Digital Commons Network^™

Modelling And Mitigating Interlocutor Confusion In Situated Human-Avatar And Human-Robot Interaction, Na Li

Dissertations

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is an important but challenging field focused on improving the interaction between humans and robots, to make the interaction more intelligent and effective. However, building a natural conversational HRI is an interdisciplinary challenge for scholars, engineers, and designers. Achieving successful conversational interaction with a social robot necessitates not only observing a user’s active participation in the interaction but also being aware of their emotional and attitudinal states as the interaction progresses. On the topic of attitudinal states, one field that has received little attention to date is monitoring the user for possible confusion states. Confusion is a …

Analysis Of Cryptic Variation Affecting Splicing In Early-Onset Mendelian Disease, Stephanie A. Felker

Dissertations

Genetic variants with poor annotation or unknown biological consequence are often systematically excluded in genomic analysis. Here I analyze variants near "poison exons” which are often absent from standard gene annotations and are alternative exons whose inclusion results in a premature termination codon. Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) often result from rare genetic variation, but the genomic testing yield for NDDs remains around 50%, suggesting some clinically relevant rare variants may be missed by standard analyses. Variants that alter poison exons inclusion can lead to loss-of-function and may be highly penetrant contributors to disease. I analyzed variants found by genome sequencing in …

Novel Approaches To The Analysis Of Gene Regulation Data, Brian S. Roberts

Dissertations

The study of gene regulation is crucial to understanding differentiation, cell specialization, and response to external stimuli observed in multicellular organisms. Genome-scale technologies enabled by high-throughput sequencing have allowed insight into many aspects of gene regulation. However, these techniques produce large, complex data that require the development of computation-based analytical techniques. I present here two analytical techniques that I have created for gene regulation data. First, I describe an approach for the analysis of sequencing-based reporter data that reveals new features of human genetic sequence that generate biased strand transcription even out of genomic context. Next, I present a package …

Modeling Freely Flying Insects Using A Strongly Coupled High Fidelity Numerical Framework, Jeremy A. Pohly

Dissertations

Flying insects, with their remarkable abilities, serve as fascinating sources of inspiration. Deciphering the complex mechanisms that enable monarch butterflies to migrate nearly 80 million times their body length, requires advanced modeling tools. These tools must capture the interplay between non-linear wing aerodynamics, dynamic body responses, and flexible wings, characteristics of the monarch. A novel framework is introduced that tightly integrates these physical phenomena through a dynamic relaxation scheme. The model’s application extends to examining the longitudinal flight of monarch butterflies and the hovering flight of fruit flies, bumblebees, and hawkmoths. A bio-inspired feedback controller ensures stable flight across all …

Model-Free Control Methods For Gait And Standing Push Recovery In Bipedal Humanoid Robots, Jerry Sweafford Jr.

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the use of model-free control methods in various aspects of effective balance and gait control for two-legged humanoid robots. It explores what it should mean to improve balance and gait control for robots and proposes gait fragility as an alternative framework to the prevailing yet undefined dynamic stability objective. Next, it presents techniques for trajectory tracking control without deriving dynamic models, using modifications of the conventional reinforcement learning approach. Finally, it explores the use of deep online reinforcement learning with disturbance and assistance curricula for learning standing push recovery in bipeds.

Covid Implications For Southeastern States: A Thematic Analysis Of Influences From Leaders And Health Agencies Social Media Platforms, Jennifer Suber

Dissertations

The problem investigated in this study was the conflicting social media messages between the Office of the President and the two preeminent national health organizations (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health) regarding the COVID-19 crisis. The purpose of this study was to explore alignment and disconnect in the social media messaging between the Office of the President and the top two health organizations and subsequent state government decisions around the COVID 19 pandemic in the southeast region of the United States. …

Method Development For The Quantification Of Heavy Metals In Biological Matrices And Its Application To Clinical And Environmental Samples, Michelle Catherine Gende

