Digital Commons Network^™

Evidence-Based Lighting Design For Healthcare: Health Effects Of Timed Blue-Light At Night (Blan) On Night-Shift Staff, Seyedeh Nazli Hosseini

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The effects of light at night on night-shift clinical staff in healthcare settings is a topic of growing significance, considering the widespread adoption of artificial lighting and the increasing prevalence of night-shift work in the healthcare industry. The intersection of neuroscience and architecture provides a unique lens to explore the intricate relationship between lighting conditions and the circadian hygiene of night-shift medical staff. This project investigates the strategies associated with light exposure schedules for staff during night-shift work in healthcare settings.

Exposure to artificial light at night may contribute to mood disturbances and sleep disorders and consequently affect alertness and …

Using Data Science And Sustainability Assessment Tools To Evaluate Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Haidar Shakuir Aldaach

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Wastewater management in small communities has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including population growth, limited budgets for operation and maintenance, and stringent effluent standards required by environmental regulations. These challenges motivate enhancing wastewater treatment processes to protect water quality. Wastewater treatment performance can be improved in small towns and rural regions by implementing data-driven strategies. Data science, life cycle assessment (LCA), and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) are three data-driven decision-making tools that require data collection, modeling, computational models, and statistical analysis that could be utilized to improve wastewater treatment efficiencies. In this study, these three tools were adopted …

Simulation Of Annpet For Neural Network Training And System Performance Benchmarking, Pete Martone

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are often used to provide insight into complex physical phenomenon. They can generate realistic results without the necessity to construct costly and complex apparatus. The ultimate value of these simulations depend on how accurately the physics can be modeled and if a sufficient volume can be produced to account for statistical variance. In medical imaging device development, MC simulations of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners have typically been used to model the performance of new systems. The imaging group in the Department of Radiology have developed a unique detector design for a pre- clinical PET scanner …

Parental Behavioral Control Across Domains In Indian And Indian American Families, Avneet Batra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Prior research literature has often found parental behavioral control to have mixed associations with varied adolescent outcomes (Bean et al., 2006; Finkenauer et al., 2005). However, a relatively lesser explored topic of research focusses on the domain specificity of this kind of control and its association with internalizing and externalizing behaviors in sample of Indian and Indian American parents (Arim et al., 2010). The current study adds to the limited literature by emphasizing the five domains of control (e.g., moral, conventional, prudential, personal and overlapping) based on the social cognitive domain theory and explores their association with adolescent adjustment outcomes …

A Critical Narrative Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Latino Male Graduate International Students Attending A Pwi, Cesar Miguel Castellon Gort

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative study examines how Latino male international graduate students navigate identity, belonging, and exclusion within U.S. higher education. Although international enrollment has increased, the experiences of this student population remain largely invisible in research and institutional practice. Guided by Intersectionality and Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), this study investigates how intersecting dimensions of race, language, age, gender, and immigration status shape these students’ academic and social experiences. Using a critical narrative methodology, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and identity web exercises with four participants. Employing story chaining to link individual narratives, four central themes emerged: 1) Racialized and …

Asset Mapping: A Tool Used To Identify Community Resources, Gentry Shrewsbury

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Physical activity is vital for health and quality of life; however, for individuals with disabilities, there are numerous barriers to participation. In rural and low-socioeconomic regions, barriers such as lack of awareness, limited restrooms, and lack of public transportation create challenges when attempting to be physically active. Using the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) framework, this study examined physical activity resources within Mercer County, West Virginia, and evaluated their accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

Methods: A qualitative research design was implemented using three data collection strategies: (1) a google search to identify existing physical activity opportunities followed by a windshield …

