Digital Commons Network^™

Developing An Insider Threat Experimental Environment, Eric Ortiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Simulated, 3D gaming environments have been used for a wide-range of applications including training, entertainment, and experimentation in an assortment of domains for some time. This can be attributed to their unique ability to emulate multifaceted situations that may be difficult to control, while affording participants the opportunity to operate in a relatively safe environment. In cybersecurity research, investigation of insider threat behavior is an endeavor that has received little attention in terms of available environments and resources for experimental manipulation. This research effort aimed to close this gap. A simulated, 3D gaming environment and accompanying scenarios were developed for …

Water And Energy Costs Of Landfilled Food Waste, Tonmoy Sarker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Energy and water are consumed or contaminated during both the production and disposal of wasted food. To date, evaluations of water and energy resources associated with food waste have considered only resources used in food production. To allow for the full characterization of food waste within a Food Energy Water (FEW) nexus framework, this study addresses a fundamental knowledge gap related to the energy and water impacts of food waste after disposal. Fluxes of water and energy related to disposal of wasted food in landfills within the state of Florida were characterized. It is estimated that each metric ton (Mg) …

Multi-Transit Echo Suppression For Passive Wireless Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors Using 3rd Harmonic Unidirectional Transducers And Walsh-Hadamard-Like Reflectors, Luis Manuel Rodriguez Cordoves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor of a delay-line type is composed of an antenna, a transducer that converts the EM signal into a surface acoustic wave, and a set of acoustic reflectors that reflect the incoming signal back out through the antenna. A cavity forms between the transducer and the reflectors, trapping energy and causing multiple unwanted echoes. The work in this dissertation aims to reduce the unwanted echoes so that only the main transit signal is left--the signal of interest with sensor information. The contributions of this dissertation include reflective delay-line device response in the form of …

Prototype Development In General Purpose Representation And Association Machine Using Communication Theory, Huihui Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological system study has been an intense research area in neuroscience and cognitive science for decades of years. Biological human brain is created as an intelligent system that integrates various types of sensor information and processes them intelligently. Neurons, as activated brain cells help the brain to make instant and rough decisions. From the 1950s, researchers start attempting to understand the strategies the biological system employs, then eventually translate them into machine-based algorithms. Modern computers have been developed to meet our need to handle computational tasks which our brains are not capable of performing with precision and speed. While in …

Assessment Of Tattoo And Silicone Wounds In Terms Of Time Of Treatment And Perceived Treatment Quality, M Pettitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the point of injury, critical medical tasks include locating and identifying an injury as well as applying the appropriate initial care. Over the past decade, to increase the fidelity of wound representation and ultimately the quality of medical care, a considerable amount of research and development has occurred to improve simulated wounds during training, primarily at the point of injury. As material and techniques mature and as more relevant data is collected on tissue properties, examining what fidelity is required for training at the point of injury is crucial. The main objective of this effort was to assess a …

Parents Of Children Who Had Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Mixed-Methods, Exploratory Study, Natalene Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: There is scant literature addressing the parents of children who had hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). therefore only inferences may be made as to issues of that experience affecting parents.

Purpose: The purposes of this study was to uncover the lived experiences of parents of children who had HIE, evaluate issues of stress, depression, coping, and impact of neurologic disability in order to better care for them and thus their families

Methods: A parallel, convergent mixed-methods design was used to explore experiences and perceptions of these parents regarding their experiences and life changes. The quantitative strand addressed four research questions which …

Elemental Trauma: A Case Study Of Living With Contaminated Water Near Sites Of Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction, Christopher John Mccann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study examines the experiences of individuals living with contaminated water near sites of unconventional Marcellus Shale extraction (commonly called “fracking”) in western Pennsylvania. Five individuals across three households were recruited following IRB approval. Fieldwork was completed in a small town in western Pennsylvania from July of 2013 to April of 2014. This project examines how participant’s relationship to the materiality of water undergoes a drastic transformation. Water is explored as a dynamic, elemental substance that creates the conditions for both life and disease and death for participant-households. Water becomes a re-animated character in participant lives that restructures …

Analysis Of Dialog Surrounding Animal Testing In Vaccine Research, Natalie Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the scholarly discussions surrounding the topic of animal testing for vaccine potency and safety in humans. The primary stakeholders in this discussion are the scientists, medical professionals, and researchers who are involved in animal models and alternative testing methods, specifically related to vaccine development. The debate among these professionals regarding alternative methods, which encompasses any testing approach that does not involve animals, has been analyzed. This project looks at the argument from a historical perspective, which provides background context for the current debate and an understanding of how the current arguments originated. The changing mindset over time …

