Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of Conventional And New Technology Gravure Cylinders In Terms Of Image Quality, Chandramohan Seetharamiah Srinivasaraju

Theses

Gravure is losing package printing market share to Flexo in North America. Closing the cost gap between flexo and gravure is a prerequisite to regaining market share. This could be accomplished by adopting new cylinder technologies that reduce the cost of cylinder preparation and the size of cylinder inventories. This study examined one such technology, RotoHybrid Cylinders. RotoHybrid is new to the gravure industry and has just entered beta testing. Gravure printers would like to understand how RotoHybrid and Conventional Chrome cylinders compare in term of ability to print images. This research assessed image quality differences between conventional Chrome cylinders …

Design And Fabrication Of A Remote-Controlled Plane For The Advanced Class Sae Aero Design Competition, Simon Esau

Theses

The goal of the present research is to optimize the radio-controlled airplane design for the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE) Aero Design Advanced Class competition. The SAE Aero Design Advanced Class seeks to further research and development of an aeronautic system that can deliver cargo and passengers to form a colony on Mars. Mission success is achieved by attending to the rules, constraints, and requirements of the competition. System-level engineering is applied to meet these diverse requirements and create a robust final product. The radio-controlled airplane submitted for competition can theoretically be scaled to carry colonists, habitats, and supplies …

Controlled Release Chemical Oxidation: Sodium Persulfate Encapsulated In Pvac Polymer, Mosarrat Samiha Kabir

Theses

In this study, sodium persulfate was encapsulated in polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) polymer to investigate the potential of activated persulfate to remediate total coliform and E. coli bacteria from contaminated water through a control release system. Controlled release structures were produced with the polymer and persulfate melted to form pellets at two different baking times. CRP structures containing 60 weight % sodium persulfates blended with 40 weight % polyvinyl acetate (PS- PVAc) were baked for 4 minutes and 10 minutes at 120ºC. The kinetics release of sodium persulfate was studied in a water system and in sand columns. Experimental results showed …

Feasibility Of Integrating Microfluidics Into Point-Of-Care Bio-Diagnostics, Swetha Manoharan

Theses

Potassium in the body needs to be maintained in proper levels for the normal functioning of heart and kidneys. The aim of this work is to develop a simple technique to measure the concentration of Potassium present in a bodily fluid sample, which can be used to assess the health condition of extremely sick patients, especially when the patient's condition needs to be diagnosed and results needs to be obtained rapidly under Point-of-Care settings. Microfluidics is one of the platforms used in bio-diagnostics because of several advantages such as low sample volume requirement and integration into high-throughput screening. In this …

Consumer Considerations Of Local Value-Added Dairy Products In North Carolina's Triangle, Gabriel Adjei Agyekum

Theses

The global and domestic dairy markets promise exciting opportunities for companies willing to adapt to a continuously evolving consumer market. However, local dairy farmers face a myriad of challenges as they navigate low milk prices, shrinking margins, increasing production cost, and a rising demand for plant-based varieties of milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy-based foods. The goal of this research was to investigate consumer behavior towards value-added local dairy products in North Carolina’s Triangle cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Data were used from an overarching project with collected data from food consumers in the triangle tri-city area using …

Music Retrieval System Using Dynamic Time Warping, Emeka Jude Okafor

Theses

With the growth of digital audio data, various and fast access to music data is strongly desired, especially for large music databases. A more natural way to retrieve a song from a database will be to hum to the tune. To relate and compare musical pieces is a very complex task. Musical compositions usually collapse multiple information sources and complex, multifaceted interactions established between parts. Despite such degrees of complexity, humans are outstandingly good at performing individual musical judgments with little conscious effort, while a computer cannot efficiently achieve this task. In this work, we focus on one such task: …

Exploring The Role Of Twitter As A Public Sphere That Facilitates Civil Discourse, Niamh Smith

Theses

Recognising the polarising nature of discourse today, this research analyses online discussion platforms and their potential as modern public spheres. It is particularly concerned with the importance of civility as an aspect of conversation, and whether the online environment aids in civil discourse. Twitter has been chosen as the online platform that is the focus of this study. This is to allow for a more in-depth exploration of a public sphere that exists online. Key themes that distinguish Twitter from public spheres that exist offline are discussed. These include: anonymity, public shaming, social control, and distortions. This research relies on …

