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Investigative Study Of Poly(Ionic) Liquid Incorporation In Resin Wafer Electrodeionization For Improved Specific Energy Consumption, Angela Fasuyi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An electrokinetic separation method known as Resin Wafer Electrodeionization (RW-EDI) is recognized as a promising technology for energy efficient desalination of brackish water. However RW-EDI is limited by an inherent drawback of its ion exchange media that prevents the largescale deployment of this technology. This research was undertaken to optimize the conventional resin wafer used in RW-EDI through the incorporation of high conducting polyionic liquids (PILs). It was hypothesized that by the changing non-conducting polyethylene binder with a PIL binder in conventional resin wafer configurations ion conductivity within the resin bed would be enhanced and could lead to an improvement …

Crafting Stone Discoidals On The Frontier: Production And Identity In Southwest Virginia, Hamilton Hastie Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stone discoidals are widely recognized as a class of artifacts associated with Mississippian cultural traditions and even some of its various descendant communities. Excavations at the Carter Robinson site a Fourteenth Century Mississippian frontier site in Lee County Virginia have revealed evidence of the production of stone discoidals. Although craft production in Mississippian societies has been the subject of much debate little to no attention has been given to the production of stone discoidals. The purpose of this thesis is to explicate the method of stone discoidal production at Carter Robinson and to explore how this production was organized overtime …

Essays On Bubbles, Production, And Anti-Bubble Policy, Joseph Sebastian De Souza White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides two papers on asset market bubbles. The first chapter analyzes the welfare effect of anti-bubble policy in a macroeconomic model containing both an asset market and a goods market. Overall this chapter shows that anti-bubble policy decreases the welfare of asset seller increases the welfare of asset buyers and has no effect on the welfare of the production side of the goods market. The second chapter provides examples of strong greater-fool bubbles with three states of the world and three periods. It provides examples of strong greater-fool bubbles at various levels of endowment durability as well as …

African American Students In Physical Therapy: Enhancing Diversity, Sherry T. Colson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are motivated by early exposure to the profession and future expectations for their personal career path including stability work-life balance and helping others. The elimination of barriers such as finances lack of support and cultural microaggressions influences their career path. Following statistical analysis of admissions data conclusions were made that the current admissions criteria does not successfully predict first year success for any students including African American students. Lastly African American physical therapy graduates from UMMC reported excitement upon admission concerns over quotas lack of African American faculty students and physical therapists and the presence of microaggressions while …

Rambling Blues: Mapping Contemporary North American Blues Literature, Josh-Wade Ferguson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Rambling Blues: Mapping Contemporary North American Blues Literature” revises the methodological assumptions that have underwritten our understanding of blues literature and the politics of race and region that surround it. Where previous commentators have defined blues literature primarily through its formal and thematic connections with blues music and with the sociohistorical contours of black southern life more generally this dissertation expands the boundaries of how we conceive blues literature by examining Langston Hughes’ poems “The Weary Blues” (1925) and “Po Boy Blues” (1926) August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984) Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones (2011) James Hannaham’s Delicious Foods …

Molecular Dynamics Study Of Sintering Behavior Of Single-Crystal, Bimetallic Core/Shell Alloy, And Intermetallic Alloy Nanoparticles, Jungmin Jeon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been rapidly growing interest in the sintering process of nanoparticles (NPs) among academia and modern industry due to their promising applications in additive manufacturing (AM) based on the overall improved properties at nanoscale. In the past decade a lot of experimental and computational work has been conducted to study the sintering process of powder materials. However there is still a significant knowledge gap in a fundamental understanding of the thermodynamics and nanostructural evolution of NPs undergoing additive manufacturing. This thesis aims to gain fundamental insights into melting behavior of different materials including single-crystal bimetallic core/shell alloy and intermetallic …

On The Relationship Between Resilience, Meaning, And Hardiness: A Bi-Factor Exploratory And Confirmatory Analysis, Lauren Weathers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Meaning in life, resilience, and hardiness have been conceptualized in a variety of ways. Some researchers theorize that these constructs share significant overlap. The goal of the current study was to examine how much overlap exists between these concepts. Three thousand and ten participants from a university in the Midwest and a university in the South completed measures of meaning in life, resilience, and hardiness. It was hypothesized that some items from these measures would create a unidimensional model while some items would create multidimensionality. Hypotheses that incorporated both models were important as there is disagreement within the literature with …

