Digital Commons Network^™

Influence Of Functional Components On The Film Formation Of Colloidal Dispersions, Kevin Lee Rhudy

Dissertations

A number of colloidal dispersions were synthesized to advance knowledge and gain understanding regarding interactions between individual components and for elucidation of complex processes governing their film formation. These studies show that for methyl methacrylate/n-butyl acrylate (MMA/nBA) colloidal dispersions, the presence of functional components significantly affects film formation. The incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) into pMMA/nBA colloidal dispersions creates competing environments between the copolymer particle surfaces, aqueous phases, and dispersing agents which results in migration with self-induced stratification occuring during coalescence. pMMA/nBA/PVOH films stratify to form sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) rich film-air (F-A) interfaces, and the -SO3" moieties exhibit preferential …

Molecular Interactions Involved In The Biogenesis Of Bacterial Microcompartments, Balaraj Balaram Menon

Dissertations

This study was undertaken with the goal of gaining better insights into the assembly pathway of carboxysomes and related polyhedra. Aside from their similarity in size and shape, all known microcompartments package enzymes that mediate key reactions of metabolic pathways [1]. It remains unclear whether the sequestered enzymes participate in microcompartment assembly and/or contribute to the overall shape of the polyhedra. Genetic studies in Salmonella enterica have suggested that the shells of organelles involved in propanediol utilization assemble in the absence of encapsulated enzymes [2]. In this study, in vivo yeast two-hybrid screens, involving components of the ethanolamine utilization (Eut) …

Investigation Into Select Isoquinolines As A Putative Causal Agent Of Ethanol Addiction In Mammals, Jacob Christopher Strawbridge

Dissertations

Alcohol is the most abused drug in America today. The neurological root of the problem is still a much debated subject and many differing views exist on the nature of alcoholism, be it a social dysfunction or a neurochemical imbalance. Some researchers have proposed that a skewed metabolism of dopamine that results in the formation of tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) alkaloids plays a major role in the neurochemical acquisition and maintenance of alcohol addiction. In an effort to better understand the relationship of THIQ's to alcohol addiction, a series of experiments have been conducted. The chiral separation via high pressure liquid chromatography …

Functional Characterization And Assembly Studies Of Carboxysomes In Halothiobacillus Neapolitanus, Zhicheng Dou

Dissertations

Functional characterization and assembly studies of carboxysomes in Halothiobacillus neapolitanus were pursued in order to understand the roles of carboxysomes in the carbon metabolism in H. neapolitanus and the assembly of carboxysomes in vitro and in vivo. Previously, a low abundance H. neapolitanus carboxysomal protein, CsoSCA was identified as a novel carboxysomal shell-bound carbonic anhydrase. The enzyme is thought to dehydrate the cytosolic bicarbonate to CO2, the substrate of the RuBisCO packaged within the carboxysome [14, 21]. In this study, the carboxysomal shell was identified as a diffusion barrier for CO2 and O2 molecules. The shell-bound CsoSCA protein facilitates the …

Design, Synthesis, And Film Formation Of Fluorine Containing Colloidal Dispersions, Anuradha Misra

Dissertations

Fluoropolymers (FPs) have been subject of interest for many years, however due to extreme synthetic and processing conditions their applications have been limited. This dissertation focuses on design and synthesis of fluorine containing colloidal dispersions to advance limited knowledge and to gain further understanding of fluorine containing colloidal dispersions. Fluoroacrylates and fluoro methacrylates consisting of varying chain length of perfluoroalkyl side chain were copolymerized with methylmethacrylate (MMA) and n-butylacrylate (n-BA) under aqueous environment utilizing phospholipids (PLs) as dispersing agent. Morphologies of colloids, coalescence, and film formation processes after water evaporation was investigated using various microscopic probes such as transmission electron …

Teacher Evaluation Practices And Student Achievement, Lucy Kay Lyon

Dissertations

Extensive research has been conducted on improving student academic achievement and techniques to improve student learning. There has been little research that addresses the relationship between student achievement and teacher performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between performance-based teacher evaluation practices and increased student achievement. This study was conducted using the Top Ten Performing School Districts on the Missouri Assessment Program communication arts and mathematics tests and performance-based teacher evaluation systems. A relationship was found to exist between the inclusion of criteria specific to student achievement in the performance-based teacher evaluation program and ranking in …

Parent Involvement And Technologically-Based Communications In Missouri’S Top Performing Schools, Gina M. Wood

Dissertations

With ever-increasing accountability requirements, public schools need to seek the support of the most invested parties, the parents. Despite the good intentions of all involved, finding meaningful ways for schools and parents to collaborate on student learning remains a difficult task. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of Missouri parents and school personnel from the top-performing elementary schools in the state regarding involvement, to determine if a relationship existed between these attitudes and student achievement. Sixty-eight demographically diverse Missouri schools were included in this quantitative, correlational study. Examined were questionnaire items related to parental involvement and reported …

