Digital Commons Network^™

Is Knowledge Enough? Exploring Mental Health Literacy And Other Factors Of Help-Seeking In Rural And Urban Emerging-Adult Males, Chris Haydock

Theses

Background and Aim: There is strong evidence to support that mental health concerns become most prevalent among emerging adult males (18-25 years) due to their reluctance to seek-help. Mental Health Literacy (MHL) comprises knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards mental health with some evidence suggesting it also enhances help-seeking. However, research has reported that rural residents are less likely to seek help compared to their urban counterparts, despite similarities in MHL. Other factors that impact help-seeking include self-stigma towards mental illness, masculine norms, wellbeing, and access to care. Despite this, there is limited research investigating the influence of MHL in unison …

Novel Investigations For Reflux Disease And Their Complications In The Oesophagus, Jin-Soo Park

Theses

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a disease process in which gastric acid from the stomach refluxes upwards into the lower oesophagus and causes typical symptoms such as heartburn. In contrast, laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPR) is a reflux disease where stomach contents reflux upward to the upper oesophagus, pharynx, larynx, and lungs. LPR instead causes more nebulous and atypical symptoms such as voice change, chronic cough, and laryngitis. Furthermore, prolonged acid contact can cause cellular changes that increase risk of oesophageal malignancy.

GORD is a prevalent disease, and there are various investigative modalities to assess, diagnose, and quantify its impacts. On …

Advances In Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery: Management And Diagnostic Techniques, Gregory L. Falk

Theses

Upper gastrointestinal surgery has progressively moved from the surgically open abdomen to minimally invasive surgery, largely due to technological improvements in instrumentation. A direct result of this Gestalt has been improved patient comfort, rapid recovery and significantly less length of stay in the hospital and therefore significant cost-savings. This was the key impetus to my development of many of the skills in minimally invasive surgery and the subsequent dissemination to other surgeons in an organized and well-recognized teaching system. Many of the novel techniques of this type of surgery led to several publications both in the English and French oncological …

Anal Cancer Outcome Research Network (Acorn) Baseline Study – 20 Year Retrospective Study From Australia, Jean Wong Dr

Theses

Purpose

Anal cancer is an uncommon condition, occurring at higher rates in specific subpopulations. Clinical experience is limited and substantial changes have recently occurred in our understanding of this condition. We therefore set out to characterise patients presenting with anal cancer and investigate whether there had been any changes over the past 20 years.

Methodology

A retrospective audit of cases identified from pathology databases during the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2019.

Results

224 patients, comprising 162 (72%) males and 62 (28%) females were identified, with a mean age of 54 years (range 30-85) for males and 61 …

At The Heart Of Leviathan: A Hobbesian Reading Of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness, Bethany Lilleyman

Theses

This thesis demonstrates how a historical-philosophical reading of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) through the lens of Thomas Hobbes’ thought can provide new understandings of Conrad’s critique of empire, by extending existing literature on the novella’s historical and politico-philosophical ideas. As Conrad’s use of a literary-impressionistic style has often left readers debating the text’s meaning, the once-canonical novella has come under the intense scrutiny of both readers and scholars alike. This scrutiny intensified with the rise of postcolonialism in the late 1970s, which focused on the novella’s controversial representations of race and imperialism. Tensions surrounding the text have also …

Outlier State: Elite Rhetoric As A Window To Western Australian Regionalism, David Jones

Theses

Western Australia was the last of the Australian self-governing British colonies to agree to join the Australian Federation in 1900 and voted to secede, by a significant electoral margin, in a referendum held in 1933. Some have even argued the State has been a reluctant member of the Federation since this momentous vote. If this is the case, what evidence is there that can justify this perception, and possibly point to enduring underlying factors supporting this Western Australian regionalism sentiment and identity? Many of the drivers which led to the successful secession referendum in 1933 still exist today. The State …

An Exploration Of The Causes And Effects Of Interpersonal Conflict Related Stress Among A Self-Selected Cohort Of Second Level Teachers In Ireland, Patrick Bruce

Theses

Teaching has been classified by researchers as a high stress profession. Stress in teaching has been reported to have many negative health outcomes and also affects productivity. The literature also reports that stress in teaching is a difficult matter to resolve satisfactorily, with mixed outcomes from interventions. An emergent cause of work-related stress in education is IPC and this study sets out to investigate the prevalence of this underreported phenomena.

