Digital Commons Network^™

Reduced Carbon Storage At Intermediate Depths In The Southwest Atlantic During Hs1: Evidence For A Weaker Southern Ocean Biological Pump, Matthew Lacerra

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Automation And Interpersonal Trust: The Sociotechnical Implications Of Unreliable Automation, Lauren Gannon

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Photoconductive Properties Of Passivated Emitter Rear Cell Silicon Photovoltaic Cells Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Alexandra Longacre

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Normative Civility Expectations For The Employee Experience: A Time-Lagged Analysis, Taylor Barr

Master's Theses

Previous research regarding the influence of normative workplace civility expectations on psychological health outcomes has often been cross-sectional and analyzed at only an individual-level. Furthermore, there is little knowledge of how these normative expectations may act to reduce the impact of experienced incivility. This study extends the research by conducting a daily diary study that examines longitudinal psychological health outcomes of experienced incivility using a multi-level framework. The additional focus of the study involves identifying the separate influence of supervisor civility expectations vs. workgroup civility expectations, which we test as both direct-effect predictors of daily experienced incivility. We also test …

Epigenetic Profiling Of Active Enhancers In Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells, Jian Xing

Master's Theses

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are projection neurons of the eye, which process and pass visual information collected in the eyes to the brain. However, epigenetic regulation of RGC fate specification remains poorly understood, in large part due to the technical challenges associated with purifying RGCs, which comprise only 1% of all retinal cells, and performing ChIP-seq profiling on a small number of cells. To overcome these limitations, we have purified RGCs from multiple mice by immunoppanning for Thy1, a surface marker on RGCs, and analyzed pulled chromatin by ChIP-seq for histone 3 acetylated at K27 (H3K27ac), which is an epigenetic …

Experimental And Computational Studies On The Reinforcement Effect Of Smooth Cord Grass (Spartina Alterniflora) On Erosion In Louisiana Coastal Marsh Creation Project, Sujan Baral

Master's Theses

Louisiana coastal saltmarshes are disappearing at an exponential rate. Even though several researches indicate that vegetation on coastal marshes protect the coast from erosion by providing soil reinforcement, wave buffering, sediment trapping and overall hydrologic regime control, the complex nature of coastal erosion process makes it too difficult to quantify the erosion resistance provided by vegetation. This research is focused on the study of soil binding ability provided by smooth cord grass, Spartina alterniflora, flourishing in dredged soil of Sabine Refuge Marsh Creation Project (CS-28) in Louisiana.

Field vane shear test was conducted to obtain the in-situ un-drained shear strength …

A Semi-Supervised Feature Engineering Method For Effective Outlier Detection In Mixed Attribute Data Sets, Girish Srivatsa Rentala

Master's Theses

Outlier detection is one of the crucial tasks in data mining which can lead to the finding of valuable and meaningful information within the data. An outlier is a data point that is notably dissimilar from other data points in the data set. As such, the methods for outlier detection play an important role in identifying and removing the outliers, thereby increasing the performance and accuracy of the prediction systems. Outlier detection is used in many areas like financial fraud detection, disease prediction, and network intrusion detection.

Traditional outlier detection methods are founded on the use of different distance measures …

Developing An Assay To Quantify Antigen-Specific Igy In A Long-Lived Seabird, Anna Louise Mccarter

Master's Theses

To maximize parental fitness, life history theory predicts that short-lived species will prioritize reproductive efforts over self-maintenance functions. The opposite is predicted for long-lived species, which ought to invest heavily in immune defenses, particularly those of the acquired immune system. Yet, most of our current understanding of immune system function has been from investigations of short-lived model species. Little is known about the induction and maintenance of immunological memory in wild species, and in particular, long-lived, wild species. This is due in part to limited availability of species-specific secondary antibodies for use in serological studies of non-model species. Moreover, commercially …

Plant And Soil Carbon Responses To Invasive Typha Management In Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands, Olivia Johnson

Master's Theses

We quantified how control of a ubiquitous Great Lakes region invasive (Typha × glauca) shifts plant-mediated C cycling and belowground properties and processes. Two field experiments implemented large scale treatment plots (~1-ha to 3-ha) of harvesting (i.e., cut above water surface, removed biomass), crushing (i.e., ran over biomass), and creating connectivity channels (i.e., cut at the soil surface, created open-water within Typha-dominated stands). In one experiment, we observed immediate C release via gas flux and aqueous C; harvesting and crushing caused net emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂)_, and crush increased dissolved organic carbon in …

