Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Characterization Of Nanomaterials For Pulmonary Drug Delivery Applications, Elisa A. Torrico Guzman

Open Access Dissertations

Chronic pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer and cystic fibrosis represent significant global health concerns because of their resulting high mortality and low life expectancy. Pulmonary drug delivery has demonstrated advantages over other delivery routes due to the ability to use lower concentrations of drug, reduction in systemic toxicity, and offering better targeting to the area of disease. Effective application of dry powder therapeutics requires the optimization of particle deposition in the lungs and avoidance of physiologic defense mechanisms such as mucosal entrapment, mucociliary clearance, and macrophage engulfment. Evaluation of aerosol pulmonary therapeutic parameters demands accurate in vitro models that …

Self-Monitoring Heart Rate Biofeedback: A Secondary Prevention Strategy For Managing Anxiety In College Students, Louis William Turchetta

Open Access Dissertations

Intro: Anxiety is often a chronic condition that will affect approximately 29% of individuals during their lifetimes (Dennis & O’Toole, 2014). Unfortunately, numerous barriers to treatment exist, especially when treating children (Dennis & O’Toole, 2014). Wearable technology, particularly utilizing heart rate monitoring, can potentially aid in the treatment of anxiety, allowing for greater recognition of symptoms and interventions in any setting.

Hypothesis: Hypothesis one: College students with "mild to moderate" levels of anxiety will be able to utilize self-monitoring heart rate biofeedback (SMHRB) consistently (e.g., respond to at least 70% of Maximum HR alerts utilizing relaxation breathing). Hypothesis …

Dietary Polyphenols And Their Gut Microbiota Metabolites As Potential Treatments For Alzheimer's Disease, Kenneth N. Rose

Open Access Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that has no cure, no therapies to stop the disease progression, and limited palliative care options. As the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, it is necessary to discover therapeutics which can alter disease progression to alleviate the burden on patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems. In the search of therapeutics for AD, dietary polyphenols have become the topic of research as epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure to dietary polyphenols, such as a Mediterranean diet, over one’s life, reduces the risk of dying from AD. Additionally, evidence from rodent models …

The Development Of The Self-Efficacy During Exposure – Child (See-C) Measure: A Pilot Study, Mary Kathryn M. Cancilliere

Open Access Dissertations

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders but involves acute discomfort, rendering treatment engagement a challenge. Willingness to engage in exposure is of interest, because a child has to willingly approach a feared stimulus. This preliminary study investigated child engagement during exposures in CBT for anxiety disorders, with the development, validation, and field testing of a measure of self-efficacy over three time points. The measure, Self-Efficacy During Exposure-Child (SEE-C), is a 9-item, self-report measure of self-efficacy during exposure for youth 8-17 years old. A sample of eight reviewers at least 2-years post licensure (M = …

Alexa Or Alex? Gendered Technology’S Influence On Consumer Judgments, Jiyoon An

Open Access Dissertations

This research attempts to examine when technological products are seen as a gendered agent rather than an object. Based on a review of the literature on consumer- technology relationship and social cognition theory, this research addresses the conditions for gendering of technology, its process and outcomes by using multi-method empirical studies. The stereotype model tests the mediating and moderating hypotheses regarding gendering and its effects on consumer judgments. The disruption model attempts to disrupt the stereotyped gender effects by using a counter-stereotypical gendered cue. The research provides theoretical, managerial, and public policy insights.

