Digital Commons Network^™

Using Noninvasive Calibrated Cuff Plethysmography To Observe The Effects Of Cold-Water Immersion On Arterial Compliance, Rita M. Grigorian

Master's Theses

As the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases continues to exponentially grow in populations across the globe, the necessity of determining underlying factors, effective methods of diagnoses, and universally available preventive measures also grows. Early detection of endothelial dysfunction, a proven precursor of cardiovascular diseases, can be extremely impactful in encouraging preventative measures and early intervention before medical conditions become chronic. In recent years, ice plunging, a form of cryotherapy involving full body immersion in cold water, has gained popularity within circles of fitness and health practitioners, gaining the interest of people of all backgrounds. Certain parallels observed between the human physiological …

Analysis Of Gait Parameters And Knee Angles In Ultimate Frisbee Players: Implications For Balance And Injury, Ethan Nikcevich

Master's Theses

Biomechanics research investigating gait and balance of ultimate frisbee players is an unexplored topic. Ultimate requires a wide range of motions that could improve balance and is also a sport prone to frequent injury. This study explores the impact of playing ultimate on gait parameters associated with balance and knee angles associated with joint injury. Gait trials were conducted on 8 ultimate players and 8 control participants between the ages of 18 and 23 to obtain total double support time, stance phase time, single support time, load response time, abduction-adduction (AA) angles, internal-external (IE) rotation angles, and flexion angles of …

The Relationship Between Religiosity And Tobacco Use In A Mexican Spanish Speaking Sample In The United States, Lauren Hales

Master's Theses

To address disparities in minority mental health access and treatment, this study examined the relationship between tobacco use and religiosity, focusing on a Mexican Spanish speaking sample. Based on past research, it was hypothesized that religiosity would act as a protective factor against tobacco use characteristics. Participants were recruited through Amazon’s M*Turk survey platform. The sample included 144 adults aged 18+, currently residing in the US, who speak Mexican Spanish, have had an interaction with a medical provider in the last six months, and have used tobacco daily at some point in the last six months. Along with demographic information, …

A Study On Api Security Pentesting, Hadi Asemi

Master's Theses

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are essential in the digital realm as the bridge enabling seamless communication and collaboration between diverse software applications. Their significance lies in simplifying the integration of different systems, allowing them to work together effortlessly and share data. APIs are used in various applications, for example, healthcare, banks, authentication, etc. Ensuring the security of APIs is critical to ensure data security, privacy, and more. Therefore, the security of APIs is not only urgent but mandatory for pentesting APIs at every stage of development and to catch vulnerabilities early. The primary purpose of this research is to provide …

Design And Synthesis Of N-Succinyl-L,L-2.6-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase Inhibitors As Potential Novel Antibiotics, Thomas Dipuma

Master's Theses

N-Succinyl-L,L-2,6-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase (DapE) is a bacterial enzyme located in the lysine biosynthetic pathway of all Gram-negative and most Gram-positive species of bacteria including the notorious ESKAPE pathogens, or pathogenic strains of bacteria that have developed significant levels of resistance to currently available antibiotics. As a means to combat this challenge of growing antimicrobial resistance, we have identified the bacterial enzyme DapE as a conserved, novel enzymate target within these resistant bacterial strains,as DapE is responsible for the production of m-DAP and lysine which are ultimately employed in bacterial cell wall synthesis. The overall aim of this research is to …

Physical Treatments To Modify The Functionality Of Carrot Pomace And The Development Of An Enhanced Beef Patty, Jordan O.A Richards

Master's Theses

Approximately one-third of the global food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted somewhere along the food chain. Carrots are one of the most important and widely produced root vegetables grown worldwide; they are rich in many beneficial bioactive compounds such as dietary fiber and carotenoids. Every year, an estimated 29% of processed carrots are lost as waste. The U.S. is the 3^rd largest producer of carrots worldwide, 85% of which come from California. During carrot juice processing, up to 50% of the raw material remains as carrot pomace. Carrot pomace may contain up to 55% total dietary …

