Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis And Evaluation Of Different Transformer Architectures For The Protein Sequence Representation And The Corresponding Hypothetical Applications, Mary Mao

Theses and Dissertations

This project is to investigate and assess several Transformer topologies for the modeling of protein sequences and their corresponding uses. Each major model for the protein sequence representations is inspected with its mathematical theory and analyzed for the different performance of the models with various validation repositories.

Anticipatory Behaviors And Vocal Expression In A Group Of Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Matthew B. Rios

Theses and Dissertations

Animal vocalizations convey motivational and affective properties. Using passive acoustic monitoring and behavioral observations, this study investigated the relationship between vocal communication and anticipatory behaviors within a group of captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) to inquire whether bioacoustic monitoring has the potential to be used for assessing captive animal welfare.

A Study Of The Effects Of An Amino Acid Residue On The Thermal Stability Of A Collagen Triple Helix In Varied Sequence Context, Ph, And Ionic Strength Of The Buffer, Zhenxun Xu

Theses and Dissertations

Collagen mimetic peptides are used broadly for collagen research and biomedical applications. Unlike the synthetic peptides obtained by solid phase chemical synthesis, recombinant peptides have more than 100 amino acid residues in length and are expressed in E. coli using designed genes. These longer peptides can offer improved, more native-like functions of native collagen for biomedical applications. One major challenge is the intrinsically low stability of native collagen, which has a melting temperature just above the physiological temperature of the organism. To understand how to enhance the thermostability of the peptides, I investigated the effects of amino acid sequences on …

Archaeomalacological Studies In The North Atlantic Islands, Kelly A. Mclafferty

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis expands upon the archaeomalacological narrative of the North Atlantic islands (the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Orkney) from the mid-8^th through the 20^th century. The main objectives are to identify exploited mollusk populations and ecological zones; investigate the roles of mollusk exploitation; contribute to laboratory methods of marine shell.

Judaism, Conversion, And The Limits Of Christian Orthodoxy: The Jewish Identities Of Joseph Wolff And Michael Solomon Alexander As Detailed In Their Memoirs And Missions To Palestine, Michael Iodice

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Jewish identities of the Anglican missionaries Joseph Wolff and Michael Solomon Alexander by examining their conversion memoirs and evangelical missions to Palestine. It argues that they used Protestant biblical exegesis to emphasize their Jewish heritage and its importance in Christian prophecy.

A Taste For The Distasteful: The Aesthetics Of Gore In The Giallo And Horror Films Of Mario Bava, Thais Casado Bignardi-Engstrom

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Italian experience with horror in cinema in both psychoanalytic feminist and cognitive Marxist critical film theories through a study of visual renderings of excessive violence and sex in gothic and thrillers known as giallo films created by the film director Mario Bava. This is an art historical study that looks at Bava’s work against the Italian cultural landscape in the post war period.

Rehearsing Attention: Contemporary Dance As A Practice Of Sustained Focus, Eve J. Jacobs

Theses and Dissertations

This paper contextualizes the influences, details the creative process, and reflects on the relevance of choreographer Eve Jacobs' artistic research for her MFA thesis, "Four Statements on Attention." She draws upon the legacies of choreographers Merce Cunningham and Anna Halprin; publications by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Johann Hari, Jenny Odell, and others; and resources from the activist coalition Friends of Attention to articulate how her dance practice continues to shape her capacity for sustained attention in an age of distraction.

Old Mac Donald's Party Farm, Aida P. Riddle

Theses and Dissertations

An experimental collection of short stories

Impact Of Exposure To Coal Plants On Birth Weight: Evidence From India Coal Plant Capacity, Deborah Nakkungu

Theses and Dissertations

Air pollution in developing nations presents a significant health threat; India's reliance on coal to meet increasing electricity demands and the non-compliance of coal plants with emission regulations worsen air pollution, resulting in considerable health risks. In this paper, I estimate the effect of exposure to coal plants on birth weight using data from the 2019-21 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and the Central Electricity Authority's data on coal plants in India. A linear regression controls for confounding factors, including village and birth cohort effects, as well as birth and household variables. I find that an additional gigawatt (GW) increase in …

Luca (Last Universal Common Ancestor), Tansy Xiao

Theses and Dissertations

LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) is a non-linear virtual environment with a non-anthropocentric approach. Streaming real-time biometric data from performers' movements, brain activities, and bioprocess data from living microbiomes such as slime mold and yeast into the virtual ecosystem, LUCA explores the collective agency and interconnectivity among diverse living entities.