A sample of 25 teachers working in Irish second level schools were recruited. Semi structured interviews were conducted to report on the experiences of stress, it’s causes and effects both …

Pedagogical Approaches To Enhancing Student Self-Efficacy And Addressing Gender Inequality In Undergraduate Stem, Gintarė Lübeck

Theses

Previous research has shown that the success and retention of students in STEM university programmes are highly correlated with their self-efficacy beliefs, and women and gender minority students in STEM have been consistently found to possess lower self-efficacy than men. Since specific teaching and learning practices are known to contribute to increased self-efficacy and help diversify STEM education, this study sought to identify which pedagogical approaches are effective in creating a more equitable learning environment in introductory STEM classes by positively contributing to students’ self-efficacy. This study employed methodological triangulation and synthesised findings from self-efficacy questionnaires, classroom observations, and a …

The Art Of Framing Lies : Analyzing Detective Fiction, Sarah Cauthen

Theses

In this thesis, I trace the historical timeline of detective fiction and how it has progressed since its introduction. I show how certain authors, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler, have shaped the way mysteries are represented to readers, as well as what each writer has left behind through their works’ legacies. I argue that the plot’s framework in detective stories is molded based on “the art of framing lies,” a phrase introduced by Dorothy L. Sayers. In doing this, the mystery author doesn’t directly lie to the reader, but deceives …

Seasonal Vulnerability Of Snakes To Road Traffic At Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson S. Schoettle

Theses

Snakes are important predators and prey in North American food webs that exhibit seasonal activity patterns in temperate regions. During periods of heightened activity, they will often utilize roads both for traveling from one habitat patch to another and/or for thermoregulation. In this thesis, I explore how human recreational activities impact the diversity and distribution of snake communities by examining the relationships between seasonality of human recreational activities and gravel road closures for waterfowl management on snake road mortality and activity at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alabama, USA. Many studies have investigated how snakes interact with paved roads, …

Nutrient Intakes, Compliance With Recommendations And Key Sources In Women Of Child-Bearing Age (18-50 Y) In Ireland, Abigail O' Mahony

Theses

Women’s pre-conceptional health (including nutritional status) is important for both the health of the individual themselves and also for the lifelong health of any occurring offspring. However, it has been estimated that up to 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, thus optimal nutritional status is important for all women of child-bearing age (WCBA) not just those with pregnancy intentions. Despite the accumulation of evidence of the importance of nutritional status at this life-stage, nutrient recommendations for WCBA for the most part don’t differ from recommendations for other population groups. The notable exception to this is that all WCBA are recommended to …

Genetic Selection For Improved Production Efficiency In The Mature Dairy Herd, Maeve Williams

Theses

Improving dairy cow production efficiency is highly desirable because of its well-documented impact on profitability and sustainability. Long-term gains in dairy cow production efficiency have already been delivered through genetic selection. Nonetheless, achieving further improvements in production efficiency could cement the economic and environmental efficiency of the dairy industry, globally. To date, several components contributing to production efficiency have been overlooked, with many studies focusing on dairy cow production efficiency over short periods rather than lifetime efficiency. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were to quantify the genetic variance components of complementary dairy cow efficiency metrics; including dry matter intake, …

Identification And Creation Of Novel Bacteriocins With Potential Food And Clinical Applications, David Lynch

Theses

Bacteriocins represent a heterogeneous group of small, ribosomal-synthesized, potent antibacterial peptides produced by bacteria, capable of inhibiting bacteria both closely related or indeed those from other genera than the producer. In addition to their role as food preservatives, bacteriocins have potent activity against medically significant pathogens and are considered attractive alternatives to antibiotics, due to their inherent heat stability, potency at nanomolar scale, resistance to proteases and low levels of acquired resistance in commercial applications. The aim of this thesis was to identify, purify and bioengineer novel bacteriocins from Staphylococcus and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), with a view to expanding …

Performance Analysis Of Zero Trust In Cloud Native Systems, Simone Rodigari

Theses

Critical applications demand strong security implementations, low latency and high availability at constant rates, however, the performance of a software system is affected by the implementation of security. This research measures the performance overhead and possible mitigation in cloud native systems secured with a service mesh, which allows enabling security policies for the authentication, authorization and encryption of traffic within distributed systems. The side-car proxy is a core component of this architecture, acting as a policy enforcement point and intercepting networking communication from/to applications part of the mesh, consequently affecting the performance of applications hosted in the cloud. Physical resources …

Antibiotics And Secondary Metabolites Analysis Shell (Antismash) As A Tool To Detect Putative Novel Antibiotics, Rajiv Snape

Theses

In the Hudson Lab, which is focused on discovering new antibiotics, bacteria samples are taken from the environment and cultured in large quantities. Then they are tested for antibiotic resistance before they are sequenced and their secondary metabolite compounds are extracted. This is both a lengthy and expensive process that becomes more and more difficult as the number of samples one is working increases. This project assessed a different approach to rejuvenate antibiotic development with antiSMASH. antiSMASH is an online tool created by collaborators from many different institutions that uses profile Hidden Markov Models (pHMMs) to detect gene clusters which …

Energy Consumption Of Drones For Delivery Usage: Case Study In Dubai, Maitha Huraiz Bin Touq