A Balm For The Times: The Origins And Evolution Of The Lost Cause In The South Carolina Low Country, 1830-1876, Andrew Patrick Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the concept of civil religion as a framework through which to examine the origins and early development of the Lost Cause in the South Carolina Low country. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as American colonists severed their ties with Great Britain and established an independent republic they likewise began forming a civil religion or a set of beliefs regarding the relationship between God and their incipient polity. Prophetic in nature the central tenets of this civil religion held that the Almighty proved actively involved in human history and that Americans represented an especially chosen …

Decolonial Resistance In Latinx Writings From Peru To The United States: A Portfolio, Isabel Norwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This collection begins with the premise that colonial relationships manifest in ways beyond exploitation of one nation by another. It relies on the decolonial theory of Walter D. Mignolo in its assumption that imbalances of power in the realms of race gender sexuality and class are fundamentally colonial. With this more expansive understanding of coloniality in mind I examine resistance to colonial exploitation in a range of texts from across the Americas. The first essay in this collection explores the role of the guinea pig in Andean food culture arguing that the continued consumption of guinea pig represents a form …

African American Students In Physical Therapy: Enhancing Diversity, Melanie H. Lauderdale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are motivated by early exposure to the profession and future expectations for their personal career path including stability work-life balance and helping others. The elimination of barriers such as finances lack of support and cultural microaggressions influences their career path. Following statistical analysis of admissions data conclusions were made that the current admissions criteria does not successfully predict first year success for any students including African American students. Lastly African American physical therapy graduates from UMMC reported excitement upon admission concerns over quotas lack of African American faculty students and physical therapists and the presence of microaggressions while …

Moral Agency: A Philosophical Inquiry Into Its Scientific Foundations, Makensey Sanders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a longstanding discussion of what the criteria are to distinguish science from non-science. In section one of this paper, I will focus on four demarcating criteria of a scientific theory: (1) value neutrality; (2) verifiability; (3) falsifiability; and (4) reproducibility. Keeping these criteria in mind, I will turn to the notion of moral agency (focusing on psychopathy, autism, and personal identity) and the question of whether the current way we conceptualize and research it can be deemed as scientific according to the four criteria.

In section two, I will discuss the role psychopathy and autism play in understanding …

Innovation Through Instructional Renovation: An Applied Research Study On Building Capacity Of Mathematics Teachers In Bark County Schools’ Excel Department, Lashonda Quina Ross-Ivory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied research study was to build the capacity of middle school mathematics teachers to increase student achievement. The need to build the capacity of middle school mathematics teachers arose from the trend of low content and pedagogical knowledge exhibited by teachers throughout the department. This applied research study uses four elements individual collective and collaborative professional development as well as student achievement to build the capacity of middle school mathematics teachers and measure student achievement growth. A national screener surveys learning walk/focus group and interviews were used in the study. Using of the aforementioned elements and …

Developing A Calibrated Seepage Meter To Measure Stream-Aquifer Interaction In The Mississippi Delta, Wesley J. Bolton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) is a premier region for irrigated agriculture in the United States producing approximately 9 billion dollars in annual revenues. The region receives around 138 cm of precipitation annually; however irrigation is necessary to maximize crop yields as most of the precipitation does not occur during the growing season. There are 8 million irrigated acres within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The source of most of the irrigated water is the surficial aquifer in the Mississippi Embayment the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) and due to the reliance on irrigation for maximum crop yields recent potentiometric …

A Computational Approach To Predicting And Understanding New Psychoactive Substances (Nps) For Developing A Database For State And Federal Crime Laboratories, Caroline Amelia Spencer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The object of this dissertation was to use a computational approach to predict and understand new psychoactive substances (NPS) to develop a database for state and federal crime. The primary scope of the dissertation was to better understand the interactions that take place between new psychoactive substances and their corresponding receptors. Through analysis of the interactions between the amino acids within the receptors and the NPS an understanding into the pharmacology and toxicology of these drugs can be gained. NPS such as synthetic cannabinoids fentanyl and its analogs and kratom have become more problematic for both state and federal crime …

