Digital Commons Network^™

Does Subjective Time Cost Explain Cognitive Task Choices?, Raina Ashley Isaacs

Theses and Dissertations

The current literature suggests that subjective time duration could be the common currency used for task choice. However, few studies have been conducted that use non-physical tasks for their task choice options. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine if subjective time duration is the common currency for task choice regardless of task type. Participants first provided their subjective time estimates for each of the perceptual-motor and cognitive tasks that have been a priori determined to be at the medium difficulty level. Two cognitive tasks (item generation and math problem task) and one perceptual-motor task with a …

Herbal Extracts As Neuroprotective Agents In An In-Vitro Model Of Aluminum Neurotoxicity, Nada Ezzelarab

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Aluminum toxicity due to environmental or industrial exposure, medical applications, or from cooking utensils is a serious medical problem. The current study aims to investigate three herbal extracts: pomegranate peel extract, Achillea fragrantissima extract, and papaya fruit extract to combat this neurotoxicity.

Methods: Chemical characterization of the three extracts were evaluated using HPLC MS while their neuroprotective activity was assayed using MTT assay on SHSY5Y cells and nitric oxide levels.

Results: Using HPLC-MS chromatography, we have identified twenty-one compounds in the hydro-alcoholic Achillea fragrantissima, seventeen were determined in the pomegranate peel, eleven were assessed in the Carica papaya …

Pushing The Limits Of Sars-Cov-2 Survival: How Sars-Cov-2 Responds To Quaternary Ammonium Compounds And Wastewater, Benjamin Hawthorne Ogilvie

Theses and Dissertations

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the current global pandemic, COVID-19. Because this virus is novel, little is known about its sensitivity to disinfection. In this study, we performed suspension tests against SARS-CoV-2 using three commercially available quaternary ammonium compound (Quat) disinfectants and one laboratory-made 0.2% benzalkonium chloride solution. Three of the four formulations completely inactivated the virus within 15 seconds of contact, even in the presence of a soil load or when diluted in hard water. We conclude that Quats rapidly inactivate SARS-CoV-2, making them potentially useful for controlling SARS-CoV-2 spread in hospitals and the community. In addition to …

In Defense Of Plants: Salicylic Acid In A Host-Parasite-Pathogen System, Timothy Kyle Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Cuscuta pentagona is an obligate parasitic plant that uses a specialized organ, known as a haustorium, to penetrate host xylem and phloem to absorb water and nutrients from its hosts. As holoparasites, they lack chloroplast and therefore cannot photosynthesize. Bidirectional movement at the haustoria raises the possibility that the parasite can transmit defense signals from one host to another, though in what form is unclear. The biotrophic feeding mode, lack of chloroplast, and bidirectional movement across the haustoria lead me to hypothesize that (1) C. pentagona as a shoot parasite would elicit a systemic acquired resistance response in a host …

Crashcourse Literature: Public Humanities By Reception, Emma Luthi Price

Theses and Dissertations

CrashCourse Literature and other educational YouTube videos are essential mechanisms for connecting students and the general public to the humanities. Public humanities projects are in an intellectual tug-of-war between what academia and the diverse developing public want them to be, but that contention can and should be mediated using new media tools like CrashCourse Literature. CrashCourse Literature's emphasis on bringing the reader to the text and the text to the reader, echoes the goals of reception theory. Reception theory focuses on finding meaning in a literary text using the reader's horizon of expectations more than an a traditional, essentialist, "original' …

Evolution And Selection: From Suppression Of Metabolic Deficiencies To Bacteriophage Host Range And Resistance, Daniel Kurt Arens

Theses and Dissertations

The evolution and adaptation of microorganisms is so rapid it can be seen in the time frame of days. The root cause for their evolution comes from selective environmental pressures that see organisms with beneficial mutations survive otherwise deadly encounters or outperform members of its population who fail to adapt. This does not always result in strict improvement of the individual as in the case of antibiotic resistant bacteria who often display fitness tradeoffs to avoid death (see Reviews [1-3]). For example, when an ampicillin resistance gene (ampC) containing plasmid that is occasionally found in the wild was transformed into …

