Digital Commons Network^™

Functional Facets Of Intergenic Hairpin Structures In Genus Caulobacter, Geetha Saarunya Clarke

Theses and Dissertations

DNA replication, recombination and repairs maintain bacterial genome stability. But these processes may also induce genome rearrangements leading to inter andintra chromosomal structural variations. Genus Caulobacter undergoes extensive genome rearrangements. Genomic studies in bacteria usually focus on the codingregions, but there is important information present in the intergenic DNA spaces inaddition to the regulatory elements involved in transcription. Recently, Ely published a new model for recombination in genus Caulobacter with simultaneousloss and gain of genes resulting from preferential recombination at non- homologous regions flanked by regions of homology. In my dissertation, I observedand catalogued hairpin structures at known sites of …

African Seminole Settlement Ecologies Of Early Nineteenth Century Florida, Jordan E. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

For over three centuries prior to the outbreak of the Second Seminole War [1835-1842], peoples of African and Native American descent independently and collectively formed multiple communities throughout what is now Florida. During the early 1990s, several ancestral African Seminole (otherwise known as “Black Seminole”) settlements were identified across Central Peninsular Florida, many of which were founded by self-emancipated Africans commonly referred to as maroons. Previous archaeological research at the African Seminole settlement of Pilaklikaha, or Abraham’s Old Town, has greatly stimulated both scholarly and public interest in tracing the historical trajectories of individual African-Native American communities while remaining attentive …

Describing The Impact Of The Sales Of Antibiotics On The Environment And In Population Health, Andrés Gaviria-Figueroa

Theses and Dissertations

The role of antibiotics in human health is of significant importance in the advancement of the medical field. It has contributed to an improvement of the quality of life and the age expectancy of the population. Antibiotic resistance is an expected consequence of the use of antibiotics. Bacteria have developed biological mechanisms that would help them become resistant to antibiotics. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics is significantly contributing to the ability of bacteria to become resistant to those antibiotics. This study, using the model of the Socio-Ecological Coupling of Antibiotic Resistance, explains how social and environmental factors interact and impact …

It’S An Old Song, But We’Re Gonna Sing It Again: The Myth Of Orpheus & Eurydice In Modern And Postmodern Theatrical Performance, Tiffani Brooks Hagan

Theses and Dissertations

Since theatre was established as an art form, productions have adapted myths into performance, creating an array of theatrical texts based on the oral practice of storytelling of ancient civilizations. This concept of adaptation, where playwrights draw from stories of the past in new works, has expanded in recent years to include new scholarship regarding the dramaturgy of theatrical adaptations and what it means to adapt a work, whether originally for theatre or not, into a text meant for theatrical performance. One such myth that has captivated audiences since its first recorded utilization has been the myth of Orpheus and …

Costume Design And Technology – A Process Of Growth During A Global Pandemic, Heather Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

In the best of circumstances, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design and Technology requires dedication and persistence. However, another layer of complication is added when the world shuts down due to a global pandemic. This thesis provides a look at three realized designs and delves into the way in which the pandemic affected my process for each of the designs. I also discuss my growth technologically as a costumer as I examine the class projects and shop work completed. Additionally, I review my growth artistically, and my professional experiences. My thesis provides a look at each facet …

The Submission Of A Section 513(G) Request For Information, Morgan Ashley Lano

Theses and Dissertations

The Food and Drug Administration designates all medical devices into one of three general classes contingent on their intended use, indications for use, and potential risk to the user. This classification dictates the further path the device must take to be approved for the commercial market. Section 513(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360c(g)) is submitted in order to gain the agency’s unofficial classification and suggested regulatory requirements. The Coagulation Companion (MicroVide) is a device designed to fluorescently quantify a key enzyme involved in the coagulation cascade, plasmin, in pediatric patients. clot formation and degradation …

Stasis, Eric Pahre

Theses and Dissertations

Stasis is a collection of three short stories and a long novella. These stories examine settings parallel to our own lived reality and history.

