Digital Commons Network^™

Altered Gene Expression In Circulating Immune Cells Following A 24-Hour Passive Dehydration, Aidan Fiol

Master's Theses

Dehydration has many deleterious effects ranging from impaired cognitive function to decreased aerobic performance. This study evaluated the effects of a mild, passive dehydration on the transcriptional responses of circulating immune cells. We pursued research questions about how whole-body dehydration and small changes in plasma osmolality may affect the greater concept of immune resiliency or susceptibility to infection through acute gene expression changes that may persist during chronic stress. Our approach was to precisely quantify hypertonicity experienced by circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells and neutrophils and quantify transcriptomic changes in cell lysates using RNAseq. RNAseq revealed 373 total genes changing …

Developing A Qi Culture In Accredited Local Health Departments: Use Of Normalization Process Theory, Lina Smith

Master's Theses

Background: Accreditation can benefit local health departments (LHDs) through the promotion of a culture of quality improvement (QI); yet LHDs tend not to perform well on QI-related measures (Domain 9 – Evaluate and Continuously Improve Processes, Programs, and Interventions). Methods: This study evaluated whether small/medium LHDs’ performance on Domain 9 impacts their accreditation results or performance on other domains. The qualitative analysis utilized Normalization Process Theory to reveal factors that guide LHDs in accreditation preparations. Results: Small/medium LHDs not required to submit an action plan scored higher on Domain 9. Performance on four domains exhibited a moderately strong correlation with …

Piggybac Transposon-Based Lineage Tracing To Reveal Ependymogenesis, Tasnuva Nuhat Shafin

Master's Theses

The lateral walls of the lateral ventricle of the brain are home to one of the two main neurogenic niches of the postnatal and adult mammalian brain, the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ). During late embryonic development (E14 to E16 in mouse brain), a subpopulation of radial glial cells from the neuroepithelial lining of lateral ventricle wall starts ependymogenesis to establish an ependymal cell lining of the ventricular system. Ependymal cell maturation and ciliogenesis continues after birth and the remaining radial glia, designated neural stem cells after birth, are established within the ependymal lining by retention of a thin apical process. The …

A Thermal-Mechanical Finite Element Analysis Of Orthogonal Cutting For Normalized Steels, Lilia Miller

Master's Theses

A coupled thermal-mechanical finite element analysis is performed in order to simulate orthogonal cutting of normalized steels. The Johnson-Cook cook material and damage parameters are utilized to define the behavior and failure of the material. Four cases are simulated with workpiece materials of A2024-T351, AISI 1045, AISI 4140, and AISI 9310. The numerical results include the average cutting force, residual stresses and strains, chip morphology, and tool temperature. These results are summarized for each of the four cases and validated with experimental results found in literature. This study looks at optimizing the Johnson-Cook damage parameter D₂ for steel materials …

Social Factors Influencing Family Planning Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices In The Ngäbe Population In Bocas Del Toro And The Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama, Carolina Vicens Cardona

Master's Theses

Introduction: According to Panama’s 2009 National Sexual and Reproductive Health Survey, only 19% of indigenous women in Panama use modern family planning (FP) methods. Despite the Ngäbe representing 62% of the indigenous population, there is limited research on their use of FP.

Methodology: 14 Ngäbe communities in Bocas del Toro were surveyed. Women between the ages of 18 and 50, and had >2 children completed a survey to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding family planning.

Results: A total of 148 women were enrolled, mean age was 32.18; mean number of pregnancies was 5. 32.4% of women …

Mir-433-3p Negatively Regulates Bone Formation And Targets Critical For Osteoblast Function, John Garcia

Master's Theses

Osteoblastic differentiation is tightly controlled by multiple signaling pathways associated with key transcription factors, as well as a number of microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that function in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. While clinical strategies to combat the reduction in bone density have often centered on impeding further bone resorption, this strategy neglects to promote bone formation, a component which is particularly problematic in the aging population. miRNAs could serve to bridge that gap, as potential therapeutic candidates. Several studies have established that miRNAs can direct osteoprogenitors towards an osteoblastic lineage through modulation of Wnt, MAPK, …

Vidocq, Vautrin, Et La Naissance Du Genre Policier, Carrie Slayton

Master's Theses

Vidocq, Vautrin, et la Naissance du Genre Policier examines how the life of former criminal-turned-chief of the French Sûreté Nationale, Eugène-François Vidocq, was mythicized with his sensational ghost-written memoirs, Mémoires of Vidocq, and in what way his legendary career and memoirs influenced some of the most renowned characters in French literature during the nineteenth century – most notably Honoré de Balzac’s infamous criminal-turned-police chief, Vautrin, in the Comédie Humaine. This study aims to demonstrate how the paradigm that was created by the combination of his Mémoires and his first literary incarnation, Balzac’s Vautrin, went on to establish the archetype …

Community Needs Assessment: Opioid Use Within The Central Connecticut Health District, Luis Pantoja

Master's Theses

Objective: An Opioid Community Needs Assessment examining opioid use and its consequences in the Central Connecticut Health District (CCHD) was conducted to characterize the problem in the district and inform future harm reduction program operations through data driven evidence-based research.