Effect Of A 15-Week Wellness Course On Health Indicators And Six Areas Of Wellness In College Students, Andrea Michelle Alameda

Dissertations

The current state of health of the United States, including physical inactivity, dietary intake, and overall lifestyle habits is of concern for educators. Specifically, the health of the college population appears to be under-represented in health and wellness research. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 15- week university wellness-based course on health indicators and six dimensions of wellness: physical, psychological, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual. The researcher hypothesized that students who participated in the wellnessbased course (intervention group) would experience positive health outcomes and increased perceptions of wellness in the six areas of wellness. The intervention group …

The Effectiveness Of Stepwise Discriminant Analysis As A Follow Up Procedure To A Significant Manova Using Both The F-Statistic And Partial R-Square Criterion, Raj K. Chandran

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Academic Performance In Missouri Public Schools, Brent M. Blevins

Dissertations

Understanding the effects of socioeconomic status on academic performance is important in determining effective and valid testing for all Missouri students. Determining the correlation between these two variables is important for all educators to understand, so that all students can achieve to their academic potential. Finding the correlation between academic performance and socioeconomic status can assist educators in determining instructional strategies that best fit each individual student. In this study the researcher analyzed the effects of socioeconomic status on the academic performance by retrieving data on the state mandated Missouri Assessment Program. The researcher analyzed fifty school districts on the …

Gender, Mathematics, Reading Comprehension And Science Reasoning As Predictors Of Science Achievement Among African-American Students At A Historical Black College Or University, Consuella Artiemese Davis

Dissertations

This study investigated predictors that influence the science achievement of African-American non-science majors in a Physical Science class. The population consisted of male and female college students enrolled in Physical Science courses at a historical black college or university (HBCU) located in the southeastern portion of the United States. A personal data information sheet was administered to 120 participants during the Fall of 2008. The personal data information sheet consisted of questions pertaining to the high school courses, students took in math, language arts and science. It also consisted of basic background information. Students also gave written consent for their …

African-American College Student Attitudes Toward Physics And Their Effect On Achievement, Carl Timothy Drake

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting the attitudes that African-American college students have towards introductory college physics. The population targeted for this study consisted of African-American males and females enrolled in introductory college physics classes at an urban public historical black college or university (HBCU) located in the southeastern United States. Nine of the Fennema- Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales, modified for physics, were used to analyze the attitudes of the 135 participants enrolled in an introductory college physics class. The nine scales used to measure the students' attitudes were Attitude Toward Success in Physics Scale (AS), …

Magnetic And Dielectric Properties Of Sulfonated (S) Poly[(Styrene)-(Ethylene-Co-Butylene)-(Styrene)] (Sebs) Block Copolymer/Magnetic Metal Oxide Nanocomposites Synthesized Via An In-Situ Precipitation Method, Sateesh Kumar Peddini

Dissertations

Block copolymer/magnetic metal oxide nanocomposites were synthesized by growing metal oxide nanoparticles (cobalt ferrite, CoFe204 and iron oxide, a-Fe203) in sulfonated (s) poly (styrene) (PS) block domains of sulfonated poly [(styrene)-(ethyleneco- butylene)-(styrene)] (SEBS) BCP preformed films via an in-situ precipitation method by dissolving the salts of respective metal chloride (s) in a suitable solvent that selectively swells the sPS regions. Inorganic uptake was determined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and it was observed that none of the samples incorporated more than 5 wt % of the inorganic component. Dynamical mechanical analysis was used to observe the changes in the glass transition …

Transmission And Guiding Of Fast Electrons Through Insulating Nanocapillaries And Comparison With Ion Guiding, Susanta Das

Dissertations

Transmission and guiding of fast electrons (500 and 1000 eV) through an insulating polyethylene terephthalate nanocapillary foil has been investigated and compared with results for slow highly charged ions. As for slow ions, guiding is attributed to charge-up of the inner walls near the capillary entrance, which, after a characteristic time, electrostatically deflects the traversing ions causing them to be guided through the sample along the capillary axis. The measurements were performed at WMU. Electron guiding is found to decrease faster with both energy and foil tilt angle than for ions. Ions lose negligible energy during the course of guiding, …

Low-Level Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In The Waters Of Michigan, Lisa M. Anderson

Dissertations

The results of this research are the product of a two year study funded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality with monies from the Clean Michigan Initiative. Low-level (part per billion range) pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the waters of Michigan were investigated. Five rivers in the State were sampled; including the Clinton, Grand, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, and Saginaw. Groundwater samples were obtained from two shallow municipal water wells also; one on the Grand River and one on the Kalamazoo River. The wells were sampled to determine if PPCPs in the river water were being drawn in by …

