Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of Tripeptides Self-Assembly & Er Stress On Cell Viability And Exosome Secretion In Mda-Mb231, Azmat Parveen

Theses and Dissertations

This study delves into the effects of tripeptides KYpF and WYpK(NBD) on MDA-MB-231 cells, uncovering KYpF's ability to reduce cell proliferation and exosome secretion in peptide treated cells. Conversely, WYpK(NBD) demonstrated significant toxicity at 10 μM. These insights pave the way for optimizing peptide-based cellular treatments for exosome secretion purposes.

The Effect Of The Lunar Cycle On The Demographics Of Asian Elephants Observed In Open Areas In A Protected Wildlife Sanctuary And Surrounding Crop Fields, Serene K. Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

Due to human development and habitat fragmentation, Asian elephants increasingly use human landscapes and encounter people. These interactions have led to negative interactions between humans and elephants, such as crop-raiding. Despite efforts to mitigate these conflicts, farmers have not been able to consistently protect their crops from elephant foraging. Therefore, it is important to understand elephant behavior in these landscapes to help create long term mitigation plans. Specifically, research regarding demographic patterns in Asian elephants’ perceived predation risk can inform wild elephant management. This study used camera traps in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi, Thailand to observe the wild Asian …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Mental Health- A Comparison Between Gender & Race, Taliyah Quinn

Theses and Dissertations

My study will focus on the rise of mental health toward the African American, Latinx and Asian Americans communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The spread of the virus, the high percentage rate of infections among minorities, isolation, quarantining and socio economic disadvantages played a major role in the increase of mental disparities.

Optimizing The Protein Yield Of The Collagen Mimetic Peptide: Col108, Fahmida Akter

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The fibril-forming collagen mimetic peptide Col108, produced in E. Coli, has shown potential for innovative biomaterial applications. However, further research is constrained by its limited yield. My study aims to enhance the experimental parameters and has successfully pinpointed rifampicin as an efficient method to boost the production of Col108.

Narcissus Goes Digital: The Impact Of Zoom’S Self-View Feature On Cognitive Load And Zoom Fatigue Among Those With High And Low Adhd Symptoms, Abigail Aris Weir

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with ADHD may be more vulnerable to an increased cognitive load during video conferencing (e.g., Zoom) due to the distracting nature of their reflection being displayed by the self-view feature. This feature, however, may also provide stabilizing effects by offering consistent visual feedback for self-monitoring, thus reducing anxiety.

Subspace Decomposition Of Linear Secrecy Codes, David Robert Joseph Hunn

Theses and Dissertations

We introduce a new method for the study of linear codes, termed subspace decomposition, which provides new insights into code structure and performance. Briefly, subspace decomposition comprises the evaluation of complex properties of a linear code by evaluating simple properties of its constituent subspaces. We find that this technique has application to a number of problems in coding theory. When applied to the problem of evaluating the performance of secrecy codes, subspace decomposition provides an efficient method for computing the equivocation of coset codes over the binary erasure wiretap channel. It is also especially efficient in computing the chi squared …

Reconfigurable Over-The-Air Chamber: Measuring Radio Frequency Device Performance, Benjamin T. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Over-the-air (OTA) testing is particularly useful in determining the performance of multi-antenna communication devices in real-world environments. Traditional OTA testing technologies include the reverberation chamber (RC) and the multi-probe anechoic chamber. More recently, the reconfigurable OTA chamber (ROTAC), which is a RC that has probes lining its chamber walls, has been proposed. These probes are either driven with a source, possibly combined with a channel emulator, or are terminated with a tunable impedance. Controlling the excitations and terminations on the probes can alter the fields within the chamber and thereby synthesize an antenna response at the device under test (DUT). …

Synthesis Of Selenium Nanostructures: Rods, Wires, And Fibers By Pulsed Laser Ablation In Liquids, Atikur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Selenium is a semiconductor that has a bulk energy bandgap of 1.74 eV, is mainly used in sensors, rectifiers, and advanced photovoltaic solar cells. Selenium is very important for the energy applications and was declared as Energy Critical Element (ECE) by the American Physical Society (APS) and the Materials Research Society (MRS). The goal of this dissertation was to control the growth of selenium when being irradiated by a pulsed laser within a liquid environment. The method called “Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids” is a green synthesis technique that allows for ligand-free nanoparticles to be created. Laser repetition rates were …

Impact Of Substance Use And Perceptions Of Social Support On Psychological Distress Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Laura Gorman

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are the leading cause of disability and mortality for individuals under the age of 45 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021; Moore et al., 2014). Previous research has informed us that substance use, perceptions of social support, and TBI severity have all been associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Given the prevalence of TBI and its impact on physical and mental health outcomes, it is important to understand how outside factors (substance use and perceptions of social support) relate with TBI severity to effect overall levels of psychological distress. Objective: Drawing from self-determination …