Orthoquery: A Tripal Database Module To Assess And Visualize Gene Family Evolution, Sumaira Zaman

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Improving Communication: Huddling For Change, Harnoor Chahal

Master's Theses

The purpose of this communication improvement project is to incorporate huddles between interdisciplinary departments within a microsystem in order to improve customer satisfaction by decreasing the number of grievances. Based on the increasing number of grievances due to delayed hospital discharge, which results from a lack of communication between team members, there is an increased need for communication between the microsystem. By implementing weekly huddles between the Inpatient and Outpatient nurses, not only will there be increased care-coordination, but there will also be a decreased delay in discharge from the hospital caused by missed or no communication. Evidence-based practice indicates …

Understanding Shared Demand: A Quantitative Investigation Into The Changing Modal Landscape Of New York City, Raymond Gerte

Master's Theses

The concept of shared travel, or making trips with other users via a common vehicle, is far from novel. However, recent technological advances have paved the way for new mobility alternatives within established transportation networks; including on-demand ride hailing/sharing/networking (e.g. Uber, Lyft) and citywide bike sharing systems. This shared concept has flourished and is being hailed as a potential option for autonomous vehicle operation moving forward. However, substantial investigation into how shared mode offerings impact travel behaviors and integrate into existing transportation networks is lacking. To address this, this research explores two main investigations. First, understand the demand for one …

Non-Collocated Vibration Suppression With Actively Controlled Resonant-Style Absorbers For Simultaneous Spectral And Spatial Tuning, Ryan Jenkins

Master's Theses

The research summarized in this work revisits the well-established actively-tuned vibration absorber concept from several unconventional angles. The first contribution involves an active tuning methodology of an absorber for spectral and spatial variations. The second is a set of generalized operating guidelines for such absorber tuning. "Spectral" tuning handles time-varying excitation frequencies, while "spatial" tuning treats the real-time variations in the desired location of suppression (an often-ignored dimension of vibration absorption research). Spatial tuning is inspired by the concept of “non-collocated vibration absorption”, for which the absorber location is different from the point of suppression.

The Delayed Resonator-based absorber, a …

Educational Prevention Program Of Surgical Site Infections (Ssi) At A Metropolitan Pediatric, Daniel Chavez

Master's Theses

Surgical Site Infections are a common hospital acquired disease. The prevention of Surgical Site Infection at a metropolitan pediatric hospital was lacking thorough education on how to prevent Surgical Site Infections. Literature was used to support this educational program with evidence based practices. To further reduce Surgical Site Infections education played a key role. Most importantly the distribution of education is what this educational program aimed toward supporting. In order to optimize patient outcomes through the use of our educational program literacy requirements must be me. Using this information our team constructed educational pamphlets that would help empower patients so …

Educational Prevention Program Of Surgical Site Infections At A Metropolitan Pediatric Hospital, Myra Hasan

Master's Theses

Surgical site infections (SSI) are a common cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). They remain a significant problem, as they are associated with increased morbidity and mortality and cause an increase in demand for several healthcare resources. In order to address this problem, hospitals have implemented several protocols and polices that are aimed to reduce these infections. However, the rates of SSIs continue to rise. Healthcare team members have found that while it is their responsibility to enforce preventative measures to the patient in the preoperative and surgical room, patient compliance to preventive measures at home also plays a role.

At …

Educational Prevention Program Of Surgical Site Infections (Ssi) At A Metropolitan Pediatric, Daniel Chavez

Master's Theses

Surgical Site Infections are a common hospital acquired disease. The prevention of Surgical Site Infection at a metropolitan pediatric hospital was lacking thorough education on how to prevent Surgical Site Infections. Literature was used to support this educational program with evidence based practices. To further reduce Surgical Site Infections education played a key role. Most importantly the distribution of education is what this educational program aimed toward supporting. In order to optimize patient outcomes through the use of our educational program literacy requirements must be me. Using this information our team constructed educational pamphlets that would help empower patients so …

Evaluating The Efforts Of An Early Head Start Program To Foster Social And Emotional Child And Family Development, Molly Harmon

Master's Theses

Social emotional development has been found to be a key component in a child’s developmental trajectory, as it supports many developmental domains. Low-income children often enter school having experienced low social emotional support due to the many external barriers that often challenge their families’ ability to foster positive social emotional development. The present literature has made it clear that there is an association between a child’s social emotional trajectory, family functioning, and parent-child interactions. Further, home-based intervention and prevention in early childhood is effective in promoting social emotional development. This investigation aims to assess the efforts of a particular Early …

