Digital Commons Network^™

Energy Efficient Downstream Communication In Wireless Sensor Networks, Xiaoyang Zhong

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation studies the problem of energy efficient downstream communication in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). First, we present the Opportunistic Source Routing (OSR), a scalable, reliable, and energy-efficient downward routing protocol for individual node actuation in data collection WSNs. OSR introduces opportunistic routing into traditional source routing based on the parent set of a node’s upward routing in data collection, significantly addressing the drastic link dynamics in low-power and lossy WSNs. We devise a novel adaptive Bloom filter mechanism to effectively and efficiently encode a downward source-route in OSR, which enables a significant reduction of the length of source-route field …

Quantifying Human Heat Stress In Working Environments, And Their Relationship To Atmospheric Dynamics, Due To Global Climate Change, Jonathan R. Buzan

Open Access Dissertations

Heat stress is a global issue that crosses socioeconomic status. Heat stress leads to reduced worker capacity on seasonal scales, and weekly to sub-daily timescales, incapacitation, morbidity, and mortality. This dissertation focuses on 2 distinct parts: quantification methods of heat stress, and heat stress applications. Quantification methods of heat stress Chapters 1–3 focus on historical analysis of heat stress. Chapter 1 is a detailed assessment of previous work in heat stress—methods, history, and future research outlook. Chapter 2 focuses on the implementation and quantification of a battery of heat stress metrics within the global circulation model framework. The ultimate outcome …

Intimacies Of Power: Eroticized Violence And Gendered Sexuality In Transgressive Art 1890s— #Metoo, Julia Louisa Smith

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to understand eroticized violence by analyzing sadism and masochism as models of modern masculinity and power. I look at the literature and theory of male sexual sadism and masochism as “artefacts of art” as metaphors of male subjectivity expressed across vast and interdisciplinary cultural fields of cultural expression (Bersani, Freudian Body 5). Best understood as an aesthetic formation, masochism shows how cultural formations of subjectivity and sexualized violence are a modern for m of power that operates by means of subversion and can tolerate its own castration. As a metaphor of modern masculinity, de Sade’s sadism shows …

A Study Of The Piston Cylinder Interface Of Axial Piston Machines, Daniel Mizell

Open Access Dissertations

The piston cylinder interface of axial piston machines of swash plate type is one of three critical lubricating interfaces that are responsible for proper machine operation. The interface must simultaneously bear large time changing external loads while preventing excessive leakage or friction. For long term machine reliability, a full fluid film must be maintained between the piston and cylinder surfaces. The goal of this work is to further the understanding of the phenomena contributing to fluid film behavior. A novel multi-body non-isothermal fluid-structure-thermal-interaction piston cylinder interface model is introduced that considers compressible fluid flow, squeeze due to transient deformation, as …

Using Computational Musicological Approaches And Informatics To Characterize Soundscapes In Diverse Natural And Human-Dominated Ecosystems, Kristen M. Bellisario

Open Access Dissertations

The overarching objective of my dissertation research is to use computational musicology and informatics methods to characterize soundscapes in myriad ecosystems across different disturbance gradients. Three questions guided my research:

Can my methods place sound signals into three major sound source bins (classes) better than current approaches?

How can traditional metrics quantify disturbance and temporal periods within a time-dependent structure?

Can a multi-labeling approach allow for content discovery in a soundscape ecology database?

To address these questions, I organized the dissertation into three research chapters.

