Digital Commons Network^™

Successful Pressing Sequences In Simple Pseudo-Graphs, Hays Wimsatt Whitlatch

Theses and Dissertations

Motivated by the study of genomes evolving by reversals, the primary topic of this thesis is “successful pressing sequences” in simple pseudo-graphs. Pressing sequences where first introduced by Hannenhali and Pevzner in 1999 where they showed that sorting signed permutation problem can be solved in polynomial time, therefore demonstrating that the length of a most parsimonious solution to the genome in- version only rearrangement problem can be determined efficiently.

A signed permutation is an integer permutation where each entry is given a sign: plus or minus. A reversal in a signed permutation is the operation of reversing a subword and …

The Intersections Of Health And Wealth: Socioeconomic Status, Frailty, And Mortality In Industrial England, Samantha Lee Yaussy

Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic status (SES) is considered one of the most powerful predictors of mortality today. However, studies of health in living populations and bioarchaeological studies of health in the past often oversimplify the connection between SES and mortality and overlook heterogeneity in frailty within a population and the potential for multiple types of marginalization to be layered within a single individual. This dissertation project uses skeletal samples to examine the interactions of SES, demographic characteristics (e.g., age and sex), exposure to physiological stressors, and mortality in the context of industrialization in 18th- and 19th-century England. Skeletal data from four industrial-era cemeteries …

Mental Health And The Relationship Between Parental Divorce And Children’S Higher Degree Acquisition, Brittany V. Pittelli

Theses and Dissertations

Studies between parental divorce and children’s educational attainment have been extensively observed in family research. However, few studies have attempted to examine the negative relationship of those associations with graduate level attainment. This study suggests that parental divorce is associated with diminished overall mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms) in children, and that this decrease may help explain the connection between parental divorce and lower graduate level academic attainment. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), a nationally representative sample of nearly 9,000 individuals interviewed, this study outlines hypotheses that link parental divorce, mental health, and graduate …

Reading Between The Lines: An Intersectional Media Analysis Of Female Sex Offenders In Florida Newspapers, Toniqua C. Mikell

Theses and Dissertations

The media is one of the furthest reaching social institutions of our society. It is a source of white patriarchal ideologies and a vehicle through which they are communicated. Female sex offenders represent a nexus of prescribed social and legal violations. This dissertation examines the reinforcement of patriarchal ideas in media coverage of female sex offenders by posing the question: how are female sex offenders portrayed in the media? Specifically, how are those portrayals racialized? Using an intersectional lens, this study employs a qualitative content analysis to examine the top five circulating newspapers in Florida and their coverage of female …

Tool Migration: A Framework To Study The Cross-Disciplinary Use Of Mathematical Constructs In Science, Chia-Hua Lin

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with the scientific practice in which a mathematical construct that was originally developed to study a particular subject matter subsequently used in other disciplines or sub-disciplines for a different subject matter, a phenomenon that I call ‘tool migration.’ I argue that tool migration can be ‘epistemically risky.’ Specifically, uprooting a research tool from one disciplinary context and re-situating it for use in another can change how the tool is applied; whatever has made the tool useful and reliable in the first place may not have stayed the same in the new context. Using the migrations of …

The Impact Of Jigsaw Learning On Student Engagement In Beginning Students At A Community College: An Action Research Study, Kalina White

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study is to explore the impact of the cooperative learning technique of the jigsaw method on student engagement in the beginning biology laboratory at Northern Community College (NCC). Professorial observations, a student survey, and interviews were used to investigate whether or not jigsaw methods should be adopted at NCC which serves a moderately large metropolitan area in the Northern United States. Data were collected over a 6-week period over the Fall 2018 semester. Over three weeks, one of three sections were exposed to a jigsaw version of the normal laboratory protocol while the other …

Fielding Sustainability: The Potential For Compost Extract As An Amendment On Athletic Turfgrass, Lacy M. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability and green initiatives are being pushed across the country and the globe, but athletics are not seeing the same pressures as intensely. Golf courses are largely the only athletic arena that have received pressure and are beginning to implement more sustainable management practices. Agriculture is also making strides to use less chemicals through organic farming and improve soil health with cover crops. Meanwhile, the rest of the athletic world continues to contribute to soil compaction, chemical maintenance, and runoff all of which affect the quality of the local environment. The strides to improve athletics’ sustainability record can be seen …

Role Of Resources For Care In Improving Care Behaviors, Children’S Nutritional Status And Early Childhood Development In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Sulochana Basnet

Theses and Dissertations

Poor child growth and suboptimal early childhood development are global health problems. Provision of appropriate care may help to achieve optimum child growth and development. Maternal resources for care such as education, knowledge, health, autonomy, reasonable workload, and social support may be needed to provide appropriate care behaviors, and improve children’s nutritional status, and early childhood development. The overall goal of this research was to understand the role of resources for care in improving care behaviors, child nutritional status, and early childhood development. The baseline Alive & Thrive household surveys from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ethiopia were used. We examined the …