Oyster-Associated Microbial Community Dynamics, Rebecca Jean Stevick

Open Access Dissertations

Oysters are keystone species in the coastal environment, providing ecological, economic, and cultural services. A significant ecosystem service is their ability to improve water quality by filtration and denitrification. These ecological functions are made possible by oyster-associated microbes, but may also be threatened by microbial pathogens. This positions the oyster as a model system for the study of marine host-associated microbial diversity and function. However, studies of microbial diversity and function in shellfish are lacking, particularly in response to environmental perturbations. As coastal ecosystems change due to anthropogenic impacts and climate variability, it is important to understand how the oyster …

Three Experimental Examinations Of Aspects Of Institutions Governing Natural Resource Use, Christopher Brozyna

Open Access Dissertations

Theory alone cannot accurately describe the characteristics of successful natural resource governance institutions. Laboratory economic experiments are needed to analyze the characteristics and validate theories in a controlled environment. Three such experiments on important, but frequently overlooked, aspects of institutions are reported: time allowed for decision-making, the strength of property rights, and how resource user groups impact each other. Chapter 1 analyzes how psychology can impact outcomes in institutions by forcing subjects to make decisions under time pressure, something not before analyzed in a dynamic Common Pool Resource management context. We find users under time pressure make decisions which reduce …

An ‘Omics Approach To Diet & Structure Impact On Perfluoroalkyl Substance Induced Liver Disease, Marisa Pfohl

Open Access Dissertations

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of environmental toxicants, are ubiquitous in the environment and the human population. PFAS are manmade chemicals that have been widely used in manufacturing since the 1940s. PFAS are extremely resistant to degradation leading to their accumulation within the environment and the general population. The most concentrated PFAS member present in the general population, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), has been linked to suppressed vaccine response, high serum cholesterol, low fetal birth weight, thyroid disease, increased markers of liver injury, and even certain types of cancers. PFOS was voluntarily phased out of manufacturing due to its bioaccumulutive and …

Constructing Transgression: Criminality In Experimental Literature, Charles Kell

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation examines integral, challenging contemporary poetry and fiction, and its relationship to notions of the criminal in multiple guises. The present focus on “criminal” excavates not only its literal meaning - the nature of crime, and its specific relation to penal law - but also brings to light how the “criminal” affects the construction of fiction and poetry, and the lives of various individuals (speakers) within the chosen texts. Intricately tied with the criminal are practices that transgress, and this study will also locate specific creations where poets and novelists construct transgressions that challenge contemporary ideas of narrative and …

Towards Sustainable Management Of The Sardinella Fishery In Ghana, Evans Kwasi Arizi

Open Access Dissertations

Many local fishermen in Ghana depend on the sardinella fishery for their livelihoods. Flat sardinella (Sardinella maderensis) and round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) are the two main fish species that are exploited in the fishery. Landings of the sardinella stocks, however, have been declining for over a decade now as a result of overfishing engendered by overcapacity, open access fishery and weak governance. The focus of this work was to chart the path towards a sustainable management of the fishery in Ghana by identifying the key extractive components of the fishery, ascertaining the interactions among them and …

Nanoparticle-Cell Membrane Interactions: Adsorption Kinetics And The Monolayer Response, Nasim Ganji

Open Access Dissertations

The fast-growing production and utilization of nanomaterials in diverse applications will undoubtedly lead to the release of these materials into the environment. As nanomaterials enter the environment, determining their interaction with biological systems is a key aspect to understanding their impact on environmental health and safety. It has been shown that engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) can interact with cell membranes by adhering onto their surface and compromising their integrity, permeability, and function. The interfacial and biophysical forces that drive these processes can be examined using lipid monolayers or bilayers as model cell membranes.

Interfacial interactions between NPs and cell membranes have …

Applications Of Centered Kernel Target Alignment In Inductive Logic Programming, Benjamin H. Ott

Open Access Dissertations

This study aimed both to apply centered kernel target alignment (CKTA) to inductive logic programming (ILP) in several different ways and to apply a complete refinement operator in a practical setting. A new genetic algorithm (GA) results from the research, utilizing a complete, locally finite refinement operator and also incorporating CKTA both as a fitness score and as a means for the promotion of diversity. As a fitness score, CKTA can either be used standalone or as a contributor to a hybrid score which utilizes the accuracy (weighted or normal) of the learned logic hypothesis as well. In terms of …

