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Assessing Groundwater Quantity And Quality Variations In Arid Regions Due To Climate Changes And Anthropogenic Factors: Case Study Saudi Arabia, Othman Abdulrahman Fallatah

Open Access Dissertations

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), water resources are limited in hyper-arid regions, which are dependent on groundwater (88 percent), desalination water (8 percent) and wastewater treatment (4 percent). The management and development of these resources are essential to sustain population growth and grow the agricultural, industrial, and tourism sectors. Since the groundwater is the most valued water resource in the country, the majority of researchers are focused on the water quantity and water quality in this region in order to find the best solution to face this issue. In 1953 the Ministry of Agriculture and Water was established …

Developing A New Perspective: Using Narrative Inquiry And Visual Methods To Explore Hegemonic Masculinity In Physical Education, Jeffrey A. Heath

Open Access Dissertations

It has been said that the primary goal of public education is to deliver a diverse academic curriculum to all students (Ravitch, 2010). However, public schools have also long been identified as places where students are introduced to implicit messages of subordination and oppression (Foucault, 1975; Freire, 1970). In many cases, members of the school community that adhere to locally accepted notions of gender identity (Kimmel, 2008), sexuality (Pascoe, 2007), race-ethnicity (hooks, 1994), and/or general ways of being (Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006) experience routine success while their nonconforming peers are left on the educational periphery to fend for themselves. This …

Understanding Confined Fluids In Shale Gas Systems, Edward Alan Thomas

Open Access Dissertations

Given the complexity of shale gas at high pressures, researchers aim to characterize the thermodynamic properties of confined fluids using a mixture of experimental, modeling, and simulation techniques. In this work we frequently use the predictive capabilities of simulation to couple the property results to models. The overall results are then compared to experimental data for verification purposes.

We employ a Monte Carlo simulation technique to ensure that a simple linear mixing rule for internal energies of departure holds thereby allowing pure component data to extend to mixtures. The results are coupled to the Gibbs-Helmholtz Constrained equation of state allowing …

Analysis Of Viscoelestic Properties Of Elastomers Using Molecular Modeling, Suvrajyoti Kar

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of this research is to quantify and analyze elastomer chain conformations and their role in affecting rubber tire viscoelastic properties through the development of novel numerical methods. The hypothesis is that changes in the statistical mechanics of chain conformations at the microscopic scale provide a direct molecular link towards quantifying macroscopic properties of elastomers. The molecular level investigation began with simulating chains in the unperturbed state to study the impact of chain size and temperature on overall chain size statistics. To understand changes in the chain conformations under stress, a numerical model was developed that encompasses effects from …

Agents Of Change: Youth Development & Social Justice Activism, Rachel Lee Ficke Clemons

Open Access Dissertations

Young people from urban areas who identify as people of color and who navigate poverty are often perceived as being ‘at risk’ and in need of intervention to prevent behaviors such as delinquency and violence (Pittman, Irby, Tolman, Yohalem & Ferber, 2003; Ginwright, Cammarota, & Noguera, 2005). Furthermore, popular perceptions of youth¹, are also solidified in public policy, which tends to position them as “criminals, and the cause of general civic problems” (Ginwright & Cammarota, 2002, p.82). Thus, deficit views of young people go beyond perceptions; they are also integrated in policies that impact the day to day …

Integrated Clinical Experiences (Ices) In Physical Therapy: Impact On Communication Skills And Professionalism Prior To First Full-Time Clinical Internship, John Mclinden

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate student and programmatic factors that may influence doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students’ communication skills and professionalism before and after participating in a first time integrated clinical experience (ICE). Clinical education is an important component in healthcare education, including physical therapy (PT) education. It can take many forms including internships, co-ops, clerkships, and integrated clinical experiences (ICEs). The ICEs have been given specific attention in physical therapy because the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) has mandated their inclusion in DPT curricula. Best practices for ICEs, however, have not been …

Estimating Recreational User Day Value And Impacts Of Congestion And Water Quality: Application To Salt Ponds, Rhode Island, Eunsun Hwang

Open Access Dissertations

The objective of this study is to estimate values associated with recreation in three Rhode Island salt ponds: Ninigret, Quanochontaug and Point Judith pond. The study estimates values per recreation day, as well as changes in values associated with changes in water quality and congestion.