Methods: This study conducted a cross-sectional, community-based, secondary analysis of opioid use related data sourced from broadly utilized vital statistics and novel syndromic surveillance systems. Data sets were sourced from the Connecticut Department of Health (DPH’s) & Health Monitoring’s EpiCenter Syndromic Surveillance, Washington/Baltimore’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDA) Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) and the Office of the …

The Necessity Of Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein Expression By Ng2 Glia For Maintenance Of Glial And Neuronal Health, Robert Horning

Master's Theses

NG2 glia are vital for the myelination of axons in the brain and spinal cord. Many NG2 cells receive synaptic inputs from neurons through neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA, but the consequences of this input have remained unclear. Interestingly, NG2 cells express voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channels and transcripts encoding SNARE proteins that are necessary for vesicle docking in neurons. We therefore hypothesized that NG2 cells respond to neuronal synaptic inputs by releasing bioactive molecules in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. To test this, we generated double transgenic mice in which a cre-inducible botulinum toxin (BoNT/B) is constitutively expressed by …

Notre-Dame-Des-Fleurs : La Glorification De L’Abject, Elifnaz Kayhan

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Denial Of Black Victimhood: Examining Attitudes Of Sexual Assault And Victim-Blaming On A College Campus, A Continued Analysis, Odia Kane

Master's Theses

This study examines the attribution of guilt and victimhood in the context of rape on predominately white college campuses. The study is comprised of two samples; Sample 1 (n=362) and Sample 2 (n=1,144) of students from a New England university. Each participant read a vignette regarding two classmates: a female victim, Taneesha or Madeline, and a male perpetrator, Jamal or Connor, completing a group project. The findings of this study are critical because they analyze the surrounding attitudes of the treatment of victims of sexual assault and assess the social and political climate of rape culture on college campuses.

Sources And Fluxes Of Reactive N In A Southern New England River, Veronica Rollinson

Master's Theses

Little Narraganset Bay has seen an increase in filamentous algae, colloquially known as cladophora, over the past twenty years. The Pawcatuck River is the dominant input of freshwater to Little Narraganset bay, delineating the Connecticut and Rhode Island border. There are three point sources of nitrogen on the river system: two waste water treatment facilities (WWTF) in the estuary and one fabric processing plant within the upper-watershed in Kenyon, RI. Non-point sources include a myriad of farms specializing in turf and animal husbandry, as well as septic systems for the majority of the watershed that are not serviced by the …

Triplet-Triplet Annihilation-Based Photon Upconversion In Protein Biomaterials, Alexander M. Oddo

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Innovation Dynamics Of Cultural Production: Evidence In Rap Lyrics, James M. Zumel Dumlao, Junjie Lei, Emeka Nwosu, Li Yu Oon, Tsai Ling Jeffrey Wong, James Rising, Jesse Anttila-Hughes

Master's Theses

Culture is a driving force in organizing the structure of societies, and is conjoined with economic development. However, quantifying the impact of culture is difficult. Culture manifests itself in cultural production, through art, performance, music, etc. Innovation and influence in cultural production industries partially determines product quality. Using techniques from the “digitized humanities”, we agnostically identify informational distance to describe the spatiotemporal dynamics of innovation and influence in Rap music lyrics. Rap emphasizes lyricism and hometown pride more than other genres of popular music, and is interesting as a globally impactful manifestation of the racially segregated labor market in the …

Identity, Activism, And Rap In The Filipino American Diaspora, Scott Cooper

Master's Theses

For close to two decades, an established network of Filipino American rap artists have developed on the West Coast of the United States. These artists share musical narratives exploring their working-class immigrant experiences as well as the impact of colonization in the Philippines. Outside of music, these artists often engage in community organizing and activism, but few scholars have explored hip hop's effect within these spaces. Recently, a younger generation of Filipino American youth actively make use of hip hop in community organizations and activist groups. This paper will specifically examine how the identity of 1.5 and second generation Filipino …

The English Quarrel Of Crown And Mitre: Ecclesiastical Liberties From Thomas Becket To Thomas More, 1170-1535, Matthew Flanders