Filling Research Gaps In Occupational Health In Thermal Spray Coatings: A Scoping Review, Lab Characterization, And Lung Deposition Of Cold Sprayed Emissions, Bailley N. Reggetz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Thermal Spray Coating (TSC) processes are industrial surface treatment methods used to create coatings for repair, protection, and performance enhancement of components exposed to wear, corrosion, heat, or other harsh conditions. The most commonly used TSC techniques (flame spraying, electric arc spraying, HVOF spraying, plasma spraying, and cold spraying) are used across numerous industries including aerospace, automotive, biomedicine, and energy due to their ability to enhance surface properties such as providing corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and thermal insulation. While TSC techniques have been commercially available for nearly a century, they have undergone continuous development to accommodate more specialized applications, unique …

Evaluation And Identification Of Novel Viruses In Wild Fishes Using Varied Molecular Biology Techniques, Clayton Douglas Raines

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Viruses are among the most abundant biological entities on Earth, yet their diversity and ecological roles in aquatic vertebrates, particularly fishes, remain poorly characterized. This dissertation advances fish virology through integrative approaches that combine historical context, molecular diagnostics, and genomic discovery. A novel hepadnavirus (ApHBV) was identified in asymptomatic Alosa pseudoharengus, emphasizing the prevalence of subclinical infections in migratory forage species. In Catostomus commersonii, transcriptomic profiling revealed sexually dimorphic immune responses to hepatitis B and C-like viruses, highlighting complex host-pathogen dynamics. In Micropterus nigricans, next-generation sequencing uncovered a novel nackednavirus and multiple adomaviruses within hyperpigmented lesions, expanding …

Tobacco And Trouble: Exploring The Health Consequences Of Electronic Cigarette Use In Adolescents, Noor Ibrahim Abdulhay

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Tobacco use remains one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death in the United States (U.S.). Although conventional cigarette use among youth has declined, the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has become highly prevalent and poses emerging public health concerns. Adolescence represents a critical developmental period for both oral and mental health, making it essential to understand the consequences of tobacco and nicotine exposure during this stage. The goal of this dissertation is to examine the health impacts of tobacco use in adolescents across multiple domains. Specifically, this research (1) synthesizes existing evidence on the relationship between …

Behavioral Effects Of Prenatal Ecig Aerosol Exposure On Sprague-Dawley Rats, Erin Elizabeth Wylie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Maternal electronic cigarette (ECIG) use during pregnancy raises concerns about potential risks to offspring, yet its behavioral effects remain unclear. The present studies were designed to investigate how prenatal exposure to ECIG aerosols, with and without nicotine, influences the behavior of Sprague-Dawley rat offspring. Dams were exposed to aerosols containing base liquid alone, aerosols containing base liquid with 18 mg/ml nicotine, or filtered air (control) throughout gestation. Following postnatal day 65, male offspring from 17 litters completed lever-press acquisition (Experiment 1), sustained-attending (Experiment 2), and nicotine self-administration (Experiment 3) tasks. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to compare task …

An Edna Assessment Of The Diamond Darter (Crystallaria Cincotta) In Its Current And Historic Distribution Range, Cameron Moore Layne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Environmental DNA (eDNA) can serve as a useful monitoring tool for cryptic and imperiled freshwater stream fishes. eDNA can fill knowledge gaps regarding species’ distribution, site abundance, and habitat usage. The last known stronghold of the Diamond Darter (Crystallaria cincotta) in the Elk River of West Virginia provides an excellent test case to examine the utility of this non-invasive method of surveying rare species. Diamond Darters are one of the most newly recognized freshwater fishes in North America and are among the most imperiled U.S. fishes, having been federally listed as endangered in 2013. The cryptic behavior and limitations of …

An Analysis Of Usopc National Governing Body Policies Related To Body Pressures, Body Image Concerns, And Eating Pathology, Sarah Margaret Sadler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Athletes are often exposed to body pressures in sport environments (Voelker & Reel, 2020), which can contribute to body image concerns and eating pathology (Petrie & Greenleaf, 2007, 2012) with lasting consequences for performance and well-being. Although research has highlighted the harmful impacts of these concerns, and has called for a broader investigation into the sources of athletes’ experiences of these concerns (Voelker et al., 2022), little is known about the role of sport organizations in influencing athletes’ body pressures, body image concerns, and eating pathology. Using a descriptive qualitative research design within a post-positivist paradigmatic approach, the current study …

