Digital Commons Network^™

Formulation And Development Of Curcumin Implants For Treatment Of Colorectal Cancer: Application Of Hme And 3d Printing, Neha Rajendra Sali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Targeted drug delivery for preventing colorectal cancer (CRC) reoccurrence after surgery can be one of the potent tumor reduction methods among other therapies, such as chemotherapy, ablation, embolization, and radiation therapy. Curcumin has been reported to target the growth factors in carcinoma cells and thereby reducing the proliferation and accelerating the apoptosis of the cancerous cells. Due to its poor bioavailability, it has several limitations for its use in anti-cancer therapy. Piperine has increased the solubility and bioavailability of curcumin and acts synergistically to suppress cancer cell growth. The current study intended to develop novel curcumin implants by coupling hot …

Evaluating The Impact Of Increased Cycling On Thermal Power Plants Due To Wind Energy Penetration In The Midwest: A Case Study, Joscelyne Larson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most significant shifts in the mix of U.S. electricity generation over the past few years has been the rapid expansion of renewable energy resources, especially solar and wind. However, fossil fuels are still necessary to fulfill the world’s energy requirements. Despite efforts to increase the use of renewable energy sources, these sources can be at times unreliable, causing countries around the world to continue to rely on base load units such as coal and natural gas. This decrease in fossil fuels and increase in renewable energy sources presents many complex issues in terms of power system planning, …

Electrode And Electrolyte Design To Develop Advanced Battery Technologies For Large Scale Energy Storage, Wei He

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large-scale energy storage devices play a key role in regulating the renewable energy to build a carbon-free sustainable future, but the widely used lithium-ion batteries cannot meet the demands because of the limited lithium resource and high cost. Thus, it is urgent to develop next-generation battery technologies with low cost and high safety. Sodium-ion battery is considered as a promising candidate due to the abundant sodium resources and low cost. Its practical application, however, is hindered by the absence of the advanced electrode materials. The tin-based anodes deliver high theoretical capacities and show great promise for the sodium-ion batteries, but …

Quantifying The Effects Of Hvac Operation To Mitigate Aerosol Concentration In A Classroom Using Cfd, Scott Deprez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is a complex mechanical system for the transition of air between outdoor and indoor areas. These systems are directly responsible for temperature, humidity, and air flow into any given space, thereby providing a level of comfort to those who live indoors. These systems account for 52 percent of U.S. energy consumption. When designing HVAC systems, indoor air quality (IAQ) is the main focus for achieving safe and clean air, such as in the case of airborne diseases. HVAC systems are responsible for the flow of air in indoor spaces and thereby expand the transmissible …

Electrospun Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Microfibers As An Asphalt Mix Additive, Debbrata Datta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, the use of different types of fibers in asphalt has become increasingly popular. Fibers are used in an asphalt mix to improve its durability and resistance against distresses such as rutting and cracking due to repetitive vehicle loading at high temperatures, and low-temperature contraction. Consequently, accurate rheological and performance characterization of asphalt binders and mixes containing fibers is of vital importance. With increased concerns over the environmental disruptions as a result of disposing end-of-life plastics in landfills and the need for improving sustainability of the construction materials, incorporating plastic in construction materials has always been an important …

Develop Biochar-Based Control Release Nitogen Fertilizers Using Biodegradable Polypropylene, Abdulkarim Aldekhail

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) is an indispensable key nutrient for crop plant growth, health, and yield, which significantly affects crop productivity. N fertilizers are wildly utilized in agriculture. Managing N application stands as a necessity to achieve optimal crop yield. Urea is one of the most common N fertilizers in agricultural practices due to its high N content and cost-effectiveness. Due to its commercial scale, feasibility, and reliability, it is demonstrating potential as a medium to improve agricultural sustainability. However, economic challenges, and environmental pollution remain as setbacks. This research focuses on selecting cost-effective and environmentally friendly coating materials for the fabrication …

Evaluation Of Low-Cost Radiometer For Surface Reflectance Re-Trieval And Orbital Sensor’S Validation, Dinithi Siriwardana Pathiranage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper evaluates the Arable Mark 2 sensor, an automated and low-cost radiometer, for its potential to retrieve surface reflectance data and validate orbital sensors such as the Landsat-8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) Level 2 product. While orbital sensors are widely used for monitoring solar radiation changes, managing natural resources, and understanding climatic trends, atmospheric effects can make it challenging to obtain accurate measurements. Equipped with multiple sensors, including long-wave and short-wave radiometers, the Arable Mark 2 sensor can measure upwelling and downwelling irradiance to calculate surface reflectance. To assess the accuracy and consistency of the Arable Mark 2 …

