directed to improving the achievement gap of poor children. The research question was: What are the psychometric properties of a survey instrument that is designed to assess teachers' perceptions of the uses and effectiveness of reform initiatives that have …

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Dominant Controls On Organic-Rich Shale Deposition: Geochemical Evidences From The Marcellus Shale In The Appalachian Basin, Ruiqian Chen Jan 2016

Dominant Controls On Organic-Rich Shale Deposition: Geochemical Evidences From The Marcellus Shale In The Appalachian Basin, Ruiqian Chen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation presents new results of the linkages between primary productivity, bottom water redox conditions and clastic input associated with the Acadian orogeny of the Marcellus Shale.;Chapter 1 compares the isotopic and geochemical characteristics of sediments of a liquids-prone well (WV-7) in Wetzel County with a gas-prone well (WV-6) in Monongalia County, northern West Virginia. The difference in organic carbon isotopes indicates that the dominant organic matter preserved in each core is different: delta13Corg values are lighter on average in WV-6 compared with WV-7. A possible explanation is that a larger fraction of terrestrial organic matter was preserved in the …

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Beyond The What And How: Why Parents Want To Know About Their Adolescents' Lives., Elizabeth Yale Babskie Jan 2016

Beyond The What And How: Why Parents Want To Know About Their Adolescents' Lives., Elizabeth Yale Babskie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As adolescents spend more time away from home and increasingly engage in unsupervised activities, parents are challenged with allowing their children more responsibility while still promoting positive youth development (Smetana, Campione-Barr, & Metzger, 2006). Extant research shows that parents continue to play an important roll in facilitating positive adolescent development through their knowledge of what their adolescent children are doing and whom they are with when away from home or school (Racz & McMahon, 2011). Recent research has focused on understanding the sources of parents’ knowledge and has identified both parentdriven (rules, solicitation, indirect, covert) and adolescent-driven (disclosure, secrecy, concealment) …

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Controls On Ecosystem Nitrogen (N) Status And Carbon (C) Balance In Red Spruce Forests Located In A Region Of Historically High Atmospheric N Deposition., Kenneth R. Smith Jan 2016

Controls On Ecosystem Nitrogen (N) Status And Carbon (C) Balance In Red Spruce Forests Located In A Region Of Historically High Atmospheric N Deposition., Kenneth R. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) can have a strong influence on patterns of carbon (C) and N cycling in forest ecosystems. High-elevation red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) forests in the central Appalachian Mountains have historically been among the most sensitive ecosystems to the negative effects of N deposition. I examined the primary environmental factors that influence 1) N status, 2) belowground C balance, and 3) red spruce aboveground growth in seven high-elevation study sites that are located in an area where N deposition has been historically moderate to high. I established the seven sites in 2011 along a transect …

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Determination Of Material Properties For Progressive Damage Analysis In Carbon Epoxy Laminates Using Abaqus, Javier Cabrera Barbero Jan 2016

Determination Of Material Properties For Progressive Damage Analysis In Carbon Epoxy Laminates Using Abaqus, Javier Cabrera Barbero

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Well-designed laminated composites do not fail suddenly but rather develop microscopic progressive damage that leads to changes in macroscopic material response, such as matrix cracks, stiffness reduction, and failure. Simulation techniques are able to predict damage initiation and evolution as a function of service conditions. A method for obtaining material properties for damage analysis of Glass and Carbon fiber composites is proposed using a progressive damage analysis (PDA) model implemented in Abaqus.;The predictive capability of Progressive Damage Analysis (PDA) methods relies on material properties that characterize the ability of the composite to resist damage initiation and to delay damage progression. …

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