A Computational Analysis Of The Gradient Concentration Profile Of Deet And The Mosquito Behavioral Response, Brandon Carver

Master's Theses

DEET is a common active ingredient in most spatial repellents. DEET is also a volatile organic compound. DEET prevents mosquitoes from detecting and coming into contact with an human individual. Gas sensing technologies such as metal oxide semiconductor sensors can detect VOCs. The World Health Organization provides the majority of efficacy testing methods. This research adapts methods from the WHO and use of MOS sensors to further understand how and why DEET affects mosquitos. A custom developed system is used to measure DEET dissipation and observe mosquito behavioral response to the DEET. DEET dissipations and mosquito behavior is measured within …

Investigating Possible Scurvy In The Postclassic Maya Of Tipu, Emmalea Gomberg

Master's Theses

Although residing in a tropical environment, numerous researchers have posited the possibility of scurvy in the Maya in recent years. The historic population of Tipu in western Belize dating to AD 1541-1638 is one of the largest and best preserved Maya series, and was therefore evaluated for possible presence of scurvy since the diet appears typical of the pre-contact Petén populations. The temporal bones and greater wings of the sphenoid were analyzed for scorbutic activity in 143 individuals, along with periodontal disease and antemortem tooth loss to determine if there was a co-occurrence with scurvy.

Overall, 27% of the sample …

Pseudomonas/Brachypodium As A Model System For Studying Rhizosphere Plant Microbe Interactions Under Water Stress, Janiece Mcwilliams

Master's Theses

In contrast to well-studied mechanisms of drought tolerance in plants, the interactions between plants and their microbiome during water stress are still poorly understood. This missing knowledge is crucial for the exploitation of beneficial microbial communities to improve the sustainability of agriculture under changing climatic conditions. The research described here bridged this gap by focusing on the molecular interactions between beneficial rhizobacterium Pseudomonas synxantha 2-79 and annual grass Brachypodium distachyon Bd21. 2-79 exemplifies a group of rhizobacteria associated with dryland wheat, while B. distachyon originates from the Middle East and has emerged as a model for valuable biomass, food, forage, …

Global Renewable And Nonrenewable Energy Use Impact Assessment Of U.S. Manufacturing: An Integrated Cradle-To-Gate Lca And Dea Approach, Bahadir Ezici

Master's Theses

In this thesis, U.S. manufacturing industries` global supply chain-linked energy use and economic output are investigated considering a total of 16 renewable and nonrenewable energy carriers. A multiregion input output (MRIO) framework is employed to conduct the global supply chain-linked energy use impact assessment. The study period was between 1995 and 2014 based on data availability. Thus, 20 MRIO models were developed. Each MRIO model consists of the 40 largest economies of the world and the rest of the world (ROW) as the 41st country. Each country’s economy was structured into 35 manufacturing and service industries based on the Worth …

Cleaver: Classification Of Everyday Activities Via Ensemble Recognizers, Samantha Hsu

Master's Theses

Physical activity can have immediate and long-term benefits on health and reduce the risk for chronic diseases. Valid measures of physical activity are needed in order to improve our understanding of the exact relationship between physical activity and health. Activity monitors have become a standard for measuring physical activity; accelerometers in particular are widely used in research and consumer products because they are objective, inexpensive, and practical. Previous studies have experimented with different monitor placements and classification methods. However, the majority of these methods were developed using data collected in controlled, laboratory-based settings, which is not reliably representative of real …

Fingerprinting The Smart Home: Detection Of Smart Assistants Based On Network Activity, Arshan Hashemi

Master's Theses

As the concept of the Smart Home is being embraced globally, IoT devices such as the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Nest Thermostat are becoming a part of more and more households. In the data-driven world we live in today, internet service providers (ISPs) and companies are collecting large amounts of data and using it to learn about their customers. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important to understand what information ISPs are capable of collecting. IoT devices in particular exhibit distinct behavior patterns and specific functionality which make them especially likely to reveal sensitive information. Collection of this …

Comparative Analysis Of Electrodynamic Toroidal Radiation Shielding Configurations, Max Rosenberg

Master's Theses

Beyond the protective confines of Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere, spacecraft are subject to constant bombardment by high-energy charged particles originating from our Sun in the form of Solar Particle Events (SPEs), and from outside the solar system in the form of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs). The harm these particles do can be reduced or mitigated outright through radiation shielding. Because protons and other charged particles comprise most of these radiation particles, strong magnetic fields could be generated around spacecraft to deflect incoming charged radiation particles. This thesis investigates the performance of specific configurations of toroidal superconducting solenoids to generate magnetic …