In Storage Process, The Next Generation Of Storage System, Dongyang Li

Open Access Dissertations

In conventional computer systems, software relies on the CPU to handle the process applications and assign computation tasks to heterogeneous accelerators such as GPU, TPU and FPGA. It requires the CPU to fetch data out of the storage device and move the data to the heterogeneous accelerators. After the accelerators complete computation tasks, the results are flushed to the main memory of the host server for software applications. In this architecture, the heterogeneous accelerators are located far away from the storage device. There are data movements on the system bus (NVM-express/PCI-express), which requires a lot of transmission time and bus …

A Wearable, Configurable Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy System For Wireless Neuroimaging, Manob Jyoti Saikia

Open Access Dissertations

Decoding the human's brain functional architecture is the most profound and far-reaching scientific challenges of our time. Currently existing noninvasive brain imaging technologies are constrained by costly, bulky and fixed hardware that preclude imaging of the functioning brain in a wide range of temporal and naturalistic environments.

This doctoral dissertation focused on designing and developing of a new generation portable, wearable, configurable, and wireless functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging system that allows us to monitor and study brain function in a naturalistic environment. The developed optical system maps changes in chromophore concentration, oxy hemoglobin (HbO₂) and deoxyhemoglobin (Hb) …

Law Enforcement Officers' Perceptions Of Their Skill Development And Transfer Of Learning Post-Training, Jane Northup

Open Access Dissertations

This research examined how law enforcement officers who took a course in criminal investigative techniques developed their skill and transferred what was learned post-training. The data was collected using document reviews and interviews. The participants were ten law enforcement officers who expected to use their newly acquired skill after leaving a course in criminal investigations. As a result of the qualitative multiple case study data analysis, four constructs were revealed as aids to the participants in transferring what was learned in the course and further improving their skills. The constructs were supports, experience, reflection, and motivation. The constructs can serve …

Fabrication Of Conductive Hydrogels And Their Application In Neuroprosthetic Intervention And Drug Delivery, Rosa Ghatee

Open Access Dissertations

Electrically-responsive biomaterials such as conductive polymers and conductive hydrogels have piqued the interest of scientists for targeted payload delivery applications in recent years since generating electricity is easy. Conductive composite hydrogels are a specific class of hydrogel that can be designed to not only have mechanical properties similar to skin and soft tissue, but can also have electrical properties comparable to metals and organic semiconductors. These composite hydrogels have been considered for a wide range of technological applications. Conductive hydrogels can be fabricated to ensure that they exhibit: 1) excellent biocompatibility; 2) soft and tunable mechanical properties similar to biological …

The Characterization Of Xanthene Dyes On A Glass Substrate From Different Coating Techniques, Elsa Ortega

Open Access Dissertations

Chapter 1 of this dissertation is an investigation of rhodamine 560 (Rh560), a cationic dye similar to the well-studied rhodamine 6G (Rh6G). The spectral properties of Rh560 and Rh6G have similar changes as a function of thickness. At low surface coverage the spectra indicate monomers, at 1-2 monolayers dimers dominate, and thicker films show larger aggregates. The difference between Rh6G and Rh560 is that the transition from monomer to dimer occurs at different thickness, ~1.2 nm for Rh6G and ~0.5 nm for Rh560. This difference is accounted for by the molecular size. Chapters 2 and 3 describe photophysical investigations of …

Design And Synthesis Of Molecular Probes For Medical And Environmetal Applications, Payagala Udawattage Ashvin Iresh Fernando

Open Access Dissertations

The main aim of this dissertation was to design and synthesize molecular probes with ease to be used in medical and environmental applications. The first chapter focuses on a novel pseudo-rotaxane probe that can be used in ¹²⁹Xe imaging, which was synthesized using commercially available cyclodextrin moieties with a one-step reaction. This is probe can be synthesized in high yields and results in an acceptable level of hyperCEST depletion percentage. The second chapter showcases pillararenes as a potential candidate for ¹²⁹Xe imaging. In addition, this chapter discusses the aid of a computational programs to design the supramolecular scaffold …