Occupant Evacuation Behavior In Wildfires: Gap Analysis, Agnes Ampomah

Theses

This thesis investigates the impacts wildfires have on those who live within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. The Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) sponsored this investigation to provide insight on information concerning evacuee pre-movement delays and behaviors before the beginning of an evacuation, both in terms of types of behaviors and elapsed time for these delays. Furthermore, the analysis of evacuee behavior in wildfire past and present evacuations will assist in the construction of future evacuation models that will mitigate evacuee loses during evacuations. The investigation is based on literature reviews on wildfires and their evacuation processes, past and …

What’S In A Name? Rhetorical And Political Naming In Toni Morrison’S Song Of Solomon, Kristen V. Edwards

Theses

This thesis aims to examine the usage and history of the various racial labels attributed to Black Americans and how the cyclical usage of Negro, Black, Colored, and African American are a haunting that Black people will most likely face again. As these terms do not fulfill a nationalistic identity, the quest for a satisfactory term still exists. To illustrate this journey, examining the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison will expose how her text subtly charges the reader to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Not only is the reader charged to “know thy self”, but they are …

Control Of Separated Flow Using A Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator, Mahdi Hasan

Theses

Historically, Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuators have shown to be an effective method to control adverse pressure gradient induced boundary layer separation. In this study, a numerical investigation was carried out to explore the effects of a DBD plasma actuator on a three-dimensional incompressible, separated flow. The well-validated National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wall-mounted hump configuration studied in the simulations, were run at a Reynolds Number of 936,000, based on chord length, and a freestream Mach number of 0.1. The baseline code, CALC-LES, developed by the Chalmers University of Technology was modified to include the effects of the …

Fat Uptake Reduction In Deep-Fried Chicken Breast, Lovie G. Matthews

Theses

Obesity is the deposit of excessive adipose tissue on the body due to the overconsumption of nutritionally inadequate foods. The fat in the deep-fat fried chicken is derived from the oil absorption during frying. High consumption of deep-fat fried foods may lead to cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The main objectives of this experiment were to reduce the fat uptake in deep-fat fried chicken breast by developing an edible coating made of chicken breast protein isolates (CPI) as well as replace the corn starch in batter with sweet potato starch to further examine the quality attributes of the battering systems. In …

Using Long Short-Term Memory (Lstm) Recurrent Neural Network (Rnn) To Classify Network Attacks, Pramita Sree Muhuri

Theses

Cyber-attacks have increased greatly in recent years. Therefore, the identification of various network attacks has been an important research area. An Intrusion Detection System (IDS), can identify an ongoing invasion or an intrusion which has already occurred. Intrusion Detection is a classification problem. It identifies whether the network traffic behavior is normal or anomalous or identifies the attack types. Various approaches have been proposed to improve the accuracy of classifiers for identifying the intrusion types. Recently, deep learning has emerged as a successful approach in IDSs having a high accuracy rate with its distinctive learning mechanism. In this research, Long …

Reinforcement Learning Reward Design For Low-Level Controllers, Evan J. Olney

Theses

The past few decades have produced many successful applications of machine learning. In the area of automated controls, machine learning controllers have been developed to take advantage of the tendency for computers to stumble upon avenues to solutions people either overlooked, or simply do not have the computational capability to explore. Reinforcement learning is a machine learning technique for learning how to choose actions in an environment to increase its expected reward. The reward is the signal that indicates whether or not proper actions were chosen, therefore a behavioral goal is achieved from implicit rewards rather than explicit direction. The …

Investigating A Cyber-Human System For Millennial Caregivers, Ashley Lofton

Theses

Research indicates that most caregiving of persons with dementia (PwD) is done by adults 49 years of age and older. However, millennials make up 25% of the estimated 44 million caregivers in the United States. Although the definition varies, “millennials” for this research is defined by those born between 1984 - 2000, which aligns with the research by Strauss and Howe (2003). Millennial caregivers are taking on this task as their parents or grandparents get older and diagnosed with dementia. Taking on the task of caring for a loved one with dementia can present itself as difficult because of competing …

Impact Of Usmca On The U.S. Beef Industry, Theophilus Amoah

Theses

Policies implemented to govern trade between two or more countries have proved vital as it affects the economies of nations. Political inputs into trade certainly establish effects that impact the livelihood of people in the economy. Every sector in an economy faces its impacts when there are changes in trade agreements. The extent to which this impact is always significant to note as it helps to determine the sustainability of trade agreements, which in turn sets the path for sectorial and national developments. This study utilizes the Computable General Equilibrium modeling to predict the impact of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement …

Assessing The Recyclability Of Stainless-Steel Powder Used In Selective Laser Melting-3d Printing, Alexis I. Keaton