A Student Co-Creation Lab As A Sustainable System For Oer Development, Sarah Ann Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

Open educational resources (OER) are digital and non-digital resources for teaching, learning, and research that are available for no cost and licensed with various open licenses, permitting their widespread modification and use. While these resources afford benefits to post-secondary students in terms of reduced cost, ease of access, and potential for customization, faculty members in Ontario, Canada face many barriers to creating these resources for their classes. While many post-secondary institutions have engaged in some form of OER-development initiative, the initiatives are typically not sustainable in the long term. This study explores the model, including the tools, techniques, and workflows, …

Examining Tele-Mental Health Utilization In North American Indigenous Communities, Elleh A. Driscoll

Theses and Dissertations

Tele-mental health delivery reported by clinicians in Indigenous communities before, during, and after the pandemic has largely remained unexplored across psychology literature. Tele-mental health (TMH) is the utilization of technology tools to communicate and treat clients (Riding-Malon, 2014). TMH (i.e. mental health services accessed via zoom, telephone, etc.) is associated in recent research with effective rates for mental health care treatment comparable to in-person rates for both immediate and long-term outcomes (McCord, 2020; Lin, 2021). The current study examined self-reported mental health clinicians (n=104) serving North American Indigenous clients on a variety of TMH factors during and after the COVID-19 …

Perceptions Of Interpersonal Communication Skills In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Raquel Ann Zeidlik

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare is analogous to a team sport where effective communication is vital for the success of all members of the team. If communication is ineffective – or absent – between members of the healthcare team and their patients, then issues move beyond the concern of patient satisfaction, to matters of life and death. Patients who put their well-being in the hands of a healthcare team deserve to feel safe and to receive high-quality care, delivered by the most compassionate and qualified care team possible. Barriers to effective communication continue to challenge healthcare teams, further compromising the nurse-patient relationship. A total …

Christianity In Conversations About Sexuality: Influences Of Parental Communication On Young Women’S Navigation Of Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences, Danielle Piggott

Theses and Dissertations

Women are forced to cope with the reality of sexual violence in multiple ways throughout their young adult life. This study sought to understand the influence of parental messaging on how young women understand consent and their own vulnerability to sexual assault, how they respond to friends who disclose to them about experiencing sexual assault, and how they personally conceptualize and recover from sexual assault. A sample of 384 college-aged women completed an online survey with questionnaires about messages from and relationships with their parents, beliefs about sex and sexual assault, sexual history, and mental health related symptoms. Regression analyses …

Examining Mental Health Professionals' Attitudes Towards Individuals With Rural Accents, Emily Heavner

Theses and Dissertations

Bias against people from rural areas is ingrained in American culture, and stereotypes that people from rural regions are backwards, uneducated, and unintelligent are prevalent (Fulkerson & Thomas, 2016; Hartman et al., 2023; Howley, 2009; Shirley, 2010). Many people from rural areas have accents that mark them as coming from a rural region (Flanigan, 2000). Research suggests that accent is a reminder that the speaker is from a different cultural group than the listener, triggering biases and stereotypes about the speaker (Chakraborty, 2017). Because accent and rural culture are not often discussed as part of multicultural competence, many mental health …

A Thematic Analysis: A Lived Experience Raising A Child Diagnosed With A Neurodevelopmental Disability In A Rural Community, Matthew Kettelhake

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, about 17% of children between the age of 3 and 18 are diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disability (Zablowsky et al; 2019). About 14% of the population lives in a rural community (USDA, 2020). Being part of a rural community has additional challenges urban areas may not face (Sharpley et al., 1997; Hasting &Taunt, 2002; Gerstein et al.,2009; Dabrokska & Pisula, 2010). Parents of children diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disability also face additional challenges than raising a neurotypical child. This study explored the themes and commonalities that arise from raising a child diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disability …

The Experiences And College Readiness Of Native American Students Who Participated In Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment And Transitioned To Higher Education, Krystal Marie Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study employed the Diverse Learning Environment Model to examine how dual credit/dual enrollment course participation by Native American students impacts their college readiness and transition to college. Literature shows that students who take dual credit/dual enrollment in high school are more likely to graduate from high school and transition to college and have less time to degree completion. Furthermore, dual credit/dual enrollment course participation also increases students’ college readiness and improve student’s self-efficacy. The guiding notion of this paper are the overwhelming benefits to students who participate in dual credit/dual enrollment coursework in high school and how …

