Digital Commons Network^™

Quantifying And Characterizing The Behavior Of Dissolved And Suspended Icp-Oes Detectible Elements In Utah Lake, Rachel Ann Valek

Theses and Dissertations

For Utah Lake in Utah, USA, we analyzed a uniquely comprehensive and longitudinal water quality dataset that extended over two summer sampling seasons. We measured 61 parameters using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), YSI ProDSS water sondes, and laboratory procedures to quantify and characterize dissolved and suspended behavior of trace elements in Utah Lake. We analyzed the data using principal component analysis (PCA) and multidimensional scaling (MDS) to understand the lake geochemistry and inform Utah Lake management decisions regarding nutrients and algal blooms. We found that 1) sediments rich in phosphorus (P) act as a source for bioavailable …

Mechanistic Empirical Design Of Flexible Pavements For Biopolymer Treated Soils, Vishweshwaran M

Theses and Dissertations

Cognizing the contamination effects of chemical soil modifiers on soil and groundwater, the assessment of the ability of biopolymers to improve the engineering properties of soils has gained attention in the last decade. As a soil additive, biopolymers have the potential to solve the trilemma of sustainability, price and soil suitability. Two polysaccharides and two protein biopolymers have been adopted in this study to enhance the geotechnical properties of fine-grained soils.

Design thickness catalogues were developed for a three-layered flexible pavement using 3D finite element analysis (FEA) and layered elastic analysis. The catalogue aims to provide structurally reliable thickness values …

The Study Of Biomass Based Polymers And Cyclic Polymers, Yishayah Bension

Theses and Dissertations

Plastics have become an integral part of everyday life, from household care to aerospace applications, polymers are involved in every industry. Most of these polymeric materials are derived from petroleum feedstocks which have deleterious effects on our environment. The production of petrochemicals has led to an increase in greenhouse gases and microplastic pollution which have accelerated climate change. My research focuses on utilizing existing biomasses to improve the plastic economy’s circularity. This work develops new materials from bio-based polymers such as lignin and soybean oil. Raw lignin suffers from inherently weak mechanical properties, poor solubility, processability, and molecular structure ambiguity. …

Drug Modification Of Synaptic Plasticity At The Inhibitory Synapses Involving Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area, Jie Wu

Theses and Dissertations

The neurobiological underpinnings of substance use disorders (SUDs) involve complex alterations in synaptic plasticity within the mesolimbic dopamine system, particularly within the ventral tegmental area (VTA). While dopamine neurons in the VTA are extensively studied in addiction research, less attention has been given to the plasticity exhibited by VTA GABAergic neurons, despite their established regulatory role in modulating dopamine cell activity. Building upon the ground-breaking work of Bocklisch et al. (2013), we investigated the plasticity at the GABAergic to VTA GABA neuron (VTA GABA-to-GABA) synapse utilizing whole-cell electrophysiology in GAD67 GFP knock-in mice. Our findings revealed an exceptionally rare duo-plasticity …

Examining The Perception Of Fresh Produce Growers On Agricultural Sustainability And Diversification, Randy Ackah

Theses and Dissertations

To meet the increasing food demand of a growing population, adopting sustainable practices should be considered a need rather than a preference. Despite the economic benefits of agricultural production, some activities performed have been identified to have detrimental effects, especially on the environment. Most of the environmental impact of agriculture usually stems from the management practices and input materials used. One way of ensuring sustainable agriculture has been identified to be agricultural diversification. Available evidence indicates that horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables play an important role in agricultural diversification. For the fruit and vegetable industry to achieve its …

Development Of 3d Printed Anatomically Equivalent Thermoplastic Polyurethane Conduits For Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Allen Zennifer M

Theses and Dissertations

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging tool for creating patient-specific tissue constructs analogous to the native tissue microarchitecture. In this study, anatomically equivalent 3D nerve conduits were developed using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) by combining reverse engineering and material extrusion (i.e., fused deposition modelling) technique.

Printing parameters were optimized to fabricate nerve-equivalent TPU constructs. The TPU constructs printed with different infill densities supported the adhesion, proliferation, and gene expression of neuronal cells. Subcutaneous implantation of the TPU constructs for three months in rats showed neovascularization with negligible local tissue inflammatory reactions and was classified as a non-irritant biomaterial as per ISO …

Asset Pricing Bubbles In Agricultural Commodities, Samuel Riffle

Theses and Dissertations

Recent asset pricing bubble bursts in some markets beg the question of whether bubbles exist in others. Determining whether they exist has been investigated for years, with various approaches. This paper combines the Engle-Granger technique with a GSADF test to test for bubbles in corn and soybean futures prices. I attempt to find measures for the market fundamentals of the futures, employing PPIs and costs of production for each commodity. My findings provide some evidence for the existence of bubbles, though the results are not definitive. Overall, the findings imply a possibility for bubbles but also apossibility of true increases …