Non-Planar 3d Printing Of Thermosetting Prepolymers, Junaid Abid Ali

Master's Theses

Additive manufacturing or three-dimensional (3D) printing is an advanced process of manufacturing that challenges traditional manufacturing methodologies. However, the current 3D printing process does exhibit specific limitations. It generates printing paths that are in a horizontal plane, proving inadequate for printing curved or non-flat structures. This study established a printing procedure capable of simultaneously executing printing in X, Y, and Z directions. The limitations posed by conventional 3D printing lead to the poor surface quality of curved printed objects. In contrast, non-planar 3D printing provides smoother surfaces. This work developed a program capable of producing non-planar print paths for the …

Factors Affecting California Grassland Biodiversity: Two Case Studies, Nora Bales

Master's Theses

Biodiversity loss over the last century has been significant and is projected to increase. Biodiversity loss is accelerating due to climate change and habitat loss and degradation. Biodiversity supports key ecosystem services including pollination services, climate regulation, and water filtration. Biodiversity conservation is a top priority for land managers and researchers, however many ecological studies with practical applications lack a thorough understanding of the soil environment in their study system. We conducted two case studies integrating soil and plant data to answer management questions. The first case study investigated the relationship between a threatened plant, Hooveria purpurea var. purpurea and …

A Study On Rapidly Exploring Random Tree Algorithms For Robot Path Planning, Sahil Sharma

Master's Theses

Robot path planning is a critical feature of autonomous systems. Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT) is a path planning technique that randomly samples the robot configuration space to find a path between the start and end point. This thesis studies and compares the performance of four important RRT algorithms, namely, the original RRT, the optimal RRT (also termed RRT*), RRT*-Smart, and Informed RRT* for six different environments. The performance measures include the final path length (which is also the shortest path length found by each algorithm), time to find the first path, run time (of 1000 iterations) for each algorithm, total …

Nira Ya Mtumwa Aliye Huru: Granville Kachipumo's Life Of Slavery And Redemption In Nineteenth-Century East Africa, Zachary Tyler Levy

Master's Theses

Granville Kachipumo was the Universities Mission to Central Africa’s African-born teacher at Mkului in East Africa near today’s Muheza district of Tanga, Tanzania. He was taken from his home along River Lintipe at 10 to 12 years old. Granville Kachipumo’s life began with his family west of Lake Nyasa. Ripped from the arms of his parents, Granville Kachipumo faced two inland journeys, each with its complex forms of slave trade. From the inland environment, Granville Kachipumo navigated to the mission halls of Masasi and beyond. Kachipumo’s story is, as Arthur Cornwallis Madan stated, “a story of an intelligent boy who …

Nanodiscs: A Novel Approach To The Study Of The Methionine Abc Transporter System, Michael T. Winslow

Master's Theses

Membrane transporter proteins play the vital role of moving compounds in and out of the cell and are essential for all living organisms. ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) family transporters function both as importers and exporters in prokaryotes. MetNI is an E. coli Type I ABC transporter responsible for the uptake of methionine into the cytosol from the cell periplasmic space through the cell membrane to maintain intracellular methionine pools. ABC transporters, like other membrane proteins, are most often mechanistically and structurally studied in vitro, solubilized by detergents. However, detergent micelles may affect the conformational changes of membrane proteins relative to …

Effects Of Posttranslational Modifications On Metal Ion Binding To The Antimicrobial Peptide Pg-Ki, Tiffany Alvarez

Master's Theses

There is an emerging crisis in healthcare from a rise in antibiotic resistance coupled with a decrease in novel antibiotic development which is making it more difficult to treat individuals with infections. An attractive alternative for novel therapies is antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) which are naturally occurring peptides in the innate immune response and found in many forms of life. They are produced to protect the host from pathogens like gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and fungi, and some even have antiviral and anticancer activity. Because of their broad-spectrum activity and low rates ofpathogen resistance, antimicrobial peptides are an attractive alternative to …

