Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Shear Wave Elastography And B-Mode Ultrasound Measurements As Potential Biomarkers In The Diagnosis And Monitoring Of Patients With Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies: A Novel Approach, Shereen Paramalingam

Theses

Background

Ultrasound (US) modalities, shear wave elastography (SWE), B mode US and power Doppler (PD) show great potential as imaging tools in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), but their utility requires further validation, reliability, and discrimination studies. This data are presented in five result chapters.

Methods

The initial literature review chapters set the foundation for the study. Chapter four assessed the face validity of US by comparing IIM patients and healthy controls. Chapter five aimed to establish criterion validity by comparing US with gold standard techniques. Chapter six and seven were longitudinal studies examining a non-inclusion body myositis (IBM) and IBM …

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 …

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% …

Modeling Of Quad-Station Module Cluster Tools Using Petri Nets, Aung Nay

Theses

The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, and with the recent chip shortage, the throughput of wafers has become more important than ever. One of the tools that the industry has deployed is to use of quad-station modules instead of the traditional single-station modules that allow for higher throughput and better wafer consistency by processing multiple wafers at the same time and distributing work. The industry trend is to use multiple transfer chamber robots to stack the quad-station modules in a series, particularly for etch products. In this work, the quad-station cluster tool wafer movement is modeled by using Petri net …

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 …

Comparison Of Qt And Qtc Interval Measurements From Bedside Electrocardiograms Between Expert Nurses, Bedside Nurses, And Computerized Measurements: A Pilot Study, Karolina Ho

Theses

Prolongation of the QT/QTc (heart rate corrected) >500 milliseconds (msec) measured on the electrocardiogram (ECG) in hospitalized patients is associated with torsade de pointes (TdP). While some bedside ECG monitors now offer continuous QT/QTc software, agreement of these measurements to bedside and/or expert nurses has not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to compare QT/QTc measurements between expert nurses, bedside nurses, both using electronic calipers, and continuous computerized measurements.

Enabling Autonomous Driving Using 5g And Beyond, Mahmoud Wadi

Theses

The number of road accidents reported last year in UAE was 3488 accidents resulted in the death of 381 people. The shift towards the need for an intelligent transport system (ITS) supported by the use of autonomous vehicles (AV) is needed. This paper discusses the evolution of autonomous driving supported with a 5G network mainly focusing on key enabler technologies such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Autonomous driving (AD) is involved in safety applications so the communication system has to be reliable while exchanging communication in real-time with low …

Curating The Agenda: A Review Of The Tenement Museum’S Twitter, Taylor Carpenter

Theses

Most museums have established strong online presences, due in part to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. To stay relevant in the social media sphere, museums must keep up with the speed at which the internet operates. One way of doing this is to follow the current trends and events that are already piquing the interest of those on the internet. However, is it the museum account that follows the current events, or are current events influenced by the museum’s presence? By examining the Tenement Museum’s Twitter account through the agenda-setting and agenda-melding theories, this paper seeks to answer the …

Through Elijah’S Eyes, Zack Stone

Theses

Through Elijah’s Eyes is a feature-length script that is about an oral deaf teenager who is frustrated by his hearing family for not following his desire as a deaf person. He escapes from his uneasy home to the streets where he skates. To cope with his anger, Elijah turns to graffiti, an art form that allows him to express his feelings to the world in a loud voice. Elijah is a talented Artist, even though, being in homeschool doesn’t allow him to enjoy the exploration of his true colors; the exploration that the world has to offer, filled with opportunities …

Shape Optimization Of Spherical And Cylindrical Bearings Under Pure Squeeze Conditions Using Genetic Algorithms, Vibhav Santhanam

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the optimal shape of lubricated axisymmetric spherical bearing cups and symmetric journal bearing sleeves under transient pure squeeze conditions using a genetic algorithm. The objective is to maximize the load impulse of a perfectly spherical ball or perfectly cylindrical journal interacting through a thin lubricant film with a generally non-spherical cup or non-cylindrical sleeve to achieve a specified minimum film thickness value. A generation is a set of bearing shapes over the design space encoded as binary chromosomes. A finite element model simulates the normal approach of the ball or journal to …