Improving Large Scale Face Recognition With Identity Codes, Mohammad Saeed Ebrahimi Saadabadi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite significant advances in deep face recognition, current systems face several practical challenges in real-world scenarios. These include high computational cost of training on large-scale datasets, inefficient use of metric space, and mismatch between training and evaluation frameworks. This dissertation addresses these limitations through three completed studies. The first part presents a research effort aimed at addressing the computational bottlenecks of large-scale FR training. This work proposes a framework that replaces conventional scalar identity labels with structured identity codes, \ie, sequences of tokens optimized to preserve semantic and metric separation. The formulation is designed to reduce the computational cost of …

Improving Food Safety Practices Among Fsma-Exempt Small-Scale Produce Growers: A Manuscript-Based Dissertation On Risk, Adoption, And Practical Barriers, Jesica Marie Temple

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Improving Food Safety Practices Among FSMA-Exempt Small-Scale Produce Growers: A Manuscript-Based Dissertation on Risk, Adoption, and Practical Barriers

Jesica Temple

Foodborne illness outbreaks associated with fresh produce continue to pose a public health risk in the United States. Although the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) established science-based standards to prevent contamination, many small-scale farms are exempt from these requirements. Consequently, voluntary adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) varies widely across regions. Strategies to improve engagement among FSMA-exempt growers are key to advancing postharvest food safety and reducing contamination. This manuscript-based dissertation examined how knowledge, attitudes, …

Longitudinal And Ensemble Modeling Of Beef Cattle Feed And Water Intakes, Nathan El Blake

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Beef cattle production remains a cornerstone of global food systems, providing highly bioavailable protein and essential micronutrients that are difficult to secure from plant-based foods alone. Yet this production is also resource-intensive, requiring substantial land, feed, and water inputs while contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Efficiency of dry matter intake (DMI) and water intake (WI) is central to both productivity and sustainability, but accurate measurement of these traits—particularly in grazing systems—remains a major limitation. National WI standards continue to rely on pen-level data collected in the 1950s, while most existing DMI prediction equations perform poorly when applied beyond the …

Non-Lethal Sampling Methods For Fish Health Assessments Using Smallmouth Bass Micropterus Dolomieu, Lindsey Nicole Hartzell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the early 2000s, fish kills of different species, including smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, were reported in areas of the Potomac River drainage, including the Shenandoah River in Virginia. Since the first reports of fish kills and lesions affecting smallmouth bass, they have continued to show signs of adverse health effects. Additionally, in some areas of the Potomac River drainage, population declines have occurred, and lethal sampling is discouraged. To develop a holistic, integrative approach to assess fish health, Smallmouth Bass were collected and sampled using non-lethal techniques at three sites within the Shenandoah River drainage, VA and one …

Neural Network-Based Image Compression, Atefeh Khoshkhahtinat

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The rapid advancement of information technology and the exponential growth of digital communication have significantly increased the demand for efficient data compression techniques that reduce storage requirements, minimize bandwidth consumption, and accelerate data transmission—without substantially compromising data quality. This dissertation addresses these challenges by investigating and developing advanced learned image compression (LIC) methods, with a particular focus on lossy compression for both natural images and scientific imagery obtained from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission. Traditional image compression standards—such as JPEG, JPEG2000, BPG, and HEVC—rely on manually engineered transforms and heuristic rules, which often lack the adaptability required to accommodate …

The Effect Of Sars-Cov-2 On Bacterial Diversity And Abundance In Community Wastewater, Joshua Lambert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters human respiratory cells through binding of its spike (S) protein to the ACE-2 receptor, which is highly expressed in lung cells, but is also found in over 150 other cell types encompassing major organs including GI enterocytes. SARS-CoV-2 causes gut dysbiosis in infected individuals and patients with COVID-19 and also coincides with lower alpha diversity of the individual’s gut microbiome. Certain gut microbiome-associated genera are lower in abundance in COVID-19 patients including Lachnospira, Prevetolla, Roseburia, Bifidobacterium, and Faecalibacterium while genera such as Bacteroides, Enterococcus and Proteobacteria are increased during a SARS-CoV-2 …