Examining Correlations Of Historical Trauma And Ethnic Identification With Symptoms Of Depression In Native American College Students, Nerissa Dolney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how historical trauma and one’s degree of ethnic identity relate to symptoms of depression, due to controversy in the literature about such variables. Participants in this study self-identified as Native American, were over the age of 18, and were currently enrolled or have been previously enrolled at the University of North Dakota (UND). Participants completed a survey online via Qualtrics to gather information about their ethnic identity, frequency of historical loss thinking, and symptoms of depression. Historical loss thinking was found to be very prevalent among this sample, and …

The Impact Of Upper-Elementary C3wp Resources On First Draft Student Writing Samples: A Study Of Lexical Cohesion, Semantic Overlap, Grammar And Mechanics, Lisa Fricke Gusewelle

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of the College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) on upper-elementary students' first draft writing quality, addressing the challenges teachers face in providing timely and effective feedback on extensive student writing, particularly in spelling, grammar, mechanics, and cohesion. The hypothesis posits that C3WP resources will improve students' writing by enhancing lexical cohesion and reducing surface-level errors. Four 6th-grade students with varying reading proficiency levels participated in two C3WP mini-units over a two-month period. First drafts were analyzed using the Tool for the Automatic Analysis of Text Cohesion (TAACO) to measure semantic overlap and lexical cohesion, …

A Document Analysis On The Role Of Innovation In The Strategic Plans Of Small Private Liberal Arts Institutions, Jillain Kaye Veil-Ehnert

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study provides interpretations of the nature of strategic plans at small private liberal arts institutions. The study explored the concepts of innovation, entrepreneurship, and transformation detailed in the plans. This study included a specific cohort of eight United States small private liberal arts colleges with similar characteristics regarding academic programs, enrollment, and fiscal stability. The research was conducted through document analysis of the institutions’ publicly available strategic plans. The data collected illustrates what the documents indicates about innovation, entrepreneurship, and transformation at small private liberal arts colleges. Key findings on innovations in the plans included a focus on …

Saudi Acceptance Of Digital Communication And Satisfaction With Mobile Government Services (M-Government), Samah Alotaibi

Theses and Dissertations

Governments throughout the world are using developments in mobile technology to enhance electronic governance (e-government) by digitally providing government information and services. This is often known as mobile government (M-government), which caters to the needs of individuals, corporations, and governmental institutions. The main objective of this dissertation is to examine the integration of mobile government services into the government's digital communication revolution. It specifically aims to investigate the level of satisfaction and acceptance among Saudi citizens regarding the mobile applications developed by the government. The dissertation delves into their perspectives and assessments of the digital communication channels offered by the …

Activities Eligibility: Building A More Equitable Approach To Support Students, Cory Holten

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the researcher analyzed the impact of traditional cocurricular activityeligibility practices on minoritized students, students with disabilities, and students receiving free and reduced lunches. The researcher issued a survey to staff members at Horizon Middle School in Moorhead, Minnesota to gain an understanding of the perceived impact of participation in cocurricular activities and the impact and observed disparities existing as a result of traditional eligibility practices. As a result of the findings, the researcher proposes an alternative approach focused on identifying lagging skills through the collection of student data related to academic achievement, attendance, and behavior. Instead of …

Unveiling Facilitators And Barriers Of Breastfeeding Initiation And Continuation And Designing Culturally Tailored Intervention For African American Mothers, Nadia Boahemaa Kyeremeh

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the determinants of breastfeeding initiation and continuation among African American women in the United States and evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention using WordPress to disseminate culturally relevant breastfeeding information to African American women. First, secondary data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) was used to test factors influencing breastfeeding initiation and continuation among White and Black women. The results showed that the foreign-born (vs. US-born) status, residing (vs. non-residing) with grandparents, and strong (vs. weak) cultural identity were positively associated with breastfeeding initiation and continuation across racial groups. Based on the secondary …

Co2-Storage Trapping In Deep Saline Aquifers: Numerical Modeling On The Broom Creek Formation, Christopher Nkansah

Theses and Dissertations

Carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in deep saline aquifers holds promise as a viable solution to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Bulk-CO2 injection and sequestration in deep saline aquifers is a complex geological process. Previous studies have shown that bulk-CO2 injection into deep saline aquifers provides sufficient aquifer storage efficiency. In North Dakota, the Broom Creek Formation exists in the subsurface as the upper unit of the Minnelusa Group.This study presents a simulation study of bulk-CO2 injection and storage in a saline aquifer belonging to the Minnelusa Group in the Broom Creek Formation by providing insights into and evaluating the efficiency …

Holistic Advising And Student Success: A Qualitative Study On Student Advising Experiences And Perceptions At The University Of Wisconsin Stout, Camille Peterson Banger