From Eighty Acres And A Mule To Two Thousand Acres And Twenty-Four Row Planters: Anxieties Of Growth In The Agriculture Sector From Family Farms, Riley Marie Francis

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the evolution of the family farm between the 1940s until the 2020s, and how the family farm may continue to evolve in future generations. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the changing reality of agriculture and how farmers think about themselves. In the early days of the United States republic, farms were a means of providing a family or localized community with food and resources. These farms participated in an economic exchange that was an early form of capitalism, characterized by meeting needs but not accruing egregious excess. Today’s agricultural system is …

Acculturation Strategy Of The First-Generation Immigrants: A Study On The Muslim Parents In The United States, Eshrat Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to investigate the acculturation strategy of the first-generation immigrant Muslim parents in the US. This study is guided by segmented assimilation theory and data for the study was collected by employing qualitative research method. I conducted in-depth interview with twelve first-generation Muslim immigrant parents in the McLean County, Illinois to collect data for the study. The participants responded to a number of open-ended questions relating their cultural and Muslim identity, practice of their Islamic faith in your family and outside and raising their children in a different cultural environment. The finding of this study shows that the …

Prosodic Speech Rate, Utterance Duration, Interruption Rate, And Turn-Taking Latency In Autistic And Neurotypical Adults, Grace Madeline Bell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the following prosodic elements: speech rate, turn-taking latency, number of interruptions, and utterance duration across two groups' neurotypical and autistic young adults. Furthermore, the end goal of this study is to help provide a baseline and clinical application of prosodic differences between autistic and neurotypical adults. Speech samples were collected from 11 neurotypical and 11 autistic young adults from the ages of 18-26. Speech samples were recorded responses from a 10-minute interview between two research assistants and the autistic or neurotypical individual. Using Praat software, speech samples were analyzed and used to …

Decoding The Past: Evolutionary History Of North American Deer Mouse Populations On The Gulf Islands, Rachel Ann Berg

Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation is increasing the number of small and isolated organismal populations, and the long-term effects of these recent isolations are not well understood. Small populations are at increased risk of extinction thus it is essential to identify populations that have been isolated over long time periods to use as model systems to study consequences of isolation. Besides understanding genetic consequences, isolated populations may also serve as natural systems to study morphological changes in populations that have independent evolutionary trajectories. Investigating island populations may help in the discovery of long-term isolated populations that may be experiencing morphological changes as …

Story Network Theory, Dramaturgy, And Cinderella: An Interdisciplinary Methodization, Jessie Anne Denning

Theses and Dissertations

Story network theory (SNT) is an analytical approach designed to form connections between chosen topics as well as to study those connections in their relations to stories, distinct story elements, and one another. This will provide a unifying process through which otherwise niche projects, information, or academic disciplines can be more effectively shared and accurately represented. Dramaturgy and fairy tale studies are utilized as an example application for SNT. Chapter Two involves Judith Roof’s work in “Out of the Bind: From Structure to System in Popular Narratives” as inspiration and introductory example of SNT elements, leading to the second half …

No Such Thing As Nappy, Alan Roosevelt Atkins

Theses and Dissertations

This supportive statement examines how my upbringings influenced my cultural and societal perspectives and how I strive to challenge perceptions of race, history, and culture through my artwork. I include representations of people from various diasporas in drawings, prints, and animations to speak to the global reach of colorism and Eurocentrism. Influenced by the DIY nature of punk art and the urgency of protest art, I utilize materials such as Sharpies, fabric markers, collage, and cardboard. Use of cardboard suggests commercial exchange and the physical movement of goods from one place to another, as well as modern throw-away culture. Parallels …

Selectively Remembering Properties Of A Person-Probe-Surface System, Maisha Tahsin Orthy

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that people can perceive many geometric and functional properties of a probed surface and the probe itself. They can also perceive these properties across a wide variety of circumstances. Research on the ecological approach to remembering found that people remember a given property of a hefted or wielded object to the extent that they detect the invariant patterns that support perceiving that property. The present study investigated two hypotheses: (1) if perceiving two different properties of that system requires detecting different (but related) invariant patterns in mechanical stimulation, then a person who perceives only one of …

Performance Of Pennycress In Some Illinois Cropping Systems, Rashmi Dangol

Theses and Dissertations

Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family, is an emerging winter oilseed crop being developed as a cash cover crop in summer annual row cropping systems. This crop can be grown in the Corn Belt, sandwiched between corn and soybean crops without causing a yield or ecosystem penalty, and pennycress has the potential to produce biofuel. Although it can be used as a feedstock and to produce biodiesel, little is known about the best agronomic management practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth and performance of pennycress in rotation systems when this …