First the study applies the Travel Cost Method to estimate the user-day value for recreation in Rhode Island salt ponds, based on an on-site survey. The study then applies the Conjoint stated preference approach to estimate changes in recreational values associated with changes in water quality and congestion at the recreation sites. Next the study …

Physical Characterization Of Warburg Effect In Cancer Cells, Da Wei

Open Access Dissertations

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease. Because the frequency of cancer diagnoses is correlated with life expectancy, we can expect the rate of cancer diagnosis to increase with the increase of life expectancy. Additionally, cancer treatments are notoriously costly and challenging due to the heterogeneity of the cancer cell population. For these reasons, devising methods to study the characteristics, efficiently diagnose and treat cancer is extremely important.

Warburg effect has been considered as the most unique mechanism that differ cancer cells from normal cells. Normally, most of the healthy cells predominantly …

Probing Two-Dimensional Semiconductor And Biological Tissue By Nonlinear Optical Microspectroscopy, Mohammad A. Mokim

Open Access Dissertations

Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene and semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), exhibit remarkable optical properties which are of great potential for applications in modern electronics. The first part of this dissertation focuses on the dispersion of the second order resonant nonlinearity (χ⁽²⁾) in the single layer TMDC. We begin with the study of the nonlinear optical properties of monolayer TMDC, WSe2. We experimentally obtain the χ⁽²⁾ dispersion data from the single layer sample of WSe2 by using broadband ultrashort pulse laser sources. The broadband pulse is generated by specially designed photonic crystal fiber (PCF). This PCF fiber …

Use Of Radiation To Kill Cancer By Nanoparticles And In A Biodosimeter Using Gene Expression Analysis, Samana Shrestha

Open Access Dissertations

The use of radiation is broad in biological systems, in different areas of research mostly in health.

Radiation is used to kill cancer. In radiation therapy proper calculation is done so that a maximum dose is delivered to the cancer. Inspite of this precaution, radiation effects healthy tissue. This effect is especially dangerous when the tumor is located near important organs. Thus in radiation therapy, it is important to reduce the dose and the damage to the healthy tissues and organs. The damage on the healthy tissues due to radiation therapy in cancer could be reduced by reducing the radiation …

The Impact Of The 2014-2016 Ebola Epidemic On Sierra Leonean Immigrants In The United States, Daphne J. Cole

Open Access Dissertations

The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic represented the largest outbreak in the history of the disease and it took a tremendous toll on the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone who were impacted by a disease that had never been seen in their part of the world. While the epidemic significantly impacted those three nations, reported cases also spread to African countries such as Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal, as well as countries in the western world, such as Spain and the U.S. prior to the West African epidemic. Ebola was perceived in the U.S. as a distant threat dramatized …

Effect Of A Technology-Integrated, Nutrition Education Program On Low-Income Youths’ Dietary Intake, Kate Balestracci

Open Access Dissertations

Childhood obesity is an important public health problem as it relates to several chronic diseases and continues to be high, particularly among low-socioeconomic (SES) and racial and ethnic minority populations. In 2011-2014, 25.0% of Hispanic 6-11-year-old school-aged children were considered to be obese or extremely obese, followed by 21.4% of non-Hispanic black children and 13.6% of non-Hispanic white children. When compared to higher-SES children of the same ethnicity and race, low-SES Hispanic, white, and black children were 2.7, 1.9 and 3.2 times more likely to be obese, respectively. Contributing to the obesity epidemic among children is the excess consumption of …

Improved Methods For Measuring Characteristic Functions Of Underwater Transducers, Bin Gao

Open Access Dissertations

The overall objective of this dissertation is to effectively and efficiently obtain some important characteristic functions of acoustic transducers, such as electrical impedance function, transmitting voltage response (TVR) and beam pattern (BP). Oftentimes, one makes measurements on these functions through traditional ways, e.g., stepped harmonic analysis method and Fourier-based analysis method. To improve the accuracy and efficiency of computing these characteristics, new approaches by pole-residue operations are developed and verified in this dissertation.

