Digital Commons Network^™

A Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover Study To Evaluate The Effects Of Two Novel Hydration Beverage Formulas On Rehydration In Healthy Adults, Nathaniel David Rhoades

Theses and Dissertations

Intro: Dehydration is common in athletes and can lead to reductions in cognitive and physical performance. While there are many commercially available hydration beverages, most contain high amounts of CHO and are marketed as functional beverages. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two novel hydration beverage formulas (HMAA, HM) on hydration, cognitive performance, and time to exhaustion (TTE). Methods: Sixteen subjects (n=8 women, n=8 men) completed three experimental days where they consumed one of three conditions (HMAA, HM, or placebo) assigned randomly. The experimental protocol was completed in a heat chamber at 30-32℃ and 45-50% …

B-Cell-Specific Mhcii Promotes Host-Microbiome Symbiosis, Mary Melissa Roland

Theses and Dissertations

Classical major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) molecules are cell surface glycoproteins that bind and present peptide antigens on the surface of antigen presenting cells (APCs). MHCII:peptide complexes engage T cell receptors (TCRs) and CD4 co-receptors thereby facilitating cognate interactions between CD4+ T cells and APCs, which is responsible for the development of antigen-specific reactions and long-lived immunity; so called TD antibody responses. This is a critical step in the host’s response to pathogens, commensals, environmental stimuli and tumors. IgA is the dominant antibody isotype secreted into the gut and it is thought that most of the IgA in the …

In Her Possession And Keeping Revolutionary War Widows And The Politics Of Family Archives, 1820–1850, Riley Kathryn Sutherland

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how Revolutionary War widows deployed family archives as partisan tools to claim pensions. By reconsidering the relationship between women, family archives, and state building, it challenges established understandings of revolutionary women, nineteenth-century political economy, and memory.

Revolutionary War pension laws ignited fierce partisan debates. Since pensions would require Congress to impose tariffs and assemble a fiscal bureaucracy, they were generally supported by Whigs and contested by Democrats. Knowing that, women tailored their applications to their partisan audiences. Widows often appealed to Whigs by requesting welfare, citing their poverty. But when addressing Democrats, they framed the pensions they …

Customer Discovery And Applied Research And Development For An Environmental Nanotechnology, Paul Michael Vecchiarelli

Theses and Dissertations

Technology transfer is a process by which an innovative technology, typically produced in a non-commercial setting such as academia, is developed into a potential market opportunity. The first phase of technology transfer, once a technology has been developed, is to identify a customer segment and determine a value proposition that describes what need the technology will fulfill for them. This phase has been systematized into a framework known as customer discovery. Success in customer discovery will indicate technological gaps, such as scale-up, prototyping, and realistic testing, that are needed to deliver the value proposition to the initial customer. Both phases …

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among African American Men Living In The Rural South Of The United States, Serge Raoul Wandji

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders (SUD) affect more than 40 million Americans. African American (AA) men are disproportionally affected by the negative health and social consequences of SUD, and men in rural areas may be particularly at risk due to disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions and persistent race-related stressors such as perceived discrimination. The overall purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of factors associated with SUD treatment acceptance and relapse potential among Southern rural AA men.

This purpose was achieved by determining differences in treatment acceptance and relapse potential by race and gender among rural residents admitted in a SUD treatment …

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption And Risk Of Liver Cancer, Longgang Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Studies have shown positive associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and obesity and type 2 diabetes, two risk factors for liver cancer. However, the relationship between UPF intake and liver cancer has scarcely been studied. We aimed to evaluate the association between UPF intake and the risk of liver cancer in three prospective cohorts and further explore the role of genetic predisposition to fatty liver diseases and biomarkers of liver health on modifying the association.

Methods: We used data from the Nurses’ Health Study (1986-2012), the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2012), and UK Biobank (2006-2020). Diet was assessed with …

Stories From North Carolina Teachers Of Color: An Inquiry Of Racialized Experiences In The Workplace., Deborah Stephanie Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

Growing educational research shows that teachers of color are finding themselves working in racially hostile schools through experiencing racism from their White colleagues in explicit and inexplicit ways. There is a need to further categorize how North Carolina teachers of color are experiencing racism in the workplace and identify how they are affected by it through experiential knowledge and analysis underpinned by critical race theory. Through action research, this study’s goals incorporated the implementation and evaluation of a collaborative book as a method of intervention on the effects of racial trauma. The collaborative book presents full counternarratives of teachers of …

An Investigation Of The Galenic Influence On The Artistic Depiction Of Anatomical Concepts During The Renaissance, Fatima Amjad