Synchrotron Photoionization Study Of Two Reactions, Alpha Angelica Lactone And Propargyl Alcohol Oxidation Initiated By O(3p) Atoms, Golbon Rezaei

Master's Theses

This work describes the oxidation behavior of biofuels, Alpha Angelica Lactone, and Propargyl Alcohol through combustion experiments conducted at the chemical Dynamics Beamline 9.0.2 of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) situated at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL) in Berkeley, CA. The combustion process of these two biofuels was initiated by O(3P), and they were analyzed using a multiplexed chemical kinetics photoionization mass spectrometer with tunable synchrotron radiation. The primary products of these two reactions were identified by kinetic time traces and characterized using the photoionization spectra.

The initial chapter of this work describes the importance of using biofuels instead …

Investigating Putative Toxin-Immunity Pairs From A New Class Of Rhs Proteins In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Syed Faieq Imam

Master's Theses

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative, opportunistic pathogen that is ubiquitous in nature, especially in human/animal impacted environments. One of the reasons for this is the arsenal of protein systems and toxins that P. aeruginosa utilizes to mold its environment to suit its needs. Recently, we discovered a novel locus in the P. aeruginosa genome, which resembles other loci that are known to mediate interbacterial competition. Our bioinformatic analysis found this locus to be enriched in a rearrangement hotspot (rhs) motif which led us to ad-interim term the three ORFs of the loci as rhsB, rhsC, and rhsI. Furthermore, we have …

Hedgehog Signaling As An Underlying Mechanism For Midline Modification During Asexual Reproduction In Convolutriloba Longifissura Acoels, James M. Sikes Ph.D., Jaclyn Cherry

Master's Theses

The mechanisms that control midline specification and modification during post-embryonic development are some of the least understood in developmental biology.  Because acoel flatworms have varied modes of asexual reproduction which can involve the dramatic modification of their orthogonal axes and midline, we have chosen the acoel species Convolutriloba longifissura as a model to study the mechanisms behind midline modification.  C. longifissura asexually reproduces through a double fission process where novel midlines arise within laterally located tissues while the adult midline is destroyed prior to an initial transverse fission event, which is then followed by a second longitudinal fission.  Previous work …

Biomarkers In Borrelia Burgdorferi Infected Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Sambuddha Paul

Master's Theses

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. Although some studies have attempted to identify new biomarkers and therapies, only a few have shown promise in clinical trials. In the context of cancer development, infectious agents rank as the third major risk factor, contributing to approximately 15-20% of cancer cases, according to the American Cancer Society. Hence, the identification of biomarkers associated with infection-originated cancer is crucial for enhancing cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has been linked to TNBC …

Structural And Kinematic Investigation Of The Dadeville Complex-Brevard Zone Contact (Southern Appalachians): Polyphase Emplacement Of An Allochthonous Terrane On The Laurentian Margin, Andrew Williams

Master's Theses

The Dadeville Complex (DC) lies in the Inner Piedmont of eastern Alabama and western Georgia. The DC formed as a volcanic island arc during the Taconic orogeny (Ordovician Period) and was accreted onto Laurentia during the Acadian orogeny (Devonian-Mississippian Periods); however, the mechanism and role of accretion during the Acadian orogeny is not well constrained. Three proposed emplacement mechanisms for the DC include: (1) orogen-perpendicular translation; (2) orogen-parallel translation; (3) orogenic channel flow.

Today, the DC is a major (over 100 kilometers long) allochthonous terrane composed mostly of meta-igneous rocks. This study investigated structural fabrics and kinematic indicators in the …

Cobalt Nanowire Catalyst For Fischer-Tropsch Reaction, Jordan Gates

Master's Theses

The Fischer Tropsch reaction is a long-standing chemical reaction that enables the generation of hydrocarbons from hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Funding for research in this field has varied over the years due to the economics of producing synthetic fuel versus processing crude oil. The development of new reactors and catalysts has increased the viability of this process, but it still isn’t enough. Presented in this thesis is a novel nanowire catalyst that is not structured in the same manner as conventional catalysts. In this work it is our goal to compare the nanowire catalyst with a traditional catalyst on the …