Theses

In the past couple of years, the dependency of delivery services on road vehicles has increased, compromising the efficiency of this service in urban areas. Aside from efficiency, another issue is the increase in greenhouse emissions, which jeopardizes the government's efforts to reduce dangerous gasses. Drone-based delivery has been highlighted as one of the most promising technologies in the field of delivery systems. This system could ease traffic congestion, expediting delivery efficiency, and in parallel, the use of electrified drones could help with decarbonizing the atmosphere. This study examines the use of drones for delivery in the city of Dubai …

Analysis Of Micro-Perforated Packaging Systems For Minimally Processed Fresh Greens, Heidy Lizardo

Theses

Because of the increased demand for fresh greens presented in an accessible format, the demand for a new packaging technology to extend shelf life has also increased. Micro perforation is a packaging system that allows rapidly modifying headspace gases under refrigerated storage. Previous research has demonstrated that the pattern in which the perforations are aligned in the film affects the gas exchange modification of the package headspace gases. A rapid modification of the headspace gases of the product in the package must be achieved in order to guarantee extended shelf life. Several patterns of micro-perforation location and density have been …

Graph Neural Networks For Ethereum Fraud Detection, Charity Mwanza

Theses

Detecting fraudulent transactions on the Ethereum network can help cryptocurrency companies that operate on the Ethereum platform protect their users from exposure to fraudsters. The most common fraudulent activities in the cryptocurrency network include phishing and smart Ponzi schemes. Since cryptocurrency technology is still young, most investors lack knowledge of how the smart contacts used in the Ethereum platform operate; hence, they cannot evaluate the risks they are exposed to when carrying out cryptocurrency transactions. The key role that this paper looks at is the application of graph neural networks in the extraction of features of users in the Ethereum …

Exergy Analysis Of Nuclear Power Devices For Lunar Power Applications, Griffin Smith

Theses

An exergy-based analysis of a power generation system based on nuclear fission coupled to a Stirling converter is conducted to assess overall system performance. To determine the exergy characteristics of this system, exergy balances are derived for each subsystem and calculated in MATLAB codes. Exergy destruction and exergy efficiency are quantified over the lunar diurnal cycle for each of NASA’s Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) subsystem and the system as a whole. The presented results show that the KRUSTY integrated system efficiency is dependent on specific load profiles, and that constant load profiles result in the highest system exergy …

Evaluation Of Atmospheric Land Exchange Inverse Model Evaporative Stress Index Utilizing Soil Climate Analysis Network Stations In Alabama, Corey Walker

Theses

The Atmospheric Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model uses Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) thermal bands to derive daily evapotranspiration estimates at the continental scale. These data are used to derive a weekly Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) representing standardized anomalies of the actual to potential evapotranspiration ratio (AET/PET). ESI is functionally related to the root zone soil moisture content. As the AET/PET ratio approaches unity, the greater the available water at the root zone is for agricultural fields, whereas the opposite is true during periods of drought. However, the relationship between ALEXI ESI and root zone soil moisture may not be …

Assessment Of Public Transit And Access To Essential Services And Facilities In Huntsville, Alabama, Sachin Shivashankar

Theses

This study aims to investigate the accessibility of public transit within the City of Huntsville, Alabama, in Madison County. Accessibility, in this context, refers to the distance between the residents in a certain census tract to essential amenities such as hospitals, schools, parks, workplaces, and other necessary services using public transportation. Data were obtained from the US Census Bureau and the City of Huntsville's Data Depot, focusing on aspects such as population socio-demographic attributes, and the distribution of essential amenities within the Huntsville city. Utilizing a range of Geographic Information System (GIS) methodologies and tools, including proximity analysis, random forest …

The Spiral Generator : Theory And Methods For Modeling And Fabrication, Jacob Kinsey

Theses

This thesis attempts to confront shortcomings of spiral generator knowledge of testing at low voltages, design techniques of spiral generators, and fabrication methods. To achieve this, basic fabrication methods were employed for generators to be tested at low and high voltage. This effort allowed development of a simple two-frequency model and winding machine. This two-frequency model depicts output waveform amplitude as a scaler of charging voltage and has been found to be adequate for using the model in comparison to less trivial models which can be less accurate in time-domain behavior. An updated winding machine was proposed as a result …

Evaluating The Trade-Offs Of Using Additive Manufacturing For Liquid Rocket Engines, Joshua Buettner

Theses

Liquid rocket engines (LRE) are among the most expensive components of any launch vehicle. While additive manufacturing (AM) shows promise in alleviating some of the costs of LREs, the use of AM could introduce new failure modes which would increase time spent in Test-Fail-Fix. This thesis demonstrates a methodology for understanding the trade-offs of using additive manufacturing for LREs to inform decision making. A decision matrix was used to choose the ideal AM process, and a quantitative model was applied to capture one of the trade-offs of using AM, that being increased surface roughness on LRE performance. A candidate component …

