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Final Causality In The Thought Of Thomas Aquinas, Joel Johnson

Open Access Dissertations

Throughout his corpus, Thomas Aquinas develops an account of final causality that is both philosophically nuanced and interesting. The aim of my dissertation is to provide a systematic reconstruction of this account of final causality, one that clarifies its motivation and appeal. The body of my dissertation consists of four chapters. In Chapter 1, I examine the metaphysical underpinnings of Aquinas’s account of final causality by focusing on how Aquinas understands the causality of the final cause. I argue that Aquinas holds that an end is a cause because it is the determinate effect toward which an agent’s action is …

Part I. The Rational Design, Synthesis And Evaluation Of Second Generation Class Ii Hmg-Coa Reductase Inhibitors Part Ii. Studies Directed Toward The On-Resin Preparation Of C-Terminal Modified And Cyclic Peptides, Matthew A. Hostetler

Open Access Dissertations

The first part of this dissertation involves the rational design, synthesis and biological evaluation of small molecules targeting Class II HMGR. Inhibitors of this generation were designed based on information derived from the crystal structures of first generation analogues complexed in the active site of E. faecalis HMGR. On the basis of this information, polar functional groups were installed to engage specific active site residues. Of the second generation analogue set, two compounds were found to possess improved enzymatic inhibition compared to that of the most biologically active first generation analogue. Additionally, these two analogues were found to inhibit penicillin …

Essays On Labor Economics, Xuan Jiang

Open Access Dissertations

Quantum annealing (QA) uses the principles of quantum mechanics for solving unconstrained optimization problems. Since its initial proposal, there has been much interest in the search for practical problems for which QA has advantage over classical algorithms. Although it is believed that quantum computers cannot in general solve NP-complete problems effciently, there has been evidence suggesting that effects such as quantum tunneling can bring quantum speedup over classical computation for some problems in NP.

In this dissertation, we consider two problems that have both theoretical and practical importance. One is the Set Cover with Pairs problem. The other is the …

Quantum Annealing For Solving Optimization Problems, Shuxian Jiang

Open Access Dissertations

Quantum annealing (QA) uses the principles of quantum mechanics for solving unconstrained optimization problems. Since its initial proposal, there has been much interest in the search for practical problems for which QA has advantage over classical algorithms. Although it is believed that quantum computers cannot in general solve NP-complete problems efficiently, there has been evidence suggesting that effects such as quantum tunneling can bring quantum speedup over classical computation for some problems in NP. In this dissertation, we consider two problems that have both theoretical and practical importance. One is the Set Cover with Pairs problem. The other is the …

Early Social Origins Of Premature Aging: How Do Childhood Exposures Shape Aging And Mortality?, Blakelee R. Kemp

Open Access Dissertations

The early origins of health literature documents a distinct link between early life exposures and a range of pathologies in later life. However, it is still unclear if and which types of childhood events and experiences shape biological aging or increase mortality risk among older adults. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine (1) what types of early life exposures influence biological aging and mortality and for whom and (2) whether biological age acts as a marker of early life stress and a predictor of mortality. Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, this dissertation uses six waves of data (2004-2014) …

“Muthologos Has Lost Such Ground”: Myth, History And Orality In The Poetics Of Charles Olson, Matthew L. Kroll

Open Access Dissertations

American poet Charles Olson (1910-1970) spent the last two decades of his life composing his magnum opus, the three-volume modern verse epic The Maximus Poems (Maximus). He began composing Maximus in 1950, the same year he published his poetics manifesto “Projective Verse.” Taken together, these two moments in Olson’s career can be read as marking the beginning of his mature poetics and poetry. However, the concepts he develops and the projective verse style he proclaims in the first half of the 1950s can already be seen emerging in his earlier publications.