Teacher Attunement To Bullies And Victims: Effects On Percpetion Of Bullying, Social-Emotional Well-Being And Academic Outcomes, Lauren Elaine Mcguire

Theses and Dissertations

With students spending so much of their time in schools, and bullying negatively affecting many students in a multitude of ways, this study examined the relationship between teacher attunement during the fall term of the students sixth-grade year, to academic competence through the way students perceive the bullying ecology within their school, and how the students report their social-emotional well-being. This study used structural equation modeling in order to assess the relationship between these variables with a subsample of student and school data from twenty schools that participated in the Rural Early Adolescent Learning (REAL) project. The results demonstrated how …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Precipitation And Flood Data From South Carolina, Haigang Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Spatio-temporal data are everywhere: we encounter them on TV, in newspapers, on computer screens, on tablets, and on plain paper maps. As a result, researchers in di- verse areas are increasingly faced with the task of modeling geographically-referenced and temporally-correlated data. In this dissertation, we propose two different spa- tiotemporal models to capture the behavior of rainfall and flood data in the state of South Carolina.

Both models are built using a Bayesian hierarchical framework, which involves specifying the true underlying process in the first level and the spatio-temporal ran- dom effect in the second level of the hierarchy. The …

The Role Of Historical Simulations In An International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Social Studies Class, Anna Hasenkamp

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents an action research study as part of a Dissertation in Practice. Based on observations from the classroom of the participant-researcher, Problem of Practice is described: an over-reliance on teacher-centered instructional methods and the mismatch of these instructional techniques to the pedagogy endorsed by the International Baccalaureate. Through the identification of this PoP led to a research focus concerning student achievement, instructional methods, and the use of historical simulations in the social studies classroom. As a result of this research focus, the research question of what, if any, is the possible impact of historical simulations on student achievement? …

A Development Of Transfer Entropy In Continuous-Time, Christopher David Edgar

Theses and Dissertations

The quantification of causal relationships between time series data is a fundamen- tal problem in fields including neuroscience, social networking, finance, and machine learning. Amongst the various means of measuring such relationships, information- theoretic approaches are a rapidly developing area in concert with other methods. One such approach is to make use of the notion of transfer entropy (TE). Broadly speaking, TE is an information-theoretic measure of information transfer between two stochastic processes. Schreiber’s 2001 definition of TE characterizes information transfer as an informational divergence between conditional probability mass func- tions. The original definition is native to discrete-time stochastic processes …

Multidimenstional Balance In Youth With Visual Impairments, Adam Pennell

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three studies which examined multidimensional balance in youth (≤ 21 years; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004) with visual impairments (VIs) using the Brief-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Brief- BESTest). These studies have the potential to inform (adapted) physical education curricula and therapeutic/rehabilitative practices by providing novel understandings of balance performance in youth with VIs. If identified as a meaningful mechanism of action, the assessment and development of multidimensional balance in youth with VIs should be given elevated status by practitioners. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate multidimensional balance in youth with VIs.

The …

The Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Fatigue During The Progression Of Cancer Cachexia, Brandon N. Vanderveen

Theses and Dissertations

Cachexia is the unintentional loss of body weight secondary to chronic disease and is prevalent is roughly 50% of cancer patients. The loss of body weight and skeletal muscle mass is reduced functional capacity associated with reduced life quality. The etiology of cachexia is multimodal and complex; however, cachexia has been linked to several systemic (e.g. chronic inflammation, hypogonadism, anemia, insulin resistance) and behavioral (e.g. anorexia, inactivity) changes that can compound to accelerate muscle mass and body weight loss. While several inflammatory cytokines are associated with cachexia’s disease progression, our laboratory has established that Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a key regulator …

African American Hair And Beauty: Examining Afrocentricity And Identity Through The Reemergence And Expression Of Natural Hair In The 21st Century, Tiffany Nicole Peacock

Theses and Dissertations

In the 21st century, African American women are challenging the stereotypes and limitations of who or what defines beauty. More African American women are cutting off their relaxed tresses and starting anew with the natural roots that was inherited from their African ancestors. The recent transition challenges post-colonial ideas of what it means to have good or bad hair through the empowerment of Black men and women. Rooted within the Black Power and Black is Beautiful movements of the 1970s, African American women are no longer accepting or tolerating how someone else will define their hair. By altering their kinky, …

Instrumental Gendering: A Case Study Of Convent Bajón Tradition In Early Modern Spain, Taylor Danielle Gable

Theses and Dissertations

It is generally accepted by Western music epistemologies that women did not perform on wind instruments during the early modern era. Recent organological and convent research has discovered a female bajón tradition in Spanish convents. This tradition lasted from the mid-15th century through the early 20th century. This document discusses the implications of this tradition and explores why similar traditions did not exist throughout early modern Europe. Capitalism, church law, and early modern medical theories are all discussed to give a fuller context of gender and music performance in the early modern era.