This House Is For Laughing, Sam Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

Kendra has the perfect all-American family. She’s made sure of it. But when her brother Ben proves uncontrollable, she’s forced to confront her concept of family and how we choose to show up for one another.

My Sauce! Living In The Polyrhythm, Zakiya Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This paper contextualizes “Ghana: The Place Where the Chief Sleeps,” for which Harris served as dance captain, rehearsal director, dancer, stager and choreographer. Harris details how her work living inside the polyrhythms of performance, practices, and pedagogies can produce a holistic West African dance education for students.

Conceptual Representation And Schemas: Perceived Gender Differences Among Kinds And Shared Properties, Kathryn G. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Schemas are modes of categorization containing associations between kinds and their related properties. Research suggests sex-linked properties possess principled differences between the sexes. The present study’s results suggest that non-sex-linked properties also possess principled differences, which were more prevalent among properties with principled rather than causal connections to a kind.

The Set Falls Apart, Thomas F. Tait

Theses and Dissertations

Using systems, puppets, and reappropriated technologies as central features of my practice, in my work I explore allegorical connections and cross-affiliations between otherwise separate ontological categories. In this text, I draw on sources such as affect theory, science fiction, theater, and the uncanny, to consider our affectual relationship to the nonhuman.

Dear Dad,, Kimin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

A father-to-son relationship is often described as cold, distant, and detached. Mine was no different. A son looking for his father's approval for his entire life, realizing the approval has to be given by himself, not from his father.

間, Lele Dai

Theses and Dissertations

LeLe Dai makes contingent participatory public interventions using sensory materials such as sound, flickering light, and water. This paper examines their works through the lens of Chinese character Jian (間), meaning “gap/slit/incision,” to investigate the concept of “in-betweenness.”

Lost In The Times Of Yesterday And Other Stories, Anes Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Lost in the Times of Yesterday is an ongoing collection of fiction that features short stories who, while varying differently from one another, are all intertwined by the themes of immigration, post-colonialism, and Arabic and Arab-American identity, aiming to capture the diverse orchestra of Egyptian and Egyptian-American voices through the lens of magical realism. Some examples: the grief of a village girl and her attempt to understand her father’s ghost; an Egyptian-American actor whose slow physical disappearance leads to an examination of identity within contemporary performance; and the life of boy born with chestnut wings in a Brooklyn apartment.

Development Of Chiral Lewis Base Catalysts For Chlorosilane-Mediated Asymmetric C-C Bond Formations, Changgong Xu

Theses and Dissertations

The chiral hydrazine is a crucial structural motif that serves as pivotal structural elements in numerous natural products and biologically significant molecules. We are particularly interested in the catalytic asymmetric reduction of hydrazones, as well as the catalytic asymmetric propargylation and allenylation of hydrazones, because they provide direct pathways to these enantio-enriched chiral building blocks. In this work, we will explore the potential of two different categories of chiral Lewis base catalysts in the said transformations.