Extended Cross-Referenced Analysis Using Data From The Landsat 8 And 9 Underfly Event, Garrison Gross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Landsat 8 and 9 Underfly Event occurred in November 2021, where Landsat 9 flew beneath Landsat 8 in the final stages before settling in its final orbiting path. An analysis was performed on the images taken during this event, which resulted in a cross-referenced with uncertainties estimated to be less than 0.5%. This level of precision was due in part to the near-identical sensors aboard each instrument as well as the underfly event itself, which allowed the sensors to take nearly the exact same image at nearly the exact same time. This initial calibration was applied before the end …

Quantitative Change Analysis Of Undisturbed Lands In Eastern South Dakota: 2012-2021, Riley W. Wollschlager

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The actual rate of loss of undisturbed prairie and woodland in eastern South Dakota is unknown, and the landscape composition of the region continues to change. Undisturbed land is land with no proven prior cropping or other disturbance history. Agriculture, development, recreation, and other land use practices create disturbances resulting in the further conversion of undisturbed prairies and woodlands. Previous work by South Dakota State University (SDSU) quantified the remaining undisturbed land in eastern South Dakota as of 2012 (Bauman et al 2016). Farm Service Agency (FSA) common land unit (CLU) and National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery were the …

A Study Of The Local Deep Galerkin Method For The Modified Cahn Hilliard Equation, Shi Wen Wong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solving higher order partial differential equations (PDEs) can often prove to be a challenging task due to the involvement of higher-order derivatives of the unknown function, particularly for complex problems. The higher the order of the PDE, the more challenging it becomes to obtain an analytical solution. In such cases, alternative numerical methods are often used, such as finite element method or finite difference method. However, these methods can be computationally expensive and require a significant amount of mathematical expertise to implement. In recent times, there has been significant progress in applying neural networks to various fields, including the solution …

The Development Of Dark Hyperspectral Absolute Calibration Model Using Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites At A Global Scale: Dark Epics-Global, Padam Bahadur Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to develop a novel dark hyperspectral absolute calibration (DAHAC) model using stable dark targets of "Global Cluster - 36" (GC-36), one of the clusters from "300 Class Global Classification." The stable dark sites were identified from GC-36 called "Dark EPICS-Global" covering the surface types viz; dark rock, volcanic area, and dark sand. The Dark EPICS-Global shows a temporal variation of 0.02 unit reflectance. This work uses the Landsat-8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) , Sentinel-2A (S2A) Multispectral Instrument (MSI) , and Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion data for the DAHAC model development, where well-calibrated L8 and S2A …

Efficacy, Durability And Design Of A Bucket Wheel Excavator For Icy Lunar Regolith, Austin Lohsandt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project focused on the design and testing of a prototype bucket wheel excavator developed for NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, which sought innovative ideas for lunar excavation. Several attempts have been made by other universities and private industries to create systems that can successfully excavate simulated frozen regolith, however, few have been successful. The chosen excavation technology employed a bucket wheel concept inspired by large open-pit mining machines, modified to incorporate grinding nubs for pulverizing lunar simulant material. The goals included proving the viability of a bucket wheel excavator for lunar excavation, exploring grinding nubs, conducting durability …

Mechanical Properties Evaluation Of 3d Printed Petg And Pctg Polymers, Kalpesh Krishnarao Bhosale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing (AM) which has become a popular manufacturing trend over the years. Due to its unique advantages of fast production rate, ability to create complex geometrical features, toolless manufacturing and many more attracts various industries from Aerospace to general cosmetics. Along with the advancement in material science, various polymers including Polylactic Acid (PLA), Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) and many more are available for 3D printing. Due to the wide range of applications in PLA, it is necessary to improve its toughness to make it more suitable by adding Poly Cyclohexylenedimethylene Terephthalate glycol (PCTG) …

The Effects Of Body Weight, Feed Intake, And Weather On Total And Liquid Water Intake In Growing Beef Cattle, Madison Rae Kovarna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research conducted in the 1950s to determine water requirements utilized cattle that vary greatly from the animals being raised today. Additionally, most of the previous research has been conducted on animals being fed for slaughter, rather than bulls or reproductive females. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of weather variables, dry matter intake (DMI), and body weight (BW) on total daily water intake (TDWI) and liquid daily water intake (LDWI) in growing beef bulls and heifers. Two contemporary groups of Angus and Simmental x Angus bulls and heifers over a two-year period were utilized in this …

Customer Experience With Service Robots In Hospitality And Tourism: Scale Development, Olena Ciftci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study aims to create a measurement scale of customer experience with service delivered by robots in hospitality and tourism settings to address the industry need and gap in the academic literature.