Subverting The Patriarchal Panopticon: Challenges To Eugenics Rhetoric In The Novels Of Mccullers And Welty, Regina Marie Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis takes into consideration the scope of eugenics ideologies and their influence on literature specifically two mid-twentieth century authors from the U.S. South Carson McCullers and Eudora Welty. I contend that both writers engage with eugenics rhetoric challenging and subverting the prevailing ideology of the day albeit in differing ways. McCullers and Welty address different facets of eugenics rhetoric in their novels— namely the nature of “defect” and the criteria for “fitness” for “citizenship.” This thesis interrogates the ways in which these writers develop rhetorical strategies for resisting eugenics ideologies in their respective novels Reflections in a Golden Eye …

Archaeological Investigations At A Mississippian Platform Mound Site In Lowndes County, Mississippi, Hannah Danielle Zechman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Upper Tombigbee River Valley and the Black Prairie two adjacent physiographic regions located in northeast Mississippi are defined archaeologically by the existence of multiple single-mound sites with associated farmsteads or small habitation sites. This thesis is an analysis of mound-construction data and the ceramic assemblage excavated in 2017 from the Butler Mound Site (22LO500) a single-mound site located in Lowndes County Mississippi. The purpose of this thesis is to determine when construction of the Butler Mound occurred using mound-construction data ceramic analysis and radiocarbon dating. This thesis also seeks to understand how Butler and neighboring sites relate to one …

Shifting Power, Status Quo Dissatisfaction, And Power Parity: Their Effect On The Use Of Coercive Foreign Policy In International Relations, Nathan Alvin Andrew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How do shifts in the distribution of power effect the foreign policy decisions of states? In this dissertation, I argue that shifts in the distribution of power, status quo dissatisfaction, and power parity work together to significantly impact these decisions. Until this time, the conditional effect of these three variables has only been included in studies of major- or regional-power war, within the theoretical framework of power transition theory. To what extent do these correlates of war apply to foreign policy in general? Borrowing the insights of foreign policy substitution and the logic of the bargaining theory of war, I …

Development Of Topical Oil/Peg Creams Of Voriconazole, Abhishek Shivashankar Shettar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Voriconazole (VRC) was selected as a model drug for preparation of Oil/PEG cream consisting of PEG 2000, PEG 400 and propylene glycol after performing drug-excipient compatibility studies. Twin screw processor with a 10 mm co-rotating twin screw configuration was used for preparation of oil/PEG creams. Creams prepared using twin-screw processor were characterized for the following: Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), pH, Solvent activity (as)), viscosity, drug content uniformity, in vitro drug release testing (IVRT) and in vitro permeation testing (IVPT) using human cadaver skin. Creams are heterogenous biphasic semi-solid preparations consisting of oil and aqueous phases, wherein one phase is dispersed …

Diversification In The Neotropics – Evolution And Population Genetics Of The Armored Catfish Hypancistrus Sp. From The Xingu River, Marcella Goncalves Santos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Xingu River, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon River, is currently in peril due to the recent construction of hydroelectric dams, but little is known about the numerous fish species it supports. This dissertation focuses on three pleco catfish species belonging to the genus Hypancistrus from the Xingu River with partially overlapping distributions: H. zebra, H. sp. (L174), and H. sp. (L66/333). Chapter 1 is a bibliographic review of Amazonian freshwater fish diversity, with the goal of discussing the hypotheses of speciation mechanisms that can be tested in this system, including the relative importance of ecological adaptation …

Content Analysis Of The Journal Of Historical Research In Music Education: 1980-2019, Gail Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive study is to explore the trends in historical research over a period of forty years (1980-2019) as presented in peer-revieJournal of Historical Research in Music Education (JHRME). This content analysis is geared towards examining categories of research conducted particularly within the last decade (2010-2019) with comparisons to previous studies. Adopting categories and definitions from Heller (1985), McCarthy (1999, 2012), and Stabler (1986), five questions guide the focus of investigation to include historical periods of study (e.g., 20th century), individuals, events, outcomes, and process variables, i.e., the teacher, the learner, the interaction of the teacher and …

