Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Effects Of Disability Services On Student Success In Higher Education, Rebecca Smith

Master's Theses

Disabled students in higher education are provided resources through reasonable accommodation, or modification of university offerings. This affords the disabled student equal opportunity to benefit from those programs, services, and facilities despite the limitations imposed by their disability. This practice is historically informed by the medical model of disability, and legal reforms such as the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act in 1973. Most research in this area has found that reasonable accommodation is effective for “leveling the playing field” for disabled college students. Yet, some researchers argue that Universal Design, the composition of an environment …

How Human-Centered Design Affects The Workplace, Alexandra Brigham

Master's Theses

This qualitative study was designed to explore the impact a workplace environment has on employees’ well-being and productivity. The research identified the themes of flattening, perception, unflattening, and well-being from a multidisciplinary approach including art education, fine art, architecture, medicine, philosophy, and science. Flatness is a state, a behavior that occurs when human perception and consciousness are narrowed, blocking sensory information that is not pertinent to a current task. Behavior that is perpetuated by ingrained societal systems and exacerbated by personal, professional, and financial stressors that can impact the human experience. Flattened areas are addressed in this study through a …

Creative Expression Through The Gift Of God: The Intertwining Of Creativity And Religion Of The Poor Clares In New Orleans, Louisiana, Maureen Tierney

Master's Theses

This thesis looks at the relationship of art and creativity among the Poor Clares in New Orleans, Louisiana. Through the six sisters, the project addresses the way that religion influences the art that each sister produces. While each sister has had a different experience that drew them to religious life and their artwork, they all agree that their creativity is a gift from God, and this shapes how they engage with their art.

The literature gives an understanding to the role of the artist, and how to understand the nuance in an artist’s choice, when “why” something is produced is …

Finding Identity Through Survival: The Impact Of The Hurricanes In Zora Neale Hurston’S Their Eyes Were Watching God And Jesmyn Ward’S Salvage The Bones, Crystal F. Giles

Master's Theses

This paper attempts to convey the importance of the hurricane symbol in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones. In both novels, the authors use the imagery of setting combined with the characterization of poor women of color in order to emphasize both the effects of environmental disaster on vulnerable communities and also the inherent power of their protagonists to overcome systemic racism combined with natural disaster. The climax of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel revolves around the deadly 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane in Florida, and the rising action of Jesmyn Ward’s novel peaks …

Mental Healthcare Providers' Personality And Its Relation To Preferences Of Client Personality, Taylor R. Rodriguez

Master's Theses

The incorporation of personality assessment and client treatment preferences in psychotherapy has implications for therapeutic processes and outcomes (e.g., treatment engagement, retention). While this research has largely focused on client characteristics and traits, mental healthcare providers seem to demonstrate differing perspectives of clients as a function of both their own and their clients’ personalities. However, no prior literature has considered providers’ pretreatment preferences of clients. The current study aimed to examine providers’ unique personality profiles and their associations with preferences for client personality characteristics utilizing a person-centered personality approach (i.e., latent profile analysis). Specifically, the study (1) examined providers’ personality …

The Effect Of Constant Relative Growth Rate Versus Constant Specific Growth Rate On Oocystis Sp, Rachel Kriner

Master's Theses

In this study, a strain of Oocystis sp. (S002) was grown using two different growth strategies at three different temperatures (15°C, 20°C, 25°C). One strategy (GS1) kept a constant specific growth rate (µ) and the other (GS2) kept a constant relative growth rate (µ/µ_max). In both strategies, the cultures were grown following the protocols of a hybrid growth system. The Dilution Phase is an initial semi-continuous growth phase that involves daily dilutions until set growth criteria are met. Followed by a batch culture growth protocol where the cultures were diluted at the onset of the first day and …

Containing The Blemmye: Anxiety Towards Congenital Difference In The Old English Wonders Of The East, Jessica L. Carrell

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to illuminate early medieval anxieties about sex, procreation, and congenital physical difference by applying a lens of critical disability theory to the Old English Wonders of the East, primarily as it survives in the eleventh-century manuscript, London, British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius B.v. This thesis focuses on the textual and illustrative representation of one Wonder, the Blemmye—an approximately eight-foot-tall, eight-foot-wide androgynous humanoid, whose eyes and mouth are in their chest and who does not possess a head—as a historic embodiment of what disability meant in relation to the early medieval English worldview. This thesis considers the …

Interrelationships Among Monorchiid Trematodes With Special Emphasis On Some Northwestern Atlantic Genera, Apryle Panyi