The Perspectives Of Emerging Adults With Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer, Carrie Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) caused by a CDH1 mutation have a high lifetime risk of developing gastric cancer. National guidelines recommend CDH1 carriers undergo a prophylactic total gastrectomy (PTG)— a surgery that greatly reduces the risk of developing gastric cancer but has significant comorbidities. This study explores the impact of a diagnosis of HDGC in the transitional life stage between the ages of 18-29 deemed “emerging adulthood.” We surveyed 21 CDH1 carriers and conducted semi-structured phone interviews with 6 CDH1 carriers between the ages of 18-29 to learn about their life experiences regarding education, career, relationships, and …

Neurochemical And Behavioral Outcomes Of Intranasal Orexin Administration In Young And Aged Animals, Coleman Blaine Calva

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive function represents the most important determinative factor for independent functioning in the elderly. As the existing pharmacotherapeutic tactics for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) provide only modest benefits, novel treatment options are urgently needed. The hypothalamic orexin (hypocretin) system, a central integrator of physiological function, is anatomically and functionally positioned to modulate cognition. Indeed, mounting evidence suggests that a loss of orexin neurons and/or their peptides and receptors may underlie the cognitive decline observed during aging and AD. The current paucity of orexin receptor agonists has hindered the ability to study their potential as cognitive enhancers. Intranasal administration of orexin …

Nanoparticles With Tunable Fluorophobic Effect Towards Multimodal Coassembly With Block Copolymers, Zachary Michael Marsh

Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials are often fabricated using block polymers to direct the placement of nanoparticles via selective intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding. Fluorophobic interactions have emerged as a promising handle to control nanoparticle placement independently from typical hydrophilic approaches. A series of nanoparticles with tunable fluorophobicity were prepared to elucidate the key parameters for harnessing fluorophobic interactions in this context. Mixed ligand fluorinated nanoparticles (ML-FNPs) where prepared to examine the competing roles of each ligand towards fluorophobicity and solubility. The ML-FNP intermolecular interactions were first studied using a custom-made Quartz Crystalline Microbalance (QCM) based technique. The ML-FNPs were then examined for …

Nutrient Limitation Of Phytoplankton In Lake Wateree, South Carolina: Implications For Future Water Quality Management, Kara M. Clyburn

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural eutrophication is a primary contributor to phytoplankton production in freshwater lakes from excess anthropogenic nutrient inputs, and resulting impacts on water quality, aquatic ecosystems, human and animal health are increasing worldwide. Understanding the factors that limit phytoplankton growth is an important strategy for identifying and managing nutrient sources and successfully controlling the over- enrichment of nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) in freshwater lakes. The Redfield molecular ratio of carbon (C), N and P maintains that the C:N:P molar ratio is 106:16:1 when nutrients are not limiting, and the ecosystem is balanced. A N:P molar ratio > 20:1 tends to be …

The Use Of Multi-Targeting Natural Products For The Treatment Of Cancer, Wesley Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The paradigm shift in cancer treatments from traditional chemotherapeutics to targeted therapies has rapidly improved prognoses for patients for whom cancer was once a death sentence. This is especially true in the case of targeted immune therapies which activate the body’s own natural defense system to fight cancer. Despite these advances, however, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States. The promise of targeted therapeutics has faced significant hurdles in providing effective cancer treatments, namely the limited percentage of susceptible cancers for each treatment, high cost burden, high toxicities, and significant risk of treatment induced resistance. …

Examining The Relationships Between Stress, Depressive Symptoms, And The Neighborhood Food Environment On Diet Quality Among Racially-Diverse Pregnant Women In South Carolina, Alycia K. Boutté

Theses and Dissertations

Background

Women’s diet quality during pregnancy often falls short of U.S. Dietary Guidelines and poor mental health and poor access to healthy food may be important barriers to improving diet quality during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to 1) synthesize existing literature on the relationship between mental health and diet quality during pregnancy, 2) examine the relationship between mental health and diet quality in pregnancy, and 3) examine the relationship between healthy food density and diet quality in pregnancy.