Understanding Perceptions Of Campus Safety And Community College Student Development: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Tiffany J. Ruocco

Theses and Dissertations

Campus safety is an important aspect of a student's collegiate experience. Although statistics indicate campus crime has been decreasing, these statistics do not provide an understanding of a student's perception of crime and how they are responding to that perception. This points to campus safety being a complex construct that transcends often cited numerical statistics and warrants a closer examination of students' feelings, behaviors, and experiences that build these perceptions. This mixed methods sequential explanatory single case study sought to understand the perceptions that students have about the overall safety of their campuses and whether fear of crime and the …

Feeling The Light: Sensory Substitution Devices In Research And Rehabilitation, Stephanie Nicole Hartling

Theses and Dissertations

The ecological approach to perception-action seeks to understand an individual’s control of goal-directed actions by focusing on the relationship or fit between animal and environment (Turvey, 2019). This fit determines what behaviors are possible for that animal – what Gibson (1979/2014) referred to as affordances. Affordances emerge from this fit between the animal and the environment; however, this fit is malleable such as with the addition of a tool. Tools can also modify a person’s ability to perceive affordances. Tools such as sensory substitution devices (SSDs) utilize one modality (such as touch) when another modality is unavailable or compromised (such …

The Slow Violence Of Eco-Apocalypse In The Poetry Of José Emilio Pacheco, Niels H. Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of his fifty-year career, Mexican writer José Emilio Pacheco has almost habitually written poetry about environmental themes especially those related to pollution, extraction, deforestation, and other related themes of destruction. Simultaneously, his work has engaged with questions of temporality, namely the passing of time and the inherent violence of such questions. In this essay, I examine a selection of Pacheco's poetry from the 1970s to the early 2000s, demonstrating Pacheco's marrying of the two concepts: environmental degradation and time. This marriage results in a provocative synthesis of eco-apocalypse, a phenomenon that details a paradoxical end that never …

The Effects Of Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback On The Accuracy And Complexity Of Writing Produced By L2 Graduate Students, Lisa Rohm

Theses and Dissertations

What started as a discussion of the efficacy of explicit grammar instruction has over time led to a debate about the need for and effectiveness of written corrective feedback (WCF) within the field of English language teaching (ELT). Dynamic written corrective feedback (DWCF) is a relatively new strategy developed by Dr. Norman Evans to provide WCF to English as a second language (ESL) students through systematic, coded feedback. While previous studies on DWCF have looked at its effects among other groups, few studies have examined DWCF in the context of ESL students studying at the graduate level. This study analyzes …

Intercropping Corn And Soybean: Profitability Of Different Agronomic Management Techniques, Raeann Lyn Huffman

Theses and Dissertations

Intercropping is the practice of growing multiple crops together in the same field. This is not commonly implemented in Midwest agriculture - instead, current monoculture practices have garnered attention because of the negative environmental impacts of monoculture farming. For this study, corn and soybean were intercropped in a production agriculture setting to investigate the benefits to the producer and the environment. Intercropping corn and soybean crops may reduce the need for added nitrogen (N) fertilizer, saving money on inputs and potential loss of N from the farm to the environment. Soybeans within the system may utilize less of the soil …

Transracial Adoption: An Investigation Of How Schools Shape Racial Identity, Lindsey Michelle Sowers-Zabelski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to investigate how schools, including educators and curriculum, shape transracial adoptees' racial identity development. International transracial adoptees and transracial adoptees who were adopted through foster care shared their school experiences through interviews. In addition, participants offered artifacts which they felt impacted their racial identity development, from their time in school, including photographs and past assignments, to further answer the research questions. Steward and Baden's (1995) Cultural-Racial Identity Model was used to frame which experiences affirmed or discounted participants' racial identity development. The data collected from this research suggested that school experiences and …

Microplastic Concentrations And Types In A Central Illinois Urban Stream, Caitlin Noseworthy