Dissertations

A three-fold approach was taken to develop a method for the detection of heavy metals in different matrices and had to be performed sequentially. The first was to develop a method capable of quantifying lead in complex matrices by graphite furnace atomic absorption (GFAA). The developed method needed to meet specific analytical requirements, namely, to be robust, sensitive, and accurate. Initially, four different sample preparation methods were explored for the quantification of lead using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as a sample matrix. The sample preparation procedures attempted were acidic dilution, matrix modification, conventional heating digestion, and microwave assisted acid digestion …

Role Of Micrornas In Intestinal Inflammation And Barrier Homeostasis After Alcohol And Burn Injury, Caroline J. Herrnreiter

Dissertations

MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression. Within the intestinal epithelium, miRNAs play a critical role in gut homeostasis and aberrant miRNA expression has been implicated in various disorders associated with intestinal inflammation and barrier disruption. In this study, we sought to profile changes in intestinal epithelial cell miRNA expression after alcohol and burn injury and elucidate their impact on inflammation and barrier integrity. In a more targeted approach, we began by focusing on anti-inflammatory miRNAs that, when downregulated, could exacerbate inflammation and result in intestinal barrier disruption. Using a mouse model of acute ethanol intoxication …

Edible Learning: School Food Service Programming And Experiential Education That Promote Sustainable Agriculture And Better Nutritional Health, Kristina Grasty

Dissertations

The typical American diet, which involves the consumption of processed foods high in saturated fats, sodium, and refined sugar, is known to be unhealthy. Millions of students in the U.S. suffer from symptoms of malnutrition, making them susceptible to compromising health conditions such as type 2 diabetes that may persist into adulthood. Well-designed school nutrition programs and action learning that promotes sustainable agriculture have the potential to enhance students’ nutritional well-being as well as their understanding of the ecological systems needed to support good nutrition. This dissertation uses documentary film as an exploratory, qualitative research method to investigate approaches used …

Speleogenomics Of Cave Life In North America, Joseph B. Benito

Dissertations

Cave organisms with their unusual morphologies including loss of eyes, lack of body pigmentation, and the compensatory improvement of nonvisual sensory systems have long intrigued and fascinated biologists. Due to their restricted distributions and life history traits, many troglomorphic (subterranean-adapted) species are considered imperiled and are high priority targets for protective management. With increasing anthropogenic threats to cave ecosystems, it is important to study cave-dwelling organisms, so that informed management decisions can be made on a regular basis. Detailed information on the genetics, taxonomy, distribution, and colonization history of cavernicoles are necessary to make rigorous ecological inference and develop respective …

Dynamic Control Of The Cardiac Calcium Pump, Sean Robert Cleary

Dissertations

The sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) sequesters Ca2+ into the endoplasmic reticulum of cells to establish a reservoir for Ca2+ signaling. In the heart, the activity of this transporter is tightly controlled via direct interactions with two competing regulatory micropeptides: phospholamban (PLB) and dwarf open reading frame (DWORF). PLB inhibits SERCA, while DWORF activates SERCA. These competing interactions determine cardiac performance by modulating the Ca2+ signals that drive the contraction/relaxation cycle. Previous studies indicated these SERCA-micropeptide interactions are Ca2+-sensitive; SERCA binds PLB more avidly at low cytoplasmic [Ca2+] but binds DWORF better when [Ca2+] is high. Here, FRET-microscopy demonstrated that this …

Artapanus And Greek Colonial Poetics, Scott Harris

Dissertations

The fragments of Artapanus have proven to be enigmatic for most scholars over the years and as such have not been treated in significant detail. Most scholarship has been restricted to two separate lines of enquiry: genre and ethnicity. I suggest that the resonance between Greek colonial poetics sheds new light on Artapanus's literary agenda: namely, that Artapanus is constructing and representing the memory of Jewish cultural and political foundations using broader Greek poetics which were used to describe the civic, cultic and geographic foundation of a colony. In this way, Artapanus is no longer an outlier within the Hellenistic …

Characterization Of Mroq-Dependent Regulation Of Staphylococcus Aureus Quorum Sensing, Madison Ruth Stock

