Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Flow Cytometry Method For The Identification And Enumeration Of Enterococcus Faecalis, Riza Magbitang

Master's Theses

A multi-color flow cytometry method coupled with fluorescent staining was developed to detect and quantify E. faecalis concentrations in coastal waters as an alternative to the traditional membrane filtration method. The developed method was used to characterize E. faecalis during batch growth and yielded consistent results across the various physiological states of the cells. Additionally, the application of propidium iodide (i.e., a viability stain), afforded the method the ability to differentiate between cells with intact and compromised cell membranes, which raises the potential of quantifying cells that are in viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Initial field test using natural seawater samples spiked …

Understanding The Variability Of Circulation And Water Quality At Experimental Oyster Leases In The Mississippi Sound Using A High-Resolution Nested Modeling Approach, Shihab Hossain Saran

Master's Theses

Four 50-acre experimental oyster leases; two near Saint Louis Bay (StLB) and two near Pascagoula Bay (PB) were recommended to provide science-based guidance for oyster reef restoration efforts in response to continued limited productivity of oysters in the Mississippi Sound (MSS). Two-way nested simulations using ROMS within COAWST modeling framework have been run with improved forcings to analyze circulation, salinity and temperature variability within and around the lease areas under the extreme freshwater inflow from Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) openings and local rivers in 2019. High-resolution atmospheric forcing data is crucial because diurnal sea-land breeze affects salinity variability by increasing …

Projected Range Shift Of The Atlantic Surfclam, Spisula Solidissima, And The Ocean Quahog, Arctica Islandica, Under Climate-Induced Benthic Warming: Forecasting Fishery Influence In The Mid-Atlantic Bight Throughout The 21st Century, Molly Mae Spencer

Master's Theses

The Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima, and ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, are biomass dominant bivalve species on the eastern North American continental shelf, both supporting lucrative commercial fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic with a combined value of $53.6 million in ex-vessel revenue per year. Rapid climate change is expected to modify the geographic range of these bivalve populations across the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), suggesting transformative consequences for the surfclam fishery. This study forecasted future distributions of the two species from years 2016 – 2095, based on projected bottom water temperatures and a temperature-dependent population dynamics model, to project subsequent fishery-based indicators …

Exploring Overbank Sediment Deposition Variation In Heavily Modified Floodplains Of The Lower Mississippi River: A Sedimentological And Geophysical Analysis, Seth Fradella

Master's Theses

Since the 1930s, the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) has experienced large-scale modifications to the channel profile and surrounding floodplains through dams, dikes, revetments, dredging, and channel cutoffs. Although these changes have improved navigation and reduced flood risk, unanticipated changes to the major flood return period, individual flood severity and duration, and sediment regime have become increasingly apparent and sometimes problematic, such as the 2011 and 2018-2020 floods. Flood control levees along the LMR have reduced the natural floodplain area by 70-90%, resulting in heavily restricted overbank storage capacity of water and sediment. For the same flood events in recent history, …

Effects Of Extreme Starvation On The Fasting-Adapted Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus Oreganus), Brandon R. Kong

Master's Theses

Ambush-hunting snakes have long been of great interest in the biology of fasting and starvation, as they are adapted to withstand well over a year without taking a meal. Well-justified ethical constraints have limited our understanding of their biology at the limits of these abilities. Unfortunate circumstances, in which the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confiscated over 50 Western Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) from an animal hoarder that had long neglected them, culminated in the euthanized animals ending up in the hands of our lab. Some of these snakes were extremely starved, being only one-half to one-third of …

Identifying New Potential Breeding Pond Sites For The Dusky Gopher Frog In Southern Mississippi, Shelbie Kellum

Master's Theses

The main objective of this thesis was to identify potential new pond sites across southern Mississippi for the critically endangered dusky gopher frog (DGF). Ephemeral ponds are the preferred breeding habitat for the species, but they are quite rare in the region due to the diminishment of the longleaf pine ecosystem. This research addresses gaps in the current literature by providing a broad overview of dusky gopher frog breeding habitat identification. LiDAR derived datasets as well as tools within ArcGIS Pro were utilized in order to perform spatial analysis on sites of interest in south Mississippi. By using this methodology …