Addressing The Drug Problem: The Establishment Of Drug Courts And Evaluating Their Effectiveness, Diana Blick

Theses

Throughout the United States during the past few decades, there have been problems with the use of drugs. There has and always have been issues with drug addiction and drug crimes in terms of how to address those problems. From the harsh consequences of the Rockefeller Drug laws in 1973 to the establishment of the first drug court in 1989, there have been reforms to the drug laws to reduce the severity for punishments of drug offenses. The first drug court in the United States was established in Miami, Florida before spreading throughout the United States. The first drug court …

Effect Of Plasma Treatment On Soil Degradation Of A Biodegradable Mulch Film, Swapnil Bhattacharya

Theses

Biodegradable Mulch Films (BMFs) offer a sustainable alternative to traditional non-degradable PE mulch films. However, their slow rate of biodegradation can lead to plastics accumulation in the soil. In this study, a commercially available BMF based on polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA) is examined. Here the effects of gliding arc plasma treatment on the bulk and surface properties, as well as its soil degradation behavior, is studied. An increase in surface oxygen containing species and hydrophilicity was observed following plasma treatment. Only a small hydrophobic recovery was noted over 30 days. No changes in the bulk polymer …

Inflation Targeting In Mongolia: A Var Model Analysis, Anujin Nergui

Theses

This study aims to conduct a descriptive analysis of inflation targeting in Mongolia. In this context, I will assess whether the current inflation targeting practice of Mongolia is classified as a fully-fledged, eclectic, or inflation targeting lite regime. Then I will verify that Mongolia validates the prerequisites necessary for the implementation of fully fledged inflation targeting. Finally, I will proceed to a VAR model analysis aiming to describe the determinants of inflation. The results show that the inflation targeting practice of Mongolia falls in inflation targeting lite countries categorization and most of the prerequisites to adopt fully fledged inflation targeting …

Mythos, Mattea R. Guldy

Theses

Mythos is an animated TV series pitch created by Mattea Guldy and Selma Peña. The pitch consists of a pitch deck, a set of 3 scripts, and an animated proof of concept. I worked on the art for the pitch deck as well as the animated proof of concept, while Selma worked on the writing of the pitch deck and the set of 3 scripts. The ultimate goal of our series is to explore the themes of self-love and appreciation through the lens of friendship and comedy. Utilizing mythical creatures as a vessel for a universal appeal to any demographic …

Predicting Failure Rate Of Oil & Gas Equipment Using Ml, Shaima Alblooshi

Theses

Value of time has become an important perspective in business application ranging from day to day working to big businesses. The value of time is more important in the case of refinery business which has become of paramount importance with increasing energy needs. The main point of contention in refinery operations is the periodic maintenance of the pipelines which consumes of valuable time and resources. With a proper solution which can cater the time requirements of the lead time. The fact is that time consumption is extremely critical for the operations of refinery. Therefore, the application of machine learning is …

Identifying Prospective Clients For Long-Term Bank Deposit, Mohamed Al Hammadi

Theses

The numerous characteristics of customers are often kept in bank databases, which are utilized to understand who they are. But it has been found in recent years that utilizing different Data Mining and Feature Selection (PCA) methods, customer traits and other factors connected to bank services have a big influence on consumers' decisions. Business analytics is an approach to conducting business that uses transactional data from an organization to acquire knowledge of how business operations can be enhanced by employing data mining methods to determine existing patterns that a firm can incorporate to generate significant data-driven choices to choose significant …

