Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

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 …

Modeling Consumer Behavior For High Risk Foods, Megan Elizabeth Watkins

Theses

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six Americans become ill or die from foodborne contaminations (CDC, 2011). Contamination (intentional or unintentional) can occur at any point in the food supply chain. Flaws in security, quality control, or transportation are some examples of how food is susceptible to intentional acts of sabotage. Certain foods are more susceptible to contamination such as meats, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and eggs. In order to build a secure and resilient food supply chain network, food producers and manufacturers need to have the ability to assess contamination risks resulting from manufacturing …

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 Biomechanical Risk Factors Of Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome Through Finite Element Analysis, Robert Allen Wesley

Theses

Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) is an overuse injury in the lower extremity associated with endurance running. MTSS is a palpitation of pain of at least 5 centimeters along the medial tibia with possible microfractures in the tibia. The various risk factors which may lead to the development of MTSS are body mass index, over pronation, heel striking, level of shod in the running shoe, type and angle of running surface, high volume training, age, gender, stride length, range of motion, and calf girth. Few investigations have been made to limit these risk factors through the utilization of finite element …

Business Intelligence And Geographic Information System Lifecycle Architecture Using Cloud Computing For Smart Community, Rawan Sendi

Theses

Business Intelligence (BI) is a technique and IT tool that supports business decision making. BI is considered a unique source of competitive advantage in the market place and it can combine data, multimedia, and transactions all in one application to address people's needs. Using BI applications can increase both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. In addition, BI improves planning that provides the foundation for top successful performances in the future. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) deliver productivity tools that are highly beneficial for businesses. These benefits include: visualization, business capacity, analysis, and interpreting data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends. Another …

Predicting Hereditary Breast Cancer By Combining Family History And Medical Information, Sherin John

Theses

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor, commonly found in women but rarely in men. One in eight US women will have the chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. A family history analysis and genetic test can identify the potential carrier gene that cause hereditary breast cancer. Mutated genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2, Tp53 and PTEN confer high lifetime risk of breast cancers and are the most significant genes for clinical studies. The study goals of this thesis were to: 1) develop an open source software tool to predict the risk of hereditary breast cancer and mutation risk of …

Design And Implementation Of An Autonomous Wireless Sensor-Based Smart Home, Christopher E. Osiegbu

Theses

The Smart home has gained widespread attentions due to its flexible integration into everyday life. This next generation of green home system transparently unifies various home appliances, smart sensors and wireless communication technologies. It can integrate diversified physical sensed information and control various consumer home devices, with the support of active sensor networks having both sensor and actuator components. Although smart homes are gaining popularity due to their energy saving and better living benefits, there is no standardized design for smart homes. In this thesis, a smart home design is put forward that can classify and predict the state of …

Machine Learning And A Workflow Engine For An Agent-Based Structural Health Monitoring System, Jr. William Nick

Theses

This thesis reports on work in machine learning and high-performance computing for structural heath monitoring. The data used are acoustic emission signals, and we classify these signals according to source mechanisms, those associated with crack growth being particularly significant. The work reported here is part of a larger project to develop an agent-based structural health monitoring system. The agents are proxies for communication- and computation-intensive techniques and respond to the situation at hand by determining an appropriate constellation of techniques. The techniques thus structured are executed by a workflow engine, which is part of the contribution reported here. It is …

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 …

An Analytical Study Of Consumer Trust In Cloud Computing, Iii Albert Horvath

Theses

The Internet has developed to such a point that many scholarly articles are calling it the 5th utility, behind water, power, sewage, and telephone. The usefulness of the fifth utility is undeniable and will certainly only grow. Soon, common internet users will be able to do more than just use it for entertainment and shopping. Emerging technologies have the ability to intelligently connect people to the data they need to improve their lives. For instance, heart rate monitors can be connected remotely to the internet and patients can live at home knowing that if there are any problems, help will …

Dominican Women: Their Perception As Leaders By The Dominican Population, Jorge Canaán, Glenda Corcino

Theses

In the Dominican Republic, women have traditionally been molded to be housewives, obey men, and not to interfere with men's issues/matters (Duarte, 2009). As in other countries, this has changed over the years as more women succeed and achieve many accomplishments in society, but it still is present to some level in different places and circumstances across the Dominican Republic (Press, 2010). This study was conducted with the objective of gathering information of the Dominicans' perception about the profile of Dominican women as leaders and their roles in society. Based on the interviews inMujeres Extraordinarias: Mujeres en el tiempo, mujeres …

Continuity And Change In The History Of Police Technology: The Case Of Contemporary Crime Analysis, Alysia C. Mason

Theses

A series of police practices and technology make up what today is known as crime analysis. Crime analysis can broadly be defined as the use of police knowledge and data to combat and solve crime. The current study seeks to illuminate the current status of crime analysis, and the measures being taken to gain legitimacy and recognition in the field of law enforcement. First, the historical backdrop of technology and police history will be established. Next, three inter-related research projects are used to frame patterns and practices of contemporary crime analysis. The first project examines police organizations’ adoption of community …

Meeting In The Middle: Organizing Sustainability Goals To Redevelop Jacksonville, Florida Suburbs, James Robert Reynolds Ii

Theses

The United States is at a developmental turning point in how it grows, responds to the housing needs of its existing citizens, and utilizes its existing infrastructure. Since 1945, population has doubled, however land use has increased by nearly 400%. This indicates that we are developing at lower densities, which have been shown to increase the environmental, social, and economic costs of development due to infrastructure construction, operations and maintenance, transportation use, and lifestyle.