Master's Theses

The Monorchiidae Odhner, 1911 is a cosmopolitan family of flukes (Trematoda: Digenea) comprising species that parasitize the digestive tract of estuarine and marine fishes as adults. Compared with other oceans, recent morphological or molecular taxonomic work conducted on monorchiid species from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean has been sparse (Manter, 1931; Overstreet, 1969; Andres et al., 2018; Wee et al., 2018, 2019, 2020). Therefore, the present work investigated the interrelationships of some monorchiids from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean with emphasis on several genera and investigated if Lasiotocus minutus (Manter, 1931) Thomas, 1959 constitutes a complex of cryptic species. New morphological and …

Marketing To The New Generations Of Lgbtq+ Tourists, George Smith

Master's Theses

As social acceptance for LGBTQ+ people grows, it is essential to research and understand more about tourism and its important role in the lives of LGBTQ+ populations. There are tourism communities around the country that may not be familiar with this market segment and are not sure where to start. This can leave the LGBTQ+ market segment under-represented in the tourism industry. This research sets out to answer the question, “Can tourism communities who wish to expand to newer generations of LGBTQ+ travelers market to them successfully?” Mixed research methods include an exploration of city tourism websites, interviews with tourism …

Freshwater Endmembers Impacting Carbonate Chemistry In The Mississippi Sound, Allison Savoie

Master's Theses

Coastal ecosystems are highly dynamic areas for carbon cycling and are likely to be negatively impacted by increasing ocean acidification. This research focused on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the Mississippi Sound in order to understand the influence of local rivers that supply alkalinity to the area and buffer against ocean acidification. This area receives large fluxes of freshwater from local rivers, in addition to episodic inputs from the Mississippi River through a human-built diversion, the Bonnet Carré Spillway. Sites in the Mississippi Sound were sampled monthly during August 2018 to November 2019 and at weekly …

Do Mosquito Pesticides Harm Their Natural Enemies? Ecological Impacts And Non-Target Effects Of Larvicides On Mosquito Predators, Joseph Nelsen

Master's Theses

Larvicides are chemicals used to kill juvenile mosquitoes. When applied to an area, other aquatic organisms are exposed to these chemicals. The removal or impairment of top insect predators could be beneficial to mosquito populations once harmful pesticide levels dissipate. Two common larvicides were examined: growth regulators (IGRs) and surface films (SFs). The goal of this project was to determine if larvicides harm mosquito predators common to southern Mississippi. I surveyed aquatic sites before and after IGR and SF treatments, and then compared changes in insect community structure. Community evenness was lower in SF treated habitats. When analyzing prey taxa …

Developing Metrics And Protocols For Evaluating Restoration Success For The Little Thompson River, Colorado, Haylie Brown

Master's Theses

In September 2013, the US Colorado Front Range experienced an extreme rainfall event causing mass flooding in the region. Many Front Range rivers were impacted and subsequently restored, especially those adjacent to roadways. Channel restoration practices often lack a standard approach, and evaluating project success is usually lacking. An assessment framework was developed incorporating both ecological and geomorphic variables in addition to project-specific objectives, applied to the Little Thompson River. Topographic and functional traits vegetation surveys were conducted at both the restored reach and an upstream reference reach, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the knowledge of best practices …

Assessing The Effects Of Habitat On Bird Song Propagation, Braelei Hardt

Master's Theses

The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis (AAH) posits that animal acoustic signals meant for long-range communication should be adapted to transmit well within the habitats in which they evolved. However, comparative studies investigating predictions of the AAH relating to signal form indicate that support for the hypothesis is not universal. Several studies have employed experimental playback approaches to testing signal transmission which can provide complimentary analyses to comparative studies of signal form in the field. Here, I first summarize these experimental playback tests of the AAH in birds, mammals, insects, and anurans, describing the methodologies used in these tests, and assessing the …

Artificial Night Lighting And Anthropogenic Noise Alter Animal Activity, Body Condition, Species Richness, And Community Structure, Joshua Willems

Master's Theses

Sensory pollution from artificial night-lighting and anthropogenic noise have increased at a dramatic rate over the last several decades. Alterations to the sensory environment have been found to affect wildlife in a wide variety of ways including behavioral changes, physiological responses, changes in species interactions, and altered community structure. Increased levels of light and noise pollution can originate from many sources including roads, energy development and infrastructure, and urbanization. Even remote or protected areas are not immune to the effects of increased sensory disturbances with 63 percent of protected areas within the United States found to have been exposed to …

Exploring The Relationships Between Mothers' Use Of Food To Soothe, Feeding Type And Mode, Maternal Feeding Style, Infant Behavior, And Infant Weight-Related Outcomes During Early Infancy, Megan K. Hupp

Master's Theses

Rapid infant weight gain (RWG) in the first six months postpartum is a strong predictor for obesity during childhood and adolescence. Although biological factors can influence infant weight gain trajectories, the modifiable factor of parent feeding practices can also have an influence. The use of food to soothe (FTS), or the act of feeding a child when he/she is upset for reasons other than hunger, has been associated with unhealthy eating behaviors and less-favorable weight outcomes in children and older infants. However, limited studies have explored the use of FTS during early infancy before the introduction of solids foods. The …

