Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Effect Of 8 Weeks Of Cannabidiol On Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Seth T. Kofman

Master's Theses

Studies have shown that cannabidiol (CBD) consumption may lead to neuroprotective effects. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a circulating biomarker of neural health and studies exploring the effects of CBD on BDNF concentrations are limited. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether a longer-term CBD intervention would significantly change BDNF concentrations in human serum. Methods: This study used a double-blind placebo-controlled design where thirty-five healthy adult participants were randomly assigned into two groups. Participants were 25.94 ± 6.5 years of age with a body weight of 72.35 ± 13.89 kg and a body fat percentage of 22.61 …

Arts-Integrated Teaching Of English Literature: Using Dance Making Methods To Enhance High School Student Comprehension Of Short Stories And Self-Confidence In Reading Skills, Ashley Carney

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of utilizing creative dance making methods in the study of literature at the high school level. The researcher developed the following essential questions to investigate how dance making impacts student performance on comprehension questions as well as what impact this has on student confidence and self-efficacy:

Q1 What effect does the use of dance making methods have on student comprehension of short stories?

Q2 What effect does increasing the amount of dance creation time have on student comprehension of short stories?

Q3 What effect does the choreographic process have on …

Analyzing Grassland Bird Song And Success: The Impact Of Landscape Characteristics On Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella Neglecta), Leah Crenshaw

Master's Theses

Grassland birds across both North America and globally are in rapid decline, and these population losses are primarily due to agricultural practices driving land-conversion and habitat degradation. While the effects of landscape characteristics like land cover, fragmentation, anthropogenic features, and land use on bird abundance and diversity are well-studied, the mechanisms behind those effects are poorly understood for many species. In our studies, we considered how individual condition and behavior may be underpinning some population losses in Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta). First, we investigated what natural, anthropogenic, and climatic landscape characteristics best predicted Western Meadowlark song structure. We used 421 …

Negotiating National Identity: A Study Of Nationalist Rhetoric During The British Voluntary Recruiting Movement, 1914-1916, Emily Cloys

Master's Theses

Within weeks of the outbreak of World War I, the British Army faced a critical demand for more soldiers to replenish its casualties and to compete with the mass conscript armies of the Central Powers. Hesitant to break from its tradition of non-conscription, the British government relied on a period of voluntary recruitment from 1914 to 1916, resulting in the enlistment of nearly 2.5 million soldiers.

This thesis examines the period of British voluntary recruitment during World War I by exploring how conceptions of British national identity served as a technique of persuasion and as a catalyst for individual enlistment. …

A Proof Of Concept For Detection Of Palato-Lingual Contact Without Intraoral Electrodes In A Human Participant, Amitava Biswas

Master's Theses

The author of this thesis conceived and investigated an unexpected electrical signal that may not be noticed during regular electroglottography (EGG) when electrodes are conventionally placed on the anterior surface of the throat. It appears that there is a measurable electrical signal from the EGG equipment when electrodes are placed over the frontal cheek (belly of zygomatic muscle), and the tongue is elevated to contact the hard palate, or the tongue is lowered to break the contact. Therefore, this phenomenon is designated as unconventional electroglottography (UEGG, Dr. Steven Cloud, private communication, July 17, 2022).

Two distinctive patterns of waveforms were …

Rattus Norvegicus As A Biological Detector Of Clandestine Remains And The Use Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations As A Locating Mechanism, Gabrielle M. Johnston

Master's Theses

In investigations, locating missing persons and clandestine remains are imperative. One way that first responder and police agencies can search for the remains is by using cadaver dogs as biological detectors. Cadaver dogs are typically used due to their olfactory sensitivity and ability to detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds produced by biological remains. Cadaver dogs are typically chosen for their stamina, agility, and olfactory sensitivity. However, what is not taken into account often is the size of the animal and the expense of maintaining and training the animal. Cadaver dogs are typically large breeds that cannot fit in …