Theses and Dissertations

Microplastics are a persistent problem in many types of ecosystems across the world. The majority of microplastic studies have been conducted in the marine environments as well as larger freshwater lakes and rivers. We investigated microplastic concentrations in a small urban stream and its tributaries in Bloomington and Normal, Illinois. We also considered the relationship between watershed characteristics and microplastic concentrations as well as between seasonality and concentrations. Grab samples were collected in the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021 from Sugar Creek and its respective tributaries. The samples were processed following a standardized method created by the NOAA. …

The Mechanism Of Ptov1 Regulation By 14-3-3, Huwei1 And Sgk2, Pramoda Sahan Kumari Aththota Gamage

Theses and Dissertations

Prostate tumor overexpressed 1 (PTOV1) is highly expressed in several forms of cancer. High expression of PTOV1 is associated with tumor aggressiveness in several tumor types, including ovarian and breast cancer. Currently, PTOV1 is known to act both as a translational and transcriptional regulator aiding in the expression of prosurvival genes. Although PTOV1 is known to pass in and out of the nucleus in a cell cycle-dependent manner, the regulation of PTOV1 activity is not well understood and here we identify 14-3-3 as a PTOV1 interactor and show that high levels of 14-3-3 expression, like PTOV1, correlate with prostate cancer …

Numerical Modeling Of The Fiber Deposition Flow In Extrusion-Based 3d Bioprinting, Dhanvanth Jaya Talluri

Theses and Dissertations

Extrusion bioprinting involves the deposition of bioinks in a layer-wise fashion to build 3D structures that mimic natural living systems' behavior in tissue engineering. Hydrogels are the most common bioinks, in which their viscosity properties are dependent on the shear-rate, such as Non-Newtonian fluids. Numerical simulation of extrusion bioprinting may help study the flow properties of hydrogels and designing improved bioinks. In this thesis, the instability caused by the shear-thinning or -thickening parameter during extrusion is numerically compared with the theoretical estimations. The process of fiber deposition of hydrogels onto a substrate through the single and coaxial nozzle is done …

Quantifying Speech Pause Durations In Speakers With Nonfluent And Fluent Aphasia, Brooke K. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates pause duration between and within utterances in the speech of 20 people with different degrees and types of aphasia: 15 with fluent aphasia and five with nonfluent aphasia. It also examines within utterance pause durations as a function of utterance position. Using aphasia speech samples collected in a previous study by Harmon (2018), Praat acoustic analysis software was used to segment words and periods of pause and measure pause duration within and between utterances. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including pause duration mean, standard deviations, and interquartile range. Speech pauses were also categorized by the …

Going For Gold: Point Of Care Bio-Diagnostics And Gold Nanoparticles Treating Disease, Trevor M. Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations

Correct diagnosis of disease is essential in the effort to save and improve lives. Point of care (POC) diagnostics are in-vitro tests that assist in patient diagnosis and can be used at the location of patient care. POC diagnostics are easy to use and provide near-instant readouts allowing medical providers and patients to make rapid decisions about treatment. Increased access to POC testing is especially beneficial to low-income and low resource areas that cannot afford expensive lab testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has outlined at least 113 diseases for which POC diagnostics are needed. Because of this, developing effective, …

“It Was Too Many People To Like: ” How Romantic Relationship Partners Of Bisexual Or Pansexual Individuals Express Jealousy, Emily Jae Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Jealousy expression has been the topic of academic research for several years. As reflected by their Communication Responses to Jealousy Scale, Guerrero et al. (2011) determined 11 communicative responses to jealousy that fell into four distinct categories. However, the study of jealousy expression has yet to be applied to several underrepresented identities. Utilizing queer theory, this study aimed to explore which communicative responses to jealousy bisexual and pansexual individuals report receiving in dyadic romantic relationships with a monosexist partner and whether they perceived these responses to be related to their gender identity or sexual orientation. An online questionnaire was completed …

A Psychometric Analysis Of The Precalculus Concept Assessment, Brian Lindley Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Precalculus Concept Assessment (PCA), a 25-item multiple-choice instrument designed to assess student reasoning abilities and understanding of foundational calculus concepts (Carlson et al., 2010). When this study was conducted, the extant research on the PCA and the PCA Taxonomy lacked in-depth investigations of the instruments' psychometric properties. Most notably was the lack of studies into the validity of the internal structure of PCA response data implied by the PCA Taxonomy. This study specifically investigated the psychometric properties of the three reasoning constructs found in the PCA taxonomy, …