Adaptable Quantum Education Platform Using Learning Objects, Krishna Puja Anumula

Master's Theses

In recent years, the need to make classroom learning more interactive and engaging has become increasingly important. The lack of workforce in interdisciplinary fields such as quantum networking and quantum internet requires a new approach that addresses every learner’s individual needs. To address this challenge, this thesis introduces an adaptive learning platform rooted in the theory of learning objects and Kolb’s experiential learning model. The platform aids educators and learners in designing and utilizing various learning objects for quantum networking and quantum internet.

The platform enables educators and learners to build their own lessons and lesson plans using learning objects …

Antimicrobials Produced By Ants: Chemical Properties And Microbe Specificity, Katy Chon

Master's Theses

Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern worldwide, and for over a decade, we have been witnessing the growth of difficult to treat infectious diseases caused by bacteria that are becoming resistant to antibiotics. This resistance can be mostly related to the misusing and improper use of antibiotics in both humans and animals. To restore this problem, humans have turned to new sources for the production of antibiotics. In this study, we focused on using ants. Social insects, including ants and bees, have faced strong disease pressures during their evolution and have developed a range of methods to fight …

Characterization And Evaluation Of Bacteriophages Φpa-C And Φpa-Tc Infecting Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Joanne Harrison

Master's Theses

Pseudomonas aeruginosa are prevalent opportunistic bacterial pathogens that cause nosocomial infections in at-risk individuals. The rise of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa poses an immense threat to hospitals. Additionally, P. aeruginosa are common food spoilage organisms that contribute to food waste. Alternative effective treatment methods are needed to improve public health and reduce food waste. Recent studies have shown that bacteriophages, viruses that only kill host-specific bacteria, are promising alternatives. This study characterizes two lytic P. aeruginosa phages, ΦPa-C and ΦPa-Tc, and evaluates their efficacy against P. aeruginosa in two model food systems. The morphology, genome, structural proteins, host range, growth kinetics, …

Exploring The Relationships Between Food Insecurity, Wic Participation, Early Life Feeding Practices, Diversity Of Dietary Exposures, And Diet Quality In The First Two Years Of Life, Vivian M. Drewelow

Master's Theses

Diet quality during early childhood is a strong predictor of mental and physical outcomes, as well as future diet quality. Although many factors determine diet quality during childhood, food insecurity is a significant predictor of lower diet quality. On the other hand, participation in nutrition assistant programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a significant predictor of higher diet quality. In addition, specific feeding practices, including timing of complementary food and beverage (CFB) introduction, types of CFB introduced early, and diversity of dietary exposures (DD), in the first year may predict future …

Spatial And Abiotic Effects Of Urbanization On Small Mammal Communities, Bri Casement

Master's Theses

Urbanization, the phenomenon of increasing human population density and artificial structures, is known to decrease the richness, abundance, and diversity of native wildlife populations, fragment natural areas, and increase human and human-commensal animal interactions with wildlife. Dynamics of species persistence in habitat fragments is often understood in the framework of island biogeography theory (IBT), with habitat fragments being analogous to oceanic islands. Despite the conceptual similarities between oceanic islands in IBT and urbanized habitat fragments (fragment size, fragment age, and distance to immigration sources), there are important differences. In urban fragments, the matrix is not completely impassible, habitats within fragments …

Characterization And Evaluation Of Bacteriophages Φpa-C And Φpa-Tc Infecting Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Joanne Harrison

Master's Theses

Pseudomonas aeruginosa are prevalent opportunistic bacterial pathogens that cause nosocomial infections in at-risk individuals. The rise of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa poses an immense threat to hospitals. Additionally, P. aeruginosa are common food spoilage organisms that contribute to food waste. Alternative effective treatment methods are needed to improve public health and reduce food waste. Recent studies have shown that bacteriophages, viruses that only kill host-specific bacteria, are promising alternatives. This study characterizes two lytic P. aeruginosa phages, ΦPa-C and ΦPa-Tc, and evaluates their efficacy against P. aeruginosa in two model food systems. The morphology, genome, structural proteins, host range, growth kinetics, …