Hip And Knee Biomechanics For Transtibial Amputees In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training, Greg Orekhov

Master's Theses

Transtibial amputees are at increased risk of contralateral hip and knee joint osteoarthritis, likely due to abnormal biomechanics. Biomechanical challenges exist for transtibial amputees in gait and cycling; particularly, asymmetry in ground/pedal reaction forces and joint kinetics is well documented and state-of-the-art passive and powered prostheses do not fully restore natural biomechanics. Elliptical training has not been studied as a potential exercise for rehabilitation, nor have any studies been published that compare joint kinematics and kinetics and ground/pedal reaction forces for the same group of transtibial amputees in gait, cycling, and elliptical training. The hypothesis was that hip and knee …

The Investigation Of Food Neophobia And Bitterness Sensitivity On Food Preference In Familiar And Unfamiliar Fruits And Vegetables In California Elementary Schools, Maria Handley

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between food neophobia and bitterness in consumer liking. Fruit and vegetable consumption is necessary for elementary school children to build healthy habits. Free and reduced lunch programs (FRL) in schools provide nutritional opportunities to students. Bitterness sensitivity and food neophobia were examined as separate drivers of liking in acceptance testing (n=161, ages 6-12) from two local elementary schools (high and low %FRL). The food neophobia scale and the fruit and vegetable neophobia instrument (FNVI) were used to determine food neophobia. FNVI scores distinguished consumers in hierarchical cluster analysis of overall …

Hdl-C As Most Predictive Variable Of Visceral Adipose Tissue In Young Military Personnel Of The National Guard, Sofia Rae Sanchez Porush

Master's Theses

Twenty-two young men and women of the 49^thMilitary Police Brigade of the California National Guard were participants of our nutrition education and health assessment program. The California National Guard has expressed concern of unsatisfactory physical and nutritional status of their personnel related to a nutrition knowledge deficit as evidenced by preliminary data of insufficient dietary intake and poor nutrition knowledge assessment scores. Our program was designed to implement a nutrition intervention including education and evaluate its effectiveness in reducing Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) risk factors, improving body composition, and providing educational lessons intended to alter lifestyle. Baseline data was …

Vulnerable Narcissism, Self-Criticism, And Self-Injurious Behavior: Emotion Regulation As A Moderator, Philip Stoner

Master's Theses

College students of traditional age have an elevated risk of self-injury (McManus et al., 2015). Self-injurious behavior (SIB) often indicates increased mental health concerns and elevated suicide risk (Whitlock, Eckenrode & Silverman, 2006). Self-criticism represents a non-physical form of self-injury (Baetens, et al., 2015), which is also associated with psychological distress and suicidal behavior. Thus, it is important to understand the risk factors associated with SIB and self-criticism. Vulnerable narcissism has been linked to self-injury (Dawood et al., 2017); however, there is little consensus about the nature of this relationship. Moreover, vulnerable narcissism has been associated with impaired emotion regulation …

Determinants Of Team Resilience; The Role Of A Reset Process Across Conditions, Jeffrey Hanrahan

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Alternative And Conventional Medications For Treating Hypertension By Jamaicans In The Hartford, Connecticut Area, Judith Bennett

Master's Theses

Abstract

Background

Hypertension continues to be an international public health concern. This chronic disease is highly prevalent in Caribbean countries. Jamaican migrants to the Greater Hartford, Connecticut area share in this high prevalence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concomitant use of herbal and conventional medicines for treating hypertension among these migrant Jamaicans.

Methods

Qualitative and quantitative mixed methods were used to carry out this study. Focus groups and in-depth interviews collected qualitative data and a survey questionnaire collected quantitative data allowing for representation and hypothesis testing. Analysis of qualitative data used a thematic approach while SPSS …

Development And Cost-Effectiveness Of A Malnutrition Screening Program In A Skilled Nursing Setting, Emily Salas-Groves

Master's Theses

Malnutrition increases the cost of healthcare and is commonly unrecognized and untreated. These facts are especially true for healthcare settings that provide care to the elderly. Research emphasizes the need for malnutrition prevention in extended care facilities such as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) so that patients receive timely and appropriate intervention(s).