Lipid Quantification And Cryopreservation Of In Vitro Produced Jersey Cattle Embryos, Katherine A. Rhodes-Long

Master's Theses

Cryopreservation of in vivo derived Jersey bovine embryos have resulted in a 10% lower pregnancy rate compared to other dairy breeds. Poor embryo survival after cryopreservation has been partially attributed to the high lipid content of Jersey embryos. In vitro-produced (IVP) bovine embryos have darker cytoplasm than their in vivo-derived counterparts because of higher lipid accumulation. High lipid accumulation is associated with impaired embryo quality. Forskolin is an adenylate cyclase activator that regulates cAMP levels in cells and has been shown to induce lipolysis in IVP embryos. L-carnitine is required for transport of fatty acids from the intermembrane space of …

Antibacterial Coatings Derived From Novel Chemically Responsive Vesicles, Emily B. Mobley

Master's Theses

In order for a drug, or any material used for the purpose of eliciting a change in an organisms’ physical or chemical state, to be effective it must reach the intended target intact and for a sustained rate over time. Drug delivery systems encapsulate a drug to protect it from degradation, prevent side reactions, increase solubility, improve accumulation rates at target sites, and release drugs at a controlled rate. Controlled and sustained release of drugs is achieved by degradation of the carrier triggered by breaking dynamic chemical bonds caused by changes in the chemical environment such as pH or redox …

Quantifying The Ecological Drivers And Impacts Of Parrotfish Predation On Caribbean Corals Communities, Hannah Sima Rempel

Master's Theses

Parrotfishes (Scarinae) are dominant Caribbean herbivores that play an important role in reducing coral-algae competition by grazing algae; yet some species are also occasional coral predators (corallivores) and thereby can have direct negative impacts on coral growth and survivorship. There is concern that parrotfish corallivory may contribute to substantial long-term declines in targeted coral species, particularly in areas with a high biomass of parrotfishes and low cover of corals. However, the capacity of target coral species to heal from parrotfish predation and the ecological drivers of corallivory are poorly understood.

In Chapter 1, we examined the patterns of coral healing …

Effects Of Various Decontamination Protocols On The Surface Microbial Load Of Conventional And 3d Printed Surgical Guides For Dental Implants, David Remiszewski

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Alveolar Bone And Airway Changes In Different Maxillary Expansion Treatments: A 3d Cone-Beam Tomography Study, Dennis Wang

Master's Theses

Objectives: To evaluate the long-term effects on the airway and bone in patients that have undergone BA, TA and control with 3D cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis. Materials and Methods: 180 CBCTs were analyzed for 60 patients at pretreatment (T1), post expansion (T2), and post-treatment (T3). Patients were divided into three groups, bone anchored expansion (BA), tooth anchored expansion (TA) and a control group. For the airway portion of the study, the nasal cavity, nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal and laryngopharyngeal, and total airway volumes were measured. Total airway area, minimal cross-sectional area, maxillary intermolar, external maxillary and palatal widths were also …

Interprofessional Collaboration For Oral Health Education And Screening Of Children With Special Health Care Needs, Lamia Habib

Master's Theses

In 2016, National Survey of Children’s Health conducted by the U.S. Department (HRSA MCHB) identified 18.8% of children aged 0-17 years old with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN). Of these children, 83.4% are not receiving adequate healthcare. It has been well established that oral health is an integral part of the child’s general health. Medical primary care physicians may play an important role in improving oral health outcomes through oral screening, referral, oral health education and promotion. CSHCN may be at an increased risk for oral health problems throughout their life which may negatively impact their quality of life and …

Assessment Of The Effects Of Malaria And Anemia In Pregnant Malawian Women Before And After Treatment Of Moderate Malnutrition, William Shipley

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Assessment of the Effects of Malaria and Anemia in Pregnant Malawian Women Before and After Treatment of Moderate Malnutrition

William Shipley

Background: Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) can lead to adverse maternal and infant outcomes and possibly further complications. Supplementary foods or treatments with high quality nutrients should be administered to those with MAM in hopes to increase the chance of healthy maternal and infant outcomes. Sometimes supplementary food is not enough to overcome MAM and disease may play a role, particularly in pregnant malnourished women.