Computational Gene Association Based On Relative Species Displacement In Gene And Morphology Trees, Martin D. Hellwig

Open Access Dissertations

While a number of methods exist for gene based fin prediction, these studies are mostly limited to single sites and to binary morphological characters and they are very susceptible to missing data. Here we present GATRS (Gene Association in TRee Space), a novel algorithm than can operate on continuous morphological observations such as fin size and is robust to missing data by operating in gene tree space, analyzing linkages between entire genes and morphological traits. GATRS performs a large number of comparisons between closely related trees which requires a tree distance method that is particularly apt at distinguishing closely related …

Global Dynamics Of Some Discrete Dynamical Systems In Mathematical Biology, Sarah Van Beaver

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis will be presented in manuscript format. The first chapter will introduce preliminary definitions and theorems of difference equations that will be utilized in chapters 2, 3, and 4.

The second chapter will investigate the global behavior of two difference equations with exponential nonlinearities

x_n+1 = be^-cx_n + px_n-1, n = 0, 1,...

where the parameters b; c are positive real numbers and p 2 (0; 1) and

x_n+1 = a + bx_n-1e^-x_n, n = 0, 1,...

where the parameters a; b are positive numbers. …

Identifying Factors Of Success For Renewable Energy Growth In The United States Of America, Alaa Masrahi

Open Access Dissertations

Energy consumption has a complex relationship with its physical, demographic, and behavioral characteristics. The literature review showed that renewable energy is an increasingly important issue in energy security and sustainability. The research on renewable energy consumption identifies the driving and obstructing factors. Renewable energy growth is associated with complex, interacting variables and requires concerted, multidisciplinary efforts for effective research and development. Thus, the aim of this study is to demonstrate the importance of findings that influence renewable energy consumption among 22 states. Our study seeks to understand and assert the complex energy perspective via the relationship between factors and nature …

The Home And Child-Care: Are Preschoolaged Children Getting Mixed Food-Related Messages?, Noereem Zenaida Mena

Open Access Dissertations

Statement of the Problem: In the United States, nearly 14% of preschool-aged children (ages 2 to 5) are obese. Additionally, disparities persist, with the highest prevalence of obesity among Hispanic preschool-aged children (17% vs. 11% non-Hispanic Black and 3.5% non- Hispanic White preschool-aged children). Establishing healthy eating habits in early childhood is critical and providing children with similar opportunities to practice healthy eating habits independently at home and in child care is thought to reinforce the development of healthy eating habits early in life. However, there is limited information regarding how parents and childcare providers communicate about child-nutrition, including …

Relating Marine Mammal Distribution To Prey Abundance, Christopher D. Orphanides

Open Access Dissertations

Marine mammal foraging and diet in southern New England is not well known and has therefore been largely ignored as a component of habitat, distribution, and bycatch. Incorporating prey components into marine mammal management is key to improving management of these species, especially as fisheries management progresses towards ecosystem-based management, climate change results in shifting distributions of marine mammals, and we are faced with new management challenges stemming from offshore wind development. This dissertation aims to address data gaps for species highly impacted by human activities, specifically the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and the harbor porpoise …

Exploring The Lived Experience Of Being Pregnant While A College Student, Kristina M. Perrelli

Open Access Dissertations

Almost five million college students in the United States have child dependents (U.S. Department of Education, 2015), but little is known about the experience of pregnancy in college. This qualitative study addressed this gap in scholarship. A feminist intersectional theoretical framework and a feminist interpretive phenomenology methodology were used to explore the experiences of ten women from three institutions of higher education who were currently pregnant or recently pregnant. Most participants identified as low-income or working-class women of color. The phenomenological goal of this study was to learn about each woman’s lived experience of pregnancy in college toward identifying commonalities …

Investigation Of Iron Mediated Molecular Transformations And Synthesis Of 2-Amino-Α-Carboline And Its Analogues Relevant For Dna Adduct Formation, Anita Adjoa Oppong