Polyphony: Multitudes Of Vietnamese National Identity Through Experiential Documentation Of Marketplaces, Jade Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

The exhibition Polyphony brings together photographs from Trades of the Street and Commere(d) Culture, two documentary series portraying Vietnamese marketplaces and businesses across multiple cities in Việt Nam and the United States respectively to provide a cross-cultural and multisensorial perspective on how commercial practices and establishments represent Vietnamese culture and national identity. The market provides insights into Việt Nam’s multilayered history, struggles, ways of living, sense of community, and its vibrant soul and culture. The combination of these two series and the sequencing of the exhibition utilizes the relational nature of photography, which allows new meaning to emerge from a …

Preventing Orthopedic Implant Associated Biofilm Infections Using Transition Metal Complex Laminated Bioactive Implants, Sowndarya J

Theses and Dissertations

Orthopedic implants are medical devices employed to repair the damaged structure and function of an injured musculoskeletal system. It helps millions of people suffering from bone fractures and arthroplasty. The increased use of orthopedic implants has given rise to implant-associated biofilm infections. Biofilm-mediated Implant-associated osteomyelitis (IAO) is a major concern in the medical field, wherein the treatment involves debridement, administration of antibiotics and removal of implants leading to increased cost of treatment.

The keystone bacterial pathogens involved in orthopedic implant-associated infections are Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii which are members of the ESKAPE pathogens. A. baumannii has gained resistance against …

Effects Of Individual Quality On Reproduction: Investigating Double Brooding And Egg Pigmentation In House Wrens ( Troglodytes Aedon ), Lauren Marie Leischner

Theses and Dissertations

Some species produce two broods in a season to maximize reproductive success; however, in species such as the house wren (Troglodytes aedon), not all individuals produce a second brood. We completed a cross-fostering experiment and examined the effects of individual characteristics on the probability of producing a second brood using breeding records from a long-term dataset. There was little evidence that the individual traits we examined affected the production of a second brood. However, the production of a second brood was significantly repeatable, indicating that individual characteristics have a substantial effect on the likelihood of producing a second brood. Eggshell …

The Effects Of Diesel Exhaust Particle Exposure On Adipos Mitochondrial Bioenergetics And Inflammation, Cali Elizabeth Warren

Theses and Dissertations

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) constitutes a significant component of ambient air pollution that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Among PM2.5 constituents, diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are prevalent particulates that infiltrate the bloodstream to drive systemic pathologies. The purpose of this study was to characterize the metabolic response of adipose tissue to DEP. We aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding by exploring mitochondrial bioenergetics, characterizing the inflammatory marker profile, including adipokines, and conducting a detailed histological analysis of adipocytes to provide valuable insights to the evolving understanding of the intricate …

Ecological Drivers Of Plasticity And Parental Care In Poison Frogs, Olivia Brooks

Theses and Dissertations

Parents increase their offspring fitness prospects by providing care, but at the cost of lost current or future reproductive opportunities. Parents often rear multiple offspring simultaneously, and because parents cannot supply unlimited care to their offspring, parents benefit from distributing resources non-randomly within a brood. Having access to information that helps inform allocation decisions can be valuable to parents, and parents may use a variety of information types that are either intrinsic or extrinsic to the offspring to help inform these decisions. Here, I explore the types of information that parents use when allocating resources within broods, and I explore …

Ecosystem Services Provided By The Novel Winter Cash Cover Crop, Pennycress, Ryan Thomas Meyer

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient loss from agricultural practices in the Midwest contributes to degradation in ecosystem structure and function. Subsurface drainage systems in tilled corn-soybean rotations that rely on fertilization results in up to 50% of fall fertilizer being lost to the environment. Solutions are needed to reduce nutrient pollution from Midwestern agriculture. Cover crops are a best management practice that shows potential to reduce nutrient loss from Illinois farms. However, due to economic concerns, cover crop usage in Illinois is low (6%). A novel winter oilseed, pennycress, has the potential to act both as a cover crop and a cash crop, benefitting …

Understanding Student Perceptions Of A High School Wellness Center: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Qualitative Study, Devan Audrey Clayton

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents face many challenges at home and at school which impact various areas of their lives, including their academics. Schools have worked to ensure better student mental health outcomes by hiring school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers. School wellness centers can be an additional resource that students utilize to address mental health challenges during their school day. The purpose of this study is to understand adolescent perceptions of a school-based wellness center. Perceptions of populations who utilize the wellness center and those who do not utilize the wellness center were studied within one high school to understand how …

A Poetics Of Entanglement: The Enmeshed Creation Of Interrogative Space, Phil Spotswood