The second chapter, “Spectral timbral analysis for discrimination of soundscape components,” explores sound beyond traditional …

Thermal & Non-Thermal Signatures From Galactic Nuclei, Ian Christie

Open Access Dissertations

The bifurcation of Galactic Nuclei into active galactic nuclei (AGN) and low-luminosity accreting systems is ultimately related to the gas dynamics and therefore the observed emission. Relativistic jets in AGN produce bright and variable emission emanating across the electromagnetic spectrum. The ultra-fast variability, occurring on timescales of several minutes, observed from blazars, a subclass of AGN, pose tight constraints on theoretical models as they require compact objects characterized by fast motions and high Doppler boosting within the jet. Here, I report on the relativistic magnetic reconnection model as a source of blazar emission. By using the results of first principle …

Advancing Eastern Hellbender Conservation Through Novel Head-Starting Techniques, Erin K. Kenison

Open Access Dissertations

Translocations often use captive-reared animals to help bolster or re-establish wild populations. Captive-rearing provides safety and ample amounts of food so animals can be released as larger, older individuals. However, captive environments are highly dissimilar from wild conditions and may deprive animals of experiences that promote normal development. Naïveté to natural stimuli can result in inappropriate or dangerous behaviors following release, elevated predation in the wild, increased disease susceptibility, and ultimately, failed translocation efforts. Eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) have experienced precipitous declines over the past few decades in Indiana and have been reduced to a single, low-density population in …

The Effects Of Consuming Red Meat On Indexes Of Cardiometabolic Health And Personal Well-Being, Lauren Elizabeth O'Connor

Open Access Dissertations

Red meat consumption is recognized to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, however, the totality of the evidence does not support this. The recommendations to limit red meat consumption, such as in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ omnivorous healthy eating patterns, are largely based on data from observational cohort studies which assess red meat intake in the context of a Western-style eating pattern. In these studies, “red meat” is often ill-defined and grouped with processed meat as one intake category leading to inconsistent associations between red meat intake and cardiometabolic disease risk. Unprocessed red meat, independent of processed meats, …

Choosing Wickedness: Moral Evil In Kant's Religion, Changtze Chia

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation concerns Kant’s doctrine of radical evil. The doctrine consists in the following two claims: (1) The propensity to evil is a universal propensity, found in every human being. It is therefore an innate disposition. (2) Every human being is morally responsible for the propensity to evil found in him. It is therefore a disposition that is freely chosen. The poor reception Kant’s doctrine of radical evil has received over the centuries can be traced to his insistence on these two claims. The doctrine has been censured for two reasons: (1) Kant appeals to empirical evidence in his argument …

Comfort Levels And Communication Styles Of Sexual Health Educators: A Phenomenological Study, Kathleen A. Greenan

Open Access Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study explored Sexual Health Education (SHE) through the lens of 11 public school teachers who offered sex education to their students; teaching sex education was not mandated by the State. It explored the levels of comfort and barriers that educators possessed when they communicated SHE to adolescents. One community within the State of Indiana was examined; at the time of the study. Eleven 7-12th grade educators among three school districts shared their beliefs, values, and feelings regarding SHE instruction and levels of sexuality comfort. As a result, the concept of sexuality comfort was reconstructed, and three findings …

Novel Ideas And Techniques For Large Dark Matter Detectors, Darryl Masson

Open Access Dissertations

As dark matter detection experiments continue to report null results, the need for larger and more sensitive detectors means even more stringent design requirements. New calibration techniques are required and better calibration methods become possible with increased detector size. Additionally, previously ignored detector features such as convection become important, especially as internal, dissolvable sources become more common. Furthermore, convection also offers the possibility for reduction of the 222Rn backrounds via an offline analysis where atoms of 214Pb are tagged and followed throughout the detector via a technique dubbed the “radon self-veto”. In this thesis, we present the characterization of a …

Hydration Shell Water Structure And Aggregation Of Small Amphiphilic Solutes, Shannon R. Pattenaude

Open Access Dissertations

My research aims to address long-standing questions in physical chemistry about water-mediated hydrophobic and ionic interactions of biological relevance. For example, my research has provided some of the first experimental evidence of water driving hydrophobic groups apart rather than pushing them together in solution, thus damping rather than enhancing the contact free energy of oily molecules in water. I have also obtained some of the first experimental evidence concerning the structure of water structure around nonpolar groups in solution, thus demonstrating that hydrophobic hydration-shells have a clathrate hydrate-like structure. In addition, I am currently studying ionic interactions in water, which …