Dissertations

Gram-positive bacteria produce small autoinducing peptides (AIPs), which act to regulate expression of genes that promote adaptive traits including virulence. The Gram-positive pathogen Staphylococcus aureus generates a cyclic AIP that controls expression of virulence factors via the accessory gene regulatory (Agr) system. S. aureus strains belong to one of four Agr groups (I, II, III, and IV), and each group harbors allelic variants of AgrD, the precursor of AIP. In a prior screen for S. aureus virulence factors, the Alonzo lab identified MroQ, a putative peptidase. A ΔmroQ mutant closely resembled a Δagr mutant and had significant defects in AIP …

A Comparison Of Virtual Vs. Traditional Cycling Exercise On Perceived Duration And Exercise Enjoyment, Kyle W. Reason

Dissertations

We compared perceived duration, ratings of enjoyment and RPE between virtual vs. standard cycling. Participants completed a VO2 peak test and four counterbalanced trials (two 20-min, two 40-min) one at each duration on the interactive Expresso bike (EXP) and a workload matched trial on a Velotron (VEL). Acute RPE were assessed every 5-min. Perceived duration (min) and exercise enjoyment were assessed 15-min post. No significant differences were found for perceived duration between trials (SDE 23.9 ± 8.4; SDV 27.1 ± 9.6; LDE 40.0 ± 12.1; LDV 38.9 ± 10.8). For long duration expresso (LDE) RPE-overall were significantly lower at 25, …

Improving The Stimulation Selectivity In The Human Cochlea By Strategic Selection Of The Current Return Electrode, Ozan Cakmak

Dissertations

The hearing quality provided by cochlear implants are poorly predicted by computer simulations. A realistic cochlear anatomy is crucial for the accuracy of predictions. In this study, the standard multipolar stimulation paradigms are revisited and Rattay’s Activating Function is evaluated in a finite element model of a realistic cochlear geometry that is based on µ-CT images and a commercial lead. The stimulation thresholds across the cochlear fibers were investigated for monopolar, bipolar, tripolar, and a novel (distant) bipolar electrode configuration using an active compartmental nerve model based on Schwartz-Eikhof-Frijns membrane dynamics. The results suggest that skipping of the stimulation point …

Photonic Monitoring Of Atmospheric Fauna, Adrien P. Genoud

Dissertations

Insects play a quintessential role in the Earth’s ecosystems and their recent decline in abundance and diversity is alarming. Monitoring their population is paramount to understand the causes of their decline, as well as to guide and evaluate the efficiency of conservation policies. Monitoring populations of flying insects is generally done using physical traps, but this method requires long and expensive laboratory analysis where each insect must be identified by qualified personnel. Lack of reliable data on insect populations is now considered a significant issue in the field of entomology, often referred to as a “data crisis” in the field. …

Integrated Machine Learning And Optimization Approaches, Dogacan Yilmaz

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the integration of machine learning and optimization. Specifically, novel machine learning-based frameworks are proposed to help solve a broad range of well-known operations research problems to reduce the solution times. The first study presents a bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory framework to learn optimal solutions to sequential decision-making problems. Computational results show that the framework significantly reduces the solution time of benchmark capacitated lot-sizing problems without much loss in feasibility and optimality. Also, models trained using shorter planning horizons can successfully predict the optimal solution of the instances with longer planning horizons. For the hardest data set, …

Interactions Of Amyloid Peptides With Lipid Membranes, Yanxing Yang

Dissertations

The aggregation of amyloid proteins into fibrils is a hallmark of several diseases including Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s, and Type II diabetes. This aggregation process involves the formation of small size oligomers preceding the formation of insoluble fibrils. Recent studies have shown that these oligomers are more likely to be responsible for cell toxicity than fibrils. A possible mechanism of toxicity involves the interaction of oligomers with the cell membrane compromising its integrity. In particular, oligomers may form pore-like structures in the cell membrane affecting its permeability or they may induce lipid loss via a detergent-like effect. This dissertation aims to …

Amphiphilic Block Copolymers And The Applications In Therapeutics Delivery, Jie Dou

Dissertations

Well-defined thermo-responsive triblock copolymers containing polyethylene oxide (PEO) and poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) PNIPAM are synthesized by a type of living controlled polymerization, named iniferter polymerization. The polymers are amphiphilic in nature and are self-assembled into a micelle. Their properties and application are characterized and investigated in this work.