Examining The Role Of Histidine In The Antimicrobial Peptide Gaduscidin-1, Jasmin Portelinha

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Strain Variation In Low-Grade Metamorphic Thrust Sheets: An Example From The Northern Taconic Allochthon Of Vermont And New York, Usa, Jessica Robinson

Master's Theses

Thrust sheet emplacement is typically accompanied by internal deformation that can vary depending on a range of factors. In the Taconic slate belt in the northern part of the Giddings Brook thrust sheet of the Taconic allochthon, map-view curves and an along-strike change in structural level expose variations in internal deformation of a low-grade metamorphic thrust sheet. We characterized internal deformation during slaty cleavage formation by determining the orientations of cleavage and stretching lineation and by quantifying the strain using syntectonic fibers formed on subspherical core objects. The slate belt is everywhere characterized by top-to-west-northwest noncoaxial flow. The southern and …

Comparison Of Approaches To Characterize Flow Conditions In Bedrock Wells, Stephanie Phillips

Master's Theses

Evaluating vertical flow in bedrock wells is important for understanding aquifer hydraulic parameters, and borehole flowmeter methods are critical for analyzing flow in fractured-rock aquifers. Single borehole logging is used to identify active hydraulic zones under ambient and pumping conditions, and crosshole flowmeter logging is used to identify hydraulic connections between boreholes. To identify potential zones of interest for flowmeter logging in fractured rock, first a series of conventional borehole logs are collected. Then, locations for flowmeter logging are selected and data are collected under ambient and stressed conditions to distinguish fracture flow zones. Because flowmeters are limited by their …

An Improved Probabilistic Simulation Framework For Gene Family Evolution, Soumya Kundu

Master's Theses

Gene and sub-gene family evolution is usually represented in a framework where domain trees evolve inside one or more gene trees, each of which evolves inside a species tree. The Duplication-Transfer-Loss (DTL) reconciliation and the Domain-Gene-Species (DGS) reconciliation algorithms allow us to infer the evolutionary histories of a given set of species, genes, and protein domains. However, in the absence of biological data regarding the true evolutionary histories of these species, genes, and domains, we must rely on simulated data to validate the accuracy of these methods. Although numerous probabilistic simulation frameworks exist for gene family evolution, none of them …

Inverse Dynamic Analysis Of Acl Reconstructed Knee Joint Biomechanics During Gait And Cycling Using Opensim, Megan V. Pottinger

Master's Theses

ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries of the knee joint alter biomechanics and may cause abnormal loading conditions that place patients at a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis (OA). There are multiple types of ACL reconstruction (ACLR), but all types aim to restore anterior tibial translation and internal tibial rotation following surgery. Analyzing knee joint contact loads provide insight into the loading conditions following ACLR that may contribute to the long-term development of OA. Ten ACLR subjects, who underwent the same reconstruction, performed gait and cycling experiments while kinematic and kinetic data were collected. Inverse dynamic analyses were performed on processed …

Detecting A Probiotic Product Within The Gut Of Broiler Chickens, Anneka Pisula

Master's Theses

As of January 2017, the U.S. poultry industry banned the use of antibiotics and now relies on alternatives such as probiotics to help protect animal health. Although probiotic use is not a new concept in the poultry industry, identifying the best combination of bacterial strains to generate an effective probiotic formula requires further investigation. This study aimed to detect a probiotic product of four bacterial strains (Pedioccoccus acidilactici, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Bacillus subtilis) in a feeding trial with broiler chickens. Birds given the probiotic were predicted to show an improved growth performance with …

Design And Analysis Of A Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator, George N. Skouras

Master's Theses

A prototype solar desalination system (SODESAL) with a parabolic-trough solar concentrator (PTSC) and evacuated tube was designed and analyzed to determine the solar thermal capabilities for small-scale distillation and energy generation. A proof-of-concept study verified that distillation is possible with the system as designed, however a rupture occurred in the copper heat-pipe heat exchanger due to overheating. The internal temperatures of an aluminum heat transfer fin were measured inside an evacuated tube typically used in solar water heater systems to understand the lateral heat distribution and identify possible causes of the rupture. Solar radiation was measured for both the summer …