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, single-case study investigated undergraduate students' perceptions and experiences of the academic advisement approach in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) academic program at the University of Wisconsin Stout. Focusing on holistic advising to address diverse and evolving needs, the study aimed to inform academic advisement practices within the ICT program by creating and implementing an ICT program academic advisement handbook and adding to the field of practice. Data collection involved on-campus and online focus groups with undergraduate ICT program students, questionnaires with ICT program advisors, and documentation analysis to triangulate the findings. Using Merriam’s (1998) approach to data …

Optimization Of Mass Spectrometry-Based Methods For Low-Input And Spatial Proteomics, Andikan Jones Nwosu

Theses and Dissertations

Eukaryotic cells are highly heterogeneous. These cells are arranged into different compartments, carrying out separate functions and facilitating biological processes. Proteins are the effector biomolecules targeted to subcellular locations that help fulfill specific tasks in living organisms. Spatial proteomics can help unravel molecularly how protein abundance and localization are altered in cells, which is not feasible in traditional bulk-scale proteomics. To achieve this, our lab has developed a miniaturized sample processing platform called nanoPOTS, reduced separation columns' inner diameter to increase ionization efficiency and concentrate analytes for mass spectrometers and optimized data acquisition modes for increasing proteome coverage in spatial …

Design Considerations For Self-Deploying Origami-Inspired Space Arrays, Kathryn Faith Varela

Theses and Dissertations

Origami engineering involves many steps, including selecting a pattern, accommodating for thickness, and choosing stabilization, damping, and deployment methods, the last of which is particularly important if the array is intended to self-deploy. Through metrics and case studies, this research strives to aid designers in creating origami-inspired deployable arrays. The approaches vary as each chapter focuses on a different aspect of origami engineering. By introducing a thickness accommodation technique and reducing complications with rigid-foldability (when applicable), this work shows how the geometrical structure can be modified to help the array stow and deploy. By providing quantitative and qualitative metrics for …

Enumeration Of Level-K Hypertriangulations, Patrick J. Kaylor

Theses and Dissertations

Triangulations are a classical object in discrete and computational geometry that finds it uses in many other fields, including numerous applications. In this thesis we approach the question of enumerating all hypertriangulations of a point set, the family of tilings introduced by Olarte and Santos in 2022 as induced projections of hypersimplices. Unfortunately, the usual approach to enumeration of trinagulations using flips may not work for hypertriangulations as flip-connectivity is only conjectured for that family even in the two-dimensional case. As a result, we develop a DFS-based algorithm and present its Python implementation that enumerates all hypertriangulations of small point …

Evolving Community Preparedness: Analysis Of United States Pandemic Health Disaster Readiness, Jessy Rugeyo

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown substantial gaps in counties' preparedness and response capacity across the United States. This study analyzes the relationship between county-level pandemic preparedness and confirmed COVID-19 cases using secondary data from the FEMA's National Household Survey (NHS) and county-level COVID-19 data from the CDC. The data show a negative relationship between preparedness levels and COVID-19 positive rates, highlighting the necessity of proactive readiness measures. Individual risk assessment, motivation for preparedness, and socioeconomic variables have a major influence on confirmed cases. Higher levels of education, income, and preparedness are associated with lower positive rates, emphasizing the importance of …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Medicinally Privileged Aza Heterocycles, Nneoma James

Theses and Dissertations

Four-membered cyclic amides, commonly known as β-lactams, have played a crucial role in drug discovery research since its discovery by Alexander Fleming in 1928 from Penicillium notatum. The β-lactam antibiotics are broadly effective against several bacterial infections through acylating the transpeptidase involved in cross-linking peptides to form peptidoglycan or periplasmic murein, which is a fundamental constituent of the bacterial cell wall for both the gram-positive (ten or more layers) and gram-negative (one or two layers) bacteria. Although for more than eight decades, β-lactams have been recognized as antibiotics, later, other medicinal activities of β-lactam derivatives have been reported, including lowering …

Communicating Character: Ceo-Expressed Humility, Stakeholder Protest Activism, And Organizational Misconduct, Guadalupe J. Solano

Theses and Dissertations

In an era characterized by self-promotion, individualism, and the pursuit of self-interest, the virtue of humility appears to be in decline, with far-reaching implications for contemporary organizations and overall social cohesion. The corporate landscape, in particular, has not been immune to this trend, as leaders who prioritize humility are becoming increasingly scarce (Heimann, 2021). Within the realm of business and, more specifically, leadership, the scarcity of humility can create a fertile ground for organizational misconduct to flourish, as it may reduce accountability and foster an unethical climate. Additionally, when misconduct is exposed, the perceived lack of humility in leadership can …