Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of 3d Printed Facsimiles In Fulfilling Museum Visitors’ Desire To Touch, Elizabeth Carr

Theses

By nature, humans have a desire to touch the things they encounter in daily life. Museums are no exception to this desire, even though museum objects are rarely available for visitor handling. This thesis explores the question: “can accurate 3D printed facsimiles help fulfill the desire of visitors to touch museum objects?” For this project and case study, I selected, and 3D scanned a museum object, which was then recreated via 3D printing. The reproduction was then put on display alongside the original object, and a visitor study was conducted to see if interacting with the facsimile while seeing the …

When Linguistics And Heritage Intersect: Language Preservation And Revitalization In Cultural Institutions, Katharine Maclaren

Theses

This work explores the ways in which cultural institutions, namely museums, libraries, and archives, can help save dying languages. It first introduces language preservation and revitalization as a field and then evaluates current efforts, including those outside the museum sphere. The question guiding this research is: Given the missions of cultural institutions, their collections, and their relationships with surrounding communities, how can these institutions successfully contribute to the preservation and revitalization of endangered languages in the long-term, and how might success be evaluated? The preservation of Scottish Gaelic will be considered as a specific case study by looking at several …

Smart Solutions To Control Air Pollution In Dubai - Al Qouz Area, Anwar Alshamsi, Lateefa Almarzooqi

Theses

Air pollution is a major concern, both in industrial and developing countries. Measuring and monitoring air pollution is mandatory to have a smart and clean environment. By the recent developed technology such as Internet of Things (IoT), levels of poisonous gases (GHG) are measured and controlled, which will help in having healthier atmosphere and help people whose life are endangered from living near polluted areas. The project proposes to use smart sensors to sense and measure the percentage of polluted gases like CO, CO2, SO2 and NO2. Since Dubai aims to achieve the best results of having the least effect …

The Ecological Impacts Of Climate Change In Hot Regions – Are Hawksbill Turtles Living Above Their Optimum Temperature In The Uae?, Obaid Ali Alshamsi

Theses

It is getting warmer throughout the world but it is not getting warmer by the same amount in all regions, leading to speculations that the biggest impact will be the impact on species living in the hot regions is widely assumed to be slight in comparison to the temperate and higher latitude regions. Temperature changes in hot regions are smaller, but it may be that the species in those regions have reached their optimum temperatures. In which case the effects of even a small temperature increase could be steeply negative. To test this thoroughly in terms of demographic parameters I …

Investigating Green Inhibitors For Acidic Corrosion Of Carbon Steel, Osama Abu-Alyosr Kamal Ibrahim

Theses

This study is intended to investigate Khalas palm date pits extract as a green corrosion inhibitor alternative to commercial inhibitors. Inhibition efficiency of the obtained extract was investigated on carbon steel grade S355JR immersed in different corrosive mediums of 2 molarity hydrochloric acid (������) solution and seawater solution. Along with other ingredients in palm date pits, Polyphenolic compounds have a significant anti-oxidation property and were found effective in reducing corrosion rate.

Due to its common industrial applications, Carbon steel was used in this investigation as the corroding medium, while 2M ������ and seawater solutions were used separately as the corrosive …

Synthesis And Biological Applications Of Some Novel Urea And Thiourea-Quinoline Derivatives, Aysha Mohammed Alkaabi

Theses

Extensive literature survey reveals that 8-Hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ), urea, thiourea and piperazine exhibit wide biological activity profile such as anticancer, anti-Alzheimer, anti-viral, antibacterial and antifungal activity. Novel urea and thiourea-quinoline derivatives connected by piperazine moiety have been synthesized and purified using appropriate techniques (extraction, crystallization and column chromatography) followed by characterization using IR spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy (both ¹H and ¹³C).

Biological activity, metal chelation properties and the photo-physical properties were studied for these novel compounds. Anti-bacterial study shows moderate activity for most of the compounds against P.aereginosa, S.aureus and Enterococcus at concentration 250 μM. Antifungal study showed …

Production Of Anti-Corrosion Materials From Uae Date Palm Waste, Nour Shehadeh Abdelrahman

Theses

Palm tree serves as the main source of biomass in the Gulf countries. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone is blessed with more than 40 million date palm trees, which generate a huge amount of waste annually. The main objective of this thesis is to examine the ability to produce a corrosion inhibitor from a date palm tree, waste, starting by extracting lignin from different parts of the date palm tree and characterizing the extracted lignin, converting lignin to sodium lignosulfonate, while selecting the optimum condition for the conversion reaction and characterizing the prepared lignosulfonate. Finally, the corrosion efficiency for …