Soccer Sheikhs: Qatar, Football, And The Quest For Self-Confidence And Global Prominence, Ali Ahsan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines Qatar’s strategic use of football as a mechanism for securing ontological security within the international system. Moving beyond standard International Relations explanations of state behavior, the study draws on ontological security theory which emphasizes the need of states to sustain a coherent sense of self through routines, narratives, and recognition. By framing football as such a practice, the dissertation advances the study of sport as a growing area of interest in the political sciences. Through a qualitative methodology employing Reflexive Thematic Analysis of expert interviews, the research analyzes Qatar’s football policies, including hosting the 2022 FIFA World …

Toward A University-Led Community Indicator Project For West Virginia, Daniel Carson Eades

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rural communities across the United States are experiencing profound social and economic transitions that demand innovative, asset-based approaches to community development (CD). This study responds to calls from West Virginia (WV) community development practitioners, funders, and university leaders for a standardized, contextually relevant framework to assess and track community well-being. The objective of this study was to develop a university-led community indicator project in West Virginia (WV CIP) that incorporates best practices recognized by the literature as critical to successful community-based indicator projects, specifically, the identification of scientifically and normatively grounded indicators rooted in a conceptual framework (the Community Capital …

Dynamic Force Feedback Controller Improves Metrics Of Stepping In A Biomimetic Robot Leg, Isabella Mae Kudyba

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Force feedback is a type of robotic control where forces are measured, fed back into the control system, and actuation is adjusted to compensate for environmental forces, with the goal of quick and precise limb positioning in walking. Robots of today use single force sensors (e.g. pressure sensitive pads, load cells) per leg which are often bulky, expensive, and susceptible to crosstalk. Walking robots often employ model predictive controllers or policy controllers trained through reinforcement learning (RL) to actuate their limbs, but these methods are time and energy consuming. Biomimetic robots offer an alternative approach, investigating biological theories with the …

Modeling And Simulation Of A Process For Upcycling Of Low-Density Polyethylene Plastic Waste To Ethylene, Xiaoyan Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ethylene is one of the most widely produced petrochemicals, with an estimated global output of 180 million metric tons in 2022. Approximately 82 million metric tons of ethylene are used annually for plastic production, primarily for polyethylene (PE), as well as polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The CO₂ emissions associated with PE production were approximately 14 million metric tons in 2022. Globally, an estimated 70 million metric tons of PE are produced and consumed each year, with the majority (~79%) ending up in landfills or the environment.

This project proposes a novel process in which waste low-density polyethylene (LDPE) …

The Position Of The United States Of America Vis-A-Vis The Question Of Western Sahara: Assessing The Role Of Think Tanks In The Conflict, Hamid Baadeche

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

The Position of the United States of America Vis-à-vis the Question of Western Sahara: Assessing the Role of Think Tanks in the Conflict

Hamid Baadeche

Think tank organizations, particularly in the United States, have become a prominent feature of the political landscape. They act as advocates for specific policies that they consider beneficial for the country or a particular societal group. They function as a primary source of information, which they then aim to transform into well-informed policies and sound decisions. They are referred to as "the revolving doors," "idea brokers," and "idea factory." As such, their foremost objective …

The Impact Of Skew On The Flexural Behavior Of Press-Brake-Formed Tub Girders, Matthew Allan Weatherholt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) is a group of bridge and buried soil steel structure industry leaders who have joined together to provide educational information on the design and construction of short span steel bridges in installations up to 140 feet in length. Press-brake-formed-tub-girders (PBFTGs) were developed by a technical working group within the SSSBA in response to a rising demand for rapid infrastructure replacements for short span bridge applications. PBFTGs are produced from structural steel plate and can be finished as weathering steel or galvanized. After being cold bent to the appropriate shape, shear studs are welded …