The purpose of this study was to retroactively screen SNF patients using four alternative malnutrition screening tools and to compare results to those from the facility screening tool. A second purpose was to estimate differences in potential Medicare reimbursement based on the number of patients identified at risk for …

Design And Fabrication Of Fdm 3d Printed Strain Sensors, Austin Smith

Master's Theses

As technology related to virtual reality, prosthetics, and robotics advances there appears a need for better sensor technology to augment these systems. In particular, many of the systems must interphase with the human body or the environment while maintaining large amounts of mobility and flexibility. This creates the demand for flexible electronics in particular flexible strain sensors to monitor movement. The work presented here explores the feasibility of commercially available elastic filament and desktop Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing as a simple and cost-effective route to develop flexible single-axis strain sensors. 3D printing allows for the rapid production and …

Assessing The Adequacy Of The Rate Based System Of Enteral Nutrition Infusion In The Icu Of A Community Hospital, Callie Betman

Master's Theses

The rate based system for delivering enteral nutrition has been found to result in an average delivery of 60-65% of estimated energy and protein needs in ICU patients. Interruptions in tube feedings for surgery, intolerances, and turning/bathing cause underfeeding as the rate based system does not allow the rate to be adjusted for any lost volume. At Northwest Hospital, protocol is to calculate the hourly tube feeding rate over 20 hours, and run over 24 hours, in order to adjust for an expected 4 hours of interruptions per day; however, the effectiveness of this protocol has not been studied. The …

Phytonutrient Intake And Body Composition Color Correlations, Ryan Orgeron

Master's Theses

This study evaluated the role of phytonutrient intake on body composition. Both the quantity and types of phytonutrients in diets were analyzed. Fifty (50) subjects (15 males; 35 females) from Thibodaux, Louisiana, were randomly selected to participate. All participants completed three 24-hour food recalls to gather intake data (food and calorie intake). The phytonutrient index (PI) was an established formula used to calculate the percentage (%) of the diet comprised of phytonutrient rich foods. Three different body assessment tools were used to determine body adiposity (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, and fat percentage).

Participants who met healthy standards for …

Covering A Killer: A Content Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of White Male Mass Murderers In The U.S, Rhys Hall

Master's Theses

White men represent a disproportionate number of mass murderers via guns/bombings in the U.S. Though, there may be disparities in how often white masculinity is probed as a conflictual site of socialization when compared with other social racial and gender identities. Holding concern for how masculine violence is criminalized across racial lines, I conduct a review of racial typificiations of Black crime in newspapers to juxtapose with contemporary discourse of white masculine crime.

Using content analysis, I examine hundreds of newspaper publications released from 2011-2016 covering mass killers. I look for tendencies from paper writers to minimize sociological similarities between …

A Biochemical Study Of The Autocatalytic Nature Of A Serine Protease (Early Trypsin) From The Aedes Aegypti Female Mosquito, Rachael Marie Lucero

Master's Theses

The female Aedes aegypti mosquito requires specific midgut proteases to digest

blood meals in a biphasic manner for completion of the gonotrophic cycle. The anautogenous nature of the female mosquito has led to the mosquito in becoming an efficient vector in transmitting several bloodborne pathogens: Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, Dengue and the Zika virus. With the many flaws associated with current vector control strategies, our research lab is focused on the development of a potential novel vector control strategy by targeting midgut proteases involved in blood meal digestion. The role of one of the four most abundantly expressed proteases, AaET, an …

Autonomy In Video Games And Gamification, Jonathan Leventhal

Master's Theses

In the past decade, gamification (using game elements in non-gaming tasks to enhance motivation and engagement) has become a popular concept in many industries, but few studies have explored the principles under which it works. Self-determination theory suggests three psychological needs that gamification fulfills: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Autonomy, a person's perception that they have the ability to act however they choose, has emerged as an important, yet less-studied aspect in gamification. Inclusion of autonomy in gamification should foster engagement, enjoyment, and better performance. An experiment inspired by the above was carried out in which a sample of college students …

Computational Models Exploring The Role Of Flexibility In Binding Tat Peptide To Tar Rna, Thanh Quoc Le

Master's Theses

Viral-encoded regulatory proteins interacting with RNA target sequences control the gene expression of lentiviruses, notably the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV). The latter provides a simpler interaction model between the viral trans-activator protein (Tat) and trans-activation response RNA element (TAR), including Tat peptides binding to TAR RNA fragments. This model may offer insights into clinical approaches for treatment, initially through theoretical consideration of the role of peptide flexibility in binding as evidenced by literature-based binding assays and NMR. It has more recently been suggested that DNA-protein binding may also be enhanced by increases in conformational entropy. …

Characterization Of Four Type-C Silica Columns Using Resveratrol Analogues, Joshua Topete