Theses

Additive manufacturing (AM) is becoming one of the most distinctively growing versatile technologies. In most AM techniques that requires the use of powder, the powder that is not fused into the 3D print can be replenished and used for another build. Unfused powder is generally collected on the powder-bed after an AM build is complete. In most cases, the ability to replenish unfused powder with virgin powder aids in limiting any significant change in powder’s properties that may cause compromising the quality of the 3D prints. If no powder is added to the recycled powder it is likely to shift …

Mesoporous Bimetallic Oxides Supported Mono And Bimetallic Catalysts For Fischer-Tropsch Studies In A Stainless-Steel Microchannel Reactor, Robert Stevens-Boyd

Theses

Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis is the controlled catalyzed conversion of synthesized (syn) gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to fuel grade alkanes or hydrocarbons. One of the objectives of NSF-CREST Bioenergy Center is to develop stable catalysts for F-T synthesis with the goal of conversion of syngas enriched with CO2 in microchannel microreactors to liquid fuels. In our previous work, the effect of silica and titania sol-gel as support for F-T studies using syngas (CO:H2; 1:3 or 1:2) was investigated and significant differences in the activities of Co, Fe, and Ru catalysts were observed. In order to investigate synergistic …

Effects Of International Trade On Food Security Of Selected Low Income And Low-Middle Income Economies, Rose Anapoka Anaabah

Theses

Food security has been a challenge for most people all over the world, especially among people living in low income countries. Food security is considered a complex sustainable development issue and is linked to health through malnutrition due to poverty. Food security became a major challenge following the sharp increase in global food prices during the last decade. Several factors contribute to food security. One factor is international trade which plays a major role in shaping the economy in most countries of the world. Access to food which is supposed to be an entitlement, or a basic right can be …

Feedback Control For Leader Follower Architecture Of Unmanned Arial And Ground Vehicles, Mahmoud El Mahmoud

Theses

This thesis presents development of a feedback controller for a cooperative mission using unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned ground vehicle. This developed controller offers a solution to the time delayed collaborative autonomous systems for multiple robot systems. There are many motivating applications for these missions including exploration, search and rescue in damaged areas. The architecture developed in this thesis consists of an unmanned ground vehicle as a leader and an unmanned aerial vehicle as a follower. To be specific, the unmanned ground vehicle navigates through a damaged environment and leads the mission. The unmanned aerial vehicle follows the leader and …

Examining How Student Social Organizations Aid In The Professional Development Of Undergraduate Students, Megan K. Parker

Theses

Student social organizations can play a vital role in a college students’ lives. Undergraduate students have many opportunities to join student organizations during their time on campus. The literature found focused on students who are members of degree-specific organizations and Greek-letter organizations and the transferable skills that employers identify as essential for recent college graduates. This study examined how students who are involved in student social organizations develop transferable skills that will assist them as they transition from their undergraduate careers into their professional careers. A total of five undergraduate students were interviewed for this study. The students who participated …

Attempted Synthesis Of 4’-Hydroxyacetophenone-1h-Benzotriazole By Benzyne-Azide Click Chemistry, Kevin Kee-Hoe Cheah

Theses

Ultraviolet light absorber or stabilizer (UVLS) is one of the many additives that is incorporated into a polymer formulation which functions by preferentially absorbing the UV light to prevent its photodegradation. UVLS such as 2-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazole (2H-BZT) and its derivatives are commercially used UV-light absorbers in different polymers. The synthesis of 2H-benzotriazoles solely relies on the two-step azo-coupling of the diazonium salt and reductive cyclization where the former reaction suffers from poor yield.1 The presence of a phenolic hydrogen in the ortho position to the phenyl ring attached to the nitrogen atom on the benzotriazole imparts excellent photochemical stability to the …

Farm Financial Analysis For Small-Scale, Organic Mixed Vegetable Operation, Janet Ayobami Osawere

Theses

The small farmers in the United States face challenges from market uncertainties and climate variations. Many small farmers do not keep consistent financial records, thus making it difficult to analyze their profitability and make decisions in planning. This research is to use a real farm production stimulation from Goldsboro, North Carolina, to collect data from 2017 to 2018 for farm financial analysis that mimics a small-scale certified organic mixed vegetable production. The goal is to use the stimulating information from Goldsboro, North Carolina to help small-scale organic mixed vegetable farmers to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of farm operation; …

Optical Properties Of Iii-V Nanowire/Nanopillar Lasers Grown On Si, Juan Salvador Dominguez Morales