Machine Learning In Agriculture: Crop Yield Prediction, Hames Sherif

Theses

The amount of crops harvested varies every year due to changes in climate and other operational as well as economic factors. Predicting the amount of crops a land will produce will result in more efficient field operations and management. At a national level, crop yield prediction can help work towards achieving food security. This, at a global level, will serve as a step towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger. This research identifies the significant factors that affect the production of staple crops in regions with desert and semi-arid climate in Africa and predict their yield. Different techniques …

Mythos, Selma Pena Arenzana

Theses

Mythos is a 2D animated series project developed by Mattea Guldy and Selma Peña. The story revolves around a fairy named Marina and her misfit friends Enki the faun, Demetri the unicorn, and The Kodama, a cute forest spirit. The project consists of a series pitch with a pilot, an episode of the series, a pitch deck, and an animated proof of concept. Our fantastical world aims to represent the diversity of human beings and make the audience question where their beliefs and conceptions come from. The story's main plot is the following: Marina, a fairy descendant from the creature …

How Do Academic Advisors Intentionally Design Their Office Space To Be More Inviting? A Qualitative Study On Office Décor And Self-Disclosure, Jessica Garcia

Theses

Academic advising has been part of institutions of higher education in the United States since the early 19th century. With the rise of incoming students each year and the wide range of majors and programs colleges offer, advisors are necessary to help guide students through their academic careers. This paper presents a qualitative study on how advisors intentionally create a space that encourages communication and collaboration within an advisor-advisee relationship. The theoretical framework used in this study is Social Penetration Theory, which suggests that facilitating self-disclosure will also support relationship development. For this research, academic advisors working at two different …

Study Of Dual-Tapered Manifold Microgap Spacing And Taper Angle On Pool Boiling Characteristics, Chad Wake

Theses

The miniaturization of electronic components has resulted in higher heat generation on a smaller surface area, creating a desire for better heat removal techniques and systems. To improve the performance of the pool boiling system, high critical heat flux and low surface temperatures are desired for efficient heat removal. External structures are one technique that seeks to improve pool boiling performance by passively regulating the flow of vapor away from the boiling surface. The present work seeks to study the effect of dual-taper manifold inlet gap height and taper angle on boiling performance through a parametric study with a copper …

Rite Of Identity, Youmee Lee

Theses

Rite of Identity, a graduate thesis film, is a 2D animated visual poem of deaf children’s experiences. The film follows the protagonist’s journey in navigating a visual realm and a black-and-white realm, which represent the deaf world and the hearing world. Childhood experiences of struggling to assimilate into mainstream society are conveyed through the protagonist in the black-and-white realm. The purpose of the film is to encourage the viewers to think about what it is like for a child to be underestimated and to struggle with a soundscape that is not perceived naturally in the realm. Deaf children have a …

Balanced Ar Glasses System Between Text And Image Information Helps People Get A Better Reading Skill, Libo Jiang

Theses

Nowadays, people prefer browsing images and videos on their phones rather than reading a book (Thain 2018). Even if they decide to read something, they are still heavily distracted by electronic devices. In my thesis, I’m trying to balance the visual and text information and help people to stay more focused while reading. My solution: Focus is an AR glasses system that recognizes the contents users are viewing and records users’ reading and image browsing time. And users have to earn image/video time by reading the text. The glasses block images/videos if they run out of image time.

The Role Of Lipocalin 2 In Type 1 Diabetic Osteopathy, Rawan Mahmoud Bdair

Theses

Lipocalin 2 (LCN2), also known as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), plays an important role in the innate immune response and functions as a growth factor. The role of LCN2 as an anti-inflammatory protein and its function in bone metabolism is poorly understood. It is hypothesized that the administration of Lipocalin-2 in diabetic and non-diabetic rats will positively improve the bone microstructure. This study investigated the effect of lipocalin2 on bone metabolism in type 1 diabetic osteopathy (T1DO). Three-month-old male Wistar rats (n=24) were obtained from the animal house facility at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) for this study. All animal …

The Impact Of The Male Gaze: Femininity And Female Sexuality In Shunga Prints Of The Edo Period, Meredith Keukelaar