Developed by another student in our group, axial-chiral 3,3’-triazolyl biisoquinoline N,N’-dioxides derived catalysts are tested and demonstrated its capability in activating various hydrazone …

Effect Of Short-Term Exposure To Pesticide Mixture On Tissue Architecture, Body Fluid Conditions, Nitrative Stress And Osmoregulation Of American Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Asif Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Pesticides are used widely to control weeds and pests in agricultural settings but harm non-target aquatic organisms. We examined the effect of short-term exposure (one week) to pesticide mixtures (low dose: 0.5 μg/L Roundup®, 0.5 μg/L 2,4-D, and 0.4 μg/L atrazine; high dose: 1 μg/L Roundup®, 1 μg/L 2,4-D, and 0.8 μg/L atrazine) on American oyster (Crassostrea virginica, an important shellfish and seafood species) under controlled laboratory conditions. Histological analyses demonstrated the atrophy in oysters' gills, digestive glands, and connective tissue. The protein concentrations and glucose levels dropped significantly in the high-dose treatment. The number of hemocytes in connective tissue …

Novel Methods To Increase Carbon Mineralization Rates, Charles Ekpewani Kwaku Kporxah

Theses and Dissertations

Humans have contributed to climate change through anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide, into the atmosphere. CO2 emissions contribute approximately 79% to the warming of the Earth's surface. Various tactics have been developed to slow down global warming and prepare for climate change, including carbon mineralization. Carbon mineralization is a process that converts CO2 into solid mineral forms, such as carbonates, emulating the natural weathering process of alkaline silicate rocks. However, the rate of natural weathering is slow, occurring on geologic time scales. Therefore, the goal of this research is to …

Constructing And Understanding Angler License Typologies And Response To Landscape Change, Michael James Lant

Theses and Dissertations

The future of conservation could hinge entirely on voluntary contributions of individualsand their relationship with landscape features. Conservation funding is becoming increasingly unstable, shifting from large non-governmental organizations to voluntary user-pay funded organizations. At the same time the natural world is experiencing dramatic changes, such as the global extinction crisis and widespread loss of biodiversity. User-pay-experience models, such as recreational fishing in North Dakota, are challenged by the uncertainty surrounding angler participation and license sales. Our objectives were to 1) investigate license purchasing dynamics among resident North Dakota recreational anglers to reveal potential angler license typologies, 2) compare trip-related behavior …

Controlled Delivery Of Peptide And Gasotransmitter For Promoting Vascular Endothelialization, Shirin Changizi

Theses and Dissertations

Endothelial cells (ECs) are vital for maintaining proper vascular function and regulating processes such as hemostasis and inflammation. Disruption of endothelial cells integrity can lead to several pathological conditions, including coronary artery disease, vascular cognitive impairment, and dementia (VCID). Alterations in ECs distribution may lead to compromised blood-brain barrier (BBB) function, facilitating the passage of blood components and contributing to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, disruptions in ECs function can lead to early-stage thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia, resulting in graft failure in small-diameter (

This study aimed to develop innovative approaches for drug delivery to the BBB and TEVGs …

Brain-Inspired Continual Learning: Rethinking The Role Of Features In The Stability-Plasticity Dilemma, Hikmat Khan

Theses and Dissertations

Continual learning (CL) enables deep learning models to learn new tasks sequentially while preserving performance on previously learned tasks, akin to the human's ability to accumulate knowledge over time. However, existing approaches to CL face the challenge of catastrophic forgetting, which occurs when a model's performance on previously learned tasks declines after learning the new task. In this dissertation, we focus on the crucial role of input data features in determining the robustness of CL models to mitigate catastrophic forgetting. We propose a framework to create CL-robustified versions of standard datasets using a pre-trained Oracle CL model. Our experiments show …

Investigating The Demise Of East Bank Ridge Through Local Fishery Perceptions And Fish Population Metrics, Marissa R. Lamb

Theses and Dissertations

East Bank Ridge is a natural reef formation located 18 nautical miles off the coast of South Padre Island, covering an area of over 80 km2, with the southern portion extending into Mexico. There is no previous record of the structural composition or fish community present at the site. The ridge was a well-known fishing site in the local community over the past decades but catch rates have decreased substantially according to personal accounts from local anglers. In this study, areas of reef habitat were identified, and fish presence and abundance metrics were determined at East Bank Ridge. These measures …