Functional Nanocomposite Coatings For Use In Food Packaging, Camden N. Webb

Master's Theses

Plastics are a class of materials known for their cost and property advantages, increasing significantly in their usage worldwide. Unfortunately, these benefits come with an increasingly concerning environmental impact. A combination of inadequate disposal options and combinations of materials have led to environmental disasters that will impact generations. One of the worst areas for plastic waste is food packaging. Plastic as a material generally excels at durability and longevity, but as food packaging, it outlives its intended purpose by several orders of magnitude. This leads to plastic food packaging materials sitting in landfill or leading to the environment for hundreds …

Genetic Parameters For Heat And Salinity Stress Tolerance In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Paul Mcdonald

Master's Theses

Summer mortalities in Gulf of Mexico eastern oysters have been linked to excessively high temperatures, and chronic exposure to low salinity. In this study, the feasibility of improving tolerance to these two stresses by selection was evaluated in common garden experiments employing a pool of 160 families. Heat stress tolerance was evaluated in seed (3.5 months) and adults (14 months) by applying a sustained temperature of 38-39 °C until all oysters expired. Low salinity challenges on juveniles (9 months) and adults (15 months) applied a salinity of 2.5 psu. Survival duration of individual oysters during challenges was recorded and tissue …

An Examination Of School Resource Officers' Self-Perception Of Role, Student Encounters And Duties, Alexandra Swanty

Master's Theses

As the rates of school shootings and school violence rise, the effectiveness of school resource officers (SROs) has come into question. As of now, there is no nationwide standard for the role and duties of school resource officers. Therefore, these differ from state to state and even school district to school district. One variable that had yet to be examined was the impact that location has on the roles of school resource officers. From this, three different school resource officer roles were identified: teaching-based role, community-based role, and law enforcement-based role. To determine the relationship between these variables, an online …

Experiences And Perspectives Of A Speech-Language Pathologist On Strategies And Challenges For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In The General Education, Inclusion-Focused Classroom Post Distance Learning, Hayley Mahnke

Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects an individual’s communication and social skills (Ibrahimagic et al., 2021). The impacts vary across individuals but often includes struggles with transitions, flexibility, and organization (Ibrahimagic et al., 2021). Students with ASD frequently struggle with pragmatic skills that are the foundation for academic experiences and peer relationships (Ibrahimagic et al., 2021; Sutton et al., 2018). These skills are often important speech-language therapy targets that are challenged by faculty buy-in, school resources, and peer acceptance (Garrote et al., 2017; Kasari et al., 2011; Koster et al., 2009; Lloyd et al., 2016; Sutton …

Gendered Experiences In Learning, Interpreting, And Using Sexual Consent, Emma Ryan

Master's Theses

Previous research has sought to understand how individuals use or prefer to use sexual consent, what children learn about consent, and if parents teach sexual consent to their children (Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2009; Jozkowski et al., 2013; Padilla-Walker et al., 2020). While research aims to comprehend how people involved in sexual intimacy use sexual consent, literature excludes non-heterosexual couples and non-binary folks’ consent experiences (Beres et al., 2004; Sternin et al., 2021). This exclusion hinders society’s knowledge about sexual consent education, consent use, and interpretation. Therefore, although the understanding of sexual consent has grown, we do not have ample knowledge …

Exploring And Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Greeley’S Mental Health Co-Responder Program And “Squad 1”, Mikelle Angiuli

Master's Theses

Law enforcement officers are often the de facto emergency response for mental health crises despite having little to no mental health training. With nearly 20% of U.S. adults reporting experiencing a mental illness and recent police reform movements bringing attention to alternative policing practices and policies, there is arguably a need for comprehensive mental health treatment and emergency response in the U.S. (Mental Health America, n.d.). The cities of Greeley and Evans, Colorado have implemented a mental health co-responder program that involves individual mental health clinicians and a mental health ambulance, Squad 1, responding alongside police on mental health calls …

Restrictions And Criteria For Obtaining Funds After A Victimization: A Content Analysis Of Victim Compensation Statutes In The United States, Taylor Brake