Understanding The Relationship Between Teacher Turnover And Student Success Across Ethno-Racial And Socioeconomic Demographics: An Analysis Of Massachusetts Public Schools, Jenna O'Leary

Master's Theses

Teacher turnover in the U.S. has risen over the past decades. Urban districts have faced some of the highest rates of turnover amongst their staff. However, scholars still debate the impacts of teacher turnover on student academic success. This study aims to better understand this relationship across both ethno-racial and socioeconomic student demographics, as well as school region type. To accomplish this, student test scores, across demographics, on the Next Generation MCAS state standardized test are observed in relation to teacher retention across three year cycles (2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019). Using correlation analysis and t-tests, it is found that there is …

Ct-To-Mri Synthesis For High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Treatment Planning, Rachel Nicole Gordon

Master's Theses

High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy is a radiation treatment modality that places radioactive sources directly in cancerous regions. Radiation treatment planning for HDR prostate brachytherapy utilizes both CT and MRI to visualize the path of the radioactive source and the prostate gland, respectively. In this work, we propose GAN-CM, a method for conditional CT-to-MRI translation that is based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). The proposed method uses the typical generator-discriminator design of GANs with a modified generator that incorporates semantic masks obtained from the domain image. The use of semantic masks allows GAN-CM to better capture the anatomical details and tissue characteristics …

Assessment Of Georgia’S Royal Catchfly (Silene Regia) Along A Forest-Edge Gradient In A Remnant Prairie Community, Megan Brooks

Master's Theses

Royal catchfly (Silene regia) is a perennial prairie forb known to grow in rocky, alkaline soils within tallgrass prairies of the eastern United States. S. regia is recorded from twelve states, including Georgia, and is now confined to fragmented habitats due to the loss of 95% of its natural environment. The species is now listed as critically imperiled in the state of Georgia. Attempts at reintroduction via outplanting have only shown limited success, necessitating more research on the environmental conditions in which this plant survives in its southern-most distribution. This study investigated the local ecological factors influencing the …

A Screening Life Cycle Analysis Of One-Way And Reusable Crate Designs – Estimating Environmental Impacts Via Lca Software, Nicolas R. Corona

Master's Theses

A comparison analysis conducted via COMPASS life cycle analysis software has indicated that a one-way crate design, rather than a reusable crate design, is in fact the more environmentally friendly packaging system. These results can be interpreted differently, however, as the manufacturer of said crate designs must confirm what impact indicators they would like to reference as environmental goalposts. The conducted analysis provides insight into what the environmental impacts of each packaging system look like as packaging at all three system levels has been identified as a means of reducing environmental impacts globally. As such, the manufacturer of said crate …

Engineering An Injectable Hydrogel With Self-Assembling 3d Vasculature, Kendyl Cohn

Master's Theses

This research developed methods for culturing self-assembling capillaries in an injectable gel as a potential method for vascularizing tissue-on-a-chip models to mimic physiological drug delivery. Additionally, a mathematical model was developed as a tool for understanding nutrient delivery and comparison of potential delivery systems. Organs-on-a-chip provide novel platforms for studying biology and physiology in 3D, allow exploration of tissue engineering on a manageable scale, and serve as models for drug screening and drug-delivery testing.