Methods: This study follows a widely accepted psychometric procedure for scale development. The scale development consists of four stages: item generation, item purification, item reduction and dimensionality, and scale validation. The items for the scale are generated from the literature on customer experience with and perception of service robots in hospitality and tourism and semi-structured interviews with customers who experienced service from robots in hospitality and tourism …

Formulation Development And Targeted Delivery For Bcs Ii Drugs Using Hot Melt Extrusion Technology, Ahmed Almotairy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is one of the approaches to formulate an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) and has gained popularity within the pharmaceutical industry over the past three decades. Additionally, HME has the ability to produce several versatile formulations and its ability to tailor processing materials through modifications in the screw design and mixing and shearing forces or by controlling the material feed rate; additionally, HME allows processing at multiple temperatures and screw speeds. HME has advantages over traditional pharmaceutical processing techniques, including its ability for continuous operation and ability to implement quality by design (QbD) and process analytical technology (PAT) …

Designing A Flexible Framework For Developing Acoustic Array Systems, Charles Fulton Gilliland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, research conducted by the Applied Acoustics group at the NationalCenter for Physical Acoustics has involved the use of microphone arrays to study the propagation of sound through outdoor environments. In such research, there is need for data acquisition systems which can be reconfigured in both hardware and software. This work is an effort to develop a modular acoustic data acquisition framework which can be configured to accommodate a wide variety of acoustic array applications. In hardware, the framework provides modularity with a generic mainboard which uses a common interface to collect data from application-specific microphone boards. In …

“Mississippi’S Greatest Minister”: A Historical Study Of Cornelius W. Grafton’S 61-Year Pastorate, 1873-1934, David Thomas Irving

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cornelius W. Grafton (b.1846, d.1934) pastored two Presbyterian churches in Southwest Mississippi for 61 consecutive years (1873-1934). He moderated the Presbyterian Church, U.S. General Assembly in 1916 and wrote a 658-page unpublished History of Presbyterianism in Mississippi. This dissertation studies Grafton’s ministry—his student years at the University of Mississippi and Columbia Theological Seminary, his sermons, his public opposition to lynching, and his periodical and historical writings—to understand how white Christians in the South thought of and responded to their context from Reconstruction through the Progressive Era and into the 1930’s. Many of the priorities of Grafton’s ministry corresponded to those …

Dear God The Light, Suado Abdirahman Sheikhhassan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This creative thesis contains original poetry by Suado Sheikhassan.

Impact Of Graphene Nano-Platelets On Calcium Silicate Hydrate Formation, Weam Elmahmoud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) is a vital component in cementitious materials, providing strength and durability. It forms during the hydration process of cement, where calcium ions react with silica-rich compounds to form a gel-like structure. The nanocrystalline units within C-S-H contribute to its unique properties and serve as a binding agent in the hardened cement paste. However, the mechanisms and impacts of nanomaterials, such as graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs), on C-S-H at the nanoscale level are not fully understood.

Incorporating GnPs into cement-based composites has shown promise in enhancing C-S-H formation and properties. GnPs possess exceptional mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, making them …

Impact Of Flow Conditions On Graphene-Coated Soil And Geotextile Materials, Brennan Power

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Levees are fundamental infrastructures for reducing and mitigating flood risk during extreme weather events. Unfortunately, levees do not eliminate flood risk entirely due to floods potentially exceeding a levee’s capacity. Graphene has become a significant material for enhancing the mechanical properties of materials such as concrete and soil. The focus of this study was to determine methods to coat two materials commonly used in levee sites, sand and geotextile, with graphene to determine the stability of the coating on the materials under different flow conditions simulating real-life scenarios such as wet and dry periods. These graphene-coated materials could then be …

A Multi-Scale Analysis Of The Hartselle Sandstone To Characterize Reservoir Properties And Inform Carbon Sequestration Feasibility, Xiaotian Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes multiple approaches to investigate lithology, depositional environments, diagenesis, and reservoir quality for petroleum and carbon sequestration in the Mississippian Hartselle Sandstone. The Hartselle Sandstone has been considered economically important for its viscous bitumen and natural gas reserves, with only minor attention given to potential oil reserves due to its low permeability. I proposed to reinvestigate the possibility of oil production from the Hartselle Sandstone, including a focus on the required elements of a conventional petroleum system. A detailed petrographic analysis recognized three lithofacies associations: beach lithofacies association, protected transgressive wave-dominated coast association, and unprotected transgressive tidal flat …

Code-Switching In The Emotionalnarratives Of Bilingual Speakers Of English And Arabic, Yasmeen Alruwaili

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores code-switching (CS) in the emotional narratives of bilingual speakers of English and Arabic. Exploring the immigrant Arab community in Mississippi, USA contributes to the literature gap and provides valuable insights into the correlation between codeswitching and bilingual identities in various emotional, social, and cultural contexts. This study examines the complex relationship between linguistic choices, cultural identity, and emotional expressions in bilingual contexts, offering cross-linguistic and cross-cultural insights into codeswitching practices. It also seeks to investigate the types of linguistic structures that appear in the narratives of bilingual speakers and the reasons behind their choices.