Beginning with two of his most significant publications of …

Refracting Gender: Experiences Of Transgender Students In Postsecondary Stem Education., Elizabeth Kersey

Open Access Dissertations

Transgender students are often an invisible minority in postsecondary education, particularly in STEM fields. I am addressing the lack of research in this area with an exploratory narrative study designed to answer two questions: (1) How have the experiences of postsecondary transgender students in STEM education varied with their gender presentation? (2) How do their experiences with mathematics compare with other STEM fields? I conducted a sequence of three interviews each with three participants to gather information about their life histories relating to gender and STEM. This information was then restoried utilizing the three-dimensional space of narrative inquiry proposed by …

Generation, Manipulation, And Detection Of Charged Droplets And Ions In The Open Air, Adam Lee Hollerbach

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation describes the development of methodologies for characterizing the physical properties of electrosprayed droplets and ions as they exist in the open air. Two novel ways of generating electrospray plumes were developed using voltage induction. Also described is a novel way to measure the sizes of electrosprayed droplets smaller than the diffraction limit of light using super resolution fluorescence microscopy. Studies performed in parallel to the sizing experiments describe an unconventional way of using ablative ions generated by corona discharges to probe chemical reactions occurring inside the inlets of mass spectrometers. Also described is the ability to direct and …

Formulation Strategies And Optimization Of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs For Preclinical And Clinical Applications, Monika Lavan

Open Access Dissertations

Successful mitigation of a disease or clinical condition requires efficacious and safe drug compounds that are designed to provide the right balance of properties including potency, specificity, safety, solubility, absorption and metabolic stability. In general, performance is governed by the physicochemical properties of the drug, the composition and properties of the dosage form, and their ability to provide release in a manner that overcomes the physiological barriers limiting exposure at the site of action. That being said, it is often very challenging to obtain a new therapeutic compound that possesses an optimal balance of these properties because of the broad …

Predicting Breakage Of Needle-Shaped Large Aspect Ratio Particles Using Discrete Element Method (Dem), Rohit Kumar

Open Access Dissertations

Particle attrition is inevitable during processing of granular material and has been reported to cause manufacturing inefficiencies, unpredictable product quality, dust hazards, flow problems, etc. Of particular interest to this study is attrition of large aspect ratio needle-shaped active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in an agitated filter dryer (AFD). Prior experimental works on particle attrition in AFDs have been successful at predicting the overall bulk behavior. However, for an in-depth understanding of the attrition phenomenon, particle level kinematics and dynamics information is required. The particle level details can be obtained through computational discrete element method (DEM) models, but most of the …

Enthusiastic Educators And Interested Visitors: Investigating The Relationships Between Museum Educators' Enthusiasm And Visitors' Situational Interest, Changchia James Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Informal education environments like museums have become some of the most important educational resources. Although much attention has been paid to museum settings and programs, little is known about how museum educators support visitors’ learning and intrinsic motivation. In particular, there is a need to investigate museum educators’ enthusiasm, considering that enthusiasm is a powerful way of creating an engaging learning experience across various subjects and environments. In this study, I investigate museum educators’ enthusiasm as perceived by adult visitors through the lens of interest development. The results I found (N = 209) indicate a strong positive relationship between museum …

Biologically Inspired Delay-Doppler Neighborhood Processing Of Radar Waveforms For Enhanced Delay-Doppler Resolution, I-Fan Liu

Open Access Dissertations

The delay-Doppler resolution of a radar system determines its ability to separate targets that are spatially close together and have similar radial velocities with respect to the radar. For this reason, the design of radar signals and signal processing with good delay-Doppler resolution has long been an ongoing active area of research. Radar systems typically use matched-filters to maximize the received signal-to-noise ratio and maximize target detection performance, in which case the delay-Doppler resolution of the radar waveform is given by the ambiguity function of the transmitted waveform.