Open Access Dissertations

The discovery of new synthetic methods and routes for making new bonds is one of the highest incentives to an organic chemist. Innovative, efficient, effective, economical and exceptionally environmentally friendly synthetic methods are being continuously discovered. Transition metal catalyzed C-H activation has been unearthed as one of these methods, especially iron catalyzed direct C-H activation. Fundamental to making more discoveries is understanding the mechanism behind a specific reaction. To this end, the mechanism behind iron catalyzed C-H activation was investigated. Results indicate the intermediary transition state for the iron species involves an Fe(I) species but the attempt to synthesize this …

Compassion And Well-Being: The Effects Of An Online Filmmediated Compassion Education On Undergraduate Students, Thupten Tendhar

Open Access Dissertations

An increasing number of college students in the US are reportedly experiencing significant levels of emotional distress and mental health challenges. College students who practice compassion have been found to have significantly lower negative emotions when compared to students who do not practice compassionate thinking. This underscores the need for compassion education programs. However, only a limited number of college students benefit from existing compassion programs because many are too busy to commit to eight or more weeks of such face to face training along with their regular course load and work schedule. This study used a quantitative method with …

What To Eat And When: The Consequences Of Polyunsaturated Fat Consumption And Pace Of Changes To Body Lipid Composition In Songbirds, Wales Aran Carter

Open Access Dissertations

Diet mediates environmental influence on organismal performance, but diets must be broken down into their constituent compounds and integrated into organismal tissues before they can exert such influence. Thus, a full account of the relationship between diet and organismal performance requires descriptions of intermediate effects on body composition and tissue function, as well as the dynamics of composition and function over time. The work described in this dissertation investigates a case study of diet and organismal performance in songbirds: dietary polyunsaturated fats have been demonstrated to influence the metabolic performance of songbirds, but the influence of individual fatty acid compounds, …

Nonmarket Valuation Of Marine Resources In The Northeast: Implications For Recreational Fisheries Management And Offshore Wind Energy Development, Andrew Carr-Harris

Open Access Dissertations

Sound natural resource management considers the full range of costs and benefits of policy action. Understanding these implications as they pertain to nonmarket goods or externalities requires an accurate assessment of consumer preferences and behavior. The chapters of this dissertation ascertain this knowledge in the context of recreational Atlantic striped bass fishery management and offshore wind development in the northeast United States.

Atlantic striped bass are the most prominent and heavily targeted recreational species found along the coast from Maine to North Carolina. Yet due in part to heavy recreational fishing effort, the species may be currently overfished. Given this …

Mechanisms Of Division Site Selection And Role Of The Atp-Dependent Protease Clpxp In Mind Regulation And Proteostasis In E. Coli, Christopher James Labreck

Open Access Dissertations

Cell division in Escherichia coli depends on mechanisms to spatially and temporally regulate selection of the division site. In dividing cells, the Z-ring, composed of linear polymers of FtsZ, assembles at the site of septation. For division to yield two identical progeny, the septum must form at the longitudinal cell center, also known as midcell. Septation at locations other than midcell results in uneven division and gives rise to daughter cells with chromosome abnormalities and functional defects, which may arise from chromosome severing or impaired chromosome segregation. Therefore, an organism's overall viability necessitates cellular strategies that ensure correct placement of …

Sleep Duration, Postprandial Metabolic Function, And The Role Of Insulin Resistance In Nondiabetic Individuals, Karin A. Garcia

Open Access Dissertations

The influence of sleep duration on metabolic pathogenic pathways associated with Type 2 diabetes mellitus are not well understood but may be operational long before the development of clinical diabetes or even prediabetes is detected. This study was designed to examine in preclinical nondiabetic adults whether the association of insulin sensitivity and postprandial metabolic function is moderated by sleep duration. The sample was comprised of 143 individuals (65% men), aged 18–55 years, who had no diabetes or other diagnosed conditions. Metabolic function outcomes were assessed in response to an OGTT, and two 14-h serial mixed carbohydrate-meal tests administered, over 3 …