Bible As Interface, Michael Paul Hemenway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The book is undergoing a major technological transition as print wanes in its dominance and the internet and mobile devices transform our reading and writing technologies. With the entangled histories of bible and book, our emerging technological age and its transformation of the materiality of bible forces us to engage bible as something irreducible to a book. The connections between the major technological transition from roll to codex in antiquity and the contemporary move toward the internet and mobile technologies as reading platforms encourage us to consider bible as an interface that affords high surface area, collaboration, and anarchy. Building …

The Effect Of Road Crossings On Stream-Associated Salamanders Within Holly Springs National Forest, Caleb Ashton Aldridge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Road crossings have significant effects on wildlife, but there is limited information on how road crossings affect stream-associated salamanders. Stream-associated salamanders are vital to their ecological communities and are likely to experience the effect of roads more readily than other species due to their physiological characteristics. To test the effects of road crossings on stream-associated salamanders, I surveyed 12 pairs of confluent streams – one stream crossed by a road and the other not in each pair – within Holly Springs National Forest, Mississippi. Surveys in the summer of 2015 were used to measure abundance and species richness of stream-associated …

Reassessing Survival, Movement, Resource Selection, And Sightability Of Pronghorn In Western South Dakota, Adam Kauth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Limited information exists on the survival, movements, resource selection, and densities of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) inhabiting sagebrush-steppe regions within the Dakotas. Primary objectives of this study were to develop a sightability model for aerial surveying and to document survival rates and movement patterns for pronghorn in western South Dakota. Secondary objectives were to estimate seasonal home ranges, daily movements, determine cause-specific mortality, and evaluate summer and winter resource use and selection. Additionally, we evaluated exposure of pronghorn to novel diseases including Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), West Nile Virus (WNV), Blue Tongue Virus (BTV), Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV), Neospora, and …

Evaluation Of A Bioprocessed Soybean Meal On Nursery Pig Immune Status And Disease Resistance, Jacob R. Koepke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weaning is a stressful time in a piglet’s life that can have negative impacts on performance and health if not managed properly. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of a bioprocessed SBM alone or in combination with spray-dried plasma (SDP) or fishmeal (FM) on immune response at weaning with no imminent disease threat and during a porcine reproductive and respiratory virus (PRRSV) challenge. In the first trial, 239 pigs (initial BW 6.56 ± 0.87 kg, 21 d of age) were used in a 35-d study and allotted to one of 4 dietary treatments (10 pens/trt) according …

Identification Of Cdks As Novel Targets Of Aspirin And Its Metabolites: A Potential Role In Cancer Prevention, Rakesh Dachineni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background:
The pursuit of drugs that inhibit cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) has been an intense area of research for more than 15 years. Till date, although multiple CDK inhibitors have been identified and few are undergoing clinical trials, only two synthetic drugs have been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment of cancer. These two drugs are mainly used for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in combination with other drugs; however they have toxicity associated with their use and extends patients life not more than 24 months. Therefore, there is an urgent need for …

Food Protein-Based Core-Shell Nanocarriers For Oral Drug Delivery Applications: (Influence Of Shell Composition On In Vitro And In Vivo Functional Performance Of Zein Nanocarriers, Md Saiful Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oral delivery is the most preferred route for drug administration. Oral drug delivery is limited by poor physicochemical properties of drugs and physiological barriers in the gastrointestinal tract. To this end, there is a need for developing new carrier systems to enhance the oral bioavailability of poorly absorbed molecules. Food-grade biopolymers are attractive materials for developing drug delivery carriers’ due to their unique properties and proven safety. Six different core-shell nanocarriers were prepared using food-grade biopolymers including zein-casein (ZC) nanoparticles, zein-lactoferrin (ZLF) nanoparticles, zein-β-lactoglobulin (ZLG) nanoparticles, zein-whey protein isolate (ZWP) nanoparticles, zein-pluronic-lecithin (ZPL) nanoparticles and zein-PEG (ZPEG) micelles. The study …

Swift Foxes In Southwestern South Dakota: Assessing The Current Status Of A Reintroduced Population, Sarah Ann Nevison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Swift foxes (Vulpes velox) were reintroduced into Badlands National Park between 2003 and 2006 after being nearly extirpated from South Dakota in the early 1900’s. Genetic analysis provided strong evidence that the reintroduction was successful, but viability analysis indicated the population may be in jeopardy with a high probability of extinction. Recently, the population has declined due to various biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., recent weather patterns, effects of plague [Yersinia pestis], and increased coyote [Canis latrans] numbers). No information on the status of swift foxes has been collected since 2009. Between 2014 and 2016, the objectives of this study …