Methods

For Aim 1 (systematic review), articles were obtained from five databases; study characteristics and findings were extracted and …

Space Use And Annual Survival Of Hybridized Mouflon Sheep In Hawaii And Comparing Estimates Of Population Size Through Instantaneous Sampling And Photographic Capture-Recapture, Bradley Jay Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Significant efforts in conservation are devoted to the management and study of ungulates, due to their significant roles in ecosystems as well as their potential economic value. This is especially true for species considered exotic, such as mouflon sheep (Ovis musimon) in Hawaii. Effective management of an exotic species requires an understanding of ecological metrics such as space use, survival, and population size. We provided these metrics for a population of mouflon that have hybridized with feral sheep (Ovis aries) on the island of Hawaii. In Chapter 1, we quantified space use and annual survival of sheep in an area …

Molecular Methods For The Identification And Quantification Of Cyanobacteria In Surface Water Sources, Treyton Michael Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Geosmin is a strong musty-flavored organic compound that is responsible for many taste-and-odor events in surface drinking water sources like lakes and reservoirs. The taste threshold of geosmin for humans is lower than 10 ng/L. Traditional treatment methods will not remove geosmin to this level. Additional water treatment methods must be implemented to successfully remove the geosmin and its associated flavor and odor from drinking water. Furthermore, geosmin is produced by cyanobacteria somewhat sporadically, so it is difficult to predict when taste-and-odor events are going to occur. The difficulty involved with predicting geosmin events has led most water treatment facilities …

Model Testing Of Soil Bacteria Population Dynamics, Adam Harlan Heninger

Theses and Dissertations

This is one of the first time series studies of bacteria in soils supporting actively growing corn crops. Mathematically modeling bacteria population dynamics has the potential as a tool to more precisely assess the economic optimal nitrogen fertilizer rate for farmers. As a first step in this modeling effort, we examine the possibility that the bacteria population growth might be described by a dynamic model developed in the food sciences describing bacteria growth in food meant for human consumption. We make the assumption that air temperature above the soil can be used as an approximation for soil temperature. Also, because …

“Philosophical Treatises On Life And Death”:Newspaper Coverage Of A Controversial Brain Death Case, Khadija Ejaz

Theses and Dissertations

The central concern of this multi-method research project was to investigate newspaper coverage of the controversial brain death case of Jahi McMath. This represents the first study of sense-making of the case in the news media, positioning it at the intersection of science communication and critical qualitative inquiry. First, framing theory was used to guide a textual analysis of 81 newspaper articles from high-circulation newspapers in California. This revealed four frames that first created uncertainty about brain death, thereby permitting two competing frames of Jahi being alive and also being dead to co-exist before merging into a frame that further …

Biophysical Analyses Of Left Ventricular Remodeling Secondary To Myocardial Infarction And Left Ventricular Pressure Overload, William Manuel Torres

Theses and Dissertations

Left ventricular (LV) remodeling is nominally an adaptive process that restores biomechanical function following myocardial injury and/or sustained alterations in loading conditions. This remodeling can materialize as changes in myocardial geometry, composition, and mechanical properties. When these changes fail to restore LV biomechanical function, remodeling is termed maladaptive. It is generally accepted that maladaptive LV remodeling underlies the progression to heart failure in various forms of heart disease. The central hypothesis of this study is that we can leverage echocardiographic imaging techniques to non-invasively quantify changes in biomechanical function and mechanical properties in a serial manner throughout the progression towards …

A Partially Automated Process For The Generation Of Believable Human Behaviors, Bridgette Parsons

Theses and Dissertations

Modeling believable human behavior for use in simulations is a difficult task. It re- quires a great deal of time, and frequently requires coordination between members of different disciplines. In our research, we propose a method of partially automating the process, reducing the time it takes to create the model, and more easily allowing domain experts that are not programmers to adjust the models as necessary. Using Agent-Based modeling, we present MAGIC (Models Automatically Generated from Information Collected), an algorithm designed to automatically find points in the model’s decision process that require interaction with other agents or with the sim- …

Adverse Birth Outcomes Among Women With Physical Disabilities: A Retrospective Cohort Study In South Carolina, Iffat Nahar

Theses and Dissertations

Motherhood is precious in women’s lives. Among women, ages 21-64, 12.5% are living with a disabling condition, according to the Disability Status report: SC 2008. Although childbearing among women with disabilities is increasing, there are limited publications about the pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this study is to document the adverse neonatal outcomes of the pregnancies and to evaluate if early prenatal care is a protective factor for low birthweight and prematurity among the women with physical disabilities. This study used a retrospective cohort study design, with data from linked hospital discharge records and vital records (birth certificates) for all …

Metal-Organic Frameworks: Photophysics, Energy Transfer, And Electronic Structure, Ekaterina A. Dolgopolova

Theses and Dissertations

The current landscape of technological and industrial related fields is looking for novel materials with enhanced performances, which will not only improve various fields in science, but also can ensure increased environmental safety. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been shown as a promising type of material for a wide range of applications including gas storage and separation, sensing, and heterogeneous catalysis. The main advantages of MOFs rely on their modular structures as well as their porosity. For instance, the modular nature of MOFs provides a control over chromophore arrangement, systematic tuning of ligand design and synthetic conditions allowing one to …