“Verdugris” follows an infestation of vermin in a 20th century setting linked to European colonialism. Power dynamics and attitudes towards cleanliness are contrasted with natural beauty, habitat loss, parasitism, and the ‘fixed’ nature of the colonial town.

“Alpentraum” describes two foreign hospice caretakers seeing to an old woman in her small home in the mountains. This short story investigates uncertainty and acceptance, as the caretakers must change their plans when the mountain is struck by a …

Engineering And Optimization Of An Aav Based Viral Vector To Limit The In-Vitro Expression Of Sars-Cov-2 Spike-Protein, Ronald Anderson Smithwick

Theses and Dissertations

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2, also known as SARS-CoV-2, is a newly emerged respiratory viral pathogen. The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 started in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and rapidly transformed into a pandemic. Several vaccines have been developed and are available to the public on an unprecedented timeline, protecting individuals from a severe infection and saving precious lives. However, none of the vaccines can provide a sterile immunity, and the SARS-CoV-2 transmission cycle continues. Additionally, because of the mutation-prone RNA genome and immunological selection pressure, SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly mutating, especially the Spike(S) protein, and new viral strains are arising …

Female Reproductive Toxicity Of Harmful Algal Blooms-Produced Toxin Microcystin, Yingzheng Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become a global emerging environmental concern; however, its impact on women’s reproductive health is poorly understood. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is the most common and hazardous type of HAB toxin. Using both a chronic oral exposure mouse model and an acute exposure mouse model, I found that human-relevant exposure to MC-LR could compromise follicle ovulation via affecting follicle maturation. Both in vivo mouse exposure model and encapsulated in vitro follicle growth (eIVFG) model revealed that exposure to MC-LR did not affect follicle development, but significantly reduced the expression of some follicle maturation-related genes, such as Lhcgr and …

Molecular Architecture Of Cardiometabolic Responses To Regular Exercise, Jacob L. Barber

Theses and Dissertations

Background: To investigate the molecular mechanisms, determinants, and predictors of cardiometabolic responses to regular exercise, this dissertation had two primary aims: 1) Examine the molecular architecture of cardiometabolic responses to exercise training (unsupervised approach) and 2) Identify molecular signatures of responsiveness to regular exercise within clinically relevant lipoprotein traits (supervised approach).

Methodology: Multi-omics data (17,945 muscle transcripts, 4,979 proteins, 411 metabolites) from participants (n=647) who completed 20 weeks of endurance training as part of the HERITAGE Family Study was collected before and after training. We employed an unsupervised machine learning approach (Aim 1) to identify patterns of molecular responses to …

The Comparative Neuroethology Of Distributed Visual Systems: Visual Neuroanatomy And Visually-Mediated Behaviors Of The Chiton Acanthopleura Granulata And The Bay Scallop Argopecten Irradians, Daniel Ritter Chappell

Theses and Dissertations

Vision is usually thought to be inextricably linked to cephalization; however, certain species of invertebrates deviate from this canonical association by having noncephalized visual systems that are composed of numerous photoreceptive organs distributed across their body paired with centralized, decentralized, or distributed neural architectures. In contrast to cephalized visual systems, we know comparatively little about the visual processing and visually-mediated behaviors of animals with distributed visual systems which are crucial towards understanding how and why these animals see with so many eyes. In this dissertation, we investigate the visual neuroanatomy and visually-mediated behaviors of two different marine molluscs with distributed …

The Effects Of Exercise Training On Cholesterol Efflux Capacity In The Heritage Family Study, Joshua Adam Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

Cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) has been associated with cardiovascular disease risk independent of HDL-C levels. However, the effect of regular exercise on CEC is not yet fully understood. Therefore, we examined the effects of exercise training on CEC in the HERITAGE Family Study. In HERITAGE, subjects participated in an endurance training program that consisted of exercise on a cycle ergometer three times per week for 20 weeks. Global and non-ABCA1 CEC were measured at baseline and post-training in 542 subjects via a cell- based radiolabeled CEC assay. Neither global nor non-ABCA1 CEC significantly changed with training in the whole cohort. …