Introspective Accuracy For Social Cognition Across The Psychosis Spectrum: Influence Of Sleep Disturbance, Cassi Springfield

Master's Theses

People with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders can have impairments in introspective accuracy (IA; ability to accurately estimate one’s own abilities). Research suggests that positive, negative, and depressive symptoms may be related to IA, but findings are mixed. Examining sleep disturbance as a determinant of IA may help explain these mixed findings. The current study aimed to explore the relationships between sleep disturbance, symptoms, and IA in participants across the psychosis spectrum. Participants completed diagnostic, symptom, and sleep disturbance assessments. Participants also completed social cognitive tasks, estimated their performance on the tasks (used to calculate IA), and indicated their confidence in …

Disruption Of Play Behavior Influences Development Of Caution In Juvenile Ground Squirrels, William Ryan

Master's Theses

Play behavior is ubiquitous among young mammals and has a variety of important influences on early development. I evaluated possible influences of social play behavior on the development of temperament in juvenile Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi), using the caution/boldness spectrum as a measure of temperament. I disrupted the play behavior of juvenile U. beldingi by walking toward juveniles at play until the play interactions stopped. I used undisrupted juveniles and juveniles whose non-play behavior was disrupted at regular intervals as controls. Caution was measured with behavioral tests during which a human intruder walked toward a squirrel and recorded the …

Brazilian Camming: The Monetization Of Intimacy In Online Sex Work, Fernanda Veiverberg

Master's Theses

This thesis addresses a form of online feminized labor in Brazil, which employs digital technology to relieve the urges for intimacy and monetary insecurity. Camming is a genre of online sex work, in which cam models sell their body image and attention online through computer-mediated interactions. It constitutes a profitable activity that employs body performance without physical contact between model and client, typical in most categories of sex work such as prostitution, and where the clients are not mere spectators as within the pornography industry because camming requires authenticity and communication. For that, I explored three conceptual spheres that combined …

Development Of Mirror Flexures For Use In The Muvi Instrument, Colin W. Harrop

Master's Theses

The Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager (MUVI), is a compact wide field UV imaging instrument in development at UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. MUVI is designed to fit in a 2U CubeSat form factor and provide wide field, high resolution images of the ionosphere at far ultraviolet wavelengths. This thesis details the design and analyses of MUVI’s deployable cover mirror mounting flexures. Three different flexure geometries were evaluated, an optimal candidate was determined based on a number of criteria including isolation of vibration and stress to the mirrors, manufacturability and cost. The design of the flexure …

The Role Of Emotion Regulation And Alexithymia In The Relationship Between Sleep And Social Functioning, Lillian A. Hammer

Master's Theses

Poor sleep quality has been tied to worse social functioning outcomes, including greater loneliness, fewer social interactions, and lower social integration. While the relationship between sleep quality and social functioning has been investigated, other factors likely play a role in this complex relationship. Specifically, alexithymia and the use of different emotion regulation strategies may serve as moderators in the relationship between sleep and social functioning. Alexithymia and emotion regulation strategies are both related to sleep quality and social functioning. Yet, the impact of these emotional processes on the relationship between sleep and social functioning remains unexplored. Data for this study …

The Influence Of Range Shifts And Wind Energy On The Atlantic Surfclam (Spisula Solidissima) And Ocean Quahog (Arctica Islandica) Fisheries On The U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, Stephanie Stromp

Master's Theses

The Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima, is a biomass dominant bivalve of the Northwestern Atlantic. The surfclam’s historic range extended from Cape Hatteras to Georges Bank, but recent decades of warming bottom water temperatures have caused the surfclam to shift its range to cooler waters north and offshore within the range of the ocean quahog, Arctica islandica. An ecotone now exists over much of the offshore range of the surfclam in which surfclams and ocean quahogs co-occur. Regulations prohibit fishers from landing both species in the same catch, limiting fishing to locations where the target species can be sorted …