Jacksonville, Florida is spatially the largest city in the USA, and most populated in Florida. Due to the wide array of foreclosed and vacant houses in …

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 …

Uncertainty Quantification And Reduction In Cardiac Electrophysiological Imaging, Azar Rahimi Dehaghani

Theses

Cardiac electrophysiological (EP) imaging involves solving an inverse problem that infers cardiac electrical activity from body-surface electrocardiography data on a physical domain defined by the body torso. To avoid unreasonable solutions that may fit the data, this inference is often guided by data-independent prior assumptions about different properties of cardiac electrical sources as well as the physical domain. However, these prior assumptions may involve errors and uncertainties that could affect the inference accuracy. For example, common prior assumptions on the source properties, such as fixed spatial and/or temporal smoothness or sparseness assumptions, may not necessarily match the true source property …

Measuring And Improving The Customer Service At Della Nonna, Adrian Pérez, Claudy Santana, Euler Veloz

Theses

The main purpose of this project was to measure and improve the state of the customer service provided by Della Nonna, a local pastry shop from the city of Santiago, Dominican Republic. The business opened its doors in 2008 and since then it has been providing customers with delightful desserts made using secret recipes. That said, in order to provide a consistent quality in their products, the owners serve not only as mangers, marketers, and immediate supervisors but also as cooks. This project intended to answer three important questions through the use of surveys and interviews with the owners, the …

Measuring And Promoting (R&D) Expenditure In Manufacturing Companies Of High-Tech Healthcare Products In The Dominican Republic, Joshua R. Guzmán, César Encarnación

Theses

Globally, R&D is recognized as an important driver of economic and social progress. In 2013, the Dominican Republic invested only 0.3% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in R&D expenditure, which is a level of investment equivalent to half the Latin American average. The globalization process has allowed many corporations to internationalize their value chain including R&D activities, which represents an extraordinary opportunity for a developing country as the Dominican Republic to attract FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) as a way to increase innovation process related to R&D activities. This research project investigates whether R&D expenses have an effect on the profit, …

Architecture As Communication: A Study Of The Role Of Form, Function And Context In Evoking Meaning, Priyanka Sondhi

Theses

The aim of this thesis is to understand and design an architecture that includes as part of its program, the function of communication of a certain encoded idea(s) through the public's everyday interaction with it. This thesis is divided into two parts - exploration and design project. The exploration part studies the methods and history of communicating meaning through architecture. Based on this study a design project was defined which included picking an appropriate site, identifying the meaning to be communicated for the site context, studying the context for such communication and designing a building program and form.

Rochester, being …

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 …

Psychology's Ontology As Antinomy, Kevin Rice

Theses

The field of psychology has historically been fragmented in terms of what the discipline takes to be the ontological makeup of psychological phenomena, resulting in an unsatisfactory disunity within the discipline’s intra/interdisciplinary cohesiveness as a science of mental health/illness.2 The present project argues that this disunity can framed within the implacable empirical debate between naturalists and non-naturalists concerning the metaphysical status of consciousness (the very thing that experiences such phenomena). In offering a way past this explanatory impasse, I contend that a path towards discerning a unified ontology for psychology can be discerned in understanding consciousness’s ontological status as a …

Mining And Integration Of Structured And Unstructured Electronic Clinical Data For Dementia Detection, Joseph Bullard

Theses

Dementia is an increasing problem for the aging population that incurs high medical costs, in part due to the lack of available treatment options. Accordingly, early detection is critical to potentially postpone symptoms and to prepare both healthcare providers and families for a patient's management needs. Current detection methods are typically costly or unreliable, and could greatly benefit from improved recognition of early dementia markers. Identification of such markers may be possible through computational analysis of patients' electronic clinical records. Prior work on has focused on structured data (e.g. test results), but these records often also contain natural language (text) …

Visual Guidance: A Universal Wayfinding Symbol System Prototype For Art Museums, Rui Ma

Theses

Wayfinding is very important for travelers. One example is, communicative symbol systems used at international airports. Art museums also need to employ visual guidance to help people effectively navigate the space.This prototype project involved designing a universal wayfinding symbol system for art museums based on art movements and geographic regions. The objective of the project is to make wayfinding easier for international museum visitors using visual guidance.

The subject was selected through research and discussion with the thesis advisors. The refinements were made based on feedback from diverse audience of users and students at Imagine RIT.

The project has two …

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 …

Gluten-Free Products And Zagreb’S Bakeries, Maja Vukoja

Theses

While a capital of Croatia, with a population of over one million, offers a limited number of different gluten-free products, Zagreb’s bakeries do not offer gluten-free products at all.

The purpose of this study was to identify the existence of a non-medically motivated demand for gluten-free products in Zagreb’s bakeries and find out what are the motivators driving this demand. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Quantitative data collection (through a survey) was followed with a qualitative data collection and analysis (through interviews) which led to the interpretation of results.

Survey was conducted on a random sample …

Factors Affecting The Regular Monthly Payment Of Electricity Bills In Hajvali, Dina Vllasaliu

Theses

The project considered the problem of nonpayment of electricity bills in Hajvali, Kosovo. In 2014 KEDS declared that around 30% of bills remained unpaid during winter time. If collected they could turn in €200,000 of yearly revenues in Hajvali alone. Identifying the root causes behind nonpayment was the starting point of the project.

Methods of analysis included surveys, regression analysis, and interviews. Forty surveys were conducted with citizens and three professional interviews with a) the director of energy supply for KEDS, Alper Erbas, b) the director of the budget of Kosovo, Agim Krasniqi, and c) Nexhat Syla from the Ministry …