Methods were first developed for co-culture of endothelial cells and fibroblasts (3T3s or HDFs) in 2D, evaluating culture time, seeding density and ratio of HUVECs and …

San Luis Obispo In A Box: Damage Accumulation And Combined Stressor Matching In Accelerated Uv Testing, Cameron N. Causey

Master's Theses

The goal of service life prediction is to accurately predict the useful lifetime of a coating system in a typical service environment. Field testing is the most true-to-life form of service life testing but requires long exposure times, often not quick enough to readily aid redesign in the product development cycle. As an alternative, accelerated weathering chambers are used to speed up coating failure in a laboratory setting. These devices do indeed accelerate failure but often produce failure modes that are not seen in actual service or produce material rankings that are not reproducible. This work explores the principle of …

An Investigation Into Teaching Sports Analytics, Josh Havstad

Master's Theses

Sports analytics arrived in the mainstream media through the novel and film Moneyball. However, its origins date back to operations researchers following World War II. Often considered a subdiscipline of statistics, sports analytics draws from statistics but also includes concepts from data science, communication, and marketing. As a passionate fan of sports, I have pursued statistics in my undergraduate and graduate education with the dream of working in sports for my career. However, educational opportunities in sports analytics are limited nationwide, and more specifically, there is no educational opportunity at my university, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis …

Design And Implementation Of A Vision-Based Deep-Learning Protocol For Kinematic Feature Extraction With Application To Stroke Rehabilitation, Juan Diego Luna Inga

Master's Theses

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability, affecting thousands of individuals annually and significantly impairing their mobility, independence, and quality of life. Traditional methods for assessing motor impairments are often costly and invasive, creating substantial barriers to effective rehabilitation. This thesis explores the use of DeepLabCut (DLC), a deep-learning-based pose estimation tool, to extract clinically meaningful kinematic features from video data of stroke survivors with upper-extremity (UE) impairments.

To conduct this investigation, a specialized protocol was developed to tailor DLC for analyzing movements characteristic of UE impairments in stroke survivors. This protocol was validated through comparative analysis using peak …

The Effect Of Watts-Strogatz And Barabási-Albert Graphs On Memory Formation, Ethan Irick Wolfe

Master's Theses

Understanding higher level cognitive processes is a central problem in neuroscience. The Neuroidal model provides a useful framework for posing these problems in a computer science context. There has been significant recent work trying to understand memory capacity in the Neuroidal model but this work was done assuming that the network of neurons was an Erdos-Renyi random graph. However the network of neurons in the brain has been shown to exhibit small-world properties, which are not present in Erdos-Renyi graphs. In this research we explore replacing Erdos-Renyi graphs with Watts-Strogatz and Barabasi-Albert graphs in order to more accurately model the …

Automatic Mass Balancing Of A Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator With Six Sliding Masses, Amelia J. Gilman

Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis is to investigate automatic mass balancing methods for spacecraft attitude dynamics simulators, create a hardware design for a mass balancing system, and assemble the hardware on the Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator (SADS). Spacecraft attitude dynamics simulators replicate the torque-free environment of space with ground-based hardware. The SADS is mounted on a spherical air bearing, and includes a pyramid of four reaction wheels. The air bearing allows frictionless, unbounded rotation about the vertical axis, and 30 degrees about the horizontal axes. The torque-free configuration of the SADS can be used to test spacecraft attitude …

Improving Aerospace System Robustness Integration Of Singular Value Decomposition And Network Centrality, Ricardo S. Contreras

Master's Theses

This thesis presents an approach to understanding and enhancing the robustness of aerospace systems through the integration of network analysis, Design Structure Matrix (DSM), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), and robustness simulation techniques. This methodology called the Importance Hierarchy method, provides a comprehensive framework for decomposing the interactions of aerospace systems, focusing on identifying and evaluating critical components and interactions.

The Importance Hierarchy method was used to study the Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (AFTU) by analyzing its components and interdependencies. The AFTU was selected because it recently completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR), and its design and operational functions were well-known. …

Harmonic Flow Modeling And Analysis Of A Green Hybrid Ac/Dc Seaport Power System, Krishan Kaushal Ram, Taufik, Helen Yu, Siddharth Vyas

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to design and develop a model for a proposed Green Seaport power system and perform harmonic analysis. The model was developed using MATLAB Simulink and tests were performed by dividing the system into several Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) operating modes such as simultaneous charging and discharging, simultaneous charging, and simultaneous discharging. For each mode, BESS state of charge and other factors such as solar irradiance for the PV system, load levels and power factor were varied to observe the impact on system’s voltage Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) level and current Total Demand Distortion (TDD). 62 separate …