Fundamental And Applied Investigation Of Ammonia Combustion: Characteristics And Emissions At Relevant Ic Engine Conditions, Luis Fernando Alvarez Correa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ammonia (NH3) is regarded as a promising fuel for future carbon-free power and propulsion systems due to its high hydrogen content, ease of storage, and existing infrastructure. Despite these advantages, NH3 exhibits inherently poor combustion characteristics, including low laminar burning velocity, high ignition energy, narrow flammability limits, and sluggish chemical kinetics. These limitations were solved in prior research by blending NH3 with hydrogen (H2) or hydrocarbons, which improved reactivity but introduced trade-offs such as increased complexity, safety concerns, or carbon emissions. Consequently, there remains a significant lack of fundamental and applied research on neat NH3 combustion, particularly under engine-relevant conditions …

Rethinking Compliance: How Goal Congruence Can Lead To Noncompliance And Positive B2b Performance, Paige Harrison Fender

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Traditional marketing theories (e.g., agency theory) suggest that aligning goals with a partner firm will enhance compliance and lead to better overall performance for both firms. The research on positive deviance, in contrast, suggests that a firm may deviate from contractual terms in order to accomplish shared goals and enhance performance. Merging these perspectives and pulling from more nuanced discussions of compliance, this dissertation explores the potential deleterious effects of goal congruence on compliance. Specifically, we examine the conditions in which goal congruence leads to both compliance and noncompliance and how these conditions impact performance. Additionally, this dissertation examines how …

Feasibility Testing Of A Web-Based Phq-9 Test For Student Depression, Israel Oluwagbenga Odugboye

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Feasibility Testing of a Web-Based PHQ-9 Test for Student Depression

Israel Odugboye

Student depression stands as a critical public health issue because it affects numerous young adults who experience academic decline, disability, absenteeism, productivity reduction, and suicidal thoughts. The general population shows a 10% to 15% lifetime risk of developing depression which leads to a twentyfold elevation in suicide risk for depressed individuals [3]. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) serves as a popular tool for detecting depressive symptoms and determining severity levels among students from different cultural backgrounds. The assessment contains 27 possible scores which follow DSM depressive symptom criteria …

Power, Economy, And Food Systems In The Confederacy: A Material History Of The Confederate Subsistence Department, John Martin Mcmillan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation questions how human and non-human actors share power. By exploring Confederate logistics within the Subsistence Department, the collaboration between bureaucrats and the material world is revealed. Contributing to scholarship aimed at expanding the field of Civil War studies, this dissertation not only provides a more complex and interesting view of the conflict, but also an understanding that human beings are not solely responsible for the war’s results. By applying a materialist approach, the causes and outcomes of an event as complicated as a civil war can be better explained and understood. The choice to stockpile food for distribution …

Characterization Of Properties And Defects Of Alternative Matrix Materials For 3d Printed Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites, Noah Darren Osborne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, has the potential to transform the production of end-use parts by facilitating the creation of complex shaped, low-volume components that are expensive to manufacture using traditional methods. However, thermoplastic polymer matrices currently utilized in 3D printing of carbon fiber composites, often lack the mechanical properties needed for aerospace applications. To address this issue, researchers have developed fiber-reinforced 3D-printed composites using an innovative two-step process which involves printing 3D preforms using fused deposition modeling, followed by compression molding. However, most previous work involves the use of nylon-based polymer matrices while there are a number …

Identifying The Role And Influence Of Interleukin-27 On The Neonatal Immune Response, Jordan Kane Vance

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The first month of life is a critical and vulnerable developmental stage, characterized by a heightened risk of life-threatening infections. Each year, 1.3 million newborns succumb to neonatal bacterial sepsis. The immune system during the neonatal period has unique features that lead to inefficiencies at clearing infection. Early life immunity is characterized by a Th2-biased profile with decreased IL‑12, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, along with increased IL‑6 and IL‑23. Additionally, IL‑27, an immunosuppressive cytokine, is also elevated during this period and further contributes to susceptibility to infection. Early diagnosis and intervention are critical in administering effective care in newborns and there …