Visual Preferences And Human Interactions With Shading And Electric Lighting Systems, Seyed Amir Sadeghi

Open Access Dissertations

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 40% of the primary energy use and 30% of carbon dioxide emissions. As awareness is being raised for the energy consumption and environmental impacts of buildings, it is not surprising that improving building performance has gained significant attention over the past years. Increasing the energy efficiency and reducing the emissions associated with buildings is possible through the use of high-performance building design and implementation of advanced building controls. Moreover, as part of the modern life style, people in developed countries spend most of their time inside the buildings. This fact necessitates consideration …

Numerical Simulation Of Combustion In The Ironmaking Blast Furnace Raceway, Tyamo Okosun

Open Access Dissertations

As almost all conversion of raw iron ore to pig iron at the start of the ironmaking process currently takes place in a blast furnace, these furnaces remain a critical component in the iron and steelmaking industry. Enhancements in the efficiency of blast furnace operation have a significant effect on industrial energy consumption, as the process represents nearly 70% of the total energy consumption of the iron and steelmaking process. Over the past several decades, auxiliary fuel injection has been adopted as a method of reducing the total amount of coke necessary for furnace operation. Coke making is both energy …

Studies On The Impact Initiation And Kinetics Of Condensed Phase Reactives With Application To The Shock Induced Reaction Synthesis Of Cubic Boron Nitride, Matthew T. Beason

Open Access Dissertations

Shock induced reaction synthesis is a complex, scientifically rich field with the potentially to produce novel materials with unique properties. This work seeks to understand the processes governing shock induced reaction synthesis. Particular emphasis is placed on the reaction kinetics of condensed phase reactives under various mechanical and thermal heating rates. This understanding was then applied to the synthesis of cubic boron nitride through shock induced reaction synthesis. Mechanical initiation of reactions in powder systems involve complex interactions that can yield unexpected results. Two materials that exhibit similar thermal responses can behave very differently under the same loading conditions due …

Development Of Targeted Pro-Angiogenic Therapies For Ischemic Diabetic Foot Ulcer Repair, Jenny B. Lin

Open Access Dissertations

Between 15-25% of diabetic patients develop chronic foot ulcers within their lifetime. These ulcers are characterized by delayed wound healing, are highly susceptible to infection, and can lead to lower-limb/foot amputation. Impaired ulcer healing is most often due to ischemia and insufficient formation of new vessels in the wound bed, as well as rapid turnover of healing tissue by excessive matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. To improve healing of chronic ischemic wounds, researchers have sought to increase angiogenesis at the wound site using growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is a key angiogenic mediator and uniquely participates …

The Influence Of Biomass Burning Aerosols On Stratocumulus Clouds Over The South-East Atlantic, Sampa Das

Open Access Dissertations

Optically thick smoke aerosol plumes originating from biomass burning (BB) in the southwestern African Savanna during the austral spring are transported westward by the free-tropospheric winds to primarily overlie the vast stretches of stratocumulus cloud decks in the South-East Atlantic. We evaluated the simulations of long-range transport of BB aerosol by the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) and four other global aerosol models using Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observations over the complete South African-Atlantic region. Models in general captured the vertical distribution of aerosol over land but exhibited some common features after long-range transport of smoke plumes that …

Flash X-Ray Tomography Of Kolsky Bar Experiments, Hangjie Liao

Open Access Dissertations

Kolsky bar is commonly used to characterize materials at high strain rates from 102 to 104/s. Insitu visualization of specimen fracture process is vital to understand its dynamic mechanical behaviors. In this dissertation, compression Kolsky bar is combined with a high speed multichannel flash X-ray tomography methodology to capture snapshots of the dynamic in-situ 3D specimen volume information to visualize the dynamic damage and fracture process. This method is capable to produce sub-millimeter-resolution tomography reconstructions of dynamic fracture process from very limited number (4 in this research) of projections. This method enables a precise and repeatable control over the loading …

Applications Of Context-Aware Systems In Enterprise Environments, Oyindamola D. Oluwatimi