The Impact Of Mkp-2 Deficiency On Hematological Parameters In Diet Challenged Mice, Cassandra Secunda

Theses

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) regulate metabolic homeostasis and MAPK dysfunction promotes metabolic diseases. MAPK phosphatases (MKPs) regulate MAPKs and are implicated in obesity and platelet activation. To elucidate the role of MKP-2 in platelet function and NAFLD, tail bleed, platelet isolation, and western blot assays were performed. MKP-2 KO mice and control mice were fed either a chow or 12- 13 week high fat diet (HFD), a 10 week iron deficient (ID), or an iron supplement (IS) regimen. On the chow diet, the bleeding time was significantly reduced in female MKP-2 KO mice. Male MKP-2 KO IS mice showed significantly …

Analysis Of Interconnected Subreddits On The Reddit Social Network, Lance Lindner

Theses

This thesis analyzes the Reddit social network to identify two aspects of interactions on that platform: (1) implicit leader-follower relationships, which are obtained by mining patterns of user interactions on the network and (2) highly “interconnected” subreddits which are obtained by scoring each subreddit using a “interconnectedness” value derived from the interaction patterns of users across subreddits. The data were obtained from Reddit in 2022 using a custom-built scrapper. This work analyzed 125,000 subreddits. The results show that the most highly connected subreddits on the Reddit network are ones that discuss content considered to be “not suitable for work” (NSFW). …

A Comprehensive Study Of Algorithmic Bias : Fairness In Ai, Ethical And Social Implications In Real World Applications, Lakshitha Rikhab Chand Jain

Theses

Algorithmic bias, also known as algorithmic discrimination or AI bias, is a pervasive phenomenon marked by the systematic and unjust treatment of specific demographic groups based on attributes like race, gender, age or other distinguishing characteristics. The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms across various domains has amplified concerns surrounding algorithmic bias, which has the potential to perpetuate discrimination and deepen societal inequalities. This thesis embarks on a comprehensive exploration of algorithmic bias, delving into its multifaceted nature. It dissects various forms of bias, including selection bias, confirmation bias, and measurement bias, shedding light on the …

Deciphering The Salivary Microbiome In Crohn’S Disease Patients With Different Factors Contributing To Dysbiosis, Hala Elzayat

Theses

Crohn’s Disease (CD) is a chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), common in the UAE. Microbiota is necessary to maintain a balanced gut environment which is essential for good health. Dysbiosis can predispose to many diseases including CD. The oral cavity has the second largest and most diverse microbiota after the gut harboring over 700 species of bacteria. This study aims to investigate the alterations in the salivary microbiome in patients with CD compared to Healthy controls (HC). It also aims to compare CD patients for salivary microbiome complexity and diversity according to different factors that can contribute to dysbiosis, including …

Student Perception On Acceptability And Usefulness Of Sit-Stand Desks In College Classrooms, Abiola Kuilan

Theses

Sedentariness has been proved to be a major cause of various health concerns. Given that a full-time college student in the US spends more than 15 hours per week sitting in a college classroom, it may be an ideal setting for implementation of Sit-Stand Desk (SSD) to reduce college students’ sedentary time. Graduate and undergraduate students (N = 178) of NJIT were randomly recruited to complete a need based online assessment survey. Participants' mean (SD) age was 22.4(4.7) years old, 63% identified as male, 33% identified as female while 4% were of the other gender class. Among the participants, 44.3% …

A Neural Analysis-Synthesis Approach To Learning Procedural Audio Models, Danzel Serrano

Theses

The effective sound design of environmental sounds is crucial to demonstrating an immersive experience. Classical Procedural Audio (PA) models have been developed to give the sound designer a fast way to synthesize a specific class of environmental sounds in a physically accurate and computationally efficient manner. These models are controllable due to the choice of parameters from analyzing a class of sound. However, the resulting synthesis lacks the fidelity for the preferred immersive experience; thus, the sound designer would rather search through an extensive database for real recordings of a target sound class. This thesis proposes the Procedural audio Variational …

Assessing The Health Effects Of Climate Change, Social Vulnerability, And Environmental Justice In Camden County, New Jersey, Daniil Ivanov

Theses

Climate change negatively impacts health, while socially vulnerable and overburdened communities disproportionately experience climate change and negative health determinants. Camden County is used as a case study for analyzing environment, socioeconomics, and health. Environmental variables—PM2.5 and land cover of impervious surfaces, floodplains, and forests—were compared to the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) at the census tract level, finding significant correlations between land cover, air quality, and the SVI. The overburdened communities defined by the NJ Environmental Justice Law experienced a significantly higher incidence of emergency department visitation for respiratory, circulatory, and mental illnesses than non-overburdened communities. Health outcomes were compared …