Foremost, the initiator of the polymerization (iniferter) is designed and synthesized by condensation polymerization, where PEO is incorporated into the structure to improve biocompatibility, which has great potential for biological application. Moreover, this iniferter reagent could be applied to more than 70 percent of vinyl monomers.

NIPAM, a commercial vinyl monomer, is chosen …

Biotransformation And Biodefluorination Of Fluorotelomer Carboxylic Acids, Chen Wu

Dissertations

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a class of emerging contaminants of concern, have attacked unprecedented attention given their prevalent detection and adverse health effects. Primary regulatory attention has been focused on PFOA, PFOS, and other perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). Recent investigations revealed that fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (FTCAs), particularly 5:3 FTCA and 6:2 FTCA, were dominant in landfill leachates and other environmental matrixes. FTCAs are also found as common intermediates during the biotransformation of PFAA precursors. Unfortunately, FTCAs have higher bioaccumulating potential and are at least two orders more toxic than their corresponding PFCAs. However, information regarding the potentials and mechanisms of …

A Novel Biomaterial Platform For Cardiac Tissue Engineering, Andrew House

Dissertations

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. With a growing demand for in vitro cardiac models that can recapitulate the complex physiology of the cardiac tissue, there is a desire to create novel therapies and treatments. However, due to a lack of fundamental understanding of the heart's inflammatory response to myocardial infarction, the development of new therapies is both time consuming and costly. In this work, a novel approach to fabricating a dynamic hydrogel cardiac platform is reported. This platform better mimics the dynamic changes occurring in the native cardiac tissue microenvironment during cardiac …

Angiogenic Supports For Microvascular Engineering, Zain Siddiqui

Dissertations

Ischemic tissue disease is caused by a lack of circulation / blood supply to tissue. This can be treated by introducing a number of angiogenic (pro-blood vessel forming) factors into the tissue. This work presents strategies for ischemic tissue treatment utilizing a novel proangiogenic self-assembling peptide hydrogel platform. To demonstrate the utility of this platform, its use alone as an angiogenic therapeutic (both alone as a self-assembling hydrogel and with two-component systems), and its ability to vascularize implants is explored. Due to these angiogenic scaffolds demonstrating efficacy to regenerate microvasculature, this work evaluates diseases that can be treated by the …

Investigating The Involvement Of The Tick Vector In The Induction Of Alpha-Galactose Hypersensitivity (Alpha-Gal Syndrome, Red Meat Allergy) In The United States., Gary Crispell

Dissertations

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS or sometimes called red meat allergy) is a result of the development of specific IgE antibodies to the oligosaccharide galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-gal) after a person has had exposure to tick bites. This dissertation investigates four common tick species found in North America: the lone-star tick (Amblyomma americanum), the Gulf-Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) for the presence of α-gal by utilizing a combination of immunoproteomic approaches and carbohydrate analysis techniques.

Anti-α-gal IgM antibodies (M86) were used in immunoblotting to detect …

Policy Implications Of Managing Biodiversity And Natural Resources Across International Boundaries, Dillon Brown

Dissertations

Fisheries Management under the best of scenarios is a complex action. It requires thoughtful consideration of resources that tend to be out of sight, widely distributed, highly variable both spatially and temporally, and present dramatic variation in life history and ecology. No one management approach has been developed which can effectively incorporate all these variables. Add to this the issue of transnational boundary movements of these resources, and one discovers that this complex issue needs to be addressed by multiple entities, agencies, and nations to have any chance of success.

