Digital Commons Network^™

Preparation And Characterization Of Copper-Doped And Silver-Doped Titanium Dioxide Nano-Catalysts For Photocatalytic Applications, Haya Abdel Ra'ouf Ahmed

Theses

The goal of this work was to improve the performance of TiO₂ nanomaterials by increasing their optical activities by shifting the onset of the response from the UV to the visible-light region. Among the several ways to achieve this goal, doping TiO₂ nanomaterials with other elements (e.g. metals) was selected to narrow the band gap and enhance the optical properties of TiO₂ nanomaterials. In this work, we have prepared Cu-doped TiO₂ nano-catalysts, characterized them and studied their properties, and the optical ones in particular. The Ag-doped TiO₂ catalyst was prepared by the sol-gel method while …

Optimal Packaging Of Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus (Mpmv) Genomic Rna Depends On Conserved Long Range Interactions Between U5 And Gag Complementary Sequences, Rawan M. Khaleel Kalloush

Theses

Employing a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches, we have recently shown that the 5’ end of MPMV genome (from the first nucleotide in R up to 120 nt of Gag) contains a number of sequence and structural motifs important for MPMV gRNA packaging and dimerization. A distinguishing feature of the higher order structure of MPMV packaging signal RNA is two long-range interactions (LRI) between U5 and Gag complementary sequences, LRI-I and LRI-II, which are phylogenetically conserved among different MPMV strains. These LRIs have been suggested to play a role in stabilizing the RNA secondary structure of the 5’ UTR …

Hate Speech And The Status Of Prisoners, Logan Richard Baseley

Theses

Drawing from feminist and critical race theorists’ analyses of pornography and racist speech, I advance an argument in favor of speech regulations vis-à-vis prison rape films. I call ‘prison rape films’ (PRFs) those films that depict prison rape humorously, as narrative springboards, or as unnecessary tangents. I explore why such films ought to be regulated by pointing out the harms these films have on prisoners. In doing so, I examine what it is to be a ‘historically oppressed group’ and what makes such groups particularly vulnerable to hate speech. Prisoners are a historically oppressed group that is harmed by prison …

When All Else Failed, Jennifer Goldring

Theses

This collection of poems When All Else Failed, closely examines relationships in many ways. It explores beginnings and endings. It examines nature and environment. It ventures through relationships with the self, the beloved, parents and children, and one’s relationship to the world and natural settings around them. Connections are made and broken over and over again examining one’s ability to grow and change over time, and this is done in juxtaposition to those things that remain stagnant. In this collection of poems I use lyric poetry with a narrative slant, nature and environment, and a precise use of the line. …

Is Natural Normativity True Normativity?, Amy Lawson Broadway

Theses

In this thesis, I describe two notions of normativity: John Broome’s theory of ‘true normativity’ and Philippa Foot’s theory of natural normativity. Both theories attempt to explain what determines how an individual ought to behave. Broome argues natural normativity is not true normativity. He claims natural normativity only describes the good of an organism and does not account for what a person ought to do. I argue this is a mistaken claim based on the assumption that what is evaluative and descriptive are necessarily separate. In addition, I argue Broome expresses inconsistent views. He thinks prudence is a source of …

Leaf-Cutter Ant (Atta Cephalotes) Behavioral Ecology Of Folivory In A Mixed-Use Guyanan Lowland Rainforest, Elizabeth Brianne Karslake

Theses

I studied the foraging ecology of a Neotropical leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes, at CEIBA Biological Center, Guyana to elucidate diet choice and foraging strategy. These ants are serous agricultural pests because workers harvest leaves, flowers, fruits, and other plant organs of both cultivated and native plants. The plant materials are used to feed symbiotic fungi whose mycelia tips are the sole food of A. cephalotes larvae. Leaf-cutters were usually found in human disturbed habitats especially slash-and-burned forests cleared for farms, with their higher percentage of sun-exposure and lower plant stem diameters than second growth and primary forests. When given a …

Media Audiences’ Engagement With Social Issues: A Content Analysis Of Online Daily Newspaper Articles And Audience Comments, Jessica Edgar

Theses

This study examines how articles covering social issues are highlighted on top online daily newspapers’ websites and how that influences the audiences’ emotionality and willingness to help the corresponding social issue as identified in the websites’ comment sections. The articles have been gathered from five of the top online daily newspaper media outlets: USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle. Three social issues are highlighted as key topics that are relevant to today’s American society and typically require a need for orientation: gun control, cancer and animal rights. The method for conducting …

Inherent Problems With Nuclear Deterrence And The Need Of Disarmament, Hiromi Ishikawa