Growth Potential And Genetic Diversity Of Yellow Perch In South Dakota, Alex J. Rosburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yellow Perch Perca flavescens represent a valued sport fish throughout their range and are an important prey species for piscivorous fishes. In South Dakota, two distinct population types of Yellow Perch have been characterized that differ in growth, survival, and recruitment patterns. Fast growth populations exhibit high growth rates, high mortality, low population density, and inconsistent recruitment. In contrast, slow growth populations are characterized by reduced growth rates, low mortality, high population density, and relatively consistent recruitment. The role of genetics in contributing to these population characteristics is currently unknown. To address these questions, I used high-throughput restriction-site associated DNA …

Effects Of Maternal Plane Of Nutrition On Early Embryo Development And Offspring Performance, Erin E. Beck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nutritional changes immediately after insemination can result in increased embryonic mortality, but the mechanisms that cause this increased mortality and the impact on the embryos that survive are not known. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of a nutritional change immediately following AI on calf performance, global DNA methylation, estrus expression and interval to estrus in heifers, peripheral metabolites, uterine luminal fluid metabolites, and day 6 embryo quality. In the first study (chapter 2) Angus-cross heifers (n = 142) were allotted into two developmental treatments: drylot or range. All heifers were fixed-time inseminated to a single sire …

Genetic Interference And Receptor Biology Of Neglected Influenza Viruses, Runxia Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Influenza B virus (IBV) is an important pathogen that infects humans and causes seasonal influenza epidemics. By using next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, we analyzed total mRNAs extracted from A549 cells infected with B/Brisbane/60/2008, and identified four defective genomes in IBV with two from the polymerase basic subunit 1 (PB1) segment and the other two from the matrix (M) segment. Each of them can potently inhibit the replication of IBV. One derived from PB1 segment was able to interfere modestly with influenza A virus (IAV) replication. The productions of the four defective RNAs are not dependent on the cell types. The …

The Grounding Of Effective Aristotelian Law, Kyra Kinnaman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper aims to contribute meaningfully to Aristotelian scholarship by articulating the grounding of effective law. The grounding of law is the reason for which law’s efficacy can be explained. Two popular contenders for this explanation are natural law theory and legal positivism; however, this paper will build off the work of Donald Schroeder to show that neither theory is a tenable explanation for the grounding of Aristotelian law. Although Schroeder rejects natural law and positivism as appropriate interpretations of Aristotle, he fails to articulate what ultimately is the grounding of efficacious law. The final section of this paper will …

Molecular Characterization Of The Opioid Receptors: Design, Development, And Preclinical Evaluation Of Salvinorin A-Based Molecular Probes., Adam Keasling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of salvinorin chemistry represents a novel and emerging field of opioid research. The novelty is derived from the lead pharmacophore: salvinorin A — a neoclerodane diterpenoid natural product isolated from Salvia divinorum. Salvinorin A represents a pharmacologically unique compound in that it is the first known non-nitrogenous KOR subtype-selective agonist, exhibits a comparatively safe physiological profile with no reports of toxicological effects in clinical trials, and, most importantly, has a steadily growing body of literature indicating potentially useful clinical applications (e.g. antinociceptive, anti-addictive, antipruritic, neuroprotective, etc.). This has encouraged the development of analogues as essential molecular probes to …

Development Of Phenotypic Drug Discovery Models For Tropical Parasitic Diseases, Surendra Kumar Jain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Malaria and visceral leishmaniasis are major killer parasitic diseases. These diseases though occur primarily in tropical countries; economic burden and overall health impacts of malaria and leishmaniasis are global. The emergence of drug-resistant and more-virulent strains of the pathogens has further amplified the problems. New drug discovery approaches primarily rely on in vitro and in vivo models of the disease. The pathogens causing leishmaniasis and malaria are intracellular. Leishmania parasite grows as amastigotes in macrophages cells, and malaria parasite grows within the hepatocytes or erythrocytes. The intracellular forms of the pathogens are responsible for the pathophysiology of the diseases. New …

Characterizing The Developmental And Reproductive Toxicities Of Cannabidiol And Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, Dennis Ray Carty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medical marijuana is legal in twenty-nine of the United States and an additional nineteen states have passed legislation for cannabidiol (CBD) treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, such as Dravet Syndrome (DS) which is diagnosed in children as young as two months. While CBD has shown anecdotal and recently clinical trial efficacy in reducing seizure frequency in DS patients, little is known about the potential adverse side-effects on child physiology, brain development, adult disease, or subsequent generations. Moreover, CBD is rarely administered without including low concentrations of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The goal of this project is to characterize the relative morphological, behavioral, reproductive, …