Shelfaware: Accelerating Collaborative Awareness With Shelf Crdt, John C. Waidhofer

Master's Theses

Collaboration has become a key feature of modern software, allowing teams to work together effectively in real-time while in different locations. In order for a user to communicate their intention to several distributed peers, computing devices must exchange high-frequency updates with transient metadata like mouse position, text range highlights, and temporary comments. Current peer-to-peer awareness solutions have high time and space complexity due to the ever-expanding logs that each client must maintain in order to ensure robust collaboration in eventually consistent environments. This paper proposes an awareness Conflict-Free Replicated Data Type (CRDT) library that provides the tooling to support an …

Time-Domain Evaluation Of Atmospheric Ducting Effects On X-Band Propagation Over Water, Jack A. Gallegos

Master's Theses

The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) is the region of atmosphere that interacts with the ocean surface. The atmospheric variability (i.e. temperature and relative humidity) in this region can result in rapid changes in the refractive index with increasing height from the sea surface. The complex region can result in non-standard propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves beyond the horizon under atmospheric ducting conditions. However, when ducting layers are not present, EM waves are limited to line-of-sight transmission. Atmospheric ducting research is typically conducted using radio frequencies in the X-band (around 8-12 GHz) due to its impact on performance of marine …

I Was Looking For God: A Study Of Wehrmacht Personnel And Their Personal Relationships With Religion, Christopher Bishop

Master's Theses

The Wehrmacht was Germany’s fighting force in the field during World War II. Its brutality and discriminatory practices rivaled that of the Nazi paramilitary and police units dispatched alongside them in newly conquered areas during this conflict. Coming from a society that was not at all unfamiliar with Christianity, some within the Wehrmacht related to Christianity in some form and attempted to use it to either justify actions or make sense of the world around them.

While considerable scholarship exists on the Nazi Party’s relationship to Christianity as a convenient propaganda tool for both soldier and civilian alike, the historiography …

The Implications Of Sexual Assault Awareness On Sexual Overperception Bias, Zach Buckner

Master's Theses

Heterogeneity has recently emerged in research investigating men’s overperceptions of women’s sexual receptivity, namely that such overperceptions are less robust than previously considered. Various social movements (e.g., #MeToo) could be a modern-day contextual factor that has reduced men’s tendency toward overperception. In this study, participants viewed hypothetical information regarding sexual assault perpetration committed by men or women (or control information) before rating opposite-sex targets on perceived sexual interest in them and reporting individual differences in just and dangerous world. The results indicate that individuals who hold stronger beliefs in an unjust world are more sensitive to perceived threats from potential …

Reinforcement Learning Framework For The Unreal Engine, Justin B. Wheeler

Master's Theses

This dissertation addresses the need for using machine learning-based methods rather than traditional rule-based methods for controlling non-playable characters (NPCs). The goal of the Reinforcement Learning Framework for the Unreal Engine is to enable game development studios to create, train, and more easily implement smarter, more compelling AI characters in major video game releases. The framework contains three distinct software libraries: an Unreal Engine reinforcement learning library whose purpose is to enable Unreal Engine levels to act as reinforcement learning environments, a python library which provides convenient abstractions and implementations to the reinforcement learning process, and a flexible connection system …

Modeling Daily Fantasy Basketball, Martin Jiang

Master's Theses

Daily fantasy basketball presents interesting problems to researchers due to the extensive amounts of data that needs to be explored when trying to predict player performance. A large amount of this data can be noisy due to the variance within the sport of basketball. Because of this, a high degree of skill is required to consistently win in daily fantasy basketball contests. On any given day, users are challenged to predict how players will perform and create a lineup of the eight best players under fixed salary and positional requirements. In this thesis, we present a tool to assist daily …

Analysis And Usage Of Natural Language Features In Success Prediction Of Legislative Testimonies, Marine Cossoul