In order to …

Predicting Microstructure Evolution In Alloys Using Deep Learning, Benjamin Mullins Rhoads

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modeling the microstructure evolution and linking them to materials properties is critical in establishing processing-microstructure-property linkage in materials. In this project, the evolution of microstructure of Fe-C alloys is modeled using phase field simulations to understand the behavior of these alloys under various cooling temperatures and initial carbon concentrations. However, these simulations require significant computational resources. Therefore, in this thesis, a convolutional neural network (CNN) and gated recurrent unit (GRU) are coupled with phase field simulations to predict the solidification of Fe-C alloys. In addition to the data-driven approach, the solid-liquid interfacial energy is incorporated during the training process, giving …

Design, Synthesis, And Application Of Indolizine-Donor Containing Fluorophores For Near-Infrared And Shortwave-Infrared Biological Imaging, William E. Meador

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Low energy light in the near infrared (NIR, 700 – 1000 nm), shortwave infrared (SWIR, 1000 – 1700 nm), and extended SWIR (ESWIR, 1700 – 2700 nm) has numerous important applications including fluorescence biological imaging, secure display technologies, and photodetectors. While inorganic materials have dominated each of these spectral regions, organic molecules that absorb and emit light in these regions are being heavily researched due to their high degree of molecular tunability via structure-function relationships, cheap production due to the avoidance of precious metals, ease of manufacturing through solution processability, and operation under physiological and ambient conditions. This dissertation illustrates …

Earthscibert: Pre-Trained Language Model For Information Retrieval In Earth Science, Rishabh Shrestha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large Language Models (LLMs), such as Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), have significantly advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP), achieving state-of-the-art results in various tasks. Notably used in systems like Google Search, these models can be domain-tuned through domain-specific pre-training. In Earth Science, where massive data is generated and made publicly available by institutions such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), understanding the usage of such datasets in scientific literature is critical to assessing their scientific impact.

This thesis develops and introduces EarthSciBERT, a domain-specific BERT developed for Earth Science by pre-training BERT …

Determining The Geochemical Variability Of Groundwater During Riverbank Filtration, Transfer And Injection In The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer In Shellmound, Mississippi, Alexandra Megan Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With long-term water level decline in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial aquifer (MRVAA), the Groundwater Transfer and Injection Pilot project is analyzing the feasibility of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to increase groundwater availability in the Delta region of Mississippi. The MAR method chosen for this project included pumping water from a well adjacent to the Tallahatchie River using riverbank filtration, transferring the water through a 2-mile pipeline, and injecting the water into the MRVAA. However, by transporting river water into the aquifer, the water quality must be examined at both the river extraction site and the injection well site. The …

Exploring Clinical Judgment In An Accelerated Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum, Marlie Lawrence Farrar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nurses play a pivotal role in the healthcare world. They play a role in many settings, caring for patients with chronic issues to patients in life threatening situations. These settings call for nurses to be able to analyze patient situations and correctly intervene. This skill is clinical judgment. However, Kavanagh and Swzeda (2018) have shown that new graduate nurses do not demonstrate this skill, potentially causing patient harm. Findings such as this one have led to a reformation of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The revamped exam called the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) will focus on …

A Comparative Study Of Conventionally Manufactured And 3d Printed Tablets, Rujuta Vaibhav Manjrekar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to develop tablets of carbamazepine (CBZ) using 3D printing and direct compression and compare their release patterns. KlucelTM ELF grade was used as the polymeric carrier. The hot melt extrusion (HME) was used to prepare the feedstock for the 3D printing and the direct compression process. The processing parameters and formulation were selected and the physical mixture consisted of CBZ:Kulcel (30%: 70% w/w) was extruded using a twin screw hot melt extruder (HME) (11mm Process 11, Thermo Fisher Scientific). The temperature used for extrusion was 110oC at a screw speed of 50 RPM. The obtained HME filaments …

Design And Evaluation Of Graphene Additives For Asphalt Materials To Improve Load Carrying Capacity And Durability, Oubayda Sras

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Asphalt is the most common material used for road construction; however, asphalt has its downsides. Asphalt roads deteriorate with time due to (age hardening) and susceptibility to moisture damage shortening asphalt roads’ service life span; Hence, asphalt roads need to be resurfaced every 15-20 years, depending on maintenance. Asphalt binder short comings can be remedied by incorporating graphene (GNPs) and modified graphene (MGNPs) into the asphalt binder matric. This research study the effect of different GNPs surface modification on asphalt binder properties and performance, with three main surface modifications; oxidation, octadecylamine and aminopropylIsooctyl POSS. It also suggests a different criterion …