Classification Of Acoustic Emission Data Into Load Steps Using An Artificial Neural Network, Allen Ross

Theses and Dissertations

The average age of bridges in South Carolina is approaching 40 years, very close to the 50-year service life. Almost 11% of the bridges in South Carolina are rated as structurally deficient, greater than the national average of 7.5% (South 2021). Health monitoring is the concept that in-situ sensors can continuously monitor civil structures and send real time signals of damage. This process allows for automation and could save time and money on the inspection and load rating of bridges. Health monitoring requires sensors that provide uninterrupted data without sacrificing the functionality of the bridge. A prime candidate for this …

In Vitro And In Vivo Studies Of Mediator Kinase, Lili Wang

Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the molecular and in vivo activities of transcriptionregulating module CKM, comprised of CDK8 (or CDK19) kinases, Cyclin C, MED12 and MED13. Our lab has found that CDK8/19 potentiates NFkB-induced transcription. In this study, we confirmed that both CDK8 and CDK19 regulate gene expression in kinasedependent manner. CDK8 and CDK19 are not required for NFkB-induced transcription, which also occurs in HEK293-dKO (CDK8 and CDK19 double knockout) cells, but such transcription becomes CDK8/19-dependent upon re-expression of CDK8 or CDK19 in dKO. Surprisingly. pre-treatment with a CDK8/19 inhibitor decreases the effect of CDK8/19 on NFkB-induced transcription.

In another set of …

"A Crash Of Worlds": How Red Dead Redemption Ii Creates A World Where Players Experience Empathy Through Character Performance, Heather Rose Moser

Theses and Dissertations

Players of an open-world video game are more than merely audience members watching a narrative play out--they actively participate and perform in the world. Drawing from scholars like Edmund Husserl, Konstantin Stanislavski, Ossy Wulansari, and PJ Manney, this paper explores principles of performance, phenomenology, and empathy to examine how open-world role-playing games, specifically Red Dead Redemption II, help players experience empathy. Constructing this experience through character attachment, length of play, and identification in a safe experimental space, these games become a bridge leading to greater empathy for people who are different from the player. The immersive nature of these games …

Nutritional Messaging: To Eat Or Not To Eat?, Christina Triptow

Theses and Dissertations

There is a great deal of diet-specific processed foods on the market today. With so many options it can become difficult for consumers to decide what products to purchase. This situation is further intensified by the plethora of contradictory messages found in food advertising, especially in weight loss and dieting food advertising, but also seen in government nutrition campaigns and all over the internet on platforms like social media, blogs, and so forth. These messages can be confusing and frustrating for consumers as they try to decipher which foods they should eat to reach their health or weight loss goals. …

Virtual Advertising In The Nba: How Arousal Level And Visual Attention Alter Brand Recall And Recognition, Caleb H. Porter

Theses and Dissertations

During the 2020 season, the NBA implemented, for the first time, the use of virtual advertisements. Virtual advertisements are digitally superimposed ads directly on the court that are visible to anyone viewing the broadcasted version of a game. This study used eye-tracking and galvanic skin response (GSR) in conjunction with the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP; Lang, 2006a) to a) determine virtual advertising's effectiveness compared to traditional in-stadium advertising and to b) monitor the effect emotional arousal has on advertising recall and recognition. A sample of 176 fans of the Utah Jazz viewed one of four …

Osteoarthritis And Cartilage Insult: Elucidation Of Molecular Interplay And Attempted Interventions, Brandon James Rose

Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and incapacitating joint disease beginning with breakdown of articular cartilage and extending into subchondral bone. At present, the processes through which the disease occurs are poorly understood, and interventions are limited to pain relief and eventual joint replacement. OA is commonly associated with obesity and corresponding pathologies, and as OA is demonstrably not a product of passive erosion of cartilage over time or under increased loads there must needs be some other mechanistic link between the two conditions. We hypothesize that the production of ceramides, a hallmark of the insulin resistance syndrome underlying many obesity-related …