Theses and Dissertations

The Renaissance era was a period marked by an intellectual and artistic resurgence in Europe, during which artists sought inspiration from Classical sources. This resulted in a move away from stylized medieval aesthetics and towards a renewed emphasis on accuracy and humanity in art. Renaissance artists developed art styles that emphasized perspective, proportion, and anatomy, creating more lifelike and naturalistic representations of the human figure and the natural world. The adoption of naturalism and individualism in the arts paired with the rediscovery and retranslation of ancient anatomical texts propelled artists and anatomists to deepen their understanding of the human body. …

Cultivating Community In A Sixth-Grade Classroom: An Action Research Study, Jennifer Weller Wells

Theses and Dissertations

Students who experience trauma bring this trauma to school with them in the form of exaggerated behaviors—acting out or withdrawing, being violent or extremely passive, or exhibiting rudeness or academic difficulty. Because students react to trauma in many ways, there is no one way for teachers to respond. The classroom community is vulnerable to the sheer unpredictability of behaviors. Grounded in ecological systems theory, whole-child theory, and compassionate teaching theory, this study explored my efforts to mitigate the results of trauma and increase the sense of community and well-being in my sixth-grade classroom. During the last few weeks of the …

Timing Deterministic Structural Model Updating Considering Impact And Fatigue Damage, Jason Michael Smith Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Naval ship structures such as support trusses, hull sections, driving machinery, and load-bearing beams are subjected to various damage states that develop on short-term (i.e. impact) and long-term (i.e. fatigue) timescales. Naval structures fitted with a structural health monitoring system with damage detection abilities will enable appropriate real-time adjustments to the ships’ posture and control policies and thus have increased survivability and lethality. A digital twin can provide real-time condition assessment of naval structures when conjoined with a decision-making framework will increase naval ship survivability through informed response management. A fundamental challenge for the development of digital twins is reliable …

How Do They Do It: A Narrative Of Disabled Public School Instrumental Ensemble Conductors And Their Positive Working Relationships With Their Administrators, Lia Alexandria Patterson Snead

Theses and Dissertations

As the leader of the instrumental ensemble, the conductor’s role is important on and off the stage. Public school conductors have especially demanding jobs because they must act as a conduit between composer and ensemble as well as handle all administrative duties pertaining to running a music program. Subsequently, this results in a heavier workload than the average teacher. The demanding workload can add to any preexisting issues for disabled ensemble conductors who struggle at work due to insufficient support from their administrators. The lack of strong administrative support for disabled or impaired faculty and staff may be due to …

Comparing Efficiency, Empowerment, And Satisfaction Between Individual And Group Genetic Counseling For Prostate Cancer, Sarah Marie Dickman

Theses and Dissertations

A hereditary cause for prostate cancer can be identified in 5-17% of cases, which can impact treatment and cancer screening recommendations for patients and their families. Increased demand for genetic testing has necessitated consideration of alternative genetic counseling service delivery models to meet needs. Studies have shown that group genetic counseling increases efficiency while maintaining the same patient benefits as individual genetic counseling, but research has mainly focused on patients who were assigned female at birth (AFAB). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of group genetic counseling for prostate cancer by assessing participants’ satisfaction and feelings …

A Conductor’S Guide To Lucrecia Roces Kasilag’S Misang Pilipino (1965), Denise Ysabel Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

Composer Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (1918-2008) is a National Artist for the Philippines and a UNESCO International Artist of the World. Though she has many more accolades and triumphs to note, both national and international, Kasilag is not well known outside of her native Philippines. One factor that obscures this composer from the world is that much of her work is unpublished, as are other historical Filipino composers’ works.

Kasilag composed her first Misang Pilipino in 1965 to commemorate the 400^th year of Christianization in the Philippines, but multiple editions of the work were written and used for different occasions. …

Evaluating Health Awareness In Cancer Genetics Amongst The Black And African American Community In South Carolina, Annika Jaliya Gadson

Theses and Dissertations

Historically minoritized individuals are underrepresented in genomic research which limits the ability to fully understand genetic variation within the population (Sirugo et al., 2019). This creates bias that questions the effectiveness of guidelines for genetic testing, predictive risk values, and medical management. Disparities in cancer genetics may be attributed to historical events that have cultivated mistrust in research and medicine, institutional bias, provider skepticism in patient reporting of medical symptoms, and limited access to genetic testing (Saulsberry et al., 2013). More exploration is needed to better understand how to increase access and awareness of cancer genetic services to Black and …

Nondestructive Damage Detection And Stress Corrosion Crack Mitigation In Stainless Steel Plates, Andrew Philip Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to inspect and detect damage within a structure without permanent damage has broad appeal in a range of engineering applications from aerospace structures to nuclear facilities. Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) using guided ultrasonic Lamb waves has growing potential and popularity in these fields. Lamb waves are known for being sensitive to material properties and various defects across the thickness such as cracks in metallic structures and delamination or debonding in composite structures. Research has also been done on the development of fully non-contact system that generates and detects Lamb waves, particularly focused on the use of pulsed laser for …