Master's Theses

Committee meetings are a fundamental part of the legislative process in which
constituents, lobbyists, and legislators alike can speak on proposed bills at the
local and state level. Oftentimes, unspoken “rules” or standards are at play in
political processes that can influence the trajectory of a bill, leaving constituents
without a political background at an inherent disadvantage when engaging with
the legislative process. The work done in this thesis aims to explore the extent to
which the language and phraseology of a general public testimony can influence a
vote, and examine how this information can be used to promote civic …

Our Pearls Matter: Pcos Through The Lens Of Women Of Color And White Women, Kimberley Sheri Miles

Master's Theses

The prevalence of PCOS is increasing and due to the associated health complications, it is important to understand how higher-risk populations (women of color) cope with said condition. Analyzing current symptom management and treatment could help develop more practical resources and treatment strategies to help improve healthcare expectations and quality of life.

Ten women aged 22-38 with PCOS participated in comprehensive individual interviews with goal-oriented, semi-structured questions. A 27-question survey was also completed. Sampling was continued until data saturation was reached. The data was analyzed using the grounded theory technique which codes emergent themes with keywords and phrases which ultimately …

Characterizing The Developmental Role Of Autism-Risk Gene Adnp In A Zebrafish Model For Autism, Vaishnavi Balaji

Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social

skills, restricted/ repetitive behaviors, and developmental delay. The disease has a genetic component,

and mutations in the adnp gene have been found in 0.17% of non-inherited genetic cases of the disorder. The exact molecular mechanism by which adnp is involved in the development of autism is not known. This study aimed to use zebrafish to determine the phenotypic effects of adnp mutations using two adnp paralogs- adnpA and adnpB to understand the underlying mechanism. Novel zygotic adnp double heterozygous mutants (A+/- B+/-) were previously generated using …

Disability Identity In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Letters, Jackson Fields

Master's Theses

This thesis focuses on letters written by British Romantic author Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote about his chronic illness during the period of emerging modern ideas of disability. Coleridge’s letters are valuable to readers in the twenty-first century because they enable us to track the formation and negotiation of Coleridge’s disability identity. As one of the most important thinkers and authors in the English language, Coleridge has a lot to teach us about how one can understand their illnesses, medical authority, and the influences of disability on friendships and social roles. This thesis considers Coleridge’s letters to his loved ones …

Influence Of Prescribed Burning On Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens) Forest Wildfire Resistance, Resilience, And Risk Of Repeated Fire, Sky B. Biblin

Master's Theses

Land managers need tools to mitigate wildfire proliferation in the western United States. Prescribed burning may be an effective tool to reduce wildfire severity and promote healthy landscapes. In 2020, a large-scale wildfire provided a rare opportunity to compare early postfire data between areas with and without a history of prescribed burning. Field data were collected approximately one year after a wildfire in fifty 20-meter plots from sites treated with prescribed fire in either 1999, 2007, or 2011 and fifty from sites without a history of prescribed fire. The influence of prescribed burning on forest resistance, resilience, and risk of …

Phosphate And Silicate Analysis In Seawater Using Programmable Flow Injection: Optimization And Applications Of Benchtop And In Situ Methodologies, Marine A. Lebrec

Master's Theses

Oceanographic nutrient monitoring efforts still largely rely on discrete sampling at irregular intervals, hindering the advancement of high-resolution biogeochemical observations and models. Benchtop analytical instrumentation for macronutrient analysis is expensive, complex, and requires large reagent volumes and highly trained operators. This thesis describes the development and optimization of a novel and commercially available class of automated nutrient analyzers called programmable Flow Injection (pFI) for benchtop and unattended in situ operations with a focus on phosphate and silicate analysis. While pFI is an ideal candidate for unattended deployments due to its compact size, low reagent volume requirements, and ability measure multiple …