Child Pornography And Child Sexual Abuse In The 21st Century: A Critical Overview Of The Technological Shifts In Distribution, The Academic Literature, And The Current Re-Entry Policies For Convicts Of These Crimes, Arion A. Rivera

Theses

This capstone project focuses on four distinct but interrelated papers. The first details the role of technology in creating a resurgence of child pornography and how both the authorities and corporations have responded to this phenomenon. The second paper provides a literature review on research assessing the amount of child pornography consumers who victimize children. The third work is my own original research on the topic explored in the second paper. The fourth and final paper explains the post-incarceration consequences child pornography possessors often encounter and how they reintegrate into society, in addition to assessing the flaws and successes of …

Controlled Release Chemical Oxidation: Sodium Persulfate Encapsulated In Pvac Polymer, Mosarrat Samiha Kabir

Theses

In this study, sodium persulfate was encapsulated in polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) polymer to investigate the potential of activated persulfate to remediate total coliform and E. coli bacteria from contaminated water through a control release system. Controlled release structures were produced with the polymer and persulfate melted to form pellets at two different baking times. CRP structures containing 60 weight % sodium persulfates blended with 40 weight % polyvinyl acetate (PS- PVAc) were baked for 4 minutes and 10 minutes at 120ºC. The kinetics release of sodium persulfate was studied in a water system and in sand columns. Experimental results showed …

Consumer Considerations Of Local Value-Added Dairy Products In North Carolina's Triangle, Gabriel Adjei Agyekum

Theses

The global and domestic dairy markets promise exciting opportunities for companies willing to adapt to a continuously evolving consumer market. However, local dairy farmers face a myriad of challenges as they navigate low milk prices, shrinking margins, increasing production cost, and a rising demand for plant-based varieties of milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy-based foods. The goal of this research was to investigate consumer behavior towards value-added local dairy products in North Carolina’s Triangle cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Data were used from an overarching project with collected data from food consumers in the triangle tri-city area using …

Occupant Evacuation Behavior In Wildfires: Gap Analysis, Agnes Ampomah

Theses

This thesis investigates the impacts wildfires have on those who live within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. The Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) sponsored this investigation to provide insight on information concerning evacuee pre-movement delays and behaviors before the beginning of an evacuation, both in terms of types of behaviors and elapsed time for these delays. Furthermore, the analysis of evacuee behavior in wildfire past and present evacuations will assist in the construction of future evacuation models that will mitigate evacuee loses during evacuations. The investigation is based on literature reviews on wildfires and their evacuation processes, past and …

What’S In A Name? Rhetorical And Political Naming In Toni Morrison’S Song Of Solomon, Kristen V. Edwards

Theses

This thesis aims to examine the usage and history of the various racial labels attributed to Black Americans and how the cyclical usage of Negro, Black, Colored, and African American are a haunting that Black people will most likely face again. As these terms do not fulfill a nationalistic identity, the quest for a satisfactory term still exists. To illustrate this journey, examining the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison will expose how her text subtly charges the reader to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Not only is the reader charged to “know thy self”, but they are …

Fat Uptake Reduction In Deep-Fried Chicken Breast, Lovie G. Matthews

Theses

Obesity is the deposit of excessive adipose tissue on the body due to the overconsumption of nutritionally inadequate foods. The fat in the deep-fat fried chicken is derived from the oil absorption during frying. High consumption of deep-fat fried foods may lead to cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The main objectives of this experiment were to reduce the fat uptake in deep-fat fried chicken breast by developing an edible coating made of chicken breast protein isolates (CPI) as well as replace the corn starch in batter with sweet potato starch to further examine the quality attributes of the battering systems. In …

Reinforcement Learning Reward Design For Low-Level Controllers, Evan J. Olney

Theses

The past few decades have produced many successful applications of machine learning. In the area of automated controls, machine learning controllers have been developed to take advantage of the tendency for computers to stumble upon avenues to solutions people either overlooked, or simply do not have the computational capability to explore. Reinforcement learning is a machine learning technique for learning how to choose actions in an environment to increase its expected reward. The reward is the signal that indicates whether or not proper actions were chosen, therefore a behavioral goal is achieved from implicit rewards rather than explicit direction. The …

Feedback Control For Leader Follower Architecture Of Unmanned Arial And Ground Vehicles, Mahmoud El Mahmoud

Theses

This thesis presents development of a feedback controller for a cooperative mission using unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned ground vehicle. This developed controller offers a solution to the time delayed collaborative autonomous systems for multiple robot systems. There are many motivating applications for these missions including exploration, search and rescue in damaged areas. The architecture developed in this thesis consists of an unmanned ground vehicle as a leader and an unmanned aerial vehicle as a follower. To be specific, the unmanned ground vehicle navigates through a damaged environment and leads the mission. The unmanned aerial vehicle follows the leader and …