Stories From North Carolina Teachers Of Color: An Inquiry Of Racialized Experiences In The Workplace., Deborah Stephanie Harrisson

Theses and Dissertations

Growing educational research shows that teachers of color are finding themselves working in racially hostile schools through experiencing racism from their White colleagues in explicit and inexplicit ways. There is a need to further categorize how North Carolina teachers of color are experiencing racism in the workplace and identify how they are affected by it through experiential knowledge and analysis underpinned by critical race theory. Through action research, this study’s goals incorporated the implementation and evaluation of a collaborative book as a method of intervention on the effects of racial trauma. The collaborative book presents full counternarratives of teachers of …

Identifying Attributions And Predictors Of High School Dropout In Rural Youth: A Mixed Methods Approach, Karla Swayngim Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Graduating high school is an important educational milestone that is related to better life outcomes; however, high school dropout remains an issue in the United States (US). This mixed methods study began with a qualitative stage using attribution theory to identify the factors rural youth perceive as responsible for their decision to drop out of high school. Focus groups were conducted with youth from a rural area in South Carolina (SC). Seven themes were identified across the two categories of Internal and External Focus. Internal Focus themes included: (a) ability/self-efficacy, (b) effort, (c) plans for the future, and (d) other …

Actuation And Sensing Applications Of Piezoelectric Transducers, Connor Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

Piezoelectric materials, defined by their ability to display a charge across their surface in response to mechanical strain, are great for use in actuation and sensing applications. Actuation applications include acoustic devices, motors and vibration damping while sensing applications include pressure sensors, medical devices, energy harvesting and structural health monitoring (SHM). The use of piezoelectric actuation and sensing across the lifecycle of aerospace metals is currently an expanding field with use cases beginning with the manufacturing process and ending with SHM.

The research presented in this thesis had three goals: (i) to develop methods for implementation of piezoelectric actuation in …

If Not Me, Then Who? A Study Of Racial And Cultural Competence In A High School English Department, Dianna Sox

Theses and Dissertations

While the student population in U.S. public schools is diversifying, the teacher population and curriculum remain monochromatic. This action research study grew from the observation that racial and cultural content and discourse were absent from the English classrooms in my suburban high school due to a perceived lack of teacher cultural competence. Through this convergent mixed-method study, grounded in critical race theory, whiteness, and cultural competence, I sought to examine the factors that contribute to racial silence and improve teacher cultural competence in order to transform our classrooms into more racially and culturally just spaces. Surveys, independent reflections, focus group …

Anthropocene Composition: Teaching Terminal Generations In The Pre-Apocalyptic Classroom, John Michael Purfield

Theses and Dissertations

The Anthropocene is an era characterized by human alteration of the planet at deep geological levels and permeation of anthropogenic damage across all biomes. The primary crisis of this era is climate change, which is understood broadly as the anthropogenic disruption in weather patterns and global temperature averages caused by carbon emissions and other pollutants, as well as extractivism and terraforming (deforestation, monoculture farming, desertification and alterations of waterways, for example). Though popular media tends to frame climate change as a looming but always future problem, it is currently producing casualties, both human and nonhuman. The ongoing great extinction correlates …

A Mixed Method Study Of How Teachers’ Racial Bias Relates To Student-Teacher Relationships, Tasha Marie Childs

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the important role public schools serve in students’ lives, schools are at the center of racial, socio-economic, and political divide and the epicenter of traumatic events for students who are marginalized based on their racial or ethnic identity. While ample research has demonstrated educational inequities for these students, no study to date has examined the impact of teacher racial bias on the quality of student-teacher relationships within the context of the United States (US) pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade (PK-12) schools. A cross-sectional convergent mixed methods study was conducted to examine interpersonal racism in the classroom, and to specifically answer …

Sparse Partitioned Empirical Bayes Ecm Algorithms For High-Dimensional Linear Mixed Effects And Heteroscedastic Regression, Anja Zgodic

Theses and Dissertations

Variable selection methods in both the frequentist and Bayesian frameworks are powerful techniques that provide prediction and inference in high-dimensional linear regression models. These methods often assume independence between observations and normally distributed errors with the same variance. In practice, these two assumptions are often violated. To mitigate this, we develop efficient and powerful Bayesian approaches for linear mixed modeling and heteroscedastic linear regression. These method offers increased flexibility through the development of empirical Bayes estimators for hyperparameters, with computationally efficient estimation through the Expectation Conditional-Minimization (ECM) algorithm. The novelty of these approaches lies in the partitioning and parameter expansion, …

Learning To Let Go: Becoming A More Collaborative And Compassionate Director, Catherine Joy Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines all the directorial projects I’ve had the pleasure of working on throughout my time at UofSC, both as an assistant and as a director. Because I am completing my MFA without the mentor I originally started this journey with, my path has not been linear but, instead, a series of stepping stones in all shapes and sizes, guided by different directors and unofficial mentors who have various styles and approaches to theatre. These projects have molded my directorial approach in different ways, and I have become a better collaborator and leader because of them. This thesis examines …