In this new approach, the poles and residues associated with the input and output signals are extracted with the multi-signal Prony-SS method, which is an extension and …

Evaluating Usability Of An Electronic Health Record Smartphrase: Triage Nurses Use And Perceptions, Alaa Dalky

Open Access Dissertations

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems have the potential to be beneficial, but healthcare vendors are challenged to find ways to make them easier to work with and more productive. Systems and tools should be designed to enable nurse-patient engagement, seamlessly fit into practice, and be based on workflow needs. The usability of EHR systems is probably the key factor in making the design of the system fit healthcare providers’ workflow and display patient information clearly. A quantitative descriptive, non-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the usability of a new SmartPhrase interface tool embedded into the Epic EHR system. Twenty-three telephone …

Conformations, Energetics, And Kinetics Of Peptides In Membrane Environment, Ganga P. Sharma

Open Access Dissertations

Chapter 1: We present the exact solution of a microscopic statistical mechanical model for the transformation of a long polypeptide between an unstructured coil conformation and an α-helix conformation. The polypeptide is assumed to be adsorbed to the interface between a polar and a non-polar environment such as realized by water and the lipid bilayer of a membrane. The interfacial coil-helix transformation is the first stage in the folding process of helical membrane proteins. Depending on the values of model parameters, the conformation changes as a crossover, a discontinuous transition, or a continuous transition with helicity in the role of …

The Effects Of Urbanization On Performance, Habitat Selection, And Persistence Of Anolis Lizards, Andrew Clark Battles

Open Access Dissertations

Urbanization is a global change phenomenon that is increasing in frequency and magnitude worldwide. As a greater proportion of the human population resides in urban areas, cities must grow, therefore exposing an increasing number of species to human-modified habitat. While some species become extirpated when their habitat is urbanized, others persist and even spread throughout cities. Furthermore, human activity increases the rates of species invasions around the world, and many introductions occur in urban areas. The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the consequences of some major environmental changes caused by urbanization for non-human urban dwellers. Specifically, I measure …

Thalassiosiroid Diatom Responses To Silicon Stress And Ocean Acidification, Joselynn Wallace

Open Access Dissertations

Atmospheric CO₂ has risen dramatically since the industrial revolution. This rise in atmospheric and oceanic pCO₂ has perturbed ocean carbonate chemistry and led to ocean acidification. Diatoms are phytoplankton that account for 40% of oceanic primary production through photosynthetic carbon fixation, which is aided by their carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM). The CCM uses the bicarbonate transporters (BCTs) and carbonic anhydrases (CAs). Our current understanding of how diatoms might respond to ocean acidification is based on experiments using model diatoms or assessing the response of the bulk diatom community, rather than assessing a diversity of diatoms in a complex …

Depicting The Consequences Of Storm Surge Risk Communication Opportunities And Ethics, Peter Stempel

Open Access Dissertations

To better communicate the risks of storm surge, scientists and engineers are employing novel 3d visualizations. In many cases, these visualizations are deliberately used in, or leak into mass media contexts that are not addressed by current frameworks for hazard communication. These frameworks discourage the use of 3d visualizations due to a long-standing gap in basic research as to how graphics and visualizations alter perceptions of risk.

A survey (n=735) was employed to assess how 3d visualizations of storm surge depicted in recognizable contexts were perceived and altered perceptions of risk. Results of the survey demonstrate that place recognition and …

A Genomic Approach To The Complex Relationship Between An Apicomplexan Endosymbiont And Its Host, Christopher Paight

Open Access Dissertations

Nephromyces, a genus in the phylum Apicomplexa, has recently been described as having a mutualistic relationship with its host: tunicates in the Molgulidae family (Saffo et al. 2010). If true, Nephromyces would be the only known example of a mutualistic apicomplexan genus. In addition to the possible switch to mutualism, Nephromyces is one of a few apicomplexan groups containing bacterial endosymbionts. To test the hypothesis that endosymbiotic bacteria facilitated the transition of Nephromyces from parasitism, the metabolic capabilities of Nephromyces and its bacterial endosymbionts need to be determined. The transition from obligate parasite to endosymbiont is predicted to involve …