Exploring The Potentials Of Delafossite-Coated Cotton Textiles: Photocatalytic Self-Cleaning, Uv-Blocking, Anti Microbial Activity And Hydrophobicity, Shahria Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Delafossite materials demonstrate multifunctional applications due to their excellent catalytic properties, which vary depending on their morphology, particle size, and synthetic method. Herein, a few novel applications of the delafossites are reported, which can be implemented in commercial, medical, and domestic settings. In present work we are presenting two different delafossite CuGaO2 and CuFeO2 nanoparticles and its composite with cotton fiber. Multifunctional cotton fabric is prepared by depositing a uniform coating layer of CuGaO2 and CuFeO2, exhibits excellent photocatalytic self-cleaning, UV blocking, and antimicrobial activity. CuGaO2 and CuFeO2 nanoparticle concentrations of 1mM and 2mM were deposited over the cotton fabric …

The Role Of Enso On Atmospheric Patterns In The Great Plains Of The United States In The Cesm2 Large Ensemble, Taylor Jean Dolan

Theses and Dissertations

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a common teleconnection used for seasonal forecasts over the Great Plains of the United States, where the warmer (colder) conditions are associated with the positive (negative) phase. Precipitation is more nuanced due to the impacts of single events on seasonal precipitation. Understanding how ENSO impacts temperature and precipitation events in a warming climate is vital for understanding risks to the agricultural community. Unfortunately, deterministic climate simulations complicate matters as results can vary between different models due to internal variability.This study leverages the Community Earth System Model 2 Large Ensemble (CESM2) to explore the …

Restoring The Occupational Therapy Spirit In Hand Therapy Practice, Karrianna Iseminger

Theses and Dissertations

The dominant role psychosocial factors play in physical healing and disability perceptions of individuals with upper extremity (UE) conditions has been documented repeatedly in the literature for over 40 years. This population is at particular risk given the number of occupations requiring the functional use of one or both UEs for successful performance. However, occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) specializing in hand therapy do not appear to have a shared practice or understanding of evaluation and intervention for psychosocial factors as they tend to focus mostly on the physical limitations of occupational performance. Therefore, the purpose of this three-article dissertation project …

The Effects Of Disconfirming Feedback On Multiple Tests Of A Witness's Memory, Kaden Alan Bollinger

Theses and Dissertations

Testing a witness’s memory more than once has been shown to decrease accuracy in subsequent tests, and providing a witness with disconfirming feedback has also been shown to reduce confidence levels and reduce accuracy after they have made a decision from a lineup. The current study aims to examine how disconfirming feedback affects a witness’s accuracy throughout multiple lineups, as well as looking to examine the reflector variables of reaction time and the “Remember, Know, Guess” (e.g. RKG) questionnaire. Participants who incorrectly chose a suspect from an initial target-absent lineup were given disconfirming feedback and randomly assigned to either a …

Pipecolic Acid And Novel Insights Into Cerebral Malaria, Akua E. Mensah

Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral malaria (CM), a severe manifestation of Plasmodium infection, prompts our investigation into the nuanced role of pipecolic acid in its pathophysiology. To unravel the molecular intricacies, we conducted in vitro lysine labeling techniques of mice infected with P. berghei ANKA parasites, and human P. falciparum grown in vitro, aiming to discern the impact of Plasmodium on pipecolic acid production. Previous observations indicated an elevation in pipecolic acid levels correlating with neurological decline in children with CM. In our study, confirming elevated pipecolic acid presence in the plasma and brain tissues of CM patients and the animal model of CM, …

Development Of A Model To Predict Maximum Crack Width And Spacing In Reinforced Concrete Beams Under Flexural Stress, Saeed Alghamdi

Theses and Dissertations

Cracking in reinforced concrete structures is unavoidable due to the low tensile strength of concrete. Even though minimizing cracks on exposed concrete surfaces is significantly important from the aesthetics point of view, it is also very important for the durability and overall performance of the structure.

Flexural members must be designed to minimize cracking that may occur during the structure's service life. Even though there has been a lot of experimental work on crack width over the last several decades, a literature review reveals that researchers still can't agree on which variables are most important. Part of the reason for …