Theses

The Edo period of Japan (1603-1868) was a time of great cultural and economic growth as the country flourished from political stability under the Tokugawa clan’s rule for over two centuries. During this time, many prints, illustrated books, and paintings were created, the most famous of which are known as ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world.” A popular sub-genre of ukiyo-e were the erotic shunga prints, created by and primarily for men. While most of these prints were heterosexual in nature, there were still several works that depicted homosexual relations. The majority were of male homosexuality, but scenes of …

The Right To Transparency And The Right To Opacity: The Works Of Safaa Mazirh And Alia Ali, Katherine Vines

Theses

This research focuses on a study of the photographic works of two contemporary female photographers from the MENA region: Alia Ali and Safaa Mazirh. Rather than trying to define art in the region and its diasporas, this research stresses the distinctiveness of two artists' specific experiences in relation to gender, religion, tradition, and modernity. A common thread is the constant navigation between the artists’ lived experiences of their postcolonial reality and collective memories of the colonial past. When comparing these artists, I argue that viewing their works in conjunction highlights the principle of “the right to opacity” as discussed by …

The Democratization Of Art: Placemaking Initiatives In Rural Spaces, Sarah Leigh Ayers

Theses

Creative placemaking is defined as when artists, arts organizations and community development practitioners deliberately integrate the arts and culture into revitalization work. Examining the historical context and implementation of creative placemaking practices before the coining of the term, the following essay uses Marxist and Post-Modern methodologies to examine the ways in which art can serve as a tool for driving economic growth while exploring the socio. Using examples ranging from politically driven initiative the New Deal to non-profit contemporary art museum La Chinati in Marfa, Texas, I examine the ways that culturally-driven projects have affected the rural communities in which …

The Death Of Malls: The Rise Of E-Commerce And Digitally Native Brands, Alexis Montgomery

Theses

Since the mid-2000s, malls and retail brick and mortar stores have been on the decline. Stores not making enough revenue in-person; the rise of online shopping and e-commerce, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rise of digitally native brands have contributed to this. This research aims to figure out how the current consumer atmosphere, as well as how the rise of e-commerce and digital marketing, will impact the mall of the future. This research aims to discover how local malls are faring, if stores are truly closing and if national retail brands are pulling out of malls. This research also aims …

En’S Adventure: Exploring Modern Design Mechanics In Retro Adventure Games, Frank Fasola

Theses

This project focuses creating a small game prototype that can be used to build a full game around. The primary focus is to create a short experience to establish the mechanics and gameplay of the game. Games made in the style of retro games are released every year, but most of these games strive to provide the same experience from the late 1980s. The project is a top down 2D retro adventure game made using modern techniques and learning from game development in the 30 years since these games were released.

Beyond Elements And Principles: Bringing A Visual Culture Curriculum To High School Art, Julie Winston

Theses

The elements and principles of design are the building blocks that art students use to create a composition. These foundational tools have been used by art students throughout their elementary and secondary school years, as required by state and national art standards. This project is an example of how to enrich high school introductory art classes by implementing lessons that include visual culture education. A combination of successful art museum teen programs and existing visual culture curriculum were used to aid in the development of a semester’s worth of lessons that emphasize visual culture. Visual culture curricula produces more student …

Evolution Of Authenticity: Investigating The (De)Restoration Of Ancient Sculpture (De)Restorations In The 1970s, Amelia Griese

Theses

This thesis focuses on the period of de-restoration of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the 1970s. While three distinct periods of restoration history have been well-defined by scholars (17th to 19th century, the 1970s, and modern-day), the discussion of the motivations behind the focus on purism that led to de-restoration in the 1970s are lacking in the literature. The Lansdowne Herakles and the Aegina Marbles will be used in this analysis because of their illustration of the different periods of restoration history. While both the Lansdowne Herakles and the Aegina Marbles were de-restored in the 1970s, their fate in …