Student Perceptions Of Instructors Comparing A Low Mediated Immediacy Syllabus To A High Mediated Immediacy Syllabus, Ann Marie Katlyn Kamps

Theses and Dissertations

Instructional communication researchers have begun exploring the effects of levels of immediacy and mediated immediacy on students’ perceptions and success in the classroom. To date, researchers have concluded high levels of immediacy are beneficial for instructors to use both in their classroom and online as well. To extend this line of research, this experiment explores the effects of mediated immediacy on student perceptions of instructor’s clarity, credibility, and motivation. Results indicated that high levels of mediated immediacy in syllabi have positive effects on student perceptions and should be integrated within the online classroom. These findings contribute practical implications for instructors …

U-Splines: Splines Over Unstructured Meshes, Steven K. Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

U-splines are a novel approach to the construction of a spline basis for representing smooth objects in Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE). A spline is a piecewise-defined function that satisfies continuity constraints between adjacent cells in a mesh. U-splines differ from existing spline constructions, such as Non-Uniform Rational B-splines (NURBS), subdivision surfaces, T-splines, and hierarchical B-splines, in that they can accommodate local variation in cell size, polynomial degree, and smoothness simultaneously over more varied mesh configurations. Mixed cell types (e.g., triangle and tetrahedron and quadrilateral and hexahedral cells in the same mesh) and T-junctions are also supported. The …

The Use Of Nucleotide Salvage Pathway Enzymes As Suitable Tumor Targets For Antibody-Based And Adoptive Cell Therapies, Edwin J. Velazquez

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the progress made in cancer research, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although the development of new cancer treatments has improved cancer patients' survival rate, a significant number of patients experience refractory and recurrence events with serious side effects. It is known that the immune system actively participates in eliminating cancer. However, cancer cells can develop mechanisms to evade the immune system resulting in immunotolerance. Immunotherapy aids the patient's immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. During the last three decades, immunotherapy has gradually emerged as an effective and more specific approach to …

The Inhibition Of Valproic Acid-Induced Negative Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Through Nrf2-Mediated Redox Regulation, Ted Brenton Piorczynski

Theses and Dissertations

Valproic acid (VPA) is a commonly prescribed antiepileptic drug that causes negative neurodevelopmental outcomes, including neural tube defects (NTDs) and neurodevelopmental disorders, in fetuses exposed to it. While the exact mechanism by which VPA causes defects is unknown, research has shown that VPA increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that lead to redox dysregulation. We hypothesize that VPA causes negative neurodevelopmental outcomes through the disruption of redox-sensitive signaling pathways that are critical for proper embryonic development, and that protection from the VPA-induced redox disruption may decrease the prevalence of the observed defects. Time-bred mice were treated with 3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione …

The Effectiveness Of Myofascial Release On Overhead Athletes With Posterior Shoulder Tightness, Breiann E. Richey

Theses and Dissertations

Context: Posterior shoulder tightness is common among collegiate overhead athletes due to repetitive overhead patterns, often resulting in altered range of motion patterns. This may be associated with additional non-painful hypersensitive areas of taut muscle called latent myofascial trigger points (LTrPs), which have been linked to muscle imbalances, muscular weaknesses, impaired motor recruitment, and internal rotation (IR) range of motion (ROM) deficits. Evidence supports improvements in glenohumeral ROM and isometric strength through instrument assisted manual therapy techniques on MTrPs in baseball players. Ischemic compression (IC) is a form of therapeutic myofascial release that can be performed by any clinician trained …

Size Structure And Intraguild Interactions Between Two Ambystoma Species, Gwyneth Daunton

Theses and Dissertations

Intraguild interactions affect population and community structure through a combination of competition and predation. Changes in size structure influence intraguild interactions by affecting the strength and direction of these species’ interactions. I tested for size-structured intraguild interactions in temporary pond ecosystems between marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) and tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) using an outdoor mesocosm experiment. I hypothesized that 1) A. opacum survivorship and growth would be negatively impacted when both species start at a similar size because tiger salamanders grow faster and are more aggressive 2) A. tigrinum will grow slower and have lower survivorship …