Characterizing The Functional Role And Regulated Assembly Of Protein Polymers Mind And Ftsa During Escherichia Coli Cell Division, Joseph Jake Conti

Open Access Dissertations

It is an immense undertaking for any organism, including a bacterium, to self-replicate. Accurate and rapid division is essential for bacteria to proliferate and produce progeny, especially in environments where there is competition for resources. The nucleoid, the region of the cell that contains the DNA, harbors the genetic information required to achieve robust division, but it is the assembly of the cell division machinery, collectively referred to as the divisome, that produces and coordinates the mechanical force necessary to divide a cell. The hallmark of prokaryotic cell division is the formation of a protein super-structure, called the Z-ring, which …

High Resolution Data Acquisition System For Brain Imaging, Seyed Hadi Nasrollaholhosseini

Open Access Dissertations

The U.S. has 12.3% disabled people based on the American Community Survey (ACS) in 2012. According to this survey, more than half of the disabled population suffers from ambulatory disabilities. Therefore, a system which enables people with disabilities to control their environments is crucially important. Moreover, ubiquitous physiological monitoring will be a key driving force in the upcoming medical revolution. Cardiac and brain signals in the form of electrocardiograms (ECGs) and electroencephalograms (EEGs) are two critical health indicators that directly benefit from long-term monitoring.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that detect changes in brain signals related to human intentions, typically …

Nearshore Salinity And Juvenile Pink Shrimp (Farfantepenaeus Duorarum): Integrating Field Observations, Laboratory Trials, And Habitat Suitability Simulations, Ian C. Zink

Open Access Dissertations

The pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum is one ecological indicator of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) project, which intends to increase mesohaline and oligohaline areal extent along southwestern Biscayne Bay nearshore areas. These changes were anticipated to benefit pink shrimp abundances. My dissertation tested whether increased mesohaline and oligohaline area within a 50-m strip of shallow-water shoreline area likely would increase pink shrimp densities. First, I carried out a comprehensive literature review that revealed polyhaline and/or euhaline salinity regimes generally maximized pink shrimp occurrence, abundance, growth, and survival. Next, I analyzed 10 yrs of pink shrimp density and habitat observations …

Does Being An Expert Make You More Negative? An Investigation Of Subjective Expertise And Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Communication, Jiangmeng Liu

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is aimed at filling a gap in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) literature by examining how communicator’s subjective expertise impacts generation of eWOM. Based on a review of literature in psychology, marketing, consumer research, and communication, four underlying mechanisms (sense of power, dogmatic cognition style, hubristic pride, and emotions) were proposed to explain the effect of subjective expertise. Two distinctive features of eWOM platforms were incorporated into the study as potential moderators: anonymity and audience size of the review platform. Based on prior literature, this study proposed 14 hypotheses in total and 2 research questions. Two empirical studies were conducted. …

A Jazz Pianist’S Guide To Utilizing Basic Jazz Drumset Techniques To Gain Rhythmic Independence, Kom Wongsawat

Open Access Dissertations

Piano and drumset both play important roles in jazz music. The main similarities between these instruments are that they are both classified as percussion instruments. The purpose of this study is to investigate how typical technical approaches on the drumset can be used to help jazz pianists improve their overall rhythmic concept and understanding of complex rhythms, as well as their two hand coordination in order to facilitate their solo piano skills. This study explores several basic drums techniques, and how they can be applied to the piano to help jazz pianists gain and develop strong rhythmic independence. This approach …

Ecological And Evolutionary Genomics: Differential Variability Of Gene Expression And Fine-Scale Adaptive Divergence Among Microhabitats Of Large Fundulus Heteroclitus Populations, Dominique Neitzel Wagner

Open Access Dissertations

Adaptive evolution on ecological timescales shapes communities. However, adaptation among environments relies on isolation or large selection coefficients that exceed migration effects. This reliance is tempered if adaptation from standing genetic variation is polygenic – does not depend on one allele completely replacing another but instead requires small allele frequency changes at many loci. Thus, whether individuals can evolve adaptation to fine-scale habitat variation is not resolved. To investigate this process, the gene expression and genetic divergence of a teleost fish, Fundulus heteroclitus, was explored. Among nearby (< 200m) microhabitats in three separate saltmarshes, and over the course of a season (spring to fall), thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed. Among these SNPs, 1.3-2.3% have large and highly significant differences among microhabitats (mean FST = 0.15; false discovery rate (FDR) ≤ 1%), and 1.8-5.7% are significantly different between seasons (mean FST = 0.077 to 0.597; FDR ≤ 1%). The divergence among microhabitats and between seasons for these SNPs is larger than that among populations, exceeds neutral expectation, and indicates surprising population structure among microhabitats. These data suggest that polygenic selection is surprisingly effective in altering allele frequencies over very small geographic distances.