Neurobiologists studying echolocation in bats have noted their outstanding resolution capabilities of …

Assessment Of Epistemic Uncertainty In Flood Inundation Modeling, Zhu Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Flooding is one of the most devastating natural disasters in the world and it exacerbated during the past decades. In order to reduce the loss of lives and properties from repeating flooding events, reliable flood predictions are required. Currently, there exist a series of hydrodynamic models that have different model structures which solve different forms of governing equations in one- (1D), two- (2D) or three- (3D) dimensions, thus providing various possible predictions for decision makers to choose from. Even for the same model, depending on how the model is implemented for a specific parameter set, input data and channel geometry …

Design, Synthesis, And Biological Evaluation Of Small Molecule Drug Conjugates Targeting The Carbonic Anhydrase Ix Receptor And Investigation Of A Ligand Targeted Strategy For Targeted Cell-Based Therapies, Isaac Marks

Open Access Dissertations

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a membrane-spanning zinc metalloenzyme that catalyzes the reversible consumption of CO2 and water to form H+ + HCO3- in hypoxic and acidic environments. Many human cancers upregulate CAIX to help control their pH in hypoxic microenvironments. The consequent overexpression of CAIX on malignant cells and low expression on normal tissues renders CAIX a particularly attractive target for small molecule inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates, and ligand-targeted drugs. In this study, CAIX-targeted fluorescent reporter molecules were initially exploited to investigate CAIX-specific binding to multiple cancer cell lines in vitro and were shown to exhibit potent, selective in …

Spatial Genetic And Distribution Modeling For The Conservation Of Hellbender Salamanders, Emily Boersma Mccallen

Open Access Dissertations

Ecological data is inherently spatial; however, it is still the norm to model ecological data as spatially invariant. Failure to account for spatial structure in response variables and modeled relationships can result in inflated coefficient values, shifts in the relative importance and sign of predictors, cross-scale contradictions in relationships, and reduced predictive power due to the averaging of modeled relationships. When ecological models are used to support conservation decision-making, model error can be costly leading to both misallocation of limited resources and distrust of science-based management.

My dissertation focuses on developing methods to account for spatial structure in two models …

Characterizing The Auxin Herbicide Response In Horseweed (Erigeron Canadensis), Cara Lynn Mccauley

Open Access Dissertations

Auxin herbicides such as 2,4-D and dicamba have been used for over 70 years to control problematic broadleaf weed species. The auxin herbicide mode of action, particularly the precise mechanism in which auxin herbicides initiate the cascade of physiological effects that results in plant death, has yet to be fully characterized. As novel auxin herbicides are commercialized, it is important to understand the activity of new actives in relation to older chemistry. The first objective of this research was to evaluate the value of halauxifen-methyl, a new arylpicolinate auxin compound, against current auxin standards to manage glyphosate-resistant horseweed (Erigeron canadensis). …

Biochar For Environmental Restoration: Multi-Level Investigations Into Structure And Performance, Joseph Martin

Open Access Dissertations

Biochar is a product that has been used since at least 1000 BCE for the enhancement of soil fertility. These original applications were in the Amazon jungle, where soils are naturally sub-par for most forms of conventional or industrial agriculture. Adapting this technology to other climates, soils, and farming uses requires a broad base of knowledge. The current state of biochar science seeks to understand how specific environmental behaviors arise from the physical and chemical structure of biochars, and in turn how variation in pyrolysis and feedstock can be manipulated to construct useful biochars.

This body of work seeks to …

Framework For Assessing The Pavement Surface Evaluation And Rating Method In Pavement Management Plans, Sharlan R. Montgomery

Open Access Dissertations

With the increasing popularity and use of the pavement surface evaluation and rating (PASER) method by local agencies throughout the U.S., the variability inherent in manual condition assessments, and the lack of research pertaining to the PASER method, there is a need to better understand the PASER method and its use by local agencies. This research consisted of three research phases. Phase 1 investigated the relationship between the pavement condition index (PCI) and PASER. Corresponding PCI and PASER data were collected for both asphalt and concrete pavement segments. Both a general linear regression model and an ordered probability model were …

Structure-Function Analysis Of A Flavivirus Non-Structural Protein, Michael J. Dibiaso White