The Challenges Of Navigating Feminism In Nigeria: A Case For Third Space Feminism, Pearl Osibu

Theses and Dissertations

This project features two parts: a critical portion discussing the feminism landscape in Nigeria, and a creative portion—a work of fiction titled “Glued together”. This abstract only concerns the critical aspect of the work, to which the creative part will only be tangentially related. In Nigeria, the largest country in Africa sited in the Sub-Saharan hemisphere, the very mention of the word, feminism is anathema. There is a lot of resentment towards, and pushback against the very idea. This lack of trust can be linked to certain voiced concerns that feminism is some “white man’s invention from the west” to …

#Mmiw: Framing The Online Presence Of The Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women Social Movement, Natalie Michelle Snow

Theses and Dissertations

Indigenous women experience violence at a disproportionate rate compared to non- Indigenous women. The disproportionate violence has created a crisis commonly referred to as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement. Over the last 15 years, activists, organizations, and families have responded to the lack of political motivation to address the violence by raising awareness on social media. While people communicate via multiple social networks, Twitter is the leading forum for information about the movement and accompanying events such as vigils, walks, and memorials. For this reason, this dissertation explored the Twitter presence of the MMIW social movement. Analysis …

Improving Water Quality Through Reducing Agricultural Nutrient Loss: Field Pennycress As A Cover Crop, Mujen Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural nutrient loss through water runoff from the Upper Mississippi (UM) River Basin is one of the major contributing sources to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic dead zone. Cover cropping has been identified as one strategy for farmers to use to reduce nutrient loss from their fields. However, the upfront costs and slow economic return of implementing cover crops prevent farmers from widely adopting traditional cover crops.Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) is an emerging potential “cash cover crop” species that may provide the soil and environmental benefits of traditional cover crops and the economic incentive farmers need to widely implement cover …

Statistical Modeling Of Drug Properties, Host Clinical And Genetic Factors In Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Kristin Ashby

Theses and Dissertations

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a rare adverse reaction that can result in liver transplant or death. Currently, there are no reliable methods to identify which individuals are at risk of developing severe or chronic DILI prior to drug administration. Here, we investigated the interplay between drug properties, clinical, and genetic factors and DILI risk, severity, and trajectory. First, we used a large, published dataset of 1036 drugs to examine the relationship between DILI risk and two drug properties, lipophilicity and extent of metabolism. Each drug property was tested alone and in combination with daily dose using five different DILI …

Replicas Of Social Change: Examining Reflections Of Religious Shifts In Japanese Society Through Literary Depictions Of Kitsune Characters, Sophia Pressler

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the roles of female kitsune (fox) characters in Japanese literature in different historical eras: the Heian period (794-1185), the Edo period (1603-1868), the Meiji period in addition to the period before the end of World War II (1868-1945), and the modern day (late twentieth to early twenty-first centuries). The goal of this analysis of kitsune folk tales, legends, and stories is to reunite the ‘folk’ with their folklore - providing evidence of how the content of folk tales, legends, and other stories are shaped by their contexts and thus serve as valuable historical records of the lives …

Standards-Compatible Smoke Points For Mono- And Un- Substituted Cycloalkane Fuel Components, Adekunle Vincent Adeniyi

Theses and Dissertations

Emissions from the aviation industry have increased significantly over the decades and may continue to pose an environmental threat. Accordingly, efforts are being made to replace conventional aviation fuels with more sustainable alternatives that can both reduce net CO2 emissions as well as reduce other pollutants (i.e., particulates). Conventional jet fuels include aromatic species, which have high sooting tendency. Therefore, to reduce particulate emissions, the fuel aromatics content must be reduced. Cycloalkanes have potential for replacing aromatics content in jet fuel but, compared to other broad classes of chemical species that make up conventional and alternative jet fuel, there is …