Open Access Dissertations

In bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) scenarios, employees’ devices store both enterprise and personal data, and have the ability to remotely access a secure enterprise network. While mobile devices enable users to access such resources in a pervasive manner, it also increases the risk of breaches for sensitive enterprise data as users may access the resources under insecure circumstances. That is, access authorizations may depend on the context in which the resources are accessed. In both scenarios, it is vital that the security of accessible enterprise content is preserved. In this work, we explore the use of contextual …

Evidentiary Reasoning: An Examination Of Elementary And Middle School Students' Knowledge Of Scientific Evidence In Biology, Jamison Wills

Open Access Dissertations

This project examines upper elementary and middle school students’ knowledge of scientific evidence. Informed by literature in cognitive development, learning sciences, and science education, this proposal argues that science educators have typically treated evidence as a simple and unitary construct that is disconnected from other phases of scientific activity. Evidence in the philosophy and history of science, on the other hand, is multifaceted, sophisticated, and involves the coordination of disciplinary knowledge and methodological practices. Based on a conceptual analysis of evidence in this literature, I developed a framework of evidential dimensions that important to scientific reasoning. Two fifth and two …

Particle Streak Velocimetry: A Diagnostic For High Speed Flows, Jared D. Willits

Open Access Dissertations

This work describes the development and implementation of a novel velocimetry technique to probe the exhaust flow of a cold gas thruster. The diagnostic combines the advantages of standard particle velocimetry techniques and the ultra-fast imaging capabilities of a streak camera to probe high speed flows near continuously with improved spatial and velocity resolution compared to Particle Image Velocimetry. This “Particle Streak Velocimetry” technique tracks illuminated seed particles at up to 4.2 GHz allowing time-resolved measurement of one-dimensional flows exceeding 2000 m/s as are found in rocket nozzles and many other applications (US Provisional Patent filed 05/19/16). Single frame images …

It's All Local: Civil Society And The Cdbg Program, Sara L. Wiest

Open Access Dissertations

This research seeks to explain contrasting patterns of population stability and decline at both the city and neighborhood levels. Existing research on urban decline identifies several factors that can facilitate or impede population stability, including: the amount of socioeconomic disadvantage, the physical and economic characteristics of a city, local government responsiveness, and the strength of civil society. Using a mixed methods approach combining multilevel modeling and spatial analysis techniques, I test the hypothesis that stronger civil society, characterized by greater collective capacity and a denser organizational resource base, is the key determinant in whether a city will stabilize, grow, or …

Bioconjugation Techniques To Construct Spontaneously Assembling Dna-Enzyme Macromolecules, Malithi Wickramathilaka

Open Access Dissertations

In the past two decades, crosslinking has been a popular choice in synthesizing bioconjugatesinthefieldsofbiotechnology,medicaldiagnostics,andgeneticscreening.However, their efficacyin synthesizing the desired bioconjugates is scarcely analyzed and documented. The scope of this investigation encompassed studying covalent bioconjugation techniques, and determining the structural characteristics of the bioconjugates formed via several crosslinking strategies. The major goal of the study was to determine relatively inexpensive, less complex, and universal bioconjugation techniques with the flexibility to control the distance between wild-type enzymes. In this investigation, three different crosslinkers were studied to determine the efficacy of crosslinking biological molecules. In the first aim of the study, an adapted …

Multiscale Microstructure Modeling And Design Of Electrochemomechanics In Lithium-Ion Batteries, Linmin Wu

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis investigates the electro-chemo-mechanics behavior of electrodes in lithium ion batteries. One of the critical challenges in advanced lithium ion batteries is preventing fracture and mechanical failure of electrodes during lithium insertion and deinsertion. The large volume expansion, phase transition, and the associated Li diffusion induced stresses within electrode materials can lead to their fracture and failure. Numerical simulations have the potentials for design optimization of lithium ion batteries. For traditional Newman’s model, it is limited by the assumption that the electrodes are constructed with uniformly distributed spherical particles of equal size. To consider the influence of real microstrucutural …