Matrix Approximation And Image Compression, Isabella R. Padavana

Master's Theses

This thesis concerns the mathematics and application of various methods for approximating matrices, with a particular eye towards the role that such methods play in image compression. An image is stored as a matrix of values with each entry containing a value recording the intensity of a corresponding pixel, so image compression is essentially equivalent to matrix approximation. First, we look at the singular value decomposition, one of the central tools for analyzing a matrix. We show that, in a sense, the singular value decomposition is the best low-rank approximation of any matrix. However, the singular value decomposition has some …

Accessible Real-Time Eye-Gaze Tracking For Neurocognitive Health Assessments, A Multimodal Web-Based Approach, Daniel C. Tisdale

Master's Theses

We introduce a novel integration of real-time, predictive eye-gaze tracking models into a multimodal dialogue system tailored for remote health assessments. This system is designed to be highly accessible requiring only a conventional webcam for video input along with minimal cursor interaction and utilizes engaging gaze-based tasks that can be performed directly in a web browser. We have crafted dynamic subsystems that capture high-quality data efficiently and maintain quality through instances of user attrition and incomplete calls. Additionally, these subsystems are designed with the foresight to allow for future re-analysis using improved predictive models, as well as enable the creation …

Causal Inference Using Bayesian Network For Search And Rescue, Amanda Belden

Master's Theses

People who are considered missing have much higher probabilities of being found dead compared to those who are not considered missing in terms of Search and Rescue (SAR) missions. Dementia patients are incredibly likely to be declared missing, and in fact after removing those with dementia the probability of the mission being regarded as missing person case is only about 10%. Additionally, those who go missing are much more likely to be on private land than on protected areas such as forests and parks. These and similar associations can be represented and investigated using a Bayesian network that has been …

Predicting Rheology Of Uv-Curable Nanoparticle Ink Components And Compositions For Inkjet Additive Manufacturing, Cameron D. Lutz

Master's Theses

Inkjet additive manufacturing is the next step toward ubiquitous manufacturing by enabling multi-material printing that can exhibit various mechanical, electronic, and thermal properties. These characteristics are realized in the careful formulation of the inks and their functional materials, but there are many constraints that need to be satisfied to allow optimal jetting performance and build quality when used in an inkjet 3-D printer. Previous research has addressed the desirable rheology characteristics to enable stable drop formation and how the metallic nanoparticles affect the viscosity of inks. The contending goals of increasing nanoparticle-loading to improve material deposition rates while trying to …

Representation Theory And Its Applications In Physics, Max Varverakis

Master's Theses

Representation theory, which encodes the elements of a group as linear operators on a vector space, has far-reaching implications in physics. Fundamental results in quantum physics emerge directly from the representations describing physical symmetries. We first examine the connections between specific representations and the principles of quantum mechanics. Then, we shift our focus to the braid group, which describes the algebraic structure of braids. We apply representations of the braid group to physical systems in order to investigate quasiparticles known as anyons. Finally, we obtain governing equations of anyonic systems to highlight the differences between braiding statistics and conventional Bose-Einstein/Fermi-Dirac …

Balancing Darkness And Visibility: An Algorithmic Approach To Light Placement In Low-Light, Ray-Traced Scenes, Briana Kuo

Master's Theses

In recent years, digital media has seen incredible advancements in rendering visually stunning computer graphics scenes. Photo-realistic games, animated films, and more leave viewers blown away by the sheer beauty of their graphics. However, challenges arise when depicting dark scenes, often resulting in visual monotony and difficulty in comprehension due to insufficient detail within the scene. In order to enhance readability and visual interest of a scene, additional, artificial lights can be placed throughout a scene to enhance the aesthetic. These lights, however, must be strategically placed in order to retain an essence of darkness and maintain the delicate balance …