Investigation Of Narrow Bipolar Events In Mississippi Thunderstorms, Sampath Asiri Bandara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the first part of the study FA and Log-RF data were used to examine low-altitude (<8.0 km) negative NBEs (NNBEs) to see how many -CG flashes were initiated by NNBEs. Out of 686 -CG flashes only 33 (5%) flashes were initiated by an NNBE. These NNBEs occurred at an average altitude of 6.2 km had average amplitude (range-normalized amplitude to 100 km) of 0.4 V/m and had average VHF (Log-RF) power of 130 W. Since the low-altitude NNBEs were substantially weaker than positive NBEs that initiate intracloud (IC) flashes it is hypothesized that -CG flashes are easier to initiate than IC flashes. The second part of the study investigated the properties of 201 positive NBEs (+NBEs). The +NBEs were classified in two ways: into Types A-D [Karunarathne et al. 2015] and into three different groups: Isolated Not-isolated and IC flash-initiator or INBE [Wu et al. 2014]. The average VHF (Log-RF) power of NBEs within the A-D categories were 1.9 4 9.8 and 13.2 kW respectively while the powers for the Isolated Not-isolated and INBE categories were 10.1 4 and 10.1 kW respectively. The third study considered 34 NBEs that occurred close in space and time to each other: 13 pairs of NBEs one group of three +NBEs and one group of five +NBEs. The NBEs were overlaid on radar data of the parent thunderstorms. The data indicate that the individual NBEs in each group initiated in separate intense electric field regions of small extent rather than in a single large-scale electric field region. This dissertation investigates Narrow Bipolar Events (NBEs) which are a type of short-duration (10- 30 µs) lightning discharge. The study primarily used data from NBEs collected in 2016 at seven sensor sites within 50 km of Oxford Mississippi USA. Each sensor site had three electromagnetic antennas called Fast Antenna (FA) dE⁄dt and Log-RF with bandwidths of 0-2.5 MHz 0-1.0 MHz and 186-192 MHz respectively. NBEs are often isolated from other lightning events in thunderclouds but they sometimes initiate negative cloud-to-ground (-CG) and intracloud (IC) lightning flashes or they can occur during these flashes.

Implementing Mass Spectrometry For The Structural And Compositional Analysis Of Proteins, Mohammad Riaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lectins are sugar-binding proteins that perform various biological functions such as cellular recognition attachments etc. Pulses the dried edible seeds of certain plants are great sources of lectins and a proteomics approach directed at lectins identification would bring substantial improvement in the lectin identification process. Lectins from nine different plant species were analyzed through SDS-PAGE and proteomics analysis. After LC-MS/MS analysis proteins were identified with protein database searches using Uniprot. Functionally uncharacterized proteins were identified with database searches were annotated with the Pfam and NCBI-CCD databases. In-vitro pharmacological screening will be carried out to assess the pharmacological effects of these …

Effects Of Halogen Bonding And Nir Tuning Of Dyes For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Alexandra Baumann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With current energy demands being met through the utilization of energy sources such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal, the non-renewable nature of these sources will eventually approach depletion as world wide energy consumption increases yearly. As a result the need for a renewable energy alternative has become imminent. One appealing alternative that has gained considerable attention since its development due to a low cost and a high solar to electric conversion efficiency are dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). This dissertation describes efforts to design and synthesize improved organic dyes utilizing three analogous methods: first, through decreasing non-productive pathways such as …

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of A Novel Adsorption Bed Design For Cooling Applications, Ramy H. Mohammed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A global challenge is to develop environmentally friendly, affordable, compact and sustainable technologies to provide heating and cooling power. Adsorption cooling (AC) technology is one of the most promising ways to solve the environmental issues and cut down the energy consumption related to the traditional air conditioning and refrigeration systems. However, AC systems still suffer from poor heat and mass transfer inside the adsorption bed, which is the main obstacle to commercialization of adsorption cooling units. The main goal of this study is designing an efficient adsorption cooling cycle. In this research work, an in-depth scaling analysis of heat and …