The Roles Of Tid1, Ndj1, And Spo16 In Distributive Segregation During Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Meiosis, Ethan Atticus Shaw

Master's Theses

Meiosis is a specialized form of cell division in sexually reproducing eukaryotes. Crossovers are physical connections formed between homologous chromosomes during meiosis; these connections help ensure normal segregation of homologous chromosomes at meiosis I. However, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other eukaryotes can still segregate homologs properly even in the absence of some crossovers. This is due to a backup mechanism known as distributive segregation, which correctly segregates non-crossover chromosomes at a higher rate than if segregation were completely random. To study distributive segregation, we have generated diploid yeast with one homeologous chromosome pair consisting of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome …

Effects Of Polydatin On In Vitro Bovine Embryo Developmental Competence, Metabolism, And Cryopreservation, Corie Marie Owen

Master's Theses

Bovine in vitro produced embryos suffer from poor developmental competence and altered metabolism which hinders their cryotolerance. Overall, the goals of this thesis were to improve oocyte and embryo culture with the antioxidant polydatin and to optimize slow freezing procedures. This thesis was designed as three experiments, and in each experiment, oocytes were aspirated from abattoir ovaries, matured for 23h, fertilized with semen from 1 of 3 bulls, and cultured in synthetic oviductal (SOF) based medium (SCF1) in 38.5 °C in 5% O₂, 5% CO₂ and 90% N₂. Stage 7 blastocysts were stained with Nile …

Quantifying The Environmental Performance Of A Stream Habitat Improvement Project, Cody Morse

Master's Theses

River restoration projects are being installed worldwide to rehabilitate degraded river habitat. Many of these projects focus on stream habitat improvement (SHI), and an estimated 60%of the 37,000 projects listed in the National River Restoration Science Synthesis Program focus on SHI for salmon and trout species. These projects frequently lack a sufficient monitoring program or account for the environmental costs associated with SHI. The present study used life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques and topographic effectiveness monitoring to quantify environmental costs on the basis of geomorphic change. This methodology was a novel approach to assessing the cost-benefit relationship of SHI. To …

Assessment Of Granulovirus, Spinosad, And Mating Disruption For Controlling Cydia Pomonella L. [Lepidoptera: Tortricidae] In Organic Coastal California Apple Orchards, Raven Lukehart

Master's Theses

Codling moth, Cydia pomonella[Lepidoptera: Tortricidae], is a major entomological pest of apples, pears, and walnuts cross the world (Pajac et al. 2016). Female codling moths lay eggs on the apple exocarp and larvae burrow within the fruit causing economic losses to fruit growers.Organic apple orchards in San Luis Obispo, CA currently have three codling moth, Cydia pomonella,control options commercially available including granulovirus (CpVG), spinosad, and mating disruption. In field tests on apple (Malus), we compare percent fruit injury between treatments of granulovirus (2.43 oz/ha Cyd-X® organically approved, Certis USA, Columbia MD), spinosad (4.05 oz/ha Entrust® Naturalyte® …

A Content Analysis Of Section 1983 Litigation Against Reserve Police Officers, Michael Ryan Broadus

Master's Theses

Police studies have well developed a demonstrative framework for detailing risks which generate financially-detrimental civil litigation – particularly regarding 42 U.S.C. §1983. Conversely, though, police studies have given little attention to the often-used but differentially-trained reserve police officer. Primarily replicating the methodologies of Kappeler, Kappeler, and del Carmen (1993) and Ross (2000), this descriptive study sought to fill this void via a manifest content approach to purposively select a sample of Section 1983 cases decided by U.S. District Courts over a 16-year period (2001-2016) to determine: (1) if significant liability was generated by reserve officers, (2) the main basis for …

Evaluation Of Endothelial Cell Responses To Elevated Glucose, Gabriella Sugerman

Master's Theses

Developing a tissue-engineered Blood Vessel Mimic (BVM) to represent diabetic macrovascular disease could expedite design of new vascular devices specifically tailored to diabetic patients. In contribution toward this model, this thesis assessed Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell (HUVEC) responses to high glucose conditions. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and Cluster of Differentiation 36 (CD36) were selected to signify oxidative stress activity, a hallmark of diabetic macrovascular disease. Next, activity of potential reference genes B2M, HPRT1, and ACTB was assessed. All genes were found to exceed acceptable variability, so the E-ΔC T method of data analysis was selected. Next, cellular responses to high …