The Robustness Of Confidence Intervals For The Mean Of Delta Distribution, Mathew Anthony Cantos Rosales

Dissertations

The delta distribution is a mixture of a lognormal distribution and a distribution degenerate at zero. Interval estimators of the mean of delta distribution were proposed and examined under full assumption of the model. In this dissertation, robustness of these estimators is studied by comparing coverage properties when the data are contaminated. Simulation models have been considered to accommodate two types of contaminants: (1) data from lognormal distribution with higher level of skewness and (2) data from similar skewed distribution such as gamma, Weibull or Birnbaum-Saunders distributions with the same mean and variance as the original lognormal distribution. In addition, …

An Examination Of Alcohol Use In The Gastric Bypass Patient, Kathleen Winston Phd, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Introduction: Obesity and morbid obesity, along with their co-morbidities, are impacting the national and international healthcare delivery systems and policy agendas. Bariatric surgery is a dynamic and fast-changing medical and surgical practice designed to mitigate the consequences of 60 million obese adults in the United States alone. Alcohol consumption after gastric bypass surgery presents potential physiological and psychological problems. Purpose: Examine the prevalence and incidence of increased alcohol consumption among a group of post-gastric bypass patients; identify the relationship of the alcohol use with time since surgery, psychosocial issues (depressive symptomatology, anxiety, coping) and demographic variables. Theoretical Framework: Coping serves …

Novanet Online Curricula And The Course Completion Of Alternative High School Students, Margaret Elizabeth Munger

Dissertations

Studies on alternative schools have previously been qualitative in nature and provided information on the characteristics of a quality alternative school. Quantitative research in the area of alternative education has been limited. Previous research involving NovaNET Online Curriculum has centered on credit recovery, remediation and a small amount has been conducted on student use of the system. Currently, many alternative schools are using NovaNET or other online curricula to assist students move towards graduation without the possibility of losing credit due to poor attendance. The system is being marketed as a means for students to earn additional credits and progress …

Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of A Balanced School Calendar And Its Effects On Students In Poverty, Christopher S. Smith

Dissertations

The creation of this study came out of a need to increase achievement and support services for students living in poverty in the selected school district in Missouri. Due to the large amount of academic regression over the long summer break and the lack of consistent support services for students who live in poverty, a Balanced School Calendar (BSC) was investigated. The researchers conducted surveys and interviews to assess the level of support from parents, teachers, and administrators for a BSC school choice program as an option for implementation at a K-5 elementary school in the selected school district in …

Exploring The Effects Of School Calendars On Student Achievement, Malinda R. Meier

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a year-round calendar and an extended school year calendar, which had, in addition to extra days, specific teacher selection, extended professional development for teachers, and research based programs on student academic achievement. This special version of an extended school year was referred to as extended plus. To determine the effects of a year-round schedule, Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test scores of students attending school on a yearround schedule were compared to scores of students attending schools on a traditional schedule. To determine the effects of extended plus, MAP scores …

Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of A Balanced School Calendar And Its Effects On Students In Poverty, Kevin D. Huffman

Dissertations

The creation of this study came out of a need to increase student achievement and support services for students living in poverty in the selected school district in Missouri. Due to the large amount of academic regression over the long summer break and the lack of consistent support services for students in poverty, a Balanced School Calendar (BSC) was investigated. The researchers conducted surveys and interviews to assess the level of support from parents, teachers, and administrators to see if a BSC school choice program would be a viable option for implementation at a K-5 elementary school in the selected …

A Formative Experiment Investigating The Use Of Reflective Video Journals To Increase High School Students' Metacognition, Brian Jeffrey Dixon Edd

Dissertations

This study sought to determine the factors that enhance the effectiveness of reflective video journals to increase the metacognition of adolescent students. To achieve this pedagogical goal, this study followed the six-phase methodology of a formative experiment. Twelve high school students participated in a six- session after-school reflective video journaling program. Diverse data collection methods were used to determine the factors in the educational environment that enhance or inhibit students' metacognition, how the intervention and its implementation were necessarily modified to more effectively achieve the pedagogical goal, the potential impact of feedback and peer response, and any unanticipated positive or …

Electro Hydrodynamic Manipulation Of The Process Of Self-Assembly Of Particles At Fluid-Fluid Interfaces, Muhammad Mansoor Janjua

Dissertations

This dissertation is divided into two parts, first deals with the numerical study of motion of dielectric particles subjected to nonuniform electric fields and second deals with the process of self-assembly of particles at fluid-fluid interfaces and subjected to uniform electric field normal to the interface. In the numerical study, the particles are moved using a direct simulation scheme (DNS) in which the fundamental equations of motion of fluid and solid particles are solved without the use of models. The motion of particles is tracked using a distributed Lagrange multiplier method (DLM) and the electric force acting on the particles …

Optimizing Container Retrieval Operation At A Port Container Terminal, Dejan Besenski

Dissertations

In the presence of major challenges, where ports are striving to improve their operation and stay competitive in the global market, the issue of port efficiency, particularly the intelligent management of straddle carriers is investigated in this study. A new approach is presented that optimizes container handling equipment operation and is beneficial for the terminal operator in terms of improving productivity, providing faster service and reducing operating cost, Also, the solution provides acceptable service for truckers, The operational strategies presented are able to assess the operation from the truckers' and terminal operators' perspective.