This research set out to discover ways in which fisheries …

The Role Of Mate Seeking Motives, Status Acquisition Motives, And Dark Personality In Predicting Responses To An Aggression-Provoking Situation, Savannah Merold

Dissertations

Aggressive behavior is associated with many adverse consequences, prompting extensive research on the potential adaptive functions of aggression. For example, there is evidence that aggression may be beneficial for attaining status and attracting a potential mate (e.g., Buss & Dedden, 1990; Daly & Wilson, 1988; Griskevicius et al., 2009). Additionally, several personality traits have been identified as robust predictors of aggressive behavior (e.g., psychopathic, Machiavellian, narcissistic, and sadistic traits; Chester et al., 2019; Neumann & Hare, 2008; Paulhus & Jones, 2017; Twenge & Campbell, 2003). These two research traditions (i.e., evolutionary and personality) have remained separate, with few studies combining …

Ellerhein Girls' Choir: Seventy Years Of Choral Excellence, Bobby Helms

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

For hundreds of years, choral music has been central to Estonian culture. Prior to its founding in 1918, music and choral singing were deeply ingrained into the hearts and souls of the Estonian people. In 1869, Estonia, known as a nation of singing, held its first song festival. It continues to be held every five years. Thousands of choral members participate as part of the mass choir and join together raising their voices to celebrate the independence of Estonia. Although there are many choirs in Estonia, few have gained the status of Ellerhein Girls' Choir.

Ellerhein’s history of choral …

A Comparative Study Of Instructional Perspectives Among Learning And Development Practitioners, Merzudin Selimovic

Dissertations

The instructional perspectives of learning and development practitioners have a critical impact on their learners. This study aimed to determine if a relationship existed between years of experience of a learning and development practitioner and how they score on the seven factors of Henschke’s (1989) Modified Instructional Perspectives Inventory (MIPI). The MIPI consisted of seven factors: 1) Teacher Empathy with Learners, 2) Teacher Trust of Learners, 3) Planning and Delivery of Instruction, 4) Accommodating Learner Uniqueness, 5) Teacher Insensitivity Toward Learners, 6) Learner-centered Learning Process (Experience-based Learning Techniques), and 7) Teacher-centered Learning Process. The MIPI is a revised version of …

Algebraic Reasoning And Conceptual Understanding: A Mixed Methods Comparison Of In-Person And Virtual Classroom Strategies, Erneice J. Jackson

Dissertations

Algebraic reasoning is the beginning school of thought to critical thinking. Employers are looking for this 21st century skill. The purpose of this research was to investigate equity in mathematics education using the NCTM Teaching and Learnings Beliefs Survey. Four area were studied: the number of years in education, the degree earned, the grade level taught in education, and the number of years in an educator’s teaching position. A mixed methods inventory was used. Most results were not rejected in this study. Two statements in the survey warranted a discussion. Recommendations were made for further research.

Prenatal Opioid Use And Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Review Of The Neurophysiological, Neuropsychological, And Behavioral/Emotional/Social Impacts In The Pediatric Population, Candice Gore

Dissertations

The opioid epidemic over the past two decades has raised concerns regarding the developmental fetal impact of prenatal opioid use. Research in this area continues to grow, but largely has focused on treatment for neonates experiencing withdrawal symptoms postnatally. Long term clinical implications for this at-risk population have not been studied extensively leaving many gaps in research and highlighting the need for future empirical studies. This literature review will examine the neurophysiological, neuropsychological, and the behavioral/social/emotional impacts on infants, toddlers, and school aged children who were prenatally exposed to opioids with or without the diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome. Providing …

Lifestyle Choices Related To Food Consumption And Their Relationship To Depression, Steven L. Jennings Jr.

Dissertations

Dieting, or the act of restricting oneself to small amounts or particular kinds of foods on the basis of health, spirituality, lifestyle, and moral decisions, is a practice that dates to 1066 A.D. However, with social media being as influential as it is, one might believe dieting is a new obsession or at least an obsession to which popular culture is returning. Despite this, it is only in recent years that researchers have begun to focus on the health benefits of such behaviors. The present study was designed to take this focus a step further by exploring the potential risks …