Open Access Dissertations

Flaviviruses are positive single-stranded RNA arthropod-borne viruses within the family Flaviviridae which includes Dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus (WNV), Yellow fever virus (YFV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and Zika virus (ZIKV). From DENV alone approximately half of the world lives under the threat of contracting a flavivirus infection, with about 390 million infections globally per year. As arthropod borne viruses, these are easily transmissible, and spread is often di cult to contain. The non-structural protein 1 (NS1) has been shown to be integral in flavivirus pathogenesis. With recently defined roles in increasing infection of mosquitos as well as contributing …

Mapping Soils Of The Uasin Gishu Plateau, Kenya With Limited Data Using A Knowledge-Based Inference Mapping Approach, Mercy W. Ngunjiri

Open Access Dissertations

Kenya has a current population of ~47 million people living on an arable land area of ~56,000 km2 (~1.7 times the area of Indiana). With an annual growth rate of ~800,000 people, there is tremendous pressure on the soil resource to produce more food. Understanding the available soil resources is important to increase and sustain agricultural productivity. Soil surveys made with traditional approaches are too expensive, and new surveys must rely on limited data, legacy information and new digital mapping techniques. We used three knowledge-based inference soil mapping approaches to predict soil types and properties for the Uasin Gishu Plateau …

Particle Engineering For Intracellular Delivery Of Antibiotics, Yihua Pei

Open Access Dissertations

Infections by intracellular bacteria have been recognized for many years, but they are difficult to cure due to the poor intracellular penetration of most antibiotics. To overcome poor intracellular delivery of antibiotics, we developed two polymeric nanoparticle formulation (NPs) that efficiently encapsulate and deliver antibiotics to the target cells – the macrophages in the liver and spleen. The first formulation (PpZEV) was based on a blend of polymers with distinct functions: (i) poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA, P) serving as the main delivery platform, (ii) polyethylene glycol-PLGA conjugate (PEG-PLGA, p) to help maintain an appropriate level of polarity for timely release of …

Electrolytic Microsystems For Biomedical Applications, Satya V.R.V. Tejasvi Parupudi

Open Access Dissertations

With an American dying each minute due to cancer and with a global burden of over $170 billion by 2020, there is a critical need for alternate solutions, especially for deep-seated, inoperable tumors in the liver and brain. Systemic chemotherapy has side effects and radiation is expensive. Challenges of current technologies for treating the liver include poor performance near vascular structures and the inability to treat multiple nodular tumors. Brain tumor treatment suffers from inadequate intra-cerebral drug concentration and uncontrollable drug delivery. These difficulties motivate the development of low-cost solutions that have fractionated application and are localized, monitored, and compatible …

The Effective Reproduction Number For A Class Of Mixing Matrices In Meta-Population Models In Epidemiology, Gayane Poghotanyan

Open Access Dissertations

Meta-populations models that account for population heterogeneities due to age, gender, spatial location, etc., and incorporate realistic mixing matrices are important for identifying optimal intervention strategies that can mitigate outbreaks of infectious diseases. Problems of finding optimal vaccination strategies for infectious diseases (including measles, mumps and rubella, HIV, and many others) based on such meta-population models are considered in this thesis. The problems are stated in the form of constrained minimization problems for the effective reproduction number, which is a threshold quantity that determines whether or not the disease can spread in the population. One of the most important findings …

Impact Of Changing Climate On Water Resources In The Western Lake Erie Basin Using Swat, Sushant Mehan

Open Access Dissertations

Water quality impairment in the Great Lakes Region has become a major concern for the scientific community. With increasing high intensity short duration precipitation events and rise in temperatures, there is the need to determine the impacts of a changing climate on water resources in the Great Lakes region. This is especially so in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB); Lake Erie is prone to toxic harmful algal blooms due to climate variations and large nutrient and sediment inflows from the surrounding, primarily agricultural lands. The aim of this study was to determine the implications of future climate conditions on …

Imaging And Molecular Analysis Of Murine Dissecting Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms, Evan H. Phillips