Phytochemical Investigation Of Psychoactive Medicinal Plants For The Treatment Of Neurological Disorders, Vedanjali Gogineni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neurological disorders include disorders such as migraine, tension-type headaches, Parkinson’s disease (PD), epilepsy, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Globally, PD is the second most comneurodegenerative disorder following AD. In developed countries, PD affects 1% of all population over 60 years of age. The prevalence of PD is increasing over the years and is expected to double by 2030. It is proposed that combination of dopaminergic drugs with monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitors, anticholinergics, catechol-O-methyl transferase inhibitors, and other non-dopaminergic drugs can better alleviate levodopa-induced motor complications along with better control of motor symptoms. MAO-B inhibitors play a significant role in …

Dose-Response Association Between Acute Exercise Duration, Exercise Recovery And Cognitive Function, Elizabeth Ann Crush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have shown moderate intensity exercise to be a desired intensity level to optimize cognitive function, however, this research has mostly been conducted among older adults despite the claim that cognitive function may start to decline in the early years (i.e., 20s). Another research gap within this population is our limited understanding of the effects of different exercise durations and recovery periods on cognitive function. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different exercise durations and recovery periods on cognition using a treadmill-based protocol. In a counterbalanced, cross-over randomized controlled design, 352 participants, ages …

Factors Associated With Medication-Overuse Headache In Patients Seeking Treatment For Primary Headache, Kelly Reed Peck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although a number of risk factors for medication-overuse headache (MOH) have been identified within the general population, limited research exists examining clinical samples of headache sufferers. Further, prior studies have not assessed the relative influence of risk factors or their utility in combination. As part of an online survey, 164 headache patients completed a demographic questionnaire, a diagnostic interview for headache, a measure of headache-related disability, measures of psychiatric symptoms, and measures of medication use and substance use. Standardized mean differences were used to quantify differences between patients who met diagnostic criteria for MOH and those who did not across …

A Methodology For Internet Of Things Business Modeling And Analysis Using Agent-Based Simulation, Mohammed Basingab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Internet of Things (IoT) is a new vision of an integrated network covering physical objects that are able to collect and exchange data. It enables previously unconnected devices and objects to become connected using equipping devices with communication technology such as sensors and radio frequency identification tags (RFID). As technology progresses towards new paradigm such as IoT, there is a need for an approach to identify the significance of these projects. Conventional simulation modeling and data analysis approaches are not able to capture the system complexity or suffer from a lack of data needed that can help to build a …

Synthesis, Chemistry, Biological Evaluation And Structure-Activity Relationships Of Rac- And Chiral 6-Desmethyl-5Β –Hydroxy-D-Secoartemisinin And Analogs, Mohamed Elsideiq Jihan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The prevention and cure of malaria is difficult as it thrives under poor socio- and pharmacoeconomic conditions in third world, tropical and subtropical regions. It is a parasitic disease spread through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. In humans, malaria can be caused by several Plasmodium species that include: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium knowlesi. The natural product artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone with an endoperoxide bridge isolated from the Chinese annual herb qinghao (Artemisia annua L or sweet wormwood). The relatively stable endoperoxide bridge is essential for their antimalarial activity. The synthesis of …

Lipid Based Frameworks And Topical Ocular Inserts For The Delivery Of Small Molecule Therapeutics To The Posterior Segment Of The Eye, Sai Prachetan Balguri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lipid based systems and topical ocular inserts of various drugs were developed for the intervention/treatment of posterior segment ocular complications. Indomethacin (IN) was developed into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). Effect of surface functionalization using chitosan (CS) on lipid nanocarriers was tested to evaluate corneal penetration. Surface modification of SLNs with CS increased ocular penetration of IN. NLCs maintained significantly higher IN concentrations in all ocular tissues tested, compared to the other formulations evaluated in vivo. Effect of surface poly (ethylene) glycol (PEG) functionalization of the NLCs on ocular disposition was studied using Ciprofloxacin (CIP) as …

Stereotypes And The Self-Perceptions Of Black Women: How Places And Identity Strategies Matter, Brieann Avery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black women are one of the most oppressed groups in America because they possess two qualities of being a minority in terms of race and gender. Whether it is magazines, television shows, or music videos, controlling images are established in the preservation of hegemonic power and to condone the remaining marginalization of black women. Black women are seen mostly sexually exploited in hip-hop. Black women are continuously being oppressed through hip-hop’s constructions created to reinforce ideals about race and gender positioning and inferiority in a hegemonic masculine world, Hip-hop promotes negative images of black women as sexual objects and the …

Evidence Of Chemical Camouflage In Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus Sayanus); Avoiding Detection By Colonizing/Ovipositing Prey Through Chemical Crypsis, Tyler Breech

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.