The research is structured into four different …

Terahertz Response Of Microfluidic-Jetted Fabricated 3d Flexible Metamaterials, Yew Li Hor

Dissertations

Conventional materials exhibit some restrictions on their electromagnetic properties. Especially in terahertz region, for example, materials that exhibit magnetic response are far less common in nature than materials that exhibit electric response. However, materials can be designed, namely artificial man-made metamaterials that exhibit electromagnetic properties that are not found in natural materials by adjusting, for example, the dielectric, magnetic or structural parameters of the constituent elements.

This dissertation demonstrates the use of new fabrication techniques to construct metamaterials in THz range via a material deposition system. The metamaterials are fabricated by stacking alternative layers with conventional designs such as single …

Precipitation Of Micro/Nanoparticles In Enhanced High Energy Dissipation Mixing Systems, Giuseppe Di Benedetto

Dissertations

Crystallization is the most common unit operation used in the pharmaceutical industry to synthesize active ingredients. Rapid development of a drug candidate is dependent on the ability to produce a desired drug substance with consistent properties, These properties include stability and purity, which are directly affected by the crystallization process and which affect, in turn, bioavailability, drug dissolution rate, drug stability, and shelf life.

The objective of this work is to produce micro/nanoparticle crystals within existent glass-lined pharmaceutical stirred-tank reactors by modifying the current reactor configuration to include features that can increase the local rate of energy dissipation in the …

Phosphate And Thermal Stabilization Of Heavy Metals In Dredged Sediments, Peter Kuria Ndiba

Dissertations

Treatment and reuse of dredged harbor sediments in construction as an alternative to disposal reduces costs and conserves resources. This research focused on leachability of metal contaminants subsequent to phosphate addition and thermal treatment at 700 °C. X- ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in combination with principal component analysis, target transformation, and linear combination revealed that in the untreated sediments Zn precipitated as the relatively soluble smithsonite (ZnCO₃) (67%) and adsorbed to hydrous iron oxides (15%) and hydrous manganese oxides (18%). Phosphate addition and calcination resulted in sparingly soluble phases, hopeite (Zn₃₍PO₄)₂.4H_{2 …}

Collaborative Learning Utilizing A Domain-Based Shared Data Repository To Enhance Learning Outcomes, David J. Lubliner

Dissertations

A number of learning paradigms have postulated that knowledge formation is a dynamic process where learners actively construct a representation of concepts integrating information from multiple sources. Current teaching strategies utilize a compartmentalized approach where individual courses contain a small subset of the knowledge required for a discipline. The intent of this research is to provide a framework to integrate the components of a discipline into a cohesive whole and accelerate the integration of concepts enhancing the learning process. The components utilized to accomplish these goals include two new knowledge integration models; a Knowledge Weighting Model (KWM) and the Aggregate-Integrate-Master …

Kinematic Synthesis Of Planar Four Bar And Geared Five Bar Mechanisms With Structural Constraints, Yahia Mohammad Al-Smadi

Dissertations

In motion generation, the objective is to calculate the mechanism parameters required to achieve or approximate a set of prescribed rigid-body positions. This doctoral dissertation study is aimed to integrate the classical kinematic analysis of a planar four-bar and geared five-bar motion generation with three structural design constraints. These constraints consider driving link static torque, deflection of the crank and buckling of the follower for a given rigid-body load or constant external load.

This kineto-elastostatic analysis is based on the following assumptions to be considered during the analysis; the crank and the follower are elastic members and the coupler is …

Loss Of Synchrony In An Inhibitory Network Of Type-I Oscillators, Myongkeun Oh

Dissertations

Synchronization of excitable cells coupled by reciprocal inhibition is a topic of significant interest due to the important role that inhibitory synaptic interaction plays in the generation and regulation of coherent rhythmic activity in a variety of neural systems. While recent work revealed the synchronizing influence of inhibitory coupling on the dynamics of many networks, it is known that strong coupling can destabilize phase-locked firing. Here we examine the loss of synchrony caused by an increase in inhibitory coupling in networks of type-I Morris-Lecar model oscillators, which is characterized by a period-doubling cascade and leads to mode-locked states with alternation …