Multilevel Description Of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Among Humans, Animals, And The Environment In Miraflores, Colombia, And South Carolina, Usa, Lidia Gual Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Tick-borne diseases are emerging worldwide due to environmental shifts caused by land fragmentation and climate change. Among the most important ones spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGRs) are of particular interest due to their wide species variety and high pathogenicity. Given the global spotted fever group rickettsia (SFGR) distribution, evaluation and comparison of different populations is critical to better understand these pathogens' epidemiology and unravel the risk factors affecting disease occurrence. Consequently, this dissertation investigates SFGR highlighting the One Health framework, assessing animals, humans, and the environment. The first part includes an evaluation at the household level using human and canine …

The Impact Of Follower-Influencer Relationship Stages On Consumers’ Perceptions And Behavioral Intentions In The Context Of Influencer Marketing, Khalid Obaid Alharbi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the impacts of the relationship between social media influencers and followers on consumers trusting influencers, being inspired by them, and perceiving mutual benefits in this relationship, which could increase how consumers value and respond to influencers' endorsement. Using an online panel (N = 559), the survey results indicate a stronger relationship between an influencer and a follower increases the likelihood that the follower will view the influencer as trustworthy, draw inspiration from the influencer, and perceive that they share reciprocal benefits in this relationship. The trustworthiness and inspirational value of an influencer, as well as their …

“Oh My God, Everyone Was Staring At Us”: The Experiences Of Transracial Fostering From The Perspective Of White Foster Parents Raising Black Youth, Christian Holmes Gorchow

Theses and Dissertations

Racial-ethnic identity is an essential component of a Black child’s development. Little is known about how transracial foster parents support Black foster children’s racial-ethnic identity development. The purpose of this dissertation was to address this gap by: (1) exploring transracial foster parents’ racial socialization practices as it relates to the care of Black foster children, (2) understanding transracial foster parents’ experiences with addressing racism and racial bias directed towards Black foster children, and (3) exploring transracial foster parents’ knowledge as it relates to the cultural needs of Black foster children. Using a thematic analytic approach, a sample of 8 White …

Female Infertility And Maternal And Infant Outcomes In South Carolina – The Role Of Insurance Type, Chelsea Mencio Norregaard

Theses and Dissertations

The overall objective of this research study was to examine the association between fertility treatments and maternal and infant birth outcomes, and to understand what role insurance type plays in these associations.

This retrospective statewide cohort study utilized population-based birth certificate data from January 2018 – December 2021in South Carolina, linked to all-payer claims data for outpatient services, inpatient admissions/discharges, and emergency department visits. Key exposure variables included insurance type and fertility treatment, depending on Aim. Key outcomes of interest included fertility treatment (Aim 1); maternal outcomes (Aim 2) including severe maternal morbidity, cesarean delivery without medical indication, elective labor …

Essays On Consumer Returns And Environmental Sustainability In Operations Management, Aditya Balaram

Theses and Dissertations

Consumer returns and environmental sustainability greatly impact the operational decisions that firms make. Focusing on consumer returns, lenient return policies aid consumers with resolving uncertainty but impose additional reverse logistics costs on retailers. The current retail landscape has largely eliminated the possibility of offering more stringent return policies since consumers have come to expect such policies as a given. This has driven retailers to look for innovative solutions while still offering costly free return policies. With respect to environmental sustainability, a number of operational decisions have been examined in the academic literature. These have ranged all the way from examining …

Creating A Culturally Inclusive American Literature Classroom, Holly R. Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what curricular and pedagogical changes connect with diverse high school students in an American literature course. Using a participatory action research approach, I collected qualitative data through interviews, observation, and narratives from a student focus group and myself. Data collection spanned an 18-week semester and involved students of varying racial and cultural backgrounds who identified as male, female, and nonbinary. The 12 focus group members were 11th-grade students at a public high school near Charlotte, North Carolina. The results signified that to increase student agency, teachers should offer diverse texts, pieces written …

The Relation Between Adhd Symptoms And Life Satisfaction/Self-Esteem Among Youth: Family Structure And Parenting Practices As Moderators, Yvette Rother

Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be particularly vulnerable to lower life satisfaction and self-esteem, given negative perceptions about their abilities and self, as well as related impairments in academic, social, and interpersonal functioning. Family factors, such as family structure and parenting behaviors, can impact youth development and behaviors. However, it is unclear what role family factors play in the relation between ADHD symptoms and life satisfaction and self-esteem among youth. This study therefore examined whether ADHD symptoms have an impact on the life satisfaction and self-esteem of children and adolescents in grades 4-12. Moreover, it explored whether …