The Long And Short Of It, Ciera Mcelroy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Long and Short of It is a collection of ten stories, spanning centuries and continents, illustrating the universality of loss. Here is a war-haunted Korean vet, brainwashed Nazi brides, a neurotic Soviet ballerina, and a re-imagined Ethan Frome. In these stories, anxiety waits in the wings: will Ethan's wife discover his affair? Will the brides acknowledge the dark truth behind their training? Will a mother recover her kidnapped baby? Characters grapple with grief and anxiety in various ways. Two mothers mourn missing babies: one turns to the occult, the other heads to Mars. Children reel with abandonment: one obsesses …

Consumer Tradeoffs In Material And Experiential Purchases, Ganga Urumutta Hewage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Material and experiential purchases have gained much attention in psychology and consumer behavior alike (Carter and Gilovich 2010; Nicolao, Irwin, and Goodman 2009; Rosenzweig and Gilovich 2012; Tully, Hershfield, and Meyvis 2015). In three essays, I examine the theoretical and practical implications of consumer tradeoffs in this domain. In the first essay, I explore how regulatory focus influences the tradeoffs between material and experiential purchases. Results of five laboratory studies and two field studies (using Instagram and Google Trends data) suggest that, as the regulatory focus shifts from prevention to promotion, there is a higher likelihood of choosing experiential purchases …

Ultra-High Performance Concrete For Precast Seismic Bridge Column Connection, Titchenda Chan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) utilizes prefabricated bridge elements constructed off-site, delivered, and assembled on-site to expedite construction time and reduce traffic disruption. ABC has been increasingly used for super- and sub-structure elements in low seismic regions. However, its application in medium and high seismic regions remain limited, particularly for precast columns where connections typically coincide with plastic hinge (PH) regions. Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), characterized by high compressive and tensile strength, and superior bond properties, is a potential material that can mitigate PH damage and enhance load transfer. This research proposes a new and simple damage tolerant precast column connection …

The Efficacy And Feasibility Of Neuropsychological Services In A Primary Care Setting, Danielle Herring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integrated primary care assimilates psychologists into the primary care setting, thus improving health outcomes and physician satisfaction. Neuropsychology has also begun to assimilate into primary care, as neurocognitive impairment is a correlate of many medical disorders. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), a common complaint among older adults, is an increasingly recognized warning sign of non-normative cognitive aging. These patients typically present first to their primary care providers who may play a critical role in the early detection of cognitive impairment. Given the growing awareness about cognitive health and disability, the importance of neuropsychological assessment as a standard component of integrated care …

Selenium Vs. Sulfur: Investigating The Substrate Specificity Of A Selenocysteine Lyase, Michael Johnstone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Selenium is a vital micronutrient in many organisms. While traces are required for survival, excess amounts are toxic; thus, selenium can be regarded as a biological "double-edged sword". Selenium is chemically similar to the essential element sulfur, but curiously, evolution has selected the former over the latter for a subset of oxidoreductases. Enzymes involved in sulfur metabolism are less discriminate in terms of preventing selenium incorporation; however, its specific incorporation into selenoproteins reveals a highly discriminate process that is not completely understood. In this work, we add knowledge to the mechanism for selenium-over-sulfur specificity in hopes of further understanding the …

Broadband Mid-Infrared Frequency Combs Generated Via Frequency Division, Qitian Ru

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Frequency combs have revolutionized metrology and demonstrated numerous applications in science and technology. Combs operating in the mid-infrared region could be beneficial for molecular spectroscopy for several reasons. First, numerous molecules have their spectroscopic signatures in this region. Furthermore, the atmospheric window (3-5μm and 8-14μm) is located here. Additionally, a mid-infrared frequency comb could be employed as a diagnostic tool for the many components of human breath, as well as for detection of harmful gases and contaminants in the atmosphere. In this thesis, I used synchronously pumped subharmonic optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) operating at degeneracy to produce ultra-broadband outputs near …