Theses

This paper is to discuss about the problems that nuclear deterrence has, and examine the necessity of nuclear disarmament. It starts from defining the meaning of nuclear deterrence, and explores current situations about nuclear weapons in the world. After that this paper takes a closer look at some historical cases of nuclear deterrence, and finally discusses why nuclear disarmament is the most suitable way for national security. The finding of this paper is that nuclear deterrence is not the most credible theory that states should follow because there are more demerits than merits by holding the theory. Nuclear abolition is …

Riot And Ruckus: Nationalism On Stage In The Early Modernist Theater Of The Futurists And Ballets Russes, 1909-1914, Ashley Diann Ray

Theses

Objective: How and why did the early modernist groups of the Ballets Russes and the Italian Futurists utilize nationalism in their early theatrical programs? In this study we look at the genesis and early artistic influences of Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes, and F. T. Marinetti, founder of the Italian Futurists. We consider the political affiliations and ideals of nationalism of these two men and those artists crucial to both movements. The issue of the crisis of modernity is discussed, and how both art movements react to, and are products of this crisis. Through early writings, compositions, poems, …

Chiral Discrimination And Enantiomeric Cytotoxicity On Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Taylor Amber Davis

Theses

The negative health impact of chiral environmental pollutants (CEPs), including mutagenicity, teratogenicity, and developmental problems, highlight the importance of chirality to the biomedical research community and the need for new techniques for accurate analysis of CEPs in humans to promote the development of biomedical protocols for CEPs poisoning therapy. This study examined the effects of chirality on 1-(9-anthryl)-2,2,2-triflouroethanol (TFE) and 1,1²binaphthyl-2,2²-diamine (BNA) enantiomers interactions with human serum albumin (HSA), the dominant serum protein and a transporter of hormones, drugs and metabolites in human. Specifically, the emission, the binding constants, stoichiometry, and thermodynamic properties of enantiomers of TFE-HSA and BNA-HSA complexes …

Micro-Computed Tomography-Based Finite Element Analysis Of The Mechanical Integrity Of In Vivo Biodegradable Magnesium-Alloy Screw And Surrounding Bone, Adrienne F.O. Williams

Theses

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, the most common knee injury, affects 100,000 to 200,000 persons in the US annually. Surgical repair is employed to restore the knee to its full range of motion. In the surgery, an interference screw is used to a secure a soft tissue graft that is used to replace the torn ACL. In 2012, orthopedic devices for knees accounted for the largest share of the $29.2 billion overall revenue for orthopedic devices. Biodegradable implants are expected to lead growth in the orthopedic sector by increasing the quality of life and decreasing recovery time after orthopedic …

Impact Of Medical Drugs, Commonly Administered To The Elderly, On Viability And Functionality Of Commercially Available Probiotic Supplements, Desarae Nicole Johnson

Theses

The elderly population is inherently more susceptible to gastrointestinal problems and diseases due to significant age-related gastrointestinal changes experienced in gut physiology, reactivity of the immune system, and/or diet. These factors, coupled with increased occurrence of disease and corresponding medication use, could also modify the composition of gut microbiota. The impact of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the physical gastrointestinal tract has already been shown. However, the impact of these factors on the microbiota inhabiting the GI tract has not been well established. A better understanding of the relationship between medication use and gut microbiota composition may have beneficial implications …

Investigation Of The Binding And Thermodynamic Properties Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons On Biological Specimen And Cytotoxic Effect On Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Jr. Derick Jones

Theses

Pesticides, weed control chemicals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are cytotoxic, carcinogenic, and toxic chemicals of concern. The toxic effects and health related issues of PAHs in humans necessitate the urgent need to investigate the binding mechanism of PAHs with biological specimen for biomedical diagnosis. This study investigated the binding of three PAHs (anthracene, pyrene, and naphthalene) with human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), proteins responsible for the delivery of drug molecules and other important metabolites to various targets. Specifically, the influence of the temperature, PAH type, and PAH concentrations on HSA/BSA emission property was investigated. The …

The Life Tube: A Fire Emergency Design, Danwei Ye

Theses

The Life Tube is a thesis design concerning a fire emergency self-rescue kit. It can be deployed into a regular fluorescent light system. When a fire occurs, the Life Tube automatically drops the needed supplies for occupant escape, including a directional light, toxic gas filter, and oxygen mask.

In this paper, I will state the problem of current fire emergency products and the development of my solution, a fluorescent lamp replacement concept. Also included herein is the process of the design, from ideation to working model, as well as the process of setting up the thesis show and graphics.

Applying The User-Centered Design Method To A Perinatal Depression Website Design, Jiaying Li

Theses

The Internet has become the most useful channel for people to access information. Many websites have very useful or comprehensive content. However, some users are not willing to read them, because they feel overwhelmed by reading text-based websites. User-experience design plays a crucial part in building a bridge between users and the website. With a good design, websites make the user experience more enjoyable. This thesis is about applying the user-centered design method (UCD) to websites about perinatal depression.