Master's Theses

Of the lasting effects after a victimization, a common denominator is the cost of services needed to heal from the harm caused. Since 2002, all states and territories in the United States have fully developed victim compensation programs to provide aid to victims in combating the financial impacts after a crime. The Victims of Crime Act and the Office for Victims of Crime have created requirements and suggestions for states to follow within their compensation programs. Unfortunately, there is no federal authority enforcing these requirements or ensuring consistency in state statutes surrounding victim compensation. Although there are multiple rationales as …

An Overview Of Speech-Language Pathologists’ Current Practices For Bilingual Children With Childhood Apraxia Of Speech, Yessica Villanueva Guerra

Master's Theses

Purpose: This study aimed to explore and describe current practices of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who presently work or have worked with bilingual children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) in diverse settings. Exploration of this topic may contribute to the need for more knowledge in the Speech-Language Pathology field regarding evidence-based practices for the target population. The primary aims addressed in this study were: 1) To describe the assessment procedures currently used by speech-language pathologists to diagnose bilingual children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech, 2) To describe the intervention approaches currently used by speech-language pathologists to treat bilingual children with …

Comparing Effects Of Praise Rates On Classroom Behavior, Brittany Pigg

Master's Theses

High-quality academic instruction, and, in turn, student success, are correlated with effective classroom management (Gage, Scott, Hirn, & MacSuga-Gage, 2018; Johnson, 1997; Stronge, Ward, & Grant, 2011; Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1993). Students are spending up to 50% of their instructional time engaged in non-instructional activities such as classroom procedures, transitions, and discipline (Codding & Smyth, 2008). However, academic activities should account for at least 70% of classroom time (Little & Akin-Little, 2008). Praise, a simple classroom behavior management procedure, includes statements commending behavior and is intended to increase the future probability of the behavior that warranted praise. Behavior-specific praise …

Co-Simulation Of Active Magnetic Bearing Rotors Using Adams, Msc Apex, And Simulink, Shea A. Charkowsky

Master's Theses

Apex-Adams-Simulink co-simulation is applied to active magnetic bearing (AMB) rotors, demonstrating results unshown in literature, including continuous frequency response, and unavailable in known rotor dynamics software, including touchdown bearing impact. AMBs levitate rotors without contact, so they involve no friction, wear, lubrication, pollution, or shaft speed limits and are thus valuable for large, high-speed applications. Modeling of such rotors, necessary for safety and performance, simultaneously requires flexible body dynamics and advanced control design, but simulation programs tend to specialize in only one or the other. The co-simulation method combines multiple such programs—MSC Apex (finite element modeling), Adams (multibody dynamics), and …

Mate Choice And Sexual Conflict In A Livebearing Fish, Julia C. Kasper

Master's Theses

Eavesdropping occurs when a receiver extracts information from an interaction without directly engaging with the signaler. Eavesdropping has been shown to be an effective way of evaluating the quality of potential mates and their abilities in male-male competition, without having to directly interact with them, thereby reducing energy costs and mating harassment. Girardinus metallicus is a livebearing poeciliid fish endemic to Cuba whose mating system is dominated by mating harassment in the form of sneak copulations, persistent displaying, and male-male aggression. G. metallicus has a male specific polymorphism in both melanin coloration and behavior. Males with melanin coloration are known …

Phase Distribution Of Nickel, Chromium, And Cobalt In Seawater At Olivine-Enriched Beaches: Implications For Carbon Capture By Enhanced Silicate Weathering, Nathaniel J. Padrnos

Master's Theses

The application of olivine to coastal areas is a proposed method of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for climate change mitigation. Olivine is abundant and dissolves relatively fast, but it contains trace amounts of nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co) which may be toxic to marine biota in cases of widespread coastal olivine spreading. Prior studies have suggested that Ni concentrations in marine sediments and/or the overlying water column due to olivine dissolution could be a limiting factor for its carbon capture potential. Therefore, it is critical to understand and model the processes affecting trace metal bioavailability after …