Farm Financial Analysis For Small-Scale, Organic Mixed Vegetable Operation, Janet Ayobami Osawere

Theses

The small farmers in the United States face challenges from market uncertainties and climate variations. Many small farmers do not keep consistent financial records, thus making it difficult to analyze their profitability and make decisions in planning. This research is to use a real farm production stimulation from Goldsboro, North Carolina, to collect data from 2017 to 2018 for farm financial analysis that mimics a small-scale certified organic mixed vegetable production. The goal is to use the stimulating information from Goldsboro, North Carolina to help small-scale organic mixed vegetable farmers to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of farm operation; …

An Investigation Into The Management Of Branding In Irish Artisan Food Businesses, Daniel David Hickey

Theses

A consumer’s lifestyle is busier now then in the past and is moving towards products that reduce preparation and cooking times (Bia, 2015). The demand for value added convenience products has created opportunity for the Artisan food sector. This has lead to the expansion of food Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in Ireland. There were 235 specialty food producers in Ireland in 2018, a 2.7% increase on the previous year. SME’s are growing in popularity among consumers but there is very little research been completed into Irish SME’s. A 2016 study by Kennedy and Wright identified that the area is scant …

Decarbonising The Automotive Industry: The Future For Irish Motorists., Robert Maher

Theses

This research study is an examination of the current state of the Irish automotive industry, which is being reshaped by the imminent shift to electric vehicles. This transition is designed to assist in solving Ireland's air quality and environmental challenges in line with the worldwide move to combat climate change. The research topic of the decarbonisation of the automotive industry determined the research question: "Decarbonising the Automotive Industry: The Future for Irish Motorists". This inquiry focuses on private cars owned for social, pleasure and domestic use. Secondary research was completed to verify the most prevalent and current existing information. A …

Crystallographic Structure Determination Of Bacteriophage-Encoded Enzymes That Specifically Target Pathogenic Bacteria, Marta Sanz Gaitero

Theses

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a serious public health concern. Infections that some decades ago could be treated with antibiotics now sometimes do not respond to traditional treatment, causing higher mortality and economic losses. An alternative to the use of antibiotics are bacteria's natural predators, bacteriophages (or phages), and specifically their lytic enzymes. These proteins are produced by phages to degrade bacterial peptidoglycan to inject their genetic material into the bacteria (virion-associated peptidoglycan hydrolases) or to release their progeny once the infection is finished (endolysins). They can be applied exogenously to lyse Gram-positive bacteria or be genetically engineered to lyse Gram-negative …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Nursing Support And The Financial Implications Associated With Cpap Adherence, Christine Brunnick

Theses

The prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is increasing. As the prevalence of OSA increases, as does the need for the condition to be treated effectively to reduce several risk factors which increase both mortality and morbidity rates. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy is easily recognised as the most effective treatment for OSA. Despite the recognised benefits of CPAP therapy, adherence rates reported worldwide remain suboptimal. A transitional change within the Irish healthcare system means that private medical device companies will provide CPAP devices in specific contractual regions throughout Ireland. This change presents challenges and opportunities for policymakers. This …

Mind Over Matter : Stimulant Adhd Medication Use And Bone Mineral Density In College-Aged Subjects ; Is There A Trade-Off?, Sims Kirkland Lawson

Theses

Literature review showed lowered bone mineral density (BMD) among methamphetamine users and in mice that were given methylphenidate. No human clinical studies have been carried out, to date, to investigate whether there is a correlation between use of psychostimulants prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (in this case methylphenidate and amphetamines) and lowered BMD in young adult aged humans. This study observed 53 human subjects, age 19-27 years (average age 21 years); 25 experimental, psychostimulant-prescribed ADHD patients, and 28 healthy control subjects. Each subject was given dual x-ray absorptiometer (DXA) scans of femur, hip area, lumbar spine, and whole-body …

Migration Of Artificially Activated B Cells In A Microfluidic Device-Induced Cxcl-12 Gradient, Rachel Lauren Stokes

Theses

No abstract provided.