Test-Enhanced Learning In Post-Secondary Biology Courses: The Effect Of Cues And Incentives On High-Level Learning, Bryn Ellen St. Clair

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive scientists and psychology researchers have given growing attention to evidence of the testing effect, that is, the improvement of students' recall through memory-retrieval practice in the form of quizzes and exams. While laboratory experiments consistently show dramatic positive effects on learning through the testing effect, discipline-specific education researchers have sought to generalize these findings in real, instead of simulated classrooms. The objective of this dissertation was threefold: (1) To survey the current literature on the testing-effect as it applies to learning biology at the post-secondary level. In this review, I consider how further research on the testing effect may …

Raman Spectroscopy Using A Monolithic Spatial Heterodyne Raman Spectrometer For Planetary Exploration, Abigail M. Waldron

Theses and Dissertations

Raman spectroscopy is a vibrational technique that provides detailed molecular and structural information for organic and inorganic molecules and minerals, and is uniquely suited for spacecraft applications, in the search for chemical indicators of life. This is why NASA sent two Raman spectrometers to Mars on the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, as part of the SuperCam and SHERLOC instruments. The Raman spectrometers on Perseverance are conventional dispersive instruments that have been engineered to survive the harsh conditions of spaceflight. Future missions could benefit from smaller, more robust designs, especially missions to the Jovian planets, Jupiter and Saturn, their moons, asteroids …

Kujdesi Infermieror Tek Të Sëmurët Me Artrit Reumatoid, Fatime Zuka Sadiku

Theses and Dissertations

Hyrje- Artriti Reumatoid (RA) është një sëmundje autoimune inflamatore e karakterizuar nga sinoviti i nyjeve të vogla dhe të mëdha, e cila mund të çojë në shkatërrimin e kërcit dhe kockave duke shkaktuar dëmtime të konsiderueshme për shkak të erozionit të sipërfaqeve të kockave, nëse nuk trajtohet.

Qëllimi- Qëllimi i këtij punimi është edukimi i pacientëve me artrit reumatoid për mënyrën e jetesës, si të ushqehen, me çfarë aktivitete fizike të mirren, cila moshë dhe gjini është më e prekur dhe mbi të gjitha cili është roli ynë si infermierë në lehtësimin e dhimbjes te pacientët që vuajnë nga artriti …

Depresioni Tek Të Rriturit, Shkaqet Dhe Roli I Infermieres, Evlijana Alidema

Theses and Dissertations

Hyrja: Depresioni përkufizohet si gjendje e shëndetit mendor që karakterizohet nga katër ose më shumë simptome, si ndryshimet në disponim, oreks, gjumë, anhedoni, letargji, ndjenja e fajit dhe vetëbesimit të ulët, vështirësi në përqëndrim, agjitacion dhe ide për vetëvrasje. Në mesin e çrregullimeve psikiatrike depresioni është një sëmundje me një frekuencë të lartë në mbarë botën dhe paramendohet të jetë shkaku i dytë i sëmundshmërisë në dekadat e ardhshme.

Qëllimi i punimit: Qëllimi i punimit ishte identifikimi i shkaktarëve të depresionit tek të moshuarit dhe roli i infermierëve gjatë punës me personat me depresion.

Materiali dhe metodologjia: Metodologjia e këtij …

Aplikimi I Nanoteknologjisë Në Shëndetësi, Bahrie Fetahu

Theses and Dissertations

Në këtë punim diplome do të flas për aplikimin e nanoteknologjisë në shëndetësi, e cila përmban një degë të veçantë të saj që quhet nanomedicinë. Nanomedicina është aplikimi mjekësor i nanoteknologjisë. Nanomedicina varion nga aplikimet mjekësore të nanomaterialeve dhe pajisjeve biologjike, deri te biosensorët nanoelektronikë, madje edhe aplikimet e mundshme në të ardhmen të nanoteknologjisë molekulare siç janë makinat biologjike. Problemet aktuale për nanomjekësinë përfshijnë të kuptuarit e çështjeve që lidhen me toksicitetin dhe ndikimin mjedisor të materialeve në shkallë nanoseksuale (materiale struktura e të cilave është në shkallën e nanometrave, d.m.th. miliardat e një metri). Funksionet mund të shtohen …