Master's Theses

Two rival sets of law, canon and common, warred for supremacy in England from 1170-1535. Just as with any battle, casualties followed. Where Becket and Henry II fought the first battle in this clash of legal systems, More and Henry VIII would end it. The deaths of Thomas Becket in the twelfth century and Thomas More in the sixteenth century bear a striking resemblance, but while this superficially indicates a consistency of outcome, it also probes further into a consistency of conditions which made such an outcome likely. The difference between common and canon law, and the feud born therein, …

Multiple Input Single Output Converter With Maximum Power Point Tracking For Renewable Energy Applications, Kenneth K. Nguyen, Taufik Taufik

Master's Theses

In this thesis, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for multiple input single output (MISO) converter is presented such that power generated from multiple individual energy sources can be combined to deliver the maximum amount of power to a common resistive load. Typically, MISO converters will employ techniques that yield equal current sharing from each energy source. However, this may not be desirable since each source may be rated at different power ratings and/or may experience different operating conditions, preventing the system MISO converter to acquire the most available total power from the sources. Utilizing MPPT control would therefore be …

Cascaded Linear Regulator With Positive Voltage Tracking Switching Regulator, Brandon K. Nghe

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the design, simulation, and hardware implementation of a proposed method for improving efficiency of voltage regulator. Typically, voltage regulator used for noise-sensitive and low-power applications involves the use of a linear regulator due to its high power-supply rejection ratio properties. However, the efficiency of a linear regulator depends heavily on the difference between its input voltage and output voltage. A larger voltage difference across the linear regulator results in higher losses. Therefore, reducing the voltage difference is the key in increasing regulator’s efficiency. In this thesis, a pre switching regulator stage with positive voltage tracking cascaded to …

Nursing Students' Awareness About Effective Teamwork And Related Factors, Vi Thi Thuong Nguyen

Master's Theses

This study surveyed the awareness level of nursing students about the effectiveness of teamwork and related factors. At Hong Bang International University (HIU), teamwork training for nursing students at HIU has been applied but it has been difficult for all students to achieve high results and confidence in practicing teamwork skills. The effectiveness of self-study and group activities depends on many factors. The effectiveness of teaching approaches has not been measured and has needed to be addressed to result in the best learning experience for students. The results of this study provided recommendations to improve the quality of training as …

Significant Objects As Metaphor For Home, Alison Wilcox

Master's Theses

This qualitative Arts-Based Research investigated how certain objects come to embody a personal definition of home. Objects that are treasured and are associated with home were defined in this research as significant objects. As the researcher, I selected personally significant objects to study. These objects were studied through still life painting and interviews, based on the work of Barbara Fish (2017). Data were then refined into a final reflection painting. This study indicated that significant objects are often denied their intended function, are tied to idealized memories, and help to reconnect the owner to confidence that may have been lost …

Zebrafish Eye Development: Rac And The Creepy Crawlers Of The Eye, Zvi Murry

Master's Theses

During vertebrate eye development the optic vesicles protrude from either side of the brain and form the optic cups. As an optic cup starts to surround the lens a groove on the ventral side of the eye forms, known as the choroid fissure (CF). Normally, the CF will close around the optic nerve and hyaloid vasculature. If this process does not occur properly it results in a keyhole opening in the eye known as coloboma. This results in blindness and affects nearly 1 in 4-5,000 births. Zebrafish were utilized as a model for eye development to study CF closure (CFC) …

Type 3 T Helper Cell And Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cell Population Dynamics In A Mammary Carcinoma Model, Viva Rase

Master's Theses

Immunotherapies that augment Type I immunity show robust responses in diffuse blood cancers yet remain relatively ineffective in breast and other solid tumor malignancies. Breast tumor resistance to immunotherapies is associated with polarization towards pro-tumor Type 2 immunity, as well as the expansion of a myeloid derived suppressor cell (MDSC) population that inhibits Type 1 T helper (Th) and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. Does polarization toward Type 3 immunity play a role in mammary tumor formation? This question had not been investigated prior to these studies despite established relationships between MDSCs and Type 3 Th cells in other inflammatory pathologies. …

Tonal Expectations Defining Narrative Archetypes, Seth Weesner

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the contributions of tonal analysis to narrative readings of three nineteenth-century pieces. The method used originates from the work of two theorists, Byron Almén and Fred Lerdahl. Almén’s 2008 book, A Theory of Musical Narrative, outlines narrative archetypes. Lerdahl’s 2004 book, Tonal Pitch Space, provides a sophisticated approach to tonal analysis. These methods are combined to analyze striking modulations in Robert Schumann’s “Dein Angesicht” Op. 127, no. 2, tonal ambiguity in Johannes Brahms’s “Der Kranz” Op. 84, no. 2, and the lack of tonal closure in Gabriel Fauré’s “Hymne” Op. 7, no. 2. These striking …