Higher-Order Random Walk Methods For Data Analysis, Tao Wu

Open Access Dissertations

Markov random walk models are powerful analytical tools for multiple areas in machine learning, numerical optimizations and data mining tasks. The key assumption of a frst-order Markov chain is memorylessness, which restricts the dependence of the transition distribution to the current state only. However in many applications, this assumption is not appropriate. We propose a set of higher-order random walk techniques and discuss their applications to tensor co-clustering, user trails modeling, and solving linear systems. First, we develop a new random walk model that we call the super-spacey random surfer, which simultaneously clusters the rows, columns, and slices of a …

Advanced Imaging Techniques For Point-Measurement Analysis Of Pharmaceutical Materials, Shijie Zhang

Open Access Dissertations

Drugs are an essential element protecting human lives from many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. One of the highlights in drug development in recent years is the establishment of rational drug design: a collection of various multi-disciplinary approaches that at the core, focus on designing molecules with specific properties for identified targets and biomolecules with known functional roles and structural information. The candidate molecules will then go through a series of examinations to characterize their physiochemical properties, and an iterative process is used to improve the design of the drug to achieve desirable attributes. The time consuming …

Context-Preserving Visual Analytics Of Multi-Scale Spatial Aggregation., Jiawei Zhang

Open Access Dissertations

Spatial datasets (i.e., location-based social media, crime incident reports, and demographic data) often exhibit varied distribution patterns at multiple spatial scales. Examining these patterns across different scales enhances the understanding from global to local perspectives and offers new insights into the nature of various spatial phenomena. Conventional navigation techniques in such multi-scale data-rich spaces are often inefficient, require users to choose between an overview or detailed information, and do not support identifying spatial patterns at varying scales. In this work, we present a context-preserving visual analytics technique that aggregates spatial datasets into hierarchical clusters and visualizes the multi-scale aggregates in …

Quantifying Nitrogen Fixation And Nitrous Oxide Emissions In Global Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems Using Trait-Based Biogeochemistry Models., Tong Yu

Open Access Dissertations

Nitrous oxide (N2O) contributes to the global climate system and is the third most important greenhouse gas. It is also one of the largest ozone-depleting substances emitted from the biosphere, with great influences on the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to quantify its emissions from soils in natural terrestrial ecosystems. This dissertation research quantifies N2O emissions from the global natural ecosystems by explicitly considering the influence of soil microbial activities. This dissertation consists of three studies. I first develop a N2O emission model based on an extant process-based biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model, to estimate soil N2O emissions in …

Biofluid Analysis With Novel Targeted Mass Spectrometry Methods, Karen E. Yannell

Open Access Dissertations

Mass spectrometry (MS) provides a high level of sensitivity and specificity to accurately and precisely identify and quantify analytes in a complex matrix. In clinical samples, this instrument is often used to quantify drugs or discover new biomarkers. However, existing workflows routinely use chromatography to separate the components of a sample. These methods lack speed and are expensive, neither of which are ideal characteristics for point of care or high throughput analysis. Paper spray (PS) is an ambient ionization technique that combines the sample preparation and ionization steps, to directly spray a complex sample into a MS. The MS provides …

Computational Modeling Of (De)-Solvation Effects And Protein Flexibility In Protein-Ligand Binding Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Ying Yang

Open Access Dissertations

Water is a crucial participant in virtually all cellular functions. Evidently, water molecules in the binding site contribute significantly to the strength of intermolecular interactions in the aqueous phase by mediating protein-ligand interactions, solvating and de-solvating both ligand and protein upon protein-ligand dissociation and association. Recently many published studies use water distributions in the binding site to retrospectively explain and rationalize unexpected trends in structure-activity relationships (SAR). However, traditional approaches cannot quantitatively predict the thermodynamic properties of water molecules in the binding sites and its associated contribution to the binding free energy of a ligand. We have developed and validated …