Open Access Dissertations

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized expansion of the aorta. This disease can sometimes be caused by aortic dissections where the layers of the vessel wall separate, creating a false channel for blood to flow. AAAs are life-threatening because weakening of the vessel wall can lead to aortic rupture and internal bleeding. Unfortunately, most AAAs are associated with no signs or symptoms. Early diagnosis is therefore often not possible and recommendation for life-saving surgery could be delayed. As a result, the mortality rate for patients who experience aortic rupture is up to 90%. Currently we have an incomplete …

Conversion Of Municipal Organic Waste Into Higher Value Acids And Sugars, Raymond M. Redcorn

Open Access Dissertations

Food waste and sewage sludge were studied for their ability to be up-convert to higher value products under three different scenarios; food waste conversion to lactic acid, glycogen quantification in waste activated sludge from municipal wastewater treatment facilities performing enhanced biological phosphorous removal, and finally the conversion of either food waste or sewage sludge to rhamnose biofilm via acid phase digestion.

In studying the conversion of food waste to lactic acid, three factors where opportunities exist for process improvement; freezing of samples during storage, discontinuous pH control, and holdover of fermentation broth between fermentations, were studied. Freezing samples prior to …

Utilization Of Variable Valve Actuation To Improve Fuel Efficiency And Aftertreatment Thermal Management In Diesel Engines, Aswin Karthik Ramesh

Open Access Dissertations

Fuel consumption in heavy-duty vehicles is expected to double by the year 2050 [1]. The majority of heavy duty vehicles incorporate diesel engines which emit air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), unburnt hydrocarbons (uHC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Increasing demand for heavy duty transportation coupled with strict emission regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Regulations Board (CARB) to improve air quality drive innovation of advanced engines and auxiliary systems. Complex exhaust aftertreatment (AFT) systems are required to meet stringent tailpipe-out emission regulations. The effectiveness of AFT systems, affected by emission conversion efficiency, is limited when …

Exploring The Role Of Reflexivity In Supporting Preservice Elementary Teachers' Conceptions Of Science As Socially And Culturally Embedded, Jeffrey Radloff

Open Access Dissertations

Achieving widespread scientific literacy has been a longstanding goal of US science standards, requiring that students and teachers possess contemporary nature of science (NOS) conceptions. However, NOS conceptions are repeatedly found to be wide-ranging or ‘naïve’, resulting in regular efforts by science education researchers to hone, or standardize them. While this has improved some aspects of NOS conceptions, others remain relatively unchanged, specifically within prospective, or preservice elementary teacher populations.

One unaffected aspect concerns preservice science teachers’ views of science as socially and culturally embedded, or mutually connected with changes in society and culture. However, understanding this facet of NOS …

Efficient Neuromorphic Computing Enabled By Spin-Transfer Torque: Devices, Circuits And Systems, Abhronil Sengupta

Open Access Dissertations

Present day computers expend orders of magnitude more computational resources to perform various cognitive and perception related tasks that humans routinely perform everyday. This has recently resulted in a seismic shift in the field of computation where research efforts are being directed to develop a neurocomputer that attempts to mimic the human brain by nanoelectronic components and thereby harness its efficiency in recognition problems. Bridging the gap between neuroscience and nanoelectronics, this thesis demonstrates the encoding of biological neural and synaptic functionalities in the underlying physics of electron spin. Description of various spin-transfer torque mechanisms that can be potentially utilized …

A Quantitative Study Of Faculty Retention And Promotion In Engineering Across Gender, Matilde L. Sanchez-Pena

Open Access Dissertations

The retention and promotion of a diverse engineering faculty body play a primary role in the advancement of the field. Failure to retain engineering faculty has significant economic implications for institutions. Additionally, the availability of role models and potential mentors for women and other minorities is paramount for the continuing diversification of the field. Prior research has documented additional challenges faced by women faculty in engineering when compared to men; such evidence has resulted in significant attempts to attenuate such disparities among faculty at all ranks. From the institutional perspective, examining retention and promotion times across gender would help to …