Cruise Ship Ports And Human Capital Development: The Case Of Mexico, Jorge Herrera

Master's Theses

The cruise ship industry, the fastest-growing segment in the leisure travel market, has contributed significantly to the economic transformation of developing countries, particularly in the Caribbean Basin. This paper applies a difference-in-differences methodology to examine the causal impact of the introduction of cruise ship ports on human capital development in Mexico, as reflected by educational attainment. Using variations in school enrollment, segregated by gender and age across states and municipalities, I find that the economic consequences derived from this form of tourism do not translate into incremental, permanent improvements in all quality of life indicators considered, most saliently in schooling. …

Elucidating The Molecular Pathways Involved In The Fitness And Water Stress Response Of Pseudomonas Synxantha 2-79 In The Plant Rhizosphere, Clint Henry D. Pablo

Master's Theses

Pseudomonas synxantha 2-79 is a biocontrol agent that represents beneficial indigenous rhizobacteria that are broadly distributed in the Pacific Northwest, USA and flourish in the rhizosphere of commercially grown wheat under surprisingly arid conditions. The molecular adaptation of 2-79-like bacteria to plants growing in dry soils is poorly understood. We hypothesized that the ability of 2-79 to colonize and persist in the rhizosphere of water-stressed plants is underpinned by the formation of hydrating biofilms and the utilization of root exudates that contain plant-derived osmoprotectants called quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). We tested this hypothesis by identifying waters stress response pathways in …

“Making The World A Better Place To Live In”: Hattiesburg Women’S Literary Organizations And The Formation Of A Progressive Southern City, 1884-1945, Daniella Kawa

Master's Theses

This study examines the activity and impact of white women’s literary clubs in Hattiesburg, Mississippi between 1884 and the end of World War II in 1945. This project examines to what extent women adhered to or broke away from societal norms of the time by involving themselves in intellectually stimulating groups with other women, especially in response to rapidly changing standards of femininity and womanhood during the Progressive era. Women’s literary clubs reveal patterns of women moving out of the home and into a public role, in addition to signifying the new ways in which women fit themselves into a …

Barriers To Health: Understanding The Barriers Faced By Community Intervention Projects, Vera Landrum

Master's Theses

Health disparities affect significant portions of the population and are most often experienced by marginalized communities (Wilkin, 2013). Health disparities are also impacted by geographical location, and hunger often affects rural areas (Dutta, Anaele, & Jones, 2013; Rural Health Information Hub, 2017). This study aims to understand how nonprofit organizations focused on addressing food insecurity disseminate information to members of the local community and how the input of community members impacted the overall food insecurity campaign. This study was conducted by interviewing five nonprofit directors and conducting three focus groups with clients of the. aforementioned organizations. The author found that …

Web Conference Summarization Through A System Of Flags, Annirudh M. Ankola

Master's Theses

In today’s world, we are always trying to find new ways to advance. This era has given rise to a global, distributed workforce since technology has allowed people to access and communicate with individuals all over the world. With the rise of remote workers, the need for quality communication tools has risen significantly. These communication tools come in many forms, and web-conference apps are among the most prominent for the task. Developing a system to automatically summarize the web-conference will save companies time and money, leading to more efficient meetings. Current approaches to summarizing multi-speaker web-conferences tend to yield poor …

Thermal Ecology Of The Federally Endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard, Kathleen N. Ivey

Master's Theses

Recognizing how climate change will impact populations can aid in making decisions about approaches for conservation of endangered species. The Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) is a federally endangered species that, despite protection, remains in extremely arid, hot areas and may be at risk of extirpation due to climate change. We collected data on the field-active body temperatures, preferred body temperatures, and upper thermal tolerance of G. sila. We then described available thermal habitat using biophysical models, which allowed us to (1) describe patterns in lizard body temperatures, microhabitat temperatures, and lizard microhabitat use, (2) quantify the …

Subject-Specific Finite Element Models Of The Human Knee For Transtibial Amputees To Analyze Tibial Cartilage Pressure For Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training, Jonathon Stearns

Master's Theses

It is estimated that approximately 10-12% of the adult population suffers from osteoarthritis (OA), with long reaching burdens personally and socioeconomically. OA also causes mild discomfort to severe pain in those suffering from the disease. The incidence rate of OA for individuals with transtibial amputations is much than average in the tibiofemoral joint (TF). It is well understood that abnormal articular cartilage stress, whether that be magnitude or location, increases the risk of developing OA. Finite element (FE) simulations can predict stress in the TF joint, many studies throughout the years have validated the technology used for this purpose. This …