Theses

Nanowires (NW) /nanopillars (NP) offer the possibility of reducing the mismatch of III-V semiconductor materials grown on different substrates such as Si, SiN, SiO2 and are hence being considered potential candidates for coherent light sources in optoelectronics technologies. The difference between NPs and NWs lies in the growth process. The NPs are site-controlled using a patterned mask, while the NWs use a self-catalysed such as gold or Ga-droplet.. In this dissertation, the emission properties of GaAs/AlGaAs (core-shell and core-multishell) and InGaAs (unpassivated and passivated with InGaP) nanolasers have been studied with excitation powers above and below the lasing threshold at …

An Investigation Into The Management Of Branding In Irish Artisan Food Businesses, Daniel David Hickey

Theses

A consumer’s lifestyle is busier now then in the past and is moving towards products that reduce preparation and cooking times (Bia, 2015). The demand for value added convenience products has created opportunity for the Artisan food sector. This has lead to the expansion of food Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in Ireland. There were 235 specialty food producers in Ireland in 2018, a 2.7% increase on the previous year. SME’s are growing in popularity among consumers but there is very little research been completed into Irish SME’s. A 2016 study by Kennedy and Wright identified that the area is scant …

Decarbonising The Automotive Industry: The Future For Irish Motorists., Robert Maher

Theses

This research study is an examination of the current state of the Irish automotive industry, which is being reshaped by the imminent shift to electric vehicles. This transition is designed to assist in solving Ireland's air quality and environmental challenges in line with the worldwide move to combat climate change. The research topic of the decarbonisation of the automotive industry determined the research question: "Decarbonising the Automotive Industry: The Future for Irish Motorists". This inquiry focuses on private cars owned for social, pleasure and domestic use. Secondary research was completed to verify the most prevalent and current existing information. A …

Developing A Model Of Post Incubation Support For New And Growing Ventures, Miriam Adair

Theses

Business incubators offer physical and virtual services for their new and growing start up clients. In Ireland, once companies exit an incubator, they do not have access to services similar to an incubator. In other countries there are post incubation services available.

There is a limited literature on post incubation in Ireland, however there is literature focusing on different programmes available to companies once they have left an incubator.

This thesis explores the post incubation support needs of new' and growing ventures.

Specifically, the research focused on three primary objectives:

1. To gain a deeper understanding of the specific needs …

Development Of Uv Led Based Lamps With Modular Optical Heads, Ciara O'Hara

Theses

This project was centred around the development of the optical components, and the optimisation of the optical performance, of ProPhotonix Ltd’s Cobra Cure FX series of products. These are high irradiance, high dose, UVA (primarily 395 nm and 365 nm) Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps designed for curing applications. An initial prototype developed by ProPhotonix, the smallest in the series, the FX1, underwent significant redesign throughout the project, and the two larger lamps, the FX2 and the FX3 were developed during the course of the project. This work primarily consisted in characterising, accurately modelling, and thereby refining, the optical reflector …

Crystallographic Structure Determination Of Bacteriophage-Encoded Enzymes That Specifically Target Pathogenic Bacteria, Marta Sanz Gaitero

Theses

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a serious public health concern. Infections that some decades ago could be treated with antibiotics now sometimes do not respond to traditional treatment, causing higher mortality and economic losses. An alternative to the use of antibiotics are bacteria's natural predators, bacteriophages (or phages), and specifically their lytic enzymes. These proteins are produced by phages to degrade bacterial peptidoglycan to inject their genetic material into the bacteria (virion-associated peptidoglycan hydrolases) or to release their progeny once the infection is finished (endolysins). They can be applied exogenously to lyse Gram-positive bacteria or be genetically engineered to lyse Gram-negative …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Nursing Support And The Financial Implications Associated With Cpap Adherence, Christine Brunnick

Theses

The prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is increasing. As the prevalence of OSA increases, as does the need for the condition to be treated effectively to reduce several risk factors which increase both mortality and morbidity rates. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy is easily recognised as the most effective treatment for OSA. Despite the recognised benefits of CPAP therapy, adherence rates reported worldwide remain suboptimal. A transitional change within the Irish healthcare system means that private medical device companies will provide CPAP devices in specific contractual regions throughout Ireland. This change presents challenges and opportunities for policymakers. This …

Quantification Of Porosity And Its Effects On The Quasi-Static And Dynamic Behavior Of The Additively Manufactured Nickel-Based Superalloy Inconel 718, Andrew Minor

Theses

No abstract provided.