Mathematical Modeling Of The Imported Malaria In The United Arab Emirates, Fatima Hassan Ali Alawadhi

Theses

Although the UAE was certified to be free of local malaria transmission cases in 2007, the increased number of imported malaria cases in recent years required the attention of the public health professionals. The aim of this work is to study, via mathematical modeling, the impact of imported malaria cases on the population of the UAE. The nature of the health policies in the UAE imposes on us a model that classifies the living population of the UAE in two categories. The local population, who represent the permanent residents that do not have any health requirement for their residency, and …

Induction Of Anti-Microbial Immune Responses In Severely Immunodeficient Hosts By Ifn-Expressing Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium Correlates With Efficient Activation Of Macrophage Effectors, Mohammed Achraf Al-Sbiei This

Theses

Susceptibility to infection by the intracellular bacterial pathogen, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium), is controlled by many genes of innate and adaptive immunity. One of the most critical genes is IFN- and mice deficient in IFN- synthesis are highly susceptible to Salmonella. Previously, we demonstrated that mice deficient in MyD88, an adaptor that regulates TLR signaling, are susceptible to Salmonella infection. In the current study, we compared immune responses in mice deficient in IFN- or MyD88 with wild-type controls following infection with an attenuated strain of S. typhimurium (designated BRD509E) or a recombinant derivative engineered to express murine IFN- …

An Investigation Into The Viability Of Nanocrystalline Cellulose As A Packaging Material, John Glass

Theses

The focus of this proposal is to identify unexplored areas of research in the field of packaging science, specifically related to the incorporation of Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) as a functional material in fiber based packaging, as well as to highlight some of potential risks and unknowns in the product lifecycle. This research hypothesizes that incorporating NCC into wood fiber-based c-flute corrugated packaging medium will show a sufficient performance improvement to justify additional research. Nanomaterials, as a whole, are still being understood, including those using naturally occurring bases such as NCC. Further incremental testing with NCC will help provide a performance …

Discovering Galapagos: A Children’S Website, Jing Yan

Theses

Information technology is changing people's lives. It changes the way people communicate with others, how people search for information, and how people study and learn new knowledge. According to several studies and reports, more and more parents are using computers and mobile devices to teach their children. However, with the exception of games, there are only a few fun educational websites are created for children.

As a designer and young mother who wants to find good educational resources for children, I think this would be a good opportunity for me to design a website for our tiny thinkers. Because children …

Stuff: The Abandoned Land An Interactive Sustainable Role-Playing Game, Chien-Ju Peng

Theses

Stuff: The Abandoned Land is an interactive role-playing game web application

designed to help teenagers and young adults understand environmental

destruction and the importance of recycling and reducing waste. We are part

of the production and consumption cycle but we can instead change our

consumptive behavior in order to create a better future. This web application

is designed for teenagers and young adults, ages 15 to 24. By developing

an engaging interactive game application, we intended to focus the target

audience's attention on serious environmental topics.

The story begins with the main character, Kevin, who questions the worth of

life …

Carveol And Related Monoterpenes Inhibit The Function Of The Human Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor, Yosra Adnan Lozon Adnan Lozon

Theses

Plants and phytochemicals have been used for centuries for therapeutic purposes. Essential oils from these plants are complex mixtures and may possess a large spectrum of biological activities many of them of clinical interest. Among the active constituents of essential oils, monoterpenes, demonstrated valuable antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, anticancer, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. In recent years, actions of monoterpenes on the function of ion channels have been investigated. In the present study, effects of different monoterpenes including carvacrol, carveol, d-carvone, eugenol, (+)-pulegone, thymol, thymoquinone, menthome and limonene, on the function of the cloned α7 subunit of human nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptor …

Protection Of The Domestic Food & Beverage Industry From Unfair Competition Coming From Foreign Countries, Kushtrim Spahiu

Theses

This report analyzes the question of how domestic producers in the food industry can be protected from the unfair competition that comes from foreign producers and countries. Therefore, this project examines the types of barriers most often placed on food commodities and aims to provide insights on how these problems were resolved and most importantly how could they be resolved so that they are not encountered in the future.

The methodology used to obtain these results was mainly through interview reports and case reviews. The main findings show that the most often placed barriers to food commodities are SPS, TBT, …

Collection And Transportation Of Municipal Solid Waste In Prishtina Municipality, Linda Shuku

Theses

After many years of efforts Prishtina municipality for improving the waste collection, there are still many problems associated with it. Uncontrolled dumping has resulted in spread of diseases, flooding, and unpleasant smells. The lack of financial resources for improving the waste collection services is part of the problem. Considering this situation, the goal of this project was to identify and analyze the waste collection and transportation process. The city planning and service fees were identified as important aspects for ensuring a well maintained and clean environment.