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation theorizes and deploys a poetics of entanglement as a creative practice for questioning relationality and its role in meaning-making. The dissertation includes a critical preface that explores a poetics of entanglement by analyzing poetry by gay cis male US poets whose work is thematically linked by their creative disruptions of the feeling of shame. The dissertation’s creative chapter is a collection of original poems titled It Bears Repeating; the poems deploy a poetics of entanglement to open questions in the shamed body. The dissertation concludes with considerations for how a poetics of entanglement might be taught to undergraduate …

Performance Of Humans And Agents In A Systems Modeling Language V2 Task: A User-Centered Evaluation Approach, Allen W. Dukes

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense is adopting Digital Engineering practices for its workforce. Simultaneously, the larger Systems Engineering community strives to modernize and define those Digital Engineering practices. These efforts to move from traditionally document-based approaches to pure digital implementations will require enhanced capabilities to manage and digitally track the lifecycle of a program or product. However, this growth must address tool design through an iterative process focusing on usability for many user types. Many tools and technologies exist but often lack an assessment of usability when engineers design tools for other engineers. Including usability when developing solutions for Digital Engineering …

Trajectory Optimization Via Direct Collocation Methods Of Boost-Glide Vehicle With Newtonian Aerodynamic Model, Andrew Bonavita

Theses and Dissertations

In this work, a Newtonian aerodynamic model was developed for an elliptic cone glide geometry at a variety of angles of attack, and a functional relationship between an input angle of attack and the vehicle lift and drag coefficients was developed. This model was used in a direct orthogonal collocation framework to simulate a series of boost-glide trajectories, with objectives of minimum distance to target, minimum time to target, and maximum velocity to target. The optimal control problem was then expanded into a reachability study, considering a wide range of additional scenarios, along with studies on the vehicle range capabilities. …

Exploratory Analysis Of Cislunar Disposal Options For Select L1 And L2 Orbit Families, Rene Velazquez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to characterize the disposal options available for the planar and out of plane orbit families near the Moon. These options are meant to provide the impending Space Race around the cislunar regime a method to mitigate debris in the future. The disposal options are built upon a Sphere of Influence (SOI) reachability concept from a Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP). The SOI reachability will be based on the maneuver applied on a closed orbit in the velocity direction of the rotating frame. The post-maneuver trajectories will be propagated for 180 days and transformed into …

Advanced Oxidation Of Methyl Tert Butyl Ether With Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes, Aaron R. Neal

Theses and Dissertations

Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) is a volatile, soluble, organic compound introduced to gasoline within the United States as a fuel oxygenator in 1979. MTBE is a common groundwater pollutant due to its high water solubility and resistance to bio-degradation; it commonly infiltrates groundwater sources via leaking underground storage tanks or fuel spills. This research employed ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) induced advanced oxidation process (AOP) to treat MTBE contaminated water at the bench scale. Using four H₂O₂:MTBE molar peroxide ratios (100:1, 200:1, 400:1, 500:1), MTBE degradation was induced …

Single Particle Analysis Of Operation Roller Coaster Environmental Samples, Caleb J. Sapp

Theses and Dissertations

The release of plutonium and other actinides into the environment following a nuclear detonation or accident, poses a health risk to biological systems. The spread, or transportation of that plutonium and its daughter products through environmental and meteorological means increases the potential affect and inherent danger within the surrounding area. In the 1960’s, a study was conducted in a joint effort by the US and Great Britain to collect information regarding the spread of plutonium released into the environment through a sub-critical detonation. Soil samples from these tests were collected by the USAF in 2015, approximately 50 years after these …

A Machine Learning Approach For Multipath Characterization And Mitigation Using Chipshape Observations, Sean A. L. Quiterio

Theses and Dissertations

Multipath continues to be a significant error source in satellite navigation. Recent solutions with Neural Networks (NN) model the effects of multipath on the autocorrelation function to predict errors in the Delay Lock Loop (DLL). Chipshape correlation provides a detailed look into the spreading code transitions in the time domain. It is useful in applications such as Signal Quality Monitoring (SQM) and is much more sensitive to multipath than autocorrelation. This research proposes NN models that each predict pseudorange or carrier range errors due to multipath by monitoring the chipshape correlation output. For a simulation with 50 MHz precorrelation bandwidth …

Improving Rogue Radio Emitter Detection Using Siamese Networks, Mason Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Radio Frequency Fingerprinting (RFF) is the process of creating discerning signatures of emitted radio signals, most often with the goal of identifying specific devices again in the future. The security benefits of this task are intended to build upon current software-based authentication by making use of multi-factor authentication (MFA), but the related task of being able to reject unwanted emitters is limited. This paper presents a Siamese network trained on two different extracted fingerprints of raw Wi-Fi signals, along with a verifier to perform classification and rogue device detection. It was found that fingerprints using the Distortion Reconstruction (DR) technique …