Blockchain For Online Video Game Integrity, Philip Salire

Master's Theses

With the growing level competition in video games, especially with regards to competitively played video games known as ”e-sports,” many players are searching for methods of gaining competitive advantages. As such, there is growing demand in software exploits of video games that aim to provide players unfair competitive advantages. Colloquially, these software exlpoits are referred to as “cheats” or “hacks.” Video game developers counteract these exploits by implementing “anti-cheat” technologies. Anti-cheats employ a myriad of complex methods across software, network, and hardware to detect and prevent cheats. They can be implemented both client-side and server-side with current research and implementations …

Common Pattern Generation For The Detection Of Lolbin Attacks, Alaa Abushqeir

Master's Theses

The cybersecurity environment is constantly evolving as attackers deploy progressively advanced methodologies. The utilization of Living Off the Land Binaries (LOLBins) represents a notable strategy in which normal system utilities are exploited for the purpose of executing malicious actions. This approach poses difficulties in terms of both detection and mitigation. The primary objective of this study is to examine LOLBins, which are a specific category of tactics falling under the broader concept of ”Living Off the Land” (LOL). In LOLBins, malicious actors exploit pre-existing tools in order to maintain a covert presence and circumvent security measures. Defending against LOLBins is …

The Inverse Association Between Prebiotic Consumption And Depression Status In American Adult Females, But Not The Greater Population Or In Males: Nhanes 2015-2018, Cassandra L. Boyd

Master's Theses

It is unknown if a relationship exists between prebiotic intake and depression status. Using 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles data, adult American estimated mean daily prebiotic intake across demographic groups, gender, and depression status were reported. Additionally, the 10 highest prebiotic content Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies foods were identified. Adults (≥ 18 years) with adequate sleep and at least one day of dietary recall data were included. Participants with excessive alcohol intake, BMI ≤ 18, BMI ≥ 30, or current depression medication use were excluded. The confounding variables were inadequate sleep, unemployment, and age. …

Examining The Role Of Echo-Chambers Within Online Incel Communities Using Sentiment Analysis And Group Based Trajectory Modeling, Francesca Florine Fanucchi

Master's Theses

Technological advancements within the last decade have created new opportunities for social movements to meet and communicate online with like-minded individuals. Under this notion, these online communities generate an echo-chamber of information, to which certain individuals only surround themselves with people sharing similar values and opinions. As a result, online platforms (e.g., forums, blogs, websites) form as safe spaces for members to express their views seen as unacceptable offline. Research examining the role of echo-chambers in facilitating extremist rhetoric within online incel communities is limited, despite real-world acts of violence perpetrated by self-proclaimed incels. Therefore, the objective of this thesis …

Crawling The Dark Web: Structural Attributes Of Child Sexual Abuse Websites On The Dark Web, Enrique Guerra

Master's Theses

Inherent encryption and anonymity of the Dark Web has facilitated its use for a variety of illegal activities, including the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Detection of CSAM has increasingly turned to automated tools; however, these tools’ reliance on databases of known CSAM limit their flexibility and ability to identify previously unknown CSAM. Currently, it is unknown whether the lack of countermeasures used by CSAM disseminators on the Surface Web translates to the Dark Web. Therefore, this thesis examines the structural and naming patterns of websites hosting CSAM on the Dark Web, to identify new, complimentary, detection methods. …

Automatic Presentation Slide Generation Using Llms, Tanya Gupta

Master's Theses

Presentation slides are widely used for conveying information in academic and professional contexts. However, manual slide creation can be time-consuming. Our research focuses on automated slide generation, specifically for scientific research papers. Automating the creation of presentation slides for scientific documents is a rather novel task and hence, there’s limited training data available and there also exists the token constraints of language models like BERT, with a maximum sequence length of 512 tokens. In this study, we fine-tune large language models, including Longformer-Encoder-Decoder (supporting sequences up to 16,834 tokens) and BIGBIRD-Pegasus (supporting sequences up to 4,096 tokens). We tackle this …