The research showed that with only 63% of overall collection of the fees, the …

Rice And Mouse Quantitative Phenotype Prediction In Genome-Wide Association Studies With Support Vector Regression, Abdulrhman Fahad M. Aljouie

Theses

Quantitative phenotypes prediction from genotype data is significant for pathogenesis, crop yields, and immunity tests. The scientific community conducted many studies to find unobserved quantitative phenotype high predictive ability models. Early genome-wide association studies (GWAS) focused on genetic variants that are associated with disease or phenotype, however, these variants manly covers small portion of the whole genetic variance, and therefore, the effectiveness of predictions obtained using this information may possibly be circumscribed [ 1 ].

Instead, this study shows prediction ability from whole genome single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) data of 1940 genotyped stoke mouse with - 12k SNPs, and 413 …

Effect Of Oat Bran On Physicochemical Properties Of Alaska Pollock (Theragra Chalcograma) Surimi Seafood, Fatimah Q. Alakhrash

Theses

Oat bran is a gluten-free dietary fiber that may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Most Americans consume less than half the recommended daily amount of fiber. Surimi seafood, which is also called “imitation crabmeat”, is not currently produced with fiber, nor has the effect of fiber on the physicochemical properties of surimi gels been thoroughly studied. The addition of fiber to surimi seafood would allow manufacturers to market added nutritional benefits. The purpose of this study was to determine the physicochemical properties (proximate composition, pH, texture, color properties, water holding capacity, and cooking loss) of Alaska pollock …

Ex Vivo Effects Of Water Extracts Of Sericea Lespedeza On Cow, Sheep And Goat Blood, Emmanuel K. Asiamah

Theses

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a water extract of Sericea Lespedeza (SL), the lipid raft inhibitor NYS and known pathogen associated molecular patterns (LPS and PGN) on gene activation in ruminant (cow, sheep and goat) blood. Sericea Lespedeza, a high tannin containing legume has been shown to be a useful component of feed for control of gastro intestinal nematodes in ruminants. Blood was collected from four adult female Holstein Friesian cows (N=4), Spanish x Boer goats (N=4) and St Croix sheep (N=4) and incubated with 100 ng /mL-1 of SL in the presence and absence of …

Graphical Database Architecture For Clinical Trials, Aiman G. Baset

Theses

The general area of the research is Health Informatics. The research focuses on creating an innovative and novel solution to manage and analyze clinical trials data. It constructs a Graphical Database Architecture (GDA) for Clinical Trials (CT) using New Technology for Java (Neo4j) as a robust, a scalable and a high-performance database. The purpose of the research project is to develop concepts and techniques based on architecture to accelerate the processing time of clinical data navigation at lower cost. The research design uses a positivist approach to empirical research. The research is significant because it proposes a new approach of …

Effect Of Bay (Laurus Nobilis) Essential Oil On Physicochemical Properties Of Alaska Pollock (Theragra Chalgoramma) Surimi Nutrified With Salmon And Flaxseed Oils Under Refrigerated Storage, Ugochukwu C. Anyanwu

Theses

Surimi seafood products are widely accepted and consumed in the U.S. and other parts of the world. In recent time, there has been increased demand for surimi seafood products nutrified with ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) as a result of their reported health benefits, but this may have a negative effect on the storage time of the product due to lipid oxidation of fatty acids (FA). Bay (Laurus nobilis) essential oil (BEO) which has demonstrated antioxidant properties was incorporated to the surimi seafood to reduce lipid oxidation thereby extending storage time. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate …

A Course Module On Application Logic Flaws, Lindsay Simpkins

Theses

Software security is extremely important, and even thoroughly tested code may still have exploitable vulnerabilities. Some of these vulnerabilities are caused by logic flaws. Due to the nature of application or business logic, few automated tools can test for these types of security issues. Therefore, it is important for students to learn how to reduce the number of logic flaws when developing software, and how to test for them manually. A course module with a case study was created to teach students about this topic. Case-based teaching methods are used because it allows students to better apply learned skills to …

Potential Impact Of Tpp Trade Agreement On U.S. Bilateral Agricultural Trade: Trade Creation Or Trade Diversion?, Afia Fosua Agyekum

Theses

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement is a trade agreement the U.S. is negotiating with 11 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region-namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam- to reduce or eliminate tariffs on U.S. products exported to the TPP countries. With TPP, the U.S. expects to expand its trade with members of the TPP partnership; resulting in growth in gross domestic product (GDP). However, there are enormous concerns related to the potential negative impact TPP will have on U.S. agricultural trade. This research study therefore examined the potential effect of the …