The Lew.1wr1 Rat Model Is Glucose Intolerant, Genoah Collins

Theses

The susceptibility to the development of glucose intolerance in the young adult type 1 diabetes model LEW.1 WRl was investigated. The animals were given either a 10% fat 7% sucrose diet or a 45% high fat 21% sucrose diet for 10 weeks. Two glucose tolerance tests (GTT) and an insulin tolerance test (ITT) were performed at 0, 8, and 4 weeks, respectively. Terminal anesthetized blood glucose was measured before sacrifice . Serum obtained at harvest was used for a metabolic hormone and cytokine/chemokine multiplex array and ongoing metabolomics studies. Pancreata collected at harvest were used for histological examination of islets. …

Life In The Noodles, Junnan Xia

Theses

One day, a Chinese international student, Zhou Yu, is considering his going home to China, since he doesn’t have a good life in America. That day, when Yu is in the supermarket shopping, he sees his ex-girl friend, Chen Xue. Xue is friendly and asks Yu to come to her home and she wants to treat Yu a bowl of noodles, which is her special treat that she made for Yu before. Yu struggles but finally he is moved by Xue’s great passion. When they arrived at Xue’s place, they start to eat and talk. Xue is curious about Yu’s …

A Modified Rcm Medium For The Growth Of Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, Ayowole Caleb Oyeniran

Theses

In this study, we modified reinforced clostridial medium (RCM) to selectively enumerate and isolate Lactobacillus bulgaricus, a probiotic and an important starter culture in the dairy industry. The disparity in the reported carbohydrate fermentation pattern of L. bulgaricus was used to develop a growth medium not only selective for L. bulgaricus but significantly inhibitory to the growth of other lactic acid bacteria. A recently modified RCM (mRCM) was optimized for this study by the addition of 0.5% fructose, 0.5% dextrose, 1% maltose and 0.25% sodium pyruvate while replacing lactose as a carbohydrate source. The cell recovery and bacterial counts of …

Comparison Study Of Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms For Real Time Prediction Of Uav Behaviors, Brian Baity

Theses

An American scientific writer/critic of the mid-20th century, Joseph Wood Krutch, stated, “Technology made large populations possible: large populations now make technology indispensable.” Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a vital part of society, evolving from solely military use to commercial and even personal day-to-day use. UAV application has grown for mobility on demand, increasing the number of UAVs in the sky. Consequently, more UAVs increases the possibility of aerial collisions, challenging the safety of passengers flying and bystanders on the ground. Understanding the behavior of UAVs and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in general, therefore, will decrease the possibility of …

What Supports Are Needed To Encourage And Assist Community Festivals And Events To Succeed And Grow? An Empirical Study., Helen Mcdwyer

Theses

Abstract: Communities are motivated to host festivals and events for a myriad of reasons. They generate important economic and social benefits for an area with increased visitor numbers, increased local spending and greater community cohesion. Festival and event tourism is an important segment of the overall tourism product in Ireland, particularly in an area such as Kerry where there is a heavy reliance on tourism. Many festivals and events in Kerry are organised by community and voluntary groups and yet these groups are increasingly pressurised to increase the professionality of their offering to compete for regional funding and sponsorship. Changes …

Don’T Mention Dark Tourism: An Irish Perspective, Emilie-Kate O'Mahony

Theses

This study investigates dark tourism in the Irish context with international supporting research. Dark tourism is connected to sites of death, the macabre and suffering and there are many sites in Ireland that fit this description. Examples include prisons, famine sites, graveyards, sites of terrorist attacks and many more. In this document the term dark tourism is thoroughly researched via secondary sources to provide a foundation of understanding. By including this academic research from journals and books, the researcher is provided with the background information necessary to understand the importance of dark tourism and to identify gaps in knowledge suitable …

Modelling And Simulation Of Renewable Technologies For Economic And Environmental Analysis And Optimization Of Dairy Farms, Michael Christopher Breen

Theses

The aim of this thesis was to develop a dairy optimisation platform to optimise investments in dairy farm technology and changes to on-farm management practices and electricity tariffs, in order to maximise profitability and minimise environmental impacts. Increased dairy herd sizes and milk production levels in Ireland as well as changing regulations concerning emissions, renewable penetration and energy efficiency have necessitated a means of financial decision support for farmers. Therefore this body of work focused on the creation of a comprehensive method for optimising dairy farm technology selection, management practices and electricity tariffs. The measures which could be implemented on …

Isolation, Identification And Characterisation Of Enterococcus Faecalis Isolates For The Generation Of Multifuctional Bioactive Peptides From Milk, Kenneth Patrick Graham

Theses

Enterococci are lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that have the paradoxical position of possessing biochemical properties of technological importance, but are also considered as opportunistic pathogens capable of causing infection in immunocompromised patients. However, they have a long history of safe use in foods and have been evaluated in several studies for their role as starter, adjunct, probiotic and protective cultures. They show higher proteolytic activities than other LAB and have demonstrated the ability to produce bioactive peptides during the fermentation of milk. The aim of this project was to identify proteolytic Enterococcus faecalis isolates capable of generating health-promoting bioactive peptides …