Who Said It First? : Linguistic Appropriation Of Slang Terms Within The Popular Lexicon, Rachel Elizabeth Laing

Theses and Dissertations

Linguistic appropriation is an area of study that has been under-researched, even as it has become all the more relevant due to the rapid dissemination of slang and linguistic trends during the digital age. There are clear ties shown between individuals’ and groups’ identity and language. This study specifically examines the appropriation of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and LGBT language by creating an Acceptability of Appropriation scale and assessing potential relationships between linguistic appropriation, intercultural tolerance, and LGBT tolerance. These results are then examined through the lens of the communication theory of identity (CTI) and potential identity gaps that …

Teacher Perceptions Of Teaching Science Using The 5e Instructional Model, Erica Sheilasha Gaines

Theses and Dissertations

Changes made to science education on the national level caused many changes for state education systems. In the state of Georgia, science education instructional leaders also saw the need for a change in the way science needed to be taught to students. Due to the need to improve science teaching and learning and to increase interest in the STEM fields, Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science were released in 2016. Science teachers were required to shift their instructional practices to teach science as a practice by engaging students in specific tasks aligned to science and engineering practices. This study focused …

The Inflammatory Potential Of Diet And Its Relationship With Metabolic, Mental, And Cardiovascular Health Among Childhood Cancer Survivors: The St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (Sjlife), Christian Ricardo Alvarado

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Diet is now known to play an important role in the process of inflammation and subsequent chronic health events, such as cancer, metabolic syndrome (MetS), anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) and energy-adjusted DII (E-DIITM) are tools that can estimate the inflammatory potential of diet of individuals. Previous research has focused predominantly on diet-associated inflammation and adverse health effects in populations that were not composed of cancer survivors. As of the time of this dissertation, none have focused on childhood cancer survivors. Childhood cancer survivors are at an elevated risk of suffering from an …

Anisotropic Wave Behavior In Isotropic Material With Orthogonal Surface Perturbation, Khaleda Akter

Theses and Dissertations

Elastic wave propagation in anisotropic media is of great interest in various branches of engineering and applied sciences. In this study, an anisotropic wave propagation behavior in isotropic material with orthogonal surface perturbation is presented. The conventional method of estimating dispersion equations for isotropic material is to apply Helmholtz decomposition on the potential functions for Rayleigh-Lamb wave and Shear Horizontal (SH) waves. However, the presence of isotropic material with orthogonal surface perturbations in two coordinate directions significantly affect the wave propagation behavior due to its direction dependency, and hence, the Helmholtz decomposition of the potential functions cannot be applied to …

The Role Of Sexting In The Development Of Romantic Relationships, Max Bretscher

Theses and Dissertations

Using Knapp's stage theory of relationship communication, this pilot study examines "sexting" in the broader framework of relationship development, from initiation to termination. Likert-scale questions (1 = highly unlikely; 2 = highly likely) and open-ended questions were administered through Qualtrics to a small population (N = 45) of undergraduate mass communication students to determine on what communication technology, and in which stage(s) of relationships, is sexting most likely to occur. Quantitative results showed that Snapchat was considered the most appropriate medium for sexts (M = 4.60), followed by texting (4.27). Research that these mediums are used when relationships reach a …

Assessing The Anticipated Needs Of Transgender Patients In Cancer Genetic Counseling, Jacqueline Baquet

Theses and Dissertations

Most cancers are sporadic, but 5-10% of all cancer is hereditary, or caused by a heritable genetic mutation. A patient’s medical history, family history, genetic test results, intact organs (e.g., ovaries) at an increased risk for developing cancer, and the availability and accessibility of interventions are used to make recommendations for cancer-risk management. In addition to basic medical care, transgender patients have healthcare needs that differ from those of cisgender patients such as expert care related to using hormones or having gender-affirming surgery, as well as unique mental health concerns. Transgender individuals may also experience a greater number of barriers …