Mems Scale Integrated Lab-On-A-Chip System For Detection And Analysis Of Human Tumor Cells, Rajapaksha Waththegedara Randil Lalinda Gajasinghe

Open Access Dissertations

Detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) present in human blood is gaining attention as a reliable technique for obtaining information that are vital for diagnostic and research procedures. Only a limited number of semi-automated commercial tools capable of single cell detection and analysis exist; they are expensive and bulky instruments that require highly trained operators. Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are ideal for the application due to their inherent advantages. A method for immobilizing target CTCs at MEMS scale regions of interest was developed. Developed MEMS device utilized superparamagnetic micro beads and micro electromagnets to immobilize MCF-7 cells flowing in …

Environmental Durability And Degradation Of Fiber-Reinforced Bismaleimide/Quartz Composite For Aircraft Radome Applications, Luis A. Rodriguez

Open Access Dissertations

Bismaleimide (BMI) is a polymeric thermoset material that is suitable for high temperature structural and electrical applications, particularly when used as a matrix in fiber-reinforced composites for radar-protecting structures (radomes) on commercial and military aircraft. In this role, BMI’s high service temperature and high strength-to-weight ratio are of significant importance in supersonic aircraft. A main disadvantage of this material is the propensity to absorb environmental and aircraft related fluids in many applications, even in hot, dry environments. Moisture absorption has been known to be a deleterious factor in the service life of aircraft structures, especially in the case of dielectric …

Anomalous Structures In Oceanic Turbulence: Dynamics, Energetics, Transport, Mykhailo Rudko

Open Access Dissertations

In this thesis, anomalous structures of oceanic mesoscale turbulence, as exemplified by coherent vortices and zonally-elongated transient flows (ZELTs), are considered. All simulations of mesoscale turbulence flows are performed in a two-layer, quasi-geostrophic model. The first chapter explores stability of and transport by baroclinic vortices on the β-plane. The study adapts a wave-mean flow formalism and examines interactions between the axisymmetric flow (“the vortex”) and residuals (“the waves”). Unlike baroclinically unstable vortices on the f-plane, such vortices on the β-plane can be also vulnerable to barotropic instability as revealed by the globally integrated energy balance analysis. The spatial structure of …

Wildlife Policy And Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Historical Perspective, Catherine C. Macdonald

Open Access Dissertations

It is widely recognized that historical data about human interactions with the natural world is critical to understanding anthropogenic environmental change over time (McNeill, 2001). However, the potential contribution of interdisciplinary historical perspectives to wildlife conservation problems remains largely unexplored. Human-wildlife interactions are informed by a variety of factors, including the scientific and ecological literacy of human populations, human values, the availability of habitat and resources for human and animal populations, and the types of resource conflicts taking place (or likely to take place) (Treves et al., 2006). The role of historical interactions in shaping present attitudes and conflicts can …

Post-Operative Cardiometabolic Effects Of A Behavioral Intervention In Patents Undergoing Partial Meniscectomy, Craig Patrick Flanagan

Open Access Dissertations

Patients recovering from orthopedic surgery experience reduced physical activity, increasing future risk for cardiometabolic disease and weight gain. A post-operative wellness consultation, with exercise and nutrition components, may modify the behavior of orthopedic patients to mitigate the detrimental effects of inactivity following surgery and the associated adverse health effects. PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of a nutrition and exercise consultation on post-operative physical activity, serum metabolic markers, body composition, knee function, pain, and quality of life. METHODS: Twelve partial meniscectomy patients were randomly assigned to control (CON) or post-surgical consultation (PSC) and evaluated 1 week (1W) and 6 weeks (6W) …