Master's Theses

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an analytical technique used to separate, identify and quantify components in a solution based on the affinities between analyte, mobile phase and stationary phase. The main goal of my research is to characterize four Type-C silica columns by comparing the retention of resveratrol analogues. The four columns included are functionalized with either Diamond Bidentate C18 (DBC18), Bidentate C18 (BC18), phenyl hydride or diol groups. Retention maps displaying mobile phase composition compared to compound retention times were compared between columns. In addition to this, two organic solvents (acetonitrile and methanol) were compared. Considering that the …

Changes In The Elasmobranch Assemblage In A California Estuary, Catarina Pien

Master's Theses

Elkhorn Slough is an estuarine system that provides habitat for several elasmobranch species. During the past century, the hydrography and habitat of Elkhorn Slough have dramatically changed. Previous studies suggest shifts in the species composition and habitat usage patterns of elasmobranchs. This study characterizes the elasmobranch species composition, and examines the abiotic conditions associated with differences in distribution by sex and life stage. Elasmobranchs were sampled from 2015 –2016 by longline and gillnet. Bat rays (Myliobatis californicus), leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata), and thornback rays (Platyrhinoidis triseriata) were most commonly observed, and were generally more abundant during the dry seasons and …

All Eyes On You: The Impact Of Increased Surveillance And Media Publicity On Police Identity, Sara Serpa Rodrigues

Master's Theses

The recent surge in media footage surrounding police killings of unarmed black men clearly signifies the national concern for police violence, yet researchers have yet to study police identity in connection with such publicized inequality. This qualitative study closes this gap in research by addressing the following questions: “How do patrolling officers think about and experience their jobs at this particular historical juncture of increased internet and media exposure?” and, “How does the mass exposure and scrutiny of police violence shape police perceptions of their work and impact their work identity?” Face to face semi-structured interviews, symbolic interactionism, and interpretive …

For The Bible Tells Me So, Jade Dozier

Master's Theses

The relationship between the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) community and the church has been studied for critical reasons. The connection between the two has been uneasy because of the religious beliefs from religious groups and the many misunderstandings of what the LGBTQ community believes in. I have been able to understand the poor relationship between the Black church and homosexuality from the sources that are examined in my Literature Review. I evaluated the similarities and differences between queer men and women based on upbringing, denomination, and familial acceptance. As a LA native, I narrowed research on Black …

Diets And Stable Isotope Signatures Of Yellowtail Rockfish (Sebastes Flavidus) In Central California, Jennifer Chiu

Master's Theses

Studies of fish diets can improve the understanding of trophic distributions and the predatory role of a species in an ecosystem. Identifying the spatial and temporal variability in the diets of fishes can provide useful information for stock assessments and management. Yellowtail Rockfish (Sebastes flavidus) are a commercially and recreationally important fishery species, and abundant along the central California coast, yet the most recent studies of diets occurred over 20 years ago in Oregon and Washington. To provide current information from California, I examined the food habits of Yellowtail Rockfish collected near Cordell Bank, the Farallon Islands, and Half Moon …

Stratospheric Intrusions Over Northern California During Cabots: A Study Of Ozone Transport And The Influence On Surface Ozone Pollution In The Sacramento Valley, Jodie Clark

Master's Theses

Stratospheric intrusions occur above California throughout all seasons. Stratospheric intrusions are known to transport ozone rich stratospheric air into the lower troposphere, influencing surface ozone, especially in the mountainous regions of the western US. These intrusions potentially influence the surface ozone concentrations to be above the health-based national ambient air quality standard. Potential Vorticity is a widely accepted tracer of stratospheric air masses being injected into the troposphere. Stratospheric intrusions during the last few weeks of the California Baseline Ozone Transport Study are identified over Northern California, influencing air masses above Bodega Bay and Sacramento. Utilizing daily ozonesonde data from …

Parental Perspective And Feeding Practices Effects On Food Neophobia In Elementary-Age School Children, Farnoosh Ayoughi

Master's Theses

The Food neophobia (FN) behaviors in children are developed during childhood and can be influenced by parental FN and feeding behaviors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between FN and fruit and vegetable neophobia (FVN) among parents, the parents-reports on child's behavior and child self-reports. The effect of parental feeding practices and demographic variables on children’s FN and FVN were evaluated. Sixty-eight parents paired with their elementary school children (aged 7-12 years) in San Luis Coastal Unified School District participated in this study. Results indicated that parents reported their children more neophobic than children self-reported neophobia; …

Sustainable Safety And The Decreasing Vulnerability Of Cyclists And Pedestrians In The Netherlands: Lessons For The United States, Vannesa Kello

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Environmental Factors That Affect Kenneled Shelter Dogs In Connecticut, Laura Burban

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.