Objective: To determine if the effects of malaria and anemia moderated the effect of …

Fast Asymptotic Algorithm For Real-Time Analysis Of Multivariate Systems And Signals By Directed Transfer Function And Partial Directed Coherence Measures Of Connectivity, Farnaz Rezaei

Master's Theses

Connectivity Granger-causality measures in the frequency domain, such as the Directed Transfer Function (DTF) and Partial Directed Coherence (PDC) and their variants, constitute a family 𝜙 of measures that stem from the modeling of multidimensional time series by multivariate autoregressive (MVAR) models. 𝜙 measures have become popular for evaluation of causal interactions in neuronal networks. Surrogate and asymptotic statistical analysis are the two most frequently used methods to quantify the statistical significance of the derived interactions, a critical step for validation of the results. Each method has its own pros and cons, with the recently published asymptotic methodology being faster. …

Identification Of Users Via Ssh Timing Attack, Thomas J. Flucke

Master's Theses

Secure Shell, a tool to securely access and run programs on a remote machine, is an important tool for both system administrators and developers alike. The technology landscape is becoming increasingly distributed and reliant on tools such as Secure Shell to protect information as a user works on a system remotely. While Secure Shell accounts for the abuses the security of older tools such as telnet overlook, it still has fundamental vulnerabilities which leak information about both the user and their activities through timing attacks. The OpenSSH client, the implementation included in all Linux, Mac, and Windows computers, sends each …

Feeling Out Your Food: A Histological Analysis Of The Whisker System In Seals, Cameron Cooper

Master's Theses

The vibrissal (whisker) system is present in nearly all mammals and is especially important in deep-diving mammals. Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses) have highly sensitive whiskers that are used to follow hydrodynamic trails created by their swimming prey. Each pinniped vibrissa is surrounded by a tripartite blood sinus system composed of an upper cavernous sinus (UCS), a ring sinus (RS), and a lower cavernous sinus (LCS). The UCS has been hypothesized to play a thermoregulatory role, insulating temperature sensitive mechanoreceptors located within the vibrissal follicle. The aim of this study was to examine this hypothesis by measuring and comparing …

Retrospective Evaluation Of The Survival Rate Of Buccal Mini-Implants And The Factors Associated With Their Survival, Ledjo Palo

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the success rate of common mini-implants used on the buccal side of both the maxilla and mandible for orthodontic purposes. All orthodontic mini-implants placed at the University of Connecticut residency from July of 2013 till April of 2020 by various residents and faculty. The location and outcome of the implant was measured as success if the implant was stable or if it failed.

Materials and Methods: Records of all mini-implants placed on the buccal aspect of both maxilla and mandible of patients receiving orthodontic treatment at the University of Connecticut …

Context Effects On Child Object Touch And Parent Referential Speech: Implications For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Amanda Mankovich

Master's Theses

Object play provides a critical setting for early learning (West & Iverson, 2017). Previous research has established a role for context (i.e., type of activity and parent input), in shaping child touch behaviors. Although several studies have investigated the development object play, many miss key characteristics of everyday environments. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Early Language (Naigles & Fein, 2017), we investigated how play is affected by development, parent input, and engagement in various activities across both typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We analyzed object prompts and independently coded moments toddlers touched …

Efficacy Of Catalytic Ozonation Advanced Oxidation Processes Compared To Traditional Ozone-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes For Degradation Of Recalcitrant Compounds, Cindy Jocelyn Sevilla Esparza

Master's Theses

This study reviews catalytic ozonation AOPs and traditional ozone-based AOPs to compare their efficiency for degradation of ozone-recalcitrant compounds. With the world’s population increasing and water becoming a scarce resource, it is important to improve current water recycling methods. Recycling water will play a large role in accommodating the increasing demand, but it will also be necessary to be improve the level of treatment in order to account for emerging contaminants (ECs) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been developed to degrade ECs that are not effectively removed by conventional wastewater treatment. The goal …

Analysis Of Biofilm Remediation Capacity For Octenyl Succinic Anhydride (Osa), A Bioactive Food Starch Modifier Compound, Matthew R. Borglin

Master's Theses

Matthew R. Borglin

This thesis demonstrates efficacy of Octenyl Succinic Anhydride (OSA), as a biofilm sanitizer. Biofilms allow bacteria to adhere to solid surfaces with the use of excreted polymeric compounds. For example, surfaces found in food production or processing facilities such as the interior of a raw milk holding tank, are some of the most susceptible to biofilm contamination. When present, biofilms can cause a variety of negative effects, which include; reduction of product shelf life, corrosion, and outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. The close association of biofilms with the majority of foodborne illness cases led the US Environmental Protection …

Investigation Of Experimental Variation Of Bovine Sphingomyelin As A Novel Ingredient For Ultraviolet Protection, Esther Chen

Master's Theses

Skin cancer is a prevalent disease that globally affects 2-3 million people per year [1]. This number is expected to grow tenfold as depletion of the ozone layer contributes to harsher rays reaching Earth’s surface [2]. A common way to protect against those ultraviolet waves is to apply sunscreen, however, recent reports call into question the safety of some active ingredients as they can enter through the skin into the bloodstream [3]. This thesis aims to investigate an alternative solution that uses bovine sphingomyelin (BSM) as photoprotective solution against UV irradiation.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of BSM against …