Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Success In An Associate Nursing Program Utilizing Comprehensive Examination Scores, Deborah Sue Judge

Theses

The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between the scores obtained on the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) tests and the results of the first attempt on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). A quantitative approach was utilized for this study. The dependent variable for the study was the results of the NLCEX-RN on the first attempt. The independent variables were the ATI adjusted individual total scores that include the medical-surgical, mental health, maternal-newborn, fundamentals, the comprehensive predictor test, and the TEAS exam score.

Forgetting And The Value Of Social Information, Benjamin James Abts

Theses

Information is everywhere in nature, however it can be deceitful or incorrect, so not all information should be used. Foraging pollinators utilize variable and ephemeral resources so learning about patch quality and nectar replenishment rates are essential to success and survival. However, remembering information after it is no longer relevant is not advantageous. It has been theorized that a pollinator’s memory should reflect their environment. Bumblebees are known to use both personal information (information gathered through trial and error) and social information (information gained through observations of or interactions with other animals or their products) in foraging decisions; however, it …

Identification And Characterization Of The Anticancer Potential Of Indigenous Medicinal Plants Of The Arabian Peninsula, Sameera Omar Mohammed Saeed Balhamar

Theses

Indigenous plant species historically used for their medicinal properties are a tremendous source for bringing newer and safer drugs to the market. A concerted effort is needed to characterize their medicinal potential and identify new molecules that could be exploited in modern medicine. The current study was undertaken to study the anticancer properties of several indigenous plants that are used by the local population of the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for various medicinal purposes. Towards this end, we acquired different plant extracts from five plants, namely Boswellia sacra (BS), Cleome droserifolia (CD), Teucrium muscatensis (TM), Orchadenus arabicus (OA), and Acredocarpus …

The Effect Of Acute Supplementation Of Sodium Bicarbonate And Caffeine On Anaerobic Running Performance, Kyle E. Witherbee

Theses

Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and caffeine are two sport supplements that have been widely explored for their possible ergogenic effects during exercise. Few studies have looked at sodium bicarbonate and caffeine supplementation together and no studies have included a running test.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sodium bicarbonate and caffeine, both independent and synergistically, on a field-based intermittent sprint test.

Methods: Three men and 10 women, of recreational fitness level, completed this research study. On four separate visits, participants consumed a supplement solution in randomized order of 300mg/kg NaHCO3, 5mg/kg caffeine, 300mg/kg …

Growth Promotion Of Tomato By The Implementation Of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria And Plant Growth Regulators -Producing Bacteria In Calcareous Saline Soil In The United Arab Emirates, Asma Hamad Alsedeeri

Theses

In the present thesis, the ability of different plant growth promoting actinomycetes to promote the growth of tomato plants under saline conditions was examined using phosphorus solubilizing actinomycetes and/or plant growth regulates producing actinomycetes compared to tomato plants grown in soil not amended with any actinomycetes isolates. The overall aim of the present project was to determine whether enhanced phosphorus solubilization, as a result of soil inoculation with either phosphorus-solubilizing actinomycetes and/or with the production of plant growth regulators by plant growth promoting actinomycetes or the combination of both characteristics will results in the promotion of tomato plant growth.

To …

My Father’S Secret, Yumeng Zhang

Theses

My thesis My Father’s Secret is a 20-minute short fiction film. It tells the story of a 17- year-old schoolboy Ying and his single father Hua, who live in a small town in China. Ying’s life is very peaceful until one day he finds out his father’s secret, that Hua had a gay lover Uncle Feng, the man who claimed to be Hua’s friend. Ying’s life changes and to make it worse, he learns that his father is dying. Ying has to accept the truth and, at the same time, begins to learn how to get along with Uncle Feng. …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Identify Habitat For The Golden-Winged Warbler (Vermivora Chrysoptera) In Western New York, Jesse Michael Rubenstein

Theses

The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) is a passerine species whose populations have decreased internationally by approximately 66 percent since the 1960s, and by approximately 50 percent in New York. Major causes for declines are from loss of shrubland habitat and through hybridization with the Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera). This study utilized published data and expert opinion on Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) habitat requirements to create habitat suitability models within the Western Finger Lakes Region of NY (NYSDEC Region 8) using a geographic information system. This region is an important area for migratory birds and is previously unstudied for GWWA. The concentration …

Accounting For The Language Variance In Executive Function, Jessica Contreras

Theses

Language is considered an important precursor for executive function (EF) development, with advantages shown for bilinguals. The current study explored the impact of early bilingual language experience (spoken and sign language) on executive functions. Participants were deaf college students with cochlear implants. Participants language experiences were diverse. They varied in American Sign Language (ASL) and English proficiency, reported various ages for sign language acquisition, and reported different ages of implantation. Results indicate that age of acquisition, age of implantation, and English and ASL proficiency have no effect on these participants’ performance on the Color Trails Test, a measure of EF. …

Comparative Study Of Nutrient Uptake Between Sorghum X Drummond Ii And Cyperus Conglomeratus, A Desert Sedge Native To The Uae, Safaa Ahmed Aldhanhani

Theses

Sudan grass (Sorghum x drummondii) is commonly grown for the production of animal fodder in the UAE. Cyperus conglomeratus (locally termed ‘Thenda’) is a sedge native to the UAE, and one of the very few plants that colonize soils of shifting desert dunes. The native plant is grazed by camels, and may thus have a potential for animal feed production. While Sudan grass is a mycotrophic plant that normally lives in symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for facilitation of nutrient uptake, C. conglomeratus is a non-host to these root symbionts. In the desert sedges rhizosheaths comprising of dense coats of …

The "Rib" Of The South? An Analysis Of Feminine Agency Among Southern Elite Women Of The Antebellum Period (1815-1860), Louann Marie Sabatini

Theses

No abstract provided.

Settlement Of Larval Spotted Sand Bass (Paralabrax Maculatofasciatus) Within Mission Bay, San Diego Ca In Relation To Environmental Conditions, Anthony J. Basilio

Theses

Monitoring the number of larvae that have recently settled and how this varies in relation to environmental conditions provides insight into future population strength, which is a fundamental goal of marine ecology as well as fisheries management. This research focused on characterizing the settlement patterns of spotted sand bass (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus), a recreationally important species that utilizes bays and estuaries as nursery habitat. To quantify P. maculatofasciatus settlement patterns, three larval collectors were installed near the mouth of Mission Bay, San Diego CA, and retrieved weekly from June – October of 2012 – 2015. Larvae were counted, and …

Improving The Performance Of Promol By Integrating Communal Database Access, Alexander Grier

Theses

The ability of structural genomics consortia to determine protein structures more quickly than the proteins can be functionally annotated by conventional experimental means has generated a significant bottleneck that inhibits the progress of certain areas of biological and medical research. This issue is currently being addressed in part by the development of computational resources, which can suggest functions for proteins of interest based on their structure. ProMOL is such a resource, and the method that it employs is based on detecting, in structures of unknown function, motifs of known function from a template library. Access to ProMOL results has been …

Hyperspectral Vehicle Brdf Learning: An Exploration Of Vehicle Re Ectance Variation And Optimal Measures Of Spectral Similarity For Vehicle Reacquisition And Tracking Algorithms, Joseph Svejkosky

Theses

The spectral signatures of vehicles in hyperspectral imagery exhibit temporal variations due to the preponderance of surfaces with material properties that display non-Lambertian bi-directional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs). These temporal variations are caused by changing illumination conditions, changing sun-target-sensor geometry, changing road surface properties, and changing vehicle orientations. To quantify these variations and determine their relative importance in a sub-pixel vehicle reacquisition and tracking scenario, a hyperspectral vehicle BRDF sampling experiment was conducted in which four vehicles were rotated at different orientations and imaged over a six-hour period. The hyperspectral imagery was calibrated using novel in-scene methods and converted to …

The Realization And Study Of Optical Wings, Alexandra Brae Artusio-Glimpse

Theses

Consider the airfoil: a carefully designed structure capable of stable lift in a uniform air flow. It so happens that air pressure and radiation (light) pressure are similar phenomena because each transfer momentum to flow-disturbing objects. This, then, begs the question: does an optical analogue to the airfoil exist? Though an exceedingly small effect, scientists harness radiation pressure in a wide gamut of applications from micromanipulation of single biological particles to the propulsion of large spacecrafts called solar sails. We introduce a cambered, refractive rod that is subjected to optical forces analogous to those seen in aerodynamics, and I call …

Cohousing In The Flower City: A Carbon Capture Design, Samuel Elliot

Theses

Our climate is changing rapidly due to an excess of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. A major force behind the release of these gases is the means by which we generate our energy — the combustion of fossil fuels. One of the biggest drivers of this energy demand within the United States is our built environment and more pointedly our cold-climate, urban based, residential building stock. All signs indicate that unless steps are taken, this demand will continue to grow. Ed Mazria’s Architecture 2030 Challenge proposes an ambitious plan for achieving carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030. What if …

Investigating The Role Of Anaerobic Bacteria In Colorectal Carcinoma, Oluwadara Coker

Theses

Colorectal cancer (CRC), with multifactorial influences of genetic, molecular, inflammatory, and environmental factors, is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Due to the high diversity and concentration of microbes found in the human colon, the microbiome has become a prime suspect of being a biological contributor. This prompts the need to investigate the relationship between microorganisms and CRC. Recent studies have shown that Fusobacterium nucleatum, Campylobacter showae, Leptrotrichia buccalis, and Selenomonas sputigena are overrepresented in colon tumors. These anaerobes have known associations to the oral microbiome and cause infections. Here, these findings are further expanded in an experimental attempt to …

An Empirical Study On Code Comprehension: Dci Compared To Oo, Hector A. Valdecantos

Theses

Comprehension of source code affects software development, especially its maintenance where reading code is the most time consuming performed activity. A programming paradigm imposes a style of arranging the source code that is aligned with a way of thinking toward a computable solution. Then, a programming paradigm with a programming language represents an important factor for source code comprehension. Object-Oriented (OO) is the dominant paradigm today. Although, it was criticized from its beginning and recently an alternative has been proposed. In an OO source code, system functions cannot escape outside the definition of classes and their descriptions live inside multiple …

Carbon Nanotube Arrays For Intracellular Delivery And Biological Applications, Masoud Golshadi

Theses

Introducing nucleic acids into mammalian cells is a crucial step to elucidate biochemical pathways, modify gene expression in immortalized cells, primary cells, and stem cells, and intoduces new approaches for clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. Current gene transfer technologies, including lipofection, electroporation, and viral delivery, have enabled break-through advances in basic and translational science to enable derivation and programming of embryonic stem cells, advanced gene editing using CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), and development of targeted anti-tumor therapy using chimeric antigen receptors in T-cells (CAR-T). Despite these successes, current transfection technologies are time consuming and limited by the inefficient …

Retopologizing Mri And Diffusion Tensor Tractography Datasets For Real-Time Interactivity, R. Scott Riddle

Theses

Current technology allows MRI and other patient data to be translated into voxel-based 3D models for the purpose of visualization. However, these voxel models are extremely complex and are not suitable for rapid real-time manipulation. For true “on-the-fly” interactivity, polygon-based models must be hand-built using other methods and imported into a game engine.This project develops an algorithm to translate complex datasets into optimized models for real-time interactivity without sacrificing accuracy of the original imaging modality. A working prototype, ready for integration into game engines, has been built with brain tumor data exported from OSIRIX1 and 3D Slicer2 via Mudbox3, retopologized …

Funeral Home Or Ritualistic Edifice? An Assessment Of An Enigmatic Structure At The Late Pre-Hispanic Site Of Panquilma, Central Coast Peru, Alysia Ashley Leon

Theses

Mortuary remains within an archaeological context can illuminate the social and political aspects not only of the individual(s) buried, but also of the living who interred them. Although this is so, a consensus has not been reached in regard to the following questions: how can we determine the social identity of the living that interred the dead? What are the implications of the living-dead interaction, and how do mortuary practices alter social memory in order to fit political needs? This thesis constitutes an initial attempt to answer these questions while examining pre-internment mortuary practices, and associated ideologies regarding the afterlife …

The Effects Of Starter Fertilizer On Soybean Infected With Fusarium Virguliforme Or Rhizoctonia Solani, Jesse Alan Miller

Theses

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF JESSE MILLER, for the Master of Science degree in PLANT, SOIL, and AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, presented on May 13, 2016 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE EFFECTS OF STARTER FERTILIZER ON SOYBEAN INFESTED WITH FUSARIUM VIRULIFORME OR RHIZOCTONIA SOLANI MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Jason Bond Fusarium virguliforme (Aoki), the fungus that causes sudden death syndrome of soybeans (SDS), is prevalent in most of the soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) production regions throughout the United States. Sudden death syndrome management has been limited to cultural practices and host resistance. Rhizoctonia solani (Kühn) is a fungus responsible …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Derived Relational Responding, Verbal Operant Development, And Linguistic Structure: Correlating The Peak-E-Pa, The Ablls-R, And The Told-I:4, Bridget Munoz

Theses

The increasing prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder has produced a longstanding relevance for continued progressive measures towards a systematic approach to the treatment of deficient language repertoires. Current behavior analytic assessments, such as the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABLLS-R), have demonstrated utility in providing relative measures of the functional characteristics of an individual’s language and learner repertoire, as consistent with a traditional Skinnerian approach. Further assessments have been created under other existing theoretical frameworks, such as the Test of Language Development (TOLD), and the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System (PEAK). Each assessment was …

Investigation Of Methods For Machine Learning Associations Between Genetic Variations And Phenotype, Amanda M. Hartung

Theses

The relationship between genetics and phenotype is a complex one that remains poorly understood. Many factors contribute to the relationship between genetic variations and differences in phenotype. An improved understanding of the genetic underpinnings of various phenotypes can help us make important advances in testing for, preventing, treating, and curing a number of diseases and disorders.

The recent popularization of direct-to-consumer sequencing services, coupled with consumers releasing their genetic information for public use, has led to an unprecedented level of access to genetic information. Crowd-sourcing the problem of developing robust genome-wide association techniques for ever larger amounts of data is …

Limitation Of Invasive Plant Colonization By Native Shrubs During Forested Wetland Restoration, Kaitlyn E. Moranz

Theses

Rapid colonization by invasive plants can lead to failures of wetland restoration, particularly in forested wetlands where mature plant communities are slow to develop. To develop more effective methods for reducing the spread of invasive plants, I tested the hypothesis that planting native shrubs during the early stages of wetland creation can provide an alternative to herbicides by enhancing competition for light and other resources with invasive herbaceous plants, such as Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass). Planting native shrub live stakes in two created forested wetlands in Western New York State, USA, increased overall native herbaceous plant cover and biodiversity …

Predicting Choices In Bumblebees (Bombus Impatiens): Learning Rules And The Two-Armed Bandit, Isabel Lucia Rojas-Ferrer

Theses

Animals must make estimates about possible resources in order to choose the resource which will save them time and energy while conferring high energetic content. In order to make the most optimal decision, foragers must use various parameters to come up with an accurate estimate for each possible alternative. Learning rules allow us the possibility of analyzing which parameters animals may be using in order to make the best decision. We use compare known learning rules (i.e. Linear Operator Rule, Relative Payoff Sum Rule, Perfect Memory) and experimental data extracted from bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) subjected to a two armed bandit …

Development Of Nanosphere Lithography For Semiconductor Device Applications, Xing Lei

Theses

Nanosphere lithography, a technique of generating hexagonally packed monolayers with nanospheres, has been studied and been shown to increase the efficiency of the devices such as light emitting diodes and solar cells. In this research, the fabrication of nanosphere lithography was explored with the aim of identifying robust deposition methods. Two resultant methods yielded large (1 cm by 1 cm) monolayers of nanospheres, with further mask modification via sphere diameter reduction using reactive ion etch. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements confirmed the existence of the monolayer and the enhancement due to the addition of nanospheres. A thin layer of aluminum was deposited …

Discovery, Cloning, Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Phosphoglycolate Phosphatase From Staphylococcus Aureus, Isreal Moreno

Theses

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. The multi-drug resistant nature of certain S. aureus strains makes the discovery of new drug targets for S. aureus vital. A newly discovered virulence factor from S. aureus was described as an ortholog of NagD from E. coli, a member of the nitrophenyl phosphatase family of the HAD (Haloacid Dehalogenase) superfamily. This thesis will show that this virulence factor is not an ortholog of NagD UMPase from E. coli, but rather a phosphoglycolate phosphatase (PGPase). If phosphoglycolate accumulates in the cell, it will inhibit the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (TPI). …

Knowledge-Based Decision Making For Simulating Cyber Attack Behaviors, Stephen Frank Moskal

Theses

Computer networks are becoming more complex as the reliance on these network increases in this era of exponential technological growth. This makes the potential gains for criminal activity on these networks extremely serious and can not only devastate organizations or enterprises but also the general population. As complexity of the network increases so does the difficulty to protect the networks as more potential vulnerabilities are introduced. Despite best efforts, traditional defenses like Intrusion Detection Systems and penetration tests are rendered ineffective to even amateur cyber adversaries. Networks now need to be analyzed at all times to preemptively detect weaknesses which …

Remote Access And Computerized User Control Of Robotic Micromanipulators, Ryan M. Dunn

Theses

Nano- and micromanipulators are critical research tools in numerous fields including micro-manufacturing and disease study. Despite their importance, nano- and micromanipulation systems remain inaccessible to many groups due to price and lack of portability. An intuitive and remotely accessible manipulation system helps mitigate this access problem. Previously, optimal control hardware for single-probe manipulation and the effect of latency on user performance were not well understood. Remote access demands full computerization; graphical user interfaces with networking capabilities were developed to fulfill this requirement and allow the use of numerous hardware controllers. Virtual environments were created to simulate the use of a …

A Temporally Coherent Neural Algorithm For Artistic Style Transfer, Michael Dushkoff

Theses

Within the fields of visual effects and animation, humans have historically spent countless painstaking hours mastering the skill of drawing frame-by-frame animations. One such animation technique that has been widely used in the animation and visual effects industry is called "rotoscoping" and has allowed uniquely stylized animations to capture the motion of real life action sequences, however it is a very complex and time consuming process. Automating this arduous technique would free animators from performing frame by frame stylization and allow them to concentrate on